21.07.06 – By Chris Morris: Tony Holden Promotions will look to bring some respectability back to the ESPN Friday Night Fights. Following the JewBoy Promotions debacle from Colorado Springs and then Lion Heart’s lack of a doctor which lead to yet another Cintron-Estrada replay being broadcast, the fight series and ESPN staple looked to be ‘taking a knee’. Holden and matchmaker Bobby Dobbs have put together a great line up of fights that should provide some very ‘fan friendly’ fights to buoy ESPN up before the end of the 10 count. The fights will be broadcast live from the Million Dollar Elm Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma..
The main event will pit a prospect making the transition to contender in Allan “Sweetness” Green against another ’contender’ of sorts in, former participant of the television reality series “The Contender”, Minnesota’s Tony Bonsante. The co-main will see Jameel McCline as a measuring stick of the progress of once beaten heavyweight prospect Terry Smith. Undercard action is headlined by a couple of ‘showcase’ bouts featuring another heavyweight prospect, power punching JD Chapman who has 20 knock outs in 23 wins and local Tulsa based welterweight prospect Isaac Mendoza.
This main event was a bout that was supposed to take place on April 26th but Bonsante pulled out with a training injury. Green, 20-0, 14kos, fought last minute replacement and former sparring partner Donnie McCrary in what turned out to be an eye opening experience for Green. Green hurt McCrary in the third round and looked to close the show. He came in with his hands low, loading up for the perfect punch to score another devastating knock out ala his 2005 KO Of The Year over Jaidon Codrington.
The punch was thrown and landed with the expected result, the problem was in the fact that it was McCrary who put Green down and nearly had him out. Green beat the count and was saved by the bell. He used the fourth and fifth rounds to get his wits and bearings about him before crushing McCrary with a left hook ending it in the sixth.
Before the bout there were talks of Green taking on Welsh World Champ, Joe Calzaghe. Green mentioned in his pre fight interview that he would like to travel to across the sea to take on “that English chap, Joe Calzaghe”. There was no such talk following the fight.
Green is a confident fighter to say the least and borders on the ‘cocky’ side. He chalks the ‘McCrary Scare’ up to a lack of motivation in getting up for a guy like McCrary.
Talks have now switched to fighting the man Calzaghe dominated, Jeff Lacy, in Lacy’s first bout back.
Green must be very impressive against Bonsante tonight in order to ‘set the table’ if you will for the Lacy fight.
Bonsante, 26-7-3, 15kos, last fought in “The Contender” finale episode against intra-show rival Jesse Brinkley. Brinkley won a very controversial five round decision that most felt should have gone in Bonsante’s favor. Bonsante captured the hearts and imaginations of boxing and “The Contender” fans becoming “Boxing’s #1 Dad” during his run on the show and will have plenty of supporters against the brash, trash talking Green.
It’s easy to find a soft spot for a family man who is doing it all for his children. It might be a little harder to find for a man who was ‘plugging’ a used car lot while Codrington was in seemingly very bad shape on the floor.
The contrast in personalities is exemplified by their styles in the ring.
Green is a former amateur champion who is blessed with phenomenal athletic abilities, speed and power. Bonsante is a blue collar type of fighter who gets by on hard work, dedication and grit. Green is a boxer/puncher who stalks his opponents looking for the highlight show style knock out all the while imposing his will. Bonsante is a grinder who wears an opponent out over the course of a bout trying to score points and win rounds along the way.
Green knows that another “McCray Scare” type of mistake could put an indefinite delay on his rise in the ranks that he hopes will be ending in a world championship shot and the respect and money that come to follow.
Bonsante’s “The Contender” fame can only last so long, a win here brings a few more good paydays before calling it a career. A loss and he slips under the radar, permanently.
Both men have a lot to lose and will surely be putting it all on the line in tonight’s main event.
The co-main will see Terry Smith, who comes in at 28-1-1, 18kos, against “Big Time” Jameel McCline, 37-6-3, 23kos, who will provide the necessary test needed to pass Smith from prospect to contender. Smith’s sole loss came at the hands of Calvin Brock, who coincidentally won a unanimous decision over McCline. A win here will further solidify Smith’s contender status while a loss will see him written off as a pre-tender. McCline is coming to the end of his career. A win leads to another decent payday, a loss could cost him more than money. It might end his career.
Both men know and realize the consequences of this fight and both men will be fighting as though their careers depend upon it. Which in all honesty, they do.
The undercard is anchored by an undefeated heavyweight, JD Chapman and a local prospect, Isaac Mendoza in bouts that will showcase their respective sets of skills.
Chapman, 23-0, 20kos, will take on Chris Lewallen who has only 12 fights and 9 wins. But all nine of those wins have come by knock out. This bout will be boxing’s version of the home run derby as these two will be swinging for the fences as long as this one lasts.
Isaac Mendoza, 15-1, 5kos, faces Jonathon Nelson, 13-13, 13kos in an eight rounder. Mendoza is trying to get back on track after dropping his first fight as a professional to Americo Santos, by split decision, in May of last year. He will enjoy the hometown crowd tonight.
Friday Night Fights airs live on ESPN2 tonight at 9pm EST. Be sure to tune in to see these intriguing match-ups. Tony Holden and Bobby Dobbs will ‘beat the count’ with this ESPN show and fight fans will not come away disappointed.
Preliminary bouts include:
Carson Jones vs. Justin Flanagan–Middleweights
Mike Cooper vs. Clinton bonds–Cruiserweights