Raphael Butler -vs- Joey Abell: Predictions

Boxing figures chime in on how they expect Friday night’s heavyweight battle to go down:

Todd Bechthold: First big punch probably wins.  It may come down to boxing skill, because both guys have power.

Willshaun Boxley: I think that Joey’s definitely going to win for sure, and I think it’s going to be by knockout.

Jamaal Marcc Bradley (amateur fighter): Joey Abell by KO in round 4

Mike Dempsey (boxer and trainer): Joe by TKO in 7

Gary Eyer (pro fighter): I’ve never seen Abell fight and I’ve only seen Butler once, so I say whoever comes in lighter at the weigh-ins will win.

Sean Hickman (coach): The only prediction I’d like to make is that I believe someone is going to get kayoed if both of these guys want it as much as the other, which they should at this point in their careers.  They both have great athletic ability, knockout power, and are in desperate need to make a statement.

Graham Houston (writer): Abell TKO8…I think he might have better staying power than Butler.

Andy Kolle (MN middleweight champ):  I am going to go with Abell just because I think his conditioning will carry him through the initial onslaught and bring him to victory.  No disrespect to Raph because he is an excellent fighter and he could very well prove me wrong!

Brett Mauren (writer): I say Butler comes out and shocks Abell by knocking him down in the first, but gasses out fast and Abell stops stops him in the 4th.  It’s gonna be a slugfest.

Cory Rapacz (matchmaker): Abell TKO3

Andrew Studer-Ginsburg (gadfly): I like Butler by decision.  Butler looks to be in good shape.   I think he’ll outbox [Abell] late.

Caleb Truax (pro fighter): Joey KO 3rd round.

The Fistic Mystic says: Butler may be the more gifted all-around boxer, but I think that Abell has real world-class power.  Everything else being nearly equal, power is going to be the deciding factor in this fight.   Abell by KO.

Kenny Kost Heading Back to the Gym

Kenny Kost sends word to Minnesota fight fans that with the seasonal slowing of his construction work, he plans to get back into the gym soon.  Kost has maintained a very reasonable walking-around weight that will allow him to get down to his desired fighting weight of 154 without drama, and he has his eye on Minnesota’s two hottest middleweights: Andy Kolle and Caleb Truax.

Just in case the rumored Kolle-Truax fight fails to materialize, don’t forget this: Truax has mentioned Kost as a potential opponent in the past.

Truax Wins, But…and other thoughts

• Caleb Truax got the win in his WBF-sanctioned International super middleweight bout against Kerry Hope.  That’s the good news.  I had Truax sweeping the first six rounds, but he was definitely sucking wind at the end, and I had Hope sweeping the last four.  Chalk it up to Hope’s cardiovascular advantage, but it’s undeniable that Truax faded while Hope seemed to get stronger.  What does it mean?  It really depends on how you’re predisposed to interpret it.
• Kerry Hope got the loss in his fight with Caleb Truax, that’s the bad news for him.  The good news is that his punch-resistance and resilience were tested severely, and he performed well.  Hope’s strong performance in the last half of the fight shows that he’s no patsy.  However, Hope definitely needs to stick with a more suitable weight class.  If he can make junior middle, then that’s where he ought to play.
• I’ve heard several people say that James Todd looked like crap in his loss to Mohammed Kayongo.  As usual, people are prone to oversimplifying.  The Todd-Kayongo fight looked pretty even until Kayongo landed a big bomb near the end of round 2.  After the first knockdown Todd never really got his feet back under him, and the result was that he either couldn’t get back inside where he did his best work, or he lost the nerve to try.  In any case, from the end of the second until referee Mark Nelson called the fight off, Kayongo was dominant and Todd looked like a shell of himself.
• I thought that the Michael Faulk-Ryan Soft fight should have been judged a draw.  It seemed pretty obvious to me that Soft had won the first and fourth rounds, while Faulk won the second and third.  But as I’ve said before, I’m not a judge.  I just like to be judgemental.
• The MMA portion of this show reminded me why I’m not a fan.  A referee who started the bouts off by shrieking “FIGHT!”, fighters punching and elbowing each other in the back of the head, and kicking.  Kicking!  Am I the only man left in North America who remembers growing up in a neighborhood where kids told each other, “Only sissies kick?!”  I just can’t get used to grown men, covered in tattoos, scowling at each other and…kicking.
• It’s a crying shame that the Charles Meier/Marvin Rodriguez fight didn’t happen.  I’d like to know what happened to Mr. Rodriguez.  If someone who knows the story would like to contact me, all the have to do is email me at fisticmystic@hotmail.com.

