In a 12-round heavyweight war that lived up to the hype, Amir Mansour (23-2-1, 16 KOs) was able to take a majority decision (114-114, 117-111, 115-113) over Travis Kauffman (31-2, 23 KOs) in the main event of Premier Boxing Champions: The Next Round on Bounce from Santander Arena in Reading, PA.
In round two, Kauffman buckled Mansour with a hard right on the inside. The two fighters started round four with bad intentions as they each landed hard shots on the inside. Kauffman switched back and forth between orthodox and southpaw stances in an attempt to befuddle the southpaw Mansour.
By the closing rounds, both fighters began to grind out a hard-fought battle on the inside. In rounds nine and 10, it was Mansour who had more pep in his step, landing several hard blows to close out round 10.
Round 12 was a classic heavyweight slugfest, as Kauffman and Mansour stood toe-to-toe landing leather on each other for the whole three-minute period, with Mansour doing just enough to get the win.
Televised coverage opened with Chordale Booker (6-0, 3 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York getting a unanimous decision (59-55, 59-55, 58-56) over Moshea Aleem (4-1-1, 2 KOs) of Richmond, Virginia in a super welterweight bout.
The co-main event featured two-time welterweight world champion Kermit Cintron (39-5-3, 30 KOs) and David Grayton (15-1-1, 11 KOs) fighting to a technical majority draw after Cintron was deemed unable to continue due to a cut over his right eye.
In round five, Grayton floored Cintron with an overhand left. Later in the round, Grayton nailed Cintron with an unintentional headbutt to the right eye, which opened up the cut that led to the end of the bout. Action was stopped at 2:53 of round five.
Here is what the fighters had to say following their bouts:
TRAVIS KAUFFMAN
“I got robbed. It’s plain and simple. It was a good fight, but I thought I won by three rounds.
“He landed a couple of shots, but I clearly outworked him. I thought I landed more and did enough to get the win.”
AMIR MANSOUR
“They thought I was old and would tire down the stretch, but I am mentally strong.
“I give Travis (Kauffman) credit. He stood in there with me tonight. But as I waited for the scores, I knew I won the fight. These were honorable judges.
“I want (Deontay) Wilder next. I am 44-years-old. I want my shot. They should give me my shot and try to get me out of the way.”
KERMIT CINTRON
“I was winning the fight. Then he started to apply pressure and he caught me when I was off balance.
“He kept coming in with his head, and he finally caught me good with it. I was fine and wanted to continue, but the doctor decided to stop the fight.”
DAVID GRAYTON
“I won that fight. I think he could have continued.
“I was in control of the fight, but I was in his hometown, and you know how that goes.
CHORDALE BOOKER
“It was a good fight. I needed this fight to see where I am. And I wanted to fight another undefeated fighter. It was a step up on national television.
“I give myself a B- for my performance tonight. My movement was good, but I did not sit down on my power enough. It was a good learning experience though. I could not ask for a better platform to perform on.”
MOSHEA ALEEM
“I did not do enough. I waited too long to throw my punches and he outworked me.”
