WORCESTER — Worcester native Demek “Hightower” Edmonds loves to box. He smiles when he talks about it and even smiles when he’s in the ring.
“It’s just something I love,” he said. “I love showcasing my skill, showcasing my speed.”
Edmonds, a three-time New England Golden Gloves champion, showcased his skills in the fourth bout of Saturday night’s boxing card at the Palladium, where he defeated Rafael De Souza by unanimous decision in a cruiserweight bout.
The return of professional boxing to the city as co-promoted by Rivera Promotions Entertainment and Shearns Boxing Promotions.
“I didn’t know going in because this was my third fight,” Edmonds said. “I knew (De Souza) was going to be tough, he was a good opponent. Going in, I had to feel him out, see what he could do, and he’s very experienced.”
After spending most of the first round sizing up his opponent, Edmonds (3-0) grabbed momentum and riddled De Souza, who was making his pro debut, with body shots and and forcing him against the ropes. But De Souza rallied, showing off his power and catching Hightower with a couple headshots.
“He definitely had some power to him,” Edmonds said, “but it was nothing that could really hurt me. It made me think, ‘All right, I’m coming back now.’ I really had to put the pressure on second, third round because I had the stamina to do it. So I knew this guy wasn’t going to beat me. I’m not letting him beat me. I going to work him out.”
Edmonds seized momentum again late in the third round, and one final punch in the fourth sent De Souza to the canvas. On both occasions, Edmonds had a big smile on his face.
“Everyone knows I have the speed and the power,” he said. “I did want to knock him out. I thought I was going to take him out early, but he showed me wrong.”
In his first fight in three years, Worcester native Bobby Harris III returned to the ring to defeat Juan Celin Zapata by unanimous decision in a super middleweight fight.
Both fighters came out quick, but Harris (3-0-1) took over momentum in the latter half of the second round, landing several blows and evading a couple big overhand hooks.
Zapata bounced back in the third round, however, cutting Harris as a couple of jabs hit true, but Harris managed to further tire his opponent.
In a dazzling final round, both men went blow for blow before they both taunted each other, Zapata sticking out his tongue and Harris pounding his chest. After that, Harris landed a couple of good blows before pumping up the crowd for the end of the bout.
In what some in attendance called one of the best fights in the history of the Palladium, Wilfredo “Sucra” Pagan (6-1-1) of Southbridge fought Carlos Marrero III (2-6-2) to a draw in a blow-for-blow fight for the New England junior welterweight championship.
“We’re fighting for a championship,” Pagan said, “that’s what a championship fight is. You going to go toe to toe, whoever wants it more. I wasn’t 100 percent happy with the decision, but I’m good because they’re the judges, and that’s what they have that job for.”
Marrero took advantage early when he landed a shot on Pagan’s arm, which was being worked on in the locker room. Pagan described it as a numbing feeling.
“I couldn’t use it for power like I used to,” he said, “but I kept coming, and nobody’s going to stop me.”
Not to be deterred, Pagan bounced back with a solid second round, and the men went hit-for-hit for the remainder of the match.
“A couple times, I thought had him,” Pagan said. “He looked a me and shook his head and went back. Even in the last round, I thought I had him really, really hurt. He got a heart.”
Worcester’s Eslih Owusu (6-0, 3 KOs) topped Carlos Galindo by TKO 1:32 into the first round in a middleweight fight.
“It felt good,” Owusu said, “especially in my hometown in front of my friends and family.”
The 5-foot-6 Galindo looked quick early, ducking under punches from the taller Owusu, but Owusu managed to catch Galindo with a couple of upper cuts that eventually brought him down.
Bryan Daniels (6-1, 4 KOs) defeated Corey Morey in a heavyweight bout when Morey had to retire after just 1:30.
“For the record, I guess it looks good,” Daniels said, “but for my pride, not really. It’s my hometown, I put in a lot of work, got my family here. It meant a lot to be able to prove myself, and I felt like didn’t really get that opportunity.”
After a short sizing-up period, Daniels applied pressure on Morey, forcing him into the corner.
“I’m intending to apply pressure, he said, “but didn’t think I was too forceful. I just don’t think he was in fighting shape.”
In the night’s first bout, junior middleweight Josniel Castro (4-0, 2 KOs) of Boca Raton, Florida, defeated Lawrence’s Anthony Everett (1-9) by unanimous decision. Castro controlled the entire match, landing a few jabs to the face in Round 1. Castro carried the momentum into the later rounds, including opening the second with two clean jabs to the head, the second which left Everett wobbly.
Angel Gonzalez managed to outlast Richard Bernard in the third match. Despite a great height disparity, Gonzalez managed to get several body shots, tie-ups and a few solid shots of the head.
Enrique Collazo of San Juan, Puerto Rico, defeated Ronald Montes for the NABA Americas super middleweight championship.
In the following bout, Richie “Popeye the Sailor Man” Rivera (20-0, 15 KOs) lived up to his namesake, defeating Ernesto Berrospe Rivas by TKO in 2:15 with a couple of powerful punches, for the NABA Americas cruiserweight championship.
In the main event, undefeated heavyweight Cassius Chaney (21-0) of New Haven defeated Shawdell Winters (by unanimous decision in a 10-round bout. Chaney managed to take advantage of his superior height, landing several high blows.
Chaney is ranked eighth in the United States and 40th in the world.
—Contact Michael Shattuck at sports@telegram.com.
