Samuel Clarkson vs. DeShon Webster ends in draw on Saturday night

Jul

Cruiserweights Samuel Clarkson and DeShon Webster fought to a majority draw Saturday night at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center, in Biloxi, Mississippi.

One judge scored the bout 96-94 for Clarkson, while the other two judges scored the bout 95-95.

Clarkson vs. Webster was a crossroads bout between two fighters in desperate need of a win. Clarkson (22-6-1, 15 knockouts), who resides in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Cedar Hill, entered the fight having lost two of his previous three.

Clarkson’s most notable fight thus far was a stoppage loss to current WBA light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol, in April of 2017.

Webster entered the fight against Clarkson winless in his previous three fights.

Saturday’s card was also the first to be held in the United States before a crowd of people since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The floor area immediately surrounding the ring had chairs spread out in accordance with social distancing rules and a majority of the estimated crowd of almost 1,000 people sat in the bowl above the floor level.

Both Clarkson and Webster had their moments during the first half of the fight but Webster was the more effective fighter. During the middle rounds, the southpaw Clarkson connected with straight and counter left hands to Webster’s head.

Webster’s ability to effectively box from a distance in Round 7, letting his hands go and connecting more with combinations. Webster was stunned in Round 9 by Clarkson but swung momentum his way in Round 10 by outboxing him.

Webster, who resides in Kansas City, Kansas, goes to 12-3-3 (with 6 KOs).

In preliminary action, junior lightweight Jeremy Hill, of New Orleans, Louisiana, defeated San Antonio’s Xavier Wilson (11-2-1, 1 KO) by unanimous decision. Scores were 78-73, 77-76 and 77-74 for Hill, who improves to 12-0 (with 7 KOs).

The fight card was promoted by Bigger Than Life Entertainment, which is run by E Jay Mathews. According to a release, proceeds from the event were to be donated to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.