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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
The Fistic Mystic 