Jermaine Franklin stops Devin Vargas at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit, Michigan
In the main event, Jermaine Franklin (23-2 (15), #254) of Saginaw, Michigan, defeated 2000 Olympian Devin Vargas (22-11 (9), #235.2) of Toledo, Ohio in six of the scheduled ten rounds.
In the first round, Franklin came on and forced Vargas into a corner and landed a flurry of punches that Vargas couldn't counter until he got away. Vargas fought back well and Franklin landed the final punch with a southpaw. In the second round, it was all in Franklin's control until the last 30 seconds, but Vargas fought back to keep fighting.
In the third round, it was Vargas who had Franklin pinned against the ropes for most of the round. In the final seconds of the fourth round, Franklin landed a three-punch combination that bloodied Vargas' nose and drew a count of eight from referee Ansel Stewart. Vargas got to his feet and fought back well until the bell.
In the fifth round, Vargas cornered him against the ropes until Franklin came back, and Vargas won the round. In the sixth round, Vargas was having a good round until the last 30 seconds, but just as the bell rang, Franklin took Vargas down, with referee Stewart taking the count of 8. After the round, Vargas' corner called off the bout.
Super middleweight Ali Akhmedov (21-1 (16), ranked 171.6, from Almaty, Kazakhstan) stopped Encarnacion “Demoredor” Diaz (18-5 (11), ranked 169.6, from San Jose, Costa Rica and San Francisco, California) at 2 minutes, 14 seconds into the second round of the scheduled 10-round bout.
In the first round, the taller Akhmedov controlled the fight with his jab, while Diaz switched from southpaw to orthodox.
In the second round, the much taller Akhmedov landed a left hook to Diaz's jaw midway through the round, drawing an eight-count from referee Ben Rodriguez. With a minute left, Akhmedov's right hook to the jaw knocked Diaz down, and Diaz took a knee to get the count.
In the semifinals, Joshua “Double GG” Pagan (10-0 (4), 135.4) of Grand Rapids, Michigan, defeated southpaw Roger “The Hitman” Hilley (13-1 (8), 135.4) of Chattanooga, Tennessee in eight action-packed rounds to win the vacant junior NABF lightweight title.
At 0:40 into the round, the southpaw Hilly landed a right hook that cut Pagán under his left eyebrow. The taller Pagán countered Hilly well with a jab and a lead right. The second round was a hot one with both fighters enjoying their moments.
In the third round, the two began clashing heads and Hilly began to develop swelling around his left eye. The action continued with Pagan landing more hits to the head and Hilly attacking the body. In the fourth round, Hilly came forward and won the first round.
In the fifth round, Hilly put his head in Pagán's chest and lunged at his body. It was a close round, with blood flowing from Pagán's cuts to his face. In the sixth round, Hilly landed six punches, and Pagán quickly responded with six punches of his own. Hilly dominated the first half of the round, Pagán dominated the second.
In the seventh round, Hilly continued to put pressure on Pagán, forcing him against the ropes. In the center of the ring, Pagán had another round advantage for Hilly. In the eighth and final round, both fighters had moments of advantage, but Pagán had the upper hand.
Referee Ben Rodriguez
The unanimous score from the judges was 78-74.
Middleweight southpaw Josiah “Mighty Joe” Shackleford (3-1 (2), 160.8, Detroit, Mich.) defeated Jashar Banks (0-1 (0), 158.8, Detroit, Mich.) in four rounds.
In the first round, Shackleford, normally a southpaw and a two-time Michigan Golden Gloves champion, came out orthodox, fought a southpaw, then switched back to orthodox to win the round.The second round was a more competitive fight, with Shackleford winning another round from Banks, a former MMA boxer making his debut.
In the third round, Shackleford hurt Banks with a right to the jaw midway through the round. He then switched to southpaw and won the round. In the fourth and final round, Shackleford knocked Banks' mouthpiece out three times. Banks was bleeding from the mouth and the ring doctor was called in with one minute left. Shackleford shut out Banks to win the round.
Referee Ansel Stewart
The unanimous score from the judges was 40-36.
Ring announcer Thomas Triber