November 20 Round-by-Round – Truax-Hope and Kayongo-Todd

 

8:10pm – Connectivity challenges have been overcome!  The place is getting full – probably three quarters full so far, and they’re still coming in.

8:18pm - Programming note – Tonight’s festivities begin with an no-headgear exhibition between Willshaun Boxley and Phillip Adyaka, refereed by Gary Miezwa.  There will be no round-by-round for this, but I’ll give you my judgement when it’s over.

Boxing

“Golden” Caleb Truax (now 14-0 with 9 kayos) defeats Kerry Hope (now 12-3 with 1 kayo) by unanimous decision (97-93, 97-93, 97-93) after ten rounds, for the WBF International middleweight title

Round 1

[connection temporarily lost]

Round 2

Hope is the aggressor this round, but his punches to Truax’s body have little effect.  Truax finally goes downstairs and Hope flinches away from contact.  Hope bends forward at the waist trying to get in close, and Truax unloads to the head, spinning Hope around.  Truax is having some success getting himself low and attacking the body.  Hope charges inside and is stopped short by a right, he loses his balance and Truax, pulling a punch, inadvertently pushes him down.  No knockdown.   Touch gloves and resume…boxing carefully, neither man is the agressor at this point.  Hope catches Truax with a wide right hook that travels so far it has no power when it lands.  Hope pushes Truax into the ropes, and as Truax bounces back into play the bell rings.

Round 3

Hope hits Truax with a tapping right, Truax hits him back with a hard right to the body, and Hope again reaches out and taps him.  There’s been a headbutt and both men are bleeding – Truax from above his right eyebrow and Hope from his right temple, behind the hairline.  There’s a pause while both men are examined by the ring doctor, and they come back to it.  Boxing, boxing, and Truax lands a vicious right hook to the boyd of Hope.  Hope comes back with his best body punch of the night so far.  This is developing into a more tactical fight now…Hope reaches out with a straight right arm and flicks his wrist, connecting a slapping “hook.”  Truax corners Hope on the ropes and lands a good right-left, then Hope escapes.  Truax is hitting Hope harder now, and it’s slowing Hope, may be sapping his strength and power, too.  Truax takes a jab to the head that reopens his cut and now his right cheek is covered with blood.  Hope’s hair is drenched in his own blood.  Truax ducks a Hope hook and comes back with a hurtful shot to the body.  Bell, round.

Round 4

Hope comes out for the fourth slugging, but his attack wanes after about ten seconds.   Big combo by Hope, and Truax responds with a hard right jab.  Hope scores with three consecutive right hooks, but Truax hits him and hurts him with a right to the gut.  The two circle and Truax again hurts Hope to the belly.  After about fifteen seconds Truax hurts Hope again with the same shot.  Now Truax lands a hard uppercut to Hope’s abdomen.  Hope jumps in on the attack but is repelled by a hook and then chased with a jab.  Finally Hope lands a 1-2, but the bell interrupts his progress.

Round 5

Both men start the fifth jabbing, now Truax lands a right that moves Hope backward.   Now Truax is coming forward, but Hope steps to the right and right hooks Truax to the head.  Truax lands a left and Hope counters with a mirror image left.  Hope lands a single power shot which rouses his corner, but Truax goes hard to the body, left-right-left-right, forcing Hope to retreat.  Here’s a soft clubbing right to the head by Hope.  Hope is bouncing on his toes, Truax is noticeably flatfooted.  Truax lunges and with a right, and Hope hits him at the same time with a counter right.

