Tag Archives: Phil Williams

Minnesota’s pro boxing champs and rankings….

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Among Minnesota’s boxing fans, those that don’t just follow hometown heros, and those who look deeper than what a promoter or promotion tells them, have had mixed feelings about Minnesota’s new ranking system and processes for becoming a state champ. Ever since the “State Champ” came back into play with Zach Walters winning and defending his state title one time over 5 years, while several quality and most think favored fighters were avoided. The only state title given any credit had been at middle weight. The middles seemed to understand sport/sportsmanship in their competition, giving each worthy foe an opportunity to challenge to see who REALY is the best at a given weight. Vanda, Bonsante, Kolle, Truax, all fought each other. Some a few times…

Mr. Walters decided abusing the belt system would be great to start up his new promotion by creating and naming his own title challengers, causing the Minnesota Boxing Commission to step in and try to set up a system of rankings and rules for winning and defending state titles. This should be and probably will be a good thing for local boxing and helping promotions to challenge their fighters and make for better fights for the fans and for the growth of what for many years has been known as a farm league for guys on the rise elsewhere…

The problem, not all weight classes have active boxers. Walters and Sands took full advantage of the rules and bought themselves a belt! (winning it by beating a guy who had not boxed since 2010 and is now (2,2)…) Nothing new here, those in Minnesota have seen this act come out of Duluth for 10 years… If it works, don’t break it! Unless of course you’d like to compete on a national level against worthy opponents. Duluth, MN will probably be at Jungle Boys feet no-matter the facts, but it hurts those trying to go about boxing in a sporting fashion… Do we want to promote bullying? Does Duluth want to be the new home of pro wrestling? There has been a good reason Minnesota on the whole has distanced themselves from Duluth fighters and “belts without meaning.” Okay, Okay, rant finished. But statements that Al Sands and Jungle Boy Walters have made about taking on the best and cleaning out the state are a farce unless of course you live in Duluth MN….

This brings us to a real title State title fight…

On the undercard of “Golden” Caleb Truax (21,1,1) vs Don “Da Bomb” George (24,3,2) June 21… Seconds Out Promotions and Warriors Boxing is bringing a stellar undercard featuring what we feel is a legit Minnesota State boxing championship… Tony Lee (7,1) vs Jeremy McLaurin (10,5) for MN 135 pound strap… This is the sort of fight I am sure Minnesota’s commission and rankers had in mind when setting things up. Both Lee and McLaurin have been in tough, with McLaurin getting a wide UD over Duluth’s Gary Eyer.. Along with that, both Lee  and McLaurin have fought and impressively defeated Joel Flores and went one and one with Hector Orozco…

I think Minnesota’s top promoters will do their best to handle the states belt system with respect and most things will come out in the wash. The beauty of boxing, if you step up, you will find out where you truly stand… No matter how much protection received from promotion and managers…

Below is Minnesota’s official rankings for May, beside is how we see it… (ours do not follow  same guidelines… main difference, is since we don’t have the amount of boxers as many boxing mecca’s, we use those who have fought in a weight.)

First the League’s P4P list…. 1. Caleb Truax (21,1,1) Middle 2. Cerresso Fort (16,1,1) Middle 3. Jason Litzau  (29,3) lightweight 4. Andy Kolle (25,4) middle 5. Ismail Muwendo (13,0) Super Featherweight.

Minnesota’s official rankings in bold below.

Heavyweight 201 plus

1. Joey Abell 2. Rafael Butler 3. Aaron Green 4. Ray Edwards 5. Serhiy Karpenko

We wouldn’t have any changes in the top 5 here. Both Abell and Karpenko are believed to be fighting in separate bouts June 21….

Cruiserweight 176-200

State Champ. Al Sands.

1. Tyrone Gibson 2. Harley Kilfain 3. Lucas St. Clair 4. Joe Lorenzi

5. John Moxey

We would have Phil Williams, Gibson, Lorenzi one,two and three. Harley has been on a pretty long losing streak. St. Clair hadnt fought since 2010 just being easily beaten by Sands…

Light-heavyweight 169-175

1. Phil Williams 2. Harley Kilfian 3. Tim Taggart 4. Lexie Keshick 5. Jerome LaBarge

We agree with this, like cruiser, just not any title worthy fights… Phil Williams could easily be champ at both light-heavy and cruiser if he desired.

