A promise made, a promise kept… Bobby Hitz delivers the goods

Fight Recap – Hitz Promotions: Fight Night at the Horseshoe February 18th, 2012

We had planned to make a weekend out of it.  My girlfriend and I decided that it was time our eight-year-old son should see what all the fuss is all about; why I was always taking notes when watching fights on TV, or why I recently had been staying up late writing stories on upcoming fights and fighters.  We were going to take our little guy to see his first live fight.

Sure, there were plenty of matches he’d watched before with us on HBO™ or ESPN™… Heck, I even got him interested in a little UFC™ here and there.  But it wasn’t until he came home from school one day all excited about an argument he’d gotten into with a classmate (regarding how everything on Monday Night Raw was fake, but everything on Friday Night Fights and UFC Unleashed was REAL) did I realize he was paying attention.

Now truthfully, I must admit; his interest in the fight game was probably sparked more by robotic pugilism a la Hugh Jackman’s Real Steel than by my own enthusiasm for the sport…but I don’t mind.  The important thing is, little by little my goal of weaning “Sonic the Hedgehog” out of his daily vocabulary and replacing it with the likes of “Manny Pacquiao” and “Miguel Cotto” is finally taking root!  He’s even expressed interest in coming to the gym with me once my arm is better.

Alas, our plans for the weekend were somewhat sidelined.  Living in Round Lake Beach (basically, Wisconsin), and attending a fight almost two states away (in Indiana) we originally were going to get a hotel, take in dinner, a few movies, and of course the Saturday night (February 18^th, 2012) Fight Night at the Horseshoe Hitz promotion over the course of the weekend.  But I wasn’t thinking about the fact that the Horseshoe Casino (Hammond, IN) did not allow anyone under 21 into the venue…and there was nothing the Hitz crew could do about it; press credentials or not, house rules are house rules.

But we were not deterred; my girlfriend and I decided to divide and conquer.  I would attend the fights, and she would take our son to see Star Wars Episode 1 in 3D.  In effect, they traded boxing gloves for lightsabers…but it all worked out, and at the end of the day, everyone was happy.

Fight Night…

When I spoke to Bobby Hitz on Thursday and he gave me that remarkable interview, one of the many things he mentioned was that we were in for a real treat; local fighters being matched with opponents according to their skill levels.  After all, he expressed how important he felt it was to have the fans see great matchups, not just fighters with bloated records taking stage against opponents coming in to collect a paycheck.  And aside for one fight that night, this was the case across the board.  This was truly a great night of fights; and while overall, the local talent took away most of the wins, they hard to work hard for them.  Below is a recap of each fight I saw while sitting ringside.

Chris Singleton MD4 (38-37, 38-37, 38-38) Eddie Corona – Lightweights

Eddie Corona (0-1) was making his professional debut, while Chris Singleton (4-0, 2KOs) was trying to maintain his undefeated record.  He almost wasn’t successful.  Corrona attacked early, often keeping Singleton on the ropes, working the body and keeping the pressure on.  Once settled in, Singleton began to counter well, often moving backwards while doing so.  This continued throughout most of the first round and while Eddie was winning that round with constant pressure and nice body shots, he got caught and went down at the bell, although it didn’t seem to hurt.  In the second round Singleton looked more comfortable; Corrona continued his forward attack, while Chris timed and countered him.  The third round started with both fighters rushing to the middle of the ring and landing simultaneous, hard right hands; both fighters took the shots well, and continued with toe-to-toe action.  Singleton landed some nice head shots while Corrona was coming forward, but he began to look tired by the end of the round, and was hurt by a few right hands landed in a flurry by Corrona.  Round four continued with Eddie Corrona on the attack, landing hard body shots…Chris Singleton still looked tired and was breathing heavily.  He continued to land while Eddie was coming in, taking hard body shots in the process.  Toward the end of the round, Singleton landed a hard right to the head of Corrona, who took it well.  In truth, it appeared as if Chris Singleton could barely stand at the end of the round.  Overall, he seemed to be the more polished fighter, and the better counter-puncher, but with the constant pressure and harder shots of Corrona, I gave the win to Corrona 38-37, although the judges saw it a different way.

Brian Houston TKO2 (0:30) Thomas Boose- Heavyweights

Brian Houston (1-0, 1KO) also made his professional debut, but this time tonight, the rookie was successful.  Houston attacked early, both fighters standing in the pocket.  A few exchanges later, a hard right hand followed by a push sent Thomas Boose (0-6) to the canvas.  Afterward, a left hook by Houston, followed by a right sent Boose down again (a knockdown this time), with 20 seconds to go.  Boose barely survived the round.  Round two began and Houston attacked.  Boose takes a knee after a mystery punch or push (I really could not see what landed) and would not get up.  After being asked repeatedly if he was alright, and not responding, the fight was waved off and Houston got the victory.

