Full Report from Pikesville!

For those who could not hear the audio post-fight wrapup from the National Guard Armory in Pikesville, MD, here is my written report.

On a card billed as “Bombs Away on Pearl Harbor Day,” heavyweight Ralph “Wild Wild” West delivered a crushing blow when he used a powerful right hand to send hometown hero Jed “The Punisher” Phipps to the canvas in the first round of the main event at the Pikesville National Guard Armory in Pikesville, MD.

West, who fights out of Nixa, Missouri, pressured the Baltimore native Phipps early by trapping him along the ropes and landing powerful shots to the body and head. Midway through the first West landed a right hook over Phipps’s left hand. Phipps crashed to the canvas and remained there for approximately five minutes. Referee Malik Waleed only counted to four before waving off the bout at 1:58 of the round.

“I saw him holding his left a little low and I landed the shot,” West said. “I think he was a little inexperienced.”

West broke a two-bout losing streak with the victory and raised his record to 17-9-1, 15 KO’s. Phipps has now lost three in a row and falls to 17-6, 10 KO’s.

The co-feature bout was a human chess match that saw Severn, MD junior middleweight prospect Jessie “The Beast” Nicklow maintain his undefeated record with a tough, six-round unanimous decision over Jason Champion of Capitol Heights, MD.

The 31-year-old Champion started off strong in the bout by using good ring generalship drawing the 19-year-old Nicklow into clinches that referee Kenny Chevalier repeatedly had to break. The turning point in the bout may have come in the fourth round when Nicklow landed a left hand that dropped an off-balance Champion to the canvas. Champion quickly recovered from the knockdown and seemingly turned the tide of the bout in the fifth round with strong boxing skills. Nicklow was able to finish the bout in seemingly better shape in the sixth stanza.

Judges John Gradowski and Don Risher scored the bout 58-55 while Judge Malik Waleed saw the bout 58-56. My scorecard saw the bout for Champion, 58-55. Nicklow’s record is now 8-0, two KO’s while Champion, who beat Nicklow in the amateurs, drops to 3-2, two KO’s.

In a female bout, national amateur champion Shelly Seivert of Pasadena, MD made a successful pro debut by winning a four-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Kita Watkins of Carson, AR. Seivert showed good fundamentals throughout the contest as she put combinations together to win the bout. Watkins is now 2-1, one KO.

In other bouts on the card, Baltimore middleweight “The Golden Greek” Elias Bouloubassis battled York, SC’s Chris “The Hitman” Cooke to a four-round majority draw. Bouloubassis, a Marine Corps veteran who was making his pro debut, tried to pressure Cooke but Cooke’s awkward style made things rough for him. Judge Gary Camponeschi scored the bout for Cooke 39-37 while judges Don Risher and Malik Waleed scored the draw at 38-38. I saw the bout for Bouloubassis at 39-37.
Cooke’s record is now 1-4-1, one KO.

La Plata, MD light heavyweight Nick Caroleo defeated “The Dancing Machine” Robert Evans of Philadelphia by second-round technical knockout. Early in the second round, Evans a punch with his left hand and separated his shoulder. The incident forced referee John Gradowski to stop the bout at the 28-second mark. Caroleo, who saw his first action in more than a year, remained undefeated with the victory and his record is 3-0, two KO’s. Evans is now 0-2.

Heavyweight “Irish” Glenn Williams, now fighting out of Catonsville, MD, won his second straight bout scoring a second-round TKO over Derrick Martin of Gaffney, SC. Williams used sharp combinations to the body and head and broke Martin down throughout the contest. Williams is now 4-3-1, four KO’s. Martin is now 1-1, one KO.

In a super middleweight bout, Wilmington, DE’s Reuel Williams scored a crushing first-round KO over Baltimore’s Henry “Hurricane” Mayes. In the second minute of the round, Williams launched a devastating right hand that sent Mayes tumbling to the canvas. Referee Waleed didn’t bother to count and Williams notched the first knockout of his pro career. Williams is now 3-1, one KO while Mayes is 5-2, four KO’s with two no-contests. The two no-contests were originally knockout losses for Mayes that were changed when his opponents tested positive for banned substances.

In the opening contest, highly-touted amateur Dalemalik Robeson-El of Baltimore won his pro debut when he scored a third-round technical knockout over Michael Ciccone of New Brunswick, NJ. Robeson-El, who was ranked in the top 10 in the country as a light heavyweight in the amateurs, scored knockdowns with both hands before referee Camponeschi stopped the bout at one minute of the third. Ciccone’s record is now 1-2.

The promoter of the card was recent Maryland Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Jake “The Snake” Smith. The matchmaker was Josh Hall.

MORE RANDOM OBSERVATIONS: I believe it is painfully evident that this should be the last boxing card for both Jed Phipps and Henry Mayes. Both of them have suffered terrible knockouts in their careers, especially in recent months.

Phipps was absolutely stretched against Ralph West and it seems obvious that he will never live up to the promise that he showed when he started his pro career in 2002. At that time, I used to get many emails from fans heralding him as the next big thing in the heavyweight division. I don't get those emails anymore.

As far as Mayes is concerned, he only gets knocked out one way: one punch -- down he stays. I have not seen him get back up that well after a knockdown. Normally after just nine fights, you say maybe a guy can turn a career around. But in this case, unless Mayes suddenly learns how to avoid a right hand, it's not even worth it.

About the co-feature: Although I thought Jason Champion won the bout, I was still impressed by Jessie Nicklow. You tend to forget he is just 19 years old. Champion was, by far, Nicklow's toughest opponent and while he still has more to learn, he showed toughness and heart in that bout. It was a chancey move to take the bout, but in this case, Nicklow benefited from the bout. I think Champion will bounce back nicely as well.

I don't think Glenn Williams will be a world champion anytime soon, but this was the best I've seen from him. Williams took Martin's heart in that bout with his barroom brawling style.

Overall, the debuting boxers on the card looked pretty decent. I was very impressed with Dalemalik Robeson-El. He showed good power in both hands and nice patience. Shelly Seivert has some more to learn but I liked the way she put her combinations together. I thought Elias Bouloubassis let the emotion of the evening get to him a little bit. When I saw him as an amateur, I definitely saw more poise from him. There was too much emotion for him on this night, plus he faced a guy with a very weird style.

This seems to be the year of the separated/dislocated shoulder. It's happened at least three times this year. Nick Caroleo has had two bouts in his career where he benefitted from injury delays. In his win last November, his bout had to be delayed after the first round when another boxer on the card had to receive more medical attention. In this bout, another injury. I still don't know how good Caroleo really is.