Super Middleweight 161-169

1. Caleb Truax 2. Phil Williams 3. Cerresso Fort 4. Bobby Kliewer 5. Jon Schmidt

Again, pretty much agree, but Kolle has fought there in the last two years and would rank above Kliewer and Schmidt in our opinion…

Middleweight 155-160

State Champ. Caleb Truax

1. Cerresso Fort 2. Andy Kolle 3. Charles Meier 4. Michael Faulk 5. Jon Schmidt

Agree for the most part with list… Rob Brant and Tyler Hultin could be in consideration…. Meier fights Hultin June 21 and could shake things up if they don’t hit 154. (We fully expect Meier/Hultin to be at light-middle 154)

Jr Middleweight 148-154

1. Andy Kolle 2. Cerresso Fort 3. Dave Peterson 4. Antonio Johnson 5. Jamal James

Understand the ranking given Fort/Kolle was fought at 155, but I think 1 and 2 could be swapped…

Welterweight 141-147

1. Jamal James 2. Mohammed Kayongo 3. Hector Orozco 4. R.J. Laase 5. Javontae Starks

To those wondering about Orozco being ranked ahead of Laase… They fought twice, the first fight was at welter, with Orozco winning close SD… When Laase won by UD to avenge loss they fought at Junior Welter… I think 3 through 5 are interchangeable at this time.

Jr. Welterweight 136-140

1. R.J. Laase 2. Tony Lee 3. Hector Orozco 4. Winston Anderson 5. Mike Davis

We agree with the rankings here. Lee beat Orozco at this weight but lost to him at Welter.

Lightweight 131-135

1. Jason Litzau 2. Ismail Muwendo 3. Tony Lee 4. Jeremy McLaurin 5. Gary Eyer

Again, hard to argue with these rankings, but Lee or McLaurin will be champ after June 21. Over the last couple years talks of McLaurin/Muwendo, Litzau/Muwendo have come up without fights happening…

Jr lightweight 127 – 130

1. Jason Litzau 2. Wilton Hilario 3. Ismail Muwendo 4. Jeremy McLaurin 5. Brad Patraw

Again, pretty set in stone list. Just like lightweight, lots of interesting fights here.

Featherweight 123 – 126

1. Jeremy McLaurin 2. Gary Eyer 3. Hassan Wasswa 4. Jonathan Perez

5. Nate Seelye

Another tough weight to judge and really not ready for title.. Not sure if some of these guys will see this weight again.

Jr. Featherweight 119-122

State Champ. Vicente Alfaro

1. Antwan Robertson 2. Brad Patraw 3. Jake Backus 4. Brad Herroff

There are two more weight classes that serve as a mix of above fighters.

One thing to look forward to is that under Minnesota boxing’s new rules “champs” will have to defend their titles or prove there was not an opportunity to do so. ( may be easier said than done)…. Like we have said from the beginning we do believe the negatives will shake out and there will be weak divisions. It’s our hope that the Minnesota boxing commission may learn from the Al Sands vs St Clair fight, that just because they have 5 guys, does not mean a title is warranted. It’s too late now, but the bright side is that Walters and Sands may end their fear of an actual fight and try and avenge the brutal beating Gibson put on Al Sands before he went on the give-me tour. Phil Williams, TJ Gibson, Joe Lorenzi could all make for nice fights and help undo some of the damage Promoter/Manager Walters has done to MN boxing.

 

Jungle Boy Promotions next show, July 6, Stone Cold to defend title… Al Sands “No more opposition in Minnesota”

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Below is some of what Zach Walters, Al Sands and Gary Eyer had to say…. From Duluth News Tribune… Follow MNBoxingLeague on facebook.

Eyer’s bout will be in defense of his NABU title and the beginning of a new strategy.

“We want Gary to earn points by defending his title successfully,” said Walters, head coach and gym manager of Jungle Boy Boxing Gym. “By defending it, it validates him.”

That, in turn, could lead to Eyer adding more regional belts to his boxing wardrobe.

And now that Sands has cleaned up on the state’s cruiserweight competition, Walters will begin casting a wider net to snare his opponents.

“He’s run out of local options,” Walters said. “We’re going to shop him out of state. Local guys don’t want to fight him.”

“I want to see Gary defend that belt, maybe capture a couple of more regional belts, and get himself established at 135,” said Chuck Horton, who helps Walters train both fighters. “I’d like to see Al on more of a national level now and get his rankings up there.” Full story from Duluth News Tribune..

