Sunday, December 10, 2006

Full Report from Fairfax!

Once again, for those who couldn't hear the audio report, here is how things went at the George Mason University Patriot Center.

In an exciting contest, Great Falls, VA’s Jimmy Lange and Orlando, FL’s Fontaine “The Flame” Cabell battled to a 12-round draw in a contest for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Junior Middleweight title in the main event of a Major League Boxing card at the George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA.

The two similar-looking boxers waged an intelligent contest that was hampered at times by injuries suffered by both men. Both boxers injured their hands in the second round. Also in the second, there was an accidental head clash that caused a gash on the left side of Lange’s head. Despite this, however, Lange was able to use a stiff left jab that gave him the early advantage in the contest.

In the middle of the contest, however, Cabell seemed to take over as he was able to initiate the action in the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds. Cabell’s jab was especially strong during this point in the contest and left their marks over Lange’s face.

In the final stages of the contest, the two men exchanged opportunities with jabs and body shots. Lange was the most effective during this point as he landed solid body shots.

The judge’s scores were very different. Greg Coleman saw the bout 117-111 in favor of Lange. Phil Kornberg saw the bout 116-112 for Cabell. Judge Vaughn LaPread saw the draw at 114-114. My scorecard saw the bout for Lange, 116-113.

Cabell said he thought he won the bout, but he was satisfied with the draw.

“I thought they were going to rob me,” Cabell said. “I had a premonition that I may get a draw. I knew it was going to be tough, but I had nothing to lose.”

Lange was more subdued after the battle.

“It wasn’t a tough fight, it was more of a tedious fight,” Lange said. “I thought I won though. I’d love to do it again.”

Lange’s record is now 27-3-2, 19 KO’s while Cabell, who stopped a three-bout losing streak, has a record of 22-6-2, 17 KO’s.

In a very exciting co-feature, junior welterweight Dean “Pit Bull” White of Smithsburg, MD won a measure of revenge with an eight-round unanimous decision over “The Pride of Portsmouth, VA” Dorin Spivey.

The bout was a rematch of a November 1998 bout in which Spivey stopped White in the seventh round. In this contest, White initiated the action early with strong right hands keeping Spivey at bay.

After Spivey successfully used his body shots in the third and fourth rounds, White started to take over the contest. He continually got his shots off first and kept Spivey from using his power shots. All three judges (Vaughn LaPread, Jerry Payne and Tommy Nowlin) scored the bout 77-75, I scored the bout the same way.

White said the difference between this fight and the last bout with Spivey was aggression.

“I think I was more aggressive and more relaxed,” White said. “It also helped that I won the early rounds.”

With the win, White raised his record to 14-5-1, six KO’s. Spivey’s record falls to 34-5, 28 KO’s.

In other bouts on the card, former WBO Cruiserweight champion Boone Pultz of Annandale, VA returned to action after an 11-year layoff and won a six-round unanimous decision over Alonzo Cutchins of Charlottsville, VA.

Pultz, who turned 47 years old earlier this year, participated in a clinch fest with the 45-year-old Cutchins who was fighting for only the second time in nine years. Pultz landed just enough punches to gain the victory while Cutchins seemed willing only to hang on to his taller opponent.

Judges LaPread and Kornberg scored a shutout for Pultz, 60-54 while Judge Payne scored the bout 59-55, the same as I did. Pultz’s record rises to 24-1, 15 KO’s while Cutchins’s record falls to 7-15, six KO’s.

In a minor upset, Ripley, TN junior welterweight “The Next Greatest” Ken Humphreys won a four-round majority decision over previously undefeated Andrew “The Doo Man” Farmer of Front Royal, VA.

Farmer got off to a great start, landing solid shots with his jabs and right hooks. The 19-year old Farmer was able to win the early rounds with these tactics.

But in the third, Humphreys seized the momentum of the bout with a solid left hand that sent Farmer to the canvas. Farmer got up from the knockdown, but Humphreys was able to dominate the rest of the bout and go on to the victory.

Judge Kornberg saw the draw at 38-38. Judges LaPread and Coleman scored the bout 38-37 and 38-36 for Humphreys. I saw the bout 38-37 for Humphreys, who broke a two-bout losing streak with the victory.

Farmer is now 4-1, four KO’s while Humphreys is 3-2, two KO’s.

