Trevor Bryan defeats Derric Rossy in exciting heavyweight bout

Las Vegas -- A definite throwback vibe was in the air Friday night as Don King Promotions put on a night of boxing highlighted by several exciting heavyweight fights in a specially-constructed outdoor venue at the D Hotel and Casino/Downtown Las Vegas Events Center in downtown Las Vegas.

Philadelphia heavyweight Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (15-4-2, 7 KOs) opened the show in electrifying fashion, knocking out Samoan slugger Natu Visinia (11-2, 9 KOs) at the 1:15 mark of the opening round.

At just 5-foot-10, the shorter Dawejko showed impressive confidence against his 6’3” opponent, coming out aggressively in the first frame, and showing deft footwork while weaving his way inside. A big overhand right by Dawejko not only rocked Visinia and backed him into the ropes, but was also the beginning of the end.

From that point, the veteran of 22 pro fights jumped all over the much bigger Samoan, and referee Russell Mora was left with no choice but to call a halt to the bout at 1:15 of the first round.

“I thought I would knock him out, but not that fast,” Dawejko commented after the fight, adding that the win “means everything” for his career.

In the co-featured main event, 24-year-old fringe contender DeCarlo “3-Mendo” Perez (15-3-1, 5 KOs) garnered what was likely the biggest victory of his career, as he outpointed former two-time Dominican Olympian and previously unbeaten prospect Juan Ubaldo Cabrera (23-1, 16 KOs) over ten closely contested rounds.

Despite taking the fight on just 7 days notice, Perez was able to overcome a slow start by outhustling the more heralded Cabrera and landing more shots over the bulk of the middle and later rounds. The judges scored the bout for Perez 98-91 twice, and 97-92.

“The heat was no factor, I’ve been training in a gym that has more humidity than this,’’ Perez said. “The tough part was not knowing anything about my opponent. We saw no film so I had to adjust on the fly."

In the main event, undefeated heavyweight prospect Trevor Bryan (16-0, 11 KOs), 26, did nothing to discredit his standing as a potential title contender, as he defeated veteran Derric Rossy (30-10, 14 KOs) over 10 action-packed rounds.

Much like the earlier heavyweight scrap, the two combatants wasted no time getting things started. In fact, the 35-year-old Rossy was caught with a good shot that dropped him along the ropes just thirty seconds into the opening round.

"Rossy is a very durable, experienced guy," said the 6'4" Bryan of his tough-as-nails competitor.  "For him to hang in there like that says a lot. I know I definitely hurt him a few times, but I didn’t follow up with the right punches. I didn’t place my punches like I should have after he was hurt. It just means I know I need to relax more and just listen to my corner."

From that point, the fight fell into a pattern of  two-way firefights: Bryan backing up Rossy and appearing on the verge of a knockout win, and then Rossy rallying with hellacious counter rights and left hooks that frequently knocked Bryan back on his heels, visibly shaking him on a couple of occasions.

The third round in particular was phenomenal, as both fighters engaged in an old school, Foreman-Lyle type of donnybrook in the 100-degree desert heat. Fans from both fighters’ camps could be seen and heard bellowing out encouragement to each man during the slugfest.

“[After] the knockdown, I was fighting on all heart," said Rossy, a former High School All-American standout football star who played collegiately at Boston College. "This was an extremely hard fight, but that early knockdown was the whole difference for me."

At the final bell, both men were noticeably spent, as Bryan went the full 10 rounds for the first time in his career.

The judges scored the bout 98-91 twice, and 97-92, all for Bryan.

Don King, the man who once competed against Bob Arum for the title of top promoter in the game, seemed pleased with the show's outcome.

“It was great to see heavyweight boxing back to what it is supposed to be,” exclaimed King, still never too shy for hyperbole. “You are hanging on the edge of your seat with every punch. You don’t know what’s going to happen, but Trevor Bryan pulled through. He’s only 16-0, but he broke through the door to greatness.”

King’s last comments of the night however, were perhaps the most revealing.

“It was a terrific fight, and as a matter of fact it was a terrific night of fights and that’s what its all about," said King.  "People ask me ‘when is the next one?’ People shouting in their seats and just tingling. And we did it for the women – fighting for women’s rights- the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Oh man I am just so excited, This is what it’s supposed to be!”

King seemed to indicate that he had plans to be much more active in the coming months, but as contradictory as it may seem for somebody known to be so bombastic, he may have been playing coy, as he was famously elusive and didn’t divulge any specific details or plans for any big fight cards in the immediate future.

If this warm and steamy summer night in Vegas was any indication, there may just be some new-found excitement in the heavyweight division.

By Kweku Turkson
Staff Reporter for TheDailySportsHerald.com