Beaumont Brawl II January 07 200

Beaumont Brawl II January 07 2005

Event was held at the Beaumont Club in Kansas City (Westport), Missouri.
Review by Mark Graves

Josh Sosa vs. Antoine Elerson
Michi Munoz vs. Tim Allensworth
Keith Simms vs. Roy Hughes
Glen Cusimano vs. Rico Williams
Donovan Castaneda vs. Jeff Hinds
Jesse Shewmaker vs. Travis Moore
Rico Lane vs. Jeremy Stiers
Justin Hahn vs. Lorenzo Hughes

Josh Sosa (5-0) vs. Antoine Elerson (1-2)

I gave the first round to Antoine because he started the round with a flurry. Josh traded with Antoine during the middle of the round. Antoine finished the round by using movement to dodge Josh's punches while landing some of his own. Josh started out the second round by adjusting so that he could land his combinations. The round was going along just fine and then Antoine went over to his corner and leaned over the ropes. The ref came over and Antoine requested the fight be stopped. It turns out that Antoine had somehow dislocated his shoulder. Josh gets a TKO victory at 2:11 of the second round.

Michi Munoz (2-0) vs. Tim Allensworth (0-0)

Michi used his superior hand speed and power to overwhelm Tim at 1:08 of the first round for a TKO victory.

Keith Simms (23-11-1) vs. Roy Hughes (2-16-1)

The first round was ugly and was marred by an accidental head but that caused a cut beside Keith's eye. Thankfully it was not in a dangerous spot. The other action was mainly grabbing, rabbit punching, and kidney punching. I have no idea who to give the first round to. The second round was controlled by Roy except for a hard clean punch by Simms. I gave the second round to Hughes. Keith came out and took immediate control of the third round. Keith got Roy pinned in the corner and unloaded a barrage. Some landed and some were blocked but it would earning points. Then Simms landed a Right Hook that knocked Hughes down for an eight count. I don't think Roy was hurt but he did earn a 2-point round. Roy was knocked down again in the fourth by another Right Hook. Roy did make the eight count but shortly after, Simms got Roy up against the ropes and pounded Roy until he was partly outside the ropes looking for an exit that the ref gave him at 1:39 of the fourth round for a TKO victory.

Glen Cusimano (2-0) vs. Rico Williams (0-0)

Glen used a quick jab followed by an Over-Hand Right to get a quick TKO victory at 1:33 of the first round. One thing to note is that Glen did keep his left hand low when not using it.

Donovan Castaneda (6-1) vs. Jeff Hinds (1-1)

Donovan repeatedly used a double Left Hook to control the first round. Donovan continued control in the second and was landing good shots when the ref decided Jeff should not take any more punishment. The crowd was not satisfied with the quick stoppage and booed to show their displeasure. Donovan gets a TKO victory at 2:52 of the second round.

Jesse Shewmaker (2-0) vs. Travis Moore (0-2)

Travis came out and threw a couple of punches and glided around the ring a few times and then went to his corner, went down on a knee, and was counted out at 1:22 of the first round.

Jeremy Stiers (6-3) vs. Rico Lane (16-1-1)

This fight epitomizes why someone could love the sport of boxing. Two fighters reduced to fighting on heart due to exhaustion. One fighter pealing himself up from the canvas on more than one occasion then finding a way to return the favor. The crowd completely immersed into the fight. Ebbs and flows, highs and lows, aggression and restraint, wild action and skilled control, these are just a few expressions to describe the action in this fight.

My notes do not give justice to a round-by-round review of this fight. I can tell you that the first two rounds were close with Jeremy putting forth a lot of energy and Rico blocking most and then landing Left-Hook to body followed by Left-Hook to the head. Rico would then land a power Over-Hand Right. Jeremy repeatedly attempted to land Right Upper-Cuts on the inside but Rico would back out in time. Rico took control in the third round. He could see that Jeremy was beginning to show signs of fatigue so he would let Jeremy throw a bunch of Right/Left body shots to his arms and then land power Hooks and Right Hands. Rico showed such experience with this tactic. He knew he was tiring too so he would conserve at the start of the round, wait for Jeremy to leave an opening, and then unload to earn the round. Rico hurt Jeremy in the fourth and fifth round but Jeremy refused to go down. He would throw a punch instinctively to keep the ref from stopping the fight. Jeremy did get the sixth round in my opinion because Rico appeared to take the round off. Rico came back in the seventh and eighth to dominate and get an eight count is each round. I still don't know how Jeremy was able to have the where-with-all to throw punches so the ref would allow him to continue. Both fighters were exhausted by this point. Now it's the ninth round. Jeremy and Rico are both exhausted. Rico comes out and lets Jeremy start the action. Then Rico makes his move. At this point, I get distracted and I look up to see Rico flat on his back. He looks hurt but he realizes he is down and does a sit-up to start the recovery process. Stiers finds the neutral corner with the help of the referee. Kevin Champion (the ref) turns around and sees Rico go from a knee to his feet. Rico had not completely gathered himself before he attempted to stand and he wobbles. Champion takes a step toward him but hesitates and Rico again tries to right the ship. This time Rico takes a step toward the ropes to help with balance but again wobbles. This was all Champion needed to be convinced that Rico was not going to be well enough to answer the eight-count questions and he stopped the fight. I watched as Rico went back to his corner. His corner people were now on the side of the ring and Rico was like come on lets get me ready for the next round. He thought he had made it to the bell. When he was told he hadn't, he was so upset. His corner knew Champion made the call he had to make due to the count and Rico's condition but Rico was still disappointed. Jeremy on the other hand was exuberant and shocked. His corner people raised him to the sky but Jeremy could barely celebrate. He was so exhausted and beat-up that he could hardly stand. He stood for the photos and held his belt but I am not sure he even knew what was really going on.

It was an honor to witness such a classic fight. It congers up thoughts of how fights probably went in the early 1900's. Two men laying it all on the line not willing to give in to his opponent. Smoked filled rooms of screaming fans. Heart just as important skill; in fact, heart superseded skill in the end. I can only imagine how the fighters felt the next day.

Justin Hahn (0-0) vs. Lorenzo Hughes (0-1)

It was a close round until Justin landed a combination that forced Lorenzo against the ropes. Hughes did not get free from the ropes until the ref had stopped the fight at 1:45 of the first for a TKO victory for Justin Hahn.

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