Next Minnesota Boxing Event: February 6th at Grand Casino Hinckley

Watch this website for a Round-by-Round account of the next big professional boxing show in Minnesota, the February 6th “Grand Friday Night Fights” event at Grand Casino Hinckley.

The evening will showcase two rising stars of the local boxing scene, middleweight Robert Brant (13-0) and light welterweight Rondale Hubbert (8-0-1) in steppingstone bouts against live bodies Ryan Davis (24-15-3) and Gilbert Venegas (12-16-4).  Also appearing on the card will be heavyweight Aaron “Gorilla” Green (15-0) in a comeback fight following an injury-related layoff and a nice matchup of former amateur standouts Brad Patraw (10-7) and Philip Adyaka (4-4).

Though I’ll be reporting from ringside, you should still buy tickets, because there is nothing in the world like a prizefight seen live.  I report here for the unfortunates who can’t attend, and for the diehards who want to recap what they saw in person.

The full card as it currently appears on boxrec.com appears below.

Robert Brant (13-0 with 7 kayos) -vs- Ryan Davis 24-15-3 with 9 kayos), middleweights, scheduled for 8 rounds

Rondale Hubbert (8-0-1 with 5 kayos) -vs- Gilbert Venegas (12-16-4 with 8 kayos), light welterweights, scheduled for 8 rounds

Brad Patraw (10-7 with 5 kayos) -vs- Philip Adyaka (4-4 with 2 kayos), featherweights, scheduled for 6 rounds

Aaron Green (15-0 with 13 kayos) -vs- Matthew Greer (16-13 with 13 kayos), heavyweights, scheduled for 6 rounds

Delorien Caraway (4-0 with 3 kayos) -vs- Colby Courter (6-5 with 5 kayos), welterweights, scheduled for 6 rounds

Markus Morris (6-1 with 3 kayos) -vs- Damien Hill (3-8), welterweights, scheduled for 6 rounds

Trevor Marmon (1-3 with 1 kayo) -vs- Kurtis Erhorn (0-1), light welterweights, scheduled for 4 rounds

Joe Amouta (2-1 with 1 kayo) -vs- Thomas Allen (3-6 with 3 kayos), super middleweights, scheduled for 4 rounds

This event is promoted by Rapacz Event Productions.

Live Boxing Round-by-round from Grand Casino Hinckley, November 21st, 2014

We have a busy card from Hinckley tonight – nine bouts were scheduled and one was scratched, but that still leaves us with eight nicely match prizefights.  Tonights bouts will be listed from main event (top of page) to preliminaries (bottom of page), so scroll down and follow along!

–

Eric Draper (now 8-7 with 3 kayos) is defeated by Robert Brant (now 13-0 with 7 kayos) in round one of eight scheduled.

Note: This was a very impressive performance by Brant – much needed after a lackluster win over Marcus Upshaw in August.

Round 1

Draper, slightly taller and larger than Brant, comes out cautious, jabbing.  Brant jabs him back and then smashes Draper to the mat with an evil straight right.  What are we, ten seconds in?  Draper gets up and continues, Brant hurts him with a hard jab, then knocks him down again in the blue corner.  Again Draper rises, looking irritated.  Referee Mark Nelson checks him out and allows him to continue.  Brant rushes in and again knocks Draper down, this time leaving him tangled helplessly on the wrong side of the ropes in the red corner.  Draper looks okay, though a little wobbly, and gets up quickly enough, so Nelson allows him to continue after three knockdowns.  This time Brant traps Draper against the ropes and unleashes a merciless barrage of vaporizing power shots, and Nelson jumps between the two, ending the fight.

–

Jeremy McLaurin (10-8 with 5 kayos) is defeated by Rondale Hubbert (now 8-0 with 5 kayos) in round two of eight scheduled.

Note: after this emphatic win Hubbert called out Gary Eyer, the tough multiple-class fighter from Duluth.  “Somebody make that fight happen,” he says.

Round 1

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Round 2

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Hubbert knocks McLaurin down and halfway out with a furious barrage of power shots.  Against odds, McLaurin gets up, and referee Mark Nelson allows him to continue, but wisely stops the bout after one more undefended power shot from Hubbert.  TKO win for Hubbert

[Originally reported as a 3rd round TKO for Hubbert.  I am advised that the bout was actually stopped in the 2nd.  I was experiencing technical trouble during this bout and my attention was divided.  I regret the error. -Ben]

–

Gary Tapusoa (now 6-3 with 5 kayos) is defeated by Phil “The Drill” Williams (now 14-6 with 13 kayos) at 2:39 of round one

Note: Williams makes a ridiculously long ring entrance, circling the ring counter clockwise before climbing in.  The crowd is entertained.

Round 1

Tapusoa looks a little nervous, jabbing and throwing tentative hooks.  Well, Williams is an imposing figure.  Williams is deliberate, coming forward in a southpaw stance.  Tapusoa tries to attack and gets countered effectively.  Williams is watching for his spot.  Reaches out once and slaps tapusoa on the scalp with his right hand, pawing with his jab, using footwork to avoid Tapusoa’s punches.  Finally Williams backs Tapusoa up and floors him with a left to the body.  There’s a sickening BANG and Tapusoa sinks slowly to the mat.  Referee Mark Nelson gives Tapusoa the courtesy of a count, but nobody in the building thought Tapusoa was going to get up.

–

Colby Courter (now 6-5 with 5 kayos) is defeated by Antonio “The Saint Paul Kid” Johnson (now 11-1-1 with 6 kayos) by TKO at 1:45 in the fourth round.

Round 1

Johnson is scowling.  Courter tries to lead with a jab, and Johnson immediately lands a hard right.  Courter, a southpaw, isn’t fast, but he’s trying to make use of his jab.  Johnson is adept at countering that right jab with a counter right.  In the early going this fight looks like no match; Johnson will eventually time Courter and dispose of him.  Johnson comes in with his lead hand at his waist, throws a rising jab and follows with a power right.  Johnsson throws a right to the body – it looks legit when it lands, but referee Miezwa steps in and warns him for low punching.  Courter has slow hands and questionable balance, but manages to flick a right jab into Johnson’s abdomen.  Ten seconds to go and Johnson erupts, landing three consecutive right hands to Courter’s head, but the bell rings before he can really hurt Courter.

Round 2

It looks like Johnson wants to end this one quickly – he charges across the ring and attacks, but the knockout doesn’t come.  Courter trips over Johnson’s foot and reels into the ropes.  Grins in embarrassment – no knockdown.  Johnson is coming forward, coming forward – Johnson lands a lot of glancing blows, Courter lands one flush shot that jolts Johnson but does  not hurt him.  Johnson holds the body and hits.  Courter is hurt by a hard right but collects himself and soldiers on.  Courter’s corner tells him he can’t win going backwards, so he comes forward.  Johnson is snapping a fast jab that comes up just short of damaging courter, but then attacks the body and scores.  Johnson goes to the body again and Courter gestures to the ref that the punch was low, but it didn’t look that way.

Round 3

Courter is coming forward and Johnson looks a little skittish, dancing away.  Courter lands a right to the head, and Johnson responds with a counter right, only harder.  Courter charges forward, Johnson sidesteps him, and Courter stumbles into the ropes.  In a similar situation Floyd Mayweather KO’d Ricky Hatton as he passed by, but Johnson fails to capitalize.  Courter is trying to land, but keeps missing the quick and elusive Johnson.  Courter leads with a right hook and Johnson catches him again with a hard counter right.  Courter is game, but every time he attacks he either misses or takes a power shot.  Johnson punishes Courter with a hard jab once, twice.  Courter comes forward again and Johnson lands a round right hook.  Courter circles to his left as the bell rings.

Round 4

Four rounds is longer than I expected this fight to last.  Courter is tough, but slow.  Johnson counters Courter with a right, then a wicked left hook to the side of the head, and Courter goes down hard.  He gets up quickly – maybe too quickly – and the fight continues.  Johnson furries, but Courter seems okay, and things are back to nrmal.  Nor for long, though, as Johnson again catches Courter in an exchange an dd puts him off balance, then drops him hard with a left.  Referee Miezwa takes a careful look at Courter before permitting the fight to continue.  Finally Johnson catches Courter in a corner and pummels him.  I don’t know which punch did the deed, as Johnson has fast hands, but courter goes down and stays down on his elbows and knees.

–

Guy Smith Jr (now 2-2 with no kayos) is defeated by Delorien Caraway (now 4-0 with 3 kayos by unanimous decision after five rounds.

Round 1

Smith jabs int he early going, Caraway comes forward.  About fifteen seconds in Caraway starts throwing fast combinations of power shots, trying to make a statement.  Caraway takes a break, and Smith returns to jabbing.  Caraway is coming forward, smith retreating, and Caraway lands the first telling shots of the bout.  Smith is trying to be quick an delusive, and to hit without getting hit.  He succeeds once, then Caraway charges in and wraps both arms around him.    Caraway again goes on the attack, but Smith is unflappable, reeling backwards and steadying himself by the ropes, keeping his head up, and jabbing.  Caraway wants a spectacular outcome, and he is being very aggressively.  Finally Caraway jabs, and pokes Smith right in the chin.  But Caraway returns to his reckless attack for the last fifteen seconds or so.

Round 2

Caraway lands a hard left to the head of Smith.  That was a hard shot.  Caraway goes on the attack, landing more power shots, and sending Smith stumbling backwards.  Smith rights himself, Caraway gets himself under control, and begins to attack in a more technical manner.  Caraway is still coming forward, but Smith is continuing to jab.  Now a slow jab earns Smith a hard left to the face.  Smith backs into a neutral corner, and Caraway reaches out and tags him with a lead left.  Circling to the left, the fighters traverse the ring and Caraway shoots a hook at the body.  Smith gets away, Caraway follows, and lands a right that snaps his head back.  Smith isn’t jabbing so much now, mostly just trying to avoid the attacks of Caraway.  Caraway jabs to the body.  Now to the head.  Ten seconds to go, and both men jab a couple of times as the clock counts down.

Round 3

Caraway is the aggressor in the early going again.  Smith has found his jab, and tries to use it to keep Caraway at bay.  Caraway attacks with power shots, but misses and stumbles.  he keeps his feet and the fight resumes.   Caraway is hunching down, coming forward slowly, loading up.  Smith is getting better at anticipating the attacks and skittering away, though he stil hasn’t scored a serious punch in this fight.  Now the fighters are circling at close quarters, and Smith jabs.  Did he get his hand in Caraway’s eye?  Caraway raises a hand as if to call time, baks up, shakes his head, and the fight resumes.  This fight has become largely tactical, with Caraway coming forward unable to score, and Smith circling, moving around out of range, and throwing occasional jabs and double jabs.

Round 4

Caraway is ducking down and shooting low jabs now.  For the first time tongith Smith commits to a power combination – he missses, and Caraway counters.  Smith is moving confidently, but Caraway gets close enough to land a lead left to the body.  Caraway is showing more jabs now, but nope – forget that, back to power shots.  Caraway is crouching, coming forward, reaching, looking for any opening, but none presents itself.  Smith is backing up, throwing a jab every once in a while.  Caraway misses with a left hok, Smith misses with a jab.  Smith might never win this way, but he’ll avoid most of those power shots.  Smith misses with a jab, Caraway scores with a hard jab, then volleys and scores.  In the last ten seconds of the fourth Smith misses with a couple of wild one-twos.

Round 5

Caraway comes out wild in the fifth, and Smith latches on hard to avoid any damage.  The clinch is broken, and Caraway tries hard to score with more power shots.  Smith is backing up, Caraway is chasing and throwing bombs.  This is the pattern.  Smith is in a strictly defensive posture, but Caraway comes forward and connects with a  – left?  It’s hard to tell from here, but smith goes down.  He beats the count easily, but now Caraway is getting inside, throwing and landing big right hands with regularity.  Smith looks wobbly as he backs up with his hands low.  Caraway attacks and Smith goes down, but referee Mark Nelson rules no knockdown and the bout continues.  Smith is back up on his toes, dancing.  Caraway, who must be irritated by the tight defense of Smith, dramatically feigns a collapse, perhaps in an effort to trap Smith, but it’s too obvious and too late to help.  Bell.

–

Nick Compton (now 1-2 with no kayos) is defeated by Markus Morris (now 6-1 with 3 kayos) by unanimous decision after four rounds (39-37, 40-36, 40-36)

Round 1

Two lanky boxers, both come out jabbing.  Compton paws with his jab.  Morris is a little more aggressive at the start.  Compton is now coming forward, but Morris’s jab is keeping him at arm’s length.  compton charges in, landing glancing blows and backing Morris into the ropes, but Morris counters effectively and escapes.  After a brief lull, Compton is attacking again when Morris lands a sharp counter left hook that buckles his knees.  compton is a hard man, though, and resumes hs attack.  Morris’s power shots rake Compton’s face, but Compton stands his ground and keeps looking for an operning.  Now there’s a clinch and Compton pushes Morris back into the blue corner.  The clinch is broken and Compton throws a volley of power shots.  Morris escapes and the two stand face to face, both throw at the same moment, and both land power shots.  This is an evenly matched fight.  the bell rings with neither man gaining an advantage.

Round 2

Computer trouble in this round kept me from giving you an as-it-happens account, but I can tell you that the fight continues to be even, that Morris caught Compton and pinned him to the ropes with an extended volley, that Compton kept his hands up and weathered the storm.  The remainder of the round was an evenly matched battle of firepower and chins.  Both fighters look heavy-armed and slow as the round ended.

Round 3

Morris is the faster fighter in the third, but Compton continues to stand his ground and come forward.  Morris is trying to land the lead left hook and follow with a right uppercut, but he hasn’t quite timed it.  Morris throws nice straight punches, but then pulls his hands back wide, leaving an opening for a late counter.  As the round goes on, Compton is continuing to come forward, but Morris is beginning to get the upper hand with rising rights and straight rights.  Compton puts his head down and pushes forward, but Morris responds with a four-punch combination as the round comes to a close.

Round 4

This round begins like the rest of the fight has been conducted, with both men standing toe to toe in the center of the ring, neither giving ground.  Compton is circling to his right and seeking to counter Morris’s attacks.  Morris gets close and misses with an uppercut, but then lands one of a two-punch attack.  Back in the middle of the ring the fighters exchange, but Compton misfires and Morris lands flush.  Morris is emboldened, but Compton, weary as he is, counters with a couple of punches, finishing with an off-balance right.  Morris continues to come forward though, and his punches have more authority.  Morris throws a one and a delayed two, and Compton lands a counter.  Morris is landing more frequently now, though his pucnhes lack steam.  An uppercut lands flush for Morris.  Ten seconds to go, and Morris goes on a reckless attack, nullified by holding from Compton.  Bell, fight.

–

Ramiro Hernandez (now 3-0 with 3 kayos) defeats Trevor Marmon (now 1-3 with 1 kayo) by TKO at 2:40 of round 3.

Note: Marmon is an entertaining fighter and a tough dude, but his conditioning and his chin have let him down more than once.

Round 1

Both fighters are aggressive from the start.  After an initial exchange, Marmon moves backwards while Hernandez leads.  This fight is a brawl from the start.  Both men land, there’s a clinch, and referee Gary Miezwa tries to break them up, but Marmon won’t let go.  Now he’s warned for holding.  Another hot exchange, and Marmon gets the better of it, landing to both the body and head.  The pace slows about midround, hernandez trying to pick a spot.  He lands big, but marmon is a big swinger and lands equally hard.  But boy, when Marmon misses, he misses big!  Hernandez wants to box, and he’s trying hard to jab and move, but Marmon comes forward and swings wildly, landing occasionally.  The pressure is disconcerting for Hernandez, but he seems to have gotten the better of this round.

Round 2

Hernandez scores first, with a one-two, but Marmon comes forward and jabs to the body.  In the center of the ring Marmon lands a left.  Hernendeez is circling left and moving backwards, and when Marmon tries to score, Hernandez lands a power shots that buckles his knees.  Marmon shakes his head, wipes his nose, and attacks again.  Hernandez lands a right to the head, Marmon swings for the fences and lands a right to the head, Hernandez boxes and escapes.  Marmon comes forward and pushes Hernandez into the ropes, and after some mauling there’s a break.  Hernandez comes forward and ands a left to Marmon’s head.  Marmon is tired and is leaning on Hernandez and holding.  There’s another break, and hernandez, moving quickly, tries to box Marmon again.  Hernandez and Marmon trade, each landing one punch.  Hernandez charges in and bulls marmon into the ropes, but there’s no scoring as the bell rings.

Round 3

Marmon jabs southpaw at the same time Hernandez jabs orthodox.  Suddenly the two revert to brawling, and in a wild exchange, a tired and off balance Marmon is knocked down by a power shot.  Marmon is up and the fight resumes.  Hernandez is coHing forward aggressively.  A short hook to the body hurts Marmon, who has slowed noticeably this round.  Now Hernandez is hunting.  Marmon misses a big right and turns his back in an effort to escape.  In the middle of the ring hernandez is attacking at close quarters.  marmon might have gone down, but referee Miezwa breaks them up.  Now they’re clinching and mauling, which favors marmon.  After another break, Hernandez attacks a staggering Marmon, who is bleeding heavily from the nose.  That’s too many power shots for the referee, who calls a stop to the fight.  TKO win for Hernandez!

–

DeAngelo Curtis (now 1-1 with no kayos) is defeated by Joe Amouta (now 2-1 with 1 kayo) by unanimous decision after four rounds (39-37, 39-37, 39-37)

Round 1

The fighters touch gloves and the bout begins.  Amouta is retreating, Curtis following.  Amouta shoots out some jabs, but Curtis backs him into the ropes and crowds him halfway out of the ring.  Amouta escapes and resumes circling.  Curtis pressuring.  Curtis tries to unload some power shots and continues to come forward.  Amouta counters effectively and stuns curtis for a moment.  Amouta lands some loud, slapping power shots that affect Curtis’s balance.  Amouta tries to land a right and Curtis counters effectively.  Both men throw at the same time and Curtis lands better.  With the encouragement of his corner (“Hey, you hurt him!”) Curtis goes on the attack, but Amouta seems fine and gets away clean.  With ten seconds to go Curtis tries to attack but gets tied up.  Amouta throws a right that glances off Curtis’s head and Curtis sticks his tongue out.

