June 6, 2009 – By Scott Kraus – Television and the Internet are essential for fight fans to keep track of the boxing action around the world, but nothing compares to the thrill of going to a fight in person. Whenever the stars align, I will attend fights in the New Jersey area and relay my experiences in the Jersey Fight Journal.
On June 6, I cruised down to Bally’s Atlantic City to see a Peltz Boxing Promotions card featuring super bantamweight Teon Kennedy against Lucian Gonzalez in Bally’s Grand Ballroom. Also on the card is Patrick Majewski in the co-feature against Latif Mundy, meaning Polska Power is in the house. The originally scheduled feature bout between Mike Jones and Larry Mosley was cancelled due to a Jones injury..
7:40 PM – First things first: the Jersey Fight Journal bad weather curse is broken! The gods of weather bless my ride down to Atlantic City with picturesque blue skies, meaty white cumulous clouds, and impossibly lush green fields. My convoluted route to Atlantic City through the expansive farms of southern New Jersey never looked so good.
Unfortunately, because I am greener than the corn fields when it comes to this boxing-writer gig, I spend an embarrassing amount of time wandering around Bally’s looking for my press pass, feebly stating my case to various Bally’s employees until I manage to track down Russell Peltz, who hooked me up and sent me on my way.
7:45 PM – Because of my inexperience, I miss the beginning of the fight between Philadelphia’s Ardrick Butler and New Jersey’s Rashad Bogar. Fortunately, I catch most of the rounds, as Butler and Bogar exchange hard punches and momentum shifts constantly. They may not be engaging in the most aesthetically pleasant fight, but the action is intense and exciting.
7:50 PM – Confusion ensues when the ring announcer reads the scores. He first announces Bogar as the winner by unanimous decision then corrects himself and proclaims Butler the victor. The crowd is understandably perplexed, but Butler deserved the win.
Onto a more important point: there were no ring card girls for this fight. I will be hopelessly depressed if there are no ring card girls for this fight card. What is the world coming to?
8:00 PM – The next bout features lightweight action between Atlantic City resident Osnel Charles, making his pro debut, against Luquan Lewis. After looking a little uncomfortable in his first minute as a pro, Charles gains his composure and begins to land sweeping right hands that clearly hurt Lewis.
Best of all, we have ring card girls! My spirits thank Peltz Promotions and Bally’s. The crowd voices its appreciation for the presence of some beauty amidst the competitive violence.
8:15 PM – Lewis throws a lot of punches very early in the rounds, then looks exhausted and Charles takes over with pressure and big hooks. Charles comfortably dominates throughout most of his debut, even posing a bit in the final round, but his technique could use some fine-tuning. “The Prince of Darkness” sweeps the scorecards and has the early lead for best nickname of the night.
8:20 PM – This quickly, Charles loses his lead in the best nickname sweepstakes. Garrett “The Ultimate Warrior” Wilson squares off against Lewis Robinson in a light heavyweight battle of Philly fighters. Though I cannot imagine Wilson donning fluorescent face paint and trunks and shaking the ring ropes for an adrenaline rush, I like his nickname.
8:30 PM – Wilson is the warrior in this fight so far, pressing and doing good work to the body in the opening two rounds. Suddenly in round three, Wilson lands a tremendous sweeping hook, flattening Robinson and sending a jolt of electricity through the crowd. The referee almost immediately waves off the fight and Wilson scores an impressive one-punch knockout. His trainer’s jacket reads “Team 1 Punch” so perhaps he knew something going in. Thankfully, Robinson soon rises to his feet, woozy but seemingly okay. It will be nearly impossible for another fighter to score a bigger knockout tonight.
8:40 PM – In lightweight action, Eliud Torres fights the taller Jose Guzman. Each fighter establishes his identity: Guzman controls the action with his jab from the outside while Torres is more effective on the inside. Torres controls more of the early action by throwing aggressive hooks to Guzman’s body but Guzman manages to catch him coming in with good solid hooks.
8:50 PM – This is a tough, grueling fight. They take turn landing solid punches in round three, maintaining their identities. Guzman hurts Torres in round four with a big right hook and may have taken over the fight in the second half. Both fighters are determined to win and receive a round of applause for their effort at the bell. Guzman wins a split decision, 37-39, 39-37, and 40-36, a good decision but a bad card from the judge who gave Guzman every round.
9:00 PM – Heavyweights are up next with John Poore squaring off against Jermell Barnes. Poore has the much better record but all three of his losses were by knockout, while Barnes has fought much better competition and lost only once by knockout in his 21 defeats. Both fighters do good work in the early rounds, each landing solid right hands. Barnes throws with a little more authority, but neither is a big puncher.
9:10 PM – The fight is pretty even through four rounds. Barnes is pressing forward with hard punches to the body and head when he is successful and Poore puts together combinations from a distance in between. There is minimal holding and a good pace for a heavyweight fight.
Meanwhile, between rounds the ring announcer informs us that the ring card girls are named Veronica and Jessica. Each girl has a devoted, vocal fan base in the crowd. I somehow manage to refrain from taking sides.
