Reading fighters Stevens, Gonzalez win on national TV

Two undefeated boxers from Reading continued their winning streaks Friday night as David “Dynamite” Stevens and Julian “Gifted” Gonzalez won bouts against fellow unbeaten opponents at the Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem.

Featured live on Showtime network’s “Shobox: The New Generation,” Stevens (12-0, nine KOs) won the main event against Sean Hemphill (14-1, eight KOs) by knockout in the final round of a 166 pound super middleweight bout.

“It felt good performing in front of my hometown,” Stevens said. “I definitely heard the crowd. I’m a professional so I don’t really hear anyone but my corner. But like I said, it felt good. I felt good, nice and composed.”

Gonzalez (9-0-1, nine KOs), fighting out of Reading’s Kings Boxing Gym, defeated Rosalindo Morales (9-1, two KOs) by TKO in the fourth round of a super featherweight bout.

In the main event, after a grueling and evenly contested seven rounds, both boxers opened up their defenses in the eighth and final round, hoping to land a knockout punch. And in a match that was billed as a “boxers vs. puncher” fight by promoter Marshall Kauffman of King’s Promotions and King’s Boxing Gym, Stevens used his status as a puncher to his advantage.

In Stevens’ corner was Hall of Fame trainer Ronnie Shields, who Stevens said encouraged him to go for the knockout as the rounds wore on.

“We were both getting a little heavy and I just needed to push,” Stevens said. “My corner was reminding me that I worked hard.

“I’ve seen Ronnie curse out other guys, so I really wasn’t trying to get that treatment.”

Luckily for Stevens, and surely to the approval of Shields, Stevens backed a fatigued Hemphill into a corner late in the eighth and unleashed a fury of hooks that connected and knocked Hemphill to the canvas.

Hemphill staggered his way up and the round resumed with 10 seconds to go before Stevens landed a right, then delivered a haymaker of a left hook to a barely standing Hemphill.

Hemphill fell with two seconds left in the round, securing the knockout victory for Stevens.

“I gotta go back and watch it, but I remember landing a big punch and following up,” Stevens said. “I was just trying to finish strong. I’ve seen the hooks work and so I just started swinging for the fences; well, not swinging for the fences but just trying to connect.”

Stevens used his evasiveness in the early rounds to dodge Hemphill’s punches and tire his opponent while working in his jabs and body punches. In the later rounds, Stevens began using his strength to go for heavier contact and appeared to be the more in-shape fighter, which he said was part of his team’s game plan.

“We could have executed it (the game plan) a lot better, but we got the job done,” Stevens said. “Definitely that was the game plan coming in: break him down and stay in his face.

“Ideally I wanted it to be a lot sooner.”

Though the win extends Stevens’ unbeaten streak and gives him recognition on a national stage, Stevens, who fights out of East Reading Boxing Club, said he believed he could have put on a better performance.

“I needed a way better performance to open those doors and let these guys know who I am,” Stevens said.