Round 2

Curtis comes ou, bends forward at the waist, and throws one jab to Amouta’s body.  Amouta attacks, landing well with right hands and scores nicely to the body and especially to the head.  Curtis shakes it off and begins stalking.  He lands a couple of good shots, including one that leaves Amouta touching his nose.  Amouta is a retreating fighter, backing up the ropes and countering when he’s cornered.  In the center of the ring curtis lands a sharp jab to Amouta’s face.  He should do that more.  Curis, attacking, gets caught and stumbles back into his corner.  Amouta comes alive, attacking with gusto, landing a bunch of shots.  Curtis finally escapes, but Ron Lyke, in his corner, yells “Don’t stand there, or they’ll stop it.”  Curtis increases his output for the last few seconds, and the round is over.

Round 3

The fighters circle briefly to their right, then Amouta backs into the ropes again, and Curtis catches his chin with a nice right hand.  Curtis follows up with a barrage that thrills the crowd.  Amouta gets back to the scenter of the ring, where he counters Curtis well with a left to the forehead that momentarily staggers Curtis, but only for a moment.  Now the fight is in the center of the ring.  Curtis lands a low blow, but referee Gary Miezwa lets it go.  Curtis is wincing and gasping, but he’s still game.  Could he have hurt his shoulder or leg?  He’s still stalking, but somewhat bowlegged.  Amouta is looking sharper now, and comes forward with power shots as the round closes.

Round 4

Curtis is coming forward again.  No shots landed…now Curtis lands a jab that makes Amouta flinch.  It’s something.    Finally, near the red corner, a brawl breaks out at close quarters.  Curtis is throwing big shots, but Amouta is moving well to his right, ducking a lot of shots, and landing good shots.  Now Amouta is on the run and Curtis is chasing, but can’t catch him.  Curtis finally corners Amouta and lands a right hook to the body, but iwthout steam.  He lets Amouta escape.  Curtis is tired, Amouta still fresh.  Amouta backs into the ropes again, and a heated exchange lasts a good 15 or 20 seconds.  Amouta probably go tthe better of it.  Back into the center of thering, and Curtis lands a big, big right hand that snaps Amouta’s head back.  The crowd roars, but Amouta shakes it off and the two trade until the round ends.  good round, good fight.  Whoever wins, I’d like to see these two go four more rounds.

Live Boxing Round-by-Round from Grand Casino Hinckley, August 22nd, 2014

Rondale Hubbert (now 7-0-1 with 4 kayos) defeats RJ Laase (now 12-2 with 8 kayos), for the vacant Junior Welterweight title of Minnesota, by unanimous decision in 8 rounds (77-75, 78-74, 77-75)

Round 1

Hubbert literally ran across the ring at the start, jumping Laase and pummeling about the ring for ten seconds or so before Laase was able to wrench himself free.  Now Hubbert is bouncing and backing up, left hand at his waist,while Laase comes forward with his guard up, looking for an opening.  Laase is jabbing while Hubbert is raging.  Hubbert comes forward and lands one punch, then shoves Laase.  Hubbert is trying to win flashy while Laase sticks to basics.  Laase continues to shuffle forward and tags Hubbert with one right.  Hubbert skitters away.  Hubbert likes to walk flatfooted and throw bombs.  Laase gets close enough to throw a punch and Hubbert flails away at him.  Give this round to Hubbert on the strength of his furious opening.

Round 2

Hubbert rushes across the ring again at the start of round 2, but stops short and gets in his stance.  Lasse comes forward, then lands one gigantic right hand that has the crowd roaring.  Hubbert looks clear headed and he’s talking to Laase as Laase stalks.  Laase continues to come forward deliberately, firing crisp punches.  Hubbert is relying on spped, power, toughness, and bravado.  Laase misses badly with a punch and Hubbert punishes hi for the transgression.  Hubbert comes forward with rough tactics and scores.  Laase goes hook tot he body and it lands on the waistline of Hubbert.  Now Hubbert is moving side to side while Laase pursues.  Laase continues to stalk and jab, looking for an opening.  Hubbert throws a combination – four punches? – that rakes Laase’s face.  There’s no time for further action before the bell.

Round 3

Laase shoves a left jab in Hubbert’s face but misses the followup right.  Hubbert sticks his left out and Laase whacks it away.  Both men attack at the same time and there’s a headbutt mixed in with the simultaneous flurries.  No blood that I see.  Laase comes forward and Hubbert looks to counter, but Laase lands a good left.  Hubbert starts running his mouth and Laase sticks a fist in it.  Now there’s a rough, tumbling exchange that ends against the ropes in the blue corner.  Hubbert is wild and Laase is countering nicely.  Hubbert needs to slow things down and get back to fundamentals.  Laase lands three out of a four punch combination.  Laase nails Hubbert against the ropes as the ten second warning sounds, and Hubbert shakes his head, then attacks with fury but fails to score.  I’m sitting next to Hubbert’s corner, and one of his cornermen shakes his head and says “He’s a slippery motherfucker.”

Round 4

Laase commits to a one-two and Hubbert counters nicely, battering his face.  Laase tries to attack again and Hubbert nails him again.  Now it happens a third time.  Laase finally connects with a one-two.  Hubbert tries to score and Laase counters, then connects with a thundering roundhouse and the Duluth contingent loves it.  Hubbert throws another combination, but I wonder whether he knows that he’s tipping his attack with the faces he makes before he throws a punch.  Hubbert is coming forward on the attack, but now it’s Laase’s turn to counter, and he’s effective.  The noise in here is deafening.  Hubbert  takes a break and Laase tags him.  Hubbert tries to come forward and Laase lands another power shot.  Ten seconds to go, and Hubbert scores with a body shot.  I would be remiss if I failed to mention that Hubbert has gone to the body twice this round, with good results.

Round 5

Hubbert shots out the jab but he really wants to land the straight right, and he does.  There’s a good exchange in the middle of the ring.  Hubbert comes in reckless and gets hit to the body.  Now they’re jabbing in the middle of the ring.  Hubbert lands one left hook to the face.  Laase flurries, landing a couple of body shots and the makes a niftymove to duck two counters.  Hubbert tries to attack but Laase hits him in the gut.  Hubbert is playing raging bull now, and he is bullying laase.  Laaase needs to punch effectively moving backwards – and there he does it, landing two.  Laase gets the better of an exchange in the center of the ring, but Hubbert is tough and keeps coming forward, battering Laase.  Laase sidesteps a charging Hubbert and fires a body shot too low, catching Hubbert just above the groin.  Hubbert spends no more than a minutes recoving, then steels himself and the fight resumes.  The remainder of the fifth round is all Hubbert, on the attack, landing wild shots.

Round 6

Hubbert comes out strong, throwing punches that Laase catches on his arms.  Hubbert stands still, staring at Llase, then shrugs.  Laase ignores the gesture and keeps shuffling forward.  Now they’re brawling, and both men are landing big shots.  Laase is gonig to have a monster shiner on his left eye tomorrow, it’s already ugly.  Now Laase is coming forward, and or the first time he shoves Hubbert.  There’s a headbutt, and Hubbert is glowering.  Laase connects a jab to the jab, Hubbert resopnds with more power shots.  Hubbbert’s corner is frustrated that he’s loading up.  Laase lands a stiff jab, and now both fighters are talking.  Hubbert is bounding on his toes, Laase is still shuffling forward.  Hubbert tries to bull forward, but his attack is nullified by good defense.  Hubbert leads with a right, Laase counters with a right, but nothing comes of it.

Round 7

Hubbert comes out heavy again this round, lands a couple of bombs.  Laase, though tired and breathing through his mouth, continues to come forward.  Hubbert is doing a better job counter now than he has been.  Laase atttacks, but Hubbert is gone when he gets there.  Hubbert is showcasing his elusiveness, but finally Laase scores with a wide left hook to the ear.  Our fightersexchange again, and Hubbert’s corner is shouting that Laase has nothing left.  Hubbert is now trying to be first and last.  Laase flurries, and Hubbert resopnds.  The crowd begins an “RJ” cheer, and he responds with a bitter attack that results in a general melee.  Laase loses his mouthpiece, and there’s a brief pause while it’s reinserted.  Hubbert is being reckless in his pursuit of a knockout, and that gives Laase a chance to land a hard counter.  What a round, and what a fight!

Round 8

Hubbert rushes in and there’s an ugly moment where he finds himself stuck in Laase’s armpit.  Some exchanges, and it happens again.  Hubbert scores with a few shots, then bulls Laase across the ring and into the ropes.  Back in the middle of the ring there’s a good exchange.  Aside from one flush shot from Laase, that all went Hubbert’s way.  Laase comes forward and lunges with a jab, but Hubbert gets him back.  Laase comes forward again, and jolts Hubberts with a stiff left jab.  Hubbert looks sharper and fresher at this point, but Laase has a good chin and keeps coming and countering.  They’re going all out as the bell rings, and the crowd roars its appreciation.

–

Wayne Martell (now 25-5-1 with 15 kayos) is defeated by Jamal James (now 14-0 with 7 kayos) by TKO in round 1 of 10 scheduled.

Round 1

Martell is coming forward and swinging away at the beginning, but James is quick and is dodging most if not all of his punches.  James is waving that left jab but not throwing it, but then bam! Martell is down.  Martell is up instantly and shaking his head in disbelief, but that’s a knockdown.  James knows he’s got this, and he opens up on Martell immediately.  James is moving in and out, throwing double hooks, attacking with both hands.  Martell has seen better days, and he’s having trouble getting close.  Martell looks nicked up, but comes back aggressive and just as he connects on a punch to James, James puts him down again.  But the fight isn’t over.  Martell is up again and he wants to trade.  James gets him again with a left to the body and Martell is down again.  Once more he beats the count, but we know how this will end.  One more  engagement, and James puts Martell down again.  James throws one more punch as Martell is on his knees, and he’s lucky that one didn’t connect – it was close.  Martell gets up, but his eyes aren’t right, and referee Gary Miezwa rightly calls a stop to things.

–

Marcus Upshaw (now 17-13 with 8 kayos) is defeated by Robert Brant (now 12-0 with 6 kayos) by Unanimous Decision after eight rounds (77-75, 79-74, 77-75)

Round 1

The beginning of the bout was delayed momentarily as Upshaw casually got a drink from his trainer, then another drink.  

Brant comes out quick in this one, showing his great speed and good power.  Upshaw is not nothing.  He’s significantly taller than Brant, he can take a punch, and he has some skills.  Upshaw can jab, but he doesn’t fight tall against the shorter man.  The pace has slowed a bit since Brant’s showy start.  Now Brant is playing the surgeon, using two and three punch combinations to score.  Upshaw lands a good jab to the head or hook to the body here and there.  Brant is jabbing and moving, and throwing combinations from angles.  Coming forward, Brant throws a nice combination that’s so quick, when it’s over I don’t know whether it was three or four punches.  Bell.

Round 2

Brant rushes out, leading with three jabs.  Upshaw is trying to counter, shouting “yah!” with each punch.  Brant throws punches faster than I can record them, and he connects nicely, but he is getting hit more than you’d like, considering the disparity of talent.  Brant lands a one-two and Upshaw responds with at least one solid counter.  Now Upshaw throws three earnest punches and the last one lands solidly.  Brant is unfazed and continues to stalk him.    Brant splits Upshaw’s guard with a one-two, then a pause.  Upshaw is pushing the pace now, coming forward and landing respectably, especially to Brant’s left ribcage.  Two more jabs from Upshaw.  Brant counters, there’s a momentary exchange, and Brant sidesteps Upshaw and is left looking at Upshaw’s back.  The fight resumes and there’s a flurry from both men, then the bell.

Round 3

Upshaw opens the round jabbing, then Brant flurries with good power shots, but one well-placed counter left from Upshaw stops himi in his tracks.  Brant is coming forward again now, and lands one good shot out of a combination that snaps Upshaw’s head back and induces Brant to come fowrard more.  Upshaw tags him with an effective shot, and the pace quickens.  Both men are throwing freely now, and Brant lands a shot that draws “Ooooh” from the sellout crowd.  The pace slows again.  Brant throws a one-two that is blocked, but makes a lot of noise, and the crowd is impressed.  Upshaw is trying to comforward now, and Brant is mostly potshotting him, picking spots and hitting them.  upshaw attacks again, but and scores a couple, but Brant looks better as the round closes.

Round 4

Brant is throwing punches from the outside – too far away to be effective – but Upshaw, instead of staying outside and using his greater reach to score, is coming fowrard.  There’s a good exchange in the center of the ring – neither man has the advantage.  Brant gets inside and then backs out.  Upshaw tries come forward and Brant has his best moment of the fight so far, battering him with an extended combination that puts Upshaw off balance.  Upshaw regains his composure and attacks again, scoring nicely with short hooks.  Brant lands a left jab and then misses a left hook.  Now Brant steps in and lands a big left hook to the body that moves Upshaw, but I’m not sure he realizes he had Upshaw hurt and doesn’t press his advantage.  There’s another exchange as the round ends, and the crowd is getting into this fight.

Round 5

Upshaw is aggressive again in the fifth, coming forward and scoring with jabs and the occasional power shot.  Brant takes his turn, landing a number of good shots to the head and body – really digging the body – but then Upshaw comes alive for a brief but effective assault.  Now the two men are measuring each other, and resting.  Brant throws a three punch combination – only the second punch lands, but it’s a sharp right to the midsection of upshaw.  Brant scores well when he goes to the body.  Upshaw is up on his toes, bouncing and showing he’s game.  Upshaw is jabbing a lot now, and his jab is coming back lower and slower than it should.  Upshaw tries an attack at the close of the round, but Brant counters nicely and Upshaw looks weary as he zigzags back to his corner.

Round 6

The first punch of the sixth is a right from Brant, but Upshaw counters over the top and lands a shot on Brant.  Brant responds with a long flurry, tagging Upshaw to the head and body.   Brant is opening his hands up as he jabs.  With every left handed punch he drops his right, and that’s cause for worry.  But Brant is doing nice work in this found, attacking Upshaw and countering effectively when Upshaw tries to attack him back.  There’s a lull about midround.  Now Brant is bombing upshaw’s guard, and that impresses the crowd but won’t do much in the eyes of the judges.  Upshaw tries a wide right hook, but Brant counters up the middle.  Now Upshaw lands solid and snaps Brant’s head back, but Brant has the chin of a champion and goes back  on the attack as the round ends.

Round 7

Brant comes out coiled to land big shots, and he throws some nice combinations that land in the first thirty seconds of the seventh.  Brant comes forward off balance and leads with a right, but that won’t work.  now Brant is working the body hard, and his fans like what they see.  Upshaw takes advantage of a moment of rest, then comes forward with power shots, but Brant is blocking most of those with his gloves now.  Brant lands a jab here, another jab there.  A right to the head scores for Brant.  upshaw steps forward and Brant punishes him with a right.  But suddenly Upshaw explodes out of his guard to land a right to the head of Brant.    Both men step forard at the same time, and Brant coems out on top, taking advantage of Upshaw’s momentary befuddlement to score with a couple of shots.  Brant ducks an Upshaw right and the bell rings.

Round 8

Upshaw jabs twice Brant throws a one-two.  Upshaw starts coming forward again, but Brant is ready and pops good a couple of times.  Upshaw isn’t going away though, and he continues to throw with both hands.  Now they’re in a phone booth, now they’re at arm’s length.  Brant lands a jab, but has his following right blocked by a glove.  Upshaw is moving forward and to his right, and in mauling Brant, lands a good right uppercut to the chin.  Brant is lively and throwing harder punches, but Upshaw can still score.  Brant lands a good right hook to the head and follow sup with a flurry, but Upshaw responds with good work of his own.  Upshaw lands two big left hands, one to the body and one to the head of Brant, then backs Brant up.  Brant is retreating and jabbing.  Ten seconds to go, and brant comes alive, scoring with a sharp combination.  That’s the end of the fight, and it goes to the judges.  Though I would score it for Brant, this fight is close enough that it could go either way.

–

Galen Brown (now 42-28 with 25 kayos) is defeated by Phil Williams (now 13-6-2 with 12 kayos) in round 2 of 8 scheduled

Round 1

Two southpaws – this should be fun.  The bout begins with a feint by Williams and a jab by Brown.  After some feeling out, Brown comes in with a right hand, but ducks his head and covers up right away.  He’s respectful of Williams’ power.  There’s little action in the early stages, so Brown begins baiting Williams, dropping his hands, waiving his arms, and waggling his head.  Now Brown charges forward and traps Williams in a corner.  he may have landed a punch, I’m not sure.  But Williams counters.    Now they’re in the center of the ring again.  Williams lands a hard jab but doesn’t follow up.  Brown is circling, then he lunges forward and to his left, striking a glancing blow on Williams and disappearing behind Williams’ shoulder.  Despite the clowining Brown is in earnest, as he shows when he scores a clipping blow at the bell.  Brown’s corner is shouting “perfect round, perfect round.”  I think it went about as well as he could have hoped.

Round 2

Round two begins with a lot of waving hands and bobbing heads.  Brown is trying to come forward, and Williams is moving away and to his left.  Williams throws that hard jab of his, once, twice, but it doesn’t land solidly.  Williams is getting a little bolder, but Brown is experienced and larger than Williams, and is unfazed by anything Williams has done so far.  Brown is clowning again.  Both hasnds are at his waist.  Williams sticks his right hand out and measures the distance, but doesn’t throw.  Brown jabs and scores.  There’s a lot more movement without any action, and Williams drops his hands and stares defiantly at Brown.  Now as the round draws to a close Williams charges forward and clocks Brown with a shot that leaves him crosseyed.  Brown gets up in time and he’s game to go, but he looks unsteady and referee Gary Miezwa doesn’t like what he sees in Brown’s eyes and calls it a TKO.

–

Jonathan Perez (now 8-0 with 5 kayos) defeats Antwan Robertson (now 9-10-1 with 6 kayos) with by Unanimous Decision after 5 rounds: 50-45, 50-45, 50-45

Round 1

Perez throws a jab and thena  short-armed hook that miss Robertson.  Perez jabs and misses again, but then connects a single hook to the head of Robertson.  Perez seemed to have slipped and then turned his back on Robertson.  Robertson was charging in when referee Mark Nelson stepped in between.  Now there’s a lot of feints and ineffective punching.  Perez is making a show of lunging in with stomping jabs, but they don’t land.  Perez attacks wildly this time, but his punch is blocked.  Robertson is moving back and to his left, waiting for something.  Perez is coming forward, but Robertson is dodging his punches with some nifty moves.  Ten seconds to go and Perez flurries, but Robertson just grins at him.

