Light heavyweight prospect Sean Hemphill remained unbeaten Friday night, defeating gatekeeper Elie Augustama by unanimous decision Friday night at the Avanti Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida.
All three judges scored the bout 60-54 in favor of Hemphill, who improves to 11-0, 6 knockouts.
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Hemphill, who resides in New Orleans, Louisiana, entered this year having fought four times in 2020. In his last bout on December 29, Hemphill stopped Bernard Thomas in round 4.
Hemphill was mostly-dominant through the fight against Augustama. The 25-year-old imitated most of the exchanges, but showed poise and patience and not being overly-aggressive. Utilizing his ring savvy and experience, Augustama would grab onto Hemphill after he was stunned a few times during the fight.
“This was a good solid win for Sean and the type of fight he needed, before he steps-up a level in competition,” manager Adam Glenn told BoxingScene Sunday evening. “We’re hoping to find some other high-level prospects to fight, as Sean is really ready for a statement win.”
Augustama, who is originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti and now resides in Miami, Florida, drops to 6-15, 3 KOs. The 35-year-old has never been knocked out in his pro career.
Welterweight prospect Shinard Bunch won by knockout again on the Christy Martin Promotions card. Bunch, who was fighting for the third time this year, dropped Ariel Vasquez (14-29-3, 9 KOs) of Managua, Nicaragua twice before ending matters with a left-right combination to the head, dropping Vasquez flat onto his back, prompting referee Emil Lombardi to stop the fight at 1:09.
Bunch improves to 13-1 1 NC, 12 KOs. The Trenton, New Jersey resident is scheduled to action on March 6 in Feasterville, Pennsylvania.
Cruiserweight Richard Rivera of Hartford, Connecticut knocked out Mexico City’s Ulises Jimenez (24-27-1, 16 KOs) in the opening round. A left hook to the head from Rivera knocked Jimenez out at 1:09. Rivera improves to 19-0, 14 KOs.
Junior welterweight Branden Pizarro stopped journeyman DeWayne Wisdom (7-55-2, 3 KOs) of Indianapolis, Indiana at 1:57 of the opening round. Pizarro, who resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, improves to 16-1-1, 9 KOs and was fighting for the first time since February 8 of last year.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.