Nicklow, Kennedy Battle to Spirited Majority Draw!

In a bout that is the clubhouse leader for Beltway Boxing Bout of the Year, Baltimore boxers Jessie "The Beast" Nicklow and "Vicious" Julius Kennedy battled to a tremendously close 10-round majority draw. Neither boxer will hold the WBF All-Americas or Maryland State Middleweight titles.

I will go into detail at length later today, but suffice it to say that this was one of the closest contests that I have seen in quite some time.

Also on the card, Baltimore heavyweight Jed "The Punisher" Phipps was stopped by Theron Johnson of Chicago, IL at 37 seconds of the first round. Baltimore cruiserweight Steve "Show Stealer" Wheeler remained undefeated with a first-round stoppage of Winchester, VA's debuting Donald Crawford. The time was 2:07. Also, Maxell "The General" Taylor made a successful return to action with a six-round unanimous decision over Francois Ambang.

Here are my thoughts on the card.

The Julius Kennedy-Jessie Nicklow bout may not go down in history as the greatest bout in Baltimore Boxing history, but as of right now, it is the best Beltway bout of 2010. A member of the Maryland State Athletic Commission had the best description of the bout when he said that the two boxers were "mirror images of each other." That is what made this bout so fascinating. Sometimes the two would throw the same sequence of punches at exactly the same time. The two sparred with one another, but this bout did not resemble a sparring session in any way.

I told that same MSAC representative after the fourth round of the contest that I didn't think either boxer was leaving with the belts tonight. That's what happened. Both men deserved to win the bout and neither man deserved to lose. Both men fought with passion and both men looked as good as I have seen them in a while. Judges John Gradowski and Dave Braslow scored the bout 95-95 while Don Risher saw it 98-92 for Nicklow. Nicklow is now 20-2-3, seven KO's while Kennedy is 7-1-1, three KO's.

About the co-feature: The conventional wisdom would probably be to say to Jed Phipps to hang it up. Phipps lost in 37 seconds to a boxer who scored his first knockout of his pro career in Theron Johnson. From the outside, it did look like he didn't take punches very well. However, Phipps is a heavyweight who I thought deserved a little bit more time to gather himself. Phipps never went down in that time. Talking to him after the bout, I saw a renewed passion in Phipps. He did say he wanted to make sure that never happens again. We'll wait and see. For now, Phipps is now 18-8, 11 KO's while Johnson is 4-3, one KO.

In 2009, I said that Steve Wheeler was the sleeper of the rookie class. He is doing nothing to prove me wrong. Yes, Wheeler did face a guy that was making his pro debut, but you have to like how Wheeler is taking people who don't have the talent he has out. Wheeler has solid power and good boxing skill and is truly, yet quietly cultivating a following in the area. No need to rush this guy because it will be very interesting to see how he develops. Wheeler is now 6-0, five KO's.

As far as Maxell Taylor, it is really nice to see this guy back in the business again. Taylor, who originally fought as a junior middleweight, looks like he will now be a super middleweight and he will bring some solid talent to that division. Give Taylor and his camp credit for coming back for his first bout in five years in a six-round contest against a tough guy like Francois Ambang, one of those boxers that if he could stop taking bouts on short notice, would have a much better career. Taylor looked prepared, using a solid jab. The big question will be if Taylor has the punching power to bang with boxers at 168 pounds. One thing is for sure: we have another solid boxing brother combination in the area in Maxell and Emmanuel Taylor.

There were some interesting luminaries in the crowd: Former world champion Vinny Paz was in attendance as was noted trainer Kevin Rooney. We were also honored by the presence of the Mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who unlike most public officials, didn't just make an appearance to show everyone she was there and then leave. Mrs. Rawlings-Blake stayed for the entire card and willingly posed for pictures with other fans. Hopefully, she will not be a stranger to us. Also joining us was 1970's era heavyweight and Baltimore legend Larry Middleton along with one of the best amateurs to come out of this era, Warren "Chico" Thompson (whom I did not introduce to the crowd last night and I do apologize).

Finally, let me just say that I had a unique experience with this card. As many of you know, I served as the WBF supervisor for the title bout. This position allowed me to learn this business from a different perspective. I get to talk to boxers and I get to sit close to the action as a reporter. However, I am not always privy to the true inner workings of this business. I was closer to that aspect of the business last night than I have ever been before. I was involved in being a part of and even conducting rules meetings, witnessing a drug test, sitting among commission members during the bout and seeing how they operate and being a part of the behind-the-scenes operation of a card. These and many other situations are parts of the business that I know operate but to actually be a part of it was a definite learning experience, one that I will truly cherish. My thanks to the World Boxing Foundation as well as the Maryland State Athletic Commission for the opportunity.

As I was writing this, I was able to recover last night's BATB Post-Fight Wrap-Up so I will post it so you can hear "The Fight Doctor" Jerome Spears's comments on the card. This report does cut out too soon, but the complete analysis of the card is on here.

Gabcast! Boxing Along the Beltway #233 - Another Post-Fight Wrap-Up from Du Burns Arena!

Once again, "The Fight Doctor" Jerome Spears and I recap action from Du Burns Arena in Baltimore. This week, it's the Baltimore Boxing card.



Also, here's the interview with Maxell "The General" Taylor

Gabcast! Boxing Along the Beltway #231 - 'The General' Talks About His Return!

Baltimore super middleweight Maxell "The General" Taylor talks to BATB about his victorious return to boxing.