Round 2

Perez comes forward at the outset, but Robertson counters with a big haymaker that misses its mark.  Perez comes forward again, and finally throws a four punch combination that may have scored.  Robertson is mugging and taunting now.  Has he been laying a trap, or is he just playing to the crowd?  Perez is cautious, working his way in.  Finally Perez connects with a big straight right, but then mars his progress by shoving Robertson hard into the ropes.  Perez is coming forward again, gaining confidence.  Robertson is the quicker man, but he is showing absolutely no offense.  In the last ten seconds Perez flurries, but from too far away to do any damage.

Round 3

Perez comes out aggressively jabbing, but a few seconds in the ref stops things to get something wiped off Robertson face.  On resuming the fight, Perez is showing less respect for Robertson, throwing punches with more intent, if not more frequency.  Perez attacks and overshoots Robertson, and there’s a tie-up.  Now Perez lands another good single shot.  Robertson sure isn’t showing much urgency.  The fighters circle slowly to their left in the center of the ring, Perez feinting and Robertson watching.  Perez is now coming fowrad,a nd lands one jab.  After a pause, he tries to flurry but his momentum is gone.  Despite what I said earlier, Perez is showing Robertson a great deal of respect.  Ten seconds to go, and Perez charges into Robertson, pinning him against the ropes, but both mens’ punches are smothered at close quarters.

Round 4

Initially it looked like Robertson would begin countering Perez in this round, but the workrate is still slow.  Perez is inching forward, and Robertson is inching backward.  Perez tries to attack, but gets tied up.  This is uncharacteristic of Robertson.  Perez is moving his hands plenty, but seldom connecting.  Perez comes forward and shoots a single jab.  Then another single jab.  Perez throws a showy uppercut witih his right.  It connects, but he doesn’t follow up.  Now the fighters are circling again.  Finally Robertson fires a lead right hand, but Perez sidesteps it.  Such a tactical fight.Perez attacks again, Robertson dodges again.  As the bell rings, Robertson is grinning at Perez.  I don’t know what he’s smiling about, because he is accomplishing little or nothing.

Round 5

The fighters touch gloves, and commence to jabbing.  Perez comes out of a crouch with a big right hookercut that misses.  Robertson is backing up again.  Perez throws a one-two that passes for a scoring shot.  Robertson is fighting for style points, but the don’t give style points in Hinckley.  Perez is crouching, prowling, coming forward, and lands a good right.  Now he lunges forward and lands another good right.  there’s a lull, and again Perez lunges forward.  Perez shoots a double jab, then a let hnd.  Perez gets too close, and finally Robertson counters.  Another jab and a wild right hand by Perez.  Perez lands a shot and Robertson counters.  Now Perez is rushing forward and Robertson is continualy backing up.  Perez tries to flurry and Robertson counters, landing one good right hand.  There’s the bell, and this sleper is over.

–

Mark Sainci (now 1-0 with 1 kayo) defeats Andrew Selvig (now 1-4  with 1 kayo) by TKO in round 3 of 4 scheduled

Round 1

Selvig comes out with the first punches, throwing soft jabs to test the waters.  Selvig decides he’s good to go and starts throwing power shots, then Sainci explodes on him, forcing him into a corner and landing multiple power shots.  Slevig escapesmomentarily, buSainci catches up with him on the ropes and flurries, finally catching him with a right handed haymaker that sends Selvig reeling.  Selvig is game, but Sainci is definitely the busier and harder hitting fighter in the early going.  Selvig is fighting with his back to the rropes, bleeding from the nose.  Selvig gets loose for a moment, but Sainci follows with is head down, throwing hooks and uppercuts as he pursues.  Sainci now has Selvig trappedin the blue corner. Selvig tries to tie him up but can’t get the job done.  Sainci resumes the chase, punding Selvig with power shots.  Selvig’s blood is rolling now, and the bell rings.

Round 2

Selvig scores first in the second, landing to the body and head of Sainci, but Sainci returns fire with more power.  Sainci’s right hook traveling a long distance to meet Selvig’s right-leaning head, but it’s doing the job.  After a brief tour of the ring, Selvig finds himself in a  neutral corner getting hammered again.  Selvig rushes across the ring to the far ropes, where Sainci catches him again, knocking him down and putting his mouthpiece out.  Slevig is up again, and throwing the best shots he can muster.  A stronger fighter might have Sainci in trobule, because Selvig is landing a good percentage of his shots, but Sainci is rough around teh edges.  Selvig comes forward and lands some light stuff. Sainci, taking a break, shoots back some soft shots in return.  This emboldens Selvig, who improves his workrate as round 2 comes to a close.

Round 3

Selvig resumes his attack in round 3, but Sainci comes forward hard, trapping him briefly in a corner and landing a big right hook.  Selvig escapes, but Sainci pursues and eventually catches him in a neutral corner where he lands several earnest power shots, and referee Gary Miezwa stops the bout.  Good stoppage.

 

Lucas St Claire (now 3-5 with 2 kayos) is defeated by Joe Lorenzi (now 3-5 with 3 kayos) by TKO in round 4 of 5 scheduled

Round 1

St Clair stays in the middle of the ring, Lorenzi circles to his left.  About thirty seconds in, St Clair scores with some power shots to the head, then the body.   St Clair is coming forward, landing clipping shots with the right and then flurrying.   Lorenzi is calm, but on his heels.  St Clair pursues Lorenzi to the ropes, where Lorenzi scores for the first time.  The pattern is Lorenzi is backing up and St Clair is pursuing.  A change of pace – St Clairs takes some steps back and then stop and fires, scoring again.  lorenzi is throwing occasional shots, but scoring only rarely here in the first.  St Clair bulls in with his ghead down and Lorenzi sticks a right handed upperscut into the body.  St Clair is less aggressive now.  There’s blood on St Clair’s soulder, but I cn’t tell where it came from.  The crowd begins to chant “Joey” as the round closes.  Lorenzi tries to close out strong, but doesn’t connect solidly.

 

Round 2

St Clair jabs coming in, then flurries with big power shots.  Lorenzi connets one left-handed lab, St Clair chases, and then there’s a big clash of heads.  Both men are hurt by the accidental headbutt.  Blood is flowing freely from Lorenzi’s brow.  After a quick inspection by the doctor, it’s time-in.  St Clair is flyurrying furiously again, but he isn’t hurting Lorenzi.  Lorenzi turtles up, lets St Clair throw a volne of punches, then lands one big left hook that brings the rowd to life.  St Clair is red faced and breathing hard.  St Clair tries to attack, but a counter shot from Lorenzi puts him down hard.  St Clair is up quicly, but then immediately goes down again from a left to the body.  Again St Clair is up quickly.  The action is fast now, and Lorenzi is timing and countering St Clair’s fading assault.  Ten seconds to go and the pace is slowed, both men auling and throwing single and double power shots.  The round ends with both men throwing caution to the wind, and both men scoring.

 

Round 3

There’s  a brief delay for water on the mat in St clair’s corner.  Now St clair is moving forward with more cautious backhanded jabs.  There’s an exchange and Lorenzi comes out ahead with a nice counter.  St Clair is coming in with his head down now.  There’s a risk of another bad headbutt.  Lorenzi is coming forward now.  St Clair is losing steam, but he has the presence of mind to tie Lorenzi up.  Lorenzi is on the attack now, St Clair blocks some punches and blocks others with head movement, then throws a quick five-punch flurry.  There’s mauling now, and St Clair scores with a one-two, but Lorenzi is definitely the fresher man now.  St Clair  leads with an upper cut and eats a hard counter.  As Lorenzi comes forward St Clair’s legs give out and he goes down, but we’ll call it a slip.  Lorenzi comes forward.  He’s attacking and connecting, but his punches lack snap.  There’s the bell, and that’s round 3.

 

Round 4

St Clair comes out raging in round 4, and backs Lorenzi up in the ropes, clubbing him with perhaps ten straight right hooks to the head and body.  Lorenzi comes out little worse for wear, and St Clair is tiring  Now Lorenzi comes forward and I can’t see what punch puts St Clar down, but he’s down.  St Clair is up again, but he’s wild.  His head movment is putting him off balance and he’s eating pjunches in bunches.  Lorenzo backs him into the blue corner and pummels him until referee Mark Nelson mercifully ends the bout.  TKO Lorenzi.

January 3rd Recap: A Wild Night in a Tame Town

On a snowy night in Minneapolis, Rances Barthelemy caught a lucky break, Argenis Mendez drew the opposite number, Ossie Duran spoiled the coming out party of the hometown hero, and Caleb Truax learned that he still has more to learn.

Rances Barthelemy and Argenis Mendez were matched for Mendez’s IBF Junior Lightweight trinket and the title that it represents.  Barthelemy, the challenger, won the bout under controversial circumstances.

The first round started slowly, with Mendez being respectful and tentative and Barthelemy testing the waters and evidently laying a trap.  After some soft jabbing and unexpectedly passive behavior, Barthelemy erupted about halfway through the first round with a ferocious attack that hurt Mendez.  In the second, Mendez was initially more active and tried to regain the initiative, but Barthelemy remained in control.  Finally Barthelemy exploded again and knocked Mendez down.  Then the end of the second was the beginning of controversy, as Barthelemy threw a right and a left well after the bell, and knocked Mendez out.  Though the referee and the TV audience didn’t hear the bell, numerous ringside observers and at least one IBF official in attendance confirmed to this writer that the knockout punch was thrown significantly after the chime.  Most up-to-date word is that an appeal will be  heard by the IBF, so hopefully the result can be changed to a No Contest and a rematch ordered.

In the Co-Main Event, Ossie Duran posed an unexpectedly tough test for rising middleweight star Caleb Truax, who was unable to solve Duran’s hard jab despite an admirable effort.  The end result was a unanimous draw, scored 95-95 by all three judges.

Duran is known to be a tough and experienced veteran, and he surely raised his stock by frustrating Truax with his tight defense and that punishing jab.  Truax maintained an aggressive attitude throughout, but wasn’t able to penetrate Duran’s defense with any consistency.  Though Truax had his moments (particularly in the later rounds), the enduring images of this fight will be Duran’s left hand in Truax’s face and the smudge of blood around Truax’s nose.

Though one wag was heard to say unequivocally that Truax should never rematch Duran, I think the opposite.  Duran was a tough riddle for Truax mainly because Truax had such difficulty solving the jab.  Truax should work on countermeasures for that jab and once he has learned to cope with it, he should show the world his improvement.  Or at the very least, he should make time to spar with Duran.

In undercard action:

• Adrian Martinez (2-0-1) defeated Trevor Marmon (1-1-1) in a rematch of their September 21st draw.  The first match between the two was a crowdpleasing slugfest with an inconclusive conclusion, but this one brought a decisive result.  Marmon started out strong and aggressive, but Martinez’s strong leads and counters sapped his strength and Marmon ran completely out of gas (and verticality) in the third.  The result was a 3rd round TKO, per world-class referee Mark Nelson.

• Dennis Galarza, a 21 year old whippet from Orlando, whipped Celiel Castillo in another four-rounder.  Castillo was much shorter than Galarza, and looked physically very soft.  Galarza knocked Castillo down in the first and maintained his dominance for the duration, finishing up with 40-35 scores across the board.  Galarza improved his record to 2-0 while Castillo chalked up a loss in his professional debut.

• Erickson Lubin wasted no time in thrashing his opponent, Luis Santiago.  Lubin, with a wedge-shaped shock of hair atop his head, hammered his unfortunate opponent for one minute before taking him out at 1:01 of the first.  It was Santiago’s first loss after four wins to inaugurate his professional career.  Lubin advanced to 2-0 with 2 KOs, and more to come if he continues to perform as he did tonight.

• Javontae Starks moved to 8-0 with 5 knockouts with a split decision win against Limberth Ponce, whose record is now 6-1 with 4 knockouts.  This match sometimes looked like a boxing match, other times a war.  Starks is a beautiful boxer with a strong right hand, while Ponce, in a pinch, would resort to brawling tactics.  The split result is an accurate reflection of the nature of the bout; one could have had either man winning.  The only result that couldn’t conscientiously be forwarded was a scoring draw, since Starks scored a knockdown with a big right-handed counter at the end of the second round.

• Lightweight prospect Tony Lee improved to 9-1 with 3 knockouts by gutting out a punishing unanimous decision against Willshaun Boxley, now 6-9 with 4 kayos.  Lee is a disciplined and cautious boxer, while Boxley is a flamboyant boxer-puncher who started his career 5-0 and has been in freefall ever since.  Boxley hadn’t fought in nearly two years, and was fighting over ten pounds above his ideal weight, but he showed guts and determination in his bout against a man who held nearly every advantage – height, activity, management.  Boxley’s only advantage was power, but it wasn’t enough to make Lee pay.  Lee boxed well, and punished Boxley mercilessly with a hard and insistent jab.

• In a sloppy bout campaigned by novices, Damien Hill improved to 2-3 while pinning Nate Richardson (now 1-1) with his first loss.  A fight like this one poses a challenge to the writer, because there is no real narrative to offer.  “Hill hits Richardson.  Now Richardson hits Hill.  Hill hits Richardson again.”  At this level of competition a jab might be no straighter than a hook, and a hook can pass for a straight.  Richardson possesses plenty of aggression and toughness, but those are insufficient virtues for a professional boxer.  Hill is significantly taller, and a more accurate puncher, and that made the difference.

ESPN Friday Night Fights – Round-by-Round – January 3rd, 2014

Adrian Martinez (now 2-0-1) defeats Trevor Marmon (now 1-1-1) by TKO in round 3 of 4 rounds scheduled.

Round 1

About ten seconds in Marmon, a southpaw, makes the first offensive move, leading with the jab.  There’s not much to write home about until 30 seconds in, when Martinez counters a jab with a meaningful right that lands but does no appreciable damage.  All the action is tactical in nature until finally Marmon backs Martinez into a neutral corner and pulls the trigger, but does little before allowing Martinez to escape.  There’s precious little action here.  Marmon is the aggressor, with Martinez looking to counter.  Marmon backs him into the ropes, and for a moment there’s some nice mauling action, with Marmon working the body, but Martinez punches his way out.  Ten seconds to go, and I’m just noticing a red mark on Marmon’s left cheek, when finally Martinez lands a Big right hand that nearly knocks him down.  Marmon saves himself from a knockdown by holding onto Martinez’s hands, falling backwards but pulling Martinez forward, and finally regains his balance.

Round 2

Marmon is again the aggressor.  He leads with that right jab and scores a little bit until Martinez ties him up.  Martinez is trying to remember to jab.    Marmon comes forward, leading with a big left hook, and conects twice to Martinez’s body.  That hurt.  Martin is again backing up and looking to counter.  After a period of inactivity, Martin lands a rising hook to the belly of Marmon.  Now they’re shoulder to shoulder, with Marmon the better mauler.  But Marmon is slowing down, and Martinez is gaining traction.  Martinez fails to capitalize, however.  Marmon comes in at an awkward angle, and Martinez misses with a big power shot.  Suddenly it’s clear that Martinez has found a target in the body of Marmon, and he attacks it with great success, about five or six straight power shots finding their mark.  Bell, and round 2 is over.

Round 3

Marmon is undeterred by the pain doled out to him in the second, and comes right forward into Martinez to start the third.  Martinez is now scoring frequently with power shots, and Marmon is visibly losing steam.  Marmon comes forward, jabbing and connecting, but with no effect.  Martinez attacks the body with vigor, but referee Mark Nelson steps in and warns him for low blows.  Upon resumption of the bout, Martinez resumes his attack and lands several power shots which wobble Marmon.  Marmon looks like he’s being held up by Martinez’s shots.  Finally Marmon drops to the canvas, taking one more shot to the head on his way down.  Nelson waves the fight off, and it is all over.

–

Celiel Castillo (now 0-1) is defeated by Dennis Galarza (now 2-0 with 1 kayo) after four rounds.

Round 1

Castillo looks notably soft for a small boxer.  The taller, leaner Galarza comes forward immediately, attacking with sharp jabs and power shots.  Castillo  throws back at him, but his shots are light and without effect.  Galarza is following, stalking Castillo, and finally catches him.  A left hook lands  hard and knocks Castillo right on his butt.  Castillo is up quickly, pouting and looking angry.  The fight resumes, and Galarza is the hunter.  He catches Castillo with a flurry that forces Castillo to cover up, but does no further damage.  Just before the bell Castillo feints and Galarza flinches – that might have been Castillo’s best moment of the round.

Round 2

Castillo attacks immediately at the start of the second, backing Galarza into the ropes and landing a bunch of shots, but Galarza counters effectively and bangs his way out.  In the snter of the ring, Castilllo lands a flush shot, but Galarza only sneers.  Galarza attacks again, backing up his much shorter opponent.  Castillo is showing a tougher beard than he did in the first.  But Galarza ccontinues to attack, and Castillo is wilting.  Lacking any visible advantage, all Castillo can do is back up, throwing those light punches up at his opponent.  Now Galarza tracps Castillo against the ropes and leans on him, forcing Catillo’s upper body between the ropes.  There’s a break, but the action after the break is the same.  Galarza stalks and sharpshoots while Castillo retreats.

Round 3

Galarza comes across the ring and attacks immediately.  He shouts when he punches, so his attack is announced as well as presented.  Castillo lands a counter left to Galarza’s head, but Galarza continues to press, trapping Castillo near a neutral corner and hurting him again.  Castillo covers up.  Now the scene repeats, with Galarza on the prowl.  There’s an odd moment when Catillo grapples his way behind Galarza and throws a punch at the bsck of Galarza’s head.  He’s warned by the referee.  Now Galarza is back on the attack, but he’s slowing down somewhat.  Castillo, emboldened, mounts a sustained attack for the first time.  It isn’t efffective, but it’s something.  Catillo attcks again, and Galarza freezes him momentarily with a counter left.  Now Galarza backs Catillo into the ropes, and Catillo lands  a single punch again.  I wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea, though.  Castillo isn’t getting the upper hand; I just feel the need to point out whenever he lands one of those infrequent scoring punches.  I have Galarza winning all three rounds so far.

Round 4

Castillo knows his predicament, so he comes out aggressive in the fourth.  This opens up opportunities for Galarza, who scores with some well-timed counters.  Galarza is coming forward again; Castillo’s offense has petered out.  Galarza is fighting a more defensive fight now, jabbing and moving, protecting his lead.  Castillo comes forward again, landing four punches of a six punch combination.  Galarza again backs him up, and sharpshoots, landing hard to Castillo’s head.  But Galarza is boxing now, moving about and picking off Catillo.  Castillo is really trying, bless his heart.  But Galarza has his number right up to the end, scoring with well chosen left jabs and following with rights.  There’s the bell, and this fight is over.  It should be a shutout in Galarza’s favor.

