While his opponent entered the ring resplendent in a superman costume, complete with the cape, Tyson Cave unveiled his own new attire, bright green trunks with the word kryptonite on the rump. As it turned out, Cave didn’t have to dip into too much of the green stuff as he battered Antwan “Superman” Robertson around the ring en route to a TKO victory when Robertson, claiming to have suffered a broken nose, failed to move from his corner as the bell rang for round 2. With the win, the Prince of Hali moves his record to 11 wins, 3 by knockout and 1 defeat, while Robertson falls to 6-3-1.

Cave leaped into action at the opening bell and quickly nailed Robertson with a couple jabs and a right hook. He then scored with a nice lead left hand to the head of his opponent who was unfazed at this point and shot back with a stiff jab to the head of Cave. The P.O.H. turned it up a notch after taking the jab and scored with solid left right combination to Superman’s head, followed by another stiff right hand before he connected with a thunderous right uppercut delivered from in close. Cave, using his trademark unorthodox, herky-jerky, now-you-see-me, now-you-don’t footwork, was clearly in command and popped Robertson again with a solid left to the jaw and a right hook to the body. Robertson was nailed again by another left to the head and a right on the button. There was a good exchange near the ropes ending with Robertson going to the canvas as Cave scored the only knockdown of the bout. Robertson briefly protested, to no avail, that he went down as the result of a push and not a punch. After taking the mandatory count, Robertson knew he had work to do and scored with his jab. Cave had the adrenalin flowing now, and energized by the knockdown, he picked up the pace in the last portion of the round. He scored with a right hook to the body before catching Robertson with a solid right uppercut which forced him to hold on. That may have been the punch which broke Robertson’s nose. The slippery lefty stalked Robertson for the remainder of the round and peppered him with jabs and occasional right hooks with little or no response until the bell sounded.

As the bell sounded for round 2, Robertson remained seated on his stool, blinking his eyes and indicating that he could not continue, much to the chagrin of the 800 or so boxing fans who had come to see this fight. Cave, though ecstatic to get the win, was disappointed that he didn’t get to do more damage to the fighter from Minnesota.

When FightNews Canada caught up with Cave in his victorious locker room, he was quick to mention the maturity factor as very important in his development.

“At first, I had to talk trash in order to get some exposure and to get myself known on the professional scene. Being from Halifax, we don’t get as much respect as some other guys out there even though the fighters from this city are solid. I had to change my lifestyle and my attitude somewhat because this is not a joke anymore. I know some fans out there were glad to see me suffer than loss to Casey, but as I think about it, that could have been the best thing for me. They thought I was all mouth and had no heart but I got up off the canvas and fought pretty well. I happened to get caught by a good puncher. Because of that I am much more serious and focused about boxing now than I have ever been. Tonight I was able to beat a fighter who had never been stopped before. Robertson is no slouch but I had too much for him tonight. I give credit to my coach Wayne Gordon for working to improve my punching power and I think you saw the results of his work tonight. Now the plan is to have one more fight, perhaps in August, maybe against Wasswa and then we want to go after the North American Boxing Organization featherweight title which is vacant right now.”

Wayne Gordon added “Tyson had mature qualities as an amateur but there was always that fear of a blemish on his record. Now as a professional, that fear has disappeared as a result of the Casey fight. He’ll be a better fighter since that loss is behind him. He was prepared for that fight but his heart got in the way. To me, an undefeated record shouldn’t mean as much as the quality of your opponent. Tonight, he took care of a quality opponent and showed how his punching power has increased but we can always do better. Tyson is a talented offensive fighter as he showed out there tonight but you have to be conservative a little bit at times”.

When asked of the possibility of a rematch with fellow Haligonian Steve Cannell, Cave was predictable in his discussion.

“Do you think Steve Cannell would want to get in the ring with the Prince of Hali after seeing what I did to Superman tonight? Steve Cannell would be stopped and he knows it. But he’s not the only one out there either. Kooner, Gauthier, anyone right now and I don’t really care who it is. I can say this though, I want another crack at Willie Casey because I will avenge that defeat. I learned a lot about myself that night and won’t make the same mistakes again”.

In their rematch at 165 pounds, Jordan Clarke and Juan Sanchez, in a bout which had the crowd screaming for more action, fought to a draw once again as they did last summer when Sanchez broke Clarke’s jaw in several places. This bout saw both men being cautious, taking very few chances and looking to capitalize on their jabs. For Clarke, this fight was a jabfest and I thought he appeared to win that battle. Sanchez tried to get inside and actually scored a once or twice with a solid right hand and once with an uppercut but Clarke was able to stay out of range with his defense for the majority of the fight and score repeatedly with his right jab. Clarke connected with a sweet right/left combination to the head late in the final round and he fought off the jab for most of the round. The scores were 39-37 Clarke, and 38-38, 38-38. Clarke’s record is now 4-0-2 and Sanchez is 3-6-2.

The other professional bout between Steve Cannell and Hassan Wasswa saw Cannell pitch a complete shutout. He battered the game, but outgunned Wasswa with a variety of jabs and hooks with both hands throughout the bout. Particularly impressive was his approach to work his opponent’s body with a series of thunderous hooks. Cannell’s accuracy was stunning as he fired off combinations to the head and body. By the 3rd round, a mouse developed under Wasswa’s right eye as Cannell’s attack was relentless. In the later rounds, Wasswa tried to close the distance but was eating lefts and rights for his efforts. Each judge scored the fight 60-54 for Cannell who improves to 4-4-3 while Wasswa slides to 5-10-3.

If you wish to contact the author of this article, email Cecil Wright at FightNews Canada