Matchroom's "Big Apple" card, held at Madison Square Garden's Theater, was busy and loud, featuring local undefeated champion, Olympic gold medalist champ on the rise, a pair of young heavyweights, all looking to make their statements in front of a loud New York crowd.
Richardson Hitchins maintained his IBF super-lightweight title in a fight that became one-directional after rounds one and two. Dialing in his long jab and hidden counters, Hitchins started putting it all together and breaking down George Kambosos Jr by the end of the fight, and then, at the end of round 8 he caught Kambosos with a left hook to the body which floored the former unified lightweight king. Kambosos got up, but was in no condition to fight because referee Michael Griffin stepped in to stop the fight at 2:33 of round 8.
Andy Cruz put on a master class in an IBF lightweight eliminator, knocking down Hironori Mishiro twice in round three with slick combinations and then put him down for good at 1:13 of round five, with bursts of shots. Cruz is now 6-0 and moving closer to title shot.
Olympic super heavyweight silver medalist Teremoana Teremoana needed only 2:28 to blast Aleem Whitfield in their heavyweight fight. A couple of good left hooks and a right hand had Whitfield pinned on the ropes, and referee David Fields had no choice but to stop the fight.
20-year-old super-feather Zaquin Moses shook off some early counters, stunned Carl Rogers with a body shot, and then knocked him down with a right hook in round four. When Rogers went down again after a flurry of punches, the referee pulled in at 1:51.
Junior-middle prospect Nishant Dev boxed in spurts and dealt with awkward angles by Josue Silva en route to a 60-54 sweep on all three cards, though he looked gassed in the late rounds, and should be careful he took a bit of a beating and too many counters more than team would want.
Teenage super-bantam Adam Maca made a booming debut, knocking Rafael Castillo down in round two, then knocking Castillo down again while forcing referee Arthur Mercante Jr. to stop the fight following a flurry against the ropes at 1:29.
Image Credit: Getty Images