–

Intros: The crowd is on the smallish side, but very enthusiastic as Truax enters the ring.  The Target Center is resonating with the crowd’s vibrations.

Ossie Duran (now 28-11-3 with 11 kayos) and Caleb Truax (now 23-1-2 with 14 kayos) fight to a ten-round draw

Round 1

The fighters are moving quickly but rotating slowly to their left.  There’s a lot of movement and tentative jabs at the start.  Finally Truax taps duran twice with light jabs.  Rangefinders.  The first earnest punch of the fight is a right hook to the body of Duran.  Fifteen seconds later Truax lands two to the body – one on each side.  Truax backs into the ropes but Duran fails to attack, and the fight again moves to the center of the ring.  A voice in the crowd shouts “Knock his beard off!” and Truax grins.  It looks like he almost laughed.  Truax for the first time throws the 1-2 that served him so well against Don George.  Duran throws a big left hook to the midsection of Truax, which is blocked.  This has been a quiet first round.  Duran throws a looping overhand right that may have connected – it’s hard to tell.  Both men try to score just before the bell, but nothing of consequence was landed.

Round 2

Truax comes out jabbing in the second.  Single, double, double followed by a hook.  Duran is still playing it cool.  Both men are.  Now Duran shuffles forward and lands a left hand to the guard of Truax.  Truax is throwing multiple jabs and moving to his right.  There’s an exchange, but neither men  breaks the other’s guard.  Duran jabs, and Truax comes forward then ties up.  Truax is trying to poke that jab through Duran’s defense.  Duran comes forward again.  Truaxx throws a five-punch combination, with the final punch being the harddest.  It looked like that one landed.   Truax throws a big right that Duran blocks with his shoulder, Duran responds with a flurry.  Truax is boxing carefully.  There’s a clinch, and referee Mark Nelson warns Duran about hitting beihind the head.  The fighters are bouncing on their toes as the ten second warning sounds.  Duran attacks and lands a couple of power shots just before the bell.

Round 3

The crowd is urging Truax on, and he comes out and lands a right hook, then a left right away.  Duran throws back.  Truax is moving a lot, looking for an opening.  Now he lands with a left jab and a straight right.  Duran responds moments later with a hard jab to Truax’s face.  Duran comes forward with two jabs and a right hook.  Duran throws a right that impresses the crowd, but Truax blocked it with his left glove.  Truax jabs once high then hooks twice low.  Things are heating up.  Duran is unfazed, and comes forward with two good shots to Truax’s head.  Duran knocks Truax backwards into the ropes, but he attacks with hard shots and comes out.  Truax lands a jab but misses with a downward punch at a ducking Duran.  Bell and round.

Round 4

Truax is getting more aggressive as the fight wears on.  He’s throwing double jabs now, and finally a big right hand to Duran’s head.  Truax may be bleeding from the nose.  Duran is coming forward, throwing heavy wshots.  Duran lands a right hand, and Truax resopnds with a power shot that lands.  Duran throws a left, and Truax whacks him with a hard right to the body.  Truax comes in tight and mauls, but fails to score.  Truax lands a right to the head and a left below the beltline.  Duran attacks and Truax counters well.  Truax throws a left and then a right to the body, and the crowd likes it.  But Duran has a good jab, and he’s using it effectively.Truax lands with a good right, left, left.  Duran fires back.  Duran lands a short right hook to the head of Truax.  Duran continues to jab.  Truax is having trouble blocking that jab, but he’s determined and keeps countering to the bell.

Round 5

This round starts with more jabbing, but now Truax lands two good short rights that thrill the crowd.  Duran is still nominally the aggressor, but Truax is coming forward in spots.  Truax gets in cclose and lands some more sharp power shots.  there’s an exchange, and then referee Mark nelson warns Duran for hitting behind the head.  Truax is scoring more with his power shots, but Duran can always go back to that jab, and he does.  Truax leads with a big right but fails to follow up.  Duran throws a lab and then lunges in with a right, and Truax counters and hurts him.  But Duran, expressionless, shakes his head and comes forward again.  Duran looks a little more tentative – or tired – and the crowd senses things are turning in Truax’s favor.

Round 6

Truax is jabbing more at the start of this round.  Duran scores with a single let, then a single right.  A moment passes, and Truax throws a combination that scores.  Duran is tough as nails though, and comes forward again.  Truax attacks but misses, as Duran is gone when he gets there.  Truax finally hooks to the body and scores, but Duran has an answer for everything.  Duran leans forward and throws a right while balanced on one foot.  Truax throws back and lands two punches.  Now two more.  Now a hard Truax right to the body.  Duran is tired, but still coming forward.  Duran dodges a Truax punch, but Truax gets in close and lands several short hooks to the body.  Duran comes forward and lands, but Truax does the same in response.  Truax lands a big right to the body, Duran tries to respond and Truax flurries, scoring well.  Just before the bell Duran rallies, and one can’t help but admire the effort of both fighters.

Round 7

Truax has urgency as the round begins, jabbing a little and then throwing a combination.  Duran is so unfaed by Truax’s punches, it’s sometimes hard to tell what has landed.  Truax is busy.  Duran throws a left ahnd that lands, then ties Truax up.  Truax flurries and scores, but Duran punctuates the combo with a counter.  Truax is going to the body more.  Duran uppercuts Trua’s head.  Truax steps back and Duran pursues and scores.  Truax misses with a right hook but Duran doesn’t capitalize.  Truax scores with three punches of a five-punch combination, then a single right hook.  Duran is iron man – he comes forward again.    Truax again scores with a right to the head.  Duran is coming forward with single jabs, looking to score big.  Each man tries to land a combination just before the bell, but neither scores.

Round 8

Truax comes up short with a left hand, but batters Duran to the body and shoulders.  Duran comes forward and connects with  Truax’s head.  Truax is doubling-tripling the jab.  Now lands a wide right hook.  Duran continues to stand his ground, but Truax rallies and scores grandly with lefts and rights.  The crowd roars, but Duran responds by coming forward and landing stinging shots, battering Truax into the ropes.  Back in the center of the ring, Truax and Duran orbit to their left.  Truax goes right-head, left-body, and Duran counters.  Truax sores with short power shots, but Duran hurts him back.  Truax gets in close again, and again lands a hard short right.  Just before the bell, Duran scores a left to Truax’s head, then pulls a punch as the bell rings.

Round 9

The crowd stands and roars encouragement to Truax as the round begins, but tis round begins tactically.  Truax jabs, Duran jabs.  They get in close, and Truax throws then ties up  Duran is throwing single jabs, and they’re working.  Finally Truax counters and snaps Duran’s head back with an uppercut.  Duran turtles up for a bit, then comes out and throws.  Truax attacks and misses, and Duran clowns momentarily.  Duran comes in low, and Truax tries to counter at an awkward angle.  the pace is quickening.  Duran comes forward with a triple jab, and Truax answers with a flurry of power shots that hurt Duran and thrills the crowd.  Duran throws his hands up to say “I’m  not hurt,” but I’ve told you over and over what that means.  There’s a little give-and-take as the round ends.

Round 10

Duran looked a little wobbly at the end of the ninth, but he comes out jabbing sharply in the tenth.  Both men are moving to their right.  Then Truax stops and fires, scoring moderately.  Duran counters and lands.  Duran lands a left-handed superman punch, and Truax replies with a four-punch combination that scores.  Duran attacks and lands a one-two – hard.  Truax flurries.  Duran throws and lands a showy and hard single left.  Truax gets close and Duran punishes him to the body.  This fight is turning into a brawl.  Duran is going for broke, and that frees Truax to counter, which is a talent of his.  Both men are tired and are tying up more frequently.  Now breaking, Duran comes forward with a soft left and hard right.  Truax attacks back and hurts him.  Now with ten seconds to go in the fight, Duran bullies Truax into the blue corner where the fighters trade power shots on even terms until the bell rings.

I didn’t score this fight, but my sense is that it was even or a narrow win for Duran, who fought very well in spots.  Truax’s effort was more sustained, but he had fewer winning moments.

–

Luis Santiago (now 4-1) is defeated by Erickson Lubin (now 2-0 with 2 kayos) by KO at 1:01 of the first round of 4 rounds scheduled.

Round 1

Lubin comes out aggressive from the word go.  He batters Santiago with big left hands and chases him from one end of the ring to the other.  Santiago goes down with a thud in the blue corner, and referee Scott Erickson waves his hands.  This fight is over.

–

Rances Barthelemy (now 20-0 with 13 kayos) defeats Argenis Mendez (21-3-1 with 11 kayos), for the IBF Junior Lightweight Championship of the World, scheduled for 12 rounds

Round 1

This fight starts slowly, with both men feinting and jabbing softly.  Barthelemy throws a tentative uppercut (is there such a thing?) to the midsection of Mendez.  It might have scored well if it had been in earnest.  Mendez is coming forward and Barthelemy taking it easy until suddenly, with his back to the ropes, Barthelemy explodes in a furious assault that backs Mendez up, momentarily traps him against the ropes, and hurts him to the body.  Mendez’ brow is furrowed as the round continues.  Barthelemy follows him a bit and then hurts Mendez again to the body, and perhaps once to the head.  Mendez comes forward again, and Barthelemy is poking out a perfunctory jab, just trying to keep Mendez off.

Round 2

Mendez left jabs to Barthelemy’s body, and moments later  throws a right at Barthelemy’s shoulder.  Mendez comntinues to come forward, but is missing with most everything.  Barthelemy is backing up again, but he has a nice change of direction and definitely has Mendez on guard.  Mendez is continuing to pursue ineffectively.  Barthelemy throws a slow double jab, but he’s definitelly biding his time.  Another double jab by Barthelemy, and this time he brings it back low and slow.  Mendez gets closer and throws to the body of Barthelemy, but there’s little behind it.  Finally Mendez throws a powerful punch, but Barthelemy responds in kind.  Barthelemy explodes again and knocks Mendez down.  Mendez looks angry, and indicates he was hit in the back of the head.    Now Mendez is back up, and the action resumes.  Barthelemy scores with a good punch just before the bell, and then lands an enormous punch AFTER the bell which knocks Mendez out.  I repeat, that was definitely and obviously AFTER the bell.  Does no one else see this?  Barthelemy and his corner are celebrating deliriously.  Barthelemy should be disqualified for throwing that knockout punch after the bell.

Rances Barthelemy is your new IBF champion, and he did it by knocking his opponent out with a punch landed after the bell.  I am very disappointed.

–

Limberth Ponce (now 6-1 with 4 kayos) is defeated by Javontae Starks (now 8-0 with 5 kayos by Majority Decision (57-56, 57-56, 56-57) after 6 rounds

Round 1

Starks, frequently a slow starter, is jabbing early.  Ponce is showing a lot of aggressiveness, but nobody is scoring yet.  Starks’ trunks seem to be riding up; he keeps pulling them down.  More jabbing from Starks.  Ponce finally comes in close, and Starks lands a glancing left counter.  Ponce is coming forward, feinting, moving around.  Starks is mostly just pivoting in the center of the ring.  These are all single jabs from Starks.  Now he finally throws a two-punch and then a three-punch combination.  Ponce continues to move.  Referee Gary Miezwa steps in to pull Starks’ trunks back up, which draws chuckles from the crowd, but Starks pulls them back down.  Ponce finally attacks, landing a couple of overhand rights.  Starks responds with an attack of his own, and sneaks one brutal right hand to Ponce’s body.  No doubt that hurt.  But Ponce defends himself with offense, attacking with a furiously that backs Starks into a neutral corner, and batters him.  Starks fires back, but the bell rings.

Round 2

The second round begins as the first one did, with feints by Ponce and jabsby Starks.  Ponce charges in and lands a single shot – Starks ties him up.  Starks coils up and throws a long straight right that connects.  Ponce rushes in and attacks back.  Ponce is moving backwards now, and Starks is avvancing behind that jab.  They get too close, and Ponce ties Starks up.  After the break, Ponce attacks with a fast and hard combination of four or five punches.  POnce and Starks throw simultaneous power shots, and both land.  Ponce continues to back up, then with seconds to go in the round, he attacks and Starks nails him with a rock-hard counter right.  Ponce goes down!  Ponce is up but the bell rings before Starks can do any more work.

Round 3

Ponce comes out looking slightly more tentative.  The look on his face is one of concern, not anger as in the first two rounds.  Starks is looking for his chance to counter as he did last round, and he is allowing Ponce to move in and out and attack.  Each time Ponce lands a pounch, Starks shakes his head and smiles.  If he isn’t toying with Ponce, he sure gives that impression.  Ponce is regaining his confience and attacking the body of Starks.  Ponce gives Starks the old shoeshine, but Starks counters with a hard right at an awkward, off-balance angle.  You don’t see that every day.  Ponce tries to maul Starks, but the two tie up and Starks slaps him to the body as the round expires.

Round 4

This round begins with Ponce circling and jabbing.  Now Starks comes forward, but Ponce throws a hard and effective 1-2 to stop his advance.  Ponce reverts to retreating, and Starks resumes following.  Starks bends at the waist to throw a punch, and Ponce counters with a hurtful shot that sets him up for mower powerr shots.  That’s Ponce’s best moment of the fight.  Starks throws a right to the body and a left to the head that lands cleanly.  Starks grimaces in a clinch and motions toward his head.  Possibly a head butt?  Now Ponce resumes his backwards strategy, and coming forward, Starks hits him with another one of those big right hands.  Starks is tall and slender and has a very long left jab that he follows with a wicked right hook.  Ponce’s face is drawn and blank as the round ends.  He’s still giving and taking, but he doesn’t have the concentrated look that you like to see on a fighter’s face.

Round 5

The bell rings for the fifth round, but the bout is paused for some dangling tape on Ponce’s wrist.  Ponce is looking a little better as this round begins.  Ponce comes forward and puts Starks in a headlock.  Now they’re fighting in a phone booth, and Ponce is throwing everything he can muster at Starks, landing thudding and slapping punches to the body.  Starks is a gifted counterpuncher, though, with a strong chin and great balance.  Ponce goes body-head and scores.  Ponce bulls in with his head down and lands a big right.  Now Starks picks a spot and rocks Ponce with a right.   Ponce is game, but Starks smacks him on the right cheek with a left hand.  Starks pokes Ponce with a light jab and Ponce goes off balance.  But again, Ponce finds a second wind just before the bell and throws an overhand right that lands solidly.  Starks will not put him away this round, as the round ends.

Round 6

Ponce comes out aggressive in the final frame, again throwing everything he can at Starks.  Ponce is determined byut wobbly.  Starks, with that long snaking jab, should be able to keep Ponce on the outside, but fails.  Ponce gets inside and lands two good shots to the head.  Starks felt those.  Starks lands a nice short hook to Ponce’s head, but Ponce counters.  Starks is going for it now, throwing a left and following with his biggest right, but misses.  Starks now throws a single right that catches Ponce by surprise.  Ponce flurries back.  Starks gets Ponce in a corner and lands two good shots, but Ponce doesn’t go down, instead skittering to his right and escaping.  Referee Gary Miezwa breaks the two fighters, and Ponce attacks immediately.  Starks gets free of Ponce, but then Ponce rushes in again and the two tie up until the bell rings.  That’s the fight.

Kudos to Ponce for his guts and determination.  He doesn’t have Starks’ athletic gifts, but he never gave up and he just might have pulled this fight out.

–

Willshaun Boxley (now 6-9 with 4 kayos) is defeated by Tony Lee (now 9-1 with 3 kayos) by unanimous decision after 6 rounds

Round 1

Lee is busy early on, with a sharp jab that’s keeping Boxley on the outside.  But Boxley gets inside after about 30 rough seconds and lands a wildly looping right that catches Lee and sends him reeling.  Boxley is definitely the stronger man, though Lee has the advantage of length and quickness.  Lee is backing up, Boxley coming forward.  Boxley again lands a big right hand, but this time Lee comes back and after a moment scores with two good shots.  Boxley looks serene and confident as he stalks Lee.  He’s certainly making it hard for Lee to get comfortable.  Lee stands his ground for a moment, then comes forward with a jab.  Moments later Lee misses badly with a jab.  Then just before the bell, Boxley dodges two

Round 2

Lee has slowed things down this round.  Boxley is still ccoming forward.  Boxley ducks in, lands a loud right hand to the body, and disappears.  Lee connects with a glancing right to Boxley’s head, and Boxley laughs.  Lee clips Boxley with a good punch and Boxley ducks into the ropes, getting stuck between them.  Lee winds up and deliberately punches Boxley while he’s trapped.  No no.  Lee is scoring frequently against a rusty Boxley, but Boxley is having fun, clowning, and showing off.  Lee is throwing lefts at Boxley’s body and connecting hurtfully.  Boxley dodges a punch and nods theatrically.  He’s getting under Lee’s skin.  Boxley misses with a wide left hook and there’s a tie up.  After the fighters are broken up, there’s no time for any more fighting.

Round 3

Lee is getting more aggressive this round, throwing power shots and standing his ground.  Boxley hasn’t got the speed or quickness at 135# that he had a few years ago at 122#.  But he does have flair, and he shows it in coming forward and landing a couple of showing punches.  Lee is landing that left hand almost at will now, but Boxley persuades him to fight at close quarters and scores with a couple of good short punches to the body.  After a clinch Lee reverts to jabbing, but Boxley again pushes his way in and lands some hard shots.  Boxley is battering Lee!  Lee is tottering, and Boxley is walking in and rocking him.  but boxley runs out of gas and Lee comes back with a flurry of his own.  Boxley dodges two punches just before the bell.

Round 4

Lee rushes across the ring and jabs the heck out of Boxley at the start.  boxley has a sleepy look.  Is he acting or is he exhausted?  Boxley catches Lee with a left but doesn’t follow up.  Lee is scoring again with that mean jab.  Boxley wants to trade, but Lee walks forward and hits him with a nice double left.  Lee lands five straight punches.  This is hard for a friend of Willshaun Boxley to watch.  Boxley ducks a Lee punch, puts his forehead in lee’s chest, and thuds away with body shots.  There’s a brief clinch and boxley grabs the back of his head.  I don’t know what his complaint is.  Boxley traps Lee in a corner and forces him to clam up, throwing hard shots.  Lee gets away though, and again finds a home for that jab.  The fighters set up to trade, but the bell rings and the round is over.

