PBC on ESPN: Shafikov Takes Out Unbeaten Herring in 10th

Denis Shafikov's huge upset win is sealed early in the 10th round as Herring's corner stops the fight. #PBConESPN pic.twitter.com/0UhQzyN5nW

— PBC (@premierboxing) July 3, 2016

There was quite a bit of hype swirling around lightweight contender Jamel Herring before he climbed through the ropes to punch in to work on Saturday night. But by the time the dust settled and the smoke cleared inside the Santander Arena in Reading, Pa., the near-capacity crowd was almost transfixed in silence.

Former two-time world title challenger Denis Shafikov was expected to be by far the toughest test of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team captain’s pro career, but the former Marine was still figured to have his hand raised at the fight’s conclusion. As it turned out, just two days before America’s celebration of its independence, the Russian not only couldn’t care less about the 4th of July, he also wasn’t enamored by his foe’s reputation.

Herring, from Cincinnati, was never able to get things going as his counterpart applied serious pressure from the outset. Shafikov (37-2-1, 20 KOs) was in the American’s face routinely and swarmed him with punches coming from all angles whether he was inside or out. And, most importantly, Herring couldn’t stand up to Shafikov’s power, either.

With six ticks remaining on the clock in the second, a wild right hook dropped Herring along the ropes. He was able to beat the count but he was never the same after that. Shafikov rocked him in the third, fifth and ninth rounds; it was such a pounding that Herring’s corner threatened to stop the fight if he didn’t get things going immediately into the final round.

Herring (15-1, 8 KOs) never gave up inside the ring but when his knees buckled ever so slightly moments into the 10th and was forced to tie Shafikov up, Jamel’s corner threw in the towel, officially ending the mugging at the 36-second mark.

In the opening bout of the Premier Boxing Champions telecast on ESPN, Poland’s Patryk Szymanski remained unbeaten by dominating fellow junior middleweight “Silky” Wilky Campfort over 10 rounds. Szymanski fought beautifully throughout as he perplexed the Tampa fighter with his speed and volume punching. Campfort (21-3, 12 KOs) was not able to catch up with his foe’s speed and movement, allowing Szymanski to win rather easily. In the end, Szymanski won via tallies of 98-92 and 99-91 (twice) to improve to 16-0 with 9 KOs.