Though I’ve only attended the last half-dozen “Guns ‘N Hoses” shows in the event’s 20-year history, the night is always special. From the solemn police and firefighter color guards that make their way towards the Jumbotron scoreboard displaying the names and images of those who have fallen in the past year to the heart and pride that is shown by those who step inside the ring to represent their comrades – the event is always a must see.
This year Officers Norvelle Brown and Stephen Jerabek were honored by the crowd of 16,178 in attendance, and a bout between a pair of scrappy females elevated the excitement level as Kelly Hunsel of the St. Charles Fire Department faced Jackie Jones of the Berkeley Police.
A wave of applause swept through the Scottrade Center as Hunsel and Jones met in the center of the ring, trading 1, 2’s at a blistering pace with little regard for the shots they were absorbing.
As the frantic first round ended and trainer Dave Hammack jumped through the ropes to provide instructions to the firefighter in the red corner, trainer Tim Burke did likewise with his crime-fighting charge clad in blue.
The shorter Jones had trouble getting inside in round two and a smothering attack by Hunsel in the third prompted an abbreviated end to the match and drew the firefighters even with their counterparts on the bout sheet.
There would be a quick end to the standoff as Todd Ross of the St. Louis Police Department topped Drew Bass from the St. Charles FD.
Ross’ best friend during the full three rounds was a seeing-eye right cross that rarely missed and deposited points in the bank that would pay off when he was awarded his winning ring as the action ended.
St. Louis County Police Department’s Stan Fuller added to the blue side of the ledger with a verdict over David Bargen of the St. Louis Fire Department.
Although Fuller’s southpaw stance wasn’t a decided advantage in the nose-to-nose exchanges at close range, he edged Bargen on the cards and the referee lifted his hand.
William Lewis of the St. Louis FD acquitted himself well by defeating Thomas Doering of the Webster Groves PD to tip the scales back in the battle for bragging rights.
As Lewis’ name was announced, he celebrated by executing a short martial-arts mini-kata as his fire controlling brethren cheered.
But the momentum would be snuffed out quickly as Maplewood Police’s Darryl Overall used a surplus of 1, 2’s to top Vernon King of the O’Fallon Fire Protection District.
That trend would continue as Ryan Cousins of the St. Louis PD used elusive upper body movement and a pesky jab to set up a collection of right hooks that carried him to a dominate 5-0 win over Rock Hill Fire’s Rob Bolen.
In the end the police locked up an 11-6 margin of victories in their favor, but more importantly, the amount that the Backstoppers organization has raised over two decades would top $2 million as the assistance continues for families of brave individuals who don’t return from their shifts.
‘Bull’ to battle
Junior middleweight Deandre “The Bull” Latimore (17-1) will face the undefeated Durrell Richardson at Rumble Time Promotions’ “Battle on the Banks VI” on Thursday, December 6 at the Ameristar Casino. At stake in the main event will be the vacant WBC U.S. and WBF Intercontinental straps.
The southpaw Richardson (10-0) hails from Youngstown, Ohio, the same place that the current middleweight king Kelly Pavlik calls home.
Undefeated East St. Louis heavyweight Joell Godfrey (7-0) will also make his long-awaited return to the same room where he performed a bloodletting last September to earn “Punch of the Year” honors in this column’s coveted “Best of” edition.
Tickets to the exciting event, which will be taped by Fox Sports Midwest for a future broadcast, are available online at www.rumbletimepromotions.com or at the Ameristar gift shop.
