Beltway Boxing 2017 -- Card Of The Year!

We are now at the Card Of The Year.   Although we had some high-profile, nationally-televised cards in the Beltway in 2017, none of those outings compared to many of the outstanding club show cards we had in the area this year.  The first card of the year set the pace for the rest of the cards to follow.  As good as some of the other cards were, none of those were able to upstage this February card that included the main event boxer getting his toughest victory as a pro, two Knockout Of The Year candidates and one Bout of The Year candidate.

The 2017 Beltway Boxing Card Of The Year took place on:

February 11, 2017 at Rosecroft Raceway, Fort Washington, MD -- Mykal Fox vs. Tre’Sean Wiggins, Luther Smith vs. Darnell Pierce, Gregory Clark vs. Patrick Rivera, Marcus Bates vs. Alec McGee

This King’s Promotions card had a lot of variety for the Beltway Boxing fan.  The main event saw Mykal Fox face his toughest opponent and survive, winning an eight-round majority decision over a very game Tre’sean Wiggins.  The co-feature had Luther Smith score a devastating first-round knockout over previously undefeated Darnell Pierce.  Also, Marcus Bates stunned Alec McGee with a knockout punch just four seconds into the sixth and final round.  The opening bout was a Bout of the Year honorable mention candidate as Gregory Clark won a four-round split decision over Patrick Rivera.

Honorable Mention (In Chronological Order)


March 30th -- Michael’s Eighth Avenue, Glen Burnie, MD (Kisner vs. Singletary, Artis vs. Wheeler, Dyer vs. Metchenov, Hall vs. White)  

The Baltimore Boxing card had a nice selection of bouts.  Nick Kisner won an eight-round split decision over Lamont Singletary.  Although the bout was a little awkward at times, it was extremely competitive.  Sherman Artis made his return to the win and won a close unanimous decision over Steve Wheeler.  The Jahmal Dyer/Evgeny Metchenov contest that was among the best bouts of the year was on this card as was Ernest Hall’s win over the always tough Lamont White.


June 17th -- Coppermine DuBurns Arena, Baltimore, MD (T. Douglas vs. Rivera, Reeves vs. Obando, Morris vs. Pearson)

This Shabazz Brothers card makes the list because of the competitiveness of the card.  Tyrieshia Douglas won the UBF Super Flyweight title with a fourth-round TKO over Ebony Rivera. Travis Reeves defeated Josue "Chiquilin" Obando of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico by fourth-round disqualification.  The other bouts on the card were tough ones for Beltway Boxers as Stephon Morris and Devin Butcher both lost their contests while Mack Allison IV battled to a draw.  Also, Jerry Forrest won a unanimous decision.

August 12th -- The Howard Theatre, Washington, DC (Harris vs. Lule, Martin vs. Dixon, Crews-Dezurn vs. LeBlanc)

The Nation’s Fight Night Promotion put on a nice inaugural show led by a six-round unanimous decision win for Patrick Harris against veteran Jesus Lule.  Kareem Martin won by six-round shutout over Evincii Dixon.  Franchon Crews-Dezurn captured a four-round unanimous decision over Sydney LeBlanc and Tiara Brown stopped Tammy Franks in the second round.  Also, Shynggyskhan Tazhibay won a four-round unanimous decision and Tyrek Irby scored a first-round knockout.  The card also had outstanding performances from out-of-town boxers Jaron Ennis and Brandon Lee who scored impressive stoppages.


Previous Beltway Boxing Cards of the Year:

2006 -- December 9, George Mason University Patriot Center, Fairfax, VA (Jimmy Lange draws with Fontaine Cabell, Dean White defeats Dorin Spivey, JP Flaim of the Junkies loses against Jay Watts.)

2007 -- December 7, Pikesville National Guard Armory, Pikesville, MD (Tim Coleman draws with Martinus Clay, Jessie Nicklow defeats Anthony Little and John Mackey defeats Tony Cygan) and August 3, Rosecroft Raceway, Fort Washington, MD (Pro-Am card -- Horace Grant over Mujaheed Moore, Thomas Snow knocks out Markel Muhammad, Seth Mitchell [his only amateur loss] falls to Abodurin Akinyanju and Dusty Harrison also on the amateur portion.

2008 -- October 18, ABC Sports Arena, Springfield, VA (John Mackey wins over Jesse Williams, Darrell Martin over Andre Nichols)

2009 -- September 25, Shipley Arena, Westminster, MD (Mark Tucker wins USBO title, Tyrell Samuel over Gustavo Dailey)

2010 -- March 20, Du Burns Arena, Baltimore, MD (Jessie Nicklow over Scott Sigmon, James Stevenson over George Rivera)

2011 – December 10, Washington Convention Center, Washington DC (Lamont Peterson over Amir Khan for IBF/WBA Junior Welterweight title, Seth Mitchell over Timor Ibragimov)

2012 -- October 27, George Mason University Patriot Center, Fairfax, VA (Tony Jeter over Jimmy Lange, Brandon Quarles draws with John Mackey)

2013 -- September 7 at Rosecroft Raceway, Fort Washington, MD,  (Phil Jackson Benson vs. Scott Sigmon, Alantez Fox vs. Zain Shah, Mike Reed vs. Rameses Gil)

2014 -- July 18 at Rosecroft Raceway, Fort Washington, MD -- (Larry Recio vs. Grayson Blake, Demond Nicholson vs. Jess Noriega, Terron Grant vs. Jose Del Valle)

2015 -- July 18, Sphinx Club, Washington, DC -- Marq Johns vs. Karl Garcia-Rios, Patrick Harris vs. Rafael Vasquez, Alantez Fox vs. Guillermo Valdes, Mykal Fox vs. Juan Carlos Castillo

2016 -- November 12, Coppermine Du Burns Arena, Baltimore, MD -- Travis Reeves vs. Aaron Quattrocchi, Stephon Morris vs. Gregory Clark, Jeffrey McCalla vs. Jose Valderrama, Devin Butcher vs. Eric Govan


Coming up, our final award: Boxer Of The Year!