BOXING Commings in draw; Whittaker gains TKO

Roland Commings' fight was stopped after he suffered a cut above his left eye due to an accidental head butt with George Klinesmith.
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CHESTER, W.Va. -- Youngstown boxer Roland Commings' comeback ended in a draw Saturday night, after an accidental head-butt with George Klinesmith opened a cut above Commings' left eye, forcing referee Tim Wehler to stop the fight in the third round.
The bout, which was scheduled for six rounds, was ruled a draw because both fighters butted heads at the same time.
Commings, 36, had a four-year layoff entering the middleweight fight at Mountaineer Racetrack in West Virginia, and fought to his fourth career draw. His record is 22-20-4.
Klinesmith, a 25-year-old Bloomingdale, Ohio, native with a record of 11-5-2, weighed in at 160 pounds.
"I knew this guy was tough, but I knew he couldn't out-gut me," said Commings, who weighed in at 159 pounds.
"I just lost my dad four months ago, and my four kids didn't want me to embarrass myself.
"One thing I do know is I'm back."
Commings' father played football with long-time Mooney coach Don Bucci at East High School.
Whittaker wins: Warren native Etianne Whittaker scored a technical knockout against Anthony Spain to run his record to 24-5-2 with 14 knockouts.
Spain, of Sarasota, Fla., fell to 8-7.
Whittaker hit Spain with a series of punches to the head and body in the third round of the light heavyweight bout, flattening him twice for eight-counts. Spain was unable to continue for the fourth round.
Whittaker, who won the IBC light heavyweight championship four months ago, has a non-title bout on Friday.
"I came out quick and wanted to work him up and down," Whittaker said. "It's been four months since my last fight and this broke the ice.
"If I had to grade my performance, there are still a lot of things I need to work on."