By Keith Idec

Cem Kilic responded positively Friday night to going past the fourth round for the first time in his career.

The super middleweight remained active during the second half of his entertaining eight-round fight against DeAndre Ware and won a unanimous decision. Kilic consistently hit Ware to the body, was more active overall and won comfortably on all three scorecards (79-73, 79-73, 78-74).

The 24-year-old Kilic, a native of Germany who resides in the Los Angeles area, is still undefeated (12-0, 7 KOs). The 30-year-old Ware, a former college football player from Toledo, Ohio, lost for the first time as a pro (12-1-2, 8 KOs).

Kilic’s victory over Ware was the first of three fights Showtime televised as part of a “ShoBox: The New Generation” tripleheader from Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.

The Kilic-Ware fight featured plenty of action right up until the final bell.

Kilic set up a hard right hand by landing his jab around the midway mark of the eighth round. Ware landed two consecutive right hands with just under a minute remaining in the fight.

Kilic caught Ware with a short right hand just prior to the final bell sounding.

The final 25 seconds of the seventh round featured an exciting exchange in which Kilic cracked Ware with a straight left hand that snapped back his head. Ware fired back with a combination, including a right hand that backed up Kilic.

Kilic clipped Ware with a short right hand around the two-minute mark of the sixth round. With under a minute to go in the sixth, Ware landed a right hand that made Kilic hold his arm.

Ware’s mouthpiece came out for the second time in the fight with 12 seconds to go in the sixth. Referee Tony Crebs warned Ware for spitting out his mouthpiece before the action resumed.

Kilic landed a straight right hand that knocked out Ware’s mouthpiece in the fourth round. That caused a brief break in the action during another very competitive round.

Kilic’s combination, a left uppercut and straight right hand, was his best sequence of the third round, yet couldn’t stop Ware from moving forward.

Ware and Kilic continued fighting at a very fast pace in the second round, when each fighter landed his far share of power shots. Ware knocked Kilic off balance with a right hand just before the second round ended.

Kilic and Ware traded hard head and body shots throughout a thoroughly entertaining first round. Kilic connected with an overhand right that made Ware stumble late in the first round, but Ware responded by landing a combination that prevented Kilic from capitalizing.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for krikya360.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.