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By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: Friday, June 3, 2016
Venue: 2300 Arena – Philadelphia, PA
Promoters: Peltz Boxing, BAM Boxing & Joe Hand Promotions Coverage: Gofightlive.com
Ring Announcer: Steve Mittman
Referee: David Franciosi & Gary Rosato
Photos: www.christoneyphotography.com
With “The Greatest”—Muhammad Ali in a Scottsdale Arizona hospital battling for his life and the rain falling all day—I made my way to 2300 Arena for another night of the sweet science. Unfortunately, my idol and hero went to the squared circle in the sky at approximately 9:10 PM—before the main event concluded.
It is still commonplace in Jamaica to powder an infant’s bottom with Johnson’s Baby Powder while diapering. No surprise that this practice made its way into Jamaica patois —the most colorful language on the planet—filled with terms to evoke images in the mind’s eye. So, when asked about tonight’s main event I had to respond: “Yuh dun know sey Peltz nah pet ar powdah nobady!” Translation: You already know that Peltz isn’t making it easy for anyone. He doesn’t “baby” the fighters that he promotes by artificially inflating their records with wins garnered against opponents from local morgues. A compliment or criticism, it is a popular belief that the Hall of Fame promoter isn’t taking the path of least resistance in getting fighters under his promotional banner to world titles. A gifted matchmaker I doubt if he has ever promoted a lackluster card. Now, you get the imagery when I say that Peltz “nah pet ar powdah” nobody!
If you fight for Peltz, it is axiomatic that you will be matched against formidable opposition so that if you survive and make it to a world title you will be prepared. Thus, tonight’s main event featured two of Peltz’s fighters—Atlantic City’s Decarlo “3Mendo” Perez (15 wins – 4 losses – 1 draw – 5 kos) against Dashon Johnson (20 wins – 19 losses – 3 draw – 6 kos) of Escondido, California. On March 18th in the same ring, Johnson fought an epic 10-round battle with undefeated super-middleweight contender Jesse “Hard Work” Hart (20 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 16 kos). Hart had to get off the canvas in the final ten seconds of the fight to secure the unanimous decision victory in a fight that the Californian fought like a death-row inmate whose reprieve was contingent on victory or making it to the final bell.
Perez was impressive in his Showtime debut on August 28, 2015—winning a 10-round unanimous decision—handing 2004 Dominican Olympian Juan Ubaldo Cabrera (23 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 15 kos) his first loss. In his last fight on January 22nd —arguably his worst performance—Perez was stopped in the fourth round of a scheduled 10-round middleweight bout against Rob Brant (18 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 11 kos). Many would argue that Perez should get a “duck”—a less formidable opponent—after a knockout loss instead of the firebreathing Johnson. But, we must remember that Peltz is Perez’s promoter. And yuh dun know sey Uncle Russell nah pet ar powdah nobady!”
On my way into the venue I spoke with Perez’s father—a youthful looking military veteran who I always thought was his brother. Perez Sr. was confident that his son would defeat Johnson if he was patient, used his jab and worked the body as he did in stopping heavy-handed Tyrone Brunson in the fifth round of their scheduled eight-rounder on October 18, 2014 in the same ring.
Johnson with his handlers in tow strolled to the ring as Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” blared over the house speakers—a somewhat somber and seminal entrance. The song was recorded on November 11, 1964 and released on December 22, 1964—eleven days after Cooke’s death. We would later learn that Ali died right before this bout—the eight-round main event and last fight on the card.
In direct contrast to Johnson, Perez made his way to the ring—rapper DMX barking on his hit single “X Gon’ Give It to Ya.”
Arf, arf Yeah, yeah, yeah (Grr) Uh, yo’don’t get it twisted This rap shit, is mine…….
Swept up in the pageantry, I was tempted to hop up on the press-row table and commence barking. But, decorum got the best of me and I remained seated. Yu dun know dat it was difficult to stay composed.
The gong sounded and Perez worked behind the jab circling the advancing Johnson. Perez was sticking to his game plan as his shorter opponent continued his forward progress firing back looking for an opening. Perez was controlling the round when a vicious combination which included a left hook and straight right connected and sent him to the canvas with about forty second remaining in the round. Somewhat shaken Perez made it to his feet before referee Rosato reached the count of three. Rosato dusted off Perez’s gloves and the fight resumed. Perez tried to keep his distance but Johnson trapped him in his corner and wailed away until the bell rang. Fortunately, Perez was already in his corner and was immediately placed on the stool by his handlers.
The second stanza was close with Perez keeping his distance with Johnson using the jab to make the fight more interesting. However, press-row gave a slight edge to Johnson. Perez found his groove in the next round, landing combinations as Johnson started looking for the big shot— a left hook. It became the classic and traditional boxer vs. puncher match-up as Perez boxed beautifully with Johnson having his moments but lunging looking to end the fight with one big punch. Perez took the third and fourth rounds. However, Johnson was able to pin him on the ropes in the fifth round during a heated exchange. Perez righted the ship capturing the sixth and seventh rounds by out landing Johnson who appeared tired. Going into the final round, press-row had the fight even 66-66 or 4-3 in rounds for Perez who lost the opening round 10-8. On our scorecards, the final round would determine the winner of the fight.
