Bizarre Night in the Ballroom!

Since the start of this blog in July 2005, we have had some landmark nights of Beltway Boxing.

Thursday, Sept. 28 would not be one of them.

During the premiere of Ballroom Boxing's 12th season at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, MD, one Beltway Boxer had a unintentionally short but successful night, another suffered a major setback while a third had the first learning experience of his pro career.

Let's start with the main event, the return of cruiserweight Darnell "The Ding-A-Ling Man" Wilson, now living in Takoma Park, MD. Wilson was able to break his four-bout losing streak with a sudden fourth-round TKO over Daniel Judah of Brooklyn, NY.

This was not one of Wilson's typical knockouts. The knockout came when Wilson threw a punch that landed on Judah's left shoulder. The sickening crack of glove against bone could be heard all throughout Michael's, as could Judah's scream of pain. Judah could not move his arm and referee Malik Waleed stopped the bout at 33 seconds of the third.

According to Judah's father Yoel, Judah (who had brother Zab -- sporting a short mohawk haircut -- in attendance) had surgery on that shoulder two years ago. Yoel Judah also said that the shoulder was dislocated this time.

For Wilson, who raised his record to 19-5-3, 16 KO's, it was a good performance, but he told me afterwards he wanted to do more.

"I wanted to show how fluid I can be in the later rounds," Wilson said. "I was warming up."

Overall, Wilson looked good in the just over six minutes he was in there. His trainer, 1976 Olympic silver medalist SGT. Charles Mooney, told me he liked how Wilson followed directions in the corner. Wilson went to the body well while facing an opponent who stayed in front of him the entire time.

Judah's record is now 21-2-3, 10 KO's.

Now folks, the rest of this report goes pretty much downhill from here.

In the co-feature, Baltimore junior middleweight Ishmail "The Arsenal" Arvin suffered the first loss of his pro career, dropping an eight-round majority decision to David Toribio of Miami, FL by way of the Dominican Republic.

Frankly, Arvin was very fortunate to get a draw from one of the scorecards. He was dropped by a left hook in the fourth round that sent him somersaulting backwards towards his own corner. Arvin told me afterwards that he never saw the punch.

Had Toribio not been deducted a point for holding in the fifth round, he would have won a unanimous decision. Judge Gary Camponeschi saw the draw, 75-75. Judge John Gradowski scored the bout 77-73 while Don Risher saw the contest 78-72. I had it close at 75-74 for Toribio.

But here's why this loss is an unsettling one for Arvin:

1. Arvin lost to a guy who had dropped his last five decisions, three by knockout.

2. Arvin looked EXTREMELY off balance; he was lunging and stumbling throughout the entire contest. In fact, I talked to a few people who know the technical aspect of this sport better than I do and there is fear for Arvin at this stage. I have seen most of Arvin's 16 previous bouts, and I can say without question that this was the worst I have seen him. Because of this, there are those who say that this was a LOT more than just a bad night.

This loss is a major blow for the Beltway Boxing community. Arvin was seen as one of our brightest prospects and he was just awful last night. In all honesty, he will have to do a lot to bounce back from this one. Arvin's record falls to 14-1-2, six KO's. Toribio is now 13-5, seven KO's.

Also on the card, Baltimore junior lightweight Tyrell Samuel remained undefeated with a six-round split decision over Carlos Vinan of Newark, NJ. This was a rematch of a bout Samuel won by majority decision earlier in his career.

Truthfully, this was a gift for Samuel, in my opinion. However, hopefully it will serve as a learning experience for him and there are some positives to be taken from it.

For the first time that I've seen in his nine-bout pro career, Samuel faced someone who can put on pressure and land good shots. One thing we didn't know was how good Samuel's chin was. I think we got an indication last night. Also, I think at times he was confused because Vinan took some of Samuel's best shots. However, I didn't see him overly frustrated during the bout. Vinan should be credited for having a good chin also as well as showing the ability to fight despite a bad cut along the left eye.

I scored the bout 58-56 for Vinan. That was the same score that Judge Don Risher had. Judges Kenny Chevalier and Malik Waleed saw the bout in favor of Samuel, 58-57 and 58-56 respectively.

I thought Samuel fought well. I just thought he didn't do enough to get the win.

In other bouts on the card, cruiserweight William "Thunder" Gill of Toms River, NJ broke a six-bout losing streak by scoring a second-round TKO over John "Jazz" Owens of Council Bluffs, IA. The win was Gill's first victory in the Beltway region in three tries. The other two bouts were losses to Mike Paschall. Gill's record is now 3-11, two KO's while Owens is 2-3, one KO. Also, New York City junior middleweight prospect Jose "Silver Boy" Rodriguez remained undefeated (8-0, one KO) with an easy six-round unanimous decision over Carlos Pena of Arroyo, Puerto Rico (2-7, two KO's.

A very solid and competitive card put on by promoter Scott Wagner and matchmaker Chris Middendorf. The locals were tested nicely tonight. Too bad they didn't all pass the test.

Among others in attendance last night were former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman,Beltway prospects Mike Ricasa and Jessie Nicklow as well as former Beltway heavyweight contender Thomas "Top Dog" Williams I thought I saw Dana Rucker as well, but I wasn't sure.

Also making the scene was one of the top welterweight contenders in the world, Paul "The Punisher" Williams of Augusta, GA. Williams has been training in the area periodically over the past few months.