Written by Gabrielle Burnett Photography Credit Terrell Groggins
Bantamweight Ja’Rico “The Great Lakes King” O’Quinn promoted by Salita Promotions on a Second 2 None Promotions event continued his undefeated record against veteran fighter Nick “Kanyankole” Otieno Okundo last night. Second 2 None promised an exciting night of boxing at War In Warren boxing event in Warren, MI, and they didn’t disappoint. O’Quinn, now 8-0, 1 draw, 5 KOs,fought in this main event. He won last night’s bout by unanimous decision. His opponent now stands at 31-13, 13 KOs.
From My Perspective
The first round saw both fighters performing on a pretty even playing field, both fighting conservatively, feeling their opponent out. O’Quinn used combinations effectively, landing clean shots. Okundo followed up O’Quinn’s combinations with a right, left hook body shot that demonstrated the veteran wasn’t going down without a fight.
The second round is when O’Quinn began his plan of domination. He deployed his left jab effectively against Okundo. Also landing a few right uppercuts. He really started to work the body in this round. His jab, combination and foot work were evident. However, Okundo is a tough veteran. He was able to land some very clean left jabs this round, keeping O’Quinn on his toes.
O’Quinn dominated the third and fourth rounds. Between his combination punches, right and left hooks to the body and right hooks to the head, Okundo had a hard time with offense and had to stay mostly in a defensive position, landing very little in this round.
Though O’Quinn had been dominating the entire fight, the fifth round showed more excitement for the crowd. O’Quinn entered this round landing a left right hook body shot that knocked Okundo down early in the round. But Okundo still hanged in there during this round. He was able to land some clean right jabs against O’Quinn but it wasn’t enough. O’Quinn’s offense was too steady, his footwork was sure and he landed punches too cleanly.
The final round showed more of the same from the fifth. O’Quinn continued to work the body. It seemed as if the more time passed, the more effective he became. Okundo landed one overhand right, but it wasn’t enough. Though Okundo showed just how tough a fighter he was, going the full six rounds, O’Quinn clearly dominated the entire fight.
For those who’ve been following O’Quinn, this victory may have seemed inevitable. Terrell Groggins, of My Art My Rules, has been documenting O’Quinn’s training camp in the famous Kronk Gym.
From Terrell's Perspective
The work O’Quinn put in with his head coach Chad Jaquillard and additional training with world renowned coach Javan “Sugar Hill” Steward of Kronk showed in the fight last night. His coaches worked with him on body shot placement. He’s a technical fighter that relies on precision. His speed was clearly on display. I’ve been documenting his training on the heavy bag and he has a lot of power, especially for his frame and bantamweight division.
Another thing that was evident in the fight, which I witnessed during his training camp, was his fitness. He went the full six rounds and didn’t seem fatigued. He was able to maintain his technical execution, speed and accuracy up until the very end of round six.
I felt this was a good test for O’Quinn. Okundo was a tough opponent. He never backed down in any of the rounds, even though O’Quinn wore him down throughout the fight. Okunda has survival instincts as a veteran; it helped him in this fight.
Ja’Rico O’Quinn is clearly a star in the making on Salita Promotions’ roster. Other elements that help build up Detroit boxing is not only the talented fighters, but the matchmaking involved. This is the type of fight fans want to see. Companies like Turner Boxing Productions and promoters like Dmitriy Salita of Salita Promotions are setting the tone for the reemergence of great Detroit boxing.