The Mouthpiece
Money, Power & Respect!—Sparrow Stops Serrano
Nevin Beats Rynn
Prescott Edges Wise
By: George H. Hanson Jr., Esq.
Date: March 9, 2018
Venue: Xcite Center, Parx Casino – Bensalem, PA
Promoters: Joe Hand Promotions & Bam Boxing
Ring Announcer: Mike Mittman
Referees: Steve Smoger & Gary Rosato
Photos: www.christoneyphotography.com & Darryl Cobb Jr.
Thank God for the internet. I doubt if I would survive as a columnist for one of the major newspapers and be able to push the limits of the First Amendment – our right to freedom of speech. I would be sanctioned by the editorial Gestapo for my colorful language and descriptions. I doubt if I would be able to use the word “motherfucker” or some other derivation. I feel somewhat sorry for those wordsmiths who toil at these dying institutions handcuffed and muted by editors—constrained to format writing, devoid of creativity and life. They can’t say what I am about to say!
A victorious Avery Sparrow
As I watched Philly junior-lightweight Avery Sparrow (9 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 3 kos) in the eight-round main event I couldn’t help hearing Lil’ Kim rapping “See I believe in money, power, and respect. First, you get the money. Then you get the muthafuckin’ power. After you get the fuckin’ power, muthafuckas will respect you.” This is the opening line of the 1998 hit single on the Lox debut album of the same name which tackled the three-component theory of hierarchy, more widely known as Weberian stratification or the three class system, developed by German sociologist Max Weber. According to Weber, there are three distinct ideal types: class, status, and power. The interplay between these three ideal types makes the song even more remarkable. I hope this paragraph has done much to dispel the notion that all rappers are mindless young people with no intellect or depth.
Sparrow – the iconoclast – now under the tutelage of trainer Vaughn Jackson – is definitely “bout it, bout it” even though he didn’t follow the order in which Lil Kim proposed. First, the talented Philly junior-lightweight got his respect not on optimum TV but on ESPN in his last fight November 30, 2017. On just an eleven-day notice, Sparrow squared off against world-ranked contender Jose “Wonder Boy” Lopez (19 wins – 1 loss – 1 draw – 14 kos) of Puerto Rico—giving him a boxing lesson—setting him up like Keyser Söze—handing him his second setback. And tonight Sparrow showed that he got “the muthafuckin power!”
Sparrow stands over his fallen foe
Sparrow needed less than two rounds to devastate and dismiss Jesus Serrano (17 wins – 5 losses – 2 draws – 12 kos) of Nogales, Mexico. The opening round was close with Sparrow attempting to land the overhand right on numerous occasions as Serrano kept his distance – jabbing and circling. There was more action from Sparrow’s friend and former trainer – Greg Hackett – perched two rows parallel to press-row yelling instructions which were met with immediate response from the fighter.
The second stanza resembled the previous round when Sparrow landed a vicious right that hurt Serrano followed by a left hook which introduced him to the canvas. Referee Rosato barely reached the count of three as the fallen fighter made it to his feet and the action resumed. Like a golden eagle swooping down on a jackrabbit – Sparrow jumped on Serrano with bad intentions hoping to bring closure to their contest. A quick and hard combination re-introduced Serrano to the canvas. The gutsy and gritty fighter was up as the referee tolled two. Rosato dusted his gloves and motioned for the action to continue. Sparrow wasted no time and was all over his opponent – firing on both cylinders – landing with power and precision – beating Serrano from pillar to post – forcing Rosato to rescue Serrano from further punishment. Sparrow was declared the winner by technical knockout 2:17 of round two. Serrano had no chance – he was “a cat versus a pit-bull.”
In another scheduled eight-rounder 2012 Olympic Silver Medalist John Joe Nevin (9 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 4 kos) of Mullinger, Ireland – training out of the Bozy Dungeon Gym when he is in Philadelphia under the guidance of trainer Derek “Bozy” Ennis – won a unanimous decision 80-72 twice and 79-73 over undefeated southpaw Alex Torres Rynn (6 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) of Alberta, Canada. It was the tale of two fights with Nevin being absolutely dominant in rounds one through four – stalking his opponent – landing at will to the head and body with Rynn appearing to be in survival mode with no answer for the onslaught. It was a masterful performance by Nevin who won all four rounds.
