BATB 2008 Year-In-Review: Prospect of the Year!

BATB’s choice for 2008 Beltway Boxing Prospect of the Year is…

“The Mongolian Mongoose” Bayan Jargal, junior welterweight, Arlington, VA, 9-0-1, six KO’s.

BATB’s 2007 Rookie of the Year advanced nicely in 2008 with four victories against opponents with .500 or better win-loss records. Jargal’s bouts also took him around the country as he fought in York, PA, Salem, VA, San Jacinto, CA and then back to DC.

Jargal’s August 9th bout against Maurice Chalmers was particularly impressive as Jargal scored a third-round technical knockout. Despite the short distance, both boxers received bonuses from the promoters for their efforts.

Jargal’s November 6 victory against Doel Carrasquillo during his second straight Fight Night appearance at the Washington Hilton and Towers was a relatively easy debut into the eight-round category and more than likely solidified his recent promotional contract signing with Let’s Get it On Promotions. Jargal already has two bouts lined up in the first two months of the year.

Others deserving consideration:

Willie “For Real” Williams, super middleweight, Baltimore, MD, 12-3-1, three KO’s.

Despite a mid-December majority decision loss in Florida, 2008 is still a year that Williams can be proud of.

Williams gained two tough victories over Alfred Kinsey and Jameel Wilson during the year. The Wilson victory gave him the East Coast Light Heavyweight title. Williams upgraded his level of competition fighting mostly against guys who had winning records. The loss to Jesse Blount in Jacksonville, Florida on December 12 does add a little bit of uncertainty going into 2009.

Tyrell “Da Show Shock’A” Samuel, featherweight, Baltimore, MD, 11-2, five KO’s.

Samuel battled through personal health issues and bout cancellations throughout 2008 to have a pretty successful year.

After the much-anticipated Maryland State Featherweight title bout against Thomas Snow was pulled at the last minute, Samuel had to battle tough heart diagnoses that threatened to stop his career.

Once those problems were overcome, Samuel was able to get back into the ring and have two solid bouts with fellow Beltway featherweight Ron Boyd. Both were Samuel victories. The second of the two bouts was Samuel’s first full 10-rounder where he dropped Boyd three times in the last three rounds en route to winning the Maryland State Super Featherweight title. Samuel now looks towards receiving bouts for regional titles in the first quarter of 2009.

Tony “Mo Better” Jeter, junior middleweight, Jessup, MD, 7-2, six KO’s.

Jeter won the fans balloting as Prospect of the Year with 27 percent of the votes cast.. Jeter made a strong return to boxing after a three-year absence. Jeter was one of the few to make an impact in and out of the ring as he added promoter and matchmaker to his resume.

In the ring, Jeter notched three wins against under-.500 competition, however he scored knockouts in two of the three victories and his unanimous decision win over Chris Cook was fought while Jeter was battling a flu that landed him in an area hospital a few days before.

It will be interesting to see which of Jeter’s accomplishments will have the biggest impact on the area. Jeter leads a strong promotional company (Better Promotions) and showed his skill as a matchmaker as well. Inside the ring, Jeter is also looking for bigger and, yes, better things.