Thanjhae Teasley overcame early adversity before scoring an eighth-round stoppage of Selassie Bey on Friday night in a showdown of undefeated welterweight prospects.
Teasley (11-0, 5 KOs) closed out the show in the final round of the Red Owl Boxing main event in Houston, Tex. stomped the badly faded Bey before the referee stopped the match at the 1:22 mark. Bey (8-1, 8 KOs) went down midway through the round, partially due to exhaustion, and was counted out because his arms never left their position resting atop the ropes.
It was a coming-of-age fight for the 25-year-old Teasley, who found himself on the floor near the end of the second round when Bey landed a right hand as the taller Teasley threw an uppercut. Teasley recovered well, but the danger remained as Bey was able to rock him again with a hook in the third round.
“I learned a lot. I learned how to stay disciplined. No matter how loose I get in the ring, I have to be careful. As we know, Bey is a hard puncher. No disrespect, I felt harder punches. He just caught me with a really good shot and I lost my balance,” said Teasley of Bethlehem, Pa.
Teasley started to get the range he wanted in the fourth round as the 5’11” welterweight started landing combinations from distance, spinning the power puncher and not allowing him to let go of his heavier punches not. The adjustment began to pay off as Bey was hurt by the nonstop punches of his opponent, forcing Bey to hold on for survival.
Teasley scored his first takedown in round six when some real Bey put him on the canvas a minute into the sixth. Bey, a resident of Louisville, Ky. who had never fought past four rounds, struggled to keep up with the pace of Teasley. Bey became a punching bag at that point as his head was repeatedly knocked back with no response.
Teasley knocked Bey down in round 7 as a left hook to the body followed by a right uppercut nearly put Bey down again. Bey’s face was bloodied and swollen by this point, to the point that many trainers would not have allowed him out of the corner for the eighth round. Faced with a beaten and battered opponent, Teasley performed his professional duties and ran away until the fight was stopped.
With the win, Teasley earned his first stoppage in three fights, having gone the distance with Xavier Madrid and Javier Mayoral in his last two fights. Still, Teasley acknowledged there is room for growth in future shows.
“It’s not that I got lazy, but there were a few times where I got stiff. I was too much in my head, but it’s a lesson,” said Teasley, who turned pro in March 2022 after only about 15 amateur fights.
“There were times when I dropped my hands and I thought I was out of his reach, but he had a long reach. There were times when I had to stay more disciplined. He had good body defense and I expected to get to the body and the liver more, I should have done a better job setting it up. My conditioning helped me, my coach helped me, the crowd helped me.”
In the co-main event, Ephraim Bui (10-0, 8 KOs) defeated Yusniel Abrahante (6-2, 1 KO) by a controversial, yet unanimous decision in their eight round junior bantamweight bout. All three judges scored the match for Bui over the four-time Cuban national amateur champion with scores of 77-74 on two cards and 79-73 on the third.
Lyndon Patricio (1-0, 1 KO) opened the card, finishing off Corian Hawkins-Powell (0-2) in the first round of their bantamweight bout. Patricio, 20, of Waianae, Hawaii, scored two knockouts before the fight was stopped.
Patricio is the younger brother of 2024 US Olympic trials champion Shera Mae Patricio, who will make her professional debut next Saturday in Philadelphia.
