DeAndrey Abron's jab hits its mark against a tough Manu N'Toh
at Fitzgeralds Casino Saturday night – Photo by JD Meredith

Abron Outlasts N’toh at the Fitz! (5-21-06)
By Jake Donovan – MemphisBoxing.com
Huge Photo Gallery Now Online!

Tunica, MS – It wasn’t easy, nor was it pretty. But in the end, light heavyweight hopeful Deandrey Abron did enough to outlast a determined Manu N’toh in a free-swinging six-round main event at a sold-out Fitzgeralds Casino in Tunica, Mississippi.

Fighting for the seventh time in less than a year, Abron started out intending to put on a boxing display. That plan lasted until midway through the first round, when Abron dropped N’toh with a picture perfect one-two. N’toh beat the count, but was on rubbery legs as action resumed. Abron wisely took his time, avoiding the temptation to finish off his foe.

“I was surprised that I hurt him as early as I did,” Abron told memphisboxing.com after the fight. “My plan was to box, and even with the knockdown I tried my hardest to stick to the script. I never sensed that he was on the verge of being knocked out.”

His instincts were confirmed toward rounds end, where N’toh recovered enough to drop a flush left hook on Abron’s jaw. Abron took the punch well, coming back with a 1-2 upstairs at the bell, and a body shot just after.

Substitute trainer Malcolm Terry sensed a possibly shift in momentum, and urged N’toh (16-12, 9KO) to keep the pressure on his taller, thinner foe. N’toh listened, landing a wild left hook early in the second during a wild exchange in Abron’s corner. Abron’s legs buckled, needing the ropes to keep him upright. Referee Randy Phillips correctly ruled it a knockdown.

Unlike Abron in the opening round, N’toh looked to end matters immediately after the knockdown. He was just short with a right hand, but needed to clinch in order to maintain his balance. N’toh remained the aggressor, but Abron was able to regain his composure enough to turn the tide back in his favor by rounds end.

The third round featured multiple momentum shifts, but was dominated by clinching. Abron switched between southpaw and orthodox throughout the round, and also mixed up boxing and banging. His body attack was effective early, his jab controlling the action from the outside midway through the round. It was when Abron stopped jabbing that N’toh was able to rally back every time, mainly with right hands. A big overhand right rocked Abron late in the round, but N’toh’s suspect conditioning hindered his chances of following up with anything significant.

Rounds for and five were more of the same; Abron establishing a body attack early, N’toh looking for any opportunity to land a tide-turning right hand. In between, referee Randy Phillips would have his hands full in breaking up clinches seemingly every ten seconds. It wasn’t on the level of John Ruiz, or even last week’s Ricky Hatton-Luis Collazo stinker, but enough to prevent the fighters from mounting a sustained attack.

In addition to the clinches, both fighters fought outside the rules. Several Abron rabbit punches went unnoticed by the referee. Perhaps more attention was being paid to N’toh’s repeatedly hitting on the break, which resulted in a point deduction in the fifth.

N’toh looked to make up the difference in the sixth and final round, fighting like he believed a knockout was the only way he would win. He had Abron hurt on several occasions, but Deandrey proved to be resourceful enough to survive the best N’toh had to offer and ultimately cross the finish line.

In the end, the judges were unanimous in their call, though their scores (58-54, 57-54, 58-53) seemed a little wider than many in the sold-out crowd believed. Memphisboxing.com agreed with the patrons, scoring the contest 56-55 for Abron, who improves to 8-1 (5KO) with the hard-fought win.

Afterward, the former Army soldier and amateur standout insisted he wanted no less than more of the same in the immediate future.

“I’d prefer to keep progressing in my competition level,” said Abron. “I want to come back here next month (June 30), and hope that my opponent is at least on this level, if not better. The only way I’ll improve is by improving my competition, and therefore improving on whatever mistakes I make in the previous fight. Expect a better Deandrey Abron in the ring next month.”

The crowd can expect another full night of action at the Fitz.

Undercard: Undefeated local lightweight Jose “Pepe” Rubio (5-0, 4KO) gave the crowd a thrill, dominating Alabama’s Anthony Middlebrooks (4-2, 4KO) throughout their two round affair. Middlebrooks, 136 lb., enjoyed a brief moral victory by not only surviving the first round but also remaining upright through the three-minute frame.

Rubio changed that in hurry, sending Middlebrooks’ mouthpiece flying early in the second. Middlebrooks laid defenseless along the ropes, absorbing a beating bad enough to send him crashing outside of the ring and nearly into the ring announcer’s lap at ringside. Middlebrooks beat the count, and Rubio proceeded to beat the body before forcing his hapless foe into submission, 2:57 into the second round.

Red-hot teenaged newcomer Ira Terry opened the show with a dominant points win over late-replacement Omar Ballard in their four-round lightweight battle. Terry scored an opening round knockdown that was never called by the referee, and was successful throughout the contest with right hands and body work when he remembered to go downstairs. The Columbus (MS)-based Ballard played possum on occasion, looking to catch Terry with sneak right hands. Otherwise, he offered an awkward style, focusing more on grappling than boxing.

Big right hands by Terry led to Ballard twice spitting out his mouthpiece, the second time resulting in a point deduction. Final scores were 39-36 (2x) and 40-35 for Terry, who rolls to 4-0 (2KO). The 19-year old Terry graduates from high school on Tuesday, and had the support of most his teachers on hand to cheer him on. Ballard, who recently returned from a tour in Iraq, drops his third straight, falling to 4-7 (2KO) overall.

A trio of heavyweight bouts clogged up the middle of the show, from a girth standpoint.

Coldwater (MS) big boy Ray Lunsford (18-5-2, 7KO) and Oklahoma journeyman David Robinson (23-53-4, 12KO) brawled to a four-round draw. Scores were 38-38 across the board.
Marvin Hunt may want to consider a new career, as the once-durable Jackson (TN)-based journeyman can no longer take a punch. Unbeaten Johnnie White (St. Martinsville, LA 9-0, 8KO) blitzed through Hunt as if he weren’t even in there, dropping him twice in just over two minutes of action before Randy Phillips waved off the bout. Hunt (11-16, 4KO) has now been stopped in his last six contests.

Crowd favorite Adam “Swamp Donkey” Richards (Murfreesboro, TN 12-1, 10KO) was offered minimal resistance from hapless foe Ronnie “Big Bear” Smith (7-37, 7KO) in their scheduled four-rounder. After a feel-‘em out opening round, Richards went to work in the second. A big right hand froze the 317 lb Smith, with a follow-up right sending the big Texan to the canvas. Smith made no effort to get up, receiving the full count 1:00 into the second.

Stars in the crowd included former two-time featherweight champ and recent Prize Fight Promotions signee Freddie Norwood and the ultra-talented undefeated Peterson brothers, Anthony and Lamont. Norwood and Lamont will appear on Prize Fight Promotions’ June 30 card at the Fitz (as will Deandrey Abron), while Anthony – who was on hand to provide color commentary for UPN30 – will throw down on the under card of the middleweight super fight between champ Jermain Taylor and Winky Wright next month in Memphis.

The full night of action was presented by Prize Fight Promotions.

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