Another Virginia junior welterweight, Jaime “The Punisher” Palma of Front Royal increased his winning streak to three as he was able to capture a close, four-round split decision over Reggie Sanders of Fort Wayne, IN.

In the third round, Palma survived two solid Sanders right hands and managed to stay on his feet. Palma came back in the final round with a solid performance and eked out the victory. Judges Payne and Coleman saw the bout 39-37 for Palma while Judge LaPread scored the bout 39-37 for Sanders. I thought the bout was a draw, 38-38.

With the win, Palma reaches the .500 mark with a record of 10-10-1, two KO’s while Sanders falls to 12-37-4, two KO’s.

Bronx, NY light heavyweight Reggie “Concrete” LaCrete won a four-round unanimous decision over William “The Storm” Bailey of Chesapeake, VA.

Bailey got off to a good start by landing solid shots. However, fatigue seemed to set in and LaCrete took over, working well inside with uppercuts and short hooks. This work led to the victory. All three judges and my unofficial scorecard gave the bout to LaCrete, 39-37.

LaCrete, who is managed by Jackie Kallen, is now 2-0, one KO. Bailey’s record is 5-12-2, two KO’s.

Waynesboro, VA heavyweight Juan Carlos Robles raised his record to 5-0, three KO’s by punishing Brockton, MA’s Dan Sheehan en route to a second-round TKO.

Robles landed solid head and body shots that Sheehan had no answer for. Sheehan’s corner stopped the contest at 2:59 of the second round, much to Sheehan’s chagrin. Sheehan’s record is now 10-36 with four KO’s.

In a special attraction bout, the pro debut of DC-area radio talk show host “The Latin Donkey” JP Flaim was short and painful. Flaim’s opponent, “The American Dream” Jay Watts of Virginia Beach, VA, knocked Flaim down within the first 15 seconds of the bout. Watts knocked Flaim down three more times before referee Malik Waleed called a halt to the bout just before the end of the first round. With the win, Watts raised his record to 2-8, two KO’s.

The promoter of the card was Joe Hensley of Major League Boxing. The matchmaker was Nick Tiberi.

MORE RANDOM OBSERVATIONS: Take away Boone Pultz's bout and JP Flaim's contest and this was a very solid card. There were some great performances on this card.

Let's put Dean White where he belongs on the list of great performances on this card -- right at the top. White was really solid in this contest against a very good opponent in Dorin Spivey. White told anyone who would listen that this was the bout he was working towards when he made his return two years ago. White showed what hard work and tenacity will do for you. It was an exceptional performance.

As far as the main event, maybe it was the injury to Jimmy Lange's right hand, but in my opinion, Lange helped make the bout a little tougher than it should have been. He did not throw his right much at all in the contest and let Fontaine Cabell get off first throughout. Cabell came in with a really good game plan and at times he executed the plan well. I thought Lange won the bout, but I don't think he was truly on top of his game.

Andrew Farmer's performance and the outcome of his bout against Ken Humphreys should give you a better idea of why I was so angry about Farmer's last bout against Billy Mitchem in Springfield last month. Each bout is part of a growing process and the Mitchem "fight" did not allow him to grow. Farmer went from a bum in Mitchem to a tough guy in Humphreys and didn't get a chance to grow in between. You may remember Humphreys from his loss to Reggie Holly last March at the Lincoln Theatre in DC. Humphreys has improved drastically since that bout and Farmer simply wasn't ready for him.

Farmer, by the way, is currently the leading vote-getter for a number of categories in the Boxing Along the Beltway Year-End Excellence Awards, including Rookie of the Year and Rising Contender of the Year.

Another rookie of the year candidate did exactly what he was supposed to do in his bout. Juan Carlos Robles did a good job in stopping Dan Sheehan. Robles is slow of foot but heavy of hand. It will be interesting to see his development.

The resurgence of Jaime Palma has also been fun to watch. Palma has a lot of heart. The way he stood up to Reggie Sanders's punches in the third round showed a lot of grit. 2007 could be a very interesting year for "The Punisher."

I've known Boone Pultz for a number of years. I covered him in the early 90's. He is one of the nicest people that I have come across in my 19 years of covering Boxing Along the Beltway. That is why it was painful to see him lumber around the ring. Alonzo Cutchins didn't make things any better by grabbing and holding him, but it was not a pretty sight by any means.

I will say two things about JP Flaim's bout: One: Flaim did something that I could never do and I'm twice his size and that's get into a boxing ring. He tried his best by getting up three times and that showed a lot of heart.

