Ex-Olympian Wins Feature Cole Hands Bostice First Loss; Nicholson Wins Co-Main Event
It was the right punch over the top that won it for Israel Cole on Thursday night at the Coeur d’Alene Casino’s House of Fury.
Cole, playing underdog to David Bostice, knocked down the previously undefeated heavyweight in the fourth and seventh rounds, scoring a unanimous decision in a 10-round main event.
“They just didn’t know about me,” said Cole. “They weren’t really careful about picking his opponent and all of the sudden - boom!”
Cole, who said he’s changing his fighting name to The Pharaoh, was a bronze medalist at the 1984 Los Angeles Games. The 34-year-old West African has compiled a 15-8-4 record with nine KOs since coming out of retirement.
“He was a lot slicker than I thought he’d be,” said Bostice, 27.
”He’s a veteran. He was a tough man.”
The fight marked Bostice’s sixth bout here, winning five times by KO. The Los Angeles fighter, who trains in Mesa, Ariz., fell to 17-1-1.
When Bostice went to the canvas in the fourth round, it was the first time he’d been knocked down in his two-year pro career.
Three rounds later, Cole used the same right punch over the top to bring the favorite down again.
In an eight-round co-feature heavyweight bout, Danell Nicholson of Chicago scored a unanimous decision over 41-year-old Abdul Muhaymin. Nicholson, 31, who boxed in the ‘92 Barcelona Games, improved to 34-3-0, winning every round in a bout that resembled a glorified sparring match.
“He was waiting on me and I was waiting on him,” said Muhaymin, who returned to boxing last year after a 12-year hiatus.
On the undercard, super middleweight Mike Waters of Seattle won by split decision over Lamont Winn of Fresno, Calif. Waters (2-0-0) was the aggressor in the four-round bout, landing the most punches. It was Winn’s debut.
Spokane’s Layla McCarter (1-3-1) and Tamerah Hudgins (3-0-2) of Tampa, Fla., scored a split draw in a four-round featherweight bout. Both women boxed in close, throwing several inside punches, and relied on holding when they got in trouble.
Heavyweight Kevin Hale (6-1-1) of Brooklyn, N.Y., needed 53 seconds in the first round to knock out late replacement Terry Verners (8-23-0) of Fresno. Hale connected on a left jab, followed by a right cross. It was his third KO in eight pro fights. The vicious blow landed Verners onto the ring apron.
In a six-round heavyweight bout, Charles Shufford (11-0-0) of Las Vegas overpowered Bruce Bellucchi (7-7-0) of Los Angeles, scoring a TKO at 2:57 in the fourth round. Shufford, who has six knockouts in his career, thoroughly controlled the fight and finished off Bellucchi, also a late replacement on the card, with wicked body blows.