Echard wins pro bout by TKO

PARKERSBURG -- Dustin Echard's 18th victory as a professional boxer was a memorable one here Saturday night inside a sweltering Rod Oldham Athletic Center as the ex-Parkersburg South Patriot stopped North Carolina's Blake Mansfield in the seventh round via TKO to claim both the West Virginia state light heavyweight championship as well as the WBF international silver belt.

Mansfield (7-5) pushed the pace early in the fight and held his own until the middle rounds where Echard (18-3) started to take control. In the seventh, Mansfield went to the canvas once and got back up, but Echard was able to finish him off at 2:25 with a left-right combo that was followed by an uppercut.

"He was just a little bit more active in the earlier rounds, but I was still hitting him with bigger shots," Echard admitted. "I was catching him a lot, but he was tough. I just had to find my range and then start working that jab. He was kind of cautious on the outside. He didn't want to come in. I threw that right hand earlier to let him know there was power. In the fourth and fifth I started landed the jab a lot more and he started slowing the feet down.

"Me and (trainer) Gary (Wolfe) have been working on the jab a lot. He started slowing down and I did a little bit, too, so I started throwing tempo shots just a little bit more. That last shot I caught him with was a combination, a three-piece. It was a one, three and then an uppercut. I put a lot into this. I've been training for the last six month. It was a lot of sacrifice. I just want to say that, shout out to my family and my wife was amazing throughout all of this, and we have a little one. With work and everything it's a lot."

In the co-feature and the only other pro bout, Wirt County's George Brown (1-1) lost via a unanimous decision to Robert Pressley of VO2 Fitness (2-1).

There was one Dawghouse Promotions belt up for grabs and in that cruiserweight showdown it was Parkersburg's Zach Hardman who came away with a split decision against Marietta's Mitchell Reynolds.

"It was pretty close," Hardman said. "It could've went either way, but I knew I had him stumbled a lot in the fight. I was pumped for the win man. It was hard earned. I knew that if I boxed him I might lose because he's a good boxer, but I knew if I fought him I'd have the advantage.

"That was my game plan going in. I think I had him stumbled more and I showed my power. I actually had him hurt moreso than he had me. He caught me with two good overhand rights. I felt them, but I got back to it. It was pretty apparent that I hurt him."

In the lone MMA bout, Kentucky's Eric Cole won via TKO at 0:57 of the second against Parkersburg's Morrison Dailey. During the only women's boxing match, Virginia's Kaci Wheeler secured a unanimous decision versus Kingwood's Selena Likens.

Two members of VO2 Fitness secured triumphs in kickboxing. Jacob Dean won via a UD versus Parkersburg's Ryan Lefever and Grant Rausch won via a disqualification at 1:48 of the first versus Parkersburg's Kristopher Hines, who was warned twice for using his knee before the DQ. Teddy Evans, also from VO2 Fitness, had his match against Justin Milam ruled a no contest after the Parkersburg native suffered a knee injury. In the other kickboxing contest, Fairmont's Eli Kerr secured a victory by UD against Ohio's Ben Copher.

The award for the most bizarre match of the evening went to VO2 Fitness' Dom Shackleford, who towered over opponent Cy Pollard of Morgantown. The match was stopped 44 ticks into the first after Pollard had taken a knee twice and opted not to continue.

Four other local fighters earned amateur boxing wins and that included Vienna's Vinny Baisi, who secured a UD against Ohio's Duncan Pagano.. Parkersburg had three other victors thanks to David Hardman winning by UD against Aaron Murray of Signal 12 Gym, Derek Gibson securing a solid majority decision versus Barnesville's Hunter Markovich as well as Michael Brown's UD triumph versus Dillon Murphy of Clarksburg.

Prophet Johnson, also from VO2 Fitness, won via UD against Barnesville's Benjamin Myers, while Trey Phares (Signal 12 Gym) secured a win via TKO at 0:59 of the second against Wimberley Cook (VO2 Fitness).

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com