There are many who would disagree with much said, TJ Gibson gave Al Sands his loss and Sands has yet to avenge it.. Joe Lorenzi is on a two fight win streak, and rumors are that Phil Williams would love to win belts in several weights… One thing is for sure “Jungle Boy” Zach Walters is moving Sands fast and careful… Looking forward to full line-up and who is chosen as opponents… Possibility of 3 or 4 summer shows in Minnesota Boxing!

Quick Hits…. Two more weekends of Pro boxing action…

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This Friday in Duluth, Zach Walters and Jungle Boy Boxing bring you a pro am card featuring a lot of amateur action and two pro fights… The Pro fights,  Gary Eyer (9,2,1) vs David Laque (2,11,1) and Harley Kilfian (9,12) vs John Moxey (1,1). Grandmas Sports Garden, Duluth, MN

 

Saturday February 9 brings boxing back the the Crown Plaza in Saint Paul… Card as it stands on boxrec. Phil “The Drill” Williams (11,5,1) vs Shujaa El Amin (12,3) should be a fun one… 10 of The Drill’s victories have come by brutal KO…. Also one to watch is Vicente Alfaro (5,3) vs “Bad” Brad Patraw (9,4) for the MN super bantam title….. More to come.

 

Saturday February 9 in Fargo ND bring Tyler “The Hitman” Hultin in the main event… His fights are always exciting and usual steal the show…. Aaron “Gorilla” Green will be featured as well. Green is now (9,0) with 7 of those victories coming by KO… Also fighting are Rondale Hubbert, Dustin Mason, along with some new faces…. More to come.

 

News and Notes from around Minnesota… February 9′s Saint Paul show coming together…

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February 9′s event is coming together nicely, The Main event will feature Raphael Butler (35,12) against Jeremy Williams (45,5,1) in a battle for the WBU heavyweight title! The co feature pits another of Minnesota’s heaviest hitters, Phil Williams (11,5) vs Sujjay El-Amin (12,6) for the WBU super middleweight world title… Plenty of power to close out the show in these two fights…

The undercard features a nice bantamweight Minnesota title fight between Antwan Robertson and Vicente Alfaro… Also on the undercard will be Rob Brant, Wilton Hilario, among others. It also looks like Al Sands will be fighting on this card as well.

The biggest bummer for this card is Hilario vs Muwendo being off, that could have stole the show… Boxing!!!

Think this would be fun?

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The number 1 light heavy in Minnesota vs the number 1 cruiser. I have yet to see Phil Williams turn down a challenge and think he could stack on some pounds to make it happen. Sands vs Williams?! There would be some bombs, that is for certain… That fight could be promoted to the hilt with all the past between Al Sands’ coach Zach Walters and Phil “The Drill” Williams… Fun to think about, not sure how much sense it would make other than for the fans… Interviews with Truax, Hultin and others fighting November 17 starting this week… MNBoxingLeague on Facebook.

 

A DRAW, By Laura Zink

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AND OUR MINNESOTA STATE SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION IS…. A DRAW!

 

By: Laura Zink

 

Photos by SnapLocally.com

 

Phil Williams

Phil Williams

 

 

I can’t say I was completely shocked, but then again…I couldn’t see everything. The St. Paul Armory was so packed! So many people were standing up and blocking the view; so many impromptu seats were moved up front congesting the space by the ring; so many photographers crowded in at ringside, and well, then there was the neutral corner ringpost obstructing the center of the ring from the press table…

 

 

 

 

So I couldn’t have called it even if I wanted to. At our press table, we were divided as to who won, scores ranging across eerily large margins. At least the fans seemed to have made up their mind – whomever they came for, that guy OBVIOUSLY won.

 

Truax outboxed Williams.

Williams had Truax hurt.

Truax was faster than Williams.

Williams bloodied Truax’s nose.

Williams didn’t rally until the last round.

Truax would have been knocked out if it weren’t for the bell.

Truax (left) Williams (right)

Truax (left) Williams (right)

 

 

 

It really depended who you talked to, but as the fans and the fighters waited for the score to be called, all things appeared to be true at the same time. In the ring, Williams walked around facing the crowd with his arms raised in victory. And once Truax noticed Williams was parading around the ring, he jumped on the ropes in his own corner to encourage the primarily Truax crowd that he, Truax, was indeed the winner. From where I sat, I guess it just a matter of perspective…and a sincere need to see replay footage from a better angle.

