The “ShoBox: The New Generation” fights had everything you would hope for on a Friday the 13th. In the two main events there was blood, suspense, and surprises, as Sharif Bogere and Seth Mitchell both remained undefeated on this night in Primm, Nevada.

Sharif “The Lion” Bogere (20-0 12 KO’s) entered the ring in a lion’s cage, dressed in full lion garb, but if he knew he would have been in for such a tough fight with Raymundo Beltran 24-5 (16 KO’s) he may have stayed in the cage.

The first two rounds of the fight went well enough for Bogere, as he used quick and sharp combinations to take a quick lead. Additionally, Bogere had a quick defense, often spinning out of the way of shots, leaving Beltran swinging mostly at air. Their styles made it quite evident that there was going to be a lot of head butting in the fight, as the shorter Bogere often leapt in, while Beltran stood his ground.

The third round saw Beltran have his first success of the fight, as perhaps the rust of fighting only a few times over the last two years began to wear off. Beltran’s main weapon was his left hook, and for the first time Bogere seemed to feel Beltran’s power, slowing him down a bit. At the end of the round, the two fighters’ heads collided again, and as they were separated by referee Robert Byrd, you could see the blood streaming from a cut near Beltran’s left eye. The experienced corner, featuring Freddie Roach, kept their charge calm, and if anything it seemed the cut woke up their man.

The fourth round was Bogere’s turn to be cut from the left eye, only his cut seemed to bother him more than his opponent’s cuts. While Beltran has been cut in previous fights, this was the first time Bogere ever had to deal with that ailment, and it was clear it was bothering him. Bogere seemingly did enough to win the round, due to work early in the round, but by the end of the round it was clear he was losing some confidence.

The fifth round was one of the strongest of the night for Beltran. Early in the round Beltran landed a left hook that rocked Bogere, and set the tone for the rest of the round. At this point of the fight there was a reversal of the laws of the jungle as “The Lion” Bogere became the hunted and Beltran became the hunter. Bogere was able to get out of the round, but for a few tense moments he seemed to be only a punch or two away from being stopped.

Bogere found his legs a bit during the break, and came out for the sixth in a big way, landing a left hook in the center of the ring. Beltran, undeterred, continued to play the stalker, often keeping his hands down by his waist, apparently unworried about his opponent’s power. In one exchange this round, the fighters traded uppercuts, with Bogere landing first, only to be immediately hit by one of his own.

In the 7th and 8th rounds Beltran came on strong, but on two occasions was on the wrong side questionable referee decisions. In the 7th, Beltran landed a big left hook that rocked Beltran. As the fighters fought on the inside, with Beltran holding the clear advantage, Byrd stopped the action to tell the fighters to watch their heads. Interesting timing, as by this point in the match the fighters had collided heads dozens of times with no prior time-outs by the ref. The 8th round was even more questionable, as Beltran appeared to drop Bogere with a left hook, only to have it be called a slip by Byrd. Bogere fell a few seconds after the punch landed, but it was fairly clear he fell as a result of the punch, and not a slip.

The ninth was the ugliest round of the night, making it hard to score. The fighters, gassed, spent a lot of the time tangled up with Byrd pulling them apart. In the little action there was, both fighters seemed content with throwing just one punch at a time, looking to land a big shot.

At the start of the final round the fighters touched gloves, but it would have been more appropriate if they butted heads for as much as it happened in the fight. Beltran landed the harder punches in the round, especially a left hook about halfway through the round, but the flashier punches were landed by Bogere. As the final bell rang the combatants finished the top-notch fight the way a fight like this should have finished, throwing punches in the center of the ring.

Pound4Pound gave the fight to Beltran 96-94, with the officials scoring it 96-94, 96-94, and 97-93 for Beltran, who picked up the vacant NABO Lightweight title with the win. The fight had many close rounds, so no need to call a robbery, though the crowd showed their displeasure with the official scores by booing loudly as the night of boxing from Primm, NV came to an end.

 

In the co-feature, heavyweight Seth Mitchell (22-0-1 16 KO’s) remained undefeated with a first round knockout of Evans Quinn (20-6-1 18 KO’s). Mitchell came out the aggressor, and landed a right hand with about a minute left in the round. About ten seconds later, Quinn dropped to his hands and knees, but appeared to be clear-headed. However, as referee Joe Cortez started his count, Quinn looked to his corner and shook his head no, staying on his hands and knees to the count of ten, but getting up as soon as he was counted out.


Off-TV portion –
 

Heavyweights Alvaro Morales and Lamont Williams started the night with a four round majority draw. Morales won 39-37 on one card, but the other two cards read 38-38. Morales moved to 6-9-6 while Williams goes to 4-1-1 (1 KO).
 

Lester Gonzalez improved to 12-3-2 (6 KO’s) with a six-round unanimous decision over Alfredo Contreras (8-9-2 2 KO’s) in Super Middleweight action.

Junior Middleweight Alantez Fox remained undefeated, now 4-0 (2 KO’s) with a four round decision over debuting Warren Snapp.