22.11.05 – By Wray Edwards: One of the great things about being a Boxing fan is it enables one to witness the almost infinite number of combinations the sport brings about. Whereas football and baseball have twenty or thirty possible pairings, Boxing has thousands. And even though the present alphabet chaos of sanctions, commissions and promoters makes the sport messy, it still contains enough talent and grit to regularly entertain its fans. To the fans, there are but a few really big fights. For the boxer’s, however, every fight is BIG..
It helps to remember that, when watching presentations like Showtime’s “New Generation” series. They were broadcasting this time from the Greater New Haven Athletic Center. A case in point was an eight round Junior Welterweight bout between twenty-two year old Americo Santos (23-0, 19 KOs) and twenty-one year old Marteze Logan (21-19-2, 5 KOs). Santos, who was scheduled to meet another boxer was paired with Logan, who fought just last week, when Santos’ original opponent failed to meet state requirements.
In a contest of contrasting styles, the wide-swinging, early starter Santos came after the in-fighting, counter punching Logan. The arcing amplitude of Americo’s punch attempts, combined with his ill-advised exuberance, tipped the score in Santos’ favor in ROUND ONE. Touted for early KOs, Santos was looking to make short work of another contest. No such luck. Marteze, who was fighting for the SIXTEENTH time in just under a year, had other ideas.
Though Logan was only batting about .500 in the last year, it can certainly be said he is ring-ready as a result of that torrid schedule, and a whopping twenty-fight edge in overall ring experience with his 44 career bouts to Americo’s 24 contests. Logan had the advantage in hand speed, head movement and counter-punching instincts. ROUNDS TWO and THREE were carried by Marteze. Santos, realizing that he was slipping a bit in the eight round event, struggled back to edge out Logan in ROUND FOUR.
In ROUND FIVE Logan caught Santos with a short left which stunned Americo, followed by a meager right to the chest which Nick and Steve credited for the KD. In review, it is pretty clear, IMO, that it was the left which caused the damage, while the right served as more of a “push” to the folding Santos, 10/8 Logan. While Americo won the SIXTH ROUND Boxing-wise, he was badly cut above the right eye by an apparent head-butt. With blood streaming, Americo, who was just able to keep his feet, was pretty well clocked around the ring in ROUND SEVEN by the acrobatic Logan, 10/8 Martez.
Logan was, in fact, looking a bit like Chris Byrd tactically, and even threw in several Byrd-style, tongue-wagging taunts for good measure. His upper-body movement frustrated Santos, and his punches were obviously more powerful and accurate than the fading Santos’ efforts. Americo hung on to the end of the EIGHTH ROUND. It was a very entertaining fight for a Monday night.
Marteze was declared the winner by UD, 78-73, 77-74 and 79-74. This writer had it 77-73 somehow.go figure? Showtime’s people had Logan by only one point, which probably resulted from a bit-o-bias which was evident in their pre-fight remarks. Santos now has a dent in his career which makes it a tool instead of an ego trip.a good reality check with little harm done. Both fighters are welcome back any time.
IN OTHER ACTION, Dan Birmingham brought another one of his Super Middleweight scrappers, local favorite, CHAD “BAD” DAWSON, 23, (20-0-0, 14KOs) from Brockton, Mass., to face IAN “The Cobra” GARDNER, 24, (19-3-0, 7KOs). Their contest, scheduled for twelve rounds, was for the NABO SM belt. Billed as the “Main Event”, their pairing was awkward to say the least.
The two southpaw fighters opened round one with serious intent. Gardner expended the most energy in a rather goofy style to win the FIRST ROUND. ROUNDS TWO through NINE were all Dawson as the six foot, three incher displayed a solid, balanced stance, from which he took advantage of an accurate punching style to completely frustrate Gardner. This was a bit of a turning of the tables, as Ian is known for being so hap-hazard that HE is usually the one who frustrates.
Along about ROUND SIX it became evident that Ian would much rather be somewhere else, as he kept looking outside the ropes with a look which said, “Somebody get me out of here.” He also demonstrated such classic boxing skills as the windmill punch attack (round six), the ding-dong body sway, the grab the ropes catapult run (which WWF fans might have appreciated), the stare at the ceiling corner amble and, my personal favorite, the break-dance spin into a reverse summersault to regain his feet after being knocked through the ropes in ROUND ELEVEN.
Finally, and mercifully, at 1:12 of Round Eleven, Referee Michael Ortega, who somehow managed to keep a straight face during Gardner’s break-dance routine, became concerned (probably as much for the image of boxing as for Ian’s safety) that Gardner had left the building and called a TKO for Dawson. Chad comported himself well considering the random nature of Gardner’s style, and we should see him continue to build confidence and skill. He is, however, a long way from running with the likes of Lacy.
Both fights were entertaining. The first for its generally competent presentation of what the sport has to offer on any given night, and the second for its comic relief. See you at the fights.