Showtime’s long-running boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation, returned Friday night and the main event was a pivotal battle between unbeaten super lightweights Ivan Baranchyk and Keenan Smith. As it turned out, Baranchyk was the far better man inside the ring.
In the co-featured bout, super lightweight contender Roland Chinea (15-1-1, 6 KOs) fought nip and tuck for eight extremely close rounds with Kenneth Sims Jr. (12-1, 4 KOs) and walked out of the ring with a win via majority decision. The bout could have gone either way, but Chinea’s better overall punching was the difference, allowing him to win by margins of 77-75 (twice) and 76-76.
Super bantamweights Glenn Dezurn (9-0-1, 6 KOs) and Adam Lopez (16-1-2, 8 KOs) fought an even closer battle as their battle ended in a draw. Neither fighter gained the upper hand for much of the contest and each gave as good as he took. In the end, the judges couldn’t figure out a winner as they turned in scores of 77-75 (Lopez), 77-75 (Dezurn) and 76-76.
Joshua Greer opened the Showtime-televised event by battering Leroy Davila (5-2, 3 KOs) for several rounds and forcing his corner to throw in the towel. Greer (14-1-1, 6 KOs) tore into his bantamweight foe severely in rounds four and five, scoring the TKO before the sixth frame began.