By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
(NJ Sate representative)
June 19, 2003

Philadelphia, Pa. - Tybius Flowers punched his way to a split decision victory over crowd favorite Jose "El Macho" Medina in front of a packed house at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Philadelphia.

Flowers, now 17-5 (10 KO's), used his superior boxing skills and reach advantage to constantly jab and frustrate the stronger, harder punching Medina, who suffered the first loss in his young pro career (9-1, 8KO's).

Flowers won the vacant Atlantic Coast Regional USBA Jr. Middleweight belt with this hard fought victory and both fighters had the capacity crowd screaming and on it's feet throughout most of this exciting, action packed fight. With identical scores of 97-93, two judges had it for Flowers while one judge gave Medina the nod.

A highlight of new promoter "PJ" Augustine's "Rumble on the mainline" card was former 2-time lightweight champion (NABF & USBA) Ivan "Mighty" Robinson.

Robinson, a Philly native and local hero, pounded out a unanimous 6 round decision over last minute fill-in Mike McFail, fighting out of Baltimore, MD.

McFail, a loser-more than a winner, spent much of his time mocking and clowning rather than fighting, and paid for his antics-losing virtually every round in the judges eyes. Their scorecards read 60-54, 59-55 and 60-54.

Robinson, the only fighter to beat Arturo Gatti twice (2 close decision victories in '98), saw his record improve to 31-7-2 (12 KO's) and the likeable welterweight now has his sights set on another title shot.

In other action Philadelphia's Adam "the bomb" Allen made a successful pro debut with a 4 round unanimous decision victory over tough Jhovanny Collado. Allen sent Collado to the deck in the 1st round with a strong right. Collado saw his record drop to 2-5-2 with the loss in this Jr. Featherweight contest.

Home grown Philly product Albert Cheeseboro, now 2-0, made short work of Jake "the snake" Rodriguez whose record fell to 3-3. The taller Cheeseboro kept nailing Rodriguez and hurt "the snake" with several head shots while pinned in the corner before veteran referee Rudy Battle stopped the bout at 2:31 of round two.

In a rare female bout Daria "Queen of the" Hill picked up her 1st victory (now 1-1) against Machelle Shedrick, who was making her pro debut. Hill sent Shedrick to the canvas early with a big right hand and was hitting the overmatched Shedrick at will, forcing the stoppage at 1:40 of the 2nd round.

In the night's Jr. Middleweight co-feature George Armenta, now 7-3 (6 KO's), pleased the crowd with a hard earned 5th round TKO victory over crafty Michael "the dog catcher" Tidline. Tidline, sporting a very deceiving 10-17-3 record held his own against the stronger Armenta until getting caught with a couple of big right hands late in round 3. Besides getting hurt in the 4th, the veteran "dog catcher" was also penalized a point for hitting on the break and Armenta's right hands were effectively taking their toll on the older fighter. Round 5 opens with the Mexican born Armenta pouncing on the hurt Tidline and firing away. A hard right lands flush stunning Tidline and the now defenseless "dog catcher" sags against the ropes, absorbing punishment until the ref stops the bout at 1:36 of the 5th round.

The great fight town of Philadelphia was treated to a fine night of boxing. The sellout crowd, which included Middleweight champ Bernard Hopkins and 76ers basketball star Allen Iverson, got their moneys worth from the "5 for life" entertainment promoter PJ Augustine. "PJ", a newcomer to boxing promotions appears to be just what is needed in the boxing business. He's a guy genuinely concerned about the welfare of his fighters as well as his willingness to help ex-fighters - evidenced by his offer to assist the Retired Boxers Foundation. Let's not forget the fact that "PJ" puts on a very competitive, exciting fight card.

"5 for life" Promotion's next fight card at the Adam's Mark hotel is scheduled for July 24th. For further information on their upcoming bouts contact PJ Augustine at www.5forlifeentertainment.com.