By Thomas Gerbasi
Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York - Junior lightweight prospect Claudio Marrero had an early night at the office, stopping veteran Luis Hinojosa in four rounds.
Marrero struck early, dropping Hinojosa in the opening frame, and it only got worse from there for the Bronx product, as Hinojosa hit the deck four more times before referee Danny Schiavone called a stop to the bout.
With the win, Santo Domingo?s Marrero moves to 21-1 with 15 KOs; Hinojosa falls to 28-10 with 17 KOs.
Former amateur star and current hot prospect Abraham Nova got a scare in his lightweight battle against Puerto Rico's Wilfredo Garriga, as he was rocked and dropped before returning the favor en route to a six-round decision win.
The majority verdict read 56-56 and 57-55 twice for Nova, now 2-0 with 1 KO. Garriga falls to 3-3-1 with 2 KOs.
Seemingly in control due to his long-range boxing attack, Nova got dropped hard at the end of the second round, and while he made it to his feet, the bell clearly saved him. Nova continued to get rocked in the third, only to turn the tables with a knockdown of his own late in the frame.
From there, it was a slugfest, Garriga drilling Nova, but only in spurts, allowing the prospect to put together enough points to wrap up the victory.
Popular Brooklyn welterweight Julian Sosa got a fight out Nebraska's Rene Marquez, but still did more than enough to win a six-round unanimous decision.
Scores were 59-55 twice and 58-56 for Sosa, now 6-0-1 with 2 KOs; Scottsbluff's Marquez falls to 5-3 with 2 KOs.
Backed by an entire section of fans, Sosa used his height and reach advantage to keep Marquez at bay early, and by the middle rounds, he had rocked his foe a couple times and seemed to have him on the verge of a stoppage. But Marquez hung tough and kept battling, making it to the final bell, which was at least a moral victory.
Wichita's Chris Harris was willing throughout his cruiserweight six rounder with Far Rockaway's Joseph Williams, but Williams was a step ahead all night as he punched his way to a shutout unanimous decision win.
All three judges saw it 60-54 for Williams, now 10-0 with 7 KOs; Harris falls to 2-1-2 with 2 KOs.
In the junior middleweight opener, Brooklyn's Chordale Booker made it 3-0 as a pro with a shutout four-round decision over Brandon Black.
Going the distance for the first time, Booker tried to get Black (1-2) out of there, but the game Kansas product refused to go away, despite falling short on the scorecards by tallies of 40-36 twice and 40-35.
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