Clash at The Venue!
DOUBLE DOWN
Richie Boy Entertainment Promotions, Inc.
Horseshoe Casino, Hammond, Indiana
The VENUE Theater
November 21, 2008
Let’s start with an apology. Bolo Punch apologizes to Richie Boy Entertainment for assuming that this event would start at the usual 7ish or 8ish start time for boxing events in this area. I, for one, never even thought about checking to see what time the event started, so imagine our surprise when we got there “early”, only to learn that we’d actually missed the first five fights! The event started at 3pm. . . which was necessary to squeeze all twelve fights into the event! When most promotions are looking to stretch beer sales and overall event timeframes, Richie Boy needed more time. . . and that’s impressive.
Well, the first fight we actually SAW. . . was Cedric Agnew winning a unanimous decision after six rounds over Demetrius Jenkins. Agnew’s patience and professionalism are nearly as important for him as his two gloves are. He’s simply the image of a professional prizefighter. Hungry, yes, but willing to wait for the perfect moment to expose his opponent’s weaknesses, which was definitely on display on this night. Demetrius Jenkins, while talented, was clearly in over his head as Agnew used angles and focus to wobble and frustrate him. 60-53, 59-54 (twice) for the unanimous decision for Cedric Agnew.
Next came the WBO/NABO middleweight title fight, between Aaron Mitchell and DelRay Raines. Mitchell’s twin brother, Eric, would be fighting later the same evening in the main event, but now was Aaron’s time to shine. Not exactly a blistering pace, but a steady, effective display of boxing was showcased by both combatants, although the middle rounds of this twelve-rounder did seem to drag just a bit. Things picked up later, as Mitchell established his jab and imposed his will to a higher degree than his opponent, and picked up a unanimous decision victory along with the WBO/NABO middleweight title belt. Scores were 118-110 (twice) and 119-109, all for new champion Aaron Mitchell.
Giampiero Contestabile dropped Terrance Roy a total of seven times as he handed him another loss in their 5-round bout. Contestabile enjoyed his six-inch height advantage over Roy as he rattled him with jab after jab, using them to set up his power shots, which simply could not miss. His accuracy is astonishing, and his workrate helped him “skate” to a TKO stoppage win at 2:39 of round 5.
Carl Davis dismantled a giant of a man in Wallace “Bigfoot” McDaniel, who stands 6’8” and weighs a full 296 lbs. Davis’s accuracy and speed helped him land authoritative jabs (which incidentally, knocked McDaniel off his feet at one point), and then with two other thunderous knockdowns, the referee mercifully saved McDaniel from any more punishment at 1:31 of round one. Officially, it goes in the books as a KO, but honestly, since no referees ever count to ten anymore, the line between KO and TKO get blurry sometimes. Either way you slice it, Carl Davis won this fight in a big way, and the man who was once called out by former heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs is still looking for his big “coming out party” challenge.
Joey Hernandez showed total dominance in a one-sided bout with Jesse Davis, who never seemed to even get fully warmed up. Hernandez was on him from the opening bell, and treated Davis like a mobile punching bag. During the third round when Hernandez landed 12 unanswered shots to the face of Davis, referee Kurt Spivey was forced to halt the action at 2:34 of round three.
The final bout of the night was for the USBA/WBO/NABO junior middleweight titles, pitting Danny Perez against Eric Mitchell. Perez, who enjoyed a 12-year age advantage over the 39-year-old Mitchell, did not enjoy Mitchell’s aggressiveness, however. This was a foul-filled affair, with multiple low blows and holding warnings on both sides. Perez was clearly bothered more by the infractions, though, and tried, to his credit, to keep the fight clean. Mitchell, on the other hand, held and held throughout the otherwise entertaining later rounds of the fight, until Perez was fed up and started an all-out assault on his opponent in the ninth, only to be held again for the tenth and eleventh round. Slowly, the audience could feel the title drifting away from Mitchell, who didn’t fight as if he wanted to defend it, to be totally honest. By the twelfth round, the holding infractions were too much for the referee to overlook, and the fight was awarded to Danny Perez on a DQ, making him the new USBA/WBO/NABO junior middleweight champion.
Bolo Punch would like to thank Richie Boy Entertainment Promotions, Horseshoe Casino’s VENUE Theater, and Tracye Zimmerman for a great evening of professional boxing, with more of it’s share of excitement and action. Special thanks also goes out to Mr. Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, who made a special guest appearance at the event, much to the delight of the audience.
***Exclusive ringside report by Chris Guzman, who has hosted The Bolo Punch Boxing Hour since 2002. Ringside photography by Emil Kegebein.