Round 5

Boxley is trying to get in and out with a right handed power shot aoin the early going, but Lee’s length and quickness are stymieing him.  Lee slows down and that allows Boxley to land another single right.  Now Lee is bouncing away from Boxley, and Boxley is chasing, but he’s too off-balance to land anything solid.    Boxley scores with a good left hand to Lee’s forehead, chases him into a corner, misses with a punch, and elbows Lee in the head on the withdraw.  Lee is looking tired now.  Boxley lands an overhand right.  There’s a standoff, then Boxley comes forward.  Most of his punches have little mustard now, but he’s still trying.  Lee lunges forward and lands a strong left.    Lee throws a flurry of about eight punches, of which only the last one lands, but it’s a good one.  These guys are tired, very tired.  Conditioning could win it.

Round 6

This rounds starts with aggression from Lee.  He’s jabbing Boxley and bouncing him back.  Lee is up on his toes,now he’s showboating.  Boxleyt is trying to jab, but he’s just not long enough to make it work against Lee.  Lee comes forward and Boxley slips a punch, misses with a right, but connects with a left.  Lee is potshotting Boxley now, hurting him.  Boxley puts his hand out to jab, but no punch comes, and he lets it drop.  Lee attacks again, battering him into the ropes, hurting him again.  Boxley wants to brawl, and occasionally he can persude Lee.  He bulls Lee into the ropes and lands a collection of power shots.  Ten seconds to go, and Boxley clowns.  Lee tries to connect, but can’t muster much of an attack.

–

Damien Hill (now 2-3) defeats Nate Richardson (now 1-1-1 with 1 kayo) by split decision after 4 rounds

Round 1

This looks like a sloppy one from the start.  Hill comes out leading with jabs, hooks, uppercuts, wahtever.  The shoorter man, Richardson is trying to take the initiative, but having trouble getting close and landing.  Hill leads with a straight right.  Richardson backs him intoa  corner and scores, but neither man is a slugger.  Hill, fighting southpaw, is getting chased around.  Richardson gets in close and scores nicely to the body, but Hill counters and then turns him around and attacks back.  Hill is finding his range, and lands one flush power shot that resounds through the now mostly empty arena.  His corner shouts “Where’s your power, Damien?”  Time winds down and the round ends.

Round 2

Richardson comes out with plenty of aggression, and he has a tendency to lead with his head.  Don’t be surprised if there’s a cut before this one is over.  Hill back sup until his back is against the ropes and Richardson finds him there, landing some good shots.  This fight doesn’t have a ton to offer, but both fighters are game.  Richardson follows Hill into a trap and gets countered.  Richardson lands a left-right to Hill’s body.  Richardson continues to pursue, but again Hill counters him and scores.  Richardson has more aggression than is good for him.  And yet, Richardson finally gets the upper hand for a moment and flurries with nearly twenty punches from all angles.  Hill throws the last few punches of the round.

Round 3

Richardson again comes out on the attack, and this time Hill is less effective in countering.  Hill does sneak in a punch here and there, though.  He seems to be at his best when his opponent’s attack peters out.  Richardson pins Hill against the ropes and fires an extended volley, but Hill escapes and heads for the center of the ring.  As these guys use up their legs, they become less mobile and the fight becomes more entertaining.  Richardson is initiating most of the exchanges, and scoring occasionally.  Hill is doing a fair job of countering in spots, but usually with only one punch.

Round 4

Hill’s corner wants him to know this is the final round.  About 20 seconds in Richardson scores with a body shot, but Hill counters well and may have hurt him.  Richardson comes forward again, and finishes a mostly ineffective combination with a single right.  Richardson is squaring up to his opponent, and it’s leaving him wide open.    Richardson finds Hill against the ropes and both men windmill for a moment.  Now they’re in the center of the ring, and Richardson scores with a single left hook to Hill’s ear.  It rocks Hill but doesn’t visibly hurt him.  There’s another exchange that ends with Hill scoring with a left.  Hill times a Richardson punch and counters well, then presses his advantage as the last seconds tick away.  Richardson survives the round.

March 9th, Amateur Boxing in Detroit Lakes, MN

Sam Lavoy (White Earth Nation) is defeated by Joey Grove (Lakes Area Boxing) by decision after 3 rounds.  (90 pounds)

Round 1

Lavoy comes out throwing from the start, windmilling into his opponent.  Grove is no shrinking violet, and he’s lashing out here and there as the opportunity presents itself.  There isn’t much science in the early going, but Lavoy does slow down after a bit, and eventually finds a home for a good straight right, which he lands repeatedly.

Round 2

Lavoy rushes in again, but his offensive is shorter-lived.  Grove responds with a couple of effective one-twos.  Lavoy is discovering his jab, and he is scoring well with it.  In the last fifteen seconds of the round Grove starts coming forward, landing a nice extended flurry of power punches that lasts until the bell.

Round 3

Lavoy’s pattern is to come out aggressive, and he does so again, but it’s hard to say how effectively.  It seems that much of his aggression is going into the wind.  Grove is now landing a big left jab.  Lavoy has no defense for it.  Grove is dominating this round – at one point I counted no fewer than eight consecutive jabs, landing to Lavoy’s face!  Lavoy is on his heels and breathing heavily as Grove continues to come forward, and the bell rings.

–

Matt Umland (Unattached – Wadena) defeats Ryder Grove (Iron Range Boxing Academy) by decision after three rounds (90#)

Round 1

Umland comes out with tremendous aggression, battering Grove from the opening bell.  Ryder can do little but keep moving, hoping Umland will punch himself out.  Midway through the round referee Tyler Hultin pauses the action to warn Umland for an illegal punch.  Near the end of the round Grove does connect wtih a good one-two, but this round goes to Umland by a dominant performance.

Round 2

Umland seems a bit winded in the second, but continues to outperform Grove.  He’s an aggressive and hard-nosed kid.  Grove lands a couple of shots in the middle going that put Umland off balance but doesn’t capitalize.  Umland finishes the round with more measured aggression, but Grove scored a bit more in the second than the first.

Round 3

Umland isn’t punching with the same snap that he did in the first two.  Grove is getting a lot of advice from the crowd, because everyone can see that Umland is tiring.  Grove is trading on more or less even terms with Umland now, but he doesn’t seem to see his opportunity.

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Wayne Lavoy (White Earth Nation) is defeated by Jerimiah Asmund (Wadena – Stomp Boxing) by referee stoppage in the first round (128#)

Round 1

Asmund comes right out and asserted himself in the first fifteen seconds, landing several hard shts that hurt Lavoy.  Referee Hultin gives Lavoy a standing eight count almost immediately.  Action resumes and Hultin warns Asmund – I think for holding and hitting.  Action resumes again and Asmund jukes left, then right, then walks right in and pummels Lavoy.  This one is over – referee stoppage.

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Isaac Nokes (White Earth Nation) is defeated by Chazzy Roper (sp?) (Leech Lake) by referee stoppage in the second round, 138#

Round 1

Roper seems to be a late substitution, but he shows he belongs right away, trading with Nokes in an early slugfest.  Roper is going to the body, and connecting with the taller Nokes with some hurtful shots.  Nokes groans loudly during an exchange in the middle of the ring, but rather than an eight count, the referee pauses the action and gives Roper a warning for low blows.  I didn’t see anything low, but I saw Nokes get hurt to the body.  Nokes spends some time in the corner and comes out refreshed, going toe-to-toe with Roper.  Roper is going body-head, body-head with some success.  Nokes comes forward and lands a very big right hand to roper’s head, but Roper shakes it off and comes forward again.  There’s more trading, and Roper is letting more of those shots through.  More trading as the round ends.

Round 2

The second ends as the first ended, with lanky Nokes and stocky Roper trading power shots.  Roper is a bulldog!  Nokes stumbles and puts his hand down on the mat, but it isn’t being counted as a knockdown.  Action resumes with Ropes backing Nokes into a corner, landing one particularly harsh right hand in the process.  In the corner Roper pounds Nokes until the referee must administer another eight count.  This time, looking closely into Nokes’ eyes, the referee doesn’t like what he sees and waves the fight off.  Win for Roper!

–

Andretti Bushey (Leech Lake) is defeated by Seth Gerving (Lakes Area Boxing) by decision after three rounds (138#)

This was a late addition to the card, not in the program.  At the outset I didn’t even know which fighter was which, so there’ll only be a summary.  Bushey has poor footwork, fought off his back foot, had his knees locked much of the fight, held his hands low, and didn’t show much offense until the final round.  But near the end of the third round he did land a big shot to Gerving’s head which resulted in a standing eight count.

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Levi Holmquist (Fergus Falls Boxing Club) is defeated by Josh Polluck (Unattached – Minneapolis) by decision after three rounds (190#)

Round 1

Holmquist comes out looking to fight scientifically, but Polluck, a big hitter, has come to rumble.  Polluck has his hands full with an unorthodox fighter showing tremendous aggression.  What we have here is two two guys whaling on each other.  About hafway through the round we get our first conventional one-two combination from Holmquist.  Both men are wearing out and wearing down as the round progresses, but Polluck scores a couple of times with nice shots in the late going.

Round 2

Holmquist goes to the body early, coming in low and throwing hooks.  Polluck continues to be rough and unorthodox, holding and flailing.  Polluck’s legs seem to be fading midway through the second, but he does land a big overhand right.  Holmquist comes forward, but another overhand lands.  Polluck is starting to come through Holmquist’s defense.  Another big right staggers Holmquist and he nearly goes to a knee.  Referee Gilbert Hernandez gives Holmquist a standing eight, which seems to be just what Holmquist needs.  The remainder of the round is pretty tame.

Round 3

Polluck knows he’s found a home for his looping right, and he’s determined to throw it a ton.  Holmquist turns the tables on him, landing a big combination that leaves Polluck looking out the earhole of his headgear  The fight is paused briefly while his headgear is adjusted.  Upon resumption of the fight Holmquist looks much stronger, battering Polluck with power shots.  Polluck is exhausted now, just swinging his arms.  Holmquist is stalking, landing single left jabs and right hands.  As the bell rings, Polluck’s legs are gone.  If this was a fight, Holmquist won it.  But it’s a boxing match, so we’ll have to see what the scorecards say…

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Sam Anderson (Fergus Falls Boxing Club) is defeated by Jamaal Bradley (Red River Golden Gloves) by decision after three rounds (190#)

Round 1

Bradley, taller by a few inches, comes out with some fast left jabs.  But the fighters spend some time circling before Anderson finally turns on the juice.  Anderson mounts a sustaind assault that pins Bradlety on the ropes, and continues to throw punches, most of them blocked, until the referee administers a standing eight count.    After the break there’s more of the same, with Anderson  again trapping Bradley against the ropes, but this time Bradley shoves him away and shows some offense.  Somewhere along the way Bradley has popped Anderson’s nose, which is bleeding profusely.  It was probably one of those fast jabs – sometimes Bradley is too fast for his own good.  Anderson is an aggressive bull, coming forward to the end.

Round 2

Anderson knows what he has to do, and he comes forward with great agression, knocking Bradley down with a big flurry.  Bradley is prepared for Anderson’s next rush, and tags Anderson back, sending a huge spray of blood onto the first row, with most of it landing on yours truly!  There’s a standing eight count for the dazed Anderson.  Anderson next catches Bradley with an illegal low blow, which leaves Bradley shouting and groaning in agony.  A break ensues, but afterwards fireworks erupt!  Anderson comes forward with tremendous aggression, and Bradley might as well be countering with a hammer!  Both men are windmilling at each other, and both are landing huge shots.  Bell and round – the crowd is screaming!

Round 3

Anderson has shown himself to be very, very tough.  He’s taken many of Bradley’s best shots without blinking.  But about thirty seconds into the third round Bradley stuns Anderson and then lands about ten straight shots.  It’s a bloodbath out there, and a little bit over here, too.  There’s another eight count for Anderson.  Bradley has timed Anderson, and he’s countering with huge right hooks when Anderson tries to get inside.  Anderson is getting tentative.  He knows every time he comes forward he’s going to be punished.  In the end, Anderson can no longer get inside, and his entire face is covered in blood, as is my shirt.

–

Ron Engrum (Golden Lakes Boxing) -vs- Colton Warner (Unattached – Minneapolis)  THIS FIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELED.

–

Intermission

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Denver Peterson (Red River Golden Gloves) defeats Chace Metelak (Lakes Area Boxing) by decision after three rounds (132#)

Round 1

Peterson comes out aggressive, jabbing furiously and making Metelak run.  With the stage set, Peterson slows down his pursuit and the two settle into a more conventional style of combat.  Both fighters are very fast and athletic, but Metelak, much taller, lands the first hard shot of the fight.  Metalak lands a couple more power shots.   Seeing the difficulty of his proposition, Peterson puts his head down and bulls forward, landing some effective body shots just before the bell.

Round 2

Peterson is looking more tenative, trying to jab his more lengthy opponent from the outside.  Metelak is sharpshooting now, and Peterson ties him up.  Metelak comes forward with evil intent but Peterson counters him and lands a right hook to the body.  Now there’s an exchange in which both men want to stand their ground, which make for good action.  Metelak lands the hardest shot of the round near the end, a right hand that jolts Peterson’s head back.  Bell.

Round 3

Peterson lands a big left that dazes Metelak and then capitalizes by coming forward and absolutely hammering his opponent with a bevy of power shots.  Metelak literallyy turned his back and ran away from that flurry.  Both fighters are winded now, and though many punches are being thrown, not many are landing.  Peterson keeps putting his head down and punching blindly as he comes forward.  His coach and the referee both admonish him for that, and finally he keeps his head up and lands a hard right hand to punctuate the third round and the bout.

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Seth Carpenter (Fergus Falls Boxing Club) is defeated by Matt Mason (Lakes Area Boxing) by decision after three rounds (160#)

Round 1

Carpenter is a long, lanky fighter and he starts the bout with a lot of jabs, but Mason lands a hard right hand to his ribcage, drawing a big reaction from the crowd.   Our combatants spend some time circling, then Mason goes on the attack and walks forward, winging shots from both hands.  Mason seems to be getting the upper hand when carpenter suddenly lands a big jab that freezes his advance.  The rest of the round is more tactical, with Mason trying to attack and Carpenter playing defense.  Near the end of the round Carpenter sees an opening and tries to land a big shot, but misses and eats a hard counter.

Round 2

Mason is the aggressor in the second round, comstantly coming forward and landing the bigger shots.  Carpenter tries to counter while moving bvackward, but it takes him half of the round before he lands a good shot.  It’s a very good shot though, snapping Mason’s head back.  Yet Mason keeps coming forward, and he’s clearly the bigger hitter, and the more hard-nosed fighter.  Carpenter has pretty good footwork for a tall guy, and near the end of the round he seems to be trying to hold his ground.  This stymies Mason’s advance and gives us a better exchange near the end of the second.

Round 3

Carpenter is showing more offense as the third commences.  Carpenter tries to land a big one-two, but both punches are blocked, then Mason comes rushing forward, throwing wildly.  Carpenter lands a jab that staggers Mason!  After an eight count the fight resumes with Mason taking a more careful approach.  The fight is becoming more strategic.  Then Carpenter lands a hard single shot that seems to wake Mason, and Mason goes on the attack again.  Mason backs Carpenter into the ropes and gives him everything – Carpenter lasts until the final bell, and I don’t think this one will be too hard to score.

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Clayton Bruchowski (Eastman) defeats Albert Bolt (Wadena Golden Gloves) by decision after three rounds (135#)

Round 1

Bruchowski comes out throwing but doesn’t land anything in the early seconds of the round.  Bolt, much shorter than his opponent, has to look for a spot to attack, and finally lands a good shot.  Bruchowski has a very fast jab and a very vocal coach, and he is taking advantage of both.  Bolt is a well put together young man, and he seems to be a bigger hitter, but he’s having hard time getting close enough to land anything.  Bolt tries to duck under Bruchowski’s guard, but Bruchowski is able to counter most of his attacks effectively.  Near the end of the round Bolt lands a short right hook to Bruchowski’s body, and the smile on Bruchowski’s face proves that he felt it.

Round 2

Bruchowski crosses the ring eagerly at the start of the second.  Bolt is trying to be faster, and comes forward to land a single power shot.  Now there’s an exchange in the center of the ring and both men land well.  Bruchowski’s coach is shouting that Bolt it hurt; he must have seen something I didn’t.  Bolt has decided to come inside and take Bruchowski’s power shots in order to land.  Bolt gets mixed results, as bruchowski shows a good ability to potshot him.  Bolt finally gets inside and lands a viciuos shot to Bruchowski’s body.  Bolt stays inside for a change, and lands several more good body shots before Bruchowski regains his bearings and counters his attack.  The bell rings with both men missing on power shots and getting tangled.

Round 3

Bolt is tring again to get inside.  Bruchowski is continuing to counter effectively, landing beautiful short right hooks on Bolt.  Bolt is circling rapidly, looking for an opening.  Bruchowski is beginning to come forward.  Bolt is a tough kid, but the height disadvantage is probably too much for him to overcome.  Bruchowski lands one big right to Bolt’s head.  Bruchowski again lands cleanly, a combination this time.  This round ends with Bolt again misfiring on an attack.

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Killer Jackson (Unattached – Anoka) defeats Luke Wiebolt (Lakes Area Boxing) by decision after three rounds (135#)

Round 1

Wiebolt walks right up to Jackson at the start, and Jackson shows he is an adept counterpuncher.  Wiebolt is aggressive, and he is landing some shots, but Jackson has good fast hands, and he takes a shot well.  Wiebolt is not a graceful fighter, but he does come forward.  Wiebolt has a bit of a tendency to lean forward and throw punches with all of his weight on his front foot, so Jackson is able to walk through most of his punches.  A small percentage of a large quantity of punches are landed in the first round, with Jackson having a decided advantage.

Round 2

Wiebolt comes forward again to start the second.  Wiebolt lands a good right to the body of Jackson, but Jackson comes back with a one-two the puts Wiebolt off balance.  Wiebolt’s response is to increase his aggression, you have to like a fighter like that.  Wiebolt contines to press the attack, but he is slowing down as jackson stands his ground and counters him effectively.  Wiebolt is bleeding from the nose.  jackson lands four big single right hooks in a row.  Wiebolt’s balance is suffering.  Jackson is keeping Wiebolt at a distance with jabs and hammering the body.  Wiebolt continues to attack as the round ends.

