The Mouthpiece
Gorilla Season!—Robinson Beats Riojas – Aleem Decisions Bates
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: April 6, 2018
Venue: 2300 Arena – Philadelphia, PA
Promoters: Marshall Kauffman—King’s Promotions
Ring Announcer: Alex Barbosa
Referees: Eric Dali & Shawn Clark
Ring Card: The Queens of King’s
Coverage: Eleven Sports
Commentators: Marc Abrams & Rich Quinones
Photos: www.christoneyphotography.com
What if I told you that gorillas are the largest primates on the planet and that they share 99% of our DNA? A gorilla is six to fifteen times as strong as the average man and can outrun him – reaching speeds of 20 mph – 25 mph. The fastest human – Usain Bolt has been clocked as high as 27.4 mph—averaging 23.35 mph over the course of 100 meters.
What if also told you that there are two sub-species of gorillas – lowland and mountain – with different habitats as suggested by their names? Lowland gorillas make their homes in the rainforests while mountain gorillas are found at much higher altitudes. As of September 2017, there are only 880 mountain gorillas left on this planet.
Brandon Robinson making his ring-walk
What if I further added that Hollywood has done much damage to the image of gorillas starting with “King Kong” in 1933 – a time when hardly anyone knew much about the great apes of Africa? These gentle giants with strong family ties were portrayed as fearsome, aggressive and not very intelligent.
What if I told you that Philly super-middleweight Brandon “B-Rob” Robinson told me in our March 30th interview—Boxing 396 Episode 162 YouTube—that “it’s Gorilla Season? Robinson who has reeled off nine consecutive wins – seven by knockout – since losing his professional debut October 1, 2016 – is rapidly rising up the super-middleweight ladder. Thus, I understood the meaning of “Gorilla Season.” It didn’t mean he was about to board a plane to Africa and start poaching gorillas as is the case with some despicable creatures who call themselves humans. Robinson meant that in his division he was going to be an indomitable force – stronger – faster than the competition – virtually unbeatable against a normal boxer.
Robinson (9 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 7 kos) exited his dressing room decked out in a gorilla mask and strolled to the ring like the dominant Silverback leading the troop with his entourage in tow. Awaiting him in the ring was southpaw Oscar Riojas (16 wins – 8 losses – 1 draw – 5 kos) of Monterrey, Mexico ready for their scheduled eight-round main event. Many believed that Robinson would devastate and destroy his adversary and end the fight early. However, Riojas didn’t come to Philly to “lay down; he came to get down” despite visiting the canvas in the final moments of the first round compliments of a well-placed left hook by the advancing Robinson. More surprised than shaken, Riojas was up immediately and applauded Robinson by clapping his gloves together. Robinson came forward hoping to end the fight. But, he seemed somewhat befuddled by Riojas southpaw stance and elite awkwardness and offbeat rhythm.
Robinson (L.) connects with the jab
Riojas proved to be a conundrum that Robinson was unable to solve over the course of the pedagogical eight rounds. Robinson won every round but he was unable to leave his opponent on the canvas counting sheep in need of medical attention. Riojas’ southpaw stance had the Philadelphia overthinking every move instead of countering instinctively. Robinson was the busier fighter landing to the head and body of Riojas. However, he was unable to land a devastating shot to get him in trouble. Riojas entertained the crowd by clowning in the third round by moving his hands up and down like he was auditioning for a part in a karate movie. A courageous, experienced pugilist – Riojas was never in dire strait as he was able to avoid getting hit with any crippling shots.
Having scored seven knockouts in his last nine fights, Riojas was exactly the opponent that Robinson needed for him to continue to develop and grow as a fighter. Tonight Robinson learned that he can outbox a difficult and unpredictable opponent and win every round on the scorecards. He hurt Riojas in the final round with a vicious right hook to the body. But the cagey veteran was able to survive and make it to the final bell. One judge had it similar to my scorecard 80-71 with the remaining two judges returning identical scorecards 79-72 all for Robinson who won by unanimous decision
In arguably the fight of the night—two undefeated featherweight prospects – Marcus “Dream Crusher” Bates (8 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 7 kos) of Washington, DC and Raeese “The Beast” Aleem (10 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 5 kos) of Las Vegas, Nevada engaged in a tactical chess match for eight rounds. It was the gloved version of the 1972 match between World Chess Champion Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer who won in 41 moves breaking Russia’s stranglehold on the world of chess.
Aleem jumped out to an early lead in the opening round when he surprised Bates by sending him to the canvas with a quick right during an exchange. Bates was able to get off the deck immediately and referee Clark wiped his gloves and the action resumed. Bates kept his distance and boxed artfully. However, Aleem was able to hurt him two more times with straight rights before the bell ended the round. For the next seven rounds, both men boxed brilliantly countering and parrying trying to out-duel the other. It was a masterful display of the sweet science with Aleem proving to be the stronger, busier combatant. It was Bates who rocked Aleem in the seventh and eighth rounds but allowed his opponent to recover and out-land him down the stretch.
The scores were lopsided with one judge scoring it 80-71 and two having it 79-72 for Aleem who won by unanimous decision proving that a fight can be highly competitive but one-sided on the scorecards. Nevertheless, it was a terrific fight that we rarely ever witness between two undefeated prospects at this stage of their careers.