Genaro Mendez TKO1 (2:41) Mike Maley – Light Welterweights

Someone should have told Genaro Mendez (4-1-1, 3KOs) that after a ten-month lay-off, a fighter should be wary of ring rust…but he probably would not have listened anyway, as he steamrolled his way to victory on Saturday night.  Genaro began by landing a nice right hand early, and maintained a forward attack trying to back Mike Maley (4-10, 3 KOs) up and keep him on the ropes.  Maley began countering on a few occasions, and landed some nice body shots of his own.   Toward the end of the round, a hard right hand hurt Mike Maley, who reeled back onto the ropes.  Genaro went in for the kill, had Maley pinned on the ropes after a barrage of punches right before the referee waved off the fight.

Phillip Triantafillo UD4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) Calbert Lewis – Heavyweights

Although this fight was not listed as the main event, you wouldn’t have been able to tell by listening to the crowd.  They went absolutely nuts for big Phill Triantafillo (2-0, 1KO), before he even entered the ring.  In fact, after a reception like that, Phill must have felt a little pressure to uphold the hype…but if he did, he didn’t show it.  Phill started behind a nice jab, moving forward and landing in a controlled manner.  A few times he pinned Calbert Lewis (0-1) on ropes, but did not get all excited looking for the knockout.  Lewis also settled down, looking more comfortable and using some nice head movement to throw Phill off.  At one point, he attempted two big haymakers, both easily avoided by Triantafillo.  Lewis swung wildly a few more times, and Phill countered and landed the cleaner shots.  In the second round, Phill went on the attack, and Lewis began to hold.  At one point, the referee asked the fighters if they wanted to fight or hug, prompting laughs from the crowd…but after being broken up, Phill quieted the laughter by doing his job; he came out swinging.  Both fighters engaged, traded shots, Lewis content to counter punch…but he remained in the pocket looking to score.  He was definitely a game fighter, landing a few punches of his own from time to time, enough to keep things interesting.  In round three, Phill landed a left followed by a right; Lewis once again wanted to hold on.  After pinning Lewis on ropes, Phill landed a hard right to head and this time, hurt Lewis.  Another hard right with 10 seconds to go in that round, but Lewis took it well.  In the fourth and final round, Phill settled back into his jab, landed a left hook that woke Lewis up…and continued with hard lefts.  After being warned for pushing, both fighters engage, with Lewis tying up…but with Phill landing a few nice uppercuts on the inside at end the round.

Mike Jimenez UD6 (59-53, 60-52, 60-52) Bruce Rumbolz – Super Middleweights

The most talented fighter on the card (at this point), Mike Jimenez (6-0, 3KOs), came into the ring with laser-like focus.  Hmm, lasers…I was prompted to think about my little guy watching Star Wars; I wondered if the lightsaber battles entertained him as much as the fights were entertaining me.  But my slight day dream was interrupted by Mike Jimenez furiously bouncing around the ring during the pre-fight introductions by Andre Courtemanche.

Prior to this fight, Richard Spilotro was able to corner the humble Jimenez for a few words on his intentions with this fight and his career in general.  It was a really fine interview; after reading, it was clear that Mike was not taking this fight with Bruce Rumbolz (22-24, 15 KOs) lightly.  Sure, he mentioned that his camp felt Rumbolz was beatable, and that this would be a good test for him, but he made it clear that he was taking his career one step at a time.  Without looking too far forward, Rumbolz was that next step.

Jimenez attacked right from the bell, and Rumbolz countered to body.  Rumbolz then continued with a right hand to the head, a nice jab, and hooks back to the body.  It was immediately clear that this guy was no push-over, a note I impetuously scribbled on my notepad while watching his first few shots.  More good jabs by Rumbolz, followed by a few nice combinations by Jimenez.  This continued throughout the round…Mike Jimenez would leap in with a nice combination to the body and head, but then he’d stop and back up, seemingly waiting for a response.  On cue, when Jimenez stopped punching, Bruce would come in, with a rather nice offensive of his own.  Toward the end of the first round, Mike had Bruce on the ropes with a barrage of punches, but Bruce once again countered and escaped, resetting the action.  Rounds two and three continued in similar fashion; Jimenez would land a nice combination, then stop… and Rumbolz would continue with his offensive.  While hard shots were landing for both fighters, nothing seemed to significantly hurt until round three when a left hook to the body had Rumbolz hunched over, obviously feeling pain this time.  He began wearing down, was bleeding from the nose, and took knee with 42 seconds to go in the round.  After he got up, Jimenez attacked, had Rumbolz on the ropes for the rest of the round, and with the referee looking on closely, the bell rung and Bruce survived the round.

