Heavyweight contender Otto Wallin returned back to the win column.
Wallin scored a knockout win over Onoriode Ehwarieme in the opening round Friday night at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The southpaw Wallin worked from the center of the ring, exchanging range-finding jabs with Ehwarieme. Wallin then threw a jab, followed by a short, straight left to the head, dropping Ehwarieme to the canvas. Ehwarieme did get up, but staggered into the arms of referee Earl Brown, who waved the fight off at 48 seconds.
“I tried not to think about the knockout, just to perform to the best of my ability,” said Wallin after the fight. “It’s nice that it happened, but I didn’t focus on that. It was quick. I tried to go out there and not be reckless, find my distance. Once I landed, it was good. We’ve been working on the left hook. So it’s nice that it paid off.”
Wallin, who is originally from Sundsvall, Sweden and now resides in New York City, last fought on December 23, losing to heavyweight contender Anthony Joshua after the fifth round. The loss to Joshua snapped a six-fight winning streak, including a split decision victory over Murat Gassiev on September 30.
The 33-year-old Wallin, who lost a close decision to Tyson Fury in September 2019, believes he is still a fighter to be reckoned with.
“It was perfect,” said Wallin, who is managed by Jolene Mizzone. “Come back (and) get a knockout in the first round. It always feels good. I’ve been saying that I’ve lost a few. I lost to Joshua. I don’t think there’s much shame in that. I’m still one of the top guys and I think I showed it now. And we got to keep showing it and just keep climbing.
Wallin improved to 27-2, 15 knockouts, while Ehwarieme falls to 20-5, 19 KOs. In his previous fight on April 13, Ehwarieme was knocked out by unbeaten prospect Deontae Pettigrew in the third round.
The 36-year-old, who resides in Warri, Nigeria, has now lost five of his last eight bouts, all by knockout, including a first round knockout loss to Bakhodir Jalolov on August 26.
In the co-feature, junior middleweight prospect Justin Figueroa of Atlantic City stopped late-sub Freddy Espinoza in the third round. Figueroa improved to 10-0, 8 KOs.
Espinoza was game, but the more-polished Figueroa effectively outboxed Espinoza throughout much of the fight. About 30 seconds into round two, a sweeping right cross momentarily staggered Espinoza, who was able to recover and fight back.
Midway through round three, during an exchange, Figueroa landed a right uppercut to the chin. Espinoza turned away, and before Figueroa followed up, referee Eric Dali stepped in and stopped the fight at 1:25.
Espinoza, who resides in Chinandega, Nicaragua, falls to 10-6, 7 KOs. Espinoza has now lost his last four bouts, all by knockout, including to DeAngelo Evans on June 6.
Heavyweight Bruce Seldon, Jr. improved to 2-0, 2 KOs, dropping Isaiah Margheim (1-4) three times, all in round two, to win by knockout. Time of the knockout was 1:45.
The 29-year-old Seldon, who also resides in Atlantic City, is the son of former heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon and had no amateur fights.
In super middleweight action, amateur standout Marco Romero of Olathe, Kansas stopped Victor Pradis at 1:16 of the second round. Romero hurt Pradis against the ropes, following up with a barrage of punches that forced referee Ricardo Vera to stop the fight.
The 18-year-old Romero also scored a knockdown of Pradis in the opening round.
Pradis, who is originally from Saltillo, Mexico and now resides in Covington, Louisiana, falls to 2-1.
In another super middleweight bout featuring fighters from New York City, Jacob Riley Solis stopped James Abraham (2-2-1, 2 KOs) at 2:43 of the fourth round. Solis hurt Abraham with a right hand to the head. Abraham was defenseless on the ropes, prompting referee Ricardo Vera to step in and stop the fight.
Both fighters each scored a knockdown in round two.
In a clash of unbeaten junior welterweights who reside in the New York City area, Arveontae Dukes of The Bronx defeated Brooklyn’s Jason Castanon (1-1, 1 KO) by unanimous decision. Scores were 39-37, 39-37, and 40-36 for Dukes, who improved to 3-0.
In the opening round of the card promoted by Larry Goldberg, junior welterweight Stacia Suttles knocked out Kalindra Faria (1-2) in the opening round. A left hook to the body dropped Faria to the canvas, where referee Ricardo Vera counted her out at 1:34.
Suttles, who is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and now resides in The Bronx, New York, was making her pro debut.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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