Joe Spina vs Antwun Echols

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In the main event of a not televised eight bout CES Boxing 'Last Man Standing' Boxing card at Fox Theater of Foxwoods Resort Casino, October 2, 1010, World Boxing Association # 6 light heavyweight contender Joey 'KO Kid' Spina scored a third round stoppage of last minute substitute Antwun Echols in a bout which almost resulted in a no contest at the end of round two. Echols, originally scheduled to fight on October 2 at the Horseshoe Casino in Indiana, took this bout as a late replacement for Ray Oliveira, and tried to win. Echols won the first round by throwing more punches by volume. Echols came right at Spina aggressively, landing but swinging wide with his punches, and holding a low left. Echols tried to make the fight dirty early and was warned by the referee for holding behind the head. Spina trapped Echols several times in corners and nailed him with combinations, and Echols, unable to fight his way out, had to grab on to Spina get out of them. Late in the round, the two boxers started wrestling. In the second round, Spina took the fight to center ring and began nailing Echols with the left jab. Both fighters were throwing right-left combinations to the head and body. Spina was the more accurate, winning the round by landing more punches while bleeding from the nose. Echols got tired on the ropes, and got hit numerous times by several Spina's overhand lefts. Echols, getting desperate, resorted to dirty tactics again and was warned by referee Johnny Callas for pushing and punching. Echols threw a flagrant intentional low blow which the referee, screened off, did not see. Spina then decked Echols off the ropes with a left to the head at the bell, not called a knockdown by the referee, who then called time for a rest period as the Foxwoods crowd booed loudly. At ringside, it appeared Spina's punch was thrown a fraction of a second before the bell ending the second round, and the punch did not land until a split second after the second round belled rang. Under the universal rules of boxing, as the punch was thrown before the bell rang, if the fighter getting hit goes down, a count should be initiated. Echols went down to the canvas and should have been counted out at 3:10 of the second round for a knockout. Spina's manager Ed Imondi explained "The punch was already in combination, maybe landing a split second after the bell. There was no way a fighter that has a punch three quarters of the way in progress can stop the punch. The referee obviously thought the punch was right after the bell. It was not an intentional punch, but the referee's call could not be disputed because it was his opinion. The referee could have called it either way." In the third round, Spina trapped a spent Echols in the Spina corner, and unleashed a nonstop flurry of punches, including a vicious left hook which left Echols defenseless and helpless, forcing referee Johnny Callas to call a halt to the bout at 0:49. Echols was taking a bad beating. The referee did a good job by stopping the bout when he did because Spina would have seriously hurt Echols if the bout had continued. In the post fight interview, Spina said he was comfortable fighting at either 168 or 175 pounds. Ray Oliveira, the original opponent, stated at Foxwoods he was going back to 154 pounds for his comeback. Manager Imondi stated he believed Spina was ready for a world title shot. Notables at ringside included 'Vinny Paz' Vinny Pazienza, Peter Manfredo Jr., Tony DeMarco, Ray Oliveira, Matt Remillard, HBO commentator Harold Lederman, Tony Grano, and Mixed Martial Arts fighter Parker Porter. MMA fighter Porter addressed the crowd about an upcoming MMA card before the main event. Echols fought Spina at 169 pounds, heaviest of his career. The possibility of the no contest would have occurred if Echols did not get up at the end of round 2. If the punch thrown by Spina before or at the bell were ruled accidental, the bout would have become a no contest. Echols opted to fight on after the rest period.