Round 6

Both fighters are in a hurry to begin the sixth.  Hope lands an overhand, Truax two hooks in return.  Truax goes to the body and scores with three straight shots, Hope grimacing in pain.  Hope rams a good jab into Truax’s face, but Truax responds with a right/body, left/body, right/head.  Hope, coming forward, gets inside.  Truax loads up on a right but misses and eats a counter.  Truax ducks an attack and comes back with a hard left-right to the body of Hope.  Hope backs Truax up to the ropes, Truax ducks under his attack, and comes back with a hard one-two to the body.  Hope flurries again, and Truax escapes again.  Hope lands a left hook to the body of Truax at the bell while Truax misses with a counter.

Round 7

Jabbing, jabbing…Hope lands a good left to Truax’s face.  Truax goes left-right to Hope’s head, Hope sways but does not fall.  Suddenly he comes back to score – two flurries from Hope allow him to get inside, and Hope shows that he’s willing to eat a power shot in order to land one.  Hope charges in on Truax, their bodies crash together, and Hope is thrown off balance but appears unhurt.  Truax is missing with more regularity now.  Now Truax lands a straight left, Hope responds with a good right hook.  Truax thunders back with an extended combination of which the first four power shots land – just on the strength of that strong finish Truax may have stolen away a round that he was losing.

Round 8

Hope establishes the jab to start this round.  Now he gets bold with a triple jab, but all three punches miss.  Hope connects with a right hook, Truax goes downstairs and connects to the body twice.  Hope clearly has more wind and is coming forward, but Truax is landing to the body.  Here’s a big straight left and then a right hook from Truax.  The two trade as Truax comes barrelling out of a corner, Truax connecting with 2 and Hope with just 1 punch.  Truax grabs Hope’s right arm and bangs an uppercut into Hope’s body.  At the ten second warning Hope flurries hard and Truax fails to answer back.

Round 9

Truax’s cornermen stay out of the ring while cutman Jim Maurine works on hie eyebrow.

Hope comes out jabbing again, Truax connects with a straight, Hope with a jab.  Truax throws a flurry of punches but Hope ducks and bobs away from every punch, now the fighters clinch.  A right hook from Truax lands.  Hope now backs Truax into the ropes and attacks, Truax fires back two power shots that land, but Truax is sucking wind.  Truaxs tries to clinch but Hope prevents it bwith another flurry, ending with a good right hook to Truax’s head.  Hope follows the retreating Truax into a corner, lands a right, grins at Truax, and then eats a Truax left hand that he well deserved for that cheesy move.

Round 10

Truax is gasping and panting in his corner before the tenth.

Hope comes out and immediately throws a single left, then a few seconds later a single right.  Truax fires back – it’s a Truax jab, Hope jab, Truax jab.  Now Truax is bleeding from the nose.  Hope gets off again, and he’s just too fast for Truax here in the final round.  Truax is having trouble getting off.  Hope goes upstairs, and now Truax doubles him over with a tremendous right hook to the gut.  Hope recovers and chases Truax into a corner.  Truax lands a good hook and spins Hope around, the two end up in a clinch.  Hope feints, stutter steps – is he taunting Truax?  Truax tags him with a big left to the chin.  After the ten second warning there is no action for nearly eight seconds, then both fighters try to steal the round with flurries at the bell, but neither does any damage.

- 

Mohammed Kayongo (now 15-2-1 with 11 kayos) defeats James Todd (now 2-2-1 with no kayos), by TKO in round 4 of 8 scheduled, for the WBF Intercontinental welterweight title.

Round 1

This round begins as the fight will probably play out – a brawl with little artistry.  I can too you this much: Todd likes it on the inside but Kayongo does his gest work from the outside.  Midround Kayongo tagged Todd with a thunderclap of a short hook with no evident effect.  Near the end of the round referee Mark Nelson warns both fighters to keep their punches up; Kayongo turns to look at Nelson and Todd takes advantage, chasing Kayongo around the ring and landing punishing shots until the bell.

