Cletus Seldin overcomes slow start, stops Patrick Okine in six rounds

Photo by David Algranati/The Fight Photos

Oct

Junior welterweight boxer Cletus Seldin overcame a slow start to grind down Patrick Okine for a sixth round stoppage on Tuesday at Sony Hall in New York City.

The eight-round bout headlined a Boxing Insider Promotions card which, despite being hit by late fallouts of fights featuring Alicia Napoleon and Famous Wilson, still went on with four bouts.

Seldin (27-1, 23 knockouts) of Shirley, N.Y. put down Okine (21-6-2, 18 KOs) with a hook midway through the sixth, and then followed up with a barrage on the ropes that forced a stoppage at the 2:22 mark.

The fight was the first for Seldin in two years, and the ring rust was apparent early as Okine found his openings early, landing big power shots with both hands in the first two rounds. The fight began to turn in the third round, when a right from Seldin buckled Okine’s legs and sent him to the corner. Seldin’s physical style began to wear down the sharper yet smaller Okine, who weighed nearly five pounds less than Seldin at the weigh-in the day before.

Earlier in the night, flyweight prospect Christina Cruz (6-0) scored a shutout over Josefina Vega (9-8, 4 KOs) to win a six-round decision by the scores of 60-53.

Promoter Larry Goldberg of Boxing Insider Promotions says he will likely promote his next card in December or January.