David Whitmire, Jordan Roach score undercard wins in Maryland

HANOVER, Maryland – Welterweight prospect David Whitmire got his first eight-rounder under his belt, and he had to work from bell to bell while outpointing Jose Luis Sanchez.

The verdict was unanimous – 80-72, 79-73, 77-75 – but it wasn’t easy. And that is a good thing for Whitmire, who needed a test, and not just the extra six minutes of action on the undercard at the Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland.

Sanchez has made a career of taking on prospects. He lost decisions to Xander Zayas, Jahi Tucker and Santiago Dominguez, and was stopped in eight rounds by Avious Griffin. But he also upset the 10-0 Rashad Shahid and the 9-0 Eric Tudor, and held the 13-0 Justin Lacey-Pierce to a draw.

Whitmire had competed in three six-rounders prior to this, two of them going the distance. Earlier this year, he told BoxingScene about his desire to go longer, and to work more on running his opponents into his shots.

The aggressive Sanchez provided plenty of opportunities. In the opening round, he ducked under Whitmire’s jab to get inside, or throw looping shots while closing the distance. However, once Sanchez was within range, he tended not to remain there.

In the second round, Whitmire hurt Sanchez with a counter. Whitmire picked his spots without going wild, knowing that Sanchez could still be dangerous, and that there was still plenty of fight left if Sanchez recovered. Sanchez made it out of the second, and after a ringside physician checked on him, was allowed back out for the third.

Whitmire scored with another good counter right early in the third round. He still left himself in range sometimes and ate shots from Sanchez as a result. But the most damage done to Whitmire in the third came from a clash of heads. Whitmire took a moment to compose himself before continuing. Sanchez, sensing his window, came forward even more aggressively than before.

Although Sanchez’s previous two bouts were up at junior middleweight, Whitmore was the bigger man – 5-foot-11, four inches taller than Sanchez, and his punches were more impactful. And his chin held up when Sanchez landed a good right to the jaw early in the fifth. Whitmire, nicknamed “The Bodysnatcher,” targeted Sanchez’s midsection in the fifth round, and Sanchez returned the favor.

The two men exchanged often in the sixth and seventh rounds, with Whitmire no longer as mobile as he got deeper into the fight. But he passed this test. The 21-year-old resident of Suitland, Maryland, moves to 12-0 (8 KOs). He will return to the gym, watch the footage, and work on how he can improve for the next time out.

Sanchez, a 33-year-old from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is now 14-7-2 (4 KOs). He will remain a solid opponent for up-and-coming prospects.

With famed trainer Brian “Bomac” McIntyre in his corner, junior welterweight Charles “Lolo” Harris capably and comfortably pot-shotted Blake Fialka for six rounds, winning by unanimous decision. The judges all saw it 60-54.

Harris, of Rialto, California, is now 12-1 (7 KOs). Fialka, of Schereville, Indiana, is now 2-3-1 (1 KO).

Junior bantamweight prospect Jordan Roach – younger brother of former junior lightweight titleholder Lamont Roach Jnr – stopped Holman Matamoros in the first round.

Roach had Matamoros hurt early with a dedicated body attack and then dropped him with a good blow to the midsection. Matamoros was still hurt when he got up, and Roach’s follow-up attack soon had his outmatched foe back on the canvas. Matamoros rose with the body language of a man who was done fighting, and the referee rightly waved the fight off. The end came at 1:55.

Roach, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, improves to 8-0 (3 KOs). Matamoros, of Matagalpa, Nicaragua, drops to 2-2 (0 KOs). 

Ramon Ordonez scored a quick win in his professional debut, dropping Carlos Davila Villalobos for the count with a body shot in the opening round. The end came at 2:20.

Ordonez, a featherweight from Newark, New Jersey, is now 1-0 (1 KO). Villalobos, of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, is now 1-2 (0 KOs).

Highly touted junior middleweight prospect Benjamin Johnson fought to a no-contest with late replacement Adrian Lescay Baro. A clash of heads in the second round left Baro bleeding and in distress. The referee immediately waved the fight off at the 2:15 mark. 

Johnson, of Springdale, Maryland, remains 7-0 (7 KOs), while Baro, a Cuban fighter living in Miami, Florida, is still 0-4.

Junior lightweight Jay Stancil III won the second fight of his comeback, knocking Nicholas Daniels down once and shutting him out by scores of 40-35.

Stancil, of Washington, D.C., spent nearly four years out of the ring before returning in February. He is now 5-0 (1 KO). Daniels, who hails from Michigan, is now 0-2.

Bantamweight prospect Rianna Rios remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over a game Luz Elena Aguilar Ventura. The scores were 60-54 (twice) and 59-55. 

Rios, of San Antonio, Texas, moves to 11-0 (2 KOs). Aguilar Ventura, of Oaxaca, Mexico, fell to 9-12-2 (2 KOs).

In the show’s opener, lightweight Eric Hernandez battled back from a first-round knockdown and won every round after that, taking a unanimous decision over Ezequiel Palaversic. All three judges scored it 58-55.

Hernandez, of Ashburn, Virginia, is now 14-2 (6 KOs). Palaversic, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is now 9-6-1 (5 KOs).

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.