Round 3

Between rounds Wiebolt’s corner asks him how he feels, and he replies quite audibly “I’m so tired.”  Wiebolt comes forward at the start of the third, throwing punches as he walks forwarsrd.  Jackson is very good at setting his feet and throwing body shots.  Wiebolt trades with him, but jackson is hurting him with right hand after right hand.  Especially to the body.  Wiebolt tries to attack once again, but Jackson throws a big right hand that glances off wiebolt’s head and staggers him.  There’s a standing eight count.  Coming back from the break Wiebolt attacks again, this time landing some good shots to Jackson’s head and body.  Jackson, bless his soul, is very tough and doesn’t flinch or react.  The bell rings with both fighters winging punches.

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Joey Suda (Red River Golden Gloves) defeats Cory Sylvester (Eastman) by decision after three rounds (180#)

Round 1

This is a study in opposites.  Sylvester is a short, heavy kid.  Suda is probably the tallest fighter in the building, and slim.  Sylvester is cirling Suda.  In the early going Suda is potshotting his shorter, slower opponent.  Sylvester takes a particularly sharp shot tothe head and comes up blinking.  Sylvester’s coach is shouting at him to come forward.  Suda attacks and Sylvester counters with a big right hand that will score well.  the rest of the round consists of pawing jabs and off target power shots from both men.

Round 2

Between rounds Sylvester received instructions not to back up.

Suda comes out looking for blood, and lands several hard shot.  Suda comes forward again and this time Sylvester lands a very hard jab that forced him to back off.  The figers are circling to their left.  Suda throws a combination that includes a hard right to the midsection of his pudgy opponent.  Suda backs Sylvester into a neutral corner and feints twice, then misfires on a flurry, which allows Sylvester to escape.  moving across the ring Suda throws a right that hurts Sylvester.  After an interval with little action Sylvester scores with a tremendous left hand that seems to move Suda about two fight to his left.  Surprisingly, Suda is unfazed and continues to attack.  Sylvester springs two more of those thudding hooks to Suda’s body and head, but Suda shakes it off and continues to attack, scoring nicely in the closing moments of the round.

Round 3

I think Suda is finding that fighting Sylvester is like fighting a boulder.  Sylvester is a stronger, tougher fighter than he appears.  Suda is the mobile fighter here, circling Sylvester and pressing a flash attack.  He needs to watch out for those big counters from Sylvester.  Sylvester is not above some roughhouse tactics.  Suda is sharpshooting now, throwing fast and unpredictable combinations that land.  Sylvester’s counters, though effective, are sporadic.  As the fight comes to a close Suda is sticking and moving, Sylvester is trying to find an opening for his bombs.

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Amar Kovacevic (Red River Golden Gloves) is defeated by Blake Herron (Unattached – Brainerd) by decision after three rounds (141#)

Round 1

The fight starts slowly, with both men feinting and dodging.  Herron is the first to attack, landing a couple of soft punches to the body of Kovacevic; Kovacevik lands a glancing blow to the head of Herron.  Herron is using speed and movement to force Kovacevik into a tentative attitude, darting in and out and landing one or two punches at a time.  Near the end of the first, Kovacevik attacks but Herron counters well and lands a loud, slapping punch that impresses the crowd.

Round 2

Kovacevik must have gotten good advice between rounds, because he walks right across the ring and plies Herron with a murderous three punch combination to start the round.  Herron is continuing to move around the ring, but Kovacevic is pursuing and bombing him now.  One punch from Kovacevic sends  Herron reeling across the ring, another binds him sideways at the waist.  Herron is still scoring too, but the tide seems to have turned in Kovacevic’s favor by the end of the first.

Round 3

Herron comes forward, sits down, and flurries body shots into Kovacevic’s body at the start of the third.  There’s a furious rally in the middle of the ring, Herron is throwing more punches but Kovacevic has upped his output as well, and his punches definitely have more ustard on them.  Kovacevic has a nice left hand, and it’s landing to Herron’s head with regulatiry.  Herron moves well to his left, and at one point he shimmies to his left, stops suddenly and throws a big one-two that lands.  Kovacevic continues to attack, though with less success than before. The round, the fight, and the evening end with another good rally between Herron and Kovacevic.  Bell!

February 9th – Professional Boxing in West Fargo, ND

Branden Cluever (now 1-0 with 1 kayo) defeats Cody McManigle (now 0-1) by TKO in round 4 of a fight scheduled for 4 rounds.

Round 1

The fight starts inelegantly with both men ducking down and throwing simultaneously, neither man scoring.  They begin circling rapidly clockwise, with McManigle doing most of the attacking, and what little scoring there is.  Cluever lands the first shot, a big right hand that echoes.  McManigle scores next, with a counter right that thrills the crowd.  Cluever, trying to avoid a clinch, nearly turns his back on McManigle, but dodges a bullet as no damage is done.  Moments later mcManigle lands a big shot that drops Cluever.  Cluever is up quickly however.  The remainder of the rounds sees McManigle score frequently with head shots while Cluever tries to tie him up.

Round 2

Cluever would like to be the aggressor here, but McManigle is much faster.    McManigle lands a few good shots in the early going, but Cluever finally whips an overhand right in and pops him with a good shot.  McManigle is throwing bombs with evil intent.  Cluever spins around from one punch, and later turns his back on McManigle again to avoid taking a punch straight on.  McManigle is manhandling Cluever.  After some rough stuff McManigle lands a major four-punch combination that hurts Cluever.  McManigle is poking a hard jab into Cluever’s face now, scoring repeatedly.  Cluever returns the favor as the round draws to a close, and the bell rings with both men on the attack.  I’m not convinced the fight will last another round.

Round 3

Cluever, who has a strange and awkward style, scores with a couple of flurries on the inside.  Suddenly McManigle is down from a single right hand to the ear.  He looks hurt, but he gets up quickly.  McManigle is no longer circling, but rotating to face Cluever, who continues to orbit.  McManigle is huffing.  Cluever is attacking with more confidence now, and hurts McManigle with a big right to the body.  McManigle misses with a big round hook and nearly dips to his knee, but saves himself just in time.  Cluever is attacking the ribcage viciously, and McManigle is definitely hurt.  Again Cluever goes to the body, and McManigle is in agony.  Bell!

Round 4

McManigle is staying low and attacking to keep Cluever away from the body.  Cluever lands another right to the ribs, and the pain is evident on McManigle’s face.  Finally, with one more dig to the left side of McManigle’s ribcage, Cluever puts him away.  McManigle goes to a knee and referee Mike Robinson calls the fight.  What an unexpected outcome!

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Nathan Seelye (now 0-1) is defeated by Dustin Mason (now 4-0 with 4 knockouts) by TKO due to injury retirement in round 2 of a fight scheduled for 4 rounds

Round 1

Seelye has a longer reach than Mason, and in the early going he tries to take advantage with jabs and sweeping hooks, but doesn’t land anything.  Mason lands the first punch of the fight, as one of a flurry lands.  Mason is beginning to come forward and misses with a big right.  Seelye, seeking to be the aggressor, comes forward and gets hit with a  right hand.  After a lull, the two close ground and Mason does good work on the inside, landing a right to the temple of Seelye.  Mason is pursuing now, and catches Seelye backing up to the ropes, landing another power shot.  Seelye deftly clinches.  Seelye is shaking his left hand; it may be hurt.  Seelye is carrying his lead hand low.  Mason tries to attack but gets tied up again, and hits the back of the head, drawing boos from the crowd.  The round ends without further incident.

Round 2

Seelye is retreating and circling to his right in the early moments of the second.  Mason is having trouble landing a punch.  Now Seelye switches to southpaw, but Mason finally catches him with a lead left – Seelye clinches again.  Now Seelye is back to orthodox.  There’s a tie-up on the rope and Mason is getting frustrated.  Mason is coming forward and Seelye, backing into his own corner, instructs his cornerman to throw in the towel.  Cornerman Kevin Tjaden replies “Are you sure?”  Seelye says “Throw in the towel,” looks at his hand, and shakes it.  Seelye retires and the fight is over.

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Nick Capes (now 0-4) is defeated by Ray Edwards (now 3-0 with 2 knockouts) by TKO about twenty seconds into the first round of a bout scheduled for 4 rounds

Round 1

Edwards shows some respect for his opponent in the opening seconds of the fight.  The two circle for a moment, and then Capes ducks in and tries to land a haymaker.  Edwards counters, punching down at his much smaller opponent, and catches him on the top of the head.  It’s clear that this fight is over the moment Capes hits the mat, and referee Eddie Obregon waves it off.

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Trenton Titsworth (now 5-15-2 with 2 knockouts) and Rondale Hubbert (now 1-0-1 with 1 knockout) fight to a majority draw after four rounds.  (36-40, 38-38, 38-38)

(The first thing you need to know about this matchup is that Trenton Titsworth is a long, lanky beanpole.  His arms are like tree limbs, so he’s going to have a big reach advantage over the normally proportioned Rondale Hubbert, who appears to be a full head and neck shorter.)

Round 1

Our combatants are circling.  After twenty seconds or so Hubbert sends out some tentative, exploratory jabs, and then fires a big hook that misses.  Finally after an extended feeling-out period, there’s a flurry, and both men seem to have landed slapping punches.  Another lull ensues, and suddenly Hubbert charge in, punches wildly.  Titsworth seemed to have parried most if not all of his punches. Tittsworth is feinting and moving his feet.  Hubbert shuffles in and attacks suddenly again, but Titsworth ties him up.  Hubbert is trying to figure out this puzzle.  Hubbert tries to duck inside but Titsworth counters and lands a right hand.  Hubbert backs into a corner, but Titsworth lets him escape.  Titsworth’s corner wants jabs, but interestingly, he likes to lead with his right, which essentially gives up his reach advantage.  Bell!

Round 2

In a four round fight you don’t get to spend much time figuring out your opponent, so Hubbert knows he needs to be aggressive.  He charges in low and gets under his opponent’s defense, then lifts him off the mat.  Now Hubbert tries the same thing again, but a clearly annoyed Titsworth punches down on him and lands.  Hubbert is coming forward now, and titsworth lands a hook to the body.  Hubbert is getting frustrated.  Now he tries getting rough, but titsworth ties him up.  Titsworth has lost his mouthpiece – there’s a pause while renowned referee Eddie Obregon gets a replacement from Titsowrth’s corner.  Hubbert attacks hard now, bulling his way inside and attacking with gusto.  Titsworth, no dummy, uses a double jab to score.  There’s some brawling going on now, and bad blood is developing.  The tide of the round seemed to flow in Hubbert’s favor as it drew to an end.

Round 3

Titsworth opens the third with some meaningful jabs.  Hubbert tries to get inside his defense but gets tied up.  Hubbert is getting rough now, charging inside, leading with his head, and throwing an elbow to Titsworth’s throat.  There’s a break, and then another clash in which a frustrated Hubbert is trying to manhandle titsworth.  Titsworth owns a slow and lazy jab, which he throws slowly and lazily.  All the fighting is on the inside now, which favors the more muscular Hubbert.  Hubbert is talking to Titsworth.  Titsworth comes forward and misses a power shot, and there’s another clinch with all the roughhousing that that involves.  Hubbert finally scores with a clean whshot.  After a clinch, Hubbert gets free and turns and walks away from Titsworth.  Did he forget to protect himself?  Yes he did, and Titsworth hits him with a hateful wing shot to the head, followed by another that he put everything into!  Hubbert tries to fight back, but Titsworth ties him up, and that was a rare moment of action in this bout.

Round 4

Hubbert knows he needs to score a lot now, and he comes out very aggressive.  He shoots his wad and seems to peter out.  Hubbert is working hard to get inside, but once he does Titsworth keeps leaning forward on him and smothering him.  Hubbert comes forward again and finally lands a good left hook to the head.  After another clinch Hubbert lands two good power shots that glance off titsworth’s head.  This is a much tougher fight than Hubbert was epecting.  Hubbert is circling Titsworth, looking for an opening to land a home run shot.  Hubbert’s hands are dropping, and if Titsworth could attack more effectively he would score here.  Titsworth tries to jab at th wide-open Hubbert and Hubbert counterattacks viciously, sending Titsworth reeling into the ropes, where he leans back to avoid Hubbert’s home run shot, and that was a close shave!  There’s grappling and infighting as the round draws to a close.  This was a better fight than I think anyone here expected.

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Preston Shane (now 1-2 with 1 knockout) is defeated by Aaron Green (now 10-0 with 8 knockouts) by KO in the first round of a fight scheduled for 4 rounds

Round 1

About fifteen seconds into the first round Aaron Green knocks his opponent out with a jab.  No kidding, folks – it’s over.

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Cheyenne Ziegler (now 3-10 with 2 knockouts) is defeated by Tyler Hultin (now 5-1-1 with 3 knockouts) by KO in round 2 of a fight scheduled for 4 rounds

Round 1

Ziegler comes out crafty, ducking down, whipping long punches, and getting bck out before Hultin could tag him.  There’s a flurry of punches by both men, which climaxes with Ziegler knocking Hultin momentarily off-balance.  Coming out of a clinch, Hultin catches Ziegler on the temple with a right hand and momentarily knocks him off balance.  Our fighters are trading in the center of the ring now.  Coming in Ziegler either hit Hultin with a right hand or with his head, it’s hard to tell which.    The pro-Hultin crowd is going wild at every opportunity, and Hultin gives them several opportunities, tagging Ziegler with several power shots in the middle of the roudn.  But Ziegler finishes strong, landing a couple of good right hands in the late going before Hultin flurries again in the last ten seconds of the round.  This looks to be a crowdpleasing bout.

Round 2

Ziegler bends at the waist to land a right hand on Hultin, and Hultin slaps him with a counter.  Hultin is going on offense, but Ziegler is a fast and shifty fighter, so most of Hultin’s punches miss.  Hultin lands a right hand that puts Ziegler off balance again, and then another one.    Ziegler moves in close and make Hultin brawl with him.  though Hultin lands several big shots, Ziegler makes him pay with tough counters and mauling.  The brawl moves into the red corner – Ziegler’s corner – where Hultin slips in a couple of hooks and a hard uppercut.  A vicious body shot puts Ziegler to the mat on his hands and knees, and though he tries, he can not get off his haunches before referee Eddie Obregon counts him out.  Hultin wins by body shot knockout and the crowd goes bananas.

February 9th – Amateur Boxing in West Fargo, ND

This amateur card is presented by handsome Jesse Barbot of the Red River Golden Gloves boxing club in Fargo.

Brief Results:

“Doctor” Dan Pozarnsky (Red River Golden Gloves) is defeated by Sam Anderson (Fergus Falls Boxing) by corner retirement in the second round.

Round 1

Anderson looks like the bigger man.  Pozarnsky starts out strong, attacking almost from the first bell.  Anderson measures for a while, then begins to counter effectively.  About midway through the round Anderson wobbles Pozarnsky with a big right, and Pozarnsky is given an eight-count by the referee. The break is enough for Pozarnsky to get his bearings and finish the round, and he even manages to put some punches together before the bell.

Round 2

Anderson is stronger and it shows.  He cracks Pozarnsky’s egg twice in the second round, first earning another eight count and then scoring a knockdown.  Pozarnsky is hurt and the fight is rightfully stopped by his corner.  The crowd cheers enthusiastically for both men – the stronger and more skilled Anderson and the very willing Pozarnsky.

–

Mark Shumacher (Red River Golden Gloves) defeats Tim Schuett (Lakes Area Boxing) by decision after 3 1-minute rounds.

Round 1

Schuett is the busier fighter, attacking with confidence and power.  Schumacher is picking his spots, jabbing and countering.  A low blow by Schuett hurts Schumacher and the match is briefly stopped.  There isn’t time for any effective boxing after the break.

Round 2

Schumacher come out on a tear and backs Schumacher into the ropes early in the second.  Schumacher attaccks lustily while Schuett counters strongly with his backt o the ropes.  Schuett gets free and tries to counter while Schumacher, seemingly spent, curbs his punch output.  Schumacher scores with a counter right and pursues his retreating opponent across the ring, but Schuett recovers from the attack.  The remainder of the round consists mainly of Schuett leading and Schumacher countering.

Round 3

Schuett, stronger in the early going, may be losing some punch resistance.  Both men are tired and slowing.  Schumacher spends most of the round coming forward, pressing the action, while Schuett scores with occasional counters.  The bell rings and the round and fight end without any significant advantage in scoring this round.

–

Colton Warner (Minneapolis, MN) defeats Pierce Foss (Forks Fighters), by corner retirement in the second round

Round 1

Warner, noticeably larger than Foss, is lighter on his feet and punches with more power.  It doesn’t take long for Warner to score with some big shots – mostly right hands – while Foss tries to jab and move.  Foss doesn’t like those big shots, and who can blame him?  About midway through the round the fight is reduced to Warner postshotting Foss, with Foss hoping to get lucky with a big counter.  Warner scores well with a lot of Kelly Pavlik-style one-twos.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see this fight stop early.  Foss’s feet slowed down and his legs seemed to get heavy as the first round progressed.

Round 2

Foss looks refreshed by the break between rounds, but Warner lands some more big one-twos, with the emphasis on the right-hand follow.  foss looks good momentarily with some slick counters, but Warner gains the upper hand and the referee gives Foss a standing eight count.  Foss knows the score, and tries to get cute, but nothing is working.  Warner tracks him down though, and batters him with an extended barrage.  There’s another eight count, and ring doctor Najeeb Hallak (sp?) inspects Foss’s bloody face.  Foss’s corner waves the towel, and Warner is declared the winner.

–

Jamaal Bradley (Red River Golden Gloves) is defeated by Matt Friesen (Forks Fighters), by decision after three 2-minute rounds

Round 1

Bradley comes out on offense, firing a furious flurry  that misses its mark.  The tempo slows, and Bradley continues to try to score, with Friesen taking the role of cagey counterpuncher.  Friesen scores with a good combination, then the fighters separate and when the come back together there’s a clinch.  Bradley has a shoe untied – a momentary pause while his corner takes care of business.  Afterwards there’s little action; just bradley attacking and Friesen dodging.

Round 2

Bradley is missing with some big roundhouse punches.  He’ll need to button that up or Friesen will catch him and hurt him.  Finally Bradley lands a punch, but he’s warned by the referee for slapping.  Friesen isn’t punching as hard as Bradley, but he is landing here and there; his lighter punches are probably turning up better on the scoresheets.  Bradley lands a good looking right to the body of Friesen, but he doesn’t follow up and Friesen doesn’t respond.

Round 3

Bradley, the much faster man, is circling Friesen and feinting, but not scoring.  Finally Friesen puts together some offense and forces Bradley into the ropes of the red corner, where he scores.  Moments later Friesen stuns Bradley and traps him in a corner where he lands a dozen shots, maybe more.  Bradley needs to fight back; right now he doesn’t look good at all.  Friesen isn’t as fast or athletic as Bradley, but his more polished skills are carrying the fight.  Bradley misses with another wild looping overhand right and Friesen punishes him again with several hard shots just before the bell.

–

Amar Kovacevic (Red River Golden Gloves) defeats Sergio Garcia (Fergus Falls Boxing) on points after three 2-minute rounds

Round 1

Kovacevik is first to score with a double jab.  Garcia is letting him take some shots and not responding imediately.  Garcia opens up about 40 seconds in and pops Kovacevik with a big shot.  Garcia lands a low blow that the referee doesn’t seemt o notice.  Kovacevik scores with a counter right.  Kovacevik is the busier man and has good fast hands, but Garcia is punching with more authority.  Kovacevik is moving his feet a lot, moving forward and back and circling Garcia.  Garcia spent the first round biding his time and sharpshooting Kovacevik when opportunities presented.

Round 2

Garcia comes out on the attack, but Kovacevik counters with a hard right that moves his head.  In the early exchanges of the second round Kovacevik is outscoring Garcia.  Garcia opens up more and lands a few shots, but Kovacevik answers with a nice short right hook.  Kovacevik, bleeding from the lip, scores with two left jabs and a right follow-up.  Garcia is trying to fight with surgical precision, but Kovacevik is keeping him uncomfortable.  Kovacevik may have outscored Garcia this round, but Garcia made him suffer.

Round 3

Garcia knows he’s behind and comes out very aggressive in the third.  He rocks Kovacevik, but Kovacevik collects himself and begins to counter effectively.  Kovacevik is attacking when the two men get their feet tangled and Kovacevik slips to the  canvas.  Garcia thought it was a knockdown and walked away casually, resulting in a brief delay.  There’s a flurry that favors Garcia, then the referee deducts a point from Kovacevik, it’s unclear for what, although he did issue a warning early for holding Garcia’s head down.  Upon the resumption of action this fight turns into a brawl, and both men let it all hang out!  Garcia is coming forward and although Kovacevik looks ragged, he is scoring with counters.  As the bell rings Garcia is finishing a combination.  Both men wheel around and walk to their corners without touching gloves.

–

Joey Suda (Red River Golden Gloves) defeats J.J. Moen (Forks Fighters) by decision after three 2-minute rounds

Round 1

The fight starts with both men firing  Moen is coming forward and grimacing while he attacks.  Both fighters are long and lean, and they’re using a lot of jabs.  Power shots have to travel a long way to land.  Moen comes forward, using his man-strength and ring savvy against the teenaged Suda.  Suda is at his best when he counters.  Moen did some good work when he bullied Suda and when he attacked the body.

Round 2

More jabs this round, but a few seconds in Moen dropped his head and tried to bull into Suda, who responded with some hurtful power shots to the head and body.  Moen continues to come forward and circle to his left, while Suda counters.  A good left hook-straight right combination scores for Suda.  Moen seems to be slowing down.   Suda’s corner tells him that Moen is hurt, but Moen keeps coming forward.  Moen scores with a big straight punch that snaps Suda’s head back, and the crowd responds appropriately.  Moen, coming forward again, lands a big right, and may be taking control of the fight.  The bell rings, and Suda will be looking for some good advice from his corner between rounds.

Round 3

Moen attacks from the opening bell, but Suda responds with power shots that land and blunt Moen’s attack.  Moen lands a crossing punch that impresses the crowd.  Morn is trying to impose his will on Suda, but following a break, Suda rushes forward and lands two hard shots to the head.  This fight is turning into a war of attrition, with both men landing big shots and both men slowing.  Suda steps forward and Moen sticks right hand into his throat.  Moen grins while he attacks and lands at least one of a flurry of punches, but Suda counters and snaps his head back.  Both men are still looking for an advantage when the round and the fight end.  I couldn’t guess who will be declared the winner.

January 19 Round-by-Round: Truax -vs- Vanda

The show is scheduled to begin at 7pm, and you know what that means.

It’s now 7:28pm and the first fight is about to begin.  Updates will begin at the bottom of this page.

At 10:41pm all the preliminaries are over and we’re getting ready for the start of Truax-Vanda.

Main Event: “Golden” Caleb Truax (now 21-1-1 with 12 kayos) defeats Matt “The Predator” Vanda (44-15 with 24 kayos) by Unanimous Decision after 10 rounds.

Round 1

Vanda comes out jabbing, and goes to the body of Truax early.  Truax’s first punch landed is a left hook to the head.  Truax, the larger man, is going hard at the body of Vanda, and Vanda is coming back equally hard at the head of Truax.  Truax counters Vanda’s right with a left that puts Vanda momentarily off balance, but does not hurt him.  After some tactical work, Traux comes at Vanda again with some hard shots.  Harder than is the norm for a first round.  Vanda throws three left hooks at the body of truax, then latches on and the two ggrapple, Vanda bulling Truax into the ropes.  Now Truax lands a big stright right to Vanda’s face.  The two circle to their left and Vanda doubles up on a head shot.  A few more seconds and the bell sounds.

Round 2

Vanda comes out aggressive again, throwing three to the body and one to the head of Truax.  Truax backs off and then comes forward again, jabbing to set up something bigger.  Vnda goes to the body again.  Now Vanda goes down from an inadvertent leg sweep by Truax.  Action resumes, and a brawl breaks out.  Truax lands a couple of huge rights to Vanda, who responds with three big shots of his own.  though the two are trading shots, Truax’s punches seem more effective.  The two land simultaneous jabs.  Thre’s a loose clinch and Traux tries to punch out of it, but Vanda fires back.  Now Vanda lands three shots to break the clinch. All the work is being done inside now, with the fighters standing shoulder to shoulder and hitting each other to the body.  Truax backs off and jabs, then forces vanda to cover up with a flurry of power shots.  Vanda throws two shots to end the round; one might have landed.

Round 3

Trua lands a couple of jas to start the round, then Vanda attacks with power shots, and another period of brawling ensues.  After trading on equal terms, Truax lands a hook to the body that moves Vanda.  Vanda is being aggressive, but he finds himself retreating more than he would like.  Now both men drop their shoulders, and body shots are flying.  It’s head shots that break a clinch, though.  Truax is doing a good job of bullying his opponent, but Truax is tough as nails, and comes out of a tussle slugging.  You get the feeling that Vanda really thinks he can win by having fun in there, and for him brawling is fun!  Truax lands a bunch of good shots only to have Vanda fire up the crowd with a single flurry as the round comes to a close.

Round 4

Truax lands four, five, six big right hands to Vanda’s head.  Vanda comes off the ropes swinging, but Truax definitely got the better of him there.  Truax is again coming in with power shots.  Now Vanda turns him around and rains power shots on Truax for a few seconds.  Truax is having good success with power combinations.  Vanda’s punches are starting to get slower, but he’s giving it all he’s got.  ther’s a clinch and referee Mark Nelson breaks the fighters.  Truax lands a left hook and then a right uppercut.  Vanda fights back with a shoeshine.  Truax is the crisper puncher.  Truax misses with a left, then lands a right and a left.  Vanda fights back, but Truax puts together another series, culminating in a hard right hand just before the bell.

Round 5

The fighters are circling to their left.  Truax is getting through with his left hand, over and over.  Vanda never seems in trouble though, because nothing fazes him.  Truax doubles his left hand and then lands a hook to the head of Vanda.  Vanda comes forward swinging, landing a few, but Truax again stops him and forces him into a shell with counters.  Truax blocks Vanda’s left with his hand, but Vanda’s left lands with some power.  Truax increases his head movement, dances a bit, and comes in with body shots.  There’s some daylight between the two men now, and Vanda takes a few potshots.  Truax steps inside and tries to get rough, but Vanda pops him once and they wrestle on the ropes.  Now they separeate and they’re just slugging it out.  Truax gets Vanda on the ropes and shoots a few good shots into him, but the bell rings with Vanda still having fun.

Round 6

both men are jabbing again to start the sixth, but then Truax lands a seeries of power shots from both hands, and for the first time tonight, Vanda looks frustrated.  Truax beats Vanda to the punch again.  Vanda is circling and coming forward.  he ducks a shot from Truax, comes up and lands a left, but then ruax pops him three or four good ones.  Vanda sneers at Truax.  Truax lands the sedond half of a 1-2.   There’s a clinch, and Vanda comes out of it looking tired.  Truax corner Vanda and goes head-body.  Vanda worms his way out, but Truax pours it on.  finally Vanda lands three punches of a four-pounch combo.  Truax is boxing, Vanda is trying to brawl.  Now Truax forces Vanda into a corner where he lands two shots.  The bell rings as Vanda is about to throw an overhand right, and he pulls back his punch.

Round 7

Vanda comes out aggressive this round, but his force peters out after a good sequence.  Truax is battering Vanda to the head, but vanda reverses course and comes forward, landing two shots.  Truax counters, and the two clinch again.  Out of the break Truax is jabbing, backs off, and then steps in and lands two good shots.  Vnda comes forward and lands a wicked, whipping left ot the body.  this boxing match is beginning to devolve to a wrestling match.    Traux steps back and then charges in again, but they’re mauling, not landing clean shots.  Now vanda steps back and both men land power shots.  Truax leads with a soft left and hten lands a hard right.  Vanda pushes Truax into the ropes, but Truax punches his way out.  Vanda counters, but can’t sustain his aggression.  Truax lands a right to the ribs of Vanda.  Vanda lands a left, there’s the sounding for ten seconds left, and he lands two more.  The fighters trade shots, and Vanda lands the last one of the round, much to the delight of his numerous supporters.

Round 8

Vanda comes out swinging again, but truax lands more shots and harder shots in the exchange.  Vanda raises his right hand and grins at Truax, which incites the crowd.  Backing Truax into a corner, Vanda lands his best shot flush on the chin of Truax.  Truax cturns on him, landing a couple of big shots.  More mauling now, and and more mauling…finally Truax punches out of it, landing one big right to Vanda’s head.  Truax lands some arm-weary punches on Vanda, Vanda fires back.  Truax lands two in earnest, and Vanda fires bak again.  There’s a break, and Truax comes in hard, landing a big right that puts Vanda on his heels. Vaanda stays with him, comeing back with power shots.  Now Truax lands a huge straight right that has Vanda reeling, and he chases Vanda across the ring landing power shots at will.  Just before the bell Vanda comes back to life, rocking Truax with two mule-kick power shots.  More screaming from the crowd!

Round 9

Truax comes out throwing in the eighth, but Vanda finishing his combination for him.  Vanda lands some har jbabs, and Truax comes back at him with both hands.  Truax lands three big shots, steps back, and then steps back in and does it again.  Vanda continues to throw back.  Truax gets the better of almost every exchange, but Vanda is tough.  Truax comes inside to throw power shows, Vanda sucks him in and lands a big right.  After a brief break they go back to mauling.  Vanda lands several left hands and Truax can’tget free to answer back.  Truax comes in aggressive, and Vanda has his best moment of the fight, landing a dozen or more spower shots.  Finally Truax breaks free, raises his hands, and smiles that famous smile.  Both men are tired, but they’re warriors and they’re still going at it.  Truax traps Vanda on the ropes and lands one punch out of a flurry, but it’s a big right that snaps Vanda’s head back.  The bell rings with Vanda sneering at him again.

Round 10

Vanda might be counting on Truax to fade, but Truax is coming forward with power shots again in the tenth.  After landing two good shots Truax eats one good one in return.  There’s some more mauling, in which Vanda lands a couple of body shots at close quarters.  The crowd is chanting Vanda’s name again for about the tenth time this fight.  Truax has Vanda in the ropes and lands a tremendous left that seems to slow Vanda.  Vanda finally comes back with a two-handed assault that increases the noise level in this auditorium.  they’re trading now!  Finally the exhausted men both fall in, leaning on each other and taking a mutual break.  Truax steps in and lands a left right that move Vanda.  Vanda throws a right and Truax’s counter just about turns him sideways.   Truax tries to attack but Vanda neutralizes his attack and throws a tremendous volley, which Truax returns.  Now they’re both stumbling across the ring throwing monsterous shots from every angle – it’s the fight of the year!  The bell rings and the fight is over.  The combatants hug – what else could they do?

Summary: Vanda is a warrior, but Truax is bigger and stronger.  A ball-out brawl between a bigger man and a smaller man predictably goes in favor of the bigger man.

–

“Sir” Charles Meier (now 7-2-2 with 3 kayos) defeats Travis Perzynski ( 2-3 with 1 kayo) by Majority Decision after 8 rounds.  I could not hear the first score, but I believe the last two were both 76-74.

Round 1

The fight starts out slow, with lots of jabbing and feinting.  Perzynski finally lands the first punch, and moments later, Meier lands the first power shot.  Meier is looking a little loosey-goosey out there, and indeed his corner is calling for him to button things up.  Perzynski comes forward, missing with most of his punches – Meier is moving his hands a little, jabbing some, but mostly watching for an opening.  Meier throws a clubbing overhand right to the head of Perzynski, who continues to come forward.  Meier lands a let and right to the face, then a right to the abdomen of Perzynski.  Perzynski’s right hand is a little slow, and Meier is countering it well.  Meier again goes head-body.  Just before the bell Meier lands a left and right to the gut, and though Perzynski didn’t show it, that must have hurt.

Round 2

Perzynski isn’t chasing Meier in the second as he did in the first; there’s more circling and jabbing.  Perzynski doubles the left jab, but Meier fires back with much faster hands, landing two shots.  Perzynski is pumping the jab now, which is a very good idea.  He gets Meier off balance and chases him all the way around the ring twice, but does little to follow up the initial score.  Meier shuffles forward, throwing a left to the body and then retreating.  Perzynski scores with a single shot to the face.  After a brief lull, Meier lands a haymaker right hand to the head of Perzynski.  it was a very dramatic looking punch, and the crowd is impressed.  Perzynski is showing more aggression now, but Meier likes to counter and makes the most of it the opportunity as the round draws to a close.

Round 3

Perzynski is coming forward again, and the lanky Meier is jabbing him away.  Perzynski lands a tentative righ to the body of Meier.   Now Perzynski comes forward and lands an overhand right to Meier’s head, but there’s no follow-up.  perzzynski throws a sort of an uppercut that just clips the chin of Meier.  Now there’s some trading, and each man lands.  Meier in particular lands a good short left that turns Perzynski’s head.  Meier is coming forward now, and Perzynski is jabbing.  Meier must feel he’s got Perzynski where he wants him.  Perzynski again throws that terribly slow double jab.  Meier comes forward and lands a big right that snaps Perzynski’s head to the side and puts him off balance.  Perzynski scores with a 1-2 of his own.  The fighters get a little bit tangled at the end of the round, and it looked like Meier got one good shot in.

Round 4

After plenty of jabbing from both men to start the round, Pezynski lands a picture perfect jab and straight combination, but again with not much mustard.  There’s a little bit of trading, and then a pause in the action as Perzynski seems to have some discomfort in his eye.  Not sure what that was about.  This is a very tactical round, with a lot of jabbing, feinting, and missing of punches.  Meier steps in and misses with a big left, and Perzynski grabs him and shoves him toward the ropes.  Perzynski’s jab seems more pesting than anything, but it is keeping Meier away.  Meier finally decides to get physical and attacks the body, then clinches.  Perzynski comes forward and there’s some good trading for the first time in this fight.  In the last ten seconds of the round Perzynski cracks Meier a couple of good shots and has Meier reeling in the ropes as the bell sounds.

Round 5

Meier is jabbing again to start this round, which induces perzynski to jab too.  Meier jabs at Perzynski’s body, the his head.  Meier lands four consecutive punches, one to the head and three to the body, and Perzynski fires back.  Meier lands a big slapping right.  Perzynski pumps the jab some more.  Meier unleashes one big overhand right that could have vaporized Perzynski if he was a bigger puncher.  Meier is starting to get more aggressive.  Perzynski rushes forward buut Meier pops him in the mouth with a left.  Perzynski times Meier and lands a single power shot, but Meier lands a 1-2 only moments later.  The fight is getting sloppy now.  With ten seconds to go in the round Perzynski tries to attack, but Meier puts together his best sequence of the fifth round, scoring with two particularly good power shots.

Round 6

Perzynski comes out very aggressive and chases Meier into and out of a corner.  Meier regroups and tries to fire back, but Perzynski gets him on the run again, landing several good running shots.  Perzynski and Meier throw at the same time, neither man landing.  Meier looks like his feet are back under him and whips a hard right into Perzynski’s midsection, then does it again seconds later.  Meier scores again, and then pops Perzynski attemting to counter.  Perzynski is a tough dude though, and keeps coming.  Meier steps back and throws a wide right that turned left on third avenue to get back into the building.  Meier knifes a left into Perzynski’s body.  Perzynski nods and comes back at him, chasing Meier and catching him in the last ten seconds of the round.  The two trade, and Meier lands the last and most effective punch of the sequence.

Round 7

Meier is jabbing again to start the seventh.  Meier reaches back and lands a straight right to Perzynski’s head.  Perzynski gives chase, but when he caches Meier he takes two hard shots for his trouble.  Perzynski raises his right hand to attack and Meier lands a huge shot that after a short delays, lands Perzynski on his butt.  Pezynski rises at about the 8 count, nodding his head that he’s okay to continue.  Meier is throwing power shots now, but having touble landing them.    Perzynski, hands up, takes a couple of big shots from Meier.  Perzynski is backing up, trying to survive the round, and Mier keeps landing single and double shots.  Meier is going body-head and hurting the head.  Perzynski comes forward at the end of the round, tries to mount an attack, but Meier counters him again.  I’ll say this for Perzynski – he may be slow and have a limited repertoire, but he is a decent tactician and he can take a punch.

