I attended my first ever Golden Gloves tournament and was treated to a feast of blood, sweat, and tears (oh my!). On day one of the finals of the 83rd annual New York Golden Gloves which saw 60 men and women compete between Thursday and Friday of last week, war was waged between two plumbers that set the standard of competitiveness for the rest of the field that could not be matched. 19 year old Peter Dobson from the Bronxchester boxing club squared off against 21 year old Gary Berriguette from the Universal boxing club in Brooklyn, both claimed jobs as plumbers and something about facing a fellow plumber must have lit a fuse in both fighters as they tore into each other like rabid pitbulls. They waged war on the inside, near the ropes, in the corners and everywhere in between. They took turns pinning each other up against the ropes where each man found success.
The first round became a bloodfest when the seemingly more polished Dobson managed to bloody Beriguette's nose and ended up covered in his opponent's blood for the rest of the fight. This managed to slow down Beriguette just a bit but he was still undeterred and continued to wade in with reckless abandon, throwing relentlessly with mixed results. Dobson got untracked by spinning out of corners and countering, using more and more movement to get the better of the exchanges as the fight wore on. But although Dobson began using more of his skill he by no means slowed down the violent pace that was set by both fighters. This fight was as close to Arturo Gatti versus Mickey Ward as you can get at the amateur level. The two did not stop firing punches at each other till the end of the final round, fighting as though the winner would be awarded with the plumbing contract for the entire city.
Dobson earned the decision by virtue of his more accurate punching and both men earned the standing ovation given to them by the crowd for their efforts. They had officially won over the crowd and became the toughest act to follow. Dobson took home the 152 pound novice title.
The New York Golden Gloves produced by the Daily News is the oldest and largest amateur boxing tournament in the nation. It's used as a springboard for local fighters to qualify for the Olympics as well as the pros and the ultimate thrill ride for weekend warriors looking for the spotlight at Madison Square Garden. It has been a breeding ground for New Yorkers who would go on to become Olympians, pro contenders and champions. Among them are Mark Breland, Iran Barkley, Gerry Cooney, Junior Jones, Mike Tyson, and Hector Camacho. The atmosphere created at the Garden for the Golden Gloves finals is electric as the crowd is comprised of former and current boxers as well as the passionate supporters of the participants which includes their vocal friends and families. You definitely find more rooting passion here then for most NJ Nets basketball games.
The ladies offered a fight that came close to matching the showdown of the plumbers in terms of excitement when heavyweights Shannel Mathes representing K-2 Boxing in Queens fought Naralie Pacheco from the Juan Laporte boxing club in the Bronx. This fight got the loudest pop from the crowd as a right hand from Mathes went astray and landed on the chest of the ref who towered over the ladies and brought him down like a redwood in the forest. Mathes was able to use her reach to pop Pacheco in the face all night, but the full time mom was willing to pay the price in order to get in close enough to throw her overhand rights which repeatedly landed on the side of Mathes' head. The rights were thunderous and could be felt by ringsiders. If it weren't for the 4 round limits, it looked like Pacheco's gamble would have paid off in the form of a knockout win but instead she had to settle for a decision loss as Mathes was able to outland her form the outside and win the female Golden Gloves championship.
Other notable results included 21 year old Shemuel Pagan's decision win over 19n year old Carlos Teron for the 141 pound title, his fifth Gold Gloves title. 119 Pound Christina Cruz winning her fourth Gloves title over Alexis Asher by decision, 19 year old Marcus Brown voted the tournament's most outstanding boxer won the 178 pound open title and the lovely sometimes model Dariana Casado dropped a decision to eventual female champion LaTrisha Fountain.
Super 6 Tourney Shake Up---Arthur Abraham loses by DQ to Andre Direll
The World Boxing Classic Super Six tournament, the tournament with the World Cup soccer rules and international feel involving the six of the top 168 pounders, was shaken up this weekend as the leader Armenian Arthur Abraham suffered his first ever defeat at the hands of American Andre 'the Matrix' Direll who picked himself up from his first round points loss to Englishmen Carl Froch at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan last Saturday.
Abraham entered this weekend as heavy favorite and the scoreboard leader of the tournament with 3 points by virtue of his knockout victory over former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in the first round of the Super 6. Direll was scoreless since dropping a controversial decision against Carl Froch in England, but now he was fighting in front of what was basically his hometown crowd as he hails from nearby Flint, Michigan and he was determined to make the best of it. The combination of Abraham being a slow starter and the movement and boxing skill of Direll gave the early rounds to the Michigan resident.
The first two rounds Abraham fought as if he came from the Joshua Clottey school of boxing, high guard up and no punches. He finally started up his offense in the third, landing some blows to let Direll know that he wasn't alone in the ring. But in the fourth round Direll was able to take advantage of an off balance Abraham and land a punch that drove the Armenian down to the canvas. The American was beginning to distance himself on the scorecards when in the 6th round he opened up a cut on Abraham's right eye that came from a punch. The situation was becoming dire for the visiting fighter and he began to chase Direll and finally break thru in the eight round with some blows that moved 'the Matrix'. By the eight round Direll was on his bicycle, a tactic that cost him in England but was probably safer to execute in front of his hometown fans and the all Michigan judges that were assigned to the fight despite Abraham's protests.
