Elijah Pierce overcame a slow start and a hurt hand to outbox former world title challenger Tramaine Williams, winning by unanimous decision Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut. 

Scores were 97-93, 97-93, and 96-94 for Pierce, who improved to 17-2, 14 knockouts.

Pierce, who resides in Midwest City, Oklahoma, was methodical during the first three rounds, not letting his hands go. The southpaw Williams took advantage, outboxing Pierce and banking those rounds in his favor.

The 26-year-old Pierce finally let his hands go, beginning in round 4. Pierce threw three and four-punch combinations, connecting to the head and body of Williams. As the fight progressed, Pierce walked Williams down, closing the gap between the two to unleash and land more combinations. 

Pierce was dominant during the second half of the fight. Pierce mixed his attack as Williams fought more defensively with each passing round. It was revealed Pierce hurt his right hand during the fifth round. 

With the win over Williams, Pierce won a regional title belt. 

Pierce has now won his last eight fights. His previous fight took place on November 19, stopping Juan Carlos Pena in the second round. Within a two-week span in June, Pierce stopped Jesse Garcia, who entered the bout unbeaten, and Ryizeemmion Ford. 

Williams, who resides in nearby New Haven, falls to 20-2, 6 KOs. 

The 30-year-old Williams has now lost two of his last three fights. His other defeat came in a fight for the vacant WBO world junior featherweight title in August 2020, losing by unanimous decision to Angelo Leo. 

In the co-feature bout of the CES Boxing card, junior middleweight Chordale Booker knocked out Ghana’s Daniel Aduku in the fourth round. Booker (19-1, 8 KOs), who resides in Stamford, dropped Aduku with a left hand to the head, dropping him through the ropes and face-first onto the outer portion of the canvas, prompting referee Johnny Callas to stop the fight. 

In another junior middleweight fight, Anthony Velazquez (12-0-1, 11 KOs) of Springfield, Massachusetts and Rashid Stevens (6-1-2, 5 KOs) of Gardena, California fought to a majority decision draw over six rounds. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 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 at [email protected]

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