By Charles White: On Saturday, April 23rd, top 10 heavyweight contender Chauncy “The Hillyard Hammer” Welliver successfully defended his WBC Americas title for the 5th time by stopping Galen “Bad Boy” Brown (now 35-16-1 with 22 knockouts) at 1:27 of the 5th round (10 rounds scheduled) at the Expo Centre in Topeka, Kansas. Weighing in at a ready 239 lbs., Welliver was able to outland the hard-punching Brown (242 lbs.) in almost all exchanges.
The first 2 rounds saw Brown throwing multiple jabs to the head and body of Welliver, with Chauncy firing back a double jab that landed at will. Galen reverted to holding often. After a 3rd round low blow from Brown, Chauncy seemingly woke up and realized it was time to pump up the gas. At the end of the 4th round, which saw both fighters increase their punch output, Welliver landed an 8 punch combo to close out the round. In the 5th round, Chauncy landed a big left hook that saw Brown backing up. Sensing he had his opponent in trouble, Welliver pounced on the dazed Galen Brown and landed a vicious 6 punch combination to the head. Seeing that Brown was all but out on his feet and not answering back to Welliver’s shots, referee Chuck Wolf called a halt to the action, declaring Chauncy winner by tko in the 5th round. Wolf received no protest from Brown.
Later, after things had settled down, Galen Brown revealed that in all of his now 56 professional fights, Chauncy Welliver was the best opponent he has ever faced and the second hardest puncher, behind Joey Abell. Brown said that people underestimate Chauncy’s power by just looking at his record. Coming from a humble warrior who has been in the ring with the likes of Tye Fields, Manuel Quezada, Joey Abell, Brian Minto, Mariusz Wach, and Rob Calloway among others, these remarks just go to show how much Welliver has progressed since he began working with Joe “The Boss” Hipp as his trainer and Roland Jankelson as his manager. And with his heart and work ethic, there is only room to improve for the soon to be 28 year old Welliver.
Following this victory, Welliver stated that he is ready to fight anybody. When asked about his win over Brown, Chauncy had the following to say; “We knew he (Brown) would fight tough. I got in some valuable rounds though. He put up a great fight. I am ready for next step.” Welliver’s manager, Roland Jankelson, was all praises when speaking of his fighter. “We started working together 1 and a half years ago. We knew he had great attributes but had not had the opportunity to hone his skills. I judge where the potential [of Welliver] can be based upon progress in each fight. This is the 7th fight since I started working with Chauncy. I can say that we see progress in each of the things that we are working on in each fight. I think with the mental part in place, and clean up on mechanics; we have a fighter that we know can compete with the elite fighters.”
Asked if there was anything that he thought could be improved on with Chauncy, Jankelson said that he would like Chauncy to get more television exposure. “The only thing that needs to be worked on is lack of television exposure. Exposure is the name of the game. People underestimate him (Welliver). There is a time for everything, and this is the time to try and let the boxing world know what Chauncy is all about. Last night was a step forward against a tough guy. Two of the judges had the 3rd round even, but I don’t know what fight they were seeing. Chauncy started a little slow, but we were well ahead and it was just a matter of time. Every victory is something to savor and cherish. He (Chauncy) works harder than any heavyweight in the world, and that will pay off.”
Welliver’s trainer, former heavyweight title challenger Joe Hipp, was pleased with Chauncy’s performance and sees a bright future ahead for his pupil. “The things we were working on are throwing more combos and he showed he can compete with anybody. And the power is coming along real well. I always knew he had more power. We will keep on working on conditioning and have him working on throwing more punches” said Hipp. Progressing with each performance, and with another victory added to his record, Chauncy Welliver is ready and willing to step up and show the world that he is a worthy contender.
For questions and comments, to schedule an interview, or to just chat about boxing, Charles White can be reached at cwhite1078@mysvc.skagit.edu or 360-333-5911.