Fighters make quick work of foes

Jesse Shewmaker and Rocky Hughes didn’t need long to win their boxing matches Saturday night at the Lodge of the Four Seasons.

Shewmaker,  of Gravois Mills,  knocked out Steve Bailey, of St. Joseph, with a right hook 32 seconds into the match in Lake Ozark. He only needed one punch to take his opponent  down, according to his trainer Eddie Walden.

The 29-year-old is now 15-1 with 13 knockouts including 11 in the first round, Walden said.

The Versailles High School graduate beat Gamal Collier, of Holts Summit, by unanimous decision Feb. 29 in Jefferson City, according to BoxRec.com.

Shewmaker lost his previous match to Isaiah Henderson for the vacant IBC America’s cruiserweight championship.

Shewmaker was knocked down in the sixth and  ninth rounds when the fight was called. The judges had the fight as a draw at the time of the knockout, according to the Web site.

Shewmaker dropped to 189 pounds for the fight. He fought Bailey and Collier at 215 and 221 pounds, respectively.

Hughes, of Sedalia, won his second professional fight, knocking out Dustin Lilly, of Blue Springs, 2:27 into the first round. The 36-year-old middleweight knocked Lilly down four times before the match was called, Walden said.

He knocked out Mike Curry, of Holts Summit, 2:23 into the first round of his first match Feb. 29 in Jefferson City.