Brampton fighter shines but Oshawa boxers go down in explosive card in Pickering

It was a night of triumph for a fast-rising Brampton fighter and a night of pain for a couple of Oshawa boxers Saturday night, with just one of the five bouts on the Pickering Casino Resort card going the distance.

Joshua Frazer of Brampton improved his record to 12-0 in the opening bout of the evening with a devastating right hook that sent his Czech opponent to the canvas 27 seconds into the third round, putting an immediate end to the welterweight fight.

Frazer had knocked Peter Brodsky (4-4) down in the first with a left hook and again in the second with a body shot before the decisive KO in the third.

Oshawa’s Thad Buntsma’s night did not fare as well, with Chad Kelly of Collingwood knocking Buntsma (5-4-1) down three times en route to victory in the seventh round and the vacant Canadian Super Welterweight title in the main event.

The win also avenged a majority decision loss to Buntsma in April.

Buntsma walked into stiff left jab in the second and went down again in the sixth when he was hit with a powerful overhand left. Another left from Kelly – now 5-9-3 – in the seventh was enough and veteran referee Dave Dunlop, who has been in the ring for nearly 2,500 fights, called an end to the Oshawa boxer’s night.

Chad Kelly of Collingwood won the vacant Canadian Super Welterweight title over Oshawa’s Thad Buntsma. Photo Josh Schofield

Another Oshawa fighter experienced a brutal end to his night when unbeaten light-heavyweight Jerome Gabriel – in control for the first two minutes of the scheduled four-round bout, his fifth as a professional – was hit with a huge right by experienced Jamaican Gregory Miller (3-11).

Gabriel struggled to his feet and was surprisingly allowed to continue but Miller followed up with a massive left that had the local fighter down on the canvas and requiring medical attention.

The co-main event featured another knockout, with a pair of veteran boxers providing an entertaining event, with Kemahl Russell (18-1) of Kingston, Jamaica stopping former Brazilian champion Douglas Ataide (19-5-1) twelve seconds before the end of the fourth in their middleweight bout.

Russell sent Ataide down in the decisive round with a big right and followed up with combination on the ropes that resulted in a standing eight count. Another flurry of punches soon after ended the fight.

The other fight on the evening was the only bout that went to the judge’s scorecard, with Pickering hometown boy Kyle McLaughlin (6-0) winning a unanimous six-round decision over veteran warrior Dylan Rushton (3-14-3) of Hamilton.

The fight was a rematch of a bout in Pickering in April, when McLaughlin earned a split decision win.

Joshua Frazer knocks out Czechia’s Peter Brodsky