PHOTOS  page 21                                                           

The Freitas-Raheem co-feature and undercard...  Photos by Brendon Pierpaoli

Andy Kolle didn't know how to lose as a professional fighter, so the upstart Andre Ward took it upon himself to teach him in the evening's televised co-feature.  Ward, the only boxer to bring a Gold Medal home from Athens in 2004, showcased his rapidly improving skills in an impressive outing versus a tough opponent who did his best to win despite the gulf in talent.

The southpaw Kolle made for a competitive opponent for the developing Ward but in the sixth Ward landed at will, showing some real artistic skill.  Had it been an amateur bout it would have been stopped by the "outclassed" ruleAs a pro Ward settled for a win by sixth round technical knockout when Kolle was stopped by the consensus of doctor and referee.

Heavyweights, Alonzo Butler and Zach Page, rumbled in a sloppy but entertaining fight that saw both men scoring well in spurts of action.  Page, who spent much of the bout retreating and dodging the heavy fists of Butler, finally backed himself straight into a corner where Butler crumpled him with a right to the jaw at the end of the fifth.

Using a multitude of double left hooks to the body and head Vincent Arroyo (in gold) outworked John Lipscomb.   Brazil's Carmelito DeJesus (in red above) battled Philadelphia's Darrell Crenshaw in a scheduled four rounder that ended when Crenshaw could not answer the bell to start the third.

Dejesus celebrates...                  Brazil's Luciano Silva (above in white) won a unanimous decision over Deon Nash in a six rounder that featured lots of punches thrown but not much leather landed

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