Thursday, June 29, 2006

Full Preview of July 1 USBA Title card in Springfield, VA!

The vacant USBA Cruiserweight title will be on the line on July 1 when Emmanuel “Chukwu” Nwodo takes on Chris “Cold Steel” Thomas at the ABC Sports Complex in Springfield, VA.

Nwodo, a native of Enugu, Nigeria, is now fighting out of Baltimore, MD. He comes into this contest with a record of 19-4 with 15 KO’s. Since coming to the United States, Nwodo has been undefeated (9-0, 7 KO’s). In his last contest, Nwodo stopped Ron Krull in the first round on April 29 in Springfield.

The Chicago, IL native Thomas has a record of 16-4, 14 KO’s and is looking for his second regional title. Thomas won the NABA Cruiserweight championship on October 22, 1994 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Tipton Walker in Rosemont, IL. Thomas no longer holds that title. He has not fought since December 10, 2005 when he went to an eight-round draw against Billy Willis in Harvey, IL.

The scheduled co-feature bout will pit middleweight Purcell “Hard Rock” Miller of Washington, DC against Ron “Poor Boy” Krull of Sault Ste. Marie, MI.

Miller (21-4-1, 17 KO’s) makes his first appearance since March 3 of this year when he was stopped by Dante Craig in the second round at the Lincoln Theatre in DC. Krull (6-27, five KO’s) has fought in many different weight classes from welterweight to cruiserweight. Ironically, one of Krull’s victories was against the promoter of this card, Han Kim. Krull stopped Kim in the fourth round in a February 2004 bout in Atlantic City.

In a battle of two local favorites, Derek “Hollywood” Amos will take on Jason Waller in a cruiserweight contest.

Amos, a native of Fort Washington, MD, returns to the ring for the first time since March of 2002 when he was stopped in the first round by Frank Walker in Philadelphia. Amos (13-22, eight KO’s) battled as a heavyweight throughout most of his career and suffered losses to many notable boxers including Razor Ruddock, Chris Byrd, Monte Barrett and Tony Thompson. Amos is now campaigning as a cruiserweight and is looking to break a 12-bout losing streak.

Waller, who hails from Stafford, VA, is a 16-year veteran of the sport, who has also fought his share of cruiserweight and heavyweight champions and contenders. Among the names on Waller’s resume include Torsten May, Vassily Jirov, Andrew Golota, and Shannon Briggs. Waller (28-32-4, 19 KO’s) will be trying to reverse a five-bout losing streak.

In other bouts on the card, the Shah Brothers of Centerville, VA will be in action. Welterweight Ali Shah (1-0, one KO) will face Mike Krull, the younger brother of Ron Krull. Mike Krull is 0-3. Middleweight Zain Shah (1-0, one KO) will battle Randy McCrory of Sault Ste. Marie, MI (0-1).

Local favorite “Money” Mike Sawyer of Falls Church, VA will also be on the card against Deltbert Summerdill in a super middleweight contest. Sawyer is 2-0, one KO.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

So can anyone tell me what to expect (i.e., how good the fights are going to be)? I'm looking forward to this-Digital, are you going to be there?

Gary Digital Williams said...

The main event should be interesting provided Thomas is as good as he was. The layoff might provide ring rust.

It will be interesting to see how Purcell Miller does. He has had two tough bouts since he came back.

The bout between Jason Waller and Derek Amos will provide a bit of nostalgia for me as I have followed both guys since the beginnings of their careers. I don't know how good the bout will be though.

It should be a good night of boxing and yes, ACW, I will be there. I look forward to meeting you.

Anonymous said...

Digital-
Look for me. I'll be the guy in glasses and the gold/yellow George Mason Final Four t-shirt.

Gary Digital Williams said...

I don't know what I'll be wearing, but I'll be the tall, heavy-set black guy with glasses sitting at the press table.

Anonymous said...

I can't just walk up to the press table, can I?

Gary Digital Williams said...

I wouldn't go THAT far, but I can say I will be visible at the card and, ACW, you shouldn't have any problem saying hi to me on Saturday.

See you there!

Anonymous said...

Digital-I don't know if you'd know the answer, but just out of curiosity, had Krull and the McCrory bros. known each other? Because they're from the same location, and I can't imagine Sault Ste. Marie being a large metropolis.

See you tomorrow night (hopefully).

Anonymous said...

Er...that should be McCrory and the Krull bros.

Gary Digital Williams said...

I'm assuming McCrory and the Krulls have crossed paths before. They may be from the same gym, I don't know.

Like you, I can't think the boxing community could be that big.