Exciting featherweight Crystal "Choo Choo" Delgado improved her unbeaten ledger to (8-0, 1 KO) with a thrilling six round unanimous decision over Michelle Nielson (8-4-1, 2 KO's) that had the fans standing on their feet and cheering throughout in a no-holds brawl in the best fight of the night in a donneybrook that would have made Bobby Chacon proud.

Nielson started off fast, peppering Delgado with right hands and occasional hooks that had the 18 year old nonplussed and off-kilter, but towards the end of the round Delgado began to find her range to the body, but the first frame was all Nielson's.

Delgado became more aggressive in the second as Nielsen kept firing away and there were several heavy exchanges amongst the pair, but Delgado's superior strength and conditioning were becoming more evident by the moment as she continued to hammer underneath and impose her strength upon the older fighter.

The fur flew as both fighters showed very good ring skills as they turned one another while jockeying for position in the inside heated battle, and Delgado continued her march into Nielson's firepower throughout the first half of the third round, and then punched her into the far ropes and onto the floor with a sizzling straight left hand.

Nielson beat the count and came back with some good shots of her own, but it was now evident that she had neither the punch nor the strength to keep Delgado off of her for very long.

Nielson had her moments when she would spin off and box for awhile, but ultimately it was Delgado, going after her prey like a leopard hunting down an impala, that would force her back against the ropes and into volleys of hurtful, damaging abuse to the body and head that took most of the starch out of Nielson.

Delgado displayed improved defense by blocking and rolling with many of the lead shots, keeping her elbows in tight and chin down, and countering with her own, under and over, over and under, that had Nielsen hurt to the body from a right hook to the side at the end of the fifth, and ready for the taking going into the sixth and final round.

The last stanza was all Delgado's as she belabored a by now exhausted Nielson throughout, and sealed the deal on the unanimous verdict that was well received by a standing ovation from the packed house.

Delgado is a very durable and aggressive southpaw that fights out of a semi-crouch, and who uses her very strong legs and superb cardio, and low center of gravity to basically walk down her competition, and ultimately batters the resistance out of them.

Having now shored up and stabilized her defense, Delgado dosen't punch to one singular target, but rather lets her hands go in pre-determined strike patterns to the torso anywhere she can hit something whether it be the chest, sides, stomach, or even the arms and shoulders that has her opponents frozen and unable to punch back in there after several rounds of numbing knuckle lathering.

Delgado passed her first 6 rounder with flying colors and promoter Park is very confident in the young fighter as he believes he has a real winner on his hands here.

Jr. Middleweight prospect Omar Henry (2-0, 2 KO's) electrified the fans in attendance with a one minute stoppage over import Justin Davis (1-6, 1 KO) to kick of the evening's full slate of violence, and left no doubt to the crowd that he will be a destructive force to be reckoned with in the coming years.

Henry sprang from his corner at the opening bell and fired a salvo of jabs, right hands, and follow up hooks to the head and body which immediately had the intimidated Davis backing up to the ropes and looking to cover up from the quick strike offense.

Henry came forward and slid to his left, blitzing his quarry and sealed the frightened Davis in his own corner, and then cut loose with a blistering offensive replete with a barrage of hooks and uppercuts, notably a vicious left hook to the pit of the stomach that folded his foe in half like a plastic mattress with the air being let out of it, sending Davis face down to the canvas where he told the referee he had had enough.

Managed by Jay Johns and trained by the legendary Ronnie Shields, the personable young Henry is a former Texas State Golden Gloves Champion who balances a full time college schedule along with the brutal training and sacrifice that is the lifestyle of the professional pugilist, and has his sights set on capturing a World Championship down the hard road to glory, ala his boxing Idol, the great Miguel Cotto.

The young punisher is next slated to be in action on the undercard of the big Top Rank promoted Super Flyweight Championship match between Vic Darchinyan and Jorge Arce at The Pond in Anaheim on February 7th, and feels "Blessed to be on such a great card" and is looking forward to putting his considerable fistic skills on display before the terrific and knowledgeable boxing fans of the West Coast.

In other bouts:

Powerful cruiserweight Willie "Dynamite" Edwards iced Joey Crawford in three, tough welterweight Jose "Tapita" Gutierrez stopped Omar Ballard also in three, lght heavyweight Alfonso Lopez stopped fouling James Johnson in five, and heavyweight bomber Eugene "Mean Gene" Hill destroyed Clinton Boldridge in three.

It was another winning effort for Rock Solid who continues to be the leader and innovator in the Houston boxing scene. The throng of boxing and sports fans really screamed and yelled in appreciation between rounds at the sexy ring card girls from Hooter's and the hot Hooters waitresses made sure they got their palate full of food, liquid refreshments, and mouth watering eye candy.
Until next time,

See you at the fights!

Note: This piece is dedicated to the memory of my wonderful Aunt, Diana Holder. May she Rest in Peace.

Sizzling pro prospects Eugene Hill and Alfonso Lopez also featured on exciting card
By Karl Hegman

The NABF, NABA, and USNBC Light Heavyweight Champion Chris “Hard Hittin’” Henry, the World Boxing Council’s number four ranked light heavyweight contender makes his return to ring action Thursday, August 2nd at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Houston, Texas.

His opponent in the Main Event will be tough veteran Derrick James (20-6-1-1) of Dallas, in a fight that promises to provide boxing brutality for those in attendance in the Grand Plaza ballroom’s violence drenched atmosphere.

