| Butler KO’s West at Northern Quest Casino |
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| Written by Richard Baker | |
| Tuesday, 05 June 2007 | |
In a surprisingly short bout, heavyweight Alonzo Butler (26-0-1) knocked out war-horse Ralph West (17-12-1) at 2:19 of the first round. The surprise was not in the quickness of the KO but in the ability shown by Butler. In that brief time he showed tremendous improvement over previous bouts, no plodding, no lingering punches, no trepidation, just good, clean, quick, and devastating punches.
Especially impressive was his defense. Butler picked off almost every blow West threw and did it with class and fineness using small movements with his gloves, a flick here, a push there, and usually followed by a counter punch of is own. When West hit the canvass he had no inclination to rise and Butler, sporting that contagious grin of his, raised his hands in triumph. The night’s action started with Donny Fosmire (10-14-1) against Osvaldo Rojas (6-1-0). Fosmire probably has the ability to be a decent person but it never shows in the ring and he has probably been disqualified more times than any other fighter in the northwest. Rojas shoved him into the ropes in round two and, after the referee broke them apart and he turned to walk away, Fosmire, in a belligerent rage, nailed him on the back of the head sending him to the canvass and earning himself another a DQ. Heavyweight Danny McGarry (3-7-1) came out like a typhoon in round one of his fight with Roland Graham (3-2-1) only to be served a plate of canvass and a nasty cut over his left eye. He remained more conservative the remainder of the round and never regained his confidence before going down again in the second and having the fight stopped by TKO. Sam Haynes (3-1-0) and Matthew Halvorsen (2-2-0) was the first bout to go the distance, and what a fight it was! Haynes came forward each rounds and is hands were never still. Halvorsen remained the classic boxer-puncher contend to fight in bursts. Neither man showed any fear during the six rounds. Unfortunately, the referee determined the outcome. Haynes appeared to be winning by a very slim margin when Halvorsen smacked him so hard his mouthpiece went flying and he fell into the ropes. Halverson jumped right on him and only the ropes supported him. Halverson was on him like a dog on a bone when the referee, using very poor judgment, broke them apart to give Haynes back his mouthpiece and costing Halvorsen the win. At the very least he should have given him credit for a knockdown since, without the ropes, Haynes would have been on the floor. Haynes came away with a majority decision and added the referee to his Christmas card list. The bout between Shane Andreesen (5-0-0) lasted just long enough to put away Jose Beltran (2-9-0) in the first round. Andreesen is a good-looking kid from Canada and is starting to show some real talent. The heavyweight is lanky, fast, and has a decent chin although that is mostly a guess since he seldom gets hit. If he continues on his present path he might become a force in a rather dreary field. Rumor had it that the best fight of the night might be between Skyler Thompson (11-1-1) and northwest prospect Able Perry (7-0-0). Thompson has been carefully groomed to let his skills develop. Perry dropped him in the stop bath and halted that development making him resemble a rank amateur. Perry was all over him from the opening round and Thompson could do nothing except plod around and swing mostly at air. Perry looked far more skilled than his handful of bouts shows and he seemed unstoppable almost pitching a shutout. The fight revealed Thompson as just another nice kid from Illinois. The win was a big one for Perry and he has been offered the chance to fight on