High
Drama at the Jungle Another exciting fight card greeted a SRO crowd at Saturday’s amateur show at the Detroit Boxing Jungle.
Coach Mike Awada presented thirteen action-filled bouts with more than the usual share of ring drama that had the crowd on their feet more than once. Young Jelani Embree of Motown remains undefeated after a points win over the Jungle’s debuting Ferden Pitts at 96 pounds Embree won his first national championship, at the age of 9, with his third fight just two weeks earlier at the Title Tournament. In the sole female fight of the night, at 123 pounds, Big House’s Nekhai Hong defeated Unity Boxing’s Carrissa Rodriguez in a rematch. The two boxers have met in the ring on three prior occasions with the same results including a 2006 club show, 2007 Ringside World and 2008 state Golden Gloves tournament. The host club’s Sajjad Al-Mayaii won a decision after three rounds over Dominique Rocha of Big House at 141 pounds. Despite Al-Mayaii’s pre-fight prediction of a 30-second victory, his nod from the judges nonetheless added a win to his passbook and improved his record to 2-2. Downtown Boxing’s Kevin White remained undefeated with a retirement win over Zaven Perez at 132 pounds. White improved to 7-0 when Butzel coaches literally threw in the towel in round three ending state JO and Detroit Golden Gloves champ Perez’s fifth fight. Certainly one of the most dramatic fights of the night was the 142 pound rematch between Fight Club’s Doug Franklin and Butzel’s Gerry Robinson. Franklin came out strong, connecting first, but a flurry by Robinson forced him backwards, causing a slip to the canvas. Franklin developed a bloody nose in the first round that continued throughout the fight and Robinson, who appeared winded early in the second round, was cautioned and warned several times by referee Ron Cunningham for a variety of holding and pushing offenses, several of which resulted in Franklin being thrown or pushed to the canvas. The nosebleed got Franklin seen twice during the fight by ringside physician Ralph Sachs, who, each time, allowed the fight to continue. With the help of two points deducted from Robinson, Franklin was able to walk away bloodied but with a narrow win to avenge the loss in the two fighters’ first meeting in June. Other results: Matthew
Frederick/MASH dec. Edgar Saenz/Ft. Wayne. 140 lbs. |
