Lozano Wins WBC US Tilte

By Christopher P. Cook at ringside

Bowling Green, Florida’s Daniel Lozano took a major step in his career this Friday as demolished his opponent en route to his first WBC title. In front of a standing room only crowd at the A La Carte Even Pavilion in Tampa, Florida, Lozano (10-0-0, 7 KOs) won the WBC USNBC flyweight belt in a two round blowout of Jonathan Arias (12-7-0, 10 KOs). On the undercard of Fight Night Production’s card witnessed the continued success of Florida State champion Charlie Serrano, along with a series of unexpected draws.

In the main event of the evening, Daniel Lozano, 112 lbs, battled with Jonathan Arias, 111.8 lbs, for the vacant WBC USNBC flyweight belt. Lozano, a staple of the Fight Night series at the A La Carte, had never met a fighter with the experience of Arias, a veteran of 19 bouts. Arias recently won the WBC Fecarbox title in May and won 8 of his last 9 matches. This match proved to be quite different as the quick and powerful Lozano overcame the advantages of Arias’ experience. Lozano’s power was evident early in the first, as he established himself. Arias, the taller fighter, worked to utilize it to keep Lozano at bay. Lozano’s power paid off in the second, as he caught Arias in the ropes and unloaded power shots. An overhand left ended the night for Arias in stunning fashion. Time of stoppage was 1:09 in the second, with Lozano winning his first of possibly many titles in his career.

In the co-main event popular local star and Florida State champion Charlie Serrano (13-2-1, 3 KOs), 120.5 lbs, squared off against Messy Cruz (4-4-1, 1 KO), 123.5 lbs. Serrano, who hails from Tampa, seemingly lost the ability to move his head in the first, as he walked in to several combinations to the head from Cruz. Cruz got the better of Serrano in the second, landing further shots to the unmoving head of Serrano. The third saw the Tampa native turn up the heat, as he stalked Cruz and increased his output and landings. Serrano wobbled his opponent a bit in the round with the consistent shots to the body. An obvious aspect to his game that Serrano worked on, he focused many of his shots in the middle rounds to the body, which slowed down Cruz considerably. Serrano dictated the pace for the remainder of the bout, landing a flush left hook in the sixth that forced Cruz to run. Judges scored the bout all for Serrano, 58-56, giving Serrano his fourth straight victory.

In the opening bout of the evening, Tampa’s own Marquis Davis (3-0-1, 3 KOs), 164.6 lbs, outworked Terrence Anderson (2-6-1, 1 KO), 159.3 lbs, in a four round decision but would not be rewarded for his effort due to his own lapses in judgment. Davis started the first out strong, attacking the body of Anderson. Poised and in control, Davis maintained his pressure and aggressive nature. Davis lost a point in the second after throwing a pair of low blows. Anderson finished the second better, showing a willingness to throw freely. A hard right from Anderson stunned Davis in the first part of the third as blood began to flow from Davis’ nose. Davis stopped Anderson in his tracks near the bell of the third, and proceeded to land wide shots on an unsteady Anderson. The final stanza saw Davis lose another point due to low blows. The two traded shots for the remainders the round, both landing wild, head-rocking blows. All three judges for the bout scored 37-37 draw. Davis’ low blows did himself in, unable to knockout the journeyman.

Undefeated Cerresso Fort (11-0-1, 9 KOs), 162 lbs, met the experienced Marcus Upshaw (13-7-2, 6 KOs), 161.5 lbs. The fight began uneventful as both fighters felt each other out. Fort turned it up a notch at the end of the second, landing a flurry of punches, backing Upshaw against the ropes. Fort remained the aggressor in the third, while Upshaw resorted to tying up with Fort. Both fighters’ pace slowed in the middle rounds, which favored Upshaw. Upshaw and Fort traded blows much of the fifth and sixth rounds. Forte did his best to keep the match a boxing contest, while Upshaw resorted to street tactics. In a back and forth bout with few telling blows, the judges each saw a close but different match. Final scores for the contest were 58-56 Fort, 58-56 Upshaw and 57-57 draw.

St. Petersburg’s Alphonso Black, 159.6 lbs, had a successful debut, easily taking care of business against Chris Kahn (0-2-0), 161.4 lbs. Black came out quick, moving in and out with his punches. A hard left hook wobbled Kahn in the middle of the first. Black kept his pace throughout the first, and was rewarded right at the bell. A powerful left hook laid out Kahn at 2:59 in the round. Kahn went down like a tree , highlighting an excellent debut for Alphonso Black.

Fellow debut Marlon Farr, 173 lbs, had a different fate as he lost soundly to Radivoje Karadzic (2-0-0, 2 KOs), 172.5 lbs. Karadzic’s aggressive style and experience in the ring showed greatly as he ended this fight in the same fashion as his debut contest. A devastating combination of shots knocked Farr out cold at the 1:30 mark of the first.

Akinyinka Laleye (4-1-3, 1 KO), 154.8, met Manny Woods (7-1-1, 3 KOs), 155.8 lbs, of St. Pete in an exciting battle of middleweights. Laleye began very poised and fighting tall, while Woods jumped in, trying to disrupt Laleye’s style. Woods took the first due to sheer activity. Laleye stuck to his strength in the second, utilizing his jab well. Woods landed a couple hard body shots, continually lunging in trying to land shots and make the match more of a brawl. The third much mirrored the earlier rounds, with Laleye sticking to boxing from a distance, while Woods tried to bring the match closer. In the fourth round, Laleye moved well, landing a jab then moving to avoid being hit. Woods came on strong towards the end of the round, landing a pair of hard head shots. A hard left followed with a right to the head caught Laleye in the fifth. A counter-left from Laleye to the cheek of Woods froze Woods’ aggression for a bit. Woods attacked from the sound of the bell of the sixth, going in for the kill. Woods staggered Laleye with an overland right, seemingly securing the victory over the game Laleye. Judges saw the bout differently, scoring the contest a majority draw (57-57 twice and 59-55 for Woods). The bout was close as neither fighter landed the elusive knockdown or truly telling blow.