Powell Defeats Taylor, Williams Stops Dietrich
Report and Photos by Jesse Kelley
October 12, 2008

 

Former #1 IBF jr. middleweight contender Sechew Powell (24-2, 14 KOs) returned to action on Saturday night at the Grand Casino in Hinckley, Minnesota. The "Iron Horse" looked sharp as he won an eight round unanimous decision over Clarence "Sonny Bono" Taylor (13-17-3, 6 KOs) by scores of 79-73 on all cards.
Powell controlled the action fighting behind solid jabs and combinations. Taylor was game but not able to keep up with the high work rate of Powell.
Powell also began to break down Taylor's slick defense with body shots by round five.
The best action of the bout came in the seventh when Taylor unleashed a flurry of hard head punches at the start of the round. Powell returned punches of his own and both fighters stood in the center of the ring, exchanging punches for the first minute of the round before things settled.
Powell put a stamp on an impressive performance in the final moments of the bout staggering a tiring Taylor with a hard left at the bell.

Phil "The Drill" Williams (9-1, 9 KO's) brutalized Jason Dietrich (9-18, 3 KO's) in the co-feature. Williams started fast as he hunted Dietrich with powerful left and rights to the head.
Williams continued to clobber Dietrich with straight lefts and right uppercuts in the second round. Some guys are given nicknames and some earn them, Dietrich showed how he has earned the name "Iron Man" once again as he stood through a huge amount of punishment, never changing his calm expression despite the beating.
The first two rounds featured Williams stalking Dietrich. But the following rounds were a complete turn around as it was Dietrich who pressed forward while Williams backed up throwing mostly hard single lefts, looking to counter. Just as onlookers were beginning to question what was going on in the fifth, Williams shot a perfect straight left hand down the middle of Dietrich's guard, breaking The Iron man's nose and dropping him to the canvas. Blood immediately began to form in puddles at his feet as he rose and referee Mark Nelson mercifully called a halt to the bout at 2:39 of the fifth round. Williams said afterwards that he believes he broke his hand in the second round. The right hand of Williams was swollen like a watermelon, confirming the injury.

 

Alex Quiroga (10-4-3, 5 KO's) used a punishing body assault to stop Bobby Kliewer (9-6-2, 4 KO's) in round three of an all action bout.
Kliewer was too slick for his stocky opponent in the first round, landing single hard shots while avoiding Quiroga's haymakers.
Round two saw both fighters stun the other on many different occasions. A hard looping bolo punch cracked Quiroga's jaw nearing the end of the round. Quiroga wobbled for a second but surged forward with a left-right to the body followed by a right to the head that staggered Kliewer badly before the bell sounded to end the round.
Kliewer began to look tired in the third round and Quiroga kept the body shots coming although it still appeared that both fighters were only one punch away from ending the fight.
Quiroga came out for the fourth round like a bull. A big right hand to the head forced Kliewer to a knee where he took a few seconds to regroup. Quiroga unleashed left and right handed body shots that echoed the ballroom moments later which sent Kliewer down once again. A final storm of body punches later sent Kliewer to his knees at 1:42 of the fourth round where the bout was stopped. Quiroga valiantly circled the ring exclaiming that he had waited 8 years for the win! Quiroga's last win came in 2004 against Orlando Orozco. Following a loss to Fernando Vargas in 1997, he was away from the sport for seven years.

 

Wilton Hilario (9-0-1, 7 KO's) out hustled Jose Alfonso Rodriguez (12-15-2, 7 KO's) earning a 6 round unanimous decision. Hilario's relentless pressure was too much for the game Nicaraguan fighter. Hilario was forced to track Rodriguez down as "El Cacique" was constantly on the move. Hilario began to land digging body shots by round four which seemed to slow Rodriguez who's right eye was bloodshot from left hooks.
A right hand that strayed below the belt line from "The Pretty Warrior" dropped Rodriguez to his knees in round six. Referee Mark Nelson gave Rodriguez time to recoup as the punch was ruled low.
The fast paced, gritty action continued into the final round. Hilario landed two hard rights to the head that sent Rodriguez to the ropes with moments to go in the bout but ran out of time to finish his tough opponent. Scores read 59-54, 60-53, 60-53 for Hilario.

Wilmer Vazquez (7-0, 4 KO's) enjoyed a huge size advantage over his opponent Charles Davis (17-16-1) in a heavyweight bout. Vazquez entered the ring weighing 283 while Davis was 218.
Davis seemed to take the early rounds by landing single shots and avoiding anything Vazquez threw. Vasquez stalked Davis like a bear, walking him down but not throwing any punches. It wasn't until the third round that he was able to finally sneak a straight right through Davis' defense. The success seemed to wake Vasquez from his sleep though as he began to use his size to cut the ring off and land lumbering single power shots.
Davis was almost running from Vazquez in the fifth and sixth rounds. When Vazquez would attack, Davis fell to the ground to avoid punches. Referee Mark Nelson deducted a point from Davis for continually holding and falling to the ground. Davis could be heard replying " I don't care, he's too big!" Vazquez went on to win by unanimous decision by scores of 58-55, 57-56, 59-54

Jorge Valdes (23-5-2, 16 KO's) edged Van Goodman (2-2-1, 2 KO's) in an entertaining heavyweight bout.
Valdes streaked across the ring at the opening bell to set the pace for the coming rounds as both men traded hard shots. After heated action, things slowed until the :10 mark of the round. Both men opened up again with Goodman getting the better of it on the inside.
The fast paced, close quarters brawling continued through the third. A hard right to the head from Goodman staggered Valdes midway through the round. Valdes looked exhausted but kept coming forward.
Goodman pushed the pace at the start of the fourth. Both Valdes and Goodman continued to trade punch for punch along the ropes on the inside. As the bout came to a close, the trading continued with Valdes landing 2 hard rights at the bell. Valdes went on to pick up the close hard fought win. Judges scores read 39-37, 39-37, and a somewhat unbelievable 40-36.

 

Tim Taggart (3-1, 2 KO's) annihilated Michael Melbar (2-3, 2 KO's) in the opening bout. A hard right to the body followed by a right to the head in a corner brought on the stoppage at 1:43 of the first round.