Yorgey Wins Tough Battle in Return Home

Boxing Results from The Valley Forge Casino -  March 15, 2013

By Tony Penecale (Ringside)

There is a great scene in the cinematic classic Rocky II when Rocky Balboa was excited to fight at the Philadelphia Spectrum since it was only 10 minutes from his South Philadelphia residence.

In a situation of life imitating art, Bridgeport PA’s Harry Joe Yorgey only had to travel approximately 10 minutes for his comeback fight last Friday at the Valley Forge Casino in King of Prussia, PA.

Less than two months after losing on a televised Showtime card, Yorgey, 159.5 lbs, moved up to middleweight and had to dig down deep to outlast the rugged Julius Kennedy, 159, Windsor Mill, MD.

Yorgey boxed well in the opening round, using his jab to control the action in the center of the ring and befuddle Kennedy, who spent most the round swinging at air before landing several hard punches late in the round.  Yorgey maintained the advantage throughout the 2nd round with his quicker hands and combinations while Kennedy started to assert aggressive pressure.

Kennedy’s physicality began taking its toll on Yorgey in the 3rd and 4th rounds, bulling him against the ropes and landing uppercuts and hooks.  With the fight seemingly even, it was Yorgey’s conditioning and experience that regained the momentum, in the 5th round, as Kennedy started visibly breathing heavily.

It was Kennedy that now found himself pinned against the ropes, doubled over after Yorgey ended the 5th round with several hard body shots.  The 6th and final round featured several back-and-forth exchanges, carried by Yorgey’s superior work rate.

The judges turned in a split verdict with Pierre Benoist favoring Kennedy 58-56, Joseph Pasquale favoring Yorgey 58-56, and James Condon scoring for Yorgey by a ridiculous tally of 60-54.  Fight News Unlimited scored the bout 58-56 in favor of Yorgey.

Yorgey improves to 26-2-1 (12) while Kennedy falls to a deceptive 7-4-1 (3).

The main undercard bout saw Philadelphia prospect Naim Nelson put his undefeated record on the line against spoiler Georgi Kevlishvili.

Nelson, 133.5, Philadelphia, opened by boxing patiently behind an educated jab, forcing Kevlishvili, 133.5, Philadelphia by way of Georgia (country), on the defensive.  After dominating the first two rounds, Nelson found more success in the 3rd as Kevlishvili tried to become more aggressive, allowing Nelson the opportunity to land effective body punches.

Kevlishvili’s best round was the 5th as he was able to land several hard right hands before Nelson regained the momentum with quick combinations at the bell.  Nelson carried the final three rounds, landing sharper punches over the outgunned Kevlishvili.

The judges were unanimous in declaring Nelson with winner by scores of 79-73 and 80-72 twice.  

Nelson remains undefeated at 10-0 (1) while Kevlishvili sees his record fall to 12-5 (3).

In other bouts:

Tevon Farmer did his best Adrien Broner impersonation, dancing his way to the ring, sporting sunglasses that he likely needed to shade his eyes from the glare reflecting from his sequined outfit.  His showing in the ring did not equal the hype as he boxed cautiously, sometimes blatantly running away, against the slower Esteban Rodriguez.

Farmer, 135.5, Philadelphia, had no problem controlling the pace against Rodriguez, 135.5, Lebanon PA.  But the crowd was expecting more and showed displeasure throughout the bout.

After six tepid rounds, Farmer was awarded the decision by all three judges by the identical score of 60-54.

Farmer improves to 9-4-1 (1) while Rodriguez drops to 6-6-1 (1).

Jerome Rodriguez, using his height advantage and slick southpaw style, looked more like a matador avoiding the bull-like rushes of Rafael Montalvo, over six closely-contested rounds.

Rodriguez, 144, Allentown PA, boxed well early, thwarting Montalvo’s aggressiveness.  Even as Rodriguez showed signs of fatigue over the last two rounds, Montalvo was unable to sustain consistent pressure, missing more than he landed.

Joseph Pasquale scored the bout even 57-57 but was outvoted by Pierre Benoist and James Condron, both who scored for Rodriguez by the score of 59-55.

Rodriguez improves to 3-0-1 (1) while Montalvo falls to 2-3 (2).

In an exciting matchup, Travis Thompson and Joshua Arocha slugged it out over four grueling andhotly-contested rounds.

Thompson, 129, Pottstown PA attacked Arocha, 129, Vineland NJ, and stuck to him like Velcro, throwing hooks and uppercuts to the body and head.  While Arocha gamely countered, he was clearly outworked in the opening stanza.

Arocha had more success in the 2nd round, countering inside Thompson’s wide attack.  Arocha’s success carried over into the 3rd round where he stunned Thompson with several counter hooks.  

The 4th round saw Arocha land several crisp combos but fail to press the action, allowing Thompson to again get in close and attack with hooks to the head and body.

Joseph Pasquale scored in favor of Arocha 39-37 while James Condron turned in a curious score of 40-36 for Thompson.  Pierre Benoist saw the bout even scoring 38-38, rendering the contest a draw and setting up a possible rematch for the next show in Valley Forge in June.

Thompson is now 4-9-2 (3) while Arocha is 3-6-3 (2).

Sammy Quinones was aggressive in systematically dissecting Korey Sloane over four rounds.

Quinones, 142.25, York PA, effectively countered Sloane, 141, Philadelphia, in the opening round, forcing him to box behind a high guard and neutralizing the taller man’s jab.

Quinones focused on the body in the 2nd round and clearly sapped Sloane’s strength and while the bout was sloppy over the final two rounds, it was Quinones that forced the action, landing the harder punches.

Joseph Pasquale scored in favor of Quinones 39-37.  Both Pierre Benoist and James Condron also favored Quinones by the identical score of 40-36.

Quinones improves to 2-1 (1) while Sloane drops to 2-6.

In the opening bout of the evening, debuting Sultahn Staton broke down Kenneth Brown, keeping him in the winless column.

Staton, 137.5, Philadelphia, applied controlled pressure as soon as the bout started, keeping Brown, 139, Philadelphia, on the defense.  Staton became more confident as the round progressed, landing several right hands, followed with hard body shots, while Brown was content to retreat and paw with his jab.

Things only got worse for Brown in the 2nd round as Staton landed solid right hands with more regularity.  Brown decided that staying on his stool was the best option, surrendering before the start of the 3rd round.

With the TKO win, Staton wins his pro debut and now sits at 1-0 (1) while Brown remains winless at 0-2.

The event, promoted by Marshall Kauffman’s King Promotions, was a successful event with approximately 2,000 fans packing the ballroom.  With the success of the initial event at the new Valley Forge Casino, the follow up show is slated for June 15, set to feature Harry Yorgey again, along with a possible rematch of the Thompson-Arocha bout.