Tag Archives: Zach Walters

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!

Twin Ports ABC and Fox affiliates coverage of upcoming shows…

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Fox 21 coverage of twin ports fighters in action this month. Some nice coverage of the northlands fighters… Some great fights coming up.. April 13 and April 27….Interesting Zach Walters’ Jungle Boy Boxing already has the belt his fighter, Gary Eyer is fighting for… This card boasts some nice fights, “title” or no, Eyer vs Franklin is a good fight… Al Sands (8,1) is fighting his stiffest test since his KO loss to TJ Gibson (1,4). Even though Lucas St. Clair has not boxed since 2010, it is believed Walters and Sands will announce that fight as a Minnesota cruiserweight title fight. Rising Heavyweight / Cruiser Jordan Shimmell (9,0) will be featured in a 10 round fight that just might be the biggest fight of the evening.. Shimmell has been sparring with heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko… Although he has had to stay in southpaw stance, the opportunity to grow is huge…

WDIO’s coverage of April 13 fights. There are now 8 fights with tickets starting at $10, we have been told over 1,000 already sold… Rob “Bravo” Brant to headline, also featured Tyler “The Hitman” Hultin, Corey Rodriguez, Winston “Nasty Time” Anderson, Joey “The Don” Lorenzi, and more…Follow MNBoxingLeague on facebook and twitter.

Al Sands (7,1) to fight Chris Thomas (17,17,2), March 15…

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Zach Walters and Al Sands have been talking about a big step up in competition, they must mean their April show… Thomas is 41 years old and lost 13 of his last 14 fights!!(boxrec, Chris Thomas) Not sure why Jungle Boy is playing it so careful with Sands, but he is trainer/manager/and promoter and probably knows Al better than any. We are hoping they can get his game worked out enough to face a live body soon… I doubt the commission will keep approving these type of opponents much longer as Sands record grows… We were looking forward to that test, hopefully they are saving it for Black Bear in April… Here is WDIO’s report on Al Sands….WDIO Al Sands Piece.

March 15, Pro Boxing!! Grandma’s Duluth, MN and Hinckley Grand Casino, Hinckley, MN….

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Duluth’s show is a pro/am featuring two pro fights, Boxrec, Jungle Boy Boxing.… Duluth’s Al Sands will be featured along with Brad Herroff of Saint Paul, MN.. Sands trainer/manager/promoter, Zach Walters has said Al will be making a big step up in competition but his opponent is still listed as the dreaded TBA….. Hopefully they do bring in a live body for Mr. Sands, again he is a rock solid 200 pounds with power and length… He is now (7,1) but never really tested other than his loss to TJ Gibson… Bringing in out of shape 40 year old welterweights and middleweights will make the record look nice but does nothing for experience… Brad Herroff looked great his last time out and at (2,0) we expect him to give another thrilling performance… Follow MNBoxingLeague on facebook and twitter. We are still working on our twitter, but FB is very active…

March 15 in Hinckley, MN has been matched for a while with some intriguing fights. Borec RDS Boxing.

Ray Edwards (right) Photo Courtesy Jesse Kelley, MinnesotaBoxing.com

James Wayka (16,11,1) asked for Duluth, MN’s RJ “T-Rex” Laase (10,1) after Wayka lost to Kaos Kolle at 154 pounds… Saying he wanted to fight at his stronger weight in the 140′s…. Aaron “Gorilla” Green (10,0) is fighting King Kong, a man who may even be bigger than Mr. Green… Another fight MANY are talking about, former MN Viking, Ray Edwards facing his second live opponent in Van Goodman… A statement will made, Edwards can prove he is a real challenge at heavy and ready to take it to the next level.. (Mr. Green?) or Goodman can stamp his name on national news… Two undefeated greenhorns in the ring, Winston “Nasty Time” Anderson (2,0) vs Branden Cluever (1,0)… “Sir” Cerresso Fort (15,0,1) in the main event… Duluth’s Joey “The Don” Lorenzi, Rondale Hubbert and more…

Eyer gets W in war with Laque, and crazy outcome in Kilfian/Moxey….

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These results are second hand and from numerous reports about the two pro fights on Zach Walters, Jungle Boy Boxing card… The amateur action lasted until close to 10PM followed by some exciting pro boxing action….

Gary “Stone Cold” Eyer got his 10th victory last night night, winning (57-55, 57-55, 56-56) Majority decision…. Eyer was down in the first but from all accounts both Eyer and Laque battled for the full 6 rounds… Eyer now (10,2,1) and Laque moves to (2,12,1)..

Kilfian over Moxey by DQ…. Harley Kilfian (10,12) was coming off a 4th round loss by stoppage to Al Sands… From reports at venue, John Moxey and Harley Kilfian were swinging hard, and Moxey had Kilfian out cold in 2nd, but continued to throw punches after Kilfian fell through the ropes, giving Harley the victory by DQ….

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

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“Bad” Brad Patraw suffered a broken nose during camp and will not be able to fight January 5.. His replacement to be announced soon.

Zach Walter’s, Jungle Boy Boxing will be putting on a pro boxing show February 1 at Grandma’s Sports Garden.. At this time two fights are listed, Gary Eyer (9,2,1) vs David Lague (2,11,1) and Harley Kilfian (9,12) vs John Moxey (1,1)

Rapacz Event Productions and Kaos Boxing has a February 9 event scheduled for Fargo ND. Listed to fight are; Tyler Hultin, Aaron Green, Dustin Mason, Laquan Williams and more… note a few listed have fights scheduled before Feb 9..

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.

 

Minnesota November rankings are out.. Sands moves to #1 slot at Cruiser and Laase keeps his top spot at Welter.

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Zach Walters predicted it correctly. Al Sands jumped to #1 in Minnesota cruiserweight rankings. Leap-frogging the man who beat him.. Congrats! They should have made the Sands/Kilfian fight for the title. Again, anyone ranked 1 to 5 can fight for state titles…

RJ Laase kept his #1 ranking at welter.

The full Minnesota rankings for November.

I am guessing we will be seeing some state title fights early 2013. Does anyone know if the commission will be supplying the belts or if it will be just champ in name?