Round 2

This round begins a little more tentative.  Kayongo is jabbing effectively from the outside, not to set up any immediate power shots, but keeping Todd at bay and snapping his head back occasionally.  Todd misses with a big left-right hook combo and Kayongo laughs out loud as he scoots away.  Moments later Todd gets closer and lands a couple of nice shots to the body and head.  Kayongo  splits Todd’s defense with a serious of straight rights and lefts which score to the face.  Todd misses a big shot and his grunt turns into a  shout with the effort.  Todd lands a grunting right and Kayongo hits hi mback much harder.  Kayongo cracks Todd with a huge combination that puts his mmouthpiece out and leaves Todd rolling on the mat.  He regains his senses and rises to his feet but still looks disoriented.  A break for Todd as his mouthpiece can’t be found.  His corner locates one and is instructed to insert it, pronto.  Boxing resumes with Kayongo on the attack, but no further damage is done before the bell.

Round 3

Todd, who did good work in the first while pressuring Kayongo, is staying on the outside.  A series of jabs and straights miss, but now he gets inside and eats some hooks and an uppercut, while landing one good short right to the ribs of Kayongo.  Kayongo is moving backwards and laterally and countering Todd’s persistent attack.  Kayongo lands a glancing right to the cheek of Todd.  Todd catches Kayongo in a corner and pummels him with an extended series of soft hooks – good show at this point for him.  Kayongo hits him back harder.  Big left hook, big single right, another big left for Kayongo.  Now Todd is wobbling and stumbling into Kayongo’s corner.  Mouthpiece is out.  Todd’s left eye is very puffy.  After getting his mouthpiece cleaned and reinserted Todd resumes his pursuit of Kayongo, landing one good right.  There’s a clinch, during which Todd lands one more right.  Kayongo is taking some time off.  Kayongo lands a couple of good right hooks to the boyd before the bell, and the fighters engage in a staring contest after the bell.

Round 4

Todd comes out with murder on his mind, and connects with about five hard body shots, but Kayongo gets away.  Kayongo lands a  right hook, then another one at a weird upward angle.  Hookercut?  Todd is trying to apply pressure, but Kayongo is punishing him with uppercuts.  The welt under Todd’s left eye is turning dark in the center.  Todd charges inside, lands a good right uppercut, Kayongo backs off and lands two hard right hooks and a left uppercut.  Todd is game, and continues to throw and land a Cristobal Cruz-like fusillade of body and head shots.  Here’s the end:w Referee Mark Nelson is poised to break the fighters apart when Kayongo lands a one-two that sends Todd tumbling and rolling into the ropes, and Nelson calls the fight.  Kayongo owns the WBF Intercontinental welterweight belt.

MMA

Marcus LeVesseur (now 12-2-1) defeated Bruce Johnson (now 8-5)

Derek Abram (now 26-21 defeated Gabe Walbridge (now 23-15)

Jedidiah Jones (now 0-1) was defeated by Isaiah Mahto (now 1-1)

 

Boxing: 

Charles Meir (3-1 with 2 kayos) -vs- Marvin Rodriguez (2-2 with 1 kayo), middleweights, scheduled for 4 rounds

This fight is canceled.  Rodriguez didn’t show up at the weigh-in last night, and rumor is he is still unaccounted for today.  Too bad, it would have been a barnburner!

 

Michael Faulk (now 2-0 with no kayos) defeats Ryan Soft (now 1-1-1 with 1 kayo) by unanimous decision after four rounds.

Round 1

The round begins with Soft winging some shots, high and wide, that miss their mark.  Faulk is more precise with his punches, and lands some good leads, both lefts and rights.  The pattern seems to be that Soft lunges in with shots that miss, and Faulk makes him pay.  The pattern is broken when Soft connects with a hard short right that resounds through the auditorium.  Faulk returns the favor with a flurry of hurtful power shots.  There’s a low blow mixed in, and Soft takes a moment in a neutral corner to recover.  At the ten second sounding, both men goes wings to the wind, and though Soft starts out better, Faulk connects with some shots that bounce Soft into and off the ropes.  The two continue punching after the bell and have to be broken up by referee Gary Miezwa.