 

Yet, as the judges poured just a little too long over their scorecards, and the fans, now all on their feet, awaited the decision, I looked out at the 2,000 plus agitated people in attendance and thought…

 

I hope there isn’t a riot.

But when the announcer took the microphone and read the scores: 97-94 Truax, 96-94 Williams, 95-95… the crowd, in mutual and utter outrage, forgot about each other and ran over to their fighters to tell them that they won.

 

Williams was decidedly pissed. He yelled at everyone in the ring while throwing up his arms in outrage. And to everyone who had the guts to try and hold him back, Williams yelled over their shoulders to all who were watching that he had been robbed. Truax, standing in his corner at the other end of the ring with his hands on his hips, looked still, somewhat distant, and clearly frustrated.

 

It was clear that both fighters had the sincere belief that they had taken the victory. First, both men felt that they had used superior boxing to beat each other in the early rounds.

 

Caleb Truax, Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Caleb Truax, Courtesy SnapLocally.com

“I don’t think it was a tough fight,” Truax said. “I boxed him the whole fight. I controlled the whole fight. He didn’t land a punch besides his jab until the last round. I thought I won the fight going away.”

 

 

 

 

“I mean, he lost the fight,” Williams said. “What the heck did he do to get 97-94? Where did that come from? Don’t you got to hit somebody? I mean, don’t punches tell of my fight? Them is 10 ounce gloves. Man, the man couldn’t get nothing off at all. My movement was too good for him. I was in shape. I was keeping that jab out there. Every time he would get in with that jab I would counter – BOOM – and he couldn’t get in, at all. He was desperate trying to get into the body. He couldn’t even get nothing in. I won the fight clearly, man.”

 

Similarly, both fighters had a firm resolution as to what the last round should mean to the judges.

 

“I hope they didn’t sway their decision on the last round because it was one round, and he didn’t even hurt me,” Truax said. “He hit me and caught me off balance, but I wasn’t hurt. I didn’t go to my knees or anything like that.”

 

“I was controlling him with the jab, movement all the time,” Williams said. “He was scared to come into my power, and you can see why in the 10th round: I had him out. The man was out. The only thing that saved him was that bell. Other than that, he was out of there. He lost the fight.”

 

And clearly, both fighters had their own understanding as to the significance of the bloody nose Truax got in round 4.

 

“The bloody nose didn’t really bother me at all,” Truax said. “It bled more than it should have because of my allergies. I have had allergies for the last three or four weeks, so my nose was really dry. My nose doesn’t bother me at all.”

 

“I hurt the boy early in like the 4th round with the jab, when I chased him back,” Williams said. “He couldn’t do nothing with me. My movement was too good, side-to-side, back, stepping off to the side throwing a punch, boom, I would hit him with the jab. Man, I knew that I was at his show, his promoter his manager and all that. Man, did that boy’s see his nose? Do you see my face? It doesn’t look like I got hit at all. Man, his nose was drippin. Yeah, that man 97-94. That is just unbelievable. It was unbelievable. How do you get 97-94 like this? With your nose leaking and the other fighter over here, I am looking like I am ready to take pictures. You know what I am saying? That is bad. I saw some blood on me.”

 

Williams stopped and looked down at his trunks and his hand wraps, pointing to spots flecked with red.

 

“That ain’t my blood. That ain’t my blood. Yeah, that ain’t mine. That’s not my blood.”

 

But from whatever angle you got to see the fight, be it from the knotted clusters of people standing at ringside or all the way back to the large throngs of drinking and screaming standing-room-only fans who closed in on VIP tables as the rounds carried on, both fighters tested each other with the best of what their arsenal had to offer: Truax using his countering to load up his fast and impressive combinations, and Williams using his jab to set up his power. Perhaps the issue was that neither man, while very present in the battle, completely used their arsenal ALL the way. Yeah, Truax could have thrown more combos, and Williams, he could have started using his power earlier on. But either way, it was a good fight, even if the decision was less than satisfying.

 

I think that one fan at ringside explained best what we could take from that fight:

 

Win, lose, or draw…That would be a HELL of a rematch!

