A dry spell in the local professional boxing scene ended last week as Rumble Time Promotions staged their “Friday Night Fights” event at the Family Arena in St. Charles, and several former area amateur standouts turned in memorable performances.
The night kicked off with a pair of junior welterweight visitors, as Kansas City’s Chris Hill faced off with Cleveland’s Prenice Brewer in a showcase for the Ohio fighter trained by Jack Loew.
The shorter Hill remembered his Hopkins-esque black executioner mask for the ring walk, but he forgot to bring his jab with him and repeatedly fell forward and into range of the longer Brewer’s arsenal.
It was obvious early on that Hill faced a long climb in the scheduled six rounder as Brewer sank in barbed hooks to the body. My only criticism of Brewer was that he stood and admired his work a bit after landing each balanced salvo, but in his defense there was never an answer fired his way in return.
Round two started with the feel of a sparring session and when Hill ran in with his head down and got caught, he was suddenly wearing the hapless expression of a journeyman who had just realized his account of confidence and will was overdrawn.
As the opener steadily declined into target practice by Brewer over his outmatched counterpart, the referee mercifully stepped in after a pair of clean left hands and Brewer improved to 11-0.
Local product Lamar “The Prince of Pain” Harris resumed his spotless pro campaign against Earl “The Warrior” Walker in a middleweight clash of unbeatens.
Lamar told me about 30 minutes before stepping through the ropes that “Walker’s “0” had to go” and he made good on his promise by showing tight defense and stern power over a half-dozen rounds.
One of Harris’ trainers admonished him to cut off the ring, as the experienced counterpunching Walker tried to use his footwork from the outset to stay out of harm’s way.
Walker possessed a very awkward style and was quick to tie “the Prince” up on the inside, but at the end of the third Walker’s legs were stretched in front of his red wooden stool like a pair of 2 x 4’s as he tried to recover some of the energy he had burned.
A strong finish sealed Harris as the popular pick as the judges’ majority decision verdict was read and the enthusiastic fans reacted.
Danny Williams had his 12th & Park entourage with him as he bounced into the room through a smoky curtain to square off against Stephon Alexander from Norfolk, Virginia.
After finding his range in the first and then sending Alexander to the deck with a 1, 2 in the second stanza, Williams was behind the wheel on cruise control for the rest of the ride.
Alexander did do a good job of landing a pair of shorter straight shots in between Williams’ wider hooks, but that knockdown left the Virginia rep with eye damage that he unsuccessfully kept trying to wink away. There were typical head clashes that come as part of the bargain with a southpaw-orthodox stance match up, but the unanimous nod to Williams rendered by the officials reflected what took place over four rounds.
The main event was a long-awaited grudge match between St. Louis’ superfeather Leon Bobo and Robbie Cannon of Festus. Both had vocal cheering sections that were ready to finally see the two popular fighters collide.
It was amazing how fast Bobo got his punches off, using his wheels to set up angles and cagey upper body movement to avoid punishment. The lefty Bobo landed a right check hook in round two and used a blazing but economical attack to bloody Cannon’s nose in the third.
By the fifth, thick liquid continued to ooze like crimson wax melting and dripping off a votive candle, but the sturdy and determined Cannon continued in hot pursuit of his prey and kept coming forward, pushing through the finish line at each bell.
Bobo thought he had his subject dead to rights with a left cross in the sixth, but his arrow missed the mark and sailed harmlessly by.
Although Cannon tried staging a late rally, the returns that had already rolled in confirmed what many seated at ringside had suspected and the trio of scorekeepers awarded Bobo the UD.
Rumble Time and their excellent matchmaking and polished production once again delivered a thrilling evening of action for area fight fans.
Devon wins in China
Rising junior welterweight star Devon Alexander “The Great” was also active last Friday halfway around the world, upping his perfect ledger to 16-0 by stopping Sun- Haeng Lee in Chengdu, China.
The Associated Press reported that Alexander is the WBC’s number one title contender at 140 and is in line for a championship fight with Timothy Bradley (23-0).
Silver Gloves tonight and tomorrow
The Marquette Recreation Center will host this year’s local Silver Gloves Tournament on Thursday and Friday this week. The first bell will sound at 7 pm and tickets will be available at the door.
