Immanuel Aleem (22-3-3, 14 KOs) crushed Demond Nicholson (27-7-1) in round nine at The Hall in Live! Casino, snatching up the WBC Fecarbox, UBO Intercontinental Light Heavyweight, and WBC DMV titles in front of a rowdy Maryland crowd. The local pride took a nosedive as Nicholson dropped like a stone off a brutal right hand, and never really got back up.
Promoted by Jeter Promotions, this was a homecoming for Maryland boxing—just not the one Nicholson imagined. Aleem walked him down, bullied him with combinations, and left no doubt who the real threat was. The so-called local favourite was trying to counter but looked like he was boxing in reverse the whole night.
What really happened in that ninth round?
By round nine, Nicholson had taken enough shots to know Aleem wasn’t slowing down. That overhand right that dropped him was a warning from hell. He tried standing, legs betrayed him, and the ref waved it off before he could embarrass himself further. Aleem wasn’t playing—it wasn’t lucky, it wasn’t close, it was domination.
Aleem didn’t even bother pretending to be humble afterward. “We want Mbilli next and, then, Canelo—or anyone who will step in the ring,” he said. Translation: line up the punchbags or the paydays, he’s not fussed.
Meanwhile, the undercard served up a few scraps worth noting—but let’s not pretend it was anything close to the drama Aleem delivered.
Who else walked out with a W (and who should’ve stayed home)?
Mykal Fox picked up the UBO Continental Super Welterweight title with an easy 80-72 win over Kendo Castaneda. Eight rounds of tap-tap, scorecards in the bin before it even started.
Cruiserweight Tyler Langer edged Dionardo Minor 59-54, 59-54, 58-55. Langer’s still unbeaten at 6-0, but let’s see what happens when someone punches back.
Ahmad Muhammad Jones (11-1) handled Ronnell Burnett (11-3) with 60-54, 60-54, 59-55—clean win, not much mess.
Brandon Chambers edged Collin Huntington by split decision. Ugly fight, but Chambers got the nod.
Ezri Turner (7-0-1, 5 KOs) smoked Timvonte Carson in one round. Same story for Nico Woods (4-0) and Nasheed H. Smith (6-0)—both picked up first-round stoppages over outmatched bodies.
Cristian Vargas stayed perfect with a second-round finish of Matt Denning. Rodreko Jennings and Malik Smalls also kept their undefeated records with stoppage wins.
As for Bickerstaff and El-Amin, they slapped each other around for four rounds and went home with a draw no one will rewatch.
‘Undefeated records’ don’t mean much when they fighting nobodies who get dropped in round one every time 😤 I wanna see what happens when these dudes get tested for real, not padded wins!
‘Local pride’ my foot! If Nicholson is the best Maryland got then they better find new boxers fast 😅 Aleem made him look silly out there, whole thing felt like a mismatch from start.
‘Mismatch’ is right! Dude fell over from one punch and couldn’t even stand up proper after—how is that pro level??
Aleem talking about fighting Mbilli and Canelo like that’s even possible. He needs more fights with real competition before thinking he can step in with champions. Beating Nicholson ain’t enough.
Exactly bro, you can’t skip levels like that just cause of one knockout. Let him fight someone who punches back before dreaming of big paydays 💸.
Aleem acting like he already a superstar after beating a guy with seven losses 🤦♂️ slow your roll man!
How can you say it was a good fight if one guy just got beat on all night? Ain’t no real skill when one dude just walks forward and punches without getting hit back much.
Nicholson looked tired from the first bell. Maybe he didn’t train right or took Aleem too light. Either way, this wasn’t about Aleem being great, it was about Nicholson messing up bad.
I don’t think Aleem should be calling out big names like Canelo yet. Just cause he beat Nicholson don’t mean he ready for the top guys. That win was good, but not enough proof.