By Christine Maynard: Trainer/promoter Chad Broussard wanted KO’s. For his fighters and for their home town, Rayne, Louisiana. He wanted his boys to win at all costs. And, to that end, he put on a show in the red corner that made evangelism look mild. It worked.
Prize fighter Mason Menard broke through to victory at Broussard’s insistence, winning the UBO All-America Lightweight title on Saturday night (July 31st) at the Civic Center in Rayne.
“I had to bust him in the mouth. And I slapped him very hard. But it lit a fire under him” Broussard quipped, about his fire and brimstone verbal pummeling of Mason Menard before the final round of the last fight of the evening. After which Menard came alive. The crowd went wild when he flattened Robbie Cannon in the 7th round. KO.
Fight Night-The Heat is On- began with Bailey Bobbit fighting Daniel Foxworth. Bobbit entered the ring pumped up, wanting to set the tone for the evening, but Foxworth basically didn’t put up any fight and quickly quit. The victory went to Bobbit 22 seconds into the first round.
Joey Hixon entered the ring a little tentatively to fight opponent Blake “Candyman” Prevost , but he soon got to work. He was solid and weathered. Irish, I’d guess. So his initial “Oh shit!” expression didn’t match up to the durability he displayed in the ring. He herded Blake into the ropes and landed some resounding body shots. He had a strong right. But he wasn’t slipping enough and had the whelps to prove it. However, his arcing swings did connect. And he moved like a tugboat into his opponent time and again. Solid.
Prevost made the sign of the cross before he fought. This 3 time Marine Corp champ was a home town favorite. He has had 230 amateur fights, and will be featured on ESPN August 18th. In this match, he landed a lot of body shots and some really nice combos. His trainer barked from the red corner “speed before power, double it up, up and down, work that stick.” Blake appeared off center, especially when he’d swing. He lunges and his back foot kicks up, off the mat, leaving him primed to be knocked off of his feet.
Rounds 3 and 4 were ho hum, except for a missed opportunity by Hixson to clobber Prevost when he had him on the ropes. In the sixth round Prevost realized what time it was! He became an impressive slipper. He landed some hard jabs, and after a flurry of fists Blake Prevost won by decision.
Gary Bergeron 12-5 w/ 7 KO’s brought some maniacal energy to the ring and the crowd loved it. Broussard predicted this would be the fight of the night, and while Mason’s contact high in the 7th round stole the show, and Ashley was stellar, Gary didn’t disappoint in the ring with Reggie Nash. Nash exhibited some strong combos and landed some fast jabs and hooks to Gary’s body, but Gary out finessed him in the ring.
His footwork is reminiscent of Mexican fighters. His green gray deep set eyes have a piercing ferocity. The bottoms of his gloves are perched at eyebrow height. It’s a strange style. And I didn’t see it in his earlier fight videos (actually he held one hand up in ’07; he wasn’t the super agile fighter then that he is today.) If this guy followed you out of a bar you’d be way more worried about what he was capable of doing to you than how many buddies were with him.
He flung himself horizontally through the ropes at the beginning of the fight like a goalie in the World Cup. He put his ear to his downed opponent’s chest while he was still on the mat at the end of the fight. After a great back flip. But it wasn’t gymnastics or fanfare which stuck with me. I intuited that he could go from simmer to superhuman in a second. He’s so fast he seems capable of translocating, like a vampire. And equally capable of glamouring.
He KO’d Reggie “Two Gun” Nash 2:57 seconds into the 4th round.
When I spoke with him after the event, he was calm and polite. I couldn’t correlate that he was the same person I’d watched in the ring. He spoke about driving a truck for a living and getting his priorities straight.
The best fighter in the ring for Fight Night in Rayne was Ashley Aldarado. But the crowd was strangely silent. She wasn’t a guy. She wasn’t a hometown guy. And she didn’t get b**** slapped by Broussard to spur her on to victory. Chad Broussard, one hell of a fighter back in the day, did give her credit in a telephone interview, saying she fought as hard as he had during his boxing career.
Ashley Alvarado’s energy was poppin’ and she tore out of her corner after her opponent Shimone Brooks who was more familiar with MMA than “straight” boxing. Brooks has exquisite bone structure and skin, un-marred, and it seemed like Ashley was going to alter that in short order. Ashley swings and connects confidently with both hands, appearing ambidextrous. She’s naturally left handed yet trained, from age 9, orthodox.
She is an amazing fighter to watch. One of her strengths is that her pelvis and legs are an ultra stable base from which she fluidly slips her entire upper torso, neck and head. She is flexible and coordinated, and she repeatedly slammed Shimone down. TKO @ 52 seconds into the 2nd round.
Her footwork was better than any of the male fighters on the evening’s fight card (except for Bergeron; their aggressive styles, excluding hand position, are quite similar.) And she mauls, like a lion. The only thing that will stop her, ever, is a swift, most likely lucky, KO. She is a force to be reckoned with and fear is not in her vocabulary. Plus, she loves what she is doing. This girl was born to fight; she’s not in the ring to work out any “issues.”
Todd “Blazing and Amazing” Manuel, one of Broussard’s boys, fought Dominique “the Icon” Azeez from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The fight was monotonous, except for Broussard’s motivational minutes as corner, which might have been a scene from Inglorious Bastards. He delivered his trademark stinging slap, humiliated him, and begged him to FIGHT. Todd won by decision, even though I had to agree with Broussard that for a while it seemed as if Todd had forgotten everything he’d learned and practiced so diligently. Granted, his shoulder hurt and he isn’t a seasoned fighter. Dominique had a long reach and great jabs, plus he was a fair slipper.
Bobby Bryant of Memphis, TN 5-0 with 4 KO’s fought Anthony Adams from Laurel MS. Bryant is the 17 year old “Prodigy” son of the matchmaker. His father, acting as his corner, reminded me of Peter Manfredo, Sr., during Contender. His behavior and unspoken expectations provided insight into what makes Bobby the fighter he is.
Mason Menard, the home town hero fighting for the UBO belt (USA light weight champion), beat Robbie Canon in what turned out to be a great brawl. Robbie touched Mason, tapping him like in the amateurs, never letting up, and did land a solid hit to his face. Mason was fast, accurate and a great slipper. He had a wide stance, which I noted was a common characteristic among Chad’s fighters.
The fight bogged down in the 4th and 5th rounds, with Mason smothering the shots and losing his composure a bit. He swung high, he missed, but would make up for it with five flying in a row, a great upper cut and some good connects. Yet he basically let Canon control the tempo and couldn’t seem to engage and dig in.
What Broussard couldn’t pull out of Todd, he seemingly infused into Mason. During the minute before the 7th round Broussard gave an illustrious performance reminding Mason about an auditorium full of his people who, in a bad economy, paid good money to see Mason win this fight. And, it was enough. Mason arose from his corner, and went to town. A left hook followed by a bull’s eye right brought Canon down. Mason finished the fight in 37 seconds. KO.
Broussard picked him up and carried him around the ring, exuberantly. And the crowd went wild. Everyone from Rayne and Lafayette and surrounding areas got their money’s worth. The price was right, because promoter Broussard wanted everyone to be able to come out and show support. Concessions were a dollar for a Coke or bottled water. It was a family event because fans could afford to bring their wives and children. Home town prisoners were seen setting up chairs. The Mayor and Councilmen were front row. The locals were well fed and content with victory. Their boys, home town boys from their community did them proud. They came for the victories. That’s what counted. And Bad Chad Broussard knew it. He’s one of their own. And he wasn’t about to let them down.