Recap From Washington Golden Gloves Finals!

The finals of the Washington Golden Gloves contained a lot of excitement Saturday night in front of a nice crowd at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, MD.

In the Open Division, Gary Antuanne Russell (Enigma) continued his quest to win a second national Golden Gloves title at 141 pounds with a victory over Bryan Avelar (Sugar Ray Leonard).  Russell's hand speed and power was evident as he fended off a very game and talented Avelar.

At 165 pounds, Tavon Body (Headbangers) won his second straight title with a decision over Jerome Featherstone (Unattached).  Body used his height and a strong left jab to fend off Featherstone throughout the bout.

However, the breakout star of the night was Keeshawn Williams (The Answer) who won the 132-Pound title with his win over Tommy Avelar (Sugar Ray Leonard).  Williams was in great form with impressive hand speed and power that Avelar just could not keep up with.

Other winners in the Open Division:

123 Pounds: Marcus Wright (Keystone) over Paul Jerry (Fighting For The Future)

152 Pounds: Shynggskhan Tazhibay (Headbangers) over Jonathan Burr II (Unattached)

201 Pounds: Malik Titus (Upton) over Stephon Morris (UMAR)

108 Pounds: Demetrius Young (Headbangers) -- Unopposed Champion

114 Pounds: Jordan White (Pound For Pound) -- Wins by walkover

176 Pounds: Justin Bell (No Xcuse) -- Wins by walkover

In the Novice Division, Sippriano Zelldon (Headbangers) put on a charging perfomance to win the 152-Pound title over David Bakker (Laurel).

At 165 Pounds, Aaron Anderson (Mack Lewis) won a wild bout over Stephaun Hobbs (The Answer).  Both boxers landed solid shots but Anderson landed the more accurate blows to gain the victory.

In an all-Laurel final at 141 Pounds, Dante Cox defeated his gym mate Evegueny Metchenov.

Other winners in the Novice Division:

114 Pounds: Kevin Pendergrass (NOMIS) over Elliot Strickland (Lights Out)

123 Pounds: D'Jon Brown (NOMIS) over Delonte Rawlings (Old School)

132 Pounds:  Donnell Poe (Old School) over Stephen Epps (Rosedale)

178 Pounds:  Darryl Lane (Enigma) over Ambrose Anderson (Knowledge Boxing)

201 Pounds: Johnathen Surratt (Tony's Gym) over Alvin Amana (Lights Out)

201+ Pounds: Timothy Crawford (Sugar Ray Leonard) over Jimmy Speros (Olympia Boxing)

Unopposed champion 152 Pounds (Female): Krista Robinson (Keystone)

In the team awards competition, the Headbangers Gym won the Open Division, NOMIS took the Novice Division and No Xcuse won the Junior Division.

Three boxers were honored for Good Sportsmanship -- Deric Davis (Headbangers), Ervin Canlas (Keystone) and Siete Shuler (No Xcuse)

The Virginia/North Carolina Golden Gloves championships will be held this coming weekend, April 10-12, at the Hampton Roads Coliseum in Hampton, VA.  The Novice and Open winners from that tournament will take on the DC/Maryland winners at the Golden Gloves Regional championships on Saturday, April 25 at Rosecroft.

Here is a recap of the card as well as some thoughts on upcoming events from Juan Marshall and myself: