Local names bring crowd to its feet
By Glenn McBrady
For The St. Louis American
Just after the verdict of the last bout was announced last Thursday evening at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center, I looked for a quiet refuge from the racket of employees cleaning up and breaking down the room and the boisterous overflow crowd bottlenecked at the lobby exits.
In the elegant reception room downstairs, far from the stacking of chairs inside and the choked parking lot outside, a folding table sat in the foreground displaying traces of evidence from the fights that had kept the rowdy crowd so involved throughout the card.
Hollow plastic water bottles and discarded damp bundles of tape and gauze cut from the fighters’ hands littered the table, as well as a white terrycloth towel daubed with enough blood that it looked like it had been used to clean up after a finger painting class.
The action that had thrilled the fans earlier contained some of the most recognizable names in St. Louis’ amateur boxing scene fighting in front of their families and friends.
In a match at 119 lbs., Wohl Center’s Derrick Murray faced his friend and former gym mate Lamarkis Cowan from North County.
The pair was patient and poised, using excellent head movement and measured footwork as they showed respect for each other’s skill. The southpaw Cowan countered a 1,2 from Murray with a sharp left hook, and later in round three, a punishing right uppercut, left hook combination sent Murray’s mouthpiece tumbling into the blue corner.
At the end of the round, the numbers were crunched and Cowan was awarded the tight decision.
Another contest that had the crowd on their feet was a battle between Zack Holloway and the Police Athletic League’s Jerry Brandon.
The two orthodox boxers spent the full four rounds firing 1,2, hook combinations, with Holloway sticking a jarring jab in an attempt to pin down Brandon’s slick, elusive feints. The needle seemed to be on “E” for both as the hammer struck the canvas to signal the final ten seconds, and after a quartet of highly competitive rounds that included Brandon being docked 3 points for holding, Holloway continued his winning ways with the decision.
The final bout of the night featured two seasoned amateurs looking to gain momentum as the busy tournament schedule gets under way.
Ty Chatman from the PAL and St. Charles’ Brandon Baue dueled for four rounds, and the southpaw Chatman wasn’t bashful about deploying his swift right hooks early and often. Baue countered with lead right crosses, but his best shot of the tussle was a thudding right hook to Chatman’s chin ticketed for jaw-displacement.
Chatman responded by adding lead right uppercut, left hook combinations to the mix, and he scored effectively by countering Baue’s jab with a sly half step back followed by a speedy left straight down Broadway.
A final flurry capped off the last stanza, and as the beat of Nelly’s “Grillz” bumped in the background, it appeared as though Chatman’s mixed attack and wily defensive prowess had sewn up the decision.
But the judges saw it differently, favoring Baue and fanning the flames of the rivalry that will continue between the talented duo.
The return of amateur boxing to St. Charles was a success, thanks to a large contingent of vocal supporters and representatives from gyms all over the St. Louis area.