Two: Flaim and his "Junkies" cohorts should be thanked and commended for bringing in a new audience to the area boxing scene. I dare say that there were a lot of people in attendance at the Patriot Center who had never been to a live boxing card. Hopefully, a good portion of those folks will come to more cards based on this show and "The Junkies" deserve a lot of credit for making that happen. According to the Washington Post, the announced attendance was 5,437.

45 comments:

Anonymous said...

Heck of a report. In depth.

* A bit off-subject...

Hey Digital...Who is your team? (Baltimore or Washington?)

:)

Anonymous said...

congradulations to dean white and his team. hard work,taking fights as they come and dedication have paid off for dean. a rematch with nick casal on local card would be great. hear that jake? even gdwilliams has finally give dean his props.

Anonymous said...

Dean White certainly deserves the "Comeback Fighter of the Year", if that is one of your categories, and this bout certainly was one of the best of the year.

Anonymous said...

This comment is in regards to the Jaime Palma vs. Reggie Sanders. As you said Gary, Palma has alot of heart. To go out there and win this fight against Reggie Especially when people(or person) who supposedly supported him said that he was over his head is a good defeat. I hope he steps it up even more in '07.

Anonymous said...

If I'm voting for the fighter of the year or the come back fightrer of the year, Dean " The Pit Bull" White has got to be in contention for both , if not the fight of the year.In a little over a year He's fought 7 fights with an opponent's record of 111-36, and in 6 fights a record of 90-7, that doesn't sound like someone who's afraid to fight anybody. The next step is a Deserved Title Fight, at least that's what Joe Hensley said, we'll see if he's a man of his word.

Anonymous said...

Yeah a rematch at 135 with mike ricasa, that sounds like a great fight.

Anonymous said...

What a great show top to bottom, full of competitive fights, lots of thrills, and unfortunately, lots of bad decisions!

Juan Robles is a good fighter with fast hands and a good punch. I've seen Danny Sheehan before when he beat Elvir Muriqi but that was at a much lower weight. It was target practice for Robles and he was too much for Sheehan. Nice stoppage by his corner.

William Bailey vs. Reggie LaCrete was a pretty good bout too. I thought the judges got the decision wrong. I had it for Bailey 39 to 37.

Jaime Palma vs. Reggie Sanders was another good, back and forth fight that the judges got wrong. I had it for Sanders.

Andrew Farmer vs. Ken Humprey was a great fight too. Farmer won the first two rounds then got caught and dropped. But he still won 3 out of 4 rounds and despite the knockdown, I think he deserved the decision.

Pultz vs. Cutchin was a sloppy fight but it went the distance with Cutchin showing heart by trying to whack Pultz out of there. I saw Pultz after the fight and he looked pretty busted up. The judges did manage to get this one right.

JP Flaim vs. Jay Watts. Exciting entrance from Flaim. Watts proved to Flaim that boxing is no joke and not something that should be taken lightly. I think Watts had only one career win but he took it to Flaim from the get go. Flaim showed a lot of heart by getting up and fighting back and even wobbled Watts on one occassion. Very exciting!

Dorin Spivey vs. Dean White was a great, great fight! The fight of the night for sure and maybe even the fight of the year! I thought Spivey came out flat and White won the first two hands rather easily. After that, I had Spivey winning the next 6 rounds. I think he wobbled White on a number of occassions and he wasn't given credit for his tremendous body attack. Great, exciting, competitive fight that the VA judges got wrong.

Jimmy Lange vs. Fontaine Cabell. Guys step it up when they fight Jimmy Lange. I think the bigness of the event lets them know that it's not some ordinary card and it's their time to shine. Cabell definitely stepped up his game but he didn't win this fight (the judges scored it a draw). I had Lange winning 8 rounds to 4. Jimmy wobbled Cabell badly in the early rounds but didn't follow up from that point on. Leave it to the judges and that's what you get.

One final note. Of the 8 bouts, 6 went the distance and I only agreed with the scoring in one fight: Boone Pultz vs. Alonzo Cutchin. The other fights should have gone the other way: Bailey should have gotten the nod over LaCrete, Sanders should have gotten the nod over Palma, Farmer should have gotten the nod over Humpery, Dorin Spivey definitely won against Dean White, and Jimmy Lange won by an even larger margin against Cabell. How one judge could have Cabell winning and the other have it a draw just blows my mind.

