Friday Night Fights at Municipal Auditorium June 11 2004

Friday Night Fights June 11 2004

Event was held at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City

Review by Mark Graves

A night filled with decisions instead of KO's is a welcomed event in the Kansas City fighting scene. Well matched fighters showcased skill and/or technique to get victories instead of just power.

As a whole, it was a quality night of fighting. Some of the scoring was suspect in my opinion. There were a couple of fights that the disparity in scoring was a surprise but I must remember that scoring in boxing is very subjective. One person may prefer one style over another. Crowds can also influence how a judge perceives a round. The scoring of each round I give is my opinion.

Isiac Nelson (0-1) vs. Damon Cline (3-9-2)

A toss-up first round as both fighters a little raw with their punching technique. Better punches by Isiac in the second round. Both did a lot of turtle in the third round because they were tiring. Round three was a toss-up as the most excitement of the round was when Isiac fell and pushed Damon completely out of the ring. Isiac definitely got the fourth round. Any jab thrown by Isiac kept Damon from throwing a punch. Isiac gets a unanimous decision 39-37, 39-37, and 40-36.

Jesse Bryan (6-1) vs. Jeremy Welch (0-0)

Lots of action in the first round with Jesse landing better punches even though Jeremy's punches were quicker. Closer second round but Jesse's technique of pinning Jeremy in the corner and punching him in the gut was beginning to wear on Jeremy. Jesse used this technique the rest of the fight to eliminate Welch's speed advantage. Jeremy got a second wind in the fourth round but it was too little too late. Jesse gets a split decision victory of 40-36, 39-37, and 37-39.

A short commentary on Welch: He showed quick hands but his opponent used technique to cancel out the speed advantage. Jeremy was unable to figure out a way to separate himself from Jesse. It was a matter of technique over skill.

Jose Sosa (2-0) vs. Mark Hale (1-7-1)

Sosa dictates action from the beginning with an active accurate jab used while coming forward. Jose gets an eight count with a right jab in the first. All Sosa in the second round although Hale showed he could take a punch. Mark only landed three or four punches in the third as Jose dominated another round. Not as much action by Sosa in the fourth while Hale picked it up some. Sosa's work was still more effective for the fourth round. Great round by Jose in the fifth round. A Right Hook to the body earned an eight count. Later Hale got a point deducted for holding. Still in the fifth round, Sosa landed a Left Hook to the body for another eight count. Mark was able to make it to the bell allowing for a sixth round. It was just a matter of time at this point. A double Left Hook to the body/head finished Hale at 0:40 of the sixth round for the KO victory.

Anthony Cherco (0-0) vs. Juan Llopis (3-8-3)

Close first round going to Anthony. Toss-up second round as Llopis showed elusiveness. Anthony was cut above the right eye in the second. Anthony controlled the third round with punches that began to connect. I gave the fourth round to Juan because as Cherco began to tire, his left hand stayed low after his jab which allowed Llopis to land Over Hand Rights. Anthony gets a majority decision 39-37, 38-38, and 40-36.

IBC Continental Heavyweight Title Fight

Leroy Childs (9-0) vs. Ralph West (13-3-1)

Not much happened in the first round until Leroy landed an Over Hand Right that staggered West. He was staggered but did not go down nor get an eight count. Mainly walking around and eyeing each other in the second round as West figured out in the first round that if he gets close enough to throw a punch he is close enough to get staggered. Toss-up third round as Ralph got close enough to throw meaningful punches. Another non-descript fourth round as it appears that Leroy is trying to get rounds in. West was again staggered in the fifth round by a Left Hook. Leroy began to throw a barrage of punches that West was able to withstand. At the end of the flurry, West was able to retaliate on the punched out Childs. Childs gets the fifth round due to the staggering. West however gets the sixth as he continued to hit a tired Childs. Leroy caught another wind in the seventh and was able to again stagger Ralph. A toss-up in round eight as Leroy controlled the first half and Ralph controlled the second half. A major toss-up in the ninth round as not much happened. West earned the tenth round by throwing more punches. West gets a close eleventh round as he worked his way inside which Leroy did not seem to know how to handle. Leroy rebounded in the twelfth enough to get the round. Overall it was an unimpressive fight. Leroy gets a unanimous decision 116-112, 116-112, and 116-112. I began to notice that Leroy was not throwing his right hand at all. I saw Leroy after the fight and asked him about the hand and he showed it to me. It was really swollen thus indicating why he was not using it.

IBA Welterweight Title Fight

Donovan Castaneda (4-1) vs. Rico Lane (16-0-1)

Donovan gets the first round by throwing more punches though most were blocked by Rico. A toss-up round two for me as Donovan was still more active but Rico actually landed punches while Castaneda's punches were blocked. The scoring of round two depends on what you want to see - an active fighter coming forward throwing punches even if they are not landing or a fighter that looks for the opening and lands his punches. Rico threw more punches in the third round to get the round. The first two-thirds of round four goes to Donovan while the last third goes to Rico. Donovan gets the overall round. A really close round five that I gave to Rico. Toss-up sixth round as both fighters did the same amount of work. Rico actually came forward in the seventh to get the round. Donovan's punches were more effective in the eighth round. A lot of work by both fighter in the ninth round with Rico's more effective. Great tenth round with lots of action. Double Left Hooks and a Right Hook/Right Upper-Cut combination earned Rico the round. Lots of thrown punches in the eleventh with not much landing by either for a toss-up round. Both fighters gave it all they had in the twelfth with Donovan landing more punches for the round. Donovan gets a unanimous decision 117-111, 117-111, and 117-111. Donovan amazed me with his ability to go the twelve rounds. I thought it would either be Donovan in a quick fight or Rico in a long fight. Turns out that Donovan was condition enough to easily make all the rounds. That tells me that Donovan has a good trainer and a good work ethic. Very impressive. I would like to add that I felt the fight was closer than the score shows so I would not count Rico out.