BOXING Hanshaw posts 2nd round KO victory

The Warren native was fighting for the first time in 21 months.
By BOB ROTH
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND -- A crowd of 3,756 at Gund Arena Friday night were treated to seven bouts that featured an upset unanimous decision by Perrysville, Ohio's Craig Weber over world-ranked Angel Manfredy in the 10-round lightweight main event.
In the second bout of the night, super middleweight Tony Hanshaw, resuming his professional career after almost 21 months, won with an impressive second-round knockout over Cleveland's Kevin Butts.
Hanshaw, who was born in Warren and resides in Mansfield, last fought in July 2002, winning a decision over Etianne Whitaker before shoulder surgery and rehabilitation made him inactive.
"I was not confident that Tony could fight on this card until Monday when I gave the OK for this bout," John Russell, Hanshaw's trainer. "Even though he had been sparring I wanted to be sure that his shoulder was ready."
Butts scored early
Butts (8-3), a former standout on the Cleveland amateur fight scene, caught Hanshaw early with a solid countering straight right, but Hanshaw, working his jab and landing several good left hooks, settled in against his taller opponent. He nailed Butts with a good left hook near the end of the first round and caught him with a right to the head just before the bell that staggered Butts. Hanshaw came out quick in the second round and a big body shot followed by a left hook and a right cross sent Butts down for an eight count.
A straight right drilled Butts seconds later and he was counted out by referee Bernie Profato.
"He caught me with a shot at the end of the first round that I never fully recovered from," said Butts.
11th knockout
The time of the knockout was 1:57 and was the 11th of Hanshaw's pro career.
"Tony the Tiger is back," declared Hanshaw, now 16-0. "The 21 months away took me a little time to get started, but once I began to connect I knew I was OK. The left hook is my main punch and it was working for me tonight."
Russell said Hanshaw's next fight will be May 15 in Chicago.
In a 10-round co-feature, Dallas Vargas from Toledo, managed by Pat Nelson, knocked out Cleveland's Joe DiSalvo at 51 seconds of the third round to win Ohio's super middleweight championship. It was the 12th knockout for Vargas (16-1) and the first loss for DiSalvo (10-1).
Vargas, who has been deaf since birth, said, "I was hungry coming into this fight and had a lot of confidence. I was patient looking for openings and used good tools to finish him."
His younger brother, Devin Vargas, will represent the United States as a heavyweight in the upcoming Olympics.