ELVIN AYALA STOPS JOHN MACKEY
Rob Souci @ ringside

Elvin Ayala TKO9 John Mackey...  In the main event of Jimmy Burchfield's card at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, Elvin Ayala continued his rise in the middleweight division with a hard-fought, ninth-round stoppage over trialhorse John Mackey, whose record dropped to 13-8. Ayala was much sharper early in the bout, controlling the first two rounds with combination punching. In round three, Mackey had some success laying back on the ropes and counterpunching. Mackey was surprisingly able to land several right hooks from his southpaw stance with his back to the ropes. In round four, the faster Ayala took the fight back to the middle of the ring and easily out boxed Mackey. In the fifth, Ayala pinned Mackey on the ropes and landed several hard shots that bothered his opponent but Mackey would not back down. Ayala had a big round six, hurting Mackey with a left hook to the body. At this point Mackey seemedcontent to survive and Ayala was in full control. As round seven began, Ayala stayed on the attack and had Mackey against the ropes for most of the round. To his credit, Mackey took everything Ayala hit him with and landed some big shots of his own. Ayala, though comfortably ahead, decided to take the eighth round off and Mackey won it by being a little bit busier. In the beginning of the ninth, Ayala staggered Mackey with a left hook. Ayala then pinned Mackey on the ropes and unleashed about a dozen unanswered blows that forced the stoppage. Ayala, who improved to 26-5-1, with 12 KOs moves closer to another meaningful fight in the division. (Ayala was stopped in the twelfth round of his world title challenge of Arthur Abraham.)
 
 
UNDERCARD... Backed by another strong outpouring of fan support, female bantamweight Shelito Vincent (4-0) of New London, Conn., and now training in Providence, R.I., kept her perfect record intact with a unanimous-decision win over Ivana Coleman (0-1) of Slidell, La., 40-36 across the board. Coleman, a professional mixed martial arts fighter, couldn’t keep pace with the faster, more active Vincent, who outworked her opponent and landed the majority of the power shots throughout the fight to record her fourth win in nine months.
 
Hartford, Conn., super featherweight Joseph “Chip” Perez (9-1, 3 KOs) put on a show, stopping Johnny Frazier (3-10-2) of Akron, Ohio at the closing bell of the fourth round. The two traded blows throughout the fight, often egging each other on after the opponent landed a clean shot, but Perez ultimately landed the most effective shot of the night, dropping Frazier for good with an overhand right at the 3:00-mark of the fourth round.
 
Bridgeport, Conn., lightweight Carlos Hernandez (3-2, 2 KO) won easily in the opening bout, stopping Alan Beeman (0-4) of Newport, R.I., at the 2:43 mark of the first round. Hernandez dropped Beeman with a left hook to the body late in the round and then kept applying the pressure until referee Danny Schiavone stepped in with 17 seconds remaining following a series of unanswered lefts by Hernandez. The Bridgeport native has now won three consecutive fights.
 
The professional debuts of both Donnie Palmer (0-0-1) of Boston and Springfield, Mass., native Moses Marshall (0-0-1) turned out to be one of the most exciting fights of the night as the two heavyweights traded blows through four back-and-forth rounds.
Marshall landed consistently to the head throughout the night despite at least a six-inch height disadvantage while Palmer used his jab and heavy overhand rights to keep Marshall at bay as often as possible. The fight ended in a majority draw with two judges scoring the bout 38-38 apiece and the third scoring it 39-37 in favor of Palmer.
 
Unbeaten lightweight Gabriel Duluc (6-0) of Boston and super middleweight Tylon Burris (3-0) of Hartford, Conn., each won lopsided decisions. Duluc outworked New Haven’s Christian Lao (4-2), scoring a first-round knockdown courtesy of a vicious body blow en route to a unanimous 40-35 decision across the board. Burris beat Providence’s Luis Felix (0-3), who took the fight on short notice, 40-36, 40-36, 40-36 to remain undefeated.
 
Framingham, Mass., middleweight Saul Almeida – one of the top-ranked featherweights in the northeast in mixed martial arts with 14 professional fights under his belt – and fellow newcomer Antonio Marrero of Hartford fought to a no-contest in their professional debuts after Almeida sustained a cut over his eye due to an accidental head-butt midway through the second round.
 
Antonio Chaves Fernandez (0-7-1) of Brockton, Mass., and Jair Ramos (2-0-1) of Waterbury, Conn., suffered the same fate as Palmer and Marshall in their four-round light welterweight bout, fighting to a majority draw with two judges scoring the bout 37-37 and the third scoring it 39-37 in favor of Ramos. Both fighters were deducted a point during the course of the fight, Fernandez for holding and Ramos for excessive low blows following the referee’s warning. source for undercard results: classic entertainment & sports press release