Low blows end fight at Northern Quest

A little sore in an area not meant to be so, Johnnie Edwards still managed an uncomfortable smile Sunday night.

Edwards frustrated former two-time world champion Freddie Norwood for six rounds before Norwood ultimately self-destructed with a series of low blows that ended the main event of a boxing card at Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights.

“This is by far the biggest win of my career,” said Edwards, who improved to 13-1-1 when referee Daryl Van Note stopped the fight 58 seconds into the sixth round.

Norwood, 37, was competing in his fifth bout since resuming his career after nearly six years out of the ring. Unable to score consistently against Edwards, Norwood (41-2-1) resorted to rough-and-tumble tactics that drew the ire of Van Note.

Norwood tackled Edwards twice in the first round, once after Edwards landed a right hook and knocked Norwood off balance. Van Note was generous to Norwood by ruling it a slip rather than a knockdown, but the fighter would test the referee again before long.

The former champion hit Edwards well below the belt in the third round, causing a two-minute stoppage to the fight so Edwards could recover on a stool in his corner. Norwood ended the round with a flurry of body punches, but three of them landed after the bell and drew boos from the crowd.

Norwood then was docked two points in the fifth round for a pair of low blows 15 seconds apart to put him far behind on the judges’ scorecards. Norwood hit Edwards with a borderline punch on the waistline in the sixth, but Van Note deemed the punch too low and declared the fight over after initially penalizing Norwood another point.

“He wasn’t used to my hand speed and my foot speed,” Edwards said. “He did whatever he could to get through the rounds.”

Russian Maxim Vlasov made an impressive showing in his first bout on American soil and dispatched of Portland native Sam Haynes with a third-round knockout. Vlasov improved to 9-0 – each of his previous eight fights were held in Russia – and the knockout was the second of his career.

Vlasov’s countrymate, welterweight Ruslan Provodnikov, battered Darren Darby before securing a technical knockout in the first round. Provodnikov put Darby on the mat twice behind two crunching body blows before referee Paul Field stopped the fight with Darby lying face down on the mat.

Also on the undercard, Ben Aragon (5-6-1) used a considerable speed advantage on his way to a unanimous decision over journeyman Louis Sargeant (7-11-2) in a four-round super middleweight bout. In a six-round heavyweight fight, Shane Andreesen (8-0) outlasted Michael Moncrief (1-5-1) and earned a victory via unanimous decision.