 

97,94 Truax / 96,94 Williams / 95,95 It’s a draw

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Photos by SnapLocally.com

 

Truax (left) Williams (right), Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Truax (left) Williams (right), Courtesy SnapLocally.com

 

In front of a full house at the St Paul Armory, “Golden” Caleb Truax and Phil “The Drill” Williams did something nobody predicted would happen, they fought to a draw. To the fans point of view this decision was split among party lines, both sides feeling their guy got robbed. I even pulled some of the professional fighters in attendance and it was an even split as to who they thought had won the fight, again following their party lines. My vantage point was somewhat obstructed so I could not give a completely accurate scoring myself. Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell  finished his destruction of Josh Gutcher in exciting fashion at 55 seconds of the second round. Ismail “Sharp Shooter” Muwendo lived up to his moniker with precise strikes until his fight was stopped after the 5thround. Full results below. Stay tuned for more on the Truax/Williams fight from Laura Zink.

 

Derek Winston exhibition Jake Backus – This was one of the more spirited exhibitions I have seen. I think if Winston would use his length more he would be a very tough foe.

 

Meier (left) Copp (right), Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Meier (left) Copp (right), Courtesy SnapLocally.com

 

Charlse Meier over Dan Copp (UD 40,36/ 39,37/ 40,36) – This was a pretty fun fight. Meier was able to control things when he stuck to his boxing and using his jab. To Copp’s credit he was very game in this fight, he did much of the pressing and was able to land a fair amount of his punches.

 

Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Courtesy SnapLocally.com

James Owen over Antwan Robertson  (UD 40,36/ 39,37/ 40,36) – Superman vs Batman, Robertson came to the ring in his customary Superman attire while Owen was sporting a Batman T. From opening bell until the final moments of the fight Batman controlled the ring. As soon as both fighters entered the ring it was clear to me that Robertson was the much smaller man and Owen took full advantage of that in forcing almost all the action and stalking Robertson around the ring for pretty much the entire fight.

 

MMA

 

Zach Juusola over Shaine Emmons (Arm Bar)

 

Travis Reddinger over Elias Jones (Ground and Pound)

 

Boxing

 

Muwendo (right) Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Muwendo (right) Courtesy SnapLocally.com

 

Ismail “Sharp Shooter” Muwendo over David Laque (Ref stopped the fight after the 5th) – Muwendo continues to impress me hugely. Laque looked quite a bit bigger to me but that did not stop Muwendo from dishing out punishment over the 5 rounds the fight lasted. Ismail Muwendo was sharp as ever with his jabs and pretty much whatever else he threw. I think it was only Laque’s size advantage that kept him on his feet throughout. I dont think it will be long before we hear much more from Sharp Shooter.

 

Joey "Minnesota Ice" Abell, Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Joey "Minnesota Ice" Abell, Courtesy SnapLocally.com

 

Joey “Minnesota Ice’ Abell over Josh Gutcher(Stopped 55 seconds into the 2nd round) – Not too much to say about this fight. Abell is just a man amongst boys in most cases when he enters the ring. One only needs to look at Abell as he enters the ring to know what separates him from so many. Abell seemed like he would knock Gutchers head off with every strike landed. Ice stunned Gutcher on several occasions with varying punches from jabs to straight lefts, hooks and you name it, almost every throw could have been a game ender.

 

Truax (left) Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Truax (left) Courtesy SnapLocally.com

 

“Golden” Caleb Truax Draw Phil “The Drill” Williams (Draw 97,94 T/ 96,94 W/ 95,95) – This was a much different fight than I expected. Phil Williams learned his lesson against Matt Vanda and decided to let his hands go during his fight with Truax. Early in the contest it seemed Truax’s superior boxing skill would win the day but as the rounds went on and Williams kept increasing his offense the fight grew very close. Like I have stated before from my vantage point I would not feel comfortable giving any score other than I saw it as a close fight. The two biggest things I took away from this one is, Phil Williams was able to learn from prior mistakes and used his full arsenal in this fight, and Caleb Truax has a chin, a very good chin.

 

Again, stay tuned for Laura Zink’s peice on the fight.

Weights From St. Paul, MN

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Caleb Truax (left) and Phil Williams (right), Courtesy SnapLocally.com

Caleb Truax (left) and Phil Williams (right), Courtesy SnapLocally.com

 

Weights From St. Paul, MN!

 

Caleb Truax 162.5                   Phil Williams 163 (Minnesota State Super Middleweight Championship)
Joey Abell 241                         Josh Gutcher 245
Ismail Muwendo 130              David Laque 131
Antwan Robertson 117           James Owen 121.5
Charles Meier 158.5               Dan Copp 158

 

MMA:

 

Zach Juusola 160                     Shaine Emmons 160
Elias Jones 142                        Travis Reddinger 142

 

Promoter: Seconds Out Promotions
Venue: St. Paul Armory
Tickets: ticketweb.com