Excellent Matches Predominate on Venetian Club Amateur Show
Posted: October 5, 2008
By Lindy Lindell
Photos by Bob Ryder

Rene Muniz put together a very fine and highly competitive amateur card of 11 bouts last night at the Venetian Club in Madison Heights, MI, that featured mostly beginners, but also showcased a contest that displayed the wares of 2008 Detroit-area Golden Gloves champ, James Fortune. Fortune, who is trained by former lightweight contender Greg Coverson of the Infinity Boxing Club, has moved up to the 165-pound weight division, had his way to the point of dominance in the first round with Eddie Gates of the Dynamic Boxing Club. But Gates proved tougher than initially expected, and in rounds two and three, Fortune knew he had been in a fight.

If you told someone that you attended a card in which there were no stoppages or knockdowns, the image of dullness would probably come to mind. This wasn't the case with this card. Bout after bout followed one another with action almost throughout. Only in the bout between Shawn Davis (Butzel) and Cody Hopkins (River Rouge) did the action flag, not because of any unwillingness for its participants, but because their styles failed to mesh. Davis got the nod in this close contest.

In one of the more intriguing matchups, a lanky Weseem Sinawi of the Windsor Boxing Club lost a competitive fray involving Calvin Feay (Azteca). The junior-middle Sinawi had a miserable first round and seemed to be outclassed, but in rounds two and three, he fought back with vigor; the inability to turn his punches over, however, never enabled him to ward off his shorter-armed foe, and he lost a clear-cut decision. If Sinawi learns how to utilize the longer reach that he will have over most of his opponents, he will win his share of fights.

Save for a short interruption to award a patron with the winnings of a 50-50 lottery, Muniz kept things moving and despite a controversial decision in a heavyweight matchup in which Co Sell Beavers of Joe's Boxing Club lost the duke to Cortez Grant (Henry Hank), the well-attended house was sent into the night before 11 p.m. with a collective smile on its face.

The card:

Allah Wright, Joe's, W3 Eric Davis, A-Square, featherweights.
Justin Hocko, Windsor, W3 Beto Saenz, Casa De Boxeo, bantamweights.
Arthur Porter, Joe's, W3 Roy Pope, A-Square, lightweights.
Aaron Augusta, Infinity, W3 Kevin Guenette, Windsor, lightweights.
Shawn Davis, Butzel, W3 Cody Hopkins, River Rouge, featherweights.
Grady Eggers, Casa De Boxeo, W3 Jacob Brooks, Joe's, middleweights.
Andresia Wasson, River Rouge, W3 Jessica McCrae, Windsor, junior-middleweights.
Calvin Feay, Azteca, W3 Weseem Sinawi, Windsor, junior-middleweights.
Rob Hollis, Brighton, W3 Larry Sydenstricker, Joe's Boxing Club, middleweights.
William Fortune, Infinity, W3 Eddie Gates, Dynamic, middleweights.
Cortez Grant, Henry Hank, W3 Co Sell Beavers, Joe's, heavyweights.

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