The Mouthpiece
Dream Chaser – Haney Beats Menard – Greer Stops Dezurn
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: Saturday, May 11, 2018
Venue: 2300 Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Promoters: Hard Hitting Promotions in Assoc. with Haney Promotions &
Greg Cohen Promotions.
Ring Announcer: Mark Fratto
Referee: Ronald Ali Bashir, Shawn Clark, Benjy Esteves Jr. & Gary Rosato
Coverage: ShowBox The New Generation
Commentators: Steve Farhood, Raul Marquez & Barry Tompkins
Photos: www.christoneyphoto.com
Nineteen-year-old lightweight prodigy Devin “The Dream” Haney (18 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 12 kos) is chasing greatness with the fluidity and effortlessness of Usain Bolt in full stride. The kid has impeccable boxing skills and the intellect and maturity of a tenured college professor. I had the opportunity to interview him on Thursday at his hotel and it was a revelation into his psyche and glimpse of his drive to succeed. Haney has an acute sense of where he is going and the requisite work to achieve his goals.
Haney (L.) lands the jab on Menard
Bill Haney has done a remarkable job in not only educating his son but also in engineering the infrastructure for his inevitable success. The elder Haney is a visionary and social engineer. He has built a team— inclusive of assistant trainer—Hall of Famer Mike “The Body Snatcher” McCallum—that moves in lock-step like a well-oiled military battalion. No surprise that publicist Mario Serrano – the first point of contact – is the personification of grace and style – working sedulously to ensure that we all understand what we are witnessing.
Haney’s professional peregrination began on December 11, 2015 in Tijuana, Mexico almost a month after his seventeenth birthday on November 17th. Ten of his fights have been held across the border in Tijuana. He has competed in Las Vegas where he resides, Baton Rouge, Washington, DC and tonight would be his third time-fighting in the City of Brotherly Love – the second time at 2300 Arena and the first time that Showtime would be broadcasting from Philadelphia.
Sometimes one has to take advantage of an opportunity. Thus, twenty-nine year-old contender Mason “Rock Hard Mighty” Menard (33 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 24 kos) of Rayne, Louisiana, accepted the challenge to square off against the talented teenager for the vacant USBA and NABF Lightweight belts despite a 14-month hiatus. With more knockouts than Haney has fights, experience weighted heavily in Menard’s favor.
It was a masterful display of the sweet science and Haney boxed brilliantly while riding his bicycle covering every inch of the squared circle with Menard in hot pursuit. The teenager worked behind a fast, hard jab that kept his adversary at bay setting up combinations. He unloaded every conceivable punch from his arsenal – disappearing before Menard had an opportunity to counter. I don’t know if Menard landed a punch before the fourth round when he connected with a hook.
Haney (R.) connects with the right
Haney conducted a boxing clinic – using all of his assets to outbox his adversary – never trading at close quarters with the hard-punching Menard. He never gave Menard an opportunity to seize victory from the jaws of defeat. It was a one-sided fight even though there were no knockdowns. Nevertheless, it made sense that Menard’s corner didn’t allow him to answer the bell for the tenth and final round. There was no reason for their fighter to continue to take a shellacking in hope of landing a knockout blow. Menard hadn’t won a round and Haney showed no signs of slowing down – the youngster was barely breathing and appeared to be gaining momentum for a coup de grâce. Referee Rosato declared Haney the winner by technical knockout at 3:00 of round nine.
I wasn’t at Thursday’s weigh-in but I was informed that a scuffle transpired between junior-featherweight Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer Jr. (16 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 8 kos) of Chicago, Illinois and Glenn Dezurn (9 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 6 kos) of Baltimore, Maryland. These two boxers couldn’t wait to settle the score in the squared circle. The gong sounded for the scheduled ten-rounder and Greer took the lead – out boxing and out-landing Dezurn in the opening stanza – connecting with short uppercuts.
