(Bryan Glazer Family JCC, Tampa FL) In front of a very packed house, 8 hard-hitting fights took place, much to the excitement and satisfaction of the Tampa boxing community.
Tonight's festivities were due to the marketing efforts of Pier 6 Boxing Promotions, which put on a pretty entertaining evening. There were several tiers of ticket pricing, so no matter your budget, you were destined to watch some pretty intense boxing action.
From mouthpieces being knocked to the canvas, to some boxers bringing their adorable children in as their fighting entourage, to getting blood and sweat knocked into the audience stands, the action went non-stop (with the exception of a brief intermission between the 4th and 5th fights) for just over 3 hours. Downtime in between fights was almost negligible -- as soon as one fight ended, the next procession of fighters was already queued up, ready to descend down toward the ring to the accompaniment of the DJ who was just a few rows away from ringside.
Bout 1: Chown Sims vs. Ty McLeod. Summary: Brandenton FL's McLeod knocked Sims' mouthpiece onto the canvas in the 2nd round, and scored a 3rd round TKO.
Bout 2: Jose Garcia vs. Ricardo Caraballo. Summary: Both boxers hail from Philadelphia PA. Garcia did a lot of pushing down on the back of Caraballo's head / neck in the clinch. Garcia also knocked down Caraballo in the final seconds of the 4-round bout. But in the end Caraballo won the decision.
Bout 3: Luis Melendez vs. Esteban Aquino. Summary: Miami FL's Melendez made quick work of Dominican Republic's Aquino. Melendez threw a solid left to Aquino's temple, ending the fight in the 1st round by KO.
Bout 4: Thomas Hawkins vs. Amron Sands. Summary: Orlando FL's Sands was able to knock down Hawkins in the 1st round. After a vicious flurry of punches, the fight ended with Sands knocking out Hawkins in the 2nd round.
Bout 5: Lamont White vs. Mark Reyes Jr. Summary: Fighting out of Tampa, Reyes was the clear crowd favorite of all the boxers in attendance. Reyes proved to be too dominant and fight ended in stoppage at 2:57 of Round 1. Reyes' philanthropic work was called out tonight to a rousing roar of applause from the audience. Reyes went on to state the significance of the yellow ribbon on his trunks was a a dedication to children's cancer research, which he acknowledged had struck a personal note with him given he had 2 children (who accompanied him into the ring this evening).
Bout 6: Jose Otero Solis vs. Jose Ocasio. Summary: Ocasio fights out of Ocala FL. He ended the bout in quick fashion, earning a 1st round KO.
Bout 7: Ndira Speaman vs. Julio Solis. Summary: Making his professional debut tonight, Solis was responsible for approximately 20% of tonight's attendance, in the way of a massive group that appeared to be his family / close friends, all having floor seats, positioned just behind the boxer's corner. Solis will be an interesting boxer to watch out of Tampa FL, having won by 3rd round KO, dominating his opponent for most of the fight.
Bout 8: Carlos Reyes vs. Jose Medina. Medina fights out of Wahneta FL, making him this fight's favored boxer. After a night filled with knockouts and stoppages, this bout went the full distance and ended in a judge's scorecard DRAW decision.
Pier 6 has its next scheduled event on the Gulf Coast again in November. If you are a boxing fan, you won't want to miss that event!
Photos and write-up:
Bailey Guinigundo
Tonight's festivities were due to the marketing efforts of Pier 6 Boxing Promotions, which put on a pretty entertaining evening. There were several tiers of ticket pricing, so no matter your budget, you were destined to watch some pretty intense boxing action.
From mouthpieces being knocked to the canvas, to some boxers bringing their adorable children in as their fighting entourage, to getting blood and sweat knocked into the audience stands, the action went non-stop (with the exception of a brief intermission between the 4th and 5th fights) for just over 3 hours. Downtime in between fights was almost negligible -- as soon as one fight ended, the next procession of fighters was already queued up, ready to descend down toward the ring to the accompaniment of the DJ who was just a few rows away from ringside.
Bout 1: Chown Sims vs. Ty McLeod. Summary: Brandenton FL's McLeod knocked Sims' mouthpiece onto the canvas in the 2nd round, and scored a 3rd round TKO.
Bout 2: Jose Garcia vs. Ricardo Caraballo. Summary: Both boxers hail from Philadelphia PA. Garcia did a lot of pushing down on the back of Caraballo's head / neck in the clinch. Garcia also knocked down Caraballo in the final seconds of the 4-round bout. But in the end Caraballo won the decision.
Bout 3: Luis Melendez vs. Esteban Aquino. Summary: Miami FL's Melendez made quick work of Dominican Republic's Aquino. Melendez threw a solid left to Aquino's temple, ending the fight in the 1st round by KO.
Bout 4: Thomas Hawkins vs. Amron Sands. Summary: Orlando FL's Sands was able to knock down Hawkins in the 1st round. After a vicious flurry of punches, the fight ended with Sands knocking out Hawkins in the 2nd round.
Bout 5: Lamont White vs. Mark Reyes Jr. Summary: Fighting out of Tampa, Reyes was the clear crowd favorite of all the boxers in attendance. Reyes proved to be too dominant and fight ended in stoppage at 2:57 of Round 1. Reyes' philanthropic work was called out tonight to a rousing roar of applause from the audience. Reyes went on to state the significance of the yellow ribbon on his trunks was a a dedication to children's cancer research, which he acknowledged had struck a personal note with him given he had 2 children (who accompanied him into the ring this evening).
Bout 6: Jose Otero Solis vs. Jose Ocasio. Summary: Ocasio fights out of Ocala FL. He ended the bout in quick fashion, earning a 1st round KO.
Bout 7: Ndira Speaman vs. Julio Solis. Summary: Making his professional debut tonight, Solis was responsible for approximately 20% of tonight's attendance, in the way of a massive group that appeared to be his family / close friends, all having floor seats, positioned just behind the boxer's corner. Solis will be an interesting boxer to watch out of Tampa FL, having won by 3rd round KO, dominating his opponent for most of the fight.
Bout 8: Carlos Reyes vs. Jose Medina. Medina fights out of Wahneta FL, making him this fight's favored boxer. After a night filled with knockouts and stoppages, this bout went the full distance and ended in a judge's scorecard DRAW decision.
Pier 6 has its next scheduled event on the Gulf Coast again in November. If you are a boxing fan, you won't want to miss that event!
Photos and write-up:
Bailey Guinigundo