50 Cent held his 2nd annual Birthday Bash at Foxwoods on Wednesday night, playing host to a special mid-week edition of Friday Night Fights, except it all didn’t go quite as planned. Filipino Michael Farenas scored a surprising TKO victory over previously unbeaten Mark Davis, landing himself an upcoming title shot in the process.
Farenas simply had too much firepower for Davis to handle. He started pouring it on early, and Davis didn’t have the artillery to keep Farenas off of him, nor did he have the experience and savvy to find a way to outmaneuver him. Davis was cut by the end of the 1st round, and seemed overwhelemd at times. He had a few strong moments in rounds 3 and 4, and looked to be on the verge of reestablishing himself in the fight. But Farenas wouldn’t be denied, and continued to damage Davis, at times pummeling him and dominating the sessions.
In the 8th, with the accumulation of damage and ongoing bombardment, the referee jumped in to wave off the action. Farenas improves to 39-4-4, with 32 KOs. Davis is now 18-1, with 5 KOs.
Also on the card, Billy Dib defeated Alberto Garza via unanimous decision, improving to 37-3, 21 KOs. This was a rough and foul filled affair, with Garza having a point deducted for low blows. But Dib proved to be a superior fighter and was able to get past the rough stuff and win the day.
On the undercard, two of the brightest young stars on the DiBella Entertainment roster, Junior “Sugar Boy” Younan and Louis “Cruise Control” Cruz, stayed unbeaten, winning dominant unanimous decisions in separate bouts.
The 18-year-old phenom Younan was taken the distance for the first time in his young career, scoring a shutout over tough-as-nails Azamat Umarzoda. The super middleweight Younan got in some much-needed rounds, having previously scored four consecutive first-round knockouts in two minutes or less. Younan showed the total package, displaying lightning quick hands and combination punching to both the body and head, as well as amazing footwork and defensive movement.
It was an impressive showing for the Brooklyn-native, who improved to a perfect 5-0, 4KO’s, with the four-round unanimous decision. Younan will be back in action on an upcoming DiBella Entertainment Broadway Boxing card this summer in NYC.
The Bronx-native Cruz lived up to his nickname cruising to a six-round unanimous decision over Ryan Picou in their super lightweight matchup. Cruz displayed a piston-like jab that kept Picou off balance for much of the fight. Cruz pressed the action throughout and was the much busier of the two, as Picou was content to stay on the outside, looking to score with single shots. In the end, all three judges scored the bout in Cruz’s favor, with scorecards of 59-55 twice, and 58-56. With the win, Cruz improved to a perfect 8-0, 4KO’s, and, like Younan, will be featured on an upcoming DiBella Entertainment Broadway Boxing card this summer in NYC.
From the CES stable, female super bantamweight Shelito Vincent of New London improved her record to 12-0 with a majority decision win over Nydia Feliciano (7-6-3) of the Bronx while New Haven welterweight Jimmy Williams upped his record to 7-0-1 and won for the second time in five weeks by beating fellow Bronx native Stephen Owusu (8-6, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision.
Similar to their first go-round in January of 2013, Vincent and Feliciano traded blows over six hard rounds with Vincent earning the narrow victory by scores of 59-55, 58-56, 57-57. The first meeting between the two ended with a unanimous decision win for Vincent, 59-55 and 58-56 on the other two scorecards.
Williams continued his impressive run in a six-round bout against the battle-tested Owusu, dropping his opponent in the second round en route to a 59-54, 60-53, 57-56. Williams is now unbeaten in his last three fights since a draw against Greg Jackson in 2013. The streak includes a first-round knockout win over fellow Connecticut fighter Christian Lao in May.
