Mayhem in the ring, Courtesy SnapLocally.com
Last night belonged to Gary “Stone Cold” Eyer and Levi “The Shark” Cortes. Their clash was definitely fight of the night and to many observers fight of the year. Dan “The Common Man” Cole labeled it fight of the year directly after the action. The heavyweight battle we had been waiting for turned into mayhem in the ring. Confusion rained as the first round came to close and Joey Abell landed a vicious combo to Butlers head after the round had ended, causing an all out brawl in the ring between corner men and others, even spilling into the stands. Just prior to this fight Zach Walters was taken down by a buzz saw in Larry Sharpe, and after it was over Walters and his team informed us he would be retiring from the sport. Below is a quick rundown of last nights action. Laura Zink will have a full report with comments from Larry Sharpe, Gary Eyer, Tony Lee and more.
Saverino Garciavs Jacob Dobbe – (UD 40,36/40,36/39,37 Garcia) – Jacob Dobbe started the fight off with heavy pressure and big shots, stalking Garcia around the ring. The effort Dobbe put into that first round seemed to have drained him for the remaining three. Garcia used superior boxing skill to pick apart Dobbe for the rest of the fight.
William Gillette vs Boris- (TKO 57 seconds of 2nd, Boris) – Gillette won the first round in my opinion and then tasted The Russian Giants power in the second. To some it seemed like a quick stoppage, and to me it seemed that maybe Gillette didn’t let the ref know he was ready to continue after being knocked down two times.
Tony Lee (left), Courtesy SnapLocally.com
Tony Leevs Hector Orozco – (UD 39,36/40,35/39,36 Lee) – Lee had Orozco down in the first round. He pretty much put on a boxing lesson for 3 rounds of 4. As usual Orozco was very game and continued to come forward for much of the fight. But the 4th round aside, Lee worked every legal portion of Orozco’s body. Very impressive pro debut for Lee. Laura Zink was able to catch up with Lee after the fight and will have his comments with her report later today.
Dave Petersonvs Silas Ortley – (TKO 1:22 of 4thround Dave) – Peterson had Ortley down 3 or 4 times in this fight, all from body blows. At one point Orley had to unload his cookies in the middle of the ring. Ortely started the fight throwing hard but very wide shots, and against a skilled fighter like Peterson it just left his body wide open. This was definitely not a pretty fight, but it was all Peterson in my opinion.
Gary Eyer (right), Courtesy SnapLocally.com
Gary Eyervs Levi Cortes – (UD 58,54/57,55/57,56 Eyer) – Holy Cow! I said this would be the fight of the night, and it really lived up to that billing. Cortes started the first round like a man possessed. His relentless attack on Eyer left many wondering if if Eyer would make it out on his feet. Turns out we have another Minnesota fighter with a steel chin. Levi Cortes unloaded some bombs square on Eyers face but even as some seemed to stun Eyer they did not hinder his fight. Eyer put Cortes on the mat in the 3rd and 5th rounds and that probably was the difference in this fight. While Cortes was always on the attack and landing some bombs, Eyer seemed to land more punches and did a good job of working the body. I had Gary winning 4 rounds to 2, but according to the judges scores those two knock downs decided the winner. Laura Zink talked with Eyer after the fight and will include that with her report later today.
Levi Cortes (left), Courtesy SnapLocally.com
Ronnie Peterson vs Tomi Archambault- (Ronnie retired on stool after second round on advice of dr, Archambault) – Archambault got his revenge and his W back in this one. To be honest it never seemed like Peterson was in the fight. I was told that the shoulder that Peterson had surgically repaired last year was re injured and on the Dr’s advice Peterson did not come out for the third round.
Larry Sharpe, Courtesy SnapLocally.com
Zach Walters vs Larry Sharpe - (TKO 57 seconds of 1rst round, Sharpe) – Sharpe told me prior to this fight he had a lot more pop at 170lbs and he showed that in this short fight. The bell rang and he just overwhelmed Walters with huge punches, putting Walters down two times before the fight was called. After the fight we were told that Jungle Boy would be retiring from the sport of boxing. Walters has as much going on outside of boxing and he will now focus on that. We will have more on Zach Walters later in the week. Laura Zink was able to get some comments from Larry Sharpe after the fight and will include in her report later today.
Abell landing final blow of bout, Courtesy SnapLocally.com
Joey Abell vs Raphael Butler- (Joey DQed for Knocking Butler out after the bell 1rstround) – Has been changed to a No Contest. – The first round had both fighters stunning the other with heavy shots, but the real action came after the bell. It is being reported that Abell and the ref did not hear the closing bell, and Joey Abell threw a huge combo on Butlers head, Knocking him out after the round had finished and Butler was not defending himself. This caused an initial ruling of DQ but later changed to no contest. It also cause something straight out of professional wrestling. Before the dust settled the ring was full with corner men and others in an all out brawl. Some were trying to stop the fighting while some were throwing down. The madness in the ring left one or two fights outside of the ring and in the crowd as supporters for Butler and Abell clashed.
Joey “Minnesota Ice” Abell (25,4) vs Raphael “The Silencer” Butler (35,8)- Minnesota’s two best Heavyweights vie for the Title. All but one of Abell’s wins have come by way of knockout and Butler has 28 of his own. You like power, you like KO’s, you’ll love this one.