by Charles White at ringside: This past Saturday, August 14th, Washington based promoter Chris Jones of Guypromotions put on a great set of fights at the Elks Club in Tacoma, WA with Knockouts & Tapouts 2. The only thing better than the music streaming forth from the DJ’s speakers, the delicious food served at the concession stand, and the fantastic seats (every seat in the house had an action-packed view) were the fights themselves. [Before I begin in detail, it should be noted that this fight card consisted of both boxing and mma bouts, but being unfamiliar with mma rules and regulations, this author has chosen to only report on the boxing matches that the card boasted. However, the mma fights also proved to be exceedingly entertaining and everybody in the house enjoyed them]. Starting off the evening’s action, highly entertaining middleweight prospect Janks Trotter (2-0 with 2 ko’s) scored a fourth-round stoppage win over Seattle’s own Darren Anzai (1-3 with 1 ko) at the 1:15 mark. The bout proved to be very exciting as Trotter attacked Anzai’s body viciously and landed many heavy right hands on the sometimes too inactive Anzai. Darren displayed a great chin as he took some massive shots and kept on his feet, but eventually had to succumb when referee Paul Field called a halt to the action after Trotter landed some nice combinations. It should be noted that Paul Field did a great job controlling the two fighters and keeping the fight running smoothly.
Next up was the debuting super-welterweight Mikyas Kebebe, who took home a unanimous 4 round decision over Dwayne Welch (0-2), thus improving his record to 1-0. Mikyas started off with a great jab and threw fast punches. A strong right hand opened up a cut over Welch’s left eye, which poured blood and forced the ringside physician to inspect the wound after the round. After being Welch was cleared to continue fighting, the action commenced. Round 2 saw Kebebe continue to snap out a very fine jab until Welch connected with a huge left hook that momentarily slowed down Kebebe. Round 3 saw both fighters trading blows until Mikyas went down after slipping on the canvas. The referee was attentive enough to rule this a slip and after a few seconds, Kebebe and Welch were back at it. The fourth and final round saw Mikyas landing at will and Welch had little to offer back, even resorting to throwing a wide, looping, windmill-like right hand as a last ditch effort. In the end the judges gave the decision to Kebebe by scores of 40-36 and 39-37 twice. This author scored the bout 40-38 in favor of Kebebe.
In the co-main event, the Washington State 140 lb title went on the line as Portland, Oregon’s “Slick” Willie Williams (4-1 with 2 ko’s) pounded out an exciting 6 round unanimous decision over Canadian fighter Jason Saunders (2-2 with 1 ko). The opening round of this thriller saw Saunders hit the deck twice (Saunders was down a total of 3 times during the bout) and it appeared as though he was cut from a sharp left hand as well. Living up to his nickname of “Slick,” Williams displayed vastly superior boxing skills, greater speed, and a vicious uppercut that was put to good use all throughout the fight. Saunders fought back with the heart of a lion, but in the end dropped the decision via 3 scorecards all reading 60-52 in favor of Williams. For the record, this author scored the fight 59-54 in favor of “Slick” Willie. A humble Williams thanked his team and acknowledged the love and support of his family as he accepted the title.
The main event saw welterweight prospect Dashon “Fly Boy” Johnson (11-2-3 with 3 ko’s) claim the Washington State 147 lb title by defeating late replacement and rugged journeyman Paul Mpendo (7-6-4 with 3 ko’s). Dashon displayed superior speed than Mpendo and an accurate jab. However, many times throughout the bout, Paul Mpendo demonstrated superb reflexes and managed to dodge quite a few shots from Johnson. It was clear that Dashon had the upper hand throughout the fight, even utilizing good lateral movement to move out of range of some of Mpendo’s punches. When Mpendo did manage to land punches, they seemed to have little effect on Dashon, and the same can be said with Dashon’s punches landed on Mpendo. In the fifth round, Johnson’s mouthpiece fell out twice, and Mpendo’s corner and a few in the crowd yelled out that Dashon was purposely spitting it out, thus resulting in a one point deduction for “Fly Boy.” In the end, all three judges scored the fight 59-54 in favor of Johnson. This author saw the fight a bit closer at 59-55 for Dashon. A gracious and humble Johnson accepted his title belt and thanked his team.
All in all, this night proved to be fun-filled and action-packed. My family and I all had a swell time. Chris Jones knows how to put on a good show as he demonstrated Saturday night. Not only is he a well-established promoter here in Washington State, but if he continues to put on shows like Knockouts & Tapouts 2, then it is easy to see him going much farther in fight promotion, perhaps even on a nationl or international scale.
For more information on Guypromotions and their next show, go to www.guypromotions.com.