“Superbad” Vlad Panin (18-1, 10 KOs) extended his winning streak to an impressive 11-straight victories on Friday night at the “Owl’s Nest” in Houston, scoring a unanimous decision (97-93, 96-94, 98-92) victory over Quashawn Toler (17-2, 12 KOs) to win the WBA Continental Welterweight Title in the main event of Red Owl Boxing’s BOX FEST VII on DAZN.
After a quiet opening three rounds, both men picked up the pace in the fourth frame with Toler finding success pressing forward in the opening half of the round and Panin turning the tide in the second half of the round. The fight continued to be a chess match as the rounds went on with Toler looking to counter and Panin moving forward on the hunt for an opening. The 28-year-old Panin, a native of Belarus who now fights out of Los Angeles, California, was the slightly more active fighter, however, finding success behind a strong jab and avoiding many of Toler’s counter strikes.
Over the course of the final two rounds, Panin began to pick up the pace, continuing to use his jab and mixing up his attack with combinations to the head and body. Ultimately, all three judges saw it in favor of “Superbad,” who will now set his sights on continuing to rise up the 147-pound ranks.
“We just got the (WBA Welterweight) Continental belt,” said Panin. “Next up is the Intercontinental, and then hopefully, we could fight for a title eliminator, and then become mandatory and contend for a world title.”
In the co-main event of the evening, 23-year-old Houston native Breyon “Grindtime” Gorham (16-0, 13 KOs) avoided an early scare to keep his perfect record in-tact, outpointing veteran Wilfredo Flores (10-2-1, 5 KOs) in a competitive and action-packed super lightweight bout. Flores started strong, clipping Gorham with a counter right hand in the opening round and knocking him down for the first time in his professional career. Gorham, however, recovered quickly, remaining calm and regaining his composure. Over the course of the middle rounds, the fight remained competitive as the 34-year-old Flores proved to be a stiff test, although Gorham used his speed and athleticism to consistently find openings for power shots. Seeking a finish, “Grindtime” picked up the pace in the final two rounds, landing a variety of punches and stamping his victory in the eyes of the judges, who each scored the bout 78-73 in favor of Gorham.
Earlier on DAZN, 29-year-old light heavyweight Edel Gomez (9-0-1, 8 KOs) improved his winning streak to four straight, scoring an emphatic second-round knockout victory over James Weismann (5-2). Starting off strong, Gomez, a training partner of undisputed welterweight champion Terence Crawford, pressed the action in the opening frame, dropping Weismann towards the end of the round. Although Weismann beat the count, it was clear that it was the beginning of the end as Gomez unloaded with a barrage of shots to end the round. Weismann was then dropped again early in the second before Gomez closed the show with a vicious right hand that ended the contest at 57 seconds of Round 2.
Opening up the main card on DAZN, 24-year-old Jose Camacho Torres (8-0-1, 3 KOs) remained unbeaten, scoring an impressive unanimous decision victory over the durable Luis Alberto Lopez (6-2, 3 KOs) in an action-packed super bantamweight bout. Looking to counter punch, Torres, also a training partner of Crawford’s, used expert timing to control the pace and range of the fight. Mixing up his attack to the head and body, Torres found success with straight lefts and right hooks, damaging Lopez with a barrage of powerful shots and hurting him in round 4. Coming off a nine-year layoff, Lopez, however, remained tough, consistently pressing the action and landing a few shots of his own here and there. In the end, it wasn’t enough as it was the Brian McIntyre-trained Torres who earned the nod from all three ringside judges (59-55, 59-55, 58-56).