I guess there's no such thing as "home cooking" when it comes to VA boxing judges. Boxing judges should be fair and impartial definitely. I just think the judges were way off on a lot of the fights that took place on this show.

Hats off to Joe Hensley for putting on another great card. When you have several split decisions, a draw, and most of the fights going the distance all on the same show, then that's a good boxing show where the fans got their money's worth! Well done!

Gary Digital Williams said...

I've always been a DC guy when it comes to sports teams,except when we didn't have a team in that sport, then I rooted for Baltimore's squads.

Gary Digital Williams said...

Vince, I've always given Dean his props for being a hard worker and someone who has given his all in the ring in 2005-06.

This victory against Spivey was a great one.

Anonymous said...

Andrew Farmers dad is asking everyone to vote for him and his son on everything. He has even offered me dinner to write in a vote for his son. Do they win money or something>?

Gary Digital Williams said...

No, they will get a certificate (hopefully a plaque if I can find some trophy shop to donate them) and the honor of receiving the award. No money, though.

Gary Digital Williams said...

Hey Ross,

There was a little blurb by John Scheinman attached to the Jermain Taylor-Kassim Ouma report that said the attendance was 5,437.

Anonymous said...

Yes, there's been some definite campaigning in the awards voting. But so long as its campaigning, as opposed to ballot box stuffing, it's probably within the rules, if not the spirit.

The only minor quibble I have with the preliminary results is that "best prospect" and "rising contender" should be mutually exclusive categories. Sure, you could make a case for a candidate fitting either category, but like "Best Actor" and "Best Supporting Actor" at the Oscars, it's one nomination per performer/performance.

I'm just glad that I waited until after Saturday's Patriot Center show to cast my ballot, as White-Spivey II might still have a write-in chance for "Bout of the Year."

Anonymous said...

The attendance was supplied by Brian Bishop of Brotman, Winter, Fried. My report for the Washington Post was filed at 12:18 a.m., too late to make most papers, but I think it got into late editions and definitely got onto the web site. give me some propers -- covering racing during the day, calling the JP Flaim fight after that and then filing a Lange report. That's hard working, old-school journalism! -- John Scheinman

Anonymous said...

warren i have no idea how far from the ring you were sitting ,but spivey may have won 2 rounds if that!!!

p.s. I must agree with chris it definitely should be "FIGHT OF THE YEAR"

Doug

Anonymous said...

Hey Doug, I was ringside for the entire fight card. There was no doubt that White beat Spivey in the first two rounds. After that, Spivey picked up the pace and when Dean would land 1 and 2 punches Spivey would fire back with 4 and 5. I remember one time when Spivey had his back to the ropes and Dean hit him with about 5 shots, well Spivey fired back with about 8! He also dug to Dean's body and had him hurt on a number of occassions. Dean White is a tough guy and a good fighter who definitely fought a great fight. My hat is off to him for such a great performance! The bottom line is that the judges got the scoring wrong. I had Spivey winning rounds 3 through 8 with only one other round that could have possibly gone Dean's way during those rounds. Great fight, bad decision.

Anonymous said...

Hey Warren
I can appreciate your opinion, but I was at ringside also, and a majority of the people, as well as the sports writers saw it different, anyway it was a hell of a fight and Dean "The Pit Bull" White came out the victor.

Doug

Anonymous said...

Brad and Doug,

The Spivey-White fight was a great fight, don't get me wrong, just a bad decision that's all. Maybe Joe Hensley can make a re-match for the next show in February. Hey Joe, can you do it? It was a great fight!

Anonymous said...

I was wondering what everyone thought of the judge's score in the Lange - Cabell fight.

Gary Digital Williams said...

I had Lange winning the bout 116-113.

Anonymous said...

I had Lange winning 8 rounds to 4, 116 to 112. Terrible job by the VA judges!

Anonymous said...

VA boxing judges (and referees)have always been bad. Chris Woolesen is literally the worst referee or judge in the universe. He blows my mind. HORRIBLE, consistently HORRIBLE. He actually leans TOWARD the out of town fighters. That's not even why I say he's so bad. Check his record.

Gary Digital Williams said...

You can't blame Chris Wollesen for this one. He was not in attendance.

Anonymous said...

Gary
some people just can't accept defeat, so they look for excuses

Anonymous said...

Listen, I'm being objective as I can be. I'm a boxing fan. I hate to see a big time card like that and the VA judges drop the ball when it comes to world class fights. They blew it on the Spivey-White fight and they really blew it on Jimmy Lange's fight! Great fights, great night of boxing. Terrible, terrible judges!

Gary Digital Williams said...

Pernell Whitaker was on the nationwide radio show "Through The Ropes" tonight. I asked him what he thought about Dorin Spivey's performance against Dean White.

Whitaker said that Spivey fought the wrong fight. He got into a slugfest against Dean and that is why he lost. He did not blame the judges in any way.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Gary now we can stop the hating on Dean White and let the Man enjoy the SWEET REVENGE that he set out to do.

Doug Howell

Anonymous said...

Doug,

Nobody is hating on Dean White. Dean fought a great fight and he should be proud of that fight. I just disagree with the judges decision, that's all. So what if Pernell Whitaker didn't blame the judges? I'm not blaming anybody, I don't care who won or lost as long as I saw a great night of boxing, which is what I saw at The Patriot Center. The judges just missed the call. I want to see the fight on tape. Hey Joe Hensley - are you going to post the videos of the fights to your website like you did last time? Doug, if those fights go up on the internet, judge them for yourself. You'll see what I'm talking about. The Jimmy Lange fight with Cabell wasn't even as close as Dean White and Dorin Spivey. Joe, put those videos up so we can watch those fights again!

Anonymous said...

Joe Dorin lost nobody can't find you what's next for you and Dorin and Lange

Anonymous said...

Gary did you hear Team Warrick and TooSharp is trying to make a fight between Dean Pit Bull and Micheal Warrick what you think about that and Dean what you say

Gary Digital Williams said...

There has been no definitive plan for Dean White at this time, as far as I know.

There has been talk about some semblance of a regional title situation for him, but nothing is definite.

I was aware that Mark Johnson was pushing for a bout between his charge, Michael Warrick and White for the next Major League Boxing card (possibly in February) but again, everything is all talk at this stage.

Gary Digital Williams said...

A White-Warrick bout would be a solid contest that could go either way. The question would be where the bout would be weight wise.

White is more of a 130-135 pounder (although he can go up) Warrick has been fighting at 140 so the question is can he go down if needed?

Anonymous said...

Hey Gary TooSharp. Yes we would love to make that fight. Me and mike was trying to get the Spivey fight. So since Dean won we want to fight him.

Anonymous said...

Cassandra White has wrote everyone bad checks. The boxers are fumimg.
What can we do? Please help...

Anonymous said...

Take it up with the DC Commission. Promoters must have a bond which at the minimum covers their purses. It may take a while, but the commission can make a claim against the promoter's bond and the money will be given to the boxers. Messy situation.

Anonymous said...

The promoters suppose to have the money the day before the fights.Here we go again DC boxing at its best.She did what Marty did to fighters on the mike Tyson show said FUCK THEM and thats bad for boxing these kids fought there heart out and thats the thanks they get come on people.

Anonymous said...

I heard Thomas Snow had to pay for own belt what kind of stuff is that he don't have money like that but to win a belt he thought what he was doing was the right thing but turned out to be the wrong thing.

Anonymous said...

Gary have you spoke to her or anybody who's with her

Anonymous said...

Cassandra is missing in action. She has blamed everything on Juice. She claims Juice stole all her money.

Gary Digital Williams said...

Trying to contact her will be a top priority next week.

Gary Digital Williams said...

I have her number and will not have it posted publicly.

Anonymous said...

Juice did not steal from Cassandra. He was written a bad check and he took it upon himself to get back some of the money. He had to. He was left no choice

Anonymous said...

cassandra needs our support righht now. she is very sorry for the bad checks and promises to make good on all them during the new year. she claims that juice is a large cuase for he filing bank ruptcy

Gary Digital Williams said...

I've had an opportunity to see the tape of the White-Spivey encounter. My thoughts haven't changed.

Whitaker was right, Spivey fought the wrong bout and gave up a lot of the early rounds and that may have cost him the bout.

Having a chance to watch it again, it was a GREAT BOUT!!

Anonymous said...

Gary

Let's just hope that a lot of other people see it that way. There's no reason Dean White shouldn't be considered Fighter Of The Year, as well as Comeback Fighter Of The Year. And if we can get Monty Clay out of the hills of West Virginia, he'll show you why he should be considered Fighter of the year. But I'm biased, so what do I know. Have a Happy New Year.

Doug