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READING, Penn. -- The Fourth of July storyline going into the fight was that former Marine and Iraq veteran Jamel "Semper Fi" Herring would extend his unbeaten streak against Russian veteran Denis Shafikov to make it a patriotic red, white and blue celebration. But Shafikov had other ideas and dished out a one-sided beating en route to a 10th-round technical knockout victory in a lightweight bout. The taller Herring suffered a knockdown in the second round when Shafikov drilled him with a right to the head. The punch sent Herring flying into the ropes, and referee Gary Rosado called it knockdown because the ropes held up the dazed fighter. Herring tried to use lateral movement and quick flurries to keep Shafikov at arms length but lacked the punching power to get the job done. The squat Shafikov was the aggressor, working his way inside of Herring's longer reach and pounding away to the head and body every round, hurting his adversary numerous times. Herring took a particularly nasty beating in ninth and it was somewhat of a surprise that his corner allowed him to come out for the final round. Shafikov landed a few more solid punches in the 10th and the referee stopped the fight at the 0:36 mark, with Herring bleeding from the mouth and a cut over his right eye. Shafikov, 31, improved his record to 37-2-1 (20 KOs), while Herring, 30, fell to 15-1 (8 KOs). Shafikov, whose only two loses came in title bouts, hopes his impressive victory will earn him a third. In the co-feature Polish middleweight Patryk Szymanski won a unanimous 10-round decision over "Silky" Wilky Campfort by scores of 98-92 and 99-91 (twice). Szymanski, 23, used footwork, left jabs and occasional right hands to pepper Campfort, 31, in most rounds. Campfort rallied in the seventh, eighth and ninth, digging hooks to the body and right hands to the head but couldn't turn the fight his way. The undefeated Szymanski unloaded with sustained barrage in the final round and then coasted home to tally his 16th consecutive victory, including nine knockouts. Campfort slipped to 21-3-1 (12 KOs). Former IBF welterweight titleholder Kermit Cintron won a unanimous eight-round decision over Puerto Rican journeyman Carlos Garcia, 27, in a junior middleweight bout. The 36-year-old Cintron, a resident of Reading, was cheered on by his hometown fans but failed to impress. It was the second comeback bout following lengthy layoff for Cintron, but despite running his record to 37-5-2 (28 KOs) he looked nothing like the fighter who won the IBF title in 2006. Garcia record is now 10-16-1 (8 KOs).
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