Greer (R.) lands the right on Dezurn
The loquacious Greer rocked Dezurn with a right early in the second round and again before the bell when they traded toe-to-toe. He was able to pin Dezurn on the ropes and unloaded until the bell rang to end the second stanza. Greer continued lecturing his opponent while blasting him with hard punches. Dezurn was out-gunned and appeared to be a step behind Greer who had him in dire straits in the third round. He was so discombobulated that he walked to the wrong corner when the round concluded. Dezurn was hurt and it is safe to assume that he never fully recovered and fought the rest of the way on instincts.
Greer commandeered the fourth round and hurt his opponent with a simple jab in the fifth stanza. Dezurn’s intestinal fortitude and toughness kept him in the fight and upright. Something was definitely wrong because the way in which he reacted to getting hit had me believing that he was concussed. Nevertheless, with his wife, professional pugilist, Franchon cheering from ringside – he fought on even terms in the sixth round and was competitive in the seventh, However, he ran into a laser right in the eighth stanza and his legs went horizontal – backward – as he crashed to the canvas face-first. Amazingly, Dezurn made it upright as referee Esteves reached the count of four – wiped his gloves and motioned for the fight to resume. Greer attacked, unloading with a vicious combination forcing Esteves to call a halt at 1:47 of the round – declaring Greer – who immediately grabbed a pillow from one of his handlers – the winner by technical knockout. The pillow is part of Greer’s victory celebration.
As we say in colloquial parlance “somebody’s 0 had to go” – as undefeated light-heavyweights Charles “The Truth” Foster (15 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 8 kos) of New Haven, Connecticut and Alvin “Iron Majik” Varmall Jr. (15 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 12 kos) of Catskill, New York combated in a scheduled eight-rounder. A match-up of contrasting styles, many wondered if the tall, southpaw Foster would be able to evade the bombs that would be coming his way from the shorter Varmall – a 5 ft. 8-inch version of Mike Tyson.
Varmall attacked the body in the opening round as the 6 ft. 2 inches of Foster calibrated the distance and timing in an attempt to control the action with his long jab. It was a close round with Varmall landing a couple good body shots. The action heated up in the second stanza as the combatants traded toe-to-toe with Varmall having the edge – evoking fond memories of the great Michael Gerard Tyson. It is safe to assume that Foster’s handlers told him that trading with Varmall wasn’t in the game plan. Foster took control in the third round and never looked back. He kept his distance working behind a consistent stiff jab – using lateral movement and a two-step drop to keep Varmall on the outside. Foster got in a zone – that focused state of mind where everything works. He was virtually untouchable – landing jabs and uppercuts – as Varmall missed with big left hooks.
Foster (R.) lands the right jab
It became a classic encounter of the bull versus the matador. Foster’s fans behind press-row cheered wildly, yelling instructions becoming as much a part of the fight as the action in the ring. It was a masterful performance by Foster who won a unanimous decision 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 in an exciting, tactical fight.
Born to Korean parents, Arnold Khegai (11 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 8 kos) of Odessa, Ukraine was impressive in his US debut against Adam “Mantequilla” Lopez (16 wins – 2 losses – 2 draws – 8 kos) of San Antonio, Texas – winning a unanimous decision 78-73 and 77-74 twice. It was an action-packed rumble with Khegai pressing the action round after round getting an edge in the exchanges.
Khegai (R.) lands the right
There were no knockdowns or totally one-sided rounds. However, Lopez was penalized a point in the sixth stanza for hitting Khegai behind the head – an infraction for which he had been warned in previous rounds. It was a chess match and Khegai simply outmaneuvered the crafty Lopez who couldn’t match his hand speed and boxing acumen.
In a six-round light-heavyweight bout, Craig “Danger” Duncan (10 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 8 kos) of Apopka, Florida scored one of the most devastating one-punch knockouts ever – stopping hard-hitting David “One Two” Murray (7 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 6 kos) of Wilmington, Delaware at 2:45 of the fourth round of the scheduled six-rounder. There wasn’t much action in the first round as both fighters probed with their jabs while looking for openings. It was a close round with not many punches landing. The athletic Duncan hurt Murray in the second stanza with an uppercut forcing him to clutch while clearing his head. The Floridian was busier in the third round – out landing Murray who just didn’t appear to have his mojo.
