| In what turned out to be the grand finally of the 2005 Friday Night Fights NYC Series, a full house packed the aisles, the seats and every other available space, to witness what would be another fantastic evening of fights. Tickets were in high demand and several people were turned away as the crowd reached capacity. The energy level was high and as always the competitors eagerly accommodated the expectant crowd. The first part of the evening featured 7 amateur boxing bouts with the second part 5 exciting bouts of Muay Thai. Joey Arroyo opened the show as he took control of the match against a game competitor, Charles Williams. Arroyo has now won two in a row and looks forward to a third in January, giving him great momentum for the Golden Gloves Tournament. Jazmyn Jones edged out Rosemary Severino for a three-round decision. Jones? crowd shook the house when she entered the ring and she wasn?t going to let them down, she consistently exchanged tremendous blows until she got what she came for..victory. Rudy Ramirez lost a close decision against Mohamed Habib. Both fighters have participated in the Friday Night Fights NYC Series before and both are known for their power and willingness to ?brawl?. Going into the match, Habib had given up a considerable edge in experience to Ramirez and he managed to combine his usual slugging style with enough boxing to take the fight. Ben Kutz?s performance against Tomas Maher demonstrated the young fighters ?never give up? attitude. Kurtz, who was 0-4 going into the fight, proved that he was determined to get a win. The match seemed to inspire just about everyone in the arena as Maher?s crowd and the Church Street crowd challenged each other to give their fighter the most support. While the fight was certainly entertaining, some felt there was too much holding. At the end of the fight it was Kurtz that had finally earned the win that had eluded him for far too long. In yet another dominating performance, Jay Rodriguez took all three rounds against Teddy Sotiron. Sotiron, with a smile, said quietly after the fight??I?ll be back?. There is no doubt that he will be. Southpaw Dave Thompson controlled his match against Mike Mitchell. Mitchell, who was game and aggressive, was strong enough to give Thomson a fight but in the end Thompson?s skill earned him the decision. Church Street?s own Mike Adams took his first open class fight (4 rounds) against the 2005 Super Heavy Weight Golden Gloves Champion Shawn McLean. Adams was uncharacteristically aggressive in the first round nearly stopping the champion on several occasions, including an impressive standing 8 count. The second round was a bit closer but Adams continued to be in control and kept up the aggression. By the third and fourth rounds, a combination of fatigue and McLean?s jab cost Adams the match and gave the current champion another victory. In the first Muay Thai bout of the evening, Church Street?s Chris Romulo made his way back into the ring since his last match in May. Romulo combined tactical aggressiveness with a measured pace to take the decision from Andras Gal. Gal, who is a tremendous puncher, managed to win some of the exchanges against Romulo, he made an exciting fight of it and didn?t allow Romulo to play it too fast or too loose. Laurie Cahill showed a vast improvement in her skill level and conditioning as she faced off against Deak Eugenikos. Both women kept the crowd interested as they exchanged punches and kicks through the 3 round-bout. In the end, a very happy, Cahill took the decision. Jason Titlebaum clashed with Marcus Antebi in their 5 round fight. The match had several furious exchanges between the fighters with Antebi choosing a more technical and strategic approach. The crowd was on the edge of their seats as the decision was announced. Antebi won the close (and controversial) decision. The second round of the match between Dan Hogan and Konstantin Andreanoff was the only knock out of the evening. While Hogan was game he was no match for Andreanoff and the referee decided mid way through the bout that he had seen enough. In the final fight of the night, Billy Crapparo lost his 3 round fight against the technically superior Eric Utsch. Crapparo, who is a tremendous puncher, could not coe up with an answer to low kicks from Utsch and was never able to mount an effective offensive attack. To his credit, Crapparo never gave up under the consistent leg attack from Utsch. The judges voted the ?Fight of the Night? to the McLean dec. Adams fight, with Shawn McLean ending up the ?Fighter of the Night?. While this was the last event of 2005, it was clear to the crowd and the fighters as they left the building that this was also just the beginning of something. The Friday Night Fights NYC Series 2006 begins on Friday, January 13th with another exciting evening of Amateur and Muay Thai Boxing?.see you there! |
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