Fighting under Cameron Parks’ Rock Solid promotional banner and managed by Bob Spagnola, the Orange, Texas native Henry is an aggressive, undefeated bruiser with a perfect 20-0 ring ledger that includes 16 victories via the Sominex route.

With WBC Champion Chad Dawson fixed squarely in his sights, Henry has no intention of letting James pull off a fluke upset, and has trained long and hard in preparation to dish out a painful drubbing to his older foe come August 2nd.

In his last bout, Henry hammered out a unanimous decision win over the 60 lbs heavier Rafael Pedro leaving the big Cuban in a sordid state of physical disrepair, and capturing Pedro’s IBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Title belt in the process.

The wily and ring wise veteran Derrick James has been fighting desperately as of late in an attempt to regain the form that once saw him as one of the cruiserweight division’s main spoilers.

“We plan our work and work our plan,” says Henry “I have a great team behind me, and James is an experienced guy, but no way is he stopping me from getting to Chad Dawson. I know it may sound somewhat clichéd, but I prefer to do my talking with my fists in the ring.”

"We see Chris' career definitely taking a more substantive turn towards challenging Chad Dawson and taking his WBC title," says Rock Solids' promoter, Cameron Park. "Every fight we make for Chris is a building block geared towards putting together the finished product that will put Dawson's lights out. We picked Rayco Saunders for his toughness and to give Chris some hard rounds, we picked Rafael Pedro to see how Chris would handle size and strength, and we picked Derrick James to see how Chris will handle someone with proven world class boxing experience."

The fan friendly card also includes promising young Dickinson heavyweight Eugene Hill (4-0, 4 KO's) who is an exciting young slugger in the Joe Frazier mold, and an athlete that has developed a large fan base in and around Galveston County.
After an outstanding amateur career, young Hill has shed some 20 pounds since turning to the punch for pay ranks, and his weight loss is indicative of this young man's dedication and commitment to the sport of professional boxing.
Eugene has vowed not to disappoint his many fans making the trek from Galveston County to Houston, and has prepared long and hard and is determined to electrify the crowd in the Grand Plaza's elegant, world class ballroom.
The aggressive banger has vowed to "Come out Smokin'!" and render his opponent horizontal and unconscious.

Corpus Christi's favorite son, smooth-boxing former amateur light heavyweight standout Alfonso Lopez (2-0, 1 KO) also fights on the undercard, and looks to be a real up and comer.
Lopez found his calling card in boxing after winning fraternity championships while as a student at Sam Houston State University, and ran up an impressive amateur record under the tutelage of Henry Harris and Felix Ramirez.
Lopez is a boxer/puncher with unlimited potential that reminds many in the fistic fraternity of past Latin light heavyweight legends such as Vicente Paul Rondon, Juarez DeLima, and Mauro Mina.

Also appearing before the Houston boxing fans will be exciting heavyweight Steve Collins (14-1, 12 KO's) who always brings his best and fights his hardest for the fans.

The gorgeous girls from Hooters will return to serve as waitresses once again for the fight fans in attendance, and while the weather may be hot and muggy in the Bayou City outside, the boxing action inside the Grand Plaza ballroom on August 2nd promises to be even hotter.
Doors open at 6:30 pm with the first fight slated to start at 7:30 pm.

Rock Solid's popular heavyweight bomber “Big” Lou Savarese is training and hitting hard in preparation for his upcoming clash June 30th with 4-time heavyweight champion Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield.

The bout will be held at the Don Haskins Center on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso and promises plenty of fistic fireworks between two come backing, no-nonsense heavyweights who both realize that this could be their final opportunity for one last shot at boxing’s holy grail, the heavyweight championship of the world.

Savarese (46-6, 38 KO’s) is looking to put an end to Holyfield’s (41-8-2, 27 KO’s) quest for a fifth championship and make the former ring great the third heavyweight champion he has defeated along with Buster Douglas and Tim Witherspoon.

The prizefighting stable of Cameron Parks’ Rock Solid Promotions went 6 for 6 on April 5th at the Grand Plaza Hotel in Houston. Heavyweight Jimmy Jones kicked off the evening’s festivities by making his professional debut a successful one by stopping Rozell Traylor in the second round.

Southpaw featherweight Marcelino Osuna outclassed one Jerron Lockette to up his ring ledger to 3-0, and streaking USNBC Light Heavyweight Champion Chris Henry kept the ball rolling by destroying Jim Franklin in inside of a round. Heavyweight Eugene Hill went to a perfect 4-0 with 4 knockouts by disposing of Donzell Atkins in 35 seconds.

Unbeaten junior middleweight Chase “White Tiger” Shields improved to 23-0-1 by out boxing and shutting out Joshua Smith in a six rounder. The main event saw local hero “Big” Lou Savarese run his ring record to 46-6 with 38 KO’s by flattening Matt Hicks 10-2, 10 KO’s at 2:21 of the first round. Hicks rushed Savarese at the start and looked to end the fight in the first round, but Lou bided his time and picked his shots well and floored Hicks for the first time with a heavy right hand to the stomach. Hicks rose to his feet but he didn’t stay there long as a big right to the head sent him crashing down violently to the canvas and referee Sam Garza waved off the proceedings. We at Rock Solid congratulate all of our gladiators for their fine performances, which came as a result of very hard preparation in the gym and on the road, and the personal sacrifices they were willing to make while chasing their dreams.