In front of 10,021 vocal fans at the Bill Kozerski’s Fight Night Inc., show at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Michigan, Detroit’s Rubin “Hollywood” Williams and respected Iowa veteran Antwun "Kid Dynamite" Echols put on a thrilling back-and-forth war, and when the dust had settled, the result was a 12-round split draw.

The Scores were 114-113 Williams, 115-111 Echols, and 113-113.

Williams (29-2, 16 KOs) had his hands full with the surprisingly determined Echols (31-6-2, 27 KOs).  

From the opening bell, Echols came out firing and stung Williams along the ropes to end round one. Williams got it going in round three, only to drop rounds four and five to Echols’ superior work rate.

Williams’ comeback began in the sixth, as he fought off the ropes effectively and timed Echols beautifully.

Williams would have won this tilt on the judges’ scorecards, had he not had points deducted in rounds seven and nine for debatable low blows. He also suffered a cut right eye from a punch in round eight.

While the entire fight featured electrifying action, the last three rounds were brutally elegant displays of warrior combat. Williams popped the jab and fired clubbing hooks and right hands, while Echols continued to chug forward with his heavy-handed attack. The fire fights that resulted were spectacular exhibitions of heart and determination.

The announcement of the split draw brought a chorus of boos from the crowd, who had been won over by Echols’ persistence. With the point deductions, FightNews had it 114-113 for Echols, but both fighters deserve heaps of credit for their impressive showings.

Rematch anyone?

The night’s main event was an anti-climax compared to the epic Williams/Echols co-feature, however WIBA light middleweight champion Mary Jo Sanders (23-0, 7 KOs) successfully moved up in weight and took the IBA Women's Middleweight Title by easily stopping heavily muscled Texan Gina Nicholas (11-6-2, 8 KOs) at the end of two rounds.

Sanders had things all her way against Nicholas, who had previously lasted 47 seconds longer against fellow female pound-for-pound candidate Ann Wolfe. She peppered Nicholas with her fast, accurate hands, reddening her face and taking the fight out of her.

Sanders, who started her career at 140 lbs, is reportedly moving up in weight in an effort to land a fight with female superstar Laila Ali. If tonight was any indication, she is still comfortable at 160 lbs.

Super middleweight Ronald “The Motor City Cobra” Hearns (12-0, 10 KOs) scored a “phantom punch” knockout over Columbus veteran Daniel Neal (9-17-1, 2 KOs) that enraged the crowd and even Hearns himself.

Neal, loser of eight straight, laid down for the 10 count from the first soft right hand he caught on the forehead. Hearns, who is past due to face a live body, refused to shake Neal’s hand, post-fight.

Former heavyweight contender Cedric Boswell (23-1, 18 KOs) returned from nearly nine months of inactivity with a routine beat down of diminutive Texan, Robert Kooser (9-7, 8). Boswell appeared to hurt his hand on Kooser’s head. Three knockdowns brought the TKO end at 1:12.

Comebacking Detroit super middleweight Damon “Bulldog” McCreary (12-0, 9 KOs) picked up where he left his undefeated professional boxing career by destroying West Virginia journeyman James North (8-16, 3 KOs).

McCreary put his heavy hands on display, cracking rights and lefts with abandon until referee Ron Cunningham had seen enough at 1:49 of round one. McCreary had asserted himself as a danger to any super middleweight in the world before his unfortunate five-year hiatus from boxing. He will surely shake up the pot locally and likely even nationally when he returns to top form.

To open the festivities, Waterford, Michigan’s “Pistol” Pete Cantu won a compelling four-round unanimous decision over Detroit’s James Lester. Cantu landed the harder blows, but Lester was never short of an answer. The two traded freely and the crowd showed its appreciation at the end. The scores were 40-37, 39-37 and 39-37 for the winner, who moves his record to 8-6-1, 6 KOs. Lester fell to 3-2, 1 KO.