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.