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Salinas, Toney triumph
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
It didn’t take long for boxer Alejandro “Popo” Salinas to take out his frustration on his last loss.
Vic Toney, on the other hand, was hoping that he’d get more of a workout against Eric Bledsoe.
Salinas and Toney, both of the Southside Boxing Club, highlighted action of Jack Loew’s 13-bout “Season’s Beatings” pro-am card Saturday at Youngstown’s Sts. Peter and Paul Ukranian Orthodox Banquet Center.
Salinas scored a third-round knockdown at 1:50 over Joe Shell of Geneva, N.Y., to improve to 4-1
“I just followed Jack’s [Loew] orders and once the second round ended, he told me to eliminate him, so I kicked it up a notch in the third-round,” Salinas said. “I never underestimate my opponent, but when I had my opening, I just took advantage of the opportunity.
In the co-main bout, Toney used a barrage of body shots as he scored a third-round TKO (1:30) over Bledsoe (Wheeling, W. Va.) in a 165 match-up.
Toney improved to 4-0 in his professional career.
“This was just his second pro fight and with an MMA background, I thought that he would throw more punches,” Toney said. “I wanted him to run into my jabs, which is something he hasn’t seen before.
“For me, everything sets up off my jab.”
Campbell’s Jake Giuriceo, fighting for the first time since 2012 on home turf, scored a third-round TKO (2:32) over James Lester of Detroit in a 147 pound match-up.
“It’s a great feeling, not just to win but to be back at home fighting,” Giuriceo said. “A ton of people came out and you can see why the Youngstown fans are just awesome.
“You look at James’ record and 10-8 might be deceiving to some, but he was tough and a very hard hitter.”
Also on the pro card, Warren’s Anthony Taylor scored a majority decision over Hamzah Ajahmi of Detroit in the debut for both fighters.
He knocked down his Motor City opponent twice in the first-round and three times overall, knocking him down in the fourth round for which he was taken to the hospital for observation.
“I hit him with a left hook and felt remorseful when he didn’t get up. I hope that he [Ajahmi] is alright and wish him the very best, should he choose to continue his boxing career,” Taylor said. “I just started to cry.”
In the opening bout, Detroit’s Keonte Johnson got the amateur portion under way by scoring a second-round TKO over Shawn Razzo of Burnside Boxing Club in 80 pound action.
Johnson forced two standing eight counts and also sent Razzo to the canvas before referee Cliff Pinkney stopped the fight 36 seconds into the round.
Akron’s Tim Christian won by unanimous decision over Jackson Behun of Southside Boxing Club at 100 pounds while a 152 pound, all-local pairing had Brian Simms of United City Boxing Club win by unanimous decision over Tasean Mitchell of Southside Boxing Club.
In the first of two split decisions, J’Mar Moore of Cleveland outlasted Andre Ballinger of United City Boxing Club at 170 pounds.
Heavyweight Brian Mowry (3-0) of Butler then remained undefeated after scoring a unanimous decision over Steve Chaney of Cleveland.
“He [Chaney] was by far the tallest opponent that I have faced and he was a hard hitter,” Mowry said. “I was able to back him into the ropes and that really helped me tonight.”
Youngstown’s Clement Franklin (United City Boxing Club) would then follow with a unanimous decision over Butler’s Lucas Adams at 178 pounds.
“Staying calm and using my jab was the game plan,” Franklin said. “He has a lot of strength, but I countered with my speed and capitalized on his mistakes.”
Henry Gaston (Southside Boxing Club) won a unanimous decision over Jalen Hill of Columbus at 140 pounds, Hussain Bilal of Detroit was a split decision winner over Butler’s Rosie Morales at 152 pounds and at 128 pounds, Isaac Chatman of Southside Boxing Club earned a unanimous decision over Butler’s Billy Wolf.