Report on Greensboro Boxing Event Saturday, June 7, 2014

At the Greensboro Coliseum Pavilion Saturday night, Walter Johnson Promotions featured seven bouts of boxing to about 400 fans in attendance. Seven fighters from North Carolina appeared on the card. It was only the second boxing event in the State of North Carolina this year, the first occurring in April and also promoted by Walter Johnson.

In a card billed as Saturday Night KO Fights, the first match began about 8:30PM with Welterweight Sammie Milhouse of Denmark, South Carolina improving his unbeaten record to 4-0 with a quick 1st-round TKO of his opponent, Avery Hines of Wilson, North Carolina. Hines falls to 0-4.

The second bout of the evening pitted two North Carolina boxers. Fighting as a Cruiserweight, hometown favorite Tyson Harrison (now 2-0) of Greensboro defeated Chorles Parker of Wilson. (I checked; “Chorles” is not misspelled). Parker’s professional record drops to 1-4.

The next bout, also Cruiserweights, ended quickly when undefeated Daniel Powell (now 9-0) of Columbia, South Carolina stopped fellow Columbia, SC boxer, Sean Lockhart. The fight was halted by the referee in the 1st round. Lockhart, who has been fighting since 1996, runs his loss record to 22; he's now 5-22-2.

Up next was a pair of unbeaten Heavyweights. Ernest Blackwell of Reidsville, North Carolina entered the ring with a record of 2-0 and faced James Hammortree of Florida who was 3-0.  Several minutes later the referee called a halt to the bout, giving Hammortree the 1st-round TKO win. The Florida boxer is now 4-0 and Blackwell drops to 2-1.

The final three fights of the evening turned out to be far more competitive and exciting. A North Carolina favorite from Winston-Salem, Christian Dominguez, scored a knockdown in the 1st and 2nd rounds. His opponent was tough veteran Richard Lee Hall of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, who was making his comeback. Hall came back strong in the 4th and 5th rounds with hard shots to the head of Dominguez. The final 6th Round had the crowd on their feet and cheering loudly with explosive toe-to-toe action in the Welterweight bout. In the end, the two early knockdowns likely gave Dominguez the points needed for a Unanimous Decision win. Christian Dominguez is now 7-1 and has a 5-fight win streak since 2012. Hall falls to 10-22-3. Despite Hall’s record and not having fought since 2009 (a draw against a fighter that was undefeated at the time; 13-0), Hall performed well, showing little ring rust.

Also returning from a long lay-off, hometown Cruiserweight fighter Paul Jennette of Greensboro, North Carolina faced the undefeated Puerto Rican, Keith Tapia. A 45-year-old Jennette was rocked hard by solid Tapia punches in the 1st and 2nd rounds of the 8-Round scheduled bout, and there was every indication the fight was going to end early. But Jennette seemed to recover and from the 3rd round on as he stepped up the pressure, initiated exchanges, and countered well. Tapia’s hand-speed, however, ultimately resulted in a Unanimous Decision win. Tapia improved his unbeaten record to 12-0. Jennette, who last fought in 2011, is now 11-5-1. Paul Jennette commented on his Facebook page that talks are already underway for a rematch with Tapia and that Tapia has agreed. Jennette is confident he will do much better next time.

The Main Event presented what was obviously two well-seasoned fighters when Scott “Cujo” Sigmon of Lynchburg, Virginia battled it out with undefeated Columbia, South Carolina native, 19-year-old DeAndre Robinson-Neal. Fans in attendance from both Virginia and South Carolina that came out took turns cheering their guy on during vicious back-and-forth action during the early rounds, in which Neal’s hand speed and punch count seemed superior. In the later rounds, a bloodied Cujo, bleeding from above the left eye and back of head from accidental head-butts, stepped up the attack and took advantage of a weakening Neal. Neal continued to land an occasional heavy shot to Cujo Sigmon’s head, but it did not appear to have any effect as Cujo dominated, Neal often with his back to the ropes. When the final 8th round ended, it seemed that a classic case of experience versus youth would mean a victory for Sigmon, but most fans seemed disappointed and booed the decision as two of the three judges scored the bout a Draw. A third judge scored it for Neal. On Scott Sigmon’s Facebook page he commented: “Well the fight ended in a draw. I thought I won and Deandre felt he won. At the end of the day our job is to fight, not judge…”  Sigmon’s record is now 24-5-1 and Neal 12-0-1. DeAndre Neal’s 20th Birthday was on the following day.

Earl "Chocolate Drop" Ladson of Winston-Salem vs. John Wesley Nofire of Florida was cancelled. Reports are that Nofire was injured during training.

Richard Rivers (9-0; Greensboro, NC) was also cancelled. Reports are that his opponent was unable to make weight.

 

COMMENTARY

Despite reports that several bouts ended in KO, all fights that ended early had been halted by the referee and ended officially as a TKO. A referee never counted out (to 10) a boxer, thus no KO’s occurred.

The fighters records appearing in the above story are those that appear on BoxRec.com.

Fans felt they were being held prisoner…

Fans entering the Greensboro Coliseum Pavilion venue were not issued color wrist bands allowing exit and reentry during the event. Some were told vehemently by staff, “If you leave, you can’t get back inside.” Many (mostly smokers) appeared confused at not being able to go outside during downtimes or intermission. After numerous ticket-holders in attendance complained to venue staff members, a smoking section was eventually established outside a side door. Boxing event organizers should bear in mind that while many wouldn’t sympathize with smokers wanting to indulge in an unhealthy habit, there are many who wouldn’t understand being denied that “pleasure” during an exciting night of boxing. After it was opened, the “smoking section” set up at the venue remained with a steady flow of smokers all throughout the event, even during fights (a view was possible from outside, through the windows). It is my opinion that if you tell potential customers beforehand that they won’t be allowed to exit and re-enter during a boxing event, very few will show up.

You can take pictures but no video!...

Quite a few seated patrons expressed their displeasure with not being able to video record bouts from their cell phones to share with family and friends. The Ring Announcer stated several times early on that IT IS PROHIBITED TO VIDEO RECORD any part of the event with cell phones or any electronic device; he continued by telling everyone that they already have someone video recording the event and if anyone wants they can buy the DVD. Last year, on June 13, 2013, I aired a Boxing Radio show called “The Problems with Boxing” and the situation with event organizers selling DVDs of boxing events was discussed. During the show I suggested that local promoters would likely increase attendance substantially if previous events were made freely available on video sites such as YouTube or UStream, where thousands of viewers can see with their own eyes how great the event was. “You can’t buy advertisement like that,” I had said. GAR1680 continues to support that theory. Instead, organizers continue to think they can make more money by selling some DVDs. How many DVDs do you think they will sell? Now fans are being PREVENTED from using their cell phone to video record the event. Not cool, man. Not cool. I know they have every right to set that policy. It’s actually quite common for theatrical events, and recording a movie at the cinema is considered Piracy. I’m not so sure, however, that it’s common for any sporting event organizer to deny fans personal recordings of an event. And Boxing…is a sport.

Paco Rivera, GAR1680 Boxing Talk Radio & Blog

Twitter: @GAR1680