Lange Successfully Defends WBC USNBC Title!

Great Falls, VA junior middleweight Jimmy Lange scored a ninth-round TKO over Jonathan Reid of Nashville, TN to successfully defend his WBC USNBC Junior Middleweight title tonight at the George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA.

Both boxers mixed boxing and brawling throughout the contest. Lange was more successful landing the left jab but Reid took control at times when the bout became more of a brawl.

Lange dropped Reid with a right hand in the fourth round to take control of the contest. As the bout wore on, Reid was having trouble seeing out of his right eye. Lange dropped Reid with a overhand right late in the eighth round. After surviving the ninth, the Reid corner stopped the contest with their boxer on the stool.

Lange is now 31-3-2, 21 KO's while Reid is now 34-12, 19 KO's.

In the co-feature, former WBO Junior Welterweight champion DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley made a strong and successful return to the Beltway region, winning by eight-round unanimous decision over Harrison Cuello of Albany, NY.

Corley's experience shone through in this contest as the DC native was poised and in complete control. Corley, who came to ringside astride a motorcycle followed by his children who wore motorcycle helmets, dropped Cuello in the first round and was not fazed by Cuello's dancing antics in the ring. The judge's scorecards were 80-71, 79-72 and 78-73 for Corley, who has won five of his last six and is now 36-11-1, 21 KO's while Cuello is 18-12, five KO's.

This card also had what will probably end up being the Knockout of the Year along the Beltway. Columbia, MD middleweight Tony "Mo Better" Jeter scored a vicious, one-punch, referee-didn't-even-bother-to-count knockout over Prince Frederick, MD's Keith Gross. Here is a great shot of the punch taken, appropriately, by Linda "Great Shot" Siadys.




Gross came out charging against Jeter from the opening bell and tried to land a punch. Once Gross gave Jeter some space, the right hand from Jeter landed and dropped Gross quickly to the canvas. Referee Chris Wollesen immediately waved the bout off at 1:22 of the round.

Jeter is now 8-2, seven KO's while Gross, who suffered his second straight first-round knockout loss, is now 3-2, one KO.

There was a slight surprise in the card as undefeated Arlington, VA lightweight "The Mongolian Mongoose" Bayan Jargal was held to a six-round draw by the rugged Richard "Tiger" Lee Hall of Rocky Mount, NC.

Jargal may have received a gift in the draw as he was constantly pressured by the veteran Hall from the third round on. Jargal landed his familiar body attack, but could not keep Hall off of him. Afterwards, representatives of the Jargal camp told BATB that their boxer had been under the weather for the past week and probably should have pulled out of the contest.

Jargal, however, remains undefeated and is now 13-0-2, nine KO's. Hall is now 12-21-3, 10 KO's.

In women's action, Manassas, VA featherweight "The Bolivian Queen" Jennifer Salinas survived a late-bout knockdown to win a six-round split decision over Caitlin Dance of Louisville, KY.

Salinas had difficulty with her much taller opponent, however Dance did not use her height fully to her advantage. Instead of using her jab, Dance chose to smother Salinas. Dance, however, did land a punch that made Salinas stumble and fall. Although the Salinas camp thought it was a slip, Referee Michelle Myers called it a knockdown.

That was enough to sway judge Mark D'Antonini, who scored the bout for Dance, 58-56. Judges Brian Costello and Joe Gradowski scored the bout 58-56 and 57-56, respectively for Salinas, whose record rises to 11-1, three KO's. Dance is now 2-6, one KO.

Other results on the card:

Oxon Hill, MD light heavyweight Alexander "The Great" Johnson won a four-round unanimous decision over "The African Warrior" Francois Ambang of Richmond, VA. This is the second time Johnson has beaten Ambang in his career. Johnson is 7-0, three KO's while Ambang is 2-4.

DC welterweight Kendrick "Holy Hands" Walker and Richmond's Dwayne "Diesel" Shelton fought to a four-round draw. Walker is now 2-2-2, one KO while Shelton is 2-1-1.

In another exciting curtain-raising bout, Columbia, MD middleweight Barry Trotter won a four-round unanimous decision over a very game Tracy Brewer of Arlington, VA. If we had a best four-round Beltway Bout of the Year, this one, along with last night's bout in Westminster between Omar Sims and Alan Perkins, would be a prime candidate. Trotter dropped Brewer in the third round as both men traded right hands. It's hard to say what kept Brewer going until the final bell.

Trotter is 2-0 while Brewer suffers his first loss and he is 3-1, one KO.

The card was promoted by ICE Promotions, who is led by Jackie Kallen. The matchmaker was JD Brown. Among the boxing luminaries in attendance were former middleweight world champions Keith Holmes and William Joppy, current three-time world champ Paul "The Punisher" Williams (who also made the trip to Westminster the night before), former lightweight contender (and like Jeter, current newlywed) Jaime "The Punisher" Palma, middleweight prospect Jessie "The Beast" Nicklow and cruiserweight Robert "Mac Attack" McConnell, Jr.

Here is the BATB Post-Fight Wrap-Up Show that, due to cell phone difficulties on site, had to be recorded at BATB Headquarters.

Gabcast! Boxing Along the Beltway #187 - Patriot Center Report!

I recap the ICE Promotions card at the George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. Please listen as I describe a comment made at the post-fight press conference and talk about the upcoming schedule.