'C Performance' Gives Lange TKO Victory!

In a grueling, competitive contest, Great Falls, VA middleweight Jimmy Lange scored a 10th-round technical knockout over a game Thomas Wilt of Altoona, PA in front of 3,814 fans at the George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA.

Lange earned the victory by using a solid left jab and body shot combinations early to pile up points. However, in the middle of the bout, Wilt started to effectively pressure the hometown hero using solid jabs of his own.

Undaunted, Lange picked up the pace of the bout returning to the body shots late in the contest until finally in the 10th, Lange landed a solid straight right hand that dropped Wilt to the canvas. Seconds later, Lange moved in and continued to land straight right hands until referee Joe Cooper stopped the bout at 2:45 of the final round.

Despite the victory, Lange said he wasn’t totally satisfied with his performance.

“It wasn’t a difficult fight, it was a tedious fight,” Lange said. I was slipping a lot of his punches. It was a professional boxing match, not a four-round blowout.”

“I was making a lot of mistakes,” Lange continued. “And that’s just more experience. I think I made the right step in getting more experience. I think it was a C performance. I wasn’t necessarily happy with it but I’m not going to beat my head against the wall about it either.”

Lange, who had legendary trainers Angelo Dundee and Tommy Gallagher in his corner, raised his record to 27-3-1, 19 KO’s while Wilt falls to 20-6, four KO’s.

In one co-feature bout, former world title contender Larry “The Laser” Marks of New Castle, DE won an eight-round unanimous decision over DC’s Purcell “Hard Rock” Miller in a super middleweight contest.

Marks landed solid blows at the start of the contest, mixing clean shots with some taunting moves to earn an early advantage. Miller had a difficult time with Marks’s power and also suffered some unintentional head butts.

Miller rebounded in the fourth round with some solid jabs and right hands, but Marks took complete control of the contest in the fifth when he landed a right hand that made Miller stumble in the ropes. Referee Chris Wollesen ruled the ropes kept Miller from going to the canvas and signaled a knockdown. From there, Marks cruised to the relatively easy victory.

Judge Vaughn LaPread scored the bout 80-71, while judges Greg Coleman and Jerry Payne saw the bout 79-72. I saw the contest for Marks at 78-74.

Marks’s record rises to 29-8, 16 KO’s while Miller’s record falls to 22-5-1, 18 KO’s.

In the other co-feature, “The Pride of Portsmouth, VA” Dorin Spivey won a lopsided eight-round junior welterweight decision over Roberto “El Viejo” Valenzuela of Agua Prieta, Sonora, MX.

Spivey used solid body punch combinations and a dropping down defense slightly reminiscent of his trainer, former multi-time world champion Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, throughout the contest Despite suffering a bloody nose, Spivey went on to the victory.

Judge Gail Carpenter gave Spivey a shutout victory, 80-72 while judges LaPread and Payne scored the bout 78-74 and 79-73 respectively. I saw a much closer win for Spivey 77-76.

Spivey’s record is now 34-4, 28 KO’s while Valenzuela drops to 37-26, 33 KO’s.

In other bouts on the card, super middleweight Anthony “The Bullet” Bonsante of Shakopee, MN made the night perfect for former “Contender” participants as he won by fourth-round TKO over Larry “The Gladiator” Brothers of DC.

Bonsante started slowly in the contest as the veteran Brothers landed some quality shots in the first round. However, Bonsante picked up the pace nicely and turned the tide by landing his right hand. Finally in the fourth round, Bonsante landed a crisp uppercut with the right hand that crumpled Brothers to the canvas. Referee Wollesen stopped the contest at 2:34 of the fourth.

Bonsante raised his record to 27-8-3, 15 KO’s while Brothers falls to 6-20-3, four KO’s.

In the opening contest, undefeated heavyweight Juan Carlos Robles of Waynesboro, VA won a four-round unanimous decision over Derek Amos of Dumfries, VA. Robles used heavy hands throughout the contest to batter the game Amos and win a lopsided decision.

Robles’s record is now 4-0, two KO’s while Amos is 14-23, nine KO’s.

The scheduled heavyweight bout between Jed Phipps of Baltimore and Rohan Wallace of DC was cancelled because Phipps failed his physical. The matchups between heavyweights Horace Grant and Jonathan Felton and middleweights Mike Sawyer and Randy McRorie were cancelled because of the 11:30 pm curfew.

Among the notables sighted were former WBA Middleweight champion William Joppy, welterweight contender Paul “The Punisher” Williams, Beltway Boxing legends Darryll Tyson, Reggie Green and Boone Pultz and Beltway prospects Thomas Snow, Kay Koroma and Phill Brown.

Joe Hensley of Major League Boxing was the promoter while Nick Tiberi served as matchmaker.

Later today, I will have some random observations and comments about this card.