In a battle where the other ‘0’ had to go, it was Tahmir Smalls who held his own.
The 25-year-old Small from Philadelphia defeated Seantorious Martin by unanimous decision on Friday night at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston, Tex. The eight-round welterweight fight headlined the Red Owl Boxing card on DAZN.
The scores were 77-75, 77-75 and 78-74, all for Smalls (12-0, 8 knockouts), dispatching Martin (10-1, 6 KOs) of Marietta, Ga. in his first defeat.
The fight was an important step for both of them, as neither had fought in the eight round before, or faced an undefeated opponent.
““My corner told me to keep punching high and raise my hands,” said Small, who is training for this fight with Jaron “Boots” Ennis, the IBF welterweight champion. “Martin caught me with a right hand or two but that was because I dropped my left hand. I was picking it up at the end of the war. I’m going to get back in the gym and work on it.”
In the main event, Elijah Williams took the top prize in the 140-pound tournament, defeating Dion Jones in the sixth round. Williams (10-1, 4 KOs) of Newburgh, NY had to get up from the canvas after being knocked down in the opening round, before finally defeating Jones (7-1, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas with his aggressiveness. Williams hurt Jones with a right hand through the ropes, causing Jones to stumble and the fight to stop without a takedown.
“I did what I had to do, he is a good fighter. “I was careless at times, especially at the beginning of the fight,” said 21-year-old Williams.
“It is up to the referee how the fight goes. I would have killed for everything he did to stop it early.”
In previous results, Joshafat Ortiz (13-1, 6 KOs) defeated Travis Crawford (7-3, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision in a six-round junior lightweight bout, scores 58-55 on two cards and 57-56 in the third.
