Louisville, KY-- Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing, along with Louisville’s Top Knotch Boxing, put on an exciting card Saturday night at the historical Davis Arena, headlined by hometown favorite and upcoming lightweight, Carlos Dixon, obtaining a brutal knockout, as well as a change of hands for the women’s WBA Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title, with Christina Linardatou stunning Alycia Baumgardner to grapple the crown.
Dixon came out to a wild scene from the capacity crown in the birthplace of “The Greatest”, Muhammad Ali. The first round was all Dixon (4-0, 2 KO) applying pressure and landing solid shots to the body and the occasional right upstairs to his opponent, Darel Harris of Sarasota, Florida. Harris (1-4-1, 1 KO), showed signs of life in the second, landing a couple solid shots to the chin of Carlos, however this seemed to awaken the hometown hero, as Dixon returned a nasty straight right that dropped the defense completely of his foe, setting him up for a wide open left uppercut that put Harris out cold. The ref immediately waved the fight off, declaring Dixon the winner via TKO at 0:34 into round 2.
In the night’s co-feature, Alycia Baumgardner (6-1, 4 KO), put her WBA Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title on the line against an incredibly tough challenger from Greece in Christina Linardatou. Baumgardner is known for her quick hands and precise punching, however Linardatou came in from the opening bell determined to keep the champ on her back foot. The challenger (10-1, 5 KO), started the match swinging furiously and landing thudding punches to the body and chin of Baumgardner. By the third round, Baumgardner seemed to be finding a groove and landing consistent jabs and left hooks when Linardatou would rush in, however Christina turned the tide again in the fourth and fifth by landing more swinging lefts, stopping Alycia in her tracks, but never really seeming to stun her or keep her from her gameplan.
The pace through rounds 6 through 8 slowed considerably, as both fighters had a massive punch output and had taken a good amount of damage, with the challenger bruising the left eye of Baumgardner in the 7th. Both women came out for the final round and laid it all on the line, ending with a standing ovation from the sold out arena. The judges, who had a tough job on their hands for this fight, ruled the contest a split decision, which was fitting due to the competitive nature of the fight. Judge Carlo Kellem scored the bout 77-75 for the champion, being overruled by judges Amy Evans and Kent Hendrickson, who both had the contest at 77-75 for the new champion, Christina Linardatou. Fightful.com had the fight scored 77-75 for Baumgardner. Both women showed tremendous heart and could be serious players in the division.
Other notable results on the card featured hard-hitting Cruiserweight, Joshua Temple (7-0, 6 KO) dismantling opponent Alexander Brunson in the third round. Temple wobbled and dropped the outmatched Brunson multiple times, with a knockdown in the first stanza, 2 more in the second (another knockdown ruled a push), and finally the massive right hand that ended the night in the third round. Temple could use some work on his defense and foot work, but the power and raw skills are undeniable, and he should be a cruiserweight to watch in the near future.
Janelson Bocachicha (11-0, 8 KO), stopped foe Noel Esqueda in the second round, using a sharp right hand to drop Esqueda and drop him to 8-6-2 as a professional. “Marvelis” Marquis Moore also took home a unanimous decision against veteran Demetrius Walker (8-21-2), showing power by dropping Walker in the second and outpointing him for the remainder of the fight.
