Detroit
Golden Gloves Continue Boxers from sixteen metro-Detroit area clubs competed Saturday in the first full day of action at the 2008 Detroit Metro Golden Gloves, held once again at the Gibraltar Trade Center in Taylor. Seven preliminary bouts were contested on Friday and the tournament concludes Sunday. Infinity boxers had a perfect day winning all three bouts they entered: Drake Filippis (152 lb, Senior C), Jordan Moody (132 lb, Novice) and Willie Fortune (165 lb, Open).
Highlights: Filippis won a split decision over Kronk’s Emmanuel Lipscomb. A spirited second round highlighted three rounds of non-stop action in which Lipscomb spit out his mouthpiece twice, receiving a one-point deduction from Referee Ansel Stewart. Both incidents allowed precious time for him to recover from a fight that was clearly draining his energy, but it was not enough to alter the outcome. Kronk’s J’Leon Love and Leandre White both won their bouts at 178- and 152-lbs Open division respectively. It was Love’s second fight after five months off because of injuries he suffered in a traffic accident and the first tournament that the two boxers competed in without team mate Domonique Dolton, who had his pro debut earlier in the month. NABO Cruiserweight champion Johnathon Banks worked the corner of both fighters, as well as other Kronk boxers, in the absence of “Sugar” Hill who was with Kermit Cintron for his HBO fight Saturday night.
James
Smith, of Butzel Recreation, will likely always be the short guy
in the ring at just 5’4” but he is living proof that
looks can be deceiving. He’s like a little spark plug that
is always moving and punching. At 125 lbs in the open division,
Smith and Kronk’s Robert Figueroa went toe-to-toe the entire
three rounds. The last place you wanted to be today was between
these two fighters. Figueroa got an 8-ct in the third round after
a technical knockdown, when his gloved hand touched the canvas.
In the end, Smith won by unanimous decision in an exciting bout
that could have been seen as much closer. |
