The Mouthpiece
A Who Fah Hot Sauce? Henderson Stops Aikens – Robinson Decisions Lee
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: May 10, 2019
Venue: 2300 Arena – Philadelphia, PA
Promoters: Marshall Kauffman—King’s Promotions
Ring Announcer: Alex Barbosa
Referees: Benjy Esteves Jr. & Chris Riskus
Ring Card: The Queens of King’s – Mimi Gibson & Kiana Kareema
Coverage: Warfare Sports
Commentators: Marc Abrams & Al Bernstein
Photos: www.christoneyphotography.com
With temperatures reaching 82 degrees Fahrenheit, I arrived at 2300 Arena at approximately 6 PM and made my way to press-row where I was greeted by fellow scribe Jeff Jowett with the bad news – Smokin’ Bert Cooper died today. The former heavyweight title challenger – the man who put Evander Holyfield on the canvas for the first time in his career – lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. Another Philadelphia gladiator was now in the big boxing ring in the sky with Matthew Saad Muhammad, “Bad” Bennie Briscoe, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, and Harold Johnson. The show must go on, so I settled in my seat for another night of Philly boxing.
Super-middleweight Kalvin “Hot Sauce” Henderson (11 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 7 kos) of Fayetteville, Arkansas rode into town in his last outing on December 7, 2018 and upset Philly fan-favorite – “The Silverback Gorilla” Brandon “B-Rob” Robinson, winning by 7th round technical knockout in their scheduled ten-rounder garnering the Briscoe Award for “2018 Fight of the Year.” Henderson was so impressive that promoter Marshall Kauffman seized the opportunity and signed him to King’s Promotions. Philadelphia is the fight capital of the nation, filled to the brim with boxers and restaurants. And, we all love Hot Sauce!
Thus, tonight Henderson headlined in the main event against the slick-boxing Antowyan “Ice Man” Aikens (13 wins – 6 losses – 1 draw – 1 ko) of Mays Landing, New Jersey. Standing 6 feet 1 inch, Aikens resembles former World Heavyweight Champion Larry “The Easton Assassin” Holmes and works behind a long left jab. Hot Sauce vs. Ice Man was a match-up too intriguing for the Philly faithful not to fill the venue.
The gong sounded and as expected Aikens took the lead using his jab and circling – looking like a mini-version of Holmes with Henderson in pursuit – hands high – searching for a chink in his opponent’s armor. It was the traditional feeling-out round with nothing of consequence landing. The second stanza was shaping up in similar fashion when Aikens walked into a stiff hammer-like jab from Henderson toppling him to the canvas much to the surprise of the near-capacity crowd. The fallen fighter was up almost immediately and referee Esteves Jr. dusted his gloves and the action resumed. Henderson uncorked a lethal left hook that ricocheted off the right side of Aikens’ cranium – reintroducing him to the canvas. Aikens made it to his feet as the referee tolled three and allowed the fight to continue. Like a hawk spotting an injured pigeon – Henderson swooped down on Aiken raining punches in an attempt to register his eighth knockout. A crushing right sent Aiken to the canvas for the third time. He was up quickly as the bell sounded ending the round and made it back to his corner.
Showing incredible recuperative powers, Aikens was back working his jab in the third round – looking unscathed from the previous three minutes. Henderson continued his forward march, throwing crisp combinations not wasting much motion. It was a round being fought on even terms until Henderson connected with a vicious left hook that placed his adversary on the canvas for the fourth time. Again, Aikens was up momentarily and the action resumed. Henderson attacked and landed a perfect combination capped off by a straight right that scored another knockdown. Referee Esteves Jr. called a halt to the festivities declaring Hot Sauce the winner by technical knockout at 2:14. It was an impressive performance by the man from Arkansas.
Junior-featherweight Raeese “The Beast” Aleem (13 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 7 kos) of Las Vegas, Nevada wasted little or no time disposing and dismissing Ramiro Robles (15 wins – 8 losses – 2 draws – 9 kos) of Queretaro, Mexico – sending him to the canvas three times in the opening round – forcing referee Esteves Jr. to call an end to the pogrom at 1:51 declaring Aleem the winner by technical knockout.
A right uppercut early in the round deposited Robles on the canvas for a two-count. The fight continued and a hook to the body had the Mexican genuflecting on one knee as though he had just entered the Vatican. He made it to his feet before the referee reached the count of three. Aleem attacked and shortly thereafter had Robles back on the canvas with another body shot, thus the referee ended the slaughter.
Philadelphia southpaw middleweight Ryan Umberger (1 win – 0 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) scored his second knockout, stopping Daryl Fenton (1 win – 4 losses – 1 draw – 0 kos) of Washington, DC at 1:34 of the opening round. A well-placed right hook sent Fenton to the canvas. Somewhat shaken with the wind taken out of his sails, Fenton was in a standing position as referee Riskus reached the count of five – dusted his gloves and checked his vitals before signaling for the fight to continue. Umberger kept his composure and attacked with caution. Approximately twenty seconds later he dropped Fenton with a combination. Fenton made it up by the count of four. However, the referee decided it was best to end the fight and prevent Fenton from further punishment.
