Cristian Cangelosi won the show opener at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, taking a unanimous decision over Nissan Anderson.
It was a rough, tough opener with middleweight Cangelosi improving to 7-0 (2 KOs) winning by margins of 60-54 (twice) and 59-55.
Tampa’s Anderson falls to 1-5-2 (1 KO) but was game for every minute of their six-rounder.
New York-based Sicilian Cangelosi was well-supported and sent his fans home happy.
Southpaw Anderson looked flat-footed at the start and Cangelosi was aggressive early on. He was not finding it hard to make contact, either. Anderson tried getting off shots to the body and he landed a hefty left hand near the bell to close the first round.
Anderson was gutsy and willing to meet fire with fire but the extra class and variety was coming from the New York-based Italian, who was launching uppercuts from both hands. While Cangelosi was dominating, he was still taking plenty in return.
It was more of the same in the third. Cangelosi’s defence was leaky but he was busier and loading up trying to inflict damage, so much so that his corner urged him: “Use that jab, Chris,” and “Body, body, body.”
Cangelosi didn’t listen and the round ended with a shootout, with both landing big shots as the final seconds ticked by.
A hard jab from Cangelosi caused Anderson to retreat early in the fourth, and he followed up moments later with a pair of left hook-right hands.
Anderson turned orthodox and fired home a crisp uppercut, but Cangelosi was piling up the points.
The crowd was invested. Anderson was the local man but Cangelosi’s fans were making more noise. The Italian took a clean, big left hand near the stat of the fifth, but he landed a heavy right of his own. It was a hard and tough.
Cangelosi sent Anderson’s mouthpiece flying in the first exchange of the sixth, but he couldn’t break Anderson’s spirit. The gritty Tampa man hung tight and saw the fight out.
Bantamweight prospect Marcus Cortez Harris blasted himself to 3-0 (3 KOs) with a rapid-fire first-round win over Luis Domingo Hernandez Cambero, 15-12-1 (10 KOs), who was visiting from the Dominican Republic.
Harris, born in Illinois but fighting out of Lakeland, Florida, had a huge advantage in speed and that was the difference-maker. His faster hands were unable to unlock Cambero’s defence in quick time and a succession of right hands sent the groggy Dominican headlong into his opponent’s corner where he was stopped by the referee.
Time was 2-39.
