BOXING: OWENS STOPS HILL, FULL MNPLS RESULTS

Circle of Disciplines Ve Shawn Owens of Minneapolis, MN improved his record (8-0, 8 KO’s) on September 16th in Minneapolis, MN after stopping Crystal, Minnesota’s Damion Hill (4-12) in the opening round. COD and PMG 360 Promotions put together the action which took place at El Nuevo Rodeo Restaurante. Four other pro bouts took place as well as amateur boxing action.

The quick and decisive victory is a meaningful one for

Owens. Hill is a durable and tough fighter that has some big wins and solid performances in both boxing and MMA.

Owens told Minnesota Fight News afterwards that Hill began the fight throwing jabs and a straight left that backed him to a corner. Punches were exchanged and that’s when he started to use his range and lateral movement to avoid Hill’s power hand (left). Owens slipped another left and caught hill with a right to the head. From there, Owens pressured Hill with body shots, ripping a left to the body followed by an uppercut to the head that sent Hill to a knee.
Owens was calm and composed while continuing the body assault before referee Scott Erickson waived the fight off at 2:33 of the opening round. With the win, Owens inches closer to the talked about showdown with Minnesota State Jr. Middleweight champion Antonio Johnson.

Former Minnesota State Bantamweight champion Jonathan “J-Blaze” Perez (12-1-1, 7 KO’s) of

Minneapolis, MN and DeWayne Wisdom (7-36-2, 3 KO’s) fought to a six round draw in the co-main event. On paper, it’s a surprising result that the local favorite Perez didn’t come away with the win. But Wisdom almost strictly competes and does well against prospect level fighters. Also, the two met at 130 pounds which is above Perez’s natural fighting weight. What’s not surprising to fans that are familiar with Perez and Wisdom is that both fighters traded punches and entertained the crowd with back and forth action. Both fighters are known to leave everything in the ring when they fight. All three judges scored the fight 37-37 resulting in a draw.

Afterwards, the 25 year old Perez released a statement to his fans discussing the decision and his immediate plans.

Top Minnesota mixed martial arts prospect Cameron Gilliam (1-0) of Saint Paul, Mn defeated amateur boxing standout Xavier Hayden (0-1) by split decision over four rounds of action. It was both men’s pro debut. Hayden brought vastly more boxing rounds to the ring as far as experience goes. However, Gilliam was viewed by some as the more experienced fighter heading into the cruiserweight fight because of his amateur and professional MMA background. Gilliam also has competed in some high level kickboxing bouts.
The first round was a little sloppy, but Gilliam took over in rounds two, three, and four behind a high guard, jabs, and straight rights. Hayden threw some impressive combinations but appeared to be a little gun shy. The score cards went down to the level of activity, and Gilliam was the busier of the two along with landing the bigger shots. Gilliam put an explanation point on the fight by scoring a flash knockdown in the final round. Scores read 39-36, 38-37 for Gilliam and 39-38 for Hayden.

Giezwa Hobbs (1-0) of Minneapolis, MN won a featherweight bout against Saint Paul’s Anteneh Kidanwold (1-1). The first round was close but Kidanwold landed slightly more effectively. Hobbs settled in after the first round and found his groove over the next three rounds. Kidanwold kept the fight competitive despite Hobbs taking the rounds in what turned out to be an entertaining bout. Final scores read 40-36, 40-36, 39-37.

Alexis Gomez (2-0) of Minneapolis, MN stopped William Davis (0-4-1) of Wood River, Illinois at 2:34 of the second round by TKO (referee Mark Nelson stopped the fight).