Before I start, let me send my prayers to former IBF Lightweight champion Leavander Johnson, who is fighting for his life after suffering injuries in his title loss to Jesus Chavez Sept. 17 in Las Vegas.
Johnson may be familiar to Beltway Boxing fans, because he gave Sharmba Mitchell his first professional loss (by knockout) back in March of 1994. Johnson also stopped Virginian Anthony Suggs in the third round in February of 2002 and scored a first round TKO over DC's Floyd Favors in June of 2002. I wish him well.
Now as far as the Battle of Virginia is concerned, lots to talk about. Let's start with the card itself, which was a fine one.
In the main event, Jimmy Lange showed how to make a no-win situation a positive one. In winning the lightly-regarded WBE Junior Middleweight title at the George Mason University Patriot Center, Lange beat a guy in Perry Ballard who didn't have the talent nor the experience that Lange had. The no-win situation was if Lange won, he was supposed to. If Lange lost, it probably meant finis to his career.
Therefore, Lange had to win convincingly. Lange did exactly that. The former "Contender" from Great Falls, VA did an outstanding job using the left jab. Lange used his left so well, I really thought there was something wrong with his right hand. When Lange finally landed the right in the third, he dropped Ballard. Then in the fourth, Lange dropped Ballard twice with shots to the head and the body and put him away.
When I talked to Lange a month ago when this card was announced, he looked like if he could be anywhere else in the world than this press conference, he would be there. Lange was very smart from a mental aspect in this fight. He knew that it would be tough getting up for this bout, so he said he turned the preparation for this bout into a mental exercise with the goal of staying focused for this bout. He succeeded with honors last night.
To Ballard's credit, he was very gracious in defeat, calling Jimmy a "first-class act." Ballard proved to be one as well. Ballard did make one interesting point. This bout was originally scheduled to be fought at 147 pounds and was supposed to be for Ballard's World Boxing Empire Welterweight title. Somewhere along the line, the bout turned into a contest for the WBE vacant 154-pound title. Ballard seemed to have been forced to fight for this title. Ballard weighed in at 147 pounds. Lange came in at 150, so the pounds didn't play as big a part. But I can vouch for the fact that the bout was originally announced as a 147-pound bout.
The bout was a great one for Northern Virginia. The card brought out a lot of people who probably arent boxing fans, or at the very least, never been to a boxing card. Hopefully, either Lange or Ballard (or both, in separate bouts) can continue to be a part of Keystone Boxing's Virginia promotions.
Meanwhile, if there was a fighter of the night award for this card, my vote would go to Lamont "Bay" Pearson. The Capitol Heights native looked dominant in his fifth-round knockout over Shamir Reyes. Pearson looked like the Pearson who received a world title shot a few years ago, before he had trouble with his hands.
Pearson broke down Reyes gradually in this bout. By the third round, Reyes could offer NO offense. Pearson finally finished Reyes with a solid body shot and Reyes could not recover before the count of 10.
By winning his third career regional title (two USBA, one NABA), I think Pearson put himself right back in the world Super Featherweight title picture. When he is on (as he was tonight) no one is more talented along the Beltway than Lamont Pearson.
For me, the biggest disappointment of the night was the non-performance of Orazio "The Razor" Robinson. The junior middleweight from Manassas, VA was stopped early by Jesse Orta of Dallas, TX. Robinson suffered two crushing right hands in the first round of the bout and was put away. I know it's early but that loss was a major setback for Robinson.
In the first two bouts, Alexandria, VA junior welterweight Kay Koroma made his pro debut a successful one with a four-round unanimous decision over Terrell Davis. Koroma has talent but right now, he can't crack an egg. He has no power at this stage.
Also, Tim Coleman of Baltimore scored an easy victory over DC's Spenser Harsley, stopping him in the third round.
Still to come, some news and sightings from the Battle of Virginia!
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2 comments:
Just wanted to comment on a couple of the bouts from Saturday night. First my prayers and well wishes go out to Money Mike, hope he has a speedy recovery. Can't wait to see his pro debut! Not sure what happened to Orazio, but I won't even comment on that. Everyone has a bad fight I guess.. it could happen to anyone at any time. The card itself was a good one. Jimmy Lange looked good. I have to give it to Ballard though, he took some hits, and kept coming back for more.
My main comment however is about the opening fight that night, Kay Koroma vs. Terrell Davis. I have to disagree with your comment about him not being able to even "crack an egg" at this stage. I think he showed a lot of heart, strength, stamina, etc... especially considering it was his first pro fight. I may not know much about either boxers, but quite pesonally I think Koroma looked great, especially being his pro debut. From what I hear he's had an amazing amateur record, and it was time for him to go pro. It was that much more exciting for me as I am from the area and it's always a great and positive thing to see people from our area doing big things. Hats off to Kay Koroma for a beatiful performance on Saturday night. I was very impressed by what I saw. He is truly a talented boxer and I wish him a very successful boxing career.
No doubt Koroma has talent. I do agree with that. I just think at 140 pounds, he's going to need to crack some people early to make a statement.
Davis does not have a granite chin by any means. I talked to other boxers who have verified this. But I did like Koroma's speed and elusiveness. I would like to see the power go with it. Hopefully that will improve. He's got time to develop that.
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