Beltway Boxing Year-In-Review: Micellaneous!

Here are some other BATB Awards to hand out for 2008:

Beltway Boxing Bout of the Year--Juan “Savior” Rodriguez vs.Benjamin Borteye, November 7 – Show Place Arena, Upper Marlboro, MD

This was an incredible bout that featured two guys VERY young in their careers.

Debuting Haymarket, VA junior welterweight Juan "Savior" Rodriguez scored a heart-pounding third-round knockout over a very game Benjamin Borteye of Silver Spring, MD.

Both boxers opened their arsenals from the opening bell and traded brutal shots. Rodriguez was able to land left hands with regularity, while Borteye effectively used uppercuts that bloodied Rodriguez's nose.

In the third round, Rodriguez used a short right uppercut and caught Borteye coming in. The impact made Borteye do the splits as he crashed to the canvas. Borteye beat referee Kenny Chevalier's count but shortly after, Rodriguez landed a left-right combination that dropped Borteye to the canvas face first. Chevalier waved off the bout at 58 seconds of the third.

Since Rodriguez made his pro debut in November of 2008, he qualifies for the rookie class of 2009. Rodriguez is slated to be back in action on January 17 at the ABC Sports Arena in Springfield, VA.


Special Recognition -- Todd “White Lightning” Wilson vs. Mike Denby –September 19, Maryland Sportsplex, Millersville, MD

Undefeated junior welterweight Todd "White Lightning" Wilson of Fairfax, VA put on a gutsy performance in winning his first six-round contest by unanimous decision over an equally tough "Strictly Business" Mike Denby of Felton, DE. After the first four rounds, it was Wilson who finished extremely strong, picking up the pace in the final two rounds to earn the decision.

Knockout of the Year: Seth Mitchell TKO2 over Alexis Cruz Medina, May 29, Michael’s Eighth Avenue, Glen Burnie, MD

Brandywine, MD heavyweight Seth "Mayhem" Mitchell scored a crushing second-round technical knockout over Alexis Cruz Medina of Science Hill, KY. Mitchell was all business from the opening bell and eventually landed a crushing right hand that had Medina bouncing off the ropes onto his knees and out. Referee Gary Camponeschi stopped the bout immediately at 1:23 of the second. The knockout has become a hit on YouTube, thanks ironically to Medina, who posted the knockout on YouTube.

Special Recognition: Joe Gardner TKO1 over Donavan Toles, October 18, ABC Sports Arena, Springfield, VA

Landover, MD heavyweight Joe Gardner made his pro debut a successful one and caused an hour-long delay of this card in the process. Gardner scored a first-round TKO over Warren, OH's Donavan Toles. Gardner used an almost 60-pound weight advantage early as he leveled Toles with a brutal three-piece combination that ended with a crushing left that stretched Toles at forty seconds of the round. Toles had to be taken to a nearby hospital for observation.


Card of the Year: October 18, ABC Sports Arena, Springfield, VA.

This was the card of the year for a lot of reasons.

1. Enthusiasm. The enthusiasm surrounding the main event on the card -- The NABC US Middleweight Title bout between John Mackey and Jesse Williams -- was unlike any other that I saw in 2008. I have never seen line dancing celebrate a boxer's victory before.

2. Solid undercard. The minor upset Darrell Martin had over Andre Nichols in the co-feature may have helped give Martin the confidence to score an even bigger upset in Philadelphia later in the year. There was a good matchup between Lenwood Dozier and Benjamin Borteye and a solid performance by Norman Allen. Also the Joe Gardner knockout of Donavan Toles was on this card.

3. Co-Promotion. This card was a co-promotion with After Shock Events and Sugar Han Productions, continuing to show the unity that seems to prevail among the Virginia promoters.

4. Nice assistance by Beltway Boxing Legends. A number of former Beltway-area pros worked the card as trainers during the evening. Former IBF Junior Middleweight champion Vincent "The Ambassador" Pettway worked the corner of Darrell Martin. Former USBA Light Heavyweight champ Tim "Da Bamma" Hillie was in the corner of Norman Allen. Former middleweight contender Victor Davis guided Joe Gardner while Willie "The Heat" Taylor was in the corner of Daivii Otgonbayer. All four trainers led their charges to victory.

Other cards deserving of recognition:

September 19, Maryland Sportsplex, Millersville, MD

This was a nice maiden voyage card for Better Promotions. The card had the great bout between Todd Wilson and Mike Denby, a controversy in a female bout between Shelly Seivert and Carinne Hamlett. Also, the card saw Mark "TNT" Tucker go four rounds for the first time in his career, stopping veteran Carlos "The Headbanger" Jones and a great bout between Ikem Orji and Raymondo Elliott.

March 1, Pikesville National Guard Armory, Pikesville, MD

This card is on this list because it was so bizarre. This was perhaps the shortest night of boxing action ever seen in the Beltway -- Six bouts, six first-round knockouts -- a total of 7 minutes and 39 seconds of actual ring time.

Jessie "The Beast" Nicklow scored a crunching knockout over veteran Richard "Tiger" Lee Hall. The bout ended at 2:06 of the first.

Mark "TNT" Tucker scored a knockout in his pro debut over Walter Edwards of Wilson, NC. Edwards could not come out for the second round, making the knockout at the end of the first.

Shelley Seivert scored the first knockout of her pro career, stopping Leslie Lubaczewski of Bramwell, West Virginia in 34 seconds.

Seth "Mayhem" Mitchell celebrated his signing with Golden Boy Promotions by knocking out Maurice Winslow of Wilson, NC in 46 seconds. Mitchell is 2-0, one KO. Winslow is 1-5-1, one KO.

Lenwood "Mr. Composure" Dozier stopped Wilson's Louechie Wiggins in 27 seconds.

In an all-Florida matchup, undefeated welterweight Richard "El Tigre" Abril of Naples (by way of Cuba) stopped Marcos Hernandez of Miami (by way of the Dominican Republic in 46 seconds.

These were all legitimate knockouts. The opponents came to fight, they just got hammered by the victors.

Special Recognition: October 3, Wicomico Youth and Civic Center, Salisbury, MD.

Probably, this card would be the card of the year -- if I actually witnessed the card in person. The card does deserve special recognition because of the crowd numbers as well as the apparent enthusiasm before, during and after the card. It put Salisbury on the boxing map and garnered an ESPN2 date in February.


I have two more items to mention in our year-in-review that I will bring to light no later than Monday.