There appeared to be a missed knockdown call of Direll in the 10th round by the ref and just as it appeared that Abraham was coming on in the eleventh disaster struck. Direll went down to one knee from a glancing blow and Abraham reacting perhaps out of frustration or just in the heat of the moment nailed Direll with a right hand. Direll pitched back into the ropes and then fell back into unconsciousness. He began to twitch on the floor as his brother and cornermen ran across the ring to tend to him which threatened to cause a volatile situation in the ring. Abraham was disqualified which earned Direll 2 points and new life in the tournament pending his recovery from the brutal foul.
The latest leader board update on the tournament has Abraham in the lead with 3 points, a three way tie between Andre Ward, Andre Direll, and Carl Froch at 2 points each, and zero points for Mikell Kessler and Allan Green who was brought in to replace Jermain Taylor who bowed out of the tournament after suffering his second consecutive knockout loss. Second round action continues on April 24th when Carl Froch faces off against Mikell Kessler who is in a must win situation.
Weekend Notes
On second thought the battle of the plumbers more resembled the first few rounds of the Ring Magazine's 2009 fight of the year between lightweight champ Juan Manuel Marquez and 'the Baby Bull' Juan Diaz. Here is a sample of that action to give you a sense of what it was like to watch the plumbers tear into each other.
- I know as an American I should be rooting for Direll or Ward to win the World Boxing Classic but I have to say that I have a hard time rooting for guys who look spectacular for the first half of a fight and then turn into Hector Camacho at the first sign of trouble. Its the same reason why I didn't complain when after winning the first 8 rounds against Felix Trinidad, De La Hoya turned threw away the last 4 rounds and was screwed by the judges who gave the fight to Trinidad. Here's hoping that Allan Green the other American entrant in the tournament turns out to be the destroyer most boxing fans are looking for.
- I admit that mentioning Dariana Casado's loss instead of phrasing it the other way to showcase LaTrisha Fountain's win was a shameless plug for Casado. Sue me. I used to train at the same gym as Casado years ago and the way she jumped rope was mesmerizing. She made it look effortless and graceful at the same time. Think of a ballerina skipping rope. Plus she is soooo easy on the eyes.
- Dominican Joan Guzman defeated Ali Funeka in a rematch of their lightweight match last year in which most observers agreed that Guzman was gifted a draw and Funeka was robbed of a win. Guzman came in 9 pounds over the limit as he has done in other big fights before and used his weight advantage to drop Funeka twice in the fight in route to a decision win. Guzman weighed in as a welterweight for the fight while Funeka was near the lightweight limit at 135. This guy needs to stay at welterweight so that he can stop screwing over the fighters at lightweight with his lack of professionalism.
- One final note about the female heavyweight fight between Shannel Mathes and Naralie Pacheco in the Golden Gloves finals at the Garden. I was totally digging the way Pacheco would smile and shrug off the punches that Mathes who was the physically bigger woman hit her with. It reminded me of the old Saturday afternoon kung fu movies in which the combatants would laugh off their opponents best blows in order to psyche them out. It must have been disheartening to Mathes to see her straight rights get laughed off like that. But it was a credit to her professionalism that she didn't let it get to her.
- Win, lose, or draw Arthur Abraham remains one dangerous dude. He's primarily responsible for the ouster of Jermain Taylor from the Super 6 tournament and albeit illegally he has knocked out another contestant in the tournament and you just don't know how well an athlete's body can recover from such a blow as the one Direll took full flush. Abraham has suffered his first loss, I wouldn't want to be the next man who faces him.
It was Alexander's first showing on HBO and based on this performance its sure not to be his last. Urango was his usual self applying pressure and trying to make a brawl of the contest but the young product of St. Louis used his superior footwork and hand speed to either maneuver his way out of trouble or blast his way out. The IBF champ was bleeding from the nose by the third round but was starting to find some success with his power shots and drew Alexander into a fire fight. Luckily for the young 23 year old WBA champ he was able to use his boxing skills to outland Urango who was still game until the end came in the eighth round after an Alexander uppercut put him down on the canvas. The soon to be former IBF champ rose at the count of ten only to be met with another series of uppercuts that put him back down again. By the time Urango got back up to beat the ten count referee Benji Estedes had seen enough and waved the contest over. Devon Alexander has unified the IBF and WBA junior welterweight championships and has set himself up as a top contender for the real junior welterweight champion of the world Manny Pacquiao. Urango's record falls to 22-3-1 and marks the third loss in three appearances on HBO although this is the only fight in which he was defeated so decisively. The bout took place at the Mohegun Sun in Uncassville, CT and the promoter of the event was Don King promotions. 
