‘Battle on the Banks II’ delivers mighty knockouts and tight decisions
By Glenn McBrady
For the St. Louis American
When the weather planted a one, two punch of ice and snow squarely on the chin of Rumble Time Promotions’ “Battle on the Banks II” boxing card last Thursday, the promoters simply dusted themselves off and moved the show to Saturday evening. The enthusiastic crowd in attendance was treated to an impressive light heavyweight performance sandwiched between late candidates for “Local Fight of the Year” and “Local Knockout of the Year” that managed to sneak in under the wire.
East St. Louis’ dynamic heavyweight Joell Godfrey had his sights set on adding to an unblemished record of four straight wins by knockout, but his opponent went missing several days before fight night. That opened the door for last-minute replacements Tyson Schwieger and Jessie Davis, a durable Jr. Middleweight duo that wowed the crowd with sizzling give and take action.
The Las Vegas native Schwieger was a pure counter puncher early, using 1, 2’s to set up shop inside and fire sharp body blows that sliced and resonated throughout the room. The second round was easily one of the most eventful frames of the year as the pair traded thumping hooks to the head that had the fans buzzing for the full three minutes.
After a third round in which both fighters delivered and absorbed emergency room-grade punishment, both Davis and Schwieger seemed to be looking towards the sixth round finish line by taking the fourth round off. The fifth featured a bundle of rolling and returning as the pair swapped hooks hoping to end the struggle prematurely.
With his nose dribbling, Jessie Davis found a home for a 1,2, left hook combination that brought a groundswell of noise from the audience that culminated in a standing ovation as the evenly matched contest ended.
In the end, Davis edged Schwieger with a majority decision in a fight that equaled any local bout in the last 12 months.
Light heavyweight Kevin Engle faced off against Springfield, Missouri’s Sheridan Page with St. Louis’ elite coaching duo of Harold Petty and Jesse Finney in his corner. Although the visiting Page would live up to his nickname of “The Rock,” it was only a matter of time before Engle’s superior ring skills would break down his sturdy opponent and result in a third round TKO victory.
Engle was poised in the first two rounds as he mixed up his attack and stayed away from the wide, low percentage-to-connect overhand rights that Page was loading up on. In round three, a pitchfork jab from Engle opened a v-shaped cut across the calcified ridge above Page’s right eye that resulted in a wound that looked like he’d been tagged with a heavy-duty staple gun. The damage would lead to the injured boxer’s retirement just before the bell announcing the fourth round sounded.
Deandre “The Bull” Latimore provided a highlight reel knockout as he dispatched Roswell, Georgia’s Leo “The Raging Lion” Laudat at 1:38 of the opening stanza. “The Lion” pawed with his jab early, and even though he had the reach advantage and would have been better served by sticking and moving against his power punching foe, he chose to stand in front of Latimore. That strategy landed him in the same place as 10 of “The Bull’s” former opponents – sitting on a stool asking what had just happened.
The heated action inside the Ameristar Conference Center provided memorable moments as the frosty final month of a busy year in the local boxing scene drew to a close.
