TACOMA -- Vincent "Vicious" Thompson finished work early on Saturday night.

He punched out at precisely 1:26 of the second round, scoring an easy TKO victory over journeyman Ryan Shay at a packed Emerald Queen I-5 Casino showroom.

The Federal Way heavyweight fighter, now unbeaten in his first seven pro fights, unleashed a barrage of howitzer hooks to Shay's soft midsection late in the first round and most of the second, forcing his opponent to take a knee five times to avoid more punishment.

"There's that saying, 'kill the body and the head will die,'" said Thompson's trainer Jack Stafford, a staunch believer in body punching as an effective boxing technique. "Proven point right there tonight."

Shay (5-12, 4 KOs), a former South Carolina Golden Gloves champion, couldn't solve Thompson's strategy of firing combination punches off his right jab and changing up with hard left leads early in the first round.

Shay then began ducking and covering his head, leaving his ribs exposed. Thompson took advantage, hurting Shay with combinations to the body late in the first round. Shay had to take a knee.

"I hit him with a jab, a left, and boom to the body with my right hook," said Thompson. "But first and foremost, I'd like to give thanks to God for carrying me through another win."

Thompson continued working Shay's right rib with hooks in the second round until his foe could go on no longer.

"He caught me in the ribs and kept drilling at the same rib until I couldn't go on," said Shay, a soft-spoken Fort Mills, S.C., resident. "Due to me from fighting so long (seven years as a pro), I've had some rib injuries in the past."

"Thompson does have power, he does have speed," Shay added. "I don't think he has knockout power like everyone thinks he does, but I do give it to him. He does have power. He is an excellent fighter."

Shay said Thompson is not the best fighter he has faced in his career.

"By no means is he the best, by far," Shay said. "He doesn't compare with Moultrie Witherspoon."

The previously unbeaten Witherspoon (14-2, 8 KOs) beat Shay on a second-round TKO two years ago for his 13th consecutive win.

Thompson, who beat previously undefeated Charles Ellis (6-1-1, 5 KOs) in his last fight in November, looked sharp in this outing, but still has a penchant for going back to his brawling roots.

He sometimes, in forcing the action, moved too far forward against his opponent, taking away his ability to extend a punch for power.

"I didn't step back enough and move off of him," Thompson said. "We've been working on not smothering."
Trainer Sam DiTusa did give Thompson a good grade for his overall performance, however.

"We worked on, for the past several months, on Vince sitting down on his punches (crouching lower in his stance for better leverage and power) and going to the body," said DiTusa, of Normandy Park. "He did that tonight.

"He's still a work in progress. He's a long way from where we want him to be. But the biggest thing is every fight he is improving. Every single fight he shows something different, something better."

Thompson signed a long-term contract with Brian Halquist Productions in January and will fight again on June 4 against a yet-to-named opponent on "Fight Night At The Playboy Mansion" at the Emerald Queen.

"It's a beautiful feeling, man," said Thompson, whose fan base is growing with every fight. "I need the fights. I don't care who you are or what record you have, we'll get you in. We're going to keep going up the ladder."

In Saturday's main event, in a well-run show by Brian Halquist Productions, undefeated lightweight Evgeny Gradovich beat Renton's Francisco Reyes in a 10-round unanimous decison.

Gradovich (9-0, 6 KOs) outclassed Reyes (8-2, 2 KOs) with his crisp-punching, busy boxing style.

In other action: Lithuanian middleweight Donatas Bondaravas (12-2-1) beat Paul Mpendo (7-5-5) in a six-round unanimous decision; heavyweight Joe Montoya (3-0-2) of Colorado Springs, Colo., beat Anacortes fighter Sylvestor Barron (1-1) in a four-round unanimous decision; Springfield, Ore., lightweight Corbin Page beat Ricardo Garcia (1-1) of La Palma, Calif., in a four-round unaninimous decision; and Yakima's Nate Serrano (1-1) beat J.R. Delgadillo (1-1-1) of Walla Walla, with a TKO at 1:41 of the third round.
Boxing luminaries Greg Haugen and Joe Hipp were in attendance.