By Scott Kraus – Television and the Internet are essential for fight fans to keep track of the boxing action around the world, but nothing compares to the thrill of going to a fight in person. Whenever the stars align, I will attend fights in the New Jersey area and relay my experiences in the Jersey Fight Journal.
On Friday, June 5, I ventured out to the Capital One Bank Theater at Westbury in Westbury, NY for the DiBella Entertainment card headlined by junior middleweight Pawel Wolak against Vinroy Barrett and featuring a number of young prospects from the New York/New Jersey area.
8:35 PM – In the first Jersey Fight Journal, I battled fog (and ghost pirates) on my long ride down to Atlantic City. This time, relentless rain and traffic plague my trip out to Long Island. My GPS promised I was one hour and nine minutes from my destination, but I do not arrive in Westbury until more than two hours after my departure. As a child, the superhero power I most coveted was teleportation, the ability to instantly appear anywhere in the world. Over the years, nothing has changed..
I arrive just in time to hear the scores announced in the Lambros Karaolides-Troy Nelson bout. Karaolides swept all three scorecards, 40-35.
8:40 PM – Fortunately, DiBella Entertainment keeps the card moving along. The second bout of the night pits Denis “Momma’s Boy” Douglin against Vernon Richardson in a middleweight fight. Best of all, Steve Smoger is the referee for the bout. I am a big fan of “Smokin’” Smoger.
8:55 PM – Momma’s Boy makes his momma proud, winning a unanimous decision. Although no scores were announced, I would be a little surprised if Douglin did not earn a shutout. He was the aggressor throughout, landing tight, quick punches, especially to the body. Douglin landed a big left hook in round two but could not follow up with a knockout. I would like to see how Douglin develops; he looks to have a solid skill set.
9:00 PM – I give major props to Lou DiBella and DiBella Entertainment for the pace of the card. The third bout is ready to begin, featuring the pro debut of Brian Hart against Dameon Marshall, who is winless in his two career fights. Both Hart and Marshall are from New York; in fact, every fight on the card features at least one New York or New Jersey fighter. DiBella certainly knows how to put together a local card.
9:10 PM – Hart looks more amateur than pro, while Marshall is demonstrating why he has yet to crack the win column in the pro ranks. Right now, I am more interested in the ring card girls than the action (or lack thereof) in the ring. Boxing, blondes, and brunettes – good things start with “B”.
9:20 PM – A fight of firsts: first career fight for Hart, first career win for Marshall. Marshall earns the majority decision by scores of 39-37, 39-37, and 38-38. The crowd responds with some boos, but that likely reflects their affiliation with Hart rather than questionable scoring. Personally, I thought Marshall took the fight, though a draw was also reasonable.
9:30 – Chris Algieri, undefeated in his six fight pro career, squares off against Henry White in the next bout, a six-round affair that is already underway. After a feeling-out round in the first, the action heats up in rounds two and three with stinging combos from Algieri drawing “Oooohs” from the crowd. A very vociferous Algieri fan attracts his share of laughter.
9:50 – Algieri and White stage the best fight of the night thus far. Algieri landed the flashy, stinging combos but White showed a lot of heart and determination, countering at every opportunity. White was tough but Algieri was more skilled as he won a unanimous decision, 59-55, 58-56, and 58-56 on the scorecards.
9:55 – I take a quick break to grab a drink and shake hands with Emile Griffith. The all-time great welterweight and middleweight champion is here promoting a book on his life written by Ron Ross, entitled “Nine… Ten… And Out! The Two Worlds of Emile Griffith.” I feel privileged to shake hands with the great champ.
10:05 – I return to the action with heavyweights – and they’re in shape! Kasim Howard is an undefeated (8-0, 4 KO) New York heavyweight taking a step up against Zack Page. Page has vastly more experience than Howard and, although he sports a losing record (17-23-2), he has fought a long list of heavyweight prospects and contenders. After two-plus rounds of plodding heavyweight action, Page lands a gigantic right hand that crumbles Howard and leaves him flat on his back in the third. Howard manages to beat the count on shaky legs, but a second huge right drops Howard again and earns Page a knockout win. This is Page’s second straight upset win over an undefeated prospect, demonstrating yet again that records do not tell the entire story.
10:15 – Steve “The Irish Tornado” Ormond battles Sergi Ganjalashvilli in a lightweight fight. I was unaware that tornados even exist in Ireland. Ormond is not a big puncher but he is punching big, loading up on punches to the body against Ganja. He draws loud cheers for landing four consecutive thunderous left hooks to the body in the opening frame.