Nevin (R.) lands the straight right
However, for some inexplicable reason or maybe Nevin ran out of gas – he stopped attacking with Rynn gaining confidence coming forward pressing the action. I believe that Nevin got tired and was unable or unwilling to continue fighting at a high output level. Thus, Nevin fought from a distance – dancing around as Torres played the bull and Nevin secure in the role of a dancing matador. Rynn hurt Nevin with a hard combination in the closing seconds of round six. However, Nevin stayed on his bicycle in the next round as Rynn applied sustained pressure unable to land anything of significance. Rynn won the final round because Nevin was on his toes, jabbing and holding to offset his momentum. Nevin deserved the decision. But, very few believed that it the fight would have gone the distance based on his dominance in the early rounds.
In the barnburner of the night, Philly junior-middleweight Isaiah Wise (6 wins – 1 loss – 0 draw – 3 kos) and Anthony “Put-Em Down” Prescott (7 wins – 8 losses – 2 draws – 2 kos) of Cherry Hill, New Jersey rumbled for six exciting rounds – reminiscent of “Marvelous” Marvin Hagler versus John “The Beast” Mugabi – hitting each other with everything including the kitchen sink – miraculously going to the scorecards with Prescott winning a split-decision 59-54, 57-56 with the third judge giving it to Wise 57-56.
Wise has one gear – forward – and he was relentless pressing the action at the opening bell, making Prescott fight at a frenetic pace. In the opening stanza, he whacked away at Prescott’s body forcing him to stay on the outside – sticking and moving. While attacking in the second round, Wise walked straight into a hard right hand-delivered with impeccable timing by Prescott which sent him to the canvas. Wise was up as referee Rosato reached the count of five. And instead of holding or retreating, Wise came forward – pressing the action – oblivious to danger – trading with Prescott at the bell.
Prescott’s success continued in the third stanza as he out-punched Wise during their heated exchanges. He landed a left hook and blood flew out of Wise’s nostrils – carmine missiles – almost in slow motion, splattering on the canvas. Wise kept coming forward like a Sherman Tank engaging his opponent – trading punches. Prescott won the round. Wise was able to turn the tide in the fourth stanza by working the body before going upstairs where he hurt Prescott with a vicious right forcing him to hold on for the dear life during the final ten seconds of the round. The fight was even in rounds but I had Prescott ahead by one point because of the knockdown scored in the second stanza.
Prescott (R.) lands the straight right on Wise
They split the remaining two rounds with Wise winning the fifth round on my scorecard in a similar fashion as the previous stanza. Again he had Prescott holding on to survive during the last five seconds of the round after connecting with another hard right. I gave Prescott the last round. He was the busier fighter and landed more shots than Wise. The two scores of 57-56 were understandable depending on one’s preference. But, 59-54 had me wondering if cannabis contributed to that score.
Maybe, it would have been more palatable had Jesse James and the Younger Gang rode into the casino and robbed lightweight Gerardo Martinez (2 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Coatesville, Pennsylvania at gunpoint and relieve him of his valuables. However, it is somewhat disturbing when it appeared that the fighter won at least three rounds of the scheduled four-rounder against southpaw Vinnie Denierio (2 wins – 4 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Elmira, New York only to lose by split-decision. Despite the overwhelming visual evidence on Martinez’s behalf – two judges scored the fight 39-37 for Denierio with the third getting it correct 39-37 for Martinez. I gave all four rounds to Martinez.
Martinez had Denierio on his bicycle from the opening round – attacking and raking him to the body with combinations. Denierio was under duress and Martinez hurt him to the body – having him bend over in agony towards the end of the opening round. The second round was close but Martinez got back on track in rounds three and four and hurt Denierio to the body as was the case in the opening stanza. The crowd showed their disapproval of the decision with a cacophony of boos. It is safe to state that Denierio was the recipient of an early Christmas present. He didn’t beat Martinez despite the two scorecards to the contrary.
Hard hitting Philadelphia welterweight – another prodigy of legendary trainer Fred Jenkins Sr. – Marcel Rivers (3 wins – 0 losses – 0 draws – 3 kos) continues to impress as he didn’t waste much time in dismantling and dismissing Rafael DeJesus (0 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws) of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – winning by technical knockout at 3:00 of round two after referee Smoger determined that DeJesus could not answer the bell for the third round after taking a shellacking one minute earlier. Rivers came out at the opening bell landing a hard right. He hurt DeJesus with a left hook, right hook combination in the round causing a slight abrasion under his right eye.
