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SHOBOX: The New Generation September 2 2004 Event was held at Harrah's North Kansas City Casino, Missouri. McNamara vs. Gaines
It was a fantastic night for boxing outside at Harrah's North Kansas
City Casino.
The weather was spectacular. The fights were great match-ups with
only two knockouts out of the six fights. The other bouts were
between evenly matched fighters proven by the fact that two fights ended
in split decisions. Leslie McNamara (0-2) vs. Sharon Gaines (2-1, 1 KO)
Non-stop action in the first round. Both women stood toe to toe and punched. Sharon landed more shots to get the round. A carbon copy of round one in round two - meet in the middle of the ring and start punching. Sharon would occasionally take a step back to catch her breath but Leslie would come forward to keep the action going. One again, Gaines landed more punches. Sharon's most effective attach was Left/Right to the body followed by a Left Hook to the head. I felt Leslie was more effective in the third round even though Sharon's Left Hooks continued to land just not as frequently. Lots of action in the fourth round that I was unable to tell who earned the round. Overall a great fight. Two fighters trading shots the entire fight. To the scorecards: 40-37, 39-37, and 39-37 all for Sharon Gaines. Michael Brooks (1-4) vs. Josh Luteran (0-0)
This was one of the knockouts. Josh was impressive in his pro debut. He earned two knockdowns via Left Upper Cuts. Michael was able to make the eight count the first two times. The final barrage again were punctuated with Left Upper Cuts. This time the ref stepped in and stopped the fight before any more damage was done. Josh with the TKO at 2:04 of first round. Josh displayed a nice Left Jab, Right Cross, and of course those Left Upper Cuts. Donnie McCrary (6-1-1, 5 KO's) vs. Isaiah Henderson (7-1, 5 KO's)
This was a great, even fight. Close first round I gave to Donnie because of effective work on the inside. Toss-up second round as Isaiah landed a good body shot while Donnie landed a good head shot. Toe to toe to start the third round with both landing good shots. Donnie earned the round with more work in the second half of the round as Isaiah showed signs of tiring. Isaiah came back in the fourth to control the round even though Donnie did land a good Left Hook. It was not enough to get the fourth round. Both fighters appeared fatigued in the fifth round with Donnie doing more work to earn the round. Good sixth round going to Donnie. He landed more punches. Entertaining fight throughout even as both fighters began to tire. Now to the scorecards: 58-56 McCrary, 58-56 Henderson, and 60-54 McCrary for the split-decision victory for Donnie McCrary. Jason Aaker (5-2, 3 KO's) vs. Galen Brown (14-3-1, 9 KO's)
This looked like it would be a dangerous fight for Galen as Jason had a nice physic. Well it only took Galen 2:27 to remove any danger. The round started with Galen using movement to stifle any offense by Jason. While dodging punches by moving, Galen would move and then stop and nail Jason. He used this technique to stagger Jason with a Left Hook. Then a Left followed by a Over Hand Right caused the first knockdown. Jason answered the eight count only to get knocked stiff by a Left/Right Cross combination. Jason did a 180 spin on his way down. The ref stopped the fight instantly and called for the doctor. After a few seconds, Jason tried to hop to his feet only to fall down again. He was able to get up the second time but it was obvious he was not put back together yet. His trainer was finally able to get him to sit down so the doctor could have a look and he walked out of the ring on his own. This was a fantastic showing by Galen. He was not part of the televised action but did leave an impression on the minds of the Showtime brass that he deserves a television appearance in the near future. Francisco Diaz (12-1, 7 KO's) vs. Guadalupe Martinez (13-0, 9 KO's)
This was one action packed fight from start to finish. It had to be exactly what Showtime would want in a televised fight. Two talented fighters giving their all. One staking claim as the "The New Generation" as is the purpose of SHOBOX: The New Generation.
Very active first round as both fighters showed off their polished skills. Diaz landed more clean punches for the first round. I felt Martinez got the better of the action in the second round as both fighters stood in front of each other and unloaded their arsenal. Martinez used Left Upper Cuts to earn the second round even though Diaz caught Guadalupe at the end of the round during a flurry. After trading shots in the third round, Diaz landed a Right Cross that staggered Martinez. Diaz backed Guadalupe into the corner and unloaded enough that the ref stepped in to administer an eight count. Diaz finished the round by landing two Upper Cuts of his own but Martinez made it to the bell. The fourth round began with more thunder from Diaz but Guadalupe stood strong. After withstanding the barrage, Martinez took control of the second two-thirds of the round. Despite another good shot by Diaz at the end of the fourth round, I gave the round to Martinez. Not as much steam on Diaz's punches in the fifth so he decided to start using movement. This made the fifth round tough for me to score so I called it a toss-up. Diaz landed more in the sixth round than in the fifth but Martinez had more power behind his punches to earn the round. Martinez took control of the seventh round early but Diaz quickly turned the tables on Martinez and redisplaying his power to earn the round. The eighth round was full of action with neither fighting giving an inch or gaining an advantage. I called it a toss-up. Now to the scorecards: 78-73, 79-73, and 80-71 all for the a Diaz unanimous decision. Ian Gardner (16-1, 7 KO's) vs. Kuvanych "Kuva" Toygonbayev (23-2, 15 KO's)
This was a classic match-up between a tall left hander with a good reach who uses movement and counter punching versus a shorter right hander who likes to work on the inside. This makes for a tactical bout rather than an offensive bout like the Diaz/Martinez fight. The first and second round consisted of each fighter trying to find his range and his opponent. More action in the third as both fighters decided to take some chances. The fourth round went back to searching. The action picked up in the fifth as Ian landed some good punches. The sixth round saw Kuva land better punches as he was able to get Ian in the corner and find his way inside. Ian used counter punches in the seventh round to slow Kuva's attack and earn the round. The eighth round was a toss-up. The ninth round saw Kuva land the more effective punches. The tenth round was another toss-up in my opinion. This was a tough fight to score but it came down to the score cards: 96-94 Gardner, 96-94 Toygonbayev, and 99-91 for a unanimous decision for Ian Gardner.
©2003 K C Boxing News All Rights Reserved. |