Round 8

Meier comes out agggressive, trying to score with a hard jab.  Perzynski walks through the jab and lands a big left-right to the head that for a moment looked to have meier in trouble.  Meier steps out of trouble and shows his earnestness with a fair 1-2 of his own.  Meier is trying to end it, and lands a couple of hard shots at close range that have Perzynski hurting.  Still Perzynski comes forward, missing a lot of punches but finally landing two shots that fereze Meier momentarily.  Meier misses with a jab and a hook, but Perzynski can’t counter.  Meier lands a glancing right to the face.  Meier attacks recklessly, landing one but missing two more.  Perzynski sees the recklessness and attacks, landing a big right (I think?) that puts Meier on his backside and skidding across the mat.  Meier gets up quickly and the two trade as the round ends.  In the corners, Meier looks disgusted and Perzynski looks ready to go more rounds, chatting and laughing with his cornermen.

Summary: Meier is the more skilled fighter and that should score him a win in the bout, but Perzynski gave a good account of himself and certainly made it interesting in the later rounds.

–

Mohammed Kayongo (now 16-2 with 11 kayos) defeats Gilbert Venegas (11-8 with 7 kayos) by unanimous decision, 58-56, 58-56, 58-56

Round 1

Venegas is pushing a preventative jab at Kayongo in the early going.  No intent behind it except to keep Kayongo away, which is wise as Kayongo is a big hitter.  The two men circle to their left.  Circle, circle, circle.  Certain elements in the crowd are critical of the tentative approach.  Kayongo throws a soft triple jab.  Finally Venegas throws a straight left that connects, and Kayongo hits him back several times, hard.  Venegas lands another left, and Kayongo goes 1-2 on him.  Venegas again connects, and Kayongo pops his head.  Kayongo throws a hook that lands solidly.  Venegas wants to brawl – Kayongo lands a 1-2, and then a 1-2-2.  Venegas hasn’t got the speed or the power to hang with Kayongo for long, so he’s using aggression to try to end it early.  The round ends with a short rally that sees neither man gain an advantage.

Round 2

Both men circling to their left, throw their jabs in sync a few times.  Finally Kayongo breaks the pattern with a left hook that collides with Venegas’s head.  More circling, and a double left jab by Kayongo.  Now Kayongo puts together four left jabs.  Kayongo dips his left shoulder and throws a rising straight left.  Venegas lands a strong lead left.  Venegas is punching a little wildly now and misses a couple of times, but then connects nicely with Kayongo’s head.  Kayongo isn’t punching like a man seeking a knockout, more like a man who wants to score.  Venegas can’t catch up with Kayongo’s speed, so he’s coming forward.  A wide left hook lands for Venegas, but it lacks steam.  As the ten second warning sounds Kayongo attacks, but as his attack wanes Venegas lands his best 1-2 of the fight.  Bell!

Round 3

Venegas comes out jabbing again, but this time he’s trying to land those jabs.  Venegas lands a shot and Kayongo counters, then showboats, and his cornerman is clearly not happy about it.  “We’ve got work to do!”  Kayongo throws several uppercuts, and then several more uppercuts – that was unusual.  Venegas is following Kayongo, who is on his bicycle.  Finally Kayongo reverses direction and throws several powerful lefts.  Venegas can’t match him punch for punch, but does connect with one good right.  A brief lul, and Venegas lands another good right.  Now a hard two punch combination.  Kayongo bends forward at the waist, and Vengas hits him with a loud slapping right handed body shot.  Kayongo is biding his time, but Venegas takes the initiative, flurrying and landing several times before in the last ten seconds of the round.

Round 4

I’m not seeing the attack I had expected from Kayongo, and I recall that he hit Venegas on the elbow early in the fight.  I wonder whether he hurt his right hand then.  Kayongo triples the left jab.  He’s moving around a lot, and Venegas has to sharpshoot him.  Kayongo bends his knees and shoots a right hand at the body of Venegas.  Venegas barely misses with a grazing shot in response.  Venegas lands a wide, looping right hand.  Kayongo is getting hit a lot, or more than I had expected, and they aren’t pitty-pat punches.  Venegas goes on the attack, forcing Kayongo into an extended confrontation.  That, I think, favors Venegas, who now lands twoo big rights and then two big lefts.  Venegas is getting the better of this round.  Kayongo tries to counter, but Venegas lands a nice right hook as the round nears its close.  The round ends with flurries from both men.

Round 5

Venagas comes out confident, leading with that left jab again.  Kayongo jabs from his waist and lands it.  Now Kayongo lands a double left jab and both men stand still for a while, bouncing but not attacking.  This round is looking like a jabbing match.  Kayongo finally lands a slow, wide hook.  Kayongo snakes two left jabs through Venagas’ defense.  There’s a lot of trading going on here, but little damage is being done.  Kayongo must be leading the punch count.  Kayongo leans forward and tries to use his length to score, but Venagas potshots him and puts him off balance.  Now Venagas begins charging forward, throwing power shots.  Kayongo throws three left uppercuts, but Venagas counters with power shots from both hands.  The crowd thrills as these men trade shots – here’s 30 seconds of great action to end the round.

Round 6

Our combatants touch gloves to start the final round.  Venagas is again the aggressor, but Kayongo is jabbing effectively to stymie him.  Venagas throws a left and a right as he jumps inside, and there’s a clash of heads.  Venagas hugs Kayongo and apologizes.  Kayongo appears to score with a good power shot, but my view was blocked.  Venegas pursues him counterclockwise around the ring, occasionally landing a single shot.  Kayongo tries to attack, but Venegas pops him with a big right hand.  Now Kayongo goes down with a thud, but I think Venegas stepped on his foot.  Venegas tries to help kyongo up, but referee Mark Nelson shoos him away and lets Kayongo get up on his own.  Venegas is attacking again, but Kayongo counters with great power and great effectiveness. As Kayongo showboats Venegas lands one huge right hand to Kayongo’s temple, which precipitates an amazing flurry to end the bout.  What a barnburner!  The round and the fight are over, and frankly I wouldn’t want to be scoring it.

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Jon “The Ironman” Schmidt (now 11-3 with 6 kayos) is defeated by Michael Faulk (3-2 with 2 kayos) by TKO in round 1

Round 1

Faulk throws the first feint and the first punch of the fight, and lands the first punch, a right to the body.  The two tangle briefly, but then the referee stops the fight and directs both men to neutral corners.  It’s explained that the fight doctor wasn’t present at the start of the fight.  As the bouts resumes, for about a minute there’s little or no action, just a lot of circling and feints.  Finally Faulk lands a good left to the head of Schmidt and the men clinch.  Faulk punches on the break, but the ref didn’t seem to notice.  Faulk lands a beauty of a left and Schmidt goes down hard!  Schmidt pops up too fast, a sign of a hurt fighter.  As action resumes, Faulk attacks viciously, throwing everything at Schmidt and trapping him on the ropes.  Many, many punches land, and Schmidt  can’t get away and isn’t throwing back.  Finally Schmidt gets free, and countering, lands at least one good right hand – but Faulk pursues him around the perimeter of the ring, finally catching him and trapping him again on the opposite side of the ring, whereupon referee Scott Erickson finally stops the fight with only seconds left in the first round.

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Tony “2Sharp” Lee (now 7-1 with 3 kayos) defeats Leonard Overstreet (0-3) by Unanimous Decision, 39-37, 40-36, 39-37

Round 1

Lee, a slick boxer, comes out with feints and jabs.  Overstreet walks in and tries to land a left to the body, but Lee punishes him with several mean shots from both hands.  Overstreet is coming forward tentatively, and Lee is using his speed to hurt him when he tries to attack.  Lee lands a vicious left to the face of Overstreet and Overstreet grimaces.  There’s a pause in the action as Lee waits for Overstreet to commit a punishable offense.  Overstreet lands a right to the head of Lee, and afterwards Lee is bleeding from his left eyebrow.  Overstreet is misses with a left but lands a right to the body of Lee.  Lee doesn’t seem distracted by the blood, but he might not know yet that he’s bleeding.  Overstreet is moving around now, acting more confident.  He finds an attack blocked and tries to move to his right, but Lee hurts him with a left hook.  No more action before the bell.

Round 2

There’s good action to start the second, with both men throwing and circling to their left.  About thirty seconds in Overstreet leads with a left and Lee counters with a left.  Overstreet is circling to his right and as Lee turns to face him, a nasty welt is evident on his left cheek.  Overstreet is encouraged, and comes in hard, dropping a big right o the ribs of Lee.  Lee’s speed avantage is diminishing.  Now Lee flurries and misses with all his punches except a big right hand at the end, which bends Overstreet sideways.  Overstreet continues to come forward, but Lee lands a nice rising hook.  Overstreet wants to trade – Lee would be wise to stick and move instead.  As the round ends, Overstreet lands a short shot to the body and Lee misses with his counter, and Overstreet stands and grins as Lee returns to his corner.

Round 3

Overstreet comes out aggressive and lee obliges him by trading.   There’s little defensive technique to this round – some punches are missing their targets, but none appear to be deliberately blocked.  Lee comes forward with a double left jab, and that was pretty.  Overstreet  lands one power shot and eats two more.  Overstreet retreats and comes forward again – Lee jabs him to the face.  That jab is beginning to reappear, and it sets up a nice three shot combo.  There’s a clinch, and refeeree Mark Nelson looks closely at Overstreet as they break; Overstreet smiles sweetly at him.  Overstreet throws a left that misses, and Lee inadvertently connects a counter right to the back of his head.  Now there’s an exchange that clearly favors Lee, as his power shots excel Overstreet’s.  Both men miss with parting shots, and the third round ends.

Round 4

Lee doubles up his left jab, then singles it, then doubles it again.  There’s a clash of heads, and Mark Nelson pauses the fight to warn both men.  As action resumes Overstreet lands a right that shudders Lee, but Lee responds with a furious flurry that clearly hurts him.  Now Lee lands consecutvive right hooks.  Overstreet is a little wobbly, and Lee sees his advantage.  Overstreet’s lazy punches are leaving openings for Lee, who capitalizes with sharp single shots.  Overstreet comes forward with his head down.  Overstreet attacks again – his punches are slower, but they’re landing.  Lee seems willing to take a shot to land two, but with his speed he shouldn’t have to.  Overstreet lands a couple of thudding power shots, but Lee resopnds with three shots.  Overstreet comes in hard and headbutts Lee, and there’s some scuffling as the bell rings.

Summary: Lee outclassed Overstreet, but he didn’t play to his advantages as he should have.  He relied on his superior speed and power and it worked tonight, but…

Damion Hill (now 0-1) is defeated by Kenneth Glenn (now 2-0 with 1 kayo) by unanimous decision: 39-36, 39-36, 40-34

Round 1

These two are said to have a history, and they both come out firing in the early going.  Hill lands the first good shot, a thudding right to the body, but then the two back off and measure each other.  Hill comes forward and lands the second punch of a 1-2 to the head of Glenn.  Glenn shuffles in and connects with a couple of good power shots, then does the same thing again.  Both men are mostly stationary fighters, bouncing but not moving.  Hill, who is taller, is beginning to jab, then a  double jab.  Glenn is the more aggressive man, and his punches have some mustard.  He punches Hill into a corner, but Hill counters and escapes.  the two trade again, to no advantage.  Now Glenn attacks with an intent, and backs Hill into a corner, but hill again escapes.  Hill jabs, then retreats.  With a few seconds to go Hill fires a lazy left and Glenn counters with a smart right hand. Bell.

Round 2

Our fighters touched gloves at the end of the first, and again at the start of the second.  Glenn is again more effective.  Being much shorter, he has to get inside to land.  Glenn gets too close and Hill hammers him with an overhand right.  Hill’s corner tells him to attack the body, and he does briefly, but then goes back to the head and Glenn lands a big single right hand.  Neither man is putting punches together effectively.  Hill is now circling to his left, and Glenn is rotating to his right.  Hill’s corner keeps telling him what a great job he’s doing, but now Glenn attacks and lands a good straight right.  A few moments later the scenario repeats.  Glenn knocks Hill’s mouthguard out during a wild flurry with about ten seconds to go, and despite shouted alerts from the crowd, referee Scott Erickson allows the round to conclude.

Round 3

Both men are trading artlessly, shuffling forward and back in the third.  Hill is fighting with his mouth open, and standing flat-footed.  Glenn continues to attack, landing a good right hook to score.  Hill counters with a good left as Glenn tries to follow up.  Glenn is a brawler by nature, but Hill has more potential to box.  Hill, however, looks exhausted.  Glenn is’t taking the initiative as he was earlier.  Now Glenn charges in and knocks out HIll’s motuhpiece.  Hill goes down to his knees but no knockdown is called.  Insterad his corner inserts his mouthpiece while he kneels in his corner.  Returning to action, Hill has the look of a spent man.  He continues to stroll flatfooted as Glenn chases and pummels him.  Now he turns his back and walks away.  This fight should be stopped.  The bell rings, and Hill loses his mouthpiece again as he drops to his knees in his corner, but no action is taken by the ref.

Round 4

Glen is the aggressor again.  Hill is trying to counter, but he has to time Glenn or it’s all for nothing.  glenn connects with a right that knocks Hill’s mouthpiece out again.  Hill is crouching with his hand on the mat as the referee deducts a point.  Back to action, and Hill misses with a left hook and swallows several power shots from Glenn.  Hill’s corner seems to think that was a good exchange for him.  Glenn chases Hill into a corner again with a flurry that hurts, but Hill finally lands one good counter and Glenn backs away.    Hill continues to try to counter, but his punches are too slow to chase his opponent.  I spoke too soon, Hill lands a single good counter that changes Glenn’s direction, but the result is only temporary.  Glenn rushes in again, and again Hill stumbles backwards into a corner.  A clean overhand left lands for Glenn.  With ten seconds to go, Hill finally attacks and though he wins the last ten seconds, he clearly lost this round and this fight.

Summary: this was a fight without art or science; both men were merely reactive, watching for an opening and throwing a punch.  Fun to watch, though.

–

Jeremy “Lights Out” McLaurin (now 10-5 with 5 kayos) defeats DeWayne Wisdom (2-8 with 1 kayo) by Unanimous Decision, 39-37 on all three cards.

Round 1

Wisdom strikes firsst, a lead left to the body.  Wisdom traps McLaurin agains tthe ropes and pummels him.  Mostly to the body, and McLaurin doesn’t like it.  Wisdom pounded the body for a good 20+ seconds, before McLaurin grappled him into a clinch.  McLaurin has a great height advantage, but Wisdom is the bigger hitter and the more aggressive fighter.  Wisdom is using plenty of head movement and aggression to neutralize McLaurin and lands some good power shots in the process.  McLaurin finally lands a good left to the body but doesn’t follow it up.  Wisdom is weary and McLaurin connects with a big right to the head – a big one.  Wisdom smiles and shakes it off, then attacks, scoring well in the process.  No significant shots land in the last ten seconds of the first round.

Round 2

The second round begins with McLaurin stalking, and he does connect with some good body shots in the early going, but a taller man with a greater reach should be able to score to the head, shouldn’t he?  After a break, the two clinch, but they break themselves up without the ref’s assistance.  McLaurin flurries with light punches and scores.  Wisdom lands a couple of big left hands separated by 2 or three seconds.  Wisdom isn’t built for the long haul, but this is only a four rounder.  McLaurin smacks Wisdom, a glancing blow with his right.  Now the pace is slackening.  McLaurin traps Wisdom in a neutral corner and goes upstairs, downstairs, upstairs.  Wisdom is huffing a little bit, but ducks and cmoes back up with a big left hook.  Another haymaking left connects for Wisdom, but he doesn’t have the same snap to his punches that he had earlier.

Round 3

This round begins with McLaurin stalking again, but Wisdom stops short and fires a few power shots.  McLaurin tries to attack, but Wisdom counters with a big shot and then flurries, all the time glaring at McLaurin’s corner rather than McLaurin himself.  Wisdom bulls McLaurin into a corner and flurries slowly.  McLaurin continues to back up, but counters while Wisdom attacks.  Wisdom tries to duck under a round left punch but it catches the top of his head and his balance is momentarily affected.  Now Wisdom goes on the attack, and his aggression is very effective.  If those shots aren’t hurting McLaurin, well they’re hurting me from 20 feet awsay.  McLaurin unleashes a few disjointed power shots, but again Wisdom shrugs off the power shots and flurries back at the end of the round.  This must be disheartening for McLaurin – it clearly is affecting the morale of his corner crew.

Round 4 McLaurin is shooting out a lazy left jab intermittently to start the fourth, but Wisdom again goes on the attack, and lands at a better clip and with more effectively than McLaurin can counter.  McLaurin is trying to time him, and does finally connect with a roundhouse left.  McLaurin walks in and pops Wisdom with a right, but Wisdom doesn’t let him follow up.  A flurry from McLaurin draws a grunt from Wisdom.  Wisdom is not in the kind of condition McLaurin is, and that may be a factor here.  wisdom is plowing in with his head down now, and his punches lack force.  McLaurin, who has thrown fewer puches tonight, is punching more effectively than Wisdom now.  But Wisdom soldiers on, putting his forehead into McLaurin’s chest – an uppercut would be useful here.  Ten seconds to go and the two trade, with McLaurin getting the better of it, and the bell rings.

Summary: Wisdom clearly won the first three rounds, but McLaurin deserves the fourth.  I think the hometown crowd is going to be disappointed in this result.

Summary: I think it’ll be scored 3 rounds to 1 in favor of Wisdom.  He clearly took the first three, and McLaurin deserves the fourth.

The End of the Fistic Mystic

Writing the Fistic Mystic blog for the last three years and five months (approximately) has been an experience alternately fun and agonizing.  Lately it’s been more agonizing than fun.  For reasons both personal and professional, I’ve made the decision to discontinue publication.

The personal reasons are simple – I have a wife, four kids, two jobs, and not enough time or energy for the creative process.

The professional reasons are more complex, but they boil down to this: I’m tired and discouraged and disillusioned with the small-minded people who think they can realize their big dreams by thinking small thoughts.  These people are called promoters and matchmakers.  I alluded to the difficulty of dealing with these people in a recent article, and more recent developments have crystalized my thoughts on the issue.

I wish all the best to Minnesota’s fighters, both amateur and professional.  I have never had a confrontation with any fighter for any reason, and some of them are among the nicest, most well-balanced people I have ever met.  I have only the highest regard for the officials (judges, referees, administrators, etc) who make it all possible.  And as far as the promotions are concerned, I hope they all have just enough success to keep trying.

What’s next?  I’ll finish a couple of in-progress articles – especially the long-gestating profile of Gary Eyer that should have been (would have been) published last night if not for a major blog-host snafu.  Then I’ll turn out the lights and revert to being just a fan, which is good enough for anyone.

Thanks for reading.