Rivers (R.) land the overhand right
DeJesus had early success in the second round when he landed a right hand that had Rivers on spaghetti legs for a split-second. However, Rivers has tremendous recuperative powers and came back strong in the round by blasting DeJesus with a blistering combination that deposited him on the canvas with the referee tolling three before he was upright. Rivers seized the moment and jumped on DeJesus like a lion on a wounded wildebeest. He connected with every conceivable punch with referee Smoger appearing to be a second away from stopping the fight. However, the bell rang and DeJesus was rescued by the one-minute respite. Referee Smoger went to his corner and announced that the fight was over. There was no reason to send DeJesus out for the third round to experience the inevitable – getting knocked out cold and seriously injured.
In somewhat of a shocker Tyrone “Hands of Stone” Luckey (8 wins – 8 losses – 2 draws – 6 kos) of Neptune, New Jersey lived up to his moniker – stopping fan-favorite Jerome “The Conqueror” Conquest (9 wins – 2 losses – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Philadelphia – dropping him twice in the opening round of their scheduled four-round lightweight bout – referee Rosato appearing to stop it prematurely at 2:43 much to the protest of Conquest. The southpaw Conquest was working behind his jab advancing in the traditional feeling out round. It just wasn’t Conquest’s night as he nonchalantly walked into a horrific right hand, left hook combination that sent him to the canvas. He was able to rise almost immediately and the referee wiped his gloves and motioned for the action to resume. Shortly thereafter, Conquest was heading to the canvas for a second time compliments of Luckey’s right hand. The fallen fighter got up again on steady legs and seemed coherent – nodding that he was ready to continue. But, the referee called a halt to the action.
Some will say that Tyrone got lucky. However, having shared a ring with former WBA Junior-lightweight champion Jason Sosa and top junior-lightweight contender Tevin “The American Idol” Farmer – Luckey knows his way around the ring. He is a talented fighter who was matched tough from the start of his career. Luckey can rumble! Others will make a compelling case citing lack of focus for Conquest whose brother passed away while he was in training camp for this fight. Maybe, he should have sat this one out and allow time to heal and regain his concentration. Nevertheless, Luckey is now one fight above the .500 mark and knowing Conquest, he will sweep this loss under the rug and regain his mojo.
Luckey (R.) lands the straight right
In the opening bout of the night junior-welterweight Nahir Albright (2 wins – 1 loss – 0 draws – 1 ko) of Sicklerville, New Jersey registered his third consecutive victory after dropping his professional debut—winning a four-round unanimous decision 40-34 twice and 39-35 over tough Sidney Maccow (3 wins – 7 losses – 0 draws – 2 kos) of New York, New York. Albright scored two knockdowns in the opening round – the first with a straight right and the second was the result of a well-timed left hook. However, Maccow was able to recover, survive and won the second stanza on my scorecard making the fight competitive for the duration by coming forward, throwing punches- trading with his opponent down the stretch.
It was another great night of Philly boxing as the inaugural show at Parx Casino played to a sold-out crowd. The Xcite center is a beautiful arena and after the show members of the media were invited to a tour of the dressing rooms by promoter Joe Hand Jr. By far, the best dressing rooms I have ever seen on the boxing circuit – immaculate with all the amenities for boxers to be comfortable and focus on the battles ahead. Quite frankly, I thought I was in a hotel suite at the La Concha Renaissance Resort in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.
It is only fitting that on March 25th Avery Sparrow will receive two Briscoe Awards – “2017 Prospect of the Year” and “2017 Breakout Fighter of the Year” earning the respect of the boxing community. Tonight we were able to witness the power of the rapidly rising junior-lightweight who wasted no time in disposing of his opponent in the second round. Now that Sparrow has the power and respect – we can only hope that his advisor – Uncle Russell – Hall of Fame Promoter J. Russell Peltz will get him the money.
“Only time could tell how the clock ticks…..”
Continue to support the sweet science, and remember, always carry your mouthpiece!
ghanson3@hotmail.com
