Undercard quenches crowd's punch thirst

Four Olympic bronze medalists were among the combatants.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
PITTSBURGH -- There was no doubt that the more than 6,000 fans in the A.J. Palumbo Center on Saturday night came to see hometown guy Paul Spadafora, but the undercard featured some good action.
Featherweight Robbie Peden, the NABF champ from Brisbane, Australia, met Juan Manuel Marquez, the USBA champ from Mexico City in a battle to unite the titles.
Easy win: The quick-handed Marquez was an easy winner with his superior ring ability, as he won on a TKO when Peden was unable to answer the bell for round 11. Another bonus for the winner was that he became a top contender among IBF and WBC featherweights in the world.
The leadoff six-rounder had 6-foot-7, 252-pound Michael Grant from Norristown, Pa., against 236-pound southpaw Reynaldo Minus from Nassau, Bahamas.
Grant (32-2), who fought Lennox Lewis for the world title in April 2000, stopped Minus at 2:02 of round four.
Ringsiders questioned Grant's performance as he did little with his height and reach advantage. A superior left jab brought the bout to an end with a right uppercut inside that dropped Minus.
Four Olympic bronze medalists, which included undefeated Clarence Vinson (6-0) from Washington, D.C., and Paola Vidoz (9-0) from Italy, stopped opponents, as did Pittsburgh's Joel Wyatt (9-0), a welterweight who stopped Abdul Blackburn (4-9).
Blackburn, managed by local promoter and fight manager Pat Nelson, came off the deck five times before the bout was stopped.