Philadelphia, PA. Steve
"USS" Cunningham (27-6, 12 KOs)* took down the undefeated powerhouse
Amir "Hardcore" Mansour (20-1, 15 KOs) via unanimous decision at the
Liacouras Center.
In the all-Philly main event, Philadelphia-raised
Cunningham and Philadelphia-trained Mansour brawled for ten rounds of
heart-stopping action that had the entire crowd at the Liacouras Center
on their feet and screaming for more.
These two warriors just kept
coming at each other for ten straight rounds. By the end they were both
bleeding and and battle-worn.
Mansour
was relentless from the first bell. He kept coming at Steve with huge
looping hooks.
Cunningham began bleeding in the second round. Then
Cunningham cut Mansour over the same eye in the third.
Mansour
knocked Cunningham down twice in the fifth but Steve managed to get
back up just before the bell. Cunningham came back with a vengeance in
the sixth and the crowd at the Liacouras Center was on their feet. The
fans were split equally as half chanted "Hardcore" and half chanted
"USS."
By the ninth the chants of "Steve" drowned out everything else.
 |
Cunningham & Mansour
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
Cunningham
knocked Mansour down in the tenth and went on to win via unanimous
decision. One judge scored the fight 97-90 and the other two scored the
fight 95-92.
Kathy
Duva said, "Jolene Mizzone and J Russell Peltz are the best matchmakers
in the business, hands down. That was the bull and the matador.
Steve, you get knocked down but you get back up baby!"
 |
"USS" Cunningham
Photo Credits:
Larry Levanti/Main Events |
Steve
said, "With my God I can do anything! Faith is all I have. I was
alright. I have been down before and got up and won. He wasn't built
for the 'USS' Cunningham. I want to be heavyweight world champion.
'USS' Cunningham always finds a way."
Mansour
said, "I can't complain. He was the better man; the tougher man. I
got tired but he got tired too. I just kept stepping on the gas pedal
because that is just the fighter in me. You got to be smart in the ring
if you want to be successful and tonight he was smarter than me."
 |
Stevens & Johnson
Photo Credits:
Larry Levanti/Main Events |
In arguably the best of 2014 so far, Brooklyn's own Curtis "Showtime"
Stevens (27-4, 20 KOs) came from behind to knockout Nassau, Bahamas
native Tureano Johnson (14-1, 10 KOs) in the tenth round. The crowd was
into every punch from the first bell until the referee called the fight
with slightly more than two minutes to go in the fight.
Both
fighters came swinging in the first. In the first two minutes of the
first round, Johnson fought southpaw to confuse Stevens then he switched
back to orthodox. He continued to switch back and forth throughout the
fight. It seemed to work for the first few rounds as Stevens appeared
to take a beating. Then in the fourth round Stevens turned the tables
on Johnson and unleashed a holy war on him.
 |
Johnson & Stevens
Photo Credits:
Larry Levanti/Main Events |
Johnson
was relentless; he never slowed down the entire fight. He controlled
the pace and made Stevens fight his fight. He kept coming forward.
Johnson connected for 38% of his punches (235 of 624) and Stevens
connected for 40% (223 of 557). However Curtis landed 45% of his power
punches (210 of 470) and Johnson landed 39% (231 of 598. Both men
landed 15% of their jabs but Curtis landed 13 of 87 and Johnson only
landed 4 of 26.
This
back-and-forth battle continued and neither fighter seemed to have
control of the any one round. Johnson had Curtis against the ropes for
the majority of the fight. Stevens reached another level in the tenth
and unloaded on Johnson. The referee stopped the fight at 2:09 in the
tenth. Johnson was not happy with the decision and continued to contend
that he was not going down.
 |
Johnson & Stevens
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
Johnson
was actually leading on the scorecards convincingly and Curtis needed
the knockout in order to win. Through nine rounds the judges had
Johnson up 87-84, 89-82 and 89-82.
Stevens
said, "I didn't set it up the way I was supposed to set it up. He was
smothering me. He did what he was supposed to do. He came in here and
smothered me."
 |
Tureano Johnson
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
An
upset Johnson said, "It is a privilege to be here. It was unfortunate
that I didn't get the win. Curtis Stevens is a great fighter. The
stoppage was an unfair one but I accept it. I worked hard and I won
every round. I worked hard for this. I want a rematch immediately."
Kathy
Duva said, "Johnson, your stock just went way up. I would love to
schedule a rematch for both these fights on HBO because these fights
were unbelievable."
 |
Dixon Knocks Down Torres
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
Junior
welterweights Evincii Dixon (4-4-1, 2 KOs) of Lancaster, PA and Edgardo
Torres (2-3, 2 KOs) of Vineland, NJ squared off in the last undercard
fight of the evening. Dixon came out of the gate guns blazing and
knocked down Torres in the first. Torres lasted 2:45 into the second
round before the referee called him out and declared Dixon the winner by
TKO. Dixon said, "This is boxing. I see you hurt and I am going to
attack."
 |
Lee Knocks Down Lewison
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
In
a match-up of undefeated light heavyweights, Notre Dame alum Mike Lee
(12-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Peter Lewison (6-1, 5 KOs) in the sixth round.
Lewison was bleeding near his upper lip in the fifth and Lee knocked
him down in the sixth before shutting him down at 1:39. Lee showed his
Notre Dame pride by sporting blue and gold trunks/gloves and definitely
had the crowd on his side.
 |
Acevedo & Campbell
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
In
an eight round light heavyweight war Roberto Acevedo of Puerto Rico
(8-2, 5 KOs) and Lee Campbell of Laurenburg, NC (7-0, 3 KOs) put on a
show for the crowd at the Liacouras Center. Acevedo fell to Campbell
via majority decision with one judge scoring the bout 76-76, and the
other two judges scoring the bout 77-75 and 78-74 in favor of Campbell.
Roberto Acevedo suffered a cut under his left eye but was able to
finish the fight.
Roberto
said, "I know we had a good fight but could not come away with the
victory. Campbell is a very strong guy and the fighting was intense.
Now back to the drawing board, concentrate and train for the next step
coming back stronger. I hope to be back soon with the help of God."
 |
Pryor & Barrera
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
In
a six round light heavyweight match-up Cuban-born Sullivan Barrera
(11-0, 6 KOs) remained undefeated as he overcame Washington, DC native
Larry Pryor (7-8, 4 KOs) via unanimous decision with all three judges
scoring the fight 60-53. Barrera dominated the entire exchange and
knocked down Pryor in the fifth round. Barrera said, "I feel good. I am
very happy. 11 wins is good. It's perfect. I am so happy."
 |
Cherry & Osiobe
Photo Credits: Rich Graessle/Main Events |
Edner
Cherry (32-6-2, 17 KOs) did not disappoint in his much-anticipated
return to the ring after a year-long layoff. The 32 year old Cherry
defeated his opponent by UD in the first fight of the evening, an eight
round super featherweight match-up with Robert Osiobe (14-9-4, 6 KOs) of
Ughelli, Nigeria. The officials scored the fight 77-75, 79-73 and
78-74 all in favor of the veteran Cherry.
*Note: All records have been updated to include tonight's results.
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