Aleem (L.) connects with the jab
In a six-round heavyweight contest, Colby Madison (6 wins – 0 losses – 1 draw – 4 kos of Owings Mills, Maryland and Energizer Bunny, Guillermo Del Rio (2 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) of South Houston, Texas fought to a six-round majority draw. There was a huge size disparity between the two combatants as Madison towered over his smaller more rotund opponent. Using his jab, Madison controlled the action in the opening round occasionally going downstairs to Del Rio’s ribcage. Ironically, it was Del Rio – the smaller man – who stayed on the outside punching in motion. Madison took the opening stanza on my scorecard,
The second round was close with Madison pressing the action with Del Rio landing more shots. Del Rio came out swinging hooks to the head and body in the third round – forcing Madison to retreat. Del Rio crashed a right hand off the side of Madison’s head that landed with a hard thud, forcing Mimi Gibson, one of the Queens of King’s, seated in front of press-row to yell “Goddam!.” It was a booming shot that caused everyone including Madison to take notice. Del Rio replicated his performance in the previous stanza and took the fourth round.
Madison came out blazing in the fifth round landing with reckless abandon. However, his pugilistic prowess was short-lived as he ran out of gas and had to fight the remaining two minutes on fumes. Del Rio took over and should have won the round on all scorecards. The one minute respite was welcomed by Madison who was able to catch his breath and hurt Del Rio in the final stanza with a few hooks to the ribcage and kidney. One judge had it 58-56 for Madison with the other two scoring it a draw 57-57. Thus, the fight ended in a majority draw despite many of us in press-row giving Del Rio a slight edge and the decision.
Del Rio (L.) lands to Madison’s body
In a four-round welterweight contest Philadelphia’s Rasheed “Sugar Sheed” Johnson (3 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 1 ko) out-boxed Denis Okoth (1 win – 0 losses – 1 draw – 1 ko) of Siaya, Kenya for three rounds – using his 6 feet 2 inch frame and long reach to keep the shorter boxer at bay. The 5 feet 4 inch Kenyan simply couldn’t get past Johnson’s jab for three rounds and made the fight easy to score. In the last round, Okoth pressed the action and cornered Johnson on the ropes where he landed a few shots. One judge got it right scoring the fight 39-37 for Johnson but was overruled by the others who saw it 40-36 and 39-37 for Okoth who won by split-decision – having me once again clamoring for mandatory breathalyzers and drug testing for judges. As the late, great Richard Pryor would say, “We had two blind or drunk motherfuckers scoring that fight!”
2017 National Golden Gloves 165 lbs. Champion Pointdexter “The Savage” Knight (2 wins – 0 losses – 0 draw – 2 kos) Philadelphia—now campaigning as a welterweight— faced cross-town rival rough and rugged Vincent Floyd (3 wins – 4 losses – 1 draw – 2 ko’s) in a four-round battle of southpaws. Knight attacked at the opening bell and was having his way dropping bombs from his arsenal when the fearless Floyd connected with an uppercut that buckled his legs forcing him to hold to clear his head. Knight never panicked, was able to keep his composure – recuperate and box from the outside. He started using his jab and speed to control the rest of the round. Towards the end, he caught Floyd with a straight left followed by a hard right hook that pulled the rug from underneath his feet – sending him to the canvas. Somewhat startled, Floyd was up immediately as referee Clark started the count. The referee wiped Floyd’s gloves and the action resumed with the bell sounding shortly thereafter to conclude the opening stanza.
Knight used his superior speed and ring generalship to out-box the relentless Floyd for the next three rounds. It was a classic case of the bull versus the matador. Floyd who has one gear – forward – pursued Knight round after round. But, Knight used lateral movement and his hand speed to land and disappear. No surprise that all three judges scored it 40-35 for Knight who overcame adversity early and boxed judiciously against a tough and battle-tested opponent.
Knight (R.) using the long jab
Lightweight Joshafat Ortiz (2 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Ponce, Puerto Rico now residing in Reading, pitched a shut-out in a four-rounder against Evgueny Metchenov (0 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws ) Gaithersburg, Maryland by way of Bulgaria. Ortiz had the advantage in every facet of fighting – speed, power, accuracy, and mobility. He dominated every round landing to the head and body of his opponent who was unable to react in time to counter. Metchenov showed much heart despite the shellacking. He never surrendered and kept fighting under duress. All three judges got it right – scoring it 40-36 for Ortiz who won by unanimous decision.
In the opening bout of the night, Philly fighters – Kendall “Smoke” Cannida (1 win – 0 losses – 0 draws – 0 kos) and debuting Carlos Villenueva – with trainer Billy Briscoe giving instructions – shared the ring in a four-round light-heavyweight bout. Villenueva took the opening round by working behind his long jab – using his reach to his advantage. With the legendary middleweight Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts – the first man to defeat Marvelous Marvin Hagler – in his corner, Cannida pressed the action – making the second round difficult to score. However, he was able to out-land his adversary in the third and also the fourth round – sending Villenueva into the ropes in the final ten seconds of the fight with a vicious left hook. The ropes prevented Villenueva from going to the canvas. Thus, referee Dali scored it a knockdown for Cannida. The bell rang shortly after the referee completed the formality of checking Villenueva and signaling for the action to resume. All three judges scored it 39-36 for Cannida who won by unanimous decision. Absent of the knockdown – the fight would have ended in a draw – 38-38.
Cannida moving in during the last round
It was another exciting night of boxing in the City of Brotherly Love. It is Gorilla Season and Brandon “B-Rob” Robinsons is hell-bent on proving that he is the dominant Silverback in the super-middleweight division. Hopefully, during his rise up the ladder to a title shot – we can do much to erase Hollywood’s negative portrayal of gorillas and bring awareness to the preservation efforts being made on their behalf. To learn more, please visit www.virunga.org and donate to the preservation of mountain gorillas.
Gorilla Season!!
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson3@hotmail.com
