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By Brett Okamoto (contact)

Photos by Richard Klein (www.RichardAklein.com)

Las Vegas native Deth Marcus Hall had never boxed before a year ago.

Come to think of it, the 27-year-old had never participated in any sport before a year ago.

"No man, never played any sports," said Hall, who attended Cimarron-Memorial High School. "I was a knucklehead in high school."

You wouldn't have been able to tell that Saturday night, as Hall dominated all four rounds of boxing in his professional debut at the Worlds Collide event held at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm.

Hall defeated Eduardo Herrera in the 142-pound weight division by unanimous decision, winning every round on two of the three scorecards. His best moment came in the final round, when he landed a straight right that sent Herrera to the canvas.

Because of his late entrance to the sport, Hall skipped any kind of amateur career, making Saturday his first legitimate fight. Although he later said the punch that knocked Herrera down felt good, he had no idea it would deliver the damage it did.

"Was that a good punch? I don't know because I don't know what a good punch feels like," Hall said. "As far as feeling like I really connected with him, no it didn't feel that way. I was kind of surprised he went down on it."

In addition to not fighting like a first-timer, Hall said he didn't feel like one either.

Prior to the fight, Hall, who trains at Johnny Tocco's, admitted he was expecting to be nervous when his name was called. But when the time came for him to enter the arena, he did so with a smile and a bounce of confidence.

"I was surprised I wasn't nervous to be honest, I thought I'd have some butterflies," Hall said. "But once I got out there it felt great, all that hard work paid off."

The win sends him to the Worlds Collide semifinals being held on August 22nd. As impressive as his debut was, Hall hasn't forgotten that just one year ago, the closest he had ever been to a boxing ring was playing "Fight Night" on his Playstation.

"All this fight did for me was show me I still have a long way to go," Hall said. "I will be better the next time I get in the ring, I know that."

MMA

180 pounds: Robert Otani (2-2) vs. Walter Roberto (4-3)

The only knockout of the night was an explosive one. Otani scored the knockout victory when Steve Mazzagatti stopped the fight just 59 seconds into the first round. Otani owned the fight from the beginning, landing a first shot that put Roberto on his back. The fight ended when Otani slipped into full guard and landed two blows that knocked his opponent out cold.

155 pounds: Nick Reale (6-1) vs. Leonardo Soares (3-5)

Soares couldn't make the most of his second chance with Worlds Collide, suffering a split decision loss to Reale. Soares, who lost in the last Worlds Collide event in April, landed a kick early in the first round that opened up a cut under Reale's left eye. He also nearly ended the fight with an armbar in the second round. But Reale was able to recompose himself after both and score a big takedown in the third round. Reale held the upper position for nearly the entire remainder of the fight which proved to be the difference.

135 pounds: Titus Holmes (0-4) vs. John Merkle (3-1)

Holmes narrowly missed the first victory of his career in a controversial unanimous decision loss to Merkle. After a slow first round where neither fighter was able to find a rhythm, Holmes seemed to take the advantage during the later rounds as the two exchanged strikes. Merkle briefly threatened to submit Holmes with an armbar in the third round, but Holmes slipped away. Merkle ended up winning 29-28 on every judges scorecard, a decision many in the crowd disagreed with.

Boxing

162 pounds: Martinez Porter (0-1) vs. Victor Medina (1-1)

Medina scored the first win of his professional career, knocking down Porter as the final bell sounded to cement a unanimous decision victory. Porter was able to get up preventing the loss by knockout, but the mistake ended any hopes of him pulling out a surprise win. Medina was the better fighter throughout, using elusive defense and his jab to disrupt any offensive effort from Porter.

142 pounds: Shawn Waite (1-2) vs. Jose Sanchez (1-0)

Sanchez used effective counter-punching to land the second win of his professional career, this time by unanimous decision. Sanchez won every round on two of the three scorecards, highlighted by a damaging flurry to open the final round that Waite somehow survived.