Round 2

Our combatants return to form as the second begins, with Faulk throwing sharp and accurate shots that connect, and Soft bringing double the aggression with wild shots that hurt when they connect, but more often than not they miss.  Some rough tactics – pushing, I think – bring an admonishment to both fighters from the referee, and when they resume, Soft seems to have the upper hand.  At one point Faulk seeks to turn Soft’s aggression inward by crowding in, and Soft can be heard shouting “Get off me!”    Soft definitely won this round, but could he be punching himself out?

Round 3

Soft hurts Faulk to the body early, Faulk ersponds with an effective right hook and straight left to the head of Soft.  Soft’s wide punches leave him so wide open that it’s painful to watch, but he seems to be landing with twice the force of Faulk.  Soft throws more hooks to the body of Faulk, then goes upstairs and sends Faulk reeling backwards into the ropes.  Johnny Johnson, in Faulk’s corner, is demanding that Faulk let his hands go and attack the body.  Faulk lands a single right shortly before the bell and receives a hail of power shots in return.   End round 3.

Round 4

Soft resumes his lunging attack, and Faulk counters effectively while laying back into the ropes.  Another exchange ends with the two in a clinch and Faulk popping Soft’s hard on the back of the head.  Soft is slowing now, and Faulk lands a furious volley of rights and lefts that seems to take some of the fight out of him.  Faulk is now throwing wide rights that tomahawk Soft on the left ear and temple.  Ref Miezwa warns Faulk for hitting behind the head.  Faulk lands a hurtful right that seems to leave Soft dazed, then backs away.  Johnson is losing his mind in the corner!  Faulk attacks again, and scores well.  As the round ticks away the two trade in the middle of the ring, Faulk getting the better of it.

Sparring with Calzaghe, Fighting with Manoocha

Kerry Hope, who is scheduled to fight ”Golden” Caleb Truax on Friday night in Saint Paul, has been getting pretty good press lately.  I’ve published Truax’s complimentary remarks about Hope, my friend and colleague  Todd Bechtold has posted a nice interview with Hope on his blog (read it at http://www.mnboxingleague.com/?p=5288), and much more impressively, the BBC gave him a nice little writeup today (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/boxing/8365496.stm).

It’s that last item that’s got me thinking tonight.

Kerry Hope

In the BBC article, Hope is quoted saying this: “I’m looking forward to the fight, I’ve been training hard and I’m in great shape…The fight is at 168lb, a little higher than normal, but I feel strong.  After doing a few rounds with Joe Calzaghe in the past and with him being the number one 168lb fighter in the world – I don’t think Caleb’s credentials can even compare to this level.”

Well, that’s pretty impressive, isn’t it?  (Or as they say across the pond, innit?)  But behind the big talk, something’s missing.  That something is credibility.

Kerry Hope brings a nice record of 12-2 into Friday’s fight with Caleb Truax, but on closer scrutiny the record proves illusory.

First of all, there’s the puzzling matter of the knockout total – one.  That just doesn’t seem right for one who, as Truax has observed, is a monster in the gym.  One kayo among twelve professional wins?  I don’t want to imply that Hope isn’t tough and strong, only that he may be missing something in his game (POWER!) that Ron Lyke could help with.  You know, the Ron Lyke who owns the ACR gym – that’s right, the gym where Truax works out.  ‘Nuff said about that.

