Former professional boxer and ShoBox commentator, Raul Marquez warned Shinard Bunch not to engage in a fire-fight with Bryan Flores, yet that is what happened. Bryan Flores (24-0, 9 KOs), of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, picked up a ten-round split-decision over a very game Shinard Bunch (20-2-1, 16 KOs) of Queens, NY, in the ShoBox: The Next Generation main event from Cache Creek Casino, in Brooks, California.
In the first round after Bunch spent most of the round outboxing Flores while keeping his feet active, Bunch threw a multiple punch combination when Flores was in close that saw Flores hit the canvas with less than ten seconds left in the round. Flores was unable to not just land clean punches, but anything effective as Bunch was able to avoid any-and-all of Flores’ shots. The difference was rather clear early, the deep 406 fight amateur background of Bunch showed itself in the ring, in terms of poise and composure.
The fourth round saw Flores’ best round as that was his most effective to that point, and one that he more than likely won. Flores saw the momentum continue to swing his way, as he had a big round five while the crowd chanted “Mexico” in support of him. The sixth began an interesting pattern in which Flores’ pressure began to allow him to cut the distance and land the biggest punches of the fight, especially with his lead right hand. The same ability to keep Flores off by Bunch early on was nowhere to be seen as the pressure fighter got his momentum and Bunch was not adjusting. Bunch never was able to regain the type of fight he had early-on, once he lost control of the battle of the distance.
The punch stats saw Bunch outland Flores in terms of total punches as Bunch landed 104 out of 411, as opposed to 103 out of 398 punches thrown. Where Flores had a big difference was power punches in which he landed 76 out of 245, as opposed to Bunch who landed 51 out of 142.
The judges scored the bout 96-94, 97-92, 95-94
The co-feature saw junior middleweight Guido Schramm (16-1-1, 11 KOs), of Moreno, Buenos Aires, ARG, picking up a ten-round majority decision win over Jahyae Brown (13-1 11 KOs), of Schenectady, NY. An uppercut from Brown in round two rocked Schramm, as the aggressive Schramm began to slow down to the counterpunching of Brown, after an aggressive start to the fight. The fourth round saw Schramm’s most effective work as he landed a solid sequence of punches, all of which were meaningful and hard. To write about the fight, underscores the importance of heart and determination both fighters showed, neither looked for a way out and endured a lot - pretty incredible for a fight taken by two fighters who took it on two weeks notice. By the seventh round, Brown looked fatigued as Schramm began to win the late rounds based on volume, and endurance.
“I give myself a 7-out-of-ten, I did make some mistakes, but I did a lot of things well and we got the win,” said Schramm. “This was pretty much how we expected it to go. I’m too strong for him. I can’t wait to be back and show my skills.”
In the ninth, Schramm rocked Brown into the ropes, who was able to fend off a sequence of punches that seemed to be fight-ending when he went into the corner. The defense of Brown kept him in the fight, but by the final round especially after a huge ninth round, it felt as though Schramm was well ahead in the fight. The tenth round saw the cleanest punches of Schramm land, but the heart of Brown was on full display as he was unwilling to be stopped even though he was being outworked.
“I felt good in there,” said Schramm. “My conditioning and my strength made the difference.”
The judges scored the fight 95-95, 98-92, and 97-93.
Raul Garcia (12-0-1, 12 KOs), who had the world-famous Bob Santos in his corner, fought to a split draw with Robert Terry (9-0-1, 3 KOs) in a junior middleweight television opener. A very tactical fight that saw a slew of rounds decided by seemingly one to two punches. In the third round, the most meaningful punch of the fight landed when Terry caught Garcia with a right hand, roughly a minute later the two began to exchange as the lull of the early rounds were made up for. The two would trade wild exchanges with Terry looking to box, and Garcia being very aggressive. The fight was very close, and the local crowd took to Terry.
“I thought I won six rounds of the fight, I had him hurt [and] I probably should have finished but I figured I would take my time,” said Terry after the fight. “I give myself a C+. I feel good, but I really wanted to win. I didn’t come here to get a draw, so I’m pretty disappointed.”
The judges scored the bout 77-75, 75-77, and 76-76, a majority draw.
Off-television, local featherweight favorite Manuel “Tino” Avila (25-2-1, 8 KOs), of Fairfield, CA, stopped Alberto Torres (11-6-3, 4 KOs), of Sacramento, CA, in the seventh-round via doctor stoppage, when the local ringside physician ruled Torres was unfit to continue. Avila dropped Torres at the end of the first round with a right hand, a left hook around the guard dropped Torres in round two. The time of the stoppage was 0:01, of round seven.