The Silverback Gorilla, Brandon “B-Rob” Robinson (12 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 8 kos) won an eight-round split-decision against DeVaun Lee (10 wins – 5 losses – 1 draw – 5 kos) of Jamaica Queens, New York in an action-packed bout in which he visited the canvas in the opening stanza compliments of an overhand right toward the end of the round that saw one of his knees touch the canvas forcing referee Riskus to make the right call – a knockdown. Robinson was winning the round 10-9 but a knockdown for Lee gave him an extra point. Thus, the opening stanza should have been scored 10-10.
Robinson took the second round by going to the body as Lee pressed the action – coming forward, never taking a backward step. I gave the next four rounds to Lee who continued his forward march occasionally launching his overhand right – forcing his adversary to fight on the move. Robinson closed the show by going to the body cornering Lee to the ropes in round seven and out-boxing him in the final stanza. When it was over my scorecard had it 77-76 for Lee. However, the judges turned in scores of 77-74 and 77-75 for Robinson with the third having it 76-75 for Lee.
The question is not whether junior-lightweight Alycia “The Bomb” Baumgardner (6 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 4 kos) of Freemont, Ohio will win a world title but when? And tonight she looked like Hall of Famers — Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum and Sugar Ray Leonard, blitzing Gabriella Mezei (9 wins – 17 losses – 5 draws – 3 kos) of Covasna, Romania. Baumgardner attacked at the opening bell going to the body in fantastic fashion, sending Mezei to the canvas with a straight right to the body. Mezei was able to make it to her feet as referee Riskus tolled five and motioned for the action to resume. Baumgardner kept her foot off the gas, pressed the action and went back downstairs to Mezei’s body dropping her to one knee with a hook, forcing the referee to end this one-sided bout at 1:08 – declaring her the victor by technical knockout.
Antonio “The Tiger” Dubose (10 wins – 2 losses – 1 draw – 2 kos) of Philadelphia won a six-round controversial majority decision 59-55, 58-56 and 57-57 over Weusi Johnson (3 wins – 11 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) of Wilmington, Delaware. The majority of press-row believed that Johnson had done enough to win the decision but somehow the judges saw it differently. The bout was a chess match in which the taller Johnson used his height and long reach to keep Dubose on the end of his jab. There were no knockdowns nor were either fighter placed in dire straits at any time during the bout. However, Johnson controlled the pace and tempo and landed a few good straight rights. One can only conclude that Christmas came early for Dubose and the judges were influenced by the Philly fans.
In a much anticipated all-Philly match-up, North Philadelphia’s Paul “The Punisher” Kroll (2 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) and South Philadelphia’s southpaw Vincent Floyd (4 wins – 6 losses – 1 draw – 2 kos) shared the squared circle in a battle of contrasting styles. The gong sounded and the taller Floyd came forward as is his modus operandi. Kroll, the 2016 Olympics Trials Champion, kept his distance sharp-shooting using angles, being judicious and precise in his punches. The opening round was shaping up to be a tactical chess match when Kroll connected with a blazing overhand right that wobbled the iron-chinned Floyd who backed into the ropes – hands held high – doing his version of the rope-a-dope. Seizing the moment, Kroll hopped on him like a lion on a wounded gazelle and unleashed every punch from his arsenal. Floyd never fired back even though it appeared that he was blocking the majority of the punches. No surprise that referee Esteves Jr. waived off the action – declaring Kroll the winner by technical knockout 2:27 of the opening round.
In the opening bout, Philly junior-middleweight LaQuan “Q” Evans (1 win – 0 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) who was impressive in his debut on March 29th at the SugarHouse Casino – getting off the canvas in the first round to win a unanimous four-round decision over debuting Jordan Demko—didn’t fare so well tonight – losing a four-round split-decision to Hector Mercado (2 wins – 10 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) of Veracruz, Mexico. It appeared that Evans, a Muslim, was drained from fasting during Ramadan from sunrise to sunset. He simply did not have the energy and power to slow Mercado’s forward progress as he did in his debut against the much bigger and stronger Demko. Mercado pressed the action like a Sherman Tank rolling over a battlefield. Evans stayed on his bicycle firing while in perpetual motion – his punches having little or no effect on his opponent. The rounds were almost identical. When it was over one judge had it even 38-38 but was over-ruled by the other two who scored it 40-36 and 39-37 for Mercado.
It was another wonderful night of the sweet science in the “Capital of Boxing” – “The City of Brotherly Love” – Philadelphia. Kalvin Henderson jokingly told me that he will buy a home in Philadelphia. He was born in Texas, resides in Arkansas and fights out of Philly. Thus, I pose the question in Jamaican patois, “A Who Fah Hot Sauce?” Or, where does he belongs? After all, Philly loves Hot Sauce!
The traditional ten-count was tolled – honoring Smokin’ Bert Cooper. He will live forever in our hearts, in our minds, and in our stories. Rest in Peace Champ!
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson3@hotmail.com