Second, there’s the matter of how that record was compiled – more specifically, against whom that record was compiled.  I had a simple idea the other day, I was going to compare the most impressive wins for each man (Hope and Truax) to get an idea what each had accomplished so far in their careers.  Keep in mind that Hope has been a pro fighter for nearly five years and has had 14 pro fights while Truax has been a pro for about two and a half years and has had 13 fights in his career.  I began to scan Hope’s opponents for an impressive win and found…he only has one win against an opponent with a winning record, ever.  The opponent was Manoochi Salari and the record was 3-1-2.  The rest of Hope’s fights have either been wins against opponents with losing records, or losses to opponents with winning records.  For the sake of fair comparison, Truax got his first win against a plus opponent in his third pro fight, against 17-9-1 Terry Tock.  In his sixth bout Truax dispatched 34-27-2 James Crayton.  To date eight of Truax’s twelve opponents (he has fought Jeff Osborne twice) have been net winners, and his last two fights have been against 11-2 and 25-6 stock.

In the rodeo game they have a word for an animal which has earned a reputation for being tough to ride: the call it rank.  That’s rank as in smelly or malodorous.  Of course in professional bullriding, the cowboys are competing against the animals as much as against each other.  Maybe looking at Truax’s last opponent, a rodeo cowboy would characterize 25-6 Patrick Perez the same way.

I’m tempted to say that Kerry Hope’s competition has been rank too, but for a completely different reason.

Upcoming Boxing Event: November 20th in St Paul, Minnesota

What to watch for: 

Hometown favorite Caleb Truax fights for his first title, taking on a risky opponent in Kerry “The Great White” Hope.  Don’t you just love that ring name?  Hope isn’t a big banger, but he is strong and fit and skilled and confident.  Truax and Hope will contend for the WBF International middleweight belt. 

Mohammed Kayongo, sparring warrior, finally gets a good opportunity against highly touted youngster James Todd, who not-so-coincidentally is a gym-mate countryman of Kerry Hope.  Kayongo has had just two fights in the last four years, but as mentioned before, he is an in-demand sparring partner, so he shouldn’t be too rusty.  The winner of this scrap gets the IBA Americas junior welterweight belt, which is more than a trinket but less than a big-time belt.

In what may be a sleeper pick for Fight of the Night, former amateur standouts Michael Faulk and Ryan Soft, both excellent athletes with good pop, square off in a bout to be contested somewhere between welterweight and middleweight (the Fistic Mystic doesn’t have good info on the class).

Charles Meier looks to pay back a favor to all-action Mexican import Marvin Rodriguez, who put the only blemish on Meier’s record back in January of this year, a split decision in Meier’s professional debut.  Rodriguez has proved himself to have a stone jaw in his four professional fights, and die-hard boxing fans are catching on that what he lacks in artistry, the super-tough Rodriguez makes up in excitement.

Elite referee Mark Nelson, a Twin Cities native, is currently at the WBA’s annual convention in Medellin, Colombia (www.wbanews.com), but will be departing early from that event so that he can referee Friday night in Saint Paul.

• Caleb Truax (13-0 with 9 kayos) -vs- Kerry Hope (12-2 with 1 kayo), middleweights, scheduled for 10 rounds
• Mohammed Kayongo (14-2 with 10 kayos) -vs- James Todd (2-1-1 with no kayos), light welterweights, scheduled for 8 rounds
• Michael Faulk (1-0 with no kayos) -vs- Ryan Soft (1-0-1 with 1 kayo), junior middleweights or middleweights, scheduled for 4 rounds
• Charles Meier (3-1 with 2 kayos) -vs- Marvin Rodriguez (2-2 with 1 kayo), super middleweights, scheduled for 4 rounds
• Two MMA bouts will round out the card.

If you can make it to Brit’s Pub (http://www.britspub.com/) in downtown Minneapolis at 6pm on Thursday night, do it!  The weigh-in may be a great spectacle or a boring chore, but it’s at least worth it to see how some real Welshmen react to a fake British pub and restaurant!

Caleb Truax: Thoughts on Kerry Hope and James Todd

Golden prospect Caleb Truax spoke with me tonight about his upcoming (November 20th) fight, the substitution of 14-2 Kerry Hope for Carl Daniels as his opponent, and James Todd, who will fight Mohammed Kayongo in the co-feature.

Caleb Truax

Fistic Mystic: So the fans just found out about your change of opponent within the last 24 hours.  What do you know about your new opponent, Kerry Hope?

Caleb Truax: Actually, when I was out in California he was out there with me.  He had a cut when I was there, so I didn’t get to spar with him or see him spar.  I know he’s in great condition.  He’s built kind of like Jon Schmidt, like a brickhouse!  But it’s strange that he only has one or two knockouts because I’ll tell you, we walk in the gym and he’s hitting the pads – he’s crushing the pads.  He’s shorter and stockier with big broad shoulders and he’s just ripped.  Maybe he just isn’t trying to knock out his opponents, because it looks like he should be getting the knockouts.

Fistic: How long ago did you find out about the change in opponent?

Golden: Just a few days.  Um, Carl Daniels had some legal troubles and they tried to get him out of jail in time, but they couldn’t get him out of jail, I guess.  [laughs]  He’s a bum!

Fistic: Does the change of opponent mean a change in your training or your game plan for the fight?

Golden: It’s a different opponent, it’s a completely different style, but he’s still left-handed and it’s only a week out, so I’m not going to change anything.  He’s younger and hungrier [than Daniels] and he’s going to try to push the pace.  So it’s going to be a better fight for the fans, and better for me because I’ll learn more.

Fistic: Do you think you get more or less credit for beating a guy like Hope, as opposed to a former champ like Daniels?

Golden: Fighting Daniels might have given me more credibility on the national scene, I mean, Daniels has a better name, but he’s lost fifteen out of sixteen fights or something like that.  Hope is going to give me a tougher fight.  So in my mind this is a better fight for me.

Fistic: Of course Kerry Hope is from Wales, just like James Todd…

Golden: I’ll be surprised if that isn’t an awesome fight, with James Todd and Mohammed Kayongo!  That’ll be an exciting fight.  He’s a brawler, Todd, a come-forward guy, and just an exciting, exciting fighter.  People look at him and see his record and they think he isn’t all that – I’ve seen him work out and you would not think that he was a 2-1-1 guy.  He is good.

Kerry Hope Replaces Carl Daniels for November 20 Show in St Paul

Sharp-eyed Boxrec watchers have already noticed that Kerry Hope’s name has replaced Carl Daniels in the opponent slot for Caleb Truax on November 20th.  According to Tony Grygelko, proprietor of Seconds Out Promotions, contracts have been signed and the fight is now for a WBF Intercontinental title instead of the IBA title that had originally been in play.

Stay tuned for more news!

What’s News?

I heard the familiar thud-thud-thud of helicopter rotors tonight, a sound that – oddly – warms my heart.  That distinctive sound of a helicopter reminds me of the last few months that I lived with both of my parents before they separated for good.  My dad was a soldier (still is, in fact) and was stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  In those days the sound of helicopters, loud and low, was a constant accompaniment to daily life; a happy memory, bittersweet to recollect.

I glanced up at the night sky in time to see a medivac helicopter, only a few hundred feet up, racing toward the hospital on the north end of town.  I thought to myself, “I wonder who’s hurt or dying up there.”  I pondered some possibilities – a victim of violent crime, a farmer fresh from a machinery mishap, a motorist hurt in a traffic accident…I wondered, “Will I find out from the ten o’clock news?”

But here’s a strange thing about “the news” – it’s only news if “the news” tell us that it is.  In the spirit of the old cliche (if it bleeds it leads), let’s consider the most prevalent variety of news item: how many crimes are committed every day in an American city?  How many of those crimes are reported on the TV news?  The newspaper presents a greater volume of news, it’s true, but even they don’t get it all – especially considering the widespread cutbacks which have afflicted their industry lately.

A few weeks ago a professional athlete nearly died in competition, right here in Minnesota.  Jesse Barbot suffered a subdural hematoma during a boxing match at Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen and had to be rushed, in a 100 mph ambulance ride, 75 miles to the big hospital in my adopted hometown of Fargo for emergency surgery.  Barbot’s story is well on its way to a happy ending; it appears that the doctors were able to avert any permanent neurological damage, and Barbot was able to check out of the hospital and go home yesterday.  News coverage: Zero.

The next four weeks will bring Minnesota fight fans more fights than we’ll know what to do with.  Starting with November 13th we have a sold-out, televised show featuring two of the highest-profile boxers in Minnesota in the main event (Matt Vanda and Phil Williams), as well as the professional debut of an elite amateur (Javontae Starks).  From there we move on to November 20th in St Paul, when a local boy (Caleb Truax) fights a former world champ (Carl Daniels) for a minor title belt, then a Minnesota-based African immigrant (Mohammed Kayongo) fights a California-based prospect who is bringing in an entourage of his Welsh compatriots (James Todd) for another minor title belt.  Finally, on December 4th, Minnesota’s top two heavyweight prizefighters (Joey Abell and Raphael Butler) duke it out for bragging rights and a state championship belt at Target Center.  Supporting fights for this downtown Minneapolis event will feature a Jungle Boy, a Freight Train, and a Prodigy.

Will any of these events be considered news by the mainstream press?  I wouldn’t bet on it.

Minnesota Boxing Scene: In Overdrive

These are heady days for the Minnesota fight scene.  Join me as I survey the the Minnesota boxing fan’s calendar…

• November 4 at Camp Lejuene, NC Jason Litzau faces Johnnie “The LumberJack” Edwards (15-4 with 8 kayos) at 130# in a bout to be televised on ESPN2.  Following his seemingly effortless demolition of Verquan Kimbrough (then 21-1-2)  in August, a win here would appear to set Litzau up nicely for something bigger in the near future.
• Willshaun Boxley takes on another big challenge November 6 when he meets Salvador Sanchez (16-3 with 8 kayos) in a six-rounder in Las Vegas.  Boxley has shown a ton of ambition in the past year, jumping up from the usual early-career patsies to face men with records of 12-7 (Boxley won by unanimous decision), 10-1 (Boxley lost by majority decision), and 10-1 (Boxley lost by unanimous decision).  Sanchez is a pretty good young fighter, but he may have bitten off more than he knows with Boxley.
• November 13th at Grand Casino Hinckley we find a stacked card – by Minnesota standards anyway – presented by promoter Midwest Sports Council.  Phil Williams and Matt Vanda headline, supported by Wilton Hilario -vs- Leon Bobo, unbeaten prospect Cerresso Fort, Javontae Starks’ pro debut, and more.  Four bouts from this event will be televised on Fox Sports North immediately after the conclusion of the Minnesota Wild hockey game.
• November 20th in St Paul we’ll see Caleb Truax fight the faded former WBC world title holder Carl “The Squirrel” Daniels (50-18 with 32 kayos) for some IBA Intercontinental hardware.  Daniels has lost seven straight and fourteen out of fifteen, but this fight will force him to train harder than he’s done in a long time – Daniels hasn’t fought below 170# in nearly two years.  A supporting bout gives this event a higher profile: young Welshman James Todd (2-1-1) meets Mohammed Kayongo (14-2 with 10 kayos) for an IBA welterweight title.  Todd’s supporters are talking about making the trip to St Paul to lend their support, and we all know that British boxing fans travel well.  (There has also been a rumor floating that Todd’s countryman Kerry Hope will face Robert Kamya on this card, but I haven’t confirmed that one with promoter Tony Grygelko of Seconds Out Promotions.)
• The heavyweight bout that Minnesota has waited too long for headlines a December 4th event at Target Center in Minneapolis.  Joey Abell (25-4 with 24 kayos) meets his pal and fellow Minnesotan Raphael Butler (35-8 with 28 kayos) with the vacant Minnesota heavyweight title on the line.  Zach Walters faces Larry Sharpe, who is the man who beat the man (Bruce Rumbolz) who beat the man (Shawn Hammack) who beat Walters back in August of 2008.  Travis “Freight Train” Walker, Ronnie Peterson, Gary Eyer, and Dave Peterson also support this card.
• No specifics are available at this writing, but Showtime will be in town on December 18 to televise a boxing event at Grand Casino Hinckley.  Expect some locals to get a boost from this show.