Grant, McRae Win By Knockout; Qato Regains WBF Middleweight Crown!

Beltway heavyweights Horace "The Reason" Grant and "The Big Ticket" Dwayne McRae scored knockout victories while Albania's Kreshnik "The Eagle" Qato retained his WBF (World Boxing Foundation) Middleweight championship by KO during the Babie Girl Productions card at Howard University's Burr Gymnasium.

Grant, now fighting out of Riverdale, MD, scored a third-round TKO over late sub Kevin Hood of Coatesville, PA. Grant dropped Hood in the second round with a solid uppercut and went on to the relatively easy win. The bout was stopped at 1:20 of the third round. Grant is now 14-2, nine KO's while Hood is 5-11-1.

Laurel, MD's McRae tallied a first-round knockout over "The People's Champion" Jonathan Felton of Stafford, VA. After both men came into the ring with colorful and interesting entrances, it was McRae who went to work first, landing shots early in the round. At one point, Felton picked up McRae and tossed him to the mat.

Felton fought from a crouch and tried to make himself a smaller target for the taller McRae, but McRae was still able to land shots. McRae landed enough punches for Felton's cornerman -- DC Boxing Hall of Famer "Juice" Gatling -- to call for the bout to be stopped after 2:31 of the first.

Felton disagreed with his corner's stoppage and went into a frenzy, trying to pick up and toss ringside chairs and climbing onto a nearby basketball support before he was physically escorted to the locker room area. The baskets remained on the court in preparation for a Howard-George Mason women's basketball game on Sunday afternoon.

McRae is now 3-0, three KO's while Felton, who could be facing his second fine or suspension this year, is now 5-14, five KO's.

The main event saw Albanian native Qato successfully defend his WBF World Middleweight title with a sixth-round TKO over David "The Weezil" Estrada of Chicago, IL.

Although Qato was fighting in the United States for the first time in his pro career, the atmosphere in the Burr must have felt like a slice of home as numerous supporters from Qato's home country were in attendance and were VERY vocal. There were also video crews from Albanian Community Television and the Albanian Bureau of the Voice of America.

Qato proved to be technically sound, showing good defense and solid output. Estrada was game but could not keep up with the increasing output from the champion. Qato landed solid shots to the head and body. The fifth round looked like it could have easily been scored a 10-8 round as the champion dominated. The sixth round proved to be academic as Qato continued his assault and the Estrada corner threw in the towel. The bout was stopped at 2:18 of the sixth round.

Qato is now 18-6, three KO's while Estrada falls to 12-11, nine KO's.


In the co-feature, Wayne "The Cobra" Cooper of Evansville, IN and William Prieto of Lorain, OH fought to an eight-round draw for the WBF All-Americas Super Middleweight crown. Both guys had their moments in this one. Prieto, who had not fought since September of 2007, came out early and landed crushing shots against Cooper. Prieto owned the early part of the contest.

But Cooper came back, helped in part by a seemingly intentional body slam of Prieto in the fourth round. However, things evened out in the sixth when Cooper seemingly landed a right hook that dropped Prieto. However, referee Kenny Chevalier ruled there was no knockdown.

Judge Tammye Jenkins scored the bout 77-75 for Cooper. Judge Paul Wallace saw the contest 78-74 for Prieto. Judge Paul Artisst witnessed the fight as a draw 77-77, apparently scoring one round a 10-10 round. BATB saw the contest a draw at 76-76.

The bout was arguably the best of the night and the only one to reach the distance. A rematch is definitely in order. Cooper is now 8-1-2, five KO's while Prieto is 5-3-1, two KO's.

Other bouts on the card saw Jesse Brinkley of Las Vegas, NV score a relatively easy third-round TKO over "Gentleman" James Johnson of Shreveport, LA. The bout was stopped at 1:54 of the third round. Brinkley can now focus on his February 14 bout against fellow Contender: Season One star Joey Gilbert on February 14 in Las Vegas. Brinkley will enter the bout with a record of 32-5, 22 KO's. Johnson falls to 23-31-2, 12 KO's.

Also rookie middleweight Bastie "The Beast" Samir of Ghana (by way of Las Vegas) scored a crushing first-round TKO over William "Bam Bam" Armstead of Columbus, OH. Samir repeatedly dropped Armstead with crushing body shots before referee Michelle Hall stopped the contest at 1:02 of the round.

Samir is now 3-0, three KO's -- all coming in the first round. Armstead falls to 2-9, one KO.

There were also two amateur bouts on the card. Robert Taylor of Tony's Boxing Gym in DC won by decision over Baltimore's Sherman Artisst in a 165-pound novice bout. Also, Marquis Taylor of Tony's Gym stopped Jimmy Romano of the Annandale Boxing Club in the second round of a 152-pound bout.

Before we get to the BATB Post-Fight Wrap-Up, let me say that promoter Cassandra White put together a solid promotion. In a smaller location, the crowd that attended the show would have looked like a packed house. The Burr Gymnasium seats 2,700 for basketball without the floor seats. Given the time of year, I thought it was a good crowd.

White also has, perhaps for the first time, some blocks to build on. With the Albanian crowd coming out in good numbers, White obviously has built contacts with the Albanian community and her association with the World Boxing Foundation has the potential to be a very fruitful one.

Personally, I think a title bout between Qato and one of the Beltway middleweight contenders/prospects (Jimmy Lange, George Rivera, Ishmail Arvin, Jessie Nicklow, to name a few) would be a nice matchup that would draw a lot of people. All four of those Beltway middleweights have better records than David Estrada and Arvin actually holds a win over Estrada.

Also, White has built a solid partnership with Howard University, so solid that Deborah Johnson, White's contact at Howard, announced to the crowd that the university wants to continue hosting pro boxing at The Burr-- but ONLY with Babie Girl Productions!

Let's now go to the wrap-up that not only gives more commentary on this card, but also contains exclusive announcements on when and where the first Beltway pro card of 2009 will take place and big news concerning one of our Beltway prospects.

Gabcast! Boxing Along the Beltway #142 - Results From a Championship Night in DC!

"The Fight Doctor" Jerome Spears and I are joined by Ringside Report.com CEO "Bad" Brad Berkwitt as we discuss the WBF Middleweight title clash and the entire Babie Girl Productions card at Howard University's Burr Gymnasium. We also have breaking news involving a Beltway Boxing prospect!