Joey Spencer knocked out Isiah Seldon almost as fast Saturday night as Mike Tyson knocked out Seldon’s father, Bruce, in their heavyweight title fight 24 years ago.
Spencer dropped Seldon twice in the opening round before referee Jerry Cantu stopped their scheduled eight-round middleweight match just two minutes and 15 seconds into it. An emotional Seldon protested Cantu’s stoppage, but Spencer overpowered him and seemed well on his way to a worse knockout in a fight FOX aired as part of the Caleb Plant-Caleb Truax undercard at Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.
The 20-year-old Spencer, of Linden, Michigan, improved to 12-0 and produced his ninth knockout. Seldon (14-4-1, 5 KOs), of Somers Point, New Jersey, lost by first-round knockout for the third time in his past five fights.
Spencer nailed Seldon with a right hand that spun Seldon around and awkwardly left him on his side just 1:02 into the opening round. Seldon answered Cantu’s count at eight and fouled Spencer almost as soon as the action resumed.
Seldon, bothered by the quick knockdown, intentionally hit Spencer behind his head with three right hands just before the midway mark of the opening round. Cantu deducted two points for that intentional foul and admonished Seldon.
The fight ended soon thereafter, as soon as Spencer sent Seldon to the canvas a second time. Another right hand by Spencer made Seldon stumble and fall on his side again with 47 seconds to go in the opening round.
Cantu immediately waved an end to the fight when Seldon hit the canvas a second time.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.