Brandon Glanton got back to being the aggressor and putting his opponent on the defensive. And that formula translated into a knockout win.

Glanton dropped Carlos Frometa Romero twice en route to a third-round knockout win Wednesday night at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida.

From the opening bell, Glanton initiated exchanges, mixing his attack to the head and body of Frometa, who mostly fought off his back foot and attempted to counter Glanton’s offense.

Frometa was able to land an occasional counter left hook, but fought off the ropes or attempted to create distance in an attempt to keep being overwhelmed by Glanton.

Towards the end of the second round, a punch to the head stunned Frometa. Glanton followed Frometa to a corner, where he unleashed a combination, culminating in a right cross that dropped Frometa to the canvas. Frometa was able to beat the count, but the bell rang before Glanton could follow up.

About a minute into round three, referee Emil Lombardi deducted a point from Frometa for repeatedly holding Glanton. With less than a minute left in the round, a left hook from Glanton forced Frometa to turn away from the action. Glanton followed up and landed a devastating left hook to the head. The impact of the punch caused Frometa to slump onto the ring ropes, prompting Lombardi to administer a standing eight-count. Upon reaching the count of eight, Lombardi waved the fight off.

The win over Frometa snapped a two-fight losing streak for Glanton. A split decision loss to David Light on December 2 and a majority decision defeat to Soslan Asbarov have been the only setbacks for Glanton. Light challenged WBO world cruiserweight titleholder Lawrence Okolie almost four months later, losing by decision.

Glanton, who resides in Atlanta, Georgia and is trained by Jason Jones, improved to 18-2 with 15 knockouts.

Brandon Glanton (left) against Carlos Frometa – Photo courtesy of ProBox

Frometa, who is originally from Camaguey, Cuba and now residing in South Florida, falls to 12-2, 7 KOs. The 25-year-old had not lost since his pro debut in March 2021.

Earlier in the night, super middleweight Cesar Mateo Tapia dropped Eric Robles of Tijuana, Mexico once en route to a knockout win after round five.

Tapia (16-0, 10 KOs), now residing in Narrabeen, Australia after growing up in Tijuana, dropped Robles with an overhand right to the head. Robles was able to beat the count, and was game the rest of the fight.

Robles hurt Tapia with a series of punches to the body, forcing Tapia to take steps back against the ropes in an attempt to recover from the impact of the punches. Tapia rallied back in the fifth round, almost dropping Robles from a right cross to the head, but he was not able to follow up as Robles clenched and fought back the rest of the round.

Prior to the start of the sixth round, a ringside physician checked on Robles’ left eye, which was almost shut from the amount of punches Tapia connected throughout the fight. After consulting with the physician, referee Gene Del Bianco waved the fight off.

Tapia, who is managed by Ryan Rickey and trained by Justin Fortune, was making his United States debut.

Robles falls to 9-3, 8 KOs and has now lost his last two fights.

In an all-action brawl, unbeaten heavyweight Najee Lopez overcame a rocky start to stop Khainell Wheeler (7-4, 6 KOs) of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the fourth round.

Wheeler landed lead and counter right crosses to the head, snapping Lopez’s head back on several occasions. One particular right cross momentarily stunned Lopez, but Lopez was able to fight back, connecting on his own combinations.

Lopez (now 8-0, 7 KOs) swung momentum his way during the third round. About a minute left in the fourth round, an uppercut staggered Wheeler. Lopez threw and landed a left hook that sent Wheeler towards the ropes, where he slumped down and eventually onto the canvas. Referee Gene Del Bianco stopped the fight at 2:14.

Middleweight prospect Darrelle Valsaint (10-0, 8 KOs) of nearby Orlando stopped Brazil’s Diego Ferreira in the opening round. Valsaint threw and landed an uppercut that staggered Ferreria. After a barrage of punches, referee Emil Lombardi stopped the action. Confusion arose as it looked as though Lombardi stopped the fight, but Lombardi allowed the fight to continue.

Valsaint continued to batter Ferreira, eventually leading to Lombadi stepping in and stopping the fight at 2:59. Replays showed Lombardi did initially stop the action, thinking the round had ended.

Ferreira falls to 10-2, 6 KOs.

In the opening bout of the ProBox TV card, junior lightweight Jaycob Gomez of Puerto Rico dropped Robenilson Vieria de Jesus (5-1, 1 KO) of Brazil once en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Scores were 60-53, 59-54, and 58-55 for Gomez, who improved to 8-0-1, 5 KOs.

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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