Antonio Tarver 29-6-1, 20KOs and Lateef Kayode fought to a draw in the main event of Showtime’s “Four Warned,” at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA. The card was hosted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Gary Shaw Promotions, and was sponsored by Corona Extra. Tarver secured his IBO cruiserweight title with draw.

Lateef Kayode 18-0-1, 14KOs began the bout as the aggressor of the two. The Freddy Roached trained fighter initiated the action in the first two rounds. Coming off a nine-month layoff, Antonio Tarver patiently waited for opportunities to counter.

Tarver, 43, professed he would school his younger foe in the lead up to this bout. Maybe that explains his inactivity in initial rounds. At 29 years young, Lateef Kayode pressed the action despite Tarver’s experience and ring savvy.

It was evident by round number five that Antonio Tarver was trying to catch his counter part with a straight left as he made his way in. The latter strategy proved unsuccessful at this stage of the fight. Albeit, the following round saw Tarver land same punch, which was set up by a jab. The straight left continued to land for Tarver as Kayode displayed less than stellar defense.

The schooling ensued in round eight as Tarver feverishly stuck to his game plan, finding tremendous success with his straight left. The same punch landed in round nine and sent Kayode back on his heels. Lateef came back to win the following stanza. Round number eleven saw neither pugilist stand out which made the final round extremely crucial in such a close fight. Unfortunately, the final round mirrored the round it preceded.

In a tough fight to call, judge Max De Luca scored the bout for Tarver 115-113; David Denkin had it Kayode's way 115-113, while Dave Moretti coincided the bout a draw 114-114.


Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin Defeats Winky Wright

Peter Quillin 27-0, 20KOs remains undefeated by beating a surefire future hall of famer in Winky Wright 51-6-1, 25KOs. The Hollywood based boxer earned a hard fought unanimous decision in the co-feature bout of the night.

Any fight that involves Winky Wright is going to be tactical to say the least. Not surprising, Peter Quillin’s attack was stifled for much of the first three rounds. Kid Chocolate was able to land a nice right upper in round number two but moments like that came hard to find.

The action picked up in round four and exploded in round five. Peter Quillin floored Winky Wright with a quick straight right in the fifth. The knockdown came after Winky found some success with multiple straight lefts and opened himself up to Quillin’s straight. The Freddie Roached trained Quillin continued his animated assault in the ensuing round.

Quillin, 28, landed a crisp right uppercut and vividly hurt Winky. Backed by the crowd, Perter Quillin advanced to punish Winky for the remainder of round eight. An unfazed Winky came back to have a productive round nine. Consequently, drawing cheers from the crowd, which continued into the culminating round.

When it was all said and done, Judge Martin Jenkin scored the bout 97-92, while the remaining two tallied the bout at 98-91 in favor of Peter Quillin.


Austin Trout Defends WBA Crown

Austin Trout 25-0, 14KOs defended his WBA Super Welterweight title by earning a unanimous decision victory against Delvin Rodriguez 26-7-3, 14KOs.

One of the most anticipated fights of the night began slowly. The challenging southpaw made the fight difficult for Austin Trout from the outset. It wasn’t until the third round where the WBA champ was able to land two clean straight rights. The following round saw Trout open up more.

Austin Trout, 26, controlled the action by round number six. His counterpart struggled to find a clear path for his punches all night. Trout worked off his lead right, stepped back and countered with his straight left as seen in round number ten. The champ continued to out work his counterpart all the way to the final bell. Judge Jerry Cantu scored the bout 117-111; Marshal Walker had it 118-110, and Alejandro Rochin has scores of 120-108 all favoring Austin Trout.


Leo Santa Cruz Becomes the IBF Bantamweight Champ

Leo Santa Cruz earns a unanimous decision victory against South African Vusi Malinga, capturing the vacant IBF Bantamweight title. The scrap was Showtime’s opening televised bout.

Leo Santa Cruz 20-0-1, 11KOs and Vusi Malinga 20-4, 12KOs could have fought in a phone booth. The two bantamweights were more than willing to stand in front of one-another and exchange. Santa Cruz worked his jab and followed to the body with menacing hooks. Malinga countered, albeit, his punches lacked power.

Santa Cruz, 23, landed two powerful right hooks in round number three. Vusi Malinga was by no means a stationary target, but he did make himself available to a lot of Leo Santa Cruz’s attack. He was caught with a right hook followed by a left hook in round number five.

The fighters continued at a strong pace with Santa Cruz landing the stronger and cleaner blows. Santa Cruz made it a point to attack Malinga’s torso, finding success in round number eight. The championship rounds were much of the same.

When the final bell rang, all three judges scored the bout in favor of Leo Santa Cruz with one judge ring side scoring the bout 119-109, while the remaining two scored it 120-108.


Sakio Bika Captures The NABF and WBO Inter-Continental Super Middleweight Titles.

Sakio Bika 30-5-2, 21KOs captures the NABF and vacant WBO Inter-Continental Super Middleweight titles by stopping Dyah Davis 21-3-1, 9KOs in the tenth and final round.

Sakio Bika, 33, came out and immediately established his overhand right. Bika was able to land the punch at will as seen in the first three rounds. Davis countered by staying on the outside and working off his stick. His defense was flawed as he kept his left hand low allowing Bika’s overhand right to land unattended.

Bika worked in his left hook and managed to hurt Davis at the end of round number five with a crisp hook. He continued to be the aggressor, continuously finding success with the much-discussed overhand right. A powerful overhand right hook vividly hurt Davis in the final round. Bika then progressed to chase Davis around the ring while simultaneously punishing him and forcing a stoppage 1:40 mark of round number ten.


Sharif Bogere Stops Manuel Leyva In Two

Sharif Bogere 23-0, 15KOs stops overmatched Manuel Layva 21-2, 12KOs in round number two of the scheduled 10 round junior welterweight fight. Bogere scored his first knockdown with a straight right in the opening assault. His counter part was unable to find a way to stop Bogere’s straight right. A simple faint set up a plush left hook which floored Leyva again, only moments into round two. He then followed up to pummel Leyva and forced the third man in the ring to stop the bout only 38 seconds into round two.


Omar Figueroa KOs Tyler Ziolkowshi

Omar Figueroa 17-0-1, 14KOs knocks out Tyler Ziolkowski 14-16, 8KOs at the 2:00 of the opening stanza. Figueroa, trained by Joel Diaz Jr., was beyond efficient tonight. It took one perfectly placed left hook to floor Ziolkowshi who was unable to recover from the punishing blow.

Figueroa, 22, is one the west coast most promising prospects. He did not disappoint in the second bout of the night. Boxing fans will be able to see him in action on the upcoming Victor Ortiz v. Josesito Lopez card.


Juan Reynoso Finds Success in Debut

Juan Reynoso 1-0 out classed Beau Hamilton 0-2 to earn a unanimous decision victory in his first professional scrap in the super middleweight division. At the final bell two judges ringside scored the bout 40-36, while the remaining judge tallied the bout 39-37 all in favor of the debutant from Tampa, FL.