NEW YORK – Dwyke Flemmings Jr. remained unbeaten, but he went the distance Saturday for the first time in 10 professional fights.
The 21-year-old junior middleweight prospect dropped Florent Dervis during the first round and out-boxed him on Flemmings’ way to an easy victory on the cards. Each judge scored all six rounds for Flemmings, who won 60-53, 60-53 and 60-53.
Flemmings (10-0, 9 KOs), of Paterson, New Jersey, boxed beyond the fourth round for the first time in three years as a pro. Dervis (10-3, 5 KOs), a southpaw from Boston, has lost three fights in a row, but he hasn’t been knocked out in 13 pro bouts.
It appeared as if Flemmings would produce a quick knockout when his left hook to the body sent Dervis to the canvas late in the first round. Dervis barely beat referee Eric Dali’s count, but he held Flemmings to survive an onslaught that began with two left hooks to his head before that aforementioned body blow dropped him to one knee.
The rangier Flemmings mostly worked off his jab and landed right hands during the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds. Dervis barely landed any clean punches in their one-sided fight.
Earlier Saturday, Italian-born junior middleweight Christian Cangelosi shut out Jarrod Tennant on all three scorecards, 80-72 apiece, in the first fight on the undercard.
Cangelosi (10-0, 5 KOs), who resides in Brooklyn, effectively used his jab at times and landed enough right hands to win every round according to all three judges. Los Angeles’ Tennant slipped to 9-4 (4 KOs).
Keith Idec is a staff writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.