On Friday night, I called some fights, for the Fightnight Live series, which I hadn't done in awhile, and I enjoyed it. King's Promotions put together a batch of bouts, topped by a Khainell Wheeler v Ryan Adams super middleweight tussle, at Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem, PA.
I did the analysis, and provided “color” for two bouts that streamed on Facebook, and the remaining six which streamed on FloSports, a streaming platform based in Texas. The event went just fine, I enjoyed working with someone I hadn't worked with before, Siddique Farooqi, who handled blow by blow chores. I like doing blow by blow, but I enjoyed doing color on this occasion, because we took time during the show to honor the late Xavier Porter.
Me and X worked together a good bit, me as BBB and X Man as analyst, on the Fightnight Live series, from 2017 until Covid interrupted business as usual. I spoke a bit on the Friday show about my feelings for X, and I decided to donate my pay for the show to his daughter, who is left without her main backer, a proud and loyal papa who stood by her as she went through some things.
I'm proud that Mark Fratto, the creator of Fightnight Live, is continuing to honor Xavier, a guy who was beloved in the space, for his upbeat personality and obvious love for the sport. Anyway, yeah, the show must go on, right? The world keeps turning even when you want it to slow down, stop for just a second, so a dearly departed being can be properly saluted.
Here is a release sent out on the show:
Bethlehem, PA (March 13, 2022)–Khainell Wheeler needed just 82 seconds to stop Ryan Adams in a scheduled eight-round super middleweight fight in front of a large crowd at The Wind Creek Event Center in Bethlehem, PA.
The eight-bout card was promoted by King's Promotions.
Seconds into the bout, Wheeler (pictured atop story in Darryl Bugham pic) dropped Adams with a power jab. Adams never fully regained his balance, as he was wobbled by two more punches, and the fight was stopped at 1:22.
Wheeler, 167.3 lbs of Bethlehem is 7-1 with six knockouts. Adams, 165.6 lbs of Saint Louis, MO is 8-5-1.
Kenny Robles pounded out an eight-round unanimous decision over Naim Nelson in a junior welterweight bout.
Robles, 141 lbs of Staten Island, NY won by scores of 80-72, 79-73 and 78-74 and is now 9-1. Nelson, 139.9 lbs of Philadelphia is 14-6.
Jonathan Rodriguez won a six-round unanimous decision over Jose Flores Chavez in a bantamweight fight. In round six, Chavez was deducted a point for holding. Rodriguez dominated the action and won by scores of 60-53 on all cards. Rodriguez, 119.6 lbs of Bethlehem is now 10-1. Chavez, 118 lbs of Baja, Mexico is 9-14.
Also, James Bernadin stopped Kevin Asmat in the sixth and final round of their lightweight fight. It was a tough scrap that was set up the day before when Benadin shoved Asmat at the weigh in. Bernadin got the better of the action, but Asmat had moments. In round six, Bernadin landed several hard shots that forced a referee stoppage at 2:52. Bernadin, 135.7 lbs of Lancaster, PA is 6-0 with four knockouts. Asmat, 135.1 lbs of North Bergen, NJ is 6-3.
Julian Gonzalez remained perfect as he stopped Carlos Padilla at the end of round two of their six-round lightweight contest. Gonzalez beat down Padilla and the bout was stopped. Gonzalez, 134.1 lbs of Reading, PA is 6-0 with six knockouts. Padilla, 138.9 lbs of Barranquilla, COL is 17-11-1.
LeAnna Cruz remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Anyela Lopez in a bantamweight fight. Cruz, 113.7 lbs of Allentown, PA won by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice to go to 2-0. Lopez, 115.3 lbs of Tucson, AZ is 2-2.
Plus, Quadir Albright remained perfect with a third round stoppage of Antonio Wattell in a scheduled six-round junior welterweight bout. In round one, Albright landed a huge right that knocked Wattell down and out of the ring. Wattell beat the 20 count of referee Shawn Clark. Wattell fought back in round three. Albright dropped Wattell with a hard combination to the head. Albright finished off the fight with a vicious body combination that forced a referee stoppage at 2:57.
Albright, 141.6 lbs of Philadelphia is 5-0 with five knockouts. Wattell, 140.6 lbs of Houston, TX is 3-6-2.
In an exciting battle of pro debuting welterweights, Thanjhae Teasley stopped Daniel Jiles in round two of their four-round fight. Jiles used his length early, but Teasley was able to make the adjustments and get inside and batter Jiles until the bout was stopped at 2:29.
Teasley, 147.4 lbs of Bethlehem, PA is 1-0 with one knockout. Jiles, 147.5 lbs of Philadelphia is 0-1.
