TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Jolly makes quick work of Iannuzzi

ADVERTISEMENT

By EDDIE DANIELS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 20, 2009

TAMPA - Harvey Jolly left very little doubt what his intensions were against Tampa's Nick Iannuzzi Saturday night.

As soon as the bell rang in their scheduled eight-round cruiserweight fight inside the Downtown Hyatt Regency, Jolly promptly uncorked a wild right hand, missing his target.

Moments later, Jolly landed a solid left, followed a booming right, dropping Iannuzzi.

Jolly (10-11-1, 5 KOs) put the NBA junior cruiserweight champ down twice more, forcing referee Frank Santore Jr. to halt the fight 2:11 into the first round.

The second knockdown was caused by a right hook, forcing Iannuzzi (12-1, 7 KOs) to take a knee near the center of the ring.

The final knock down was courtesy of several right hooks to the body, forcing Iannuzzi to circle to his left. Seconds later, a huge left sent Iannuzzi nearly through the ropes.

In the co-main event, Raymond Charles (12-0-2, 5 KOs) didn't have any issues taking care of Louis Leija (21-12-1, 15 KOS), collecting a technical knockout 31 seconds into the sixth round.

From start to finish, Charles proved to be a much slicker fighter than Leija. His ability to move around set up numerous shots. He was also able to pinpoint punches.

Richard Grant and Kenneth Moody Jr, were each more than willing to bring the fight to each other Saturday night. All that strategy did was ensure someone would leave with a knockout loss on their record.

Grant (4-3, 2 KOs) ended Moody's night at the 2:25 mark of the first round with a wicked uppercut.

Moody (1-1) was hurt earlier in the round and sent to the canvas from a left hook to the head, which came at the end of several decent shots from Grant.

A Grant left straight down the middle opened up Moody and then a jarring left uppercut sent Moody back to the canvas. With Nate Campbell in Moody's corner shouting for him to get up, referee Frank Santore Jr. ended the fight.

In the opening fight, veteran Felipe Almanza (16-15-4, 7 KOs) collected a six-round unanimous decision victory against Anthony Rodriguez (8-1, 3 KOs). Almanza used a sneaky left hand and his legs to pull away with the win. For the majority of the fight, he landed one shot and backed away.

The style seemed to frustrate Rodriguez.

Tampa's Lamar Davis collected a majority decision victory against the awkward Robert Turner. Davis stayed faithful to his jab the enter fight, which set up several solid, scoring shots. Meanwhile, Turner was more than willing to stay outside and only occasionally come inside with his punches.

Cardaro Simpkins collected a unanimous decision victory against Roger Rosa in their four round fight. Simpkins used a solid body attack to set the pace early. He later found some shots up top as well. In the second round, Simpkins opened up a cut over Rosa's left eye in addition to his bloody nose.

St. Petersburg's Manny Woods won his debut via a majority decision victory against Wilkey Campfort (1-1, 1 KO).

Both fighters were able to land serious blows, but the nicest shot of the fight came in the fourth round when Campfort – answering a right-left combination he caught to the head – landed a fierce right uppercut as Woods' back was against the ropes.

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 259-7066.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT