|
|
||||
|
|
The past week has been bittersweet – a
melancholy lesson of advancing years. Early morning, Friday,
February 9th, I
was ecstatic when John DiSanto, Chairman of the Pennsylvania Boxing
Hall of Fame, gave me the great news that Coach Shar’ron Baker would
be inducted in the class of 2024. Coach Shar’ron was nominated last
year, but for some inexplicable reason she was not elected with her
trainer/mentor – the late, great Sam Hickman who was inducted in the
Class of 2023. Nevertheless, a dream deferred for a year was equally
gratifying. On Sunday, February 11th I was speechless
when I learned
I have always been fascinated by long distance
runners and Kiptum was so exceptional that I thought that he was
Muhammad Ali in running shoes – “The Greatest.” He was poetry in
motion, running effortlessly, gliding over the landscape as though
God gave him an extra pair of lungs. How is it even possible to run
a marathon time of 2:00:35? Rest in Paradise Kelvin Kiptum you shook
up the world! Coach Shar’ron Baker is a living chronicle of a
by-gone era, and I wasn’t going to miss her in action tonight as the
head trainer of three of tonight’s participants: Oluwafemi “The
Nigerian Nightmare” Oyeleye, Joshua “The Real War” Jones and Juan
“The One” Marrero. Billed as “Philly Fight Night 4”
the ten-bout card – 48
scheduled rounds of boxing – a delectable slice of the sweet science
proved comforting. No surprise that the venue was packed and brought
out some of Philly’s finest sitting ringside
- “The Baddest Man on the Planet” –
undefeated IBF Welterweight Champion, Jaron “Boots” Ennis,
former two-division World champion Danny “Swift” Garcia, former WBO,
WBC & IBO Super-bantamweight Champion Stephen “Cool Boy Steph”
Fulton who was so “iced out” – diamonds, golds and gems adorning his
neck and wrists - that frankly I feared for his safety – and 2007
Pan American Games Gold Medalist Karl “Dynamite” Dargan. Once again,
promoter Alex Barbosa proved that he has the formula for filling the
venue and producing another excellent show with well-matched bouts.
Prior to commencement of the main event and
final bout, Steve Peacock brought Coach Shar’ron Baker – sporting a
colorful Nigerian dashiki - into the ring and announced that she
will be inducted this year in the 2024 Class of
the Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame, much to the delight and
deafening cheers of the capacity crowd. Shortly thereafter, her
charge made his way into the ring flanked by the Rosas -
manager/cutman Lando and son/assistant Marcus sporting identical
dashikis as Coach Baker. In the battle of southpaws - Oyeleye (14
wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 8 kos) faced
Wilfrido Buelvas (24 wins –
18 losses – 0 draw – 18 kos) of Barranquilla, Colombia. The Nigerian
Nightmare came out at the opening bell working behind his jab –
getting a proper reading on the speed and tempo of his opponent. An
accidental clash of heads sent the Colombian to the canvas. Referee
Dali gave him sufficient time to recuperate and resume fighting
approximately fifteen seconds after the collision. The action
restarted and shortly thereafter, Buelvas walked right into
Oyeleye’s straight left that sent him to the canvas. More surprised
than shaken – Buelvas was upright immediately. Nevertheless, the
knockdown was acknowledged by the referee. Oyeleye kept his
composure – stalking behind his jab while picking off his opponent’s
counterattack with his gloves. The second round commenced with Oyeleye boxing
strategically behind his jab – looking for chinks in Buelvas’ armor.
Allow me to paraphrase my childhood friend/teammate, the late Bucky
Davis and the JBM by stating that “Buelvas didn’t come to lay down –
he came to get down.” Yes, despite the early knockdown he showed
temerity by returning fire with reckless abandon. A spirited battle
unfolded, and the audience was invested in the bout. With
approximately a minute remaining in the round, Oyeleye distracted
his adversary with decoy shots - a left hook to the body and head –
thrown without much force – giving him enough time to shift his
weight to the right to deliver the nightcap– a left hook to the body
followed by the same shot to the head – both landing with power and
precision sending the man from Colombia to the canvas as though he
was thrown out of moving vehicle. I nominate Referee Dali for the
“2024 Humanitarian Award” because he immediately called a halt to
the fight instead of risking serious injury to Buelvas.
Oyeleye was declared the
winner by technical knockout at 2:03 of the second round.
This continued well into the fourth and final round with Slanger
getting the better of the exchanges and James addressing the
audience with his outbursts – forgetting
that he was a pugilist engaged in combat and not a politician
on the campaign trail.
When the decision was
announced 40-36 on all three scorecards
(Justin Rubenstein, Robert Rubnitz & Steve Weisfeld)
for Slanger - James blurted
out “My first fight and I ran 12 miles last night!.” It was an
impressive performance by Slanger who went about his business,
unbothered by his opponent’s antics.
The second bout of the night featured another Coach Shar’ron Baker’s
acolyte, hard-hitting Philadelphia southpaw - lightweight Juan “The
One” Marrero
(2 wins - 0 losses - 0 draws - 2 kos) in a scheduled
four-rounder against Darius Somieari (0 wins – 3 losses - 0 draws)
of Roanoke, Virginia. It was a game of cat and mouse from the onset
as the thirty-five-year-old Somieari – who at 5ft 10 inches – is two
inches taller than his nemesis – motored around the ring
demonstrating his fancy
footwork -sidestepping and changing directions to offset the
advancing Marrero who had destruction etched all over his
countenance.
Marrero attacked the body early in the second round and referee Dali
warned Somieari for excessive holding. Marrero pinned Somieari on
the ropes and unleashed a vicious combination – beating him down to
the canvas – forcing him to genuflect as though he had just entered
a Catholic church early Sunday morning. Referee Dali reached the
count of five and Somieari was upright – had his gloves wiped and
the action resumed.
Marrero (L.) connects with the uppercut.
In the third fight of the night – a scheduled four-round
middleweight bout, fan-favorite John Hawks
(0 wins
–
1 loss –
0 draws) of Voorhees, New Jersey, and southpaw Michael
Scott (0 wins – 1 loss –
0 draws) of
Dover, Delaware fought to a four-round majority draw – one judge
(Justin Rubenstein) had it 40-36 for
Hawks, overruled by the other two who had it identical 38-38
(Robert Rubnitz & Marc Werlinsky). The thirty-six-year-old Scott who
lost a split-decision in his professional debut on November 14,
2023, captured the opening round on my scorecard by landing a more
effective jab while switching stance throughout the round. Unlike
Scott, Hawk was stopped in his professional debut on November 11,
2023 – losing by technical knockout in the first round of a
scheduled four-round bout. However, tonight he not only heard the
bell for the second stanza, but he also dominated the round, beating
his adversary around the ring from pillar to post continuously for
about a minute on the verge of scoring a technical knockout.
However, Scott survived
and in the next round he was sticking and moving – using his jab
with Hawks in hot pursuit. It was an extremely close round that
could have been scored for either combatant. I gave the final round
to Hawks who was not only the aggressor but also landed the more
effective shots. It was a close fight – thus 38-38 isn’t
far-fetched.
Debuting Philadelphia middleweight Jason Moreno who was escorted to
the ring by former two-division World Champion Danny “Swift” Garcia
and his father/trainer Angel Garcia had to overcome adversity in the
first round to score a technical knockout over fellow Philadelphian
- Antonio Allen (1 win - 16 losses - 2 draws - 1 ko). With trainer
Greg Hackett in his corner, Allen a 6
ft 3 inches southpaw who evokes fond memories of fictitious World
Middleweight Champion Bootney Farnsworth played by Jimmy Walker in
the action crime comedy film “Let’s Do It Again” - dropped Moreno in
the opening stanza with a well-placed jab. The advancing Moreno was
attacking and walked into the punch which introduced him to the
canvas. Unshaken, he was upright immediately and continued his
onslaught, landing and hurting Allen with a hook then storming him
with a combination - forcing him into survival mode until the gong
sounded ending the round.
Entering his 54th year at the Athletic Recreation Center
in North Philadelphia, legendary trainer Fred Jenkins Sr. is still
active – churning out prodigies – leaving us to believe that there
is something special in the water at 1400 North 26th
Street. With Jenkins in his corner, nineteen-year-old debuting
junior-middleweight Richard Johnson sent fellow debutant and
Philadelphian, twenty-nine-year-old
Desmond Carr to the canvas three times, forcing referee Shawn
Clark to stop the one-sided affair at 2:15 of the opening round of
the scheduled four-rounder - declaring the teenager the victor by
technical knockout. The initial journey to the canvas was a body
shot to the breadbasket. Allen was up as the referee reached the
count of six. The second knockdown was caused by a well-placed left
hook to the liver. It was somewhat unbelievable that Carr was on his
feet at the count of seven. We will never question Carr’s mettle and
tenacity. Shortly after the second knockdown, Carr was on the canvas
for the third and final time writhing in pain from right hook to the
body. It was an impressive victory by Johnson who is now on
everyone’s radar.
Hopefully, you are following the order of the show despite me
beginning with the main event – the last bout. In the eighth fight
of the night, Philadelphia lightweight - southpaw Joshua “The Real
War” Jones (8 wins - 0 losses - 1 draw – 3
kos) faced rough and rugged Ryan Schwartzburg
(4 wins - 13 losses – 3 draws
– 2 kos) of Dania, Florida in a scheduled six rounder. The Floridian
was first out of the dressing room with “Gonna Fly Now” the theme
from the movie “Rocky” blaring over the house speakers. Schwartzburg
understood his role as the underdog. However, that did not deter him
from going out in the first round and hurting Jones with an uppercut
which sent him to the canvas. It was ruled a slip by referee Eric
Dali who wasn’t in position to determine that the punch landed.
Jones was shaken and relied on his innovative skills as a thespian
to mask his condition and dissuade his opponent from attempting to
close the show. It demonstrated the awareness and development of the
Philadelphia fighter who realized that the one-minute respite
between rounds would serve him well.
The co-main event featured a four-round bout between debuting
junior-lightweight Noah “Cannon” Norman of Coatesville,
Pennsylvania, and Dan Van Fossen (0 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws) of West
Deptford, New Jersey. I now understand the rationale behind Norman’s
moniker because the echo of the gong had barely dissipated in my
ears when he was atop Van Fossen across the ring as though he had
been shot out of a cannon. He beat Van Fossen from one side of the
ring to the other side, landing with everything in his arsenal.
Under tremendous fire, Van Fossen attempted to take cover while
firing back. However, Norman didn’t allow him to the weather the
storm – and rained down on him with great
It was
another amazing night of boxing by R&B Promotions in the greatest
boxing town on the planet. It was a great way to end the week that
was not only happy but also sad. Congratulations again to Coach
Shar’ron Baker for being elected to the 2024 Class of the
In closing, I will miss watching Kelvin Kiptum
– poetry in motion – the man who ran effortlessly as though God was
gliding him across the landscape to victory. You and your coach will
live forever in our minds, in our hearts and in our stories. Gone
but will never be forgotten. KIPTUM!
Continue to support the sweet science, and
remember, always carry your mouthpiece.
Date:
February 17, 2024 |
|||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
