Russell "the Hammer" Shiflett Remains Undefeated

Dundalk fighter Russell “the Hammer” Shiflett improved his undefeated record to 11-0-1 with an unanimous decision over Willie Chisolm of Florida in front of a partisan capacity crowd at the Maryland Sportsplex in Millersville Friday night.

The six-round cruiserweight bout was the main event of United Boxer's card.

Shiflett, who won every round, started out fast, peppering Chisolm with combo after combo.

“I let my hands go, trying to jab and move him around, trying to set up some bigger shots," said Shiflett. "It felt like I hurt him a couple of times, but he just wouldn't go down.”

In the beginning of the fourth round, Chisolm, who came in 10 pounds over the agreed-upon 195-pound limit, trapped Shiflett against the ropes and worked him over. The local crowd began chanting “Hammer, Hammer," and Shiflett fought his way off the ropes and took control of the round.

“He caught me a couple of times, especially with that right hook, but fighting in front of a Dundalk crowd—I don't care how tired I get, that energy just fuels me," said Shiflett. "If a guy catches me with something, those chants bring me right back. I feel like Hulk Hogan in the old WWF days when he would feed off of the crowd's energy.”

Shiflett cruised through the last two rounds, again working his combos and using his superior footwork to avoid Chisolm's lunging blows.

“That dude [Chisolm] took some torture,” said local mixed martial arts and boxing promoter John Rallo of Shogun Fight and Bang Time Boxing. “Russ hit him with some heavy shots, but Chisolm kept coming forward. It looked like Russ wobbled him once or twice, but he didn't go down.”

Shiflett, who partnered with Rallo and Mike Paschall to create Bang Time Boxing, made a short-lived transition to MMA to fight in Rallo's Shogun Fights 3 in November. Shiflett lost a unanimous decision to Gerimyale Adkins, who is now 6-0.

“Any time Russ wants to fight MMA he is welcome at Shogun,” said Rallo. “He's very athletic, he's got heavy hands—the kid he fought on our card is undefeated.”

Although Shiflett is committed to boxing, he has not closed the door on a return to the cage.

“I'm not happy about being 0-1 in MMA,” said Shiflett. “I'm boxing in either North Carolina or West Virginia in May, and then we have Bang Time Boxing June 17 at Du Burns Arena in Canton, but I told John sometime in the next year or so I want to try to even my record.”

To purchase tickets for the Bang Time Boxing event on June 17, e-mail Shiflett at Russell@groundcontrolom.com.