Old Hangout, New Belt : Beat Goes On in the Second for Whitaker

Lance Whitaker keeps beating up his opponents.

“You think so?” Whitaker said with an almost quizzical look.

It’s just as plain as the blood on Marco Dickson’s face.

Whitaker, a 6-foot-8, 252-pound heavyweight from Granada Hills, pounded Dickson to the canvas 51 seconds into the second round of their scheduled four-round bout on the undercard Friday night at the Reseda Country Club.

In five fights since turning pro last July, Whitaker, 25, has stopped all opponents with devastating blows in seven incomplete rounds.

“I don’t look for it,” Whitaker said. “But if it’s there, why not?”

Dickson’s 1-8-1 record entering the bout might have provided him with an indicator.

The beaten fighter remained on the canvas for several minutes and was escorted slowly from the ring.

“He’s got such ungodly power, it’s scary,” said Joe Goossen, Whitaker’s trainer. “He’s hurt those guys.”

Whitaker, remarkably, was not the biggest fighter on the eight-bout card program highlighted by the return of Michael Nunn.

Wolfgramm, a 335-pound Olympic silver medalist from Tonga, raised his record to 3-0 with a four-round unanimous decision over Orlando Lavalle (1-1).

Wolfgramm, whose first name is Paea but who prefers to go by just his last name, recorded first-round knockouts in each of his first two fights. But he relied on what he said he considers his underrated boxing skills against Lavalle.

Still, Wolfgramm, who is 6-4, had difficulty keeping the 6-2, 240-pound Lavalle from tying him up.

“I learned something tonight,” Wolfgramm said. “I learned that I’m going to have to learn to deal with guys like him.”

Wolfgramm, who came within four points of winning a gold medal in Atlanta last summer, connected with accurate combinations, giving the aura of a smaller fighter.

“When I was in the Olympics, the press said I was another Butterbean,” Wolfgramm said. “I’d like to get down [in weight] so that there’s a little less of me.”

Carlos Martinez and Ted Cofie, also trained by Joe Goossen, recorded victories.

Martinez (3-0), a welterweight and member of the Mexican Olympic team in Atlanta, scored a four-round unanimous decision over Jose Aguilera, who was making his pro debut.

Martinez repeatedly beat Aguilera to the punch but couldn’t knock him down.

Cofie, an Australian cruiserweight champion, struggled through an awkward fight with A.J. Moore of Sacramento to win a unanimous decision that was greeted with boos. Both fighters stumbled at separate times while throwing wild punches.

“It’s the first time I’ve fought in a year,” Cofie said. “It was a little bit awkward. He was quite strong, so I tried to keep my distance.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Scorecard

Friday night’s boxing results at Reseda Country Club

* Michael Nunn (50-3, 32 KOs) knocked out Rudy Nix (17-3-1, 16 KOs) in the second round for the North American Boxing Federation light-heavyweight championship

* Wolfgramm (3-0, 2 KOs) won by unanimous decision over Orlando LaValle (1-1) (heavyweights)

* Adam Vargas (18-1, 16 KOs) knocked out Ernest Koffi (32-6, 30 KOs) in the fifth round (bantamweights)

* Carlos Martinez (3-0, 2 KOs) won by unanimous decision over Jose Aguilera (0-1) (welterweights)

* Lance Whitaker (5-0, 5 KOs) knocked out Marco Dixon (1-9-1), in the second round (heavyweights)

* Brandon Mitchem (5-0, 3 KOs) won by unanimous decision over Francisco Mendez (9-6, 6 KOs), (welterweights)

* Jermaine Fields (1-0) knocked out Rogelio Castaneda in the first round (lightweights)

* Ted Cofie (14-3-1, 11 KOs) won unanimous decision over A.J. Moore (cruiserweight)