The fourth round saw Mike Jimenez energized, shuffling his feet like Ali, ready to start the round.  Bruce, looking worn from the previous round, was still game.  Jimenez would go on the attack, landing vicious body shots, and Bruce would counter, landing shots to Jimenez’ head.  They didn’t seem like those shots were hurting Jimenez much, but they were enough to get Bruce off the ropes, back into the center of the ring.  Rounds five and six saw more of the same.  Jimenez would go into attack the body, pin Rumbolz on the ropes, but somehow Rumbolz would land a few counter punches himself, and escape to reset.  He began to look really tired, but he had NO quit in him; this guy knew how to survive.  Not by running, by staying offensive when he could.  This kid was all heart.  A knockdown from an overhand left (round six) seemed to spell the end for Rumbolz, but he got up to survive the round.  Jimenez with the well-deserved win via points…but I must say; this Rumbolz kid had nothing to be ashamed of.  He won over the crowd with his toughness and heart.  I think it’s safe to say we might be seeing him again soon.

Sergio Montes de Oca UD4 (40-36, 40-36, 39-37) Salvador Perez – Super Bantamweights

The fight that got us all excited when it was announced, certainly delivered.  While it only took five minutes for Bobby Hitz to find an opponent for Sergio Montes de Oca (6-1, 1KO), it appeared as if Salvador Perez (1-1-1), had been training for this fight for months.  Sergio went to work right away, vicious body attacks from the opening bell…but Perez returned each favor with shots of his own, as both fighters stayed on the middle of the ring, like the true “Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots” of old.  A head butt cut Perez’ right eye in round one, and while it seemed to affect his vision slightly, he never deterred from his offensive.  Rounds two through four saw much of the same, constant action in the middle of the ring.  Sergio seemed to be a little more accurate, but when Perez landed, he landed hard.  Ultimately, the fight would continue in this manner…Sergio attacking, but from time to time he was paying for it by the countering of Perez who definitely wanted this fight as badly as Montes.  A couple times, Montes would land shots to the back of the head of Perez, prompting Perez to complain (and warranting a warning from the referee), but for the most part this was a non-stop, offensive display of two fighters who represent the super bantamweight division rather well.  A true back-and-forth battle, with Montes ultimately winning on cleaner punching and effective ring work.

DeWayne Wisdom UD4 (40-36, 40-36, 40-36) Russell Fiore – Lightweights

In the upset of the night, DeWayne Wisdom (2-2) who looked like he was easily 15 pounds lighter than opponent Russell Fiore (5-2, 1KO), despite being added almost at the last minute, appeared to be much more polished and confident in the ring.  Fiore went on the offensive early, trying to bully the lighter Wisdom, who showed some really nice head movement and countering ability.  In round two, Russell again was the aggressor, but DeWayne showed that he could box moving backwards, often luring Fiore in to land a nice right hook, seemingly at will.  In fact, it appeared as if this was DeWayne’s strategy…lure Fiore in with faints, and land the counter right hook.  This frustrated Russell…at one point in the third round we could hear him mouthing off to Wisdom; “You can’t hurt me”, which prompted Wisdom to smile and continue to do his thing.   He almost knocked Fiore down in the last round with a hard left hand, but Russell caught his balance and avoided his glove touching the ground.  Despite DeWayne Wisdom being the lighter fighter, and taking this fight on last minute notice, he was surely there to win this fight, and surprised the seemingly unprepared Russell Fiore.

David Latoria UD6 (60-54, 59-55, 59-55) Edward Gutierrez – Heavyweights

What happens when an unstoppable force meats an immovable object?  Well, to be fair, I’m not quite sure yet if David Latoria (10-0, 5 KOs) is an unstoppable force (he is certainly showing promise), but he definitely encountered one heck of an immovable object in Edward Gutierrez (15-11-1, 6 KOs).  From the opening bell, Latoria, 15 years Gutierrez’ junior, showed a nicely balanced attack.  Right and left hands to the head and body, good combinations…but none seemed to hurt the 45-year-old Gutierrez, who covered up well, took a lot of shots on the gloves, and didn’t appear affected much by Latoria’s body attack.  It was no wonder they called this guy “The Iron Man”…he took almost everything David could throw at him, and just kept moving forward, offering his own offensive when he could.  Every round in this fight was pretty much the same…David on the offensive, nice combos, Edward covering up, and when David stopped punching, he’d offer his own attack.  Neither fighter in this bout seemed to get hurt at any time, aside from perhaps a Latoria left hook in round six, but even then, Gutierrez shook it off, and kept coming.  This guy had a granite chin, and wasn’t going anywhere, but David Latoria won with the clearly better offence and work rate.  That said, he’s probably still wondering where the heck this Edward guy came from…

-BAM