Courtesy of Knockout Publicity:

Grizzled veteran Robert Osiobe of Nigeria made his Battle at the Boat debut a successful one by scoring a razor-thin majority decision over Forth Worth, Texas, fighter Jose Hernandez on Aug. 18 in Tacoma.

The 88th edition of Battle at the Boat was promoted by Halquist Productions and took place at the Emerald Queen Casino. (SEE PHOTOS)

An evenly-matched contest between tough lightweights, both men boxed patiently during the first nine rounds, counterpunching for the majority. Osiobe and Hernandez each landed some solid shots, most notably a hard jab that knocked out the Texan’s mouthpiece. In the closing stanza, an aggressive Osiobe and efficient Hernandez fought in close quarters hoping for a knockout, but the final bell left the bout in the judges’ hands.

Scores were 96-94 twice and 95-95.

Osiobe improves to 13-5-4 with 6 knockouts. Hernandez, who dropped a number of close decisions, falls to 13-6-1 with 5 wins by knockout.

Portland native Osvaldo Rojas, 7-2-2 (2 KO’s), took an impressive decision over fan favorite Nate Serrano, 4-2-1 (3 KO’s) in the six round welterweight co-feature. Rojas and Serrano, of nearby Yakima, WA, previously fought to a scintillating six round draw on June 2, but this time the visitor took control.

Rojas, who brought a group of vocal fans down Interstate 5 with him, fought most of the contest from the outside and did so successfully against his shorter foe. Serrano did his best to keep the fight in close quarters however Rojas had a good amount of momentum. In the fifth, Serrano was buzzed by a multi-punch combo but battled back hard in the sixth.

All three judges ruled in Rojas’ favor by the tally of 59-55.

In what turned out to be the most exciting match of the evening, Visalia, Calif., fighter Jose Leon scored a gutsy second round TKO over Kalispell, Montana, resident Jesse Uhde. Uhde appeared en route to scoring an impressive victory early on, decking Leon with a hard hook in the opening round. Early In the second, Leon was rocked again with another hook and his glove touched the canvas, but the tides ultimately turned. Moments later, Leon connected with a strong shot to Uhde’s face that put him down. Uhde got up on unsteady legs and stumbled into the referee, forcing him to stop the bout at 43 seconds of round number two.

Leon ups his record to 3-1-1 with 2 KO’s, while Uhde slips to 2-2 (1 KO).

In other undercard action, locals Omar Avelar of Moses Lake and Andres Ramos of Eltopa scored impressive victories. Portland’s Gabriel Pineda also emerged victorious.

Halquist Productions returns to the Emerald Queen on Sept. 29 with a stacked MMA card followed by Battle at the Boat 89 on Nov. 3.

PHOTOS

Click here to see photos from Battle at the Boat 88.