9:25 PM – Poore is pouring it on, putting together multiple-punch combinations in the later rounds as Barnes slows down. He punctuates the fifth round with a flurry and controls most of the action in the sixth. Barnes does land two big right hooks at the end of round six but Poore wins all three scorecards, 58-56. Good solid action from the heavyweights and a nice bounce-back win for Poore after a demoralizing first round knockout loss to Brian Minto in his last fight.
9:30 PM – The co-feature bout is up next with Polish-born, Atlantic City-based Patrick Majewski and Philadelphia’s Latif Mundy in a battle of unbeaten middleweights. I have seen Tomasz Adamek’s last two fights at the Prudential Center in Newark and loved the atmosphere the Polish fans brought to those fights. Although I do not see the same throngs of Polish fans here for Majewski, both fighters receive good ovations. Majewski has a big following because of his Atlantic City base and many Philly fans have made the trip to Bally’s for Mundy, Teon Kennedy and many other Philadelphia-area fighters on the card.
9:45 PM – Mundy is the quicker fighter early but Majewski lands some big punches, catching Mundy off balance early in the fight with a right hook. I gave Majewski the first round and Mundy the second. After some good exchanges early in round three, Majewski lands a huge right hand on the ear for a clean knockdown. Mundy is up and apparently composed as Majewski follows up with patient aggression, landing several more hard punches before the bell. Big round three for Majewski.
9:55 PM – Majewski and Mundy deliver more good action in rounds four and five. Majewski’s relentless pressure slows down Mundy and takes away Mundy’s speed advantage. Mundy throws fewer punches and dances away more but he cannot elude Majewski for long. I long for a “Polska” chant that is unlikely to develop. At the end of round six, a clash of heads opens a gash above Majewski’s left eye. In round seven, the cut looks to affect Majewski slightly as Mundy lands a big right hand, his biggest punch of the night. With blood streaming down his face, Majewski retaliates later in the round and lands big punches to culminate an exciting round in a good brawl.
10:05 PM – The eighth and final round begins with explosive action as the fighters engage in fierce exchanges. Blood flows from cuts on Majewski’s forehead and eyebrow and drools from his mouth as he presses forward, undeterred. He lands ferocious punches as the round wears on, first a big left hook, then a big right hand. A left hook to the head and then to the body. A one-two rocks Mundy right before the bell ends the fight. The crowd gives the fighters a warm, long ovation that they richly deserve. Majewski demonstrates good perseverance and heart to overcome the cuts and the speed of Mundy. Majewski wins the well-matched fight by unanimous decision, 80-71, 77-74, and 78-73.
10:20 PM – After a short, opportune intermission, the main event is about to begin. However, I would like to take the opportunity to address a situation I did not expect tonight: a drunk fan in press row. I do not know why a drunk fan was sitting in front of me in press row, downing beers and cheering the action and calling his buddies on his cell phone and tapping the writer beside him to ask who was fighting or what round it was or how many more fights there are. He was there nonetheless and nobody seemed too bothered by it. Being the new guy I kept my mouth shut but felt it my journalistic obligation to report it. I have no problem with drunk people, I just was not expecting one sitting in press row. That said he liked his seat.
Moving on, the main event tonight features Teon “The Technician” Kennedy and Julian Gonzalez in a fight between Pennsylvania super bantamweights. Garrett “The Ultimate Warrior” Wilson can pick up his best nickname trophy because “The Technician” is not going to excite anybody, nickname wise. Fortunately, Kennedy’s fighting style belies his moniker early as Kennedy and Gonzalez stand head to head and exchange punches. Kennedy does good work with strong hooks to the body. Fast, furious exchanges are frequent in the first two rounds with Kennedy getting the better of the action.
10:30 PM – Gonzalez has the edge when they fight at a distance, as they do late in round three with Gonzalez landing hard hooks. Most of the fight, however, occurs in close quarters where Kennedy has the clear advantage. Kennedy’s domination of the first half of the fight forces Gonzalez to shift strategy and begin holding and moving more in round five. Kennedy begins to open a big lead in rounds five and six.
10:45 PM – Kennedy backs Gonzalez up with chopping punches early in round seven. Gonzales dances around the perimeter of the ring and ties up Kennedy when he can, but Kennedy punches enough in between to score. Gonzales lands a big right hand in round eight but Kennedy punches back. Good action at the bell and the crowd shows its appreciation. Kennedy scored an easy decision win, 77-75, 80-72, and 78-74. I gave Kennedy every round but the crowd questioned the 80-72 scorecard, so maybe I did not give Gonzalez enough credit. Kennedy earns a nice win and shows promise as a young undefeated fighter but he could use a more appropriate nickname. Tonight he fought more like a terror than a technician.
Overall, it was a very good fight card with an enthusiastic crowd and many entertaining fights. And, of course, some pretty girls to remind us what round it was. Peltz Promotions and Bally’s put together a very good show despite Mike Jones’ cancellation. Hopefully, Jones will make a full recovery soon.