Duncan (L.) on the attack
Duncan was able to pin Murray to the ropes in the fourth round and unleashed an overhand right that crashed off his cranium sending him to the canvas with referee Clark reaching the count of seven before he was upright. The action resumed and Murray walked into a straight right that caught him square in the face. Instead of toppling backwards, Murray went to the canvas face-first appearing as though someone pulled both his legs backwards. He landed with an eerie thud and was out cold – the referee immediately called a halt to the contest as the ringside doctor and medic rushed into the ring. Fortunately, Murray was able to regain consciousness and was taken to the hospital for observation. It’s unfortunate that it took a knockout for him to realize that he should move up to the cruiserweight division instead of draining his body to compete as a light-heavyweight.
High-school senior Branden “The Gift” Pizarro (9 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 4 kos) of Philadelphia displayed his wares in a six-round lightweight bout against Israel Villela (6 wins – 9 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) of Cancun, Mexico. Villela was a virtual punching bag as Pizarro hit him with everything except the referee. The Mexican was bombarded at the opening bell as Pizarro drilled him with quick combinations from every conceivable angle while talking to Angel Pizarro – his trainer/father – throughout the bout.
Pizarro (R.) lands the jab
Midway through the third round, Pizarro did a deep knee bend – before rising to drill Villela with a combination. Somehow, Villela made it to the final bell. No surprise that the eighteen-year-old Pizarro was awarded a unanimous decision 60-54 on all three scorecards.
Philly lightweight prospect Jeremy “King” Cuevas (8 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 6 kos) is no longer flying under anyone’s radar. Once described as a diamond in the rough – Cuevas shines every time he enters the ring. And tonight, he made quick work of Hector Marengo (7 wins – 11 losses – 4 draws – 4 kos) of Arecibo, Puerto Rico winning by technical knockout at 1:51 of the second round of their scheduled six-round bout. Cuevas attacked at the opening bell landing to Marengo’s head and body with power and precision. Marengo fought back while retreating but he lacked the firepower to slow Cuevas’ momentum. In the second round, Cuevas had Marengo taking a knee on the canvas with a blistering combination. Marengo was up at four and the fight continued. But, Cuevas hopped on Marengo like a fat man on a $10 all-you-can-eat buffet forcing referee Clark to stop the one-sided fight.
Cuevas (L.) on the attack
Undefeated Philadelphia prospect Milton “El Santo” Santiago (16 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) returned to action after an eighteen-month lay-off in a six-round junior-welterweight bout against Jorge Luis Munguia (13 wins – 11 losses – 0 draws – 5 kos) of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Santiago joined the punch-for-pay ranks as a seventeen year-old with a second-round knockout of Moses Molina February 7, 2014. He pitched a shut-out in his last fight on November 12, 2016, winning a unanimous eight-round decision over the rugged Claudio Rosendo Tapia at the Liacouras Center, Philadelphia.
Santiago (L.) lands the right to the mid-section
The twenty-one-year-old Santiago came out of the gate showing little or no ring rust— depositing Munguia on the canvas in the opening round with a vicious hook to the liver. Munguia was able to get off the deck as referee Bashir tolled the count of four. The action resumed and Santiago attacked Munguia whose mouthpiece fell out and the referee stopped the action to retrieve the second mouthpiece from his corner. It was a veteran n move by the man from Honduras to get a respite and survive the round.
It appeared that Santiago wanted to log some much-needed rounds as he dominated the fight without trying to score a knockout. He worked the head and body and displayed his defensive wizardry whenever Munguia returned fire. It was Santiago reminding everyone that he hadn’t missed a beat despite the long hiatus. Two judges scored it 60-53 with the third having it 60-54.
It was another great night of the sweet science in “The Capital of Boxing” – Philadelphia. It is only a matter of time before Devin Haney wins his first world title. The young pugilist has all the necessary ingredients for success. Most important, he is focused and is surrounded by a team led by his father – working assiduously to achieve greatness. I doubt if 2018 will end without him winning one of the lightweight world titles. The kid is a rare talent.
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson3@hotmail.com
