By John Scheinman
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, June 24, 2007

Recovering from a solid knockdown in the second round that left him dancing in an attempt to stay out of trouble, former Olympic boxing star Clarence Vinson turned aggressor and hustled his way to a 10-round decision last night over Robert DaLuz at Burr Gymnasium.

The fight, the first on the campus of Howard University, was for the minor World Boxing Council USNBC bantamweight title, but Vinson, of Washington, was unable to claim the belt because he failed to make the contracted weight of 118 pounds the day before the fight.

Still, Vinson, who won a bronze medal in the 2000 Olympics, made a positive step forward in a career that veered off course after the death of his father in 2002. Vinson, 16-2, returned to the ring after a two-year layoff last December with a victory at the Lincoln Theater, but the bout with DaLuz, of Jacksonville, Fla., was far tougher.

In April, DaLuz had scored a stunning third-round knockout of prospect Allen Litzau in a televised bout, and he showed ranginess and power early against Vinson, knocking him down with a looping right in the second round.

But Vinson, who weighed 119 pounds, began to rally in the fourth, working behind a sharp jab and getting underneath DaLuz's punches to score inside with his right hand.

The judges scored 95-94, 96-93, 97-92, all in favor of Vinson.

"I'm taking it fight by fight, but by this time next year I believe I'll be a world champion," Vinson said.

Undefeated light heavyweight Reginald Taylor of Washington survived the toughest bout of his career, a grueling slugfest with veteran Jameel Wilson of Philadelphia.

From the beginning of the six-round bout, the fighters stood in the center of the ring attempting to employ the same strategy, ripping body shots and moving up to the head, hoping to take charge.

The fight went back and forth, with each fighter taking turns scoring heavily. In the final round, Taylor, who improved his record to 7-0, staggered Wilson with a combination and attempted to knock him out. By the last 30 seconds of the fight, however, Taylor was on the ropes taking a beating.

Washington junior welterweight Reggie Holly used a long right jab to control Ken Humphrey of Ripley, Tenn., and score a unanimous decision victory. The left-handed Holly, 7-2, has beaten Humphrey twice in his career.

Former National Golden Gloves flyweight champion Derrick McFadden of Washington made his pro debut and was upset by Gabriel Cruz of Portland, Ore., over four rounds.

Heavyweight Jonathan Felton of Stafford improved his record to 4-8 with a third-round technical knockout of Eric Star of Hillsborough, N.C., in a scheduled six-round bout.