“MINNESOTA ICE” ABELL CHILLS OCHIENG IN BLAINE

Heavyweight Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell (33-9, 31 KO’s) of Coon Rapids, MN stopped Raymond “King Kong” Ochieng (26-21-3, 21 KO’s) of Minneapolis, MN at :21 into round two on Saturday night at the Blaine Sports Complex in Blaine, MN. Abell knocked Ochieng to the canvas with a straight left hand shortly after round one began and then again just before the round ended. Ochieng was in serious trouble but was able to regroup between rounds. Ochieng came out swinging to start round two but Abell’s left hand was too sharp and powerful as another straight right to the head from the southpaw Abell put dropped Ochieng hard in a corner. Referee Scott Erickson stopped his count and waived the fight off :21 seconds into the second round. The 35 year old Abell’s career seems rejuvenated following his second consecutive TKO win. The pro Abell crowd had a reported attendance of 1,867.

Cruiserweight Ramon Luis Nicolas (10-2, 6 KO’s) of Miami, Florida defeated Darnell Boone (23-24-4, 12 KO’s) of Atlanta, Georgia by unanimous decision over 8 rounds of action in the co-featured bout of the night The first half of the fight was a chess match but the action intensified by round six. Both fighters were on there toes, moving, and throwing heavy punches but it was Nicolas that pulled away as the fight went on. Nicolas hurt Boone in the eighth and final round with a left hand to the head but he was unable to put Boone in serious trouble before the end of the fight. Scores read 79-73, 78-74, 79-73 in favor of Nicolas.

Martez Williamson (3-16) of Akron, Ohio upset 47 year old local favorite “Wolfman” Marty Lindquist (14-10, 11 KOs) of Blaine, MN by winning a four round unanimous decision. The awkward and unorthodox style of Williamson allowed him to outwork Lindquist from a distance for the majority of the fight. Lindquist had his moments as well despite being out of the ring for over three years prior to this bout. Williamson has now won 2 out of his last three bouts after starting out his career with a 1 win-15 loss record. The final scores read 40-36, 39-37, 39-37 in favor of Williamson.

Light heavyweight Irosvani Duvergel (2-0, 2 KO) of Miami, Florida used a vicious body attack to stop Fred Thomas (1-15-2) of Davenport, Iowa at 1:16 of the first round. Thomas swung gamely at Duvergel but Duvergel was calm and composed until jumping at the opening to land a body-head shot combination that dropped Thomas to the canvas. Referee Mark Nelson called a stop to the fight with Thomas remaining on the canvas and not ready to continue.

Uriel Lara (2-0, 2 KOs), of Coon Rapids, MN landed unanswered and heavy body shots to Desmond Johnson (0-3) of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on his way to picking up the stoppage win at :55 into the first round.