10:20 – Ormond lands big right hands in the second round to hurt Ganja and a left hook right before the bell sends Ganja’s mouthpiece flying into the stands. If Irish Tornados are anything like Ormond they must look devastating in action without ultimately doing much damage.
10:40 – Big Daddy is in the house! Riddick Bowe is here enjoying the fights. He is currently in the booth with Fran Charles, Steve Farhood, and Brian Adams. I hope he has more to say about this fight than I do. Ormond dominated with his pressure and volume punching, Ganja hung tough, and Ormond exposed his lack of power yet again. Ormond wins five of six rounds on all three scorecards for the unanimous decision.
10:45 – The co-feature is the Battle for Queens Bragging Rights (OK, I’m no Don King). Undefeated Will Rosinsky battles Alex Mancera in a light heavyweight battle. Rosinsky has gotten some media attention of late with a feature written about him by Thomas Hauser. He has a strong following in New York and receives a huge reception before the opening bell. Rosinsky’s record is that of a knockout artist, but he is more of a pressure fighter than a one-punch knockout puncher. He presses the action in round one and takes the round.
11:00 – Mancera is counterpunching more effectively in the middle rounds, making the fight much closer. Rosinsky brings all the pressure, but he is ineffective in spots, and Mancera lands some clean counters. The middle rounds are tough to score with both fighters effective in spots. The crowd implores Rosinsky to be more active, as Mancera’s counterpunching leaves him tentative at times.
On an unrelated note, what happened with the ring card girls? For the first few fights, there were three ring card girls, two statuesque blondes and an exotic brunette. Now, only one statuesque blonde remains. She is a stunning woman, but three is certainly better than one, no?
11:05 – Rosinsky stuns Mancera in round six but is still hesitant in his follow-up attack. As the fight ends, the pro-Rosinsky crowd is clearly nervous. It was a close fight throughout, with Rosinsky clearly winning rounds one and six and the rest up for grabs. The scores are announced 58-56, 58-56, and 57-57 to give Rosinsky a majority decision win. The minority of Mancera fans boo the decision, but the crowd gives Rosinsky a relieved cheer.
11:15 – It’s time for the main event, Pawel Wolak against Vinroy Barrett. Wolak is Polish, fights out of New Jersey, and comes to the ring accompanied by Snoop Doggy Dogg’s West Coast rap classic, Doggy Dogg World. Wolak receives a warm welcome, and I notice for the first time the contingent of Polish fans in red that I usually see at Tomasz Adamek fights in Newark.
11:30 – True to his entrance song, Wolak is making it a dogfight, and Barrett is not responding well. Wolak comes forward with relentless pressure and Barrett is content to move, duck, and slide without throwing many punches in return. Wolak almost knocked Barrett through the ropes to punctuate round one. Wolak wears down Barrett with body punches and staggers him with a left hook. The early rounds are all Wolak.
11:40 – I will let you know when Wolak takes a backward step. So far, it has not happened. Wolak rocks Barrett with a left hook in round five and a right hook in round six. He has won every minute of every round so far.
11:45 – Barrett shows some life in the first minute of round seven, but Wolak roars back by trapping Barrett against the ropes and unleashing body shots. The crowd bursts into some soccer chants, shouting “Ole Ole Ole” in support of Wolak. Now I am anxious for July 11 to roll around so I can see Adamek and his crazy crowds at the Prudential Center in Newark.
12:00 – Going into round ten, it felt like Barrett could score a knockout and still lose the fight, as Wolak enjoys such a commanding lead. After ten rounds, Wolak took zero backwards steps. The scorecards reflect his dominant performance, 100-89, 100-88, and 99-89, all for Wolak. I find it interesting that all three judges found at least one round to score 10-8 for Wolak, despite no knockdowns in the fight.
Mike Ruiz is scheduled to face Chris Gray in a swing bout, but I am too tired and too daunted by the ride home to stay. Boxrec tells me that Gray scored a decision win to bounce back from losses to Erislandy Lara and Ishe Smith.
The second Jersey Fight Journal featured another entertaining card filled with local attractions. Fighters like Wolak and Rosinsky may not be future world champions but they are tough, entertaining fighters who can make good television fights. Now for the long ride home in the rain. As long as I can avoid the Irish Tornados, I should be okay.