As fate would have it Perez was winning the eighth round when he walked into a hellacious right uppercut thrown from the hip by Johnson—sending him to the canvas for the second time. Showing tremendous recuperative powers, Perez made it to his feet before the referee could toll the count of five and was able to finish the round on good grounds climbing on the ropes soaking in the adulations of the cheering fans. One judge had it exactly as press-row – 76-74, the other two saw it 78-72 and 77-73 all for Johnson who won by unanimous decision in an entertaining fight.
Hollywood couldn’t have scripted this one, not even I with a wild imagination would have dreamed of Cassius Chaney—a young pugilist originally from Baltimore—bearing the first and former name of the great Muhammad Ali and the last name of John Chaney the Hall of Fame basketball coach of Temple University. The former University of New Haven basketball star—whose father is from Philadelphia—began boxing after graduating with a degree in Sports Management was on tonight’s card in his seventh professional fight. Chaney (6 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 4 kos) training out of the Joe Hand Gym under the tutelage of trainer Calvin Davis stands 6 feet 6 inches and is promoted by Kathy Duva’s Main Events.
Sporting a rather large afro, Chaney worked behind a long stiff jab, controlling the action against Ray Lopez (4 wins – 12 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) of Holland, Michigan in their scheduled four rounder. Despite a five-inch height disadvantage, the 251lbs Lopez outweighed Chaney by fourteen pounds. Showing his athleticism Chaney repeatedly landed the double hook by starting to the head then shifting downstairs to the body – a combination hallmark of the great Johnny Tapia. I have never seen a heavyweight that was able to execute that sequence of punches which requires tremendous balance and body control. It was impressive to see a tall heavyweight body punching.
Chaney controlled the action even standing toe-to-toe with Lopez using his hand speed and defense to get the better of his shorter more compact adversary. It was a good outing and Philly debut for the heavyweight who has now relocated to West Philadelphia. At this stage of his career he is eons ahead of the other athletes from other sports who turned to professional boxing. Unlike those fighters, Chaney is comfortable in the ring and boxing is as effortless as breathing. All four judges had it 40-36 for Chaney who made his Philly debut on the same night Muhammad Ali would leave us.
On the March 18th undercard of Jesse Hart’s barnburner against Dashon Johnson, twotime USA Boxing National Champion and 2016 Olympic alternate middleweight “Sugar” LeShawn Rodriguez was impressive in his four-round debut scoring a one-punch knockout of Jose Cortes (1 win – 0 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) of West Palm Beach, Florida by way of Colombia. Rodriguez, who resides in Shirley, New York and signed to Main Events, is a talented and patient boxer who seems as comfortable in the squared circle as most people in their living room.
Tonight the twenty-three year-old Rodriguez (2 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 1 kos) faced the unorthodox thirty-three year-old Phil Legrand (1 win – 2 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Atlanta, Georgia. The bell rang and Legrand came out swinging as though Rodriguez had made some obscene comments about his mama. Legrand wasn’t going to let his slick boxing adversary have enough space to unload quick combinations. Legrand made the opening round ugly with his rushes and awkward punches. In the second round he opened a cut over Rodriguez’s left eye with an accidental headbutt. Rodriguez started to find his mojo hurting Legrand with a combination.
Rodriguez sent Legrand spiraling to the canvas in the third stanza with a straight right and a left hook. Legrand made it upright at the count of three and was reeling around the ring for most of the round as Rodriquez drilled him one shot at a time instead of ending the fight with a combination. Rodriguez’s domination continued in the fourth round as he used Legrand for target practice. I just don’t understand why a fighter wouldn’t throw combinations when he is hitting a fighter at will. But, Rodriguez was comfortable throwing single shots instead of rapid fire combinations. With the round winding down, Rodriguez uncorked a left hook that would have leveled a building smacking Legrand on the side of his head sending him to the canvas. There was no need to count, Legrand was asleep and referee Rosato called a halt to the contest. Rodriguez was declared the winner by knockout at 2:35 of the fourth round. Fortunately, Legrand regained consciousness and was able to walk out of the ring.
In the opening bout of the night, North Philly middleweight Isaiah Wise (1 win – 0 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) needed just 1:37 to dispose winless Jamil Gadsden (0 wins – 7 losses – 0 draws) of Vineland, New Jersey. The taller Gadsden seemed like a deer in the headlights on I-95 as Wise attacked pinning him in the corner landing overhand rights and hooks forcing referee Franciosi to rescue him. I doubt if Gadsden landed a punch during the entire encounter. It is safe to assume that the quality of a win meant nothing to Wise’s fans who cheered wildly—celebrating a victory over a winless fighter.
In a four-round all-Philly match-up southpaw lightweight Jerome “The Conqueror” Conquest (5 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 1 ko) squared off against Korey “Lightning Rod” Sloane (2 win – 9 losses – 2 draws – 0 kos). Early in the opening stanza, Sloane lifted Conquest out of clinch and slammed him to the canvas eliciting a warning from referee Rosato. The action resumed with Conquest attacking the body with the taller Sloane trying to establish his jab. Conquest was just a step ahead of Sloane out speeding and out landing him winning all three rounds heading into the fourth. Despite his losing record, Sloane has to be commended for always fighting with every ounce of strength, giving maximum effort from opening to final bell. Sloane captured the last round by using his jab and landing a good straight right early. Conquest stayed on his bicycle motoring around the ring for most of the round. One judge had it 40-36 with the other two mirroring my score of 39-37— a unanimous decision victory for Conquest.
In an action-packed four-round lightweight bout undefeated Steven Ortiz (3 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) of Philadelphia and Osnel “Prince” Charles (10 wins – 14 losses – 1 draw – 1 ko) Haiti, now residing in Atlantic City, New Jersey fought at a frenetic pace from bell to bell. Charles, once a promising prospect has gone (1 win – 12 losses – 1 draw) in his last fourteen fights dating back to April 2012. His sole win during this stretch was a March 21, 2014—an eight-round split-decision victory over Victor Vasquez who avenged that loss by stopping Charles in the fourth round of their scheduled six rounder on June 30, 2015 in this building—Charles’ last fight.
Throwing caution to the wind, Charles came out bombing at the opening bell landing an overhand right pressing the action, being the busier fighter as Ortiz kept his composure attempting to get a proper reading on Charles’s timing. Charles captured the opening stanza.
Ortiz established his jab in the second round as Charles had death and destruction written on every punch he threw. Ortiz took the second stanza and was able to continue his success in the third round as Charles bled from an open cut in the middle of his forehead caused by an accidental head-butt. Ortiz went to the body in the final round out landing Charles who fought valiantly to the final bell refusing to allow Ortiz to get the upper hand. Ortiz was awarded a unanimous decision 40-36 twice and 39-37.
In a six-round super-middleweight bout “King” Jaba Khositashvili (11 wins – 3 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) Akhalkalaki, Georgia now fighting out of Northeast, Philadelphia faced southpaw Henry Beckford (3 wins – 4 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Roosevelt, New York. It was an ugly affair as the twenty year-old Beckford wouldn’t allow the hard-punching Khositashvili—who has rapidly built a reputation for toughness in the Philly gyms—to uncork his power punches. Khositashvili rarely jabbed only throwing hard shots to his opponent’s head and body. He finally found pay-dirt in the fourth round when he dropped Beckford with a hard left hook. Beckford was up as referee Rosato tolled two and was able to survive getting knocked out by holding and not allowing the man from Georgia to get set and unload another hard shot.
Khositashvili was trying too hard for the knockout as former two-division champion Bernard Hopkins and promoter Kathy Duva watched from ringside. In the fifth round he dropped his hands begging Beckford to stand and fight instead of using lateral movement to evade punishment. But, Beckford wouldn’t comply and continued to throw arm-punch combinations and morph into an octopus clutching Khositashvili whenever he was close. The final round transpired with similar results as Khositashvili tried to goad Beckford into a shootout by dropping his hands and backing into a corner inviting him to take his chances. Khositashvili has to learn that boxing is an art and not a test of power at closedquarters. Nobody will stand and trade with him after experiencing his power. Thus, he will have to learn how to work behind a jab to neutralize opponents and set up his power shots. Nevertheless, he won by unanimous decision 60-53 on all three scorecards.
Debuting three-time New York City Golden Gloves champion Chayanne Rivera earned a hard-fought four-round decision in a flyweight bout against Gene Gonzales (0 wins – 1 loss– 0 draws) of Harlingen, Texas. The southpaw Rivera threw the sharper, crisper punches forcing the shorter Gonzales to use every inch of the ring. Rivera worked the body beautifully and was able to score a knockdown with ten seconds remaining in the final round. No surprise that the New Yorker won 40-35 on all three scorecards.
The near capacity crowd enjoyed another exciting night of sweet science in the Capital of Boxing—Philadelphia. Russell Peltz is incapable of promoting a bad show. Unfortunately 2015 National Golden Gloves champion Philadelphia’s Jaron “Boots” Ennis (2 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) did not see action as his opponent Alfred Hall (4 wins – 12 losses – 2 draws – 2 kos) failed medical scrutiny and wasn’t allowed to compete. Fate or fortune – Hall probably was saved from a knockout loss.
Rest in Peace Muhammad Ali. Your extraordinary courage, incredible spirit and humanity will never be duplicated. Without you, I would never have been a boxer. You made the world a better place by being steadfast in your convictions—brave and unapologetic in your fight against racism, inequality and religious intolerance. You truly shook up the world! You will always be my hero—a beacon of light in dark days. You talked a lot indeed, but nobody could match your footwork and lightning speed. Your right hand was straight as a laser. Do me a favor – say hello for me to Jack Johnson, Joe Louis and Smokin’ Joe Frazier!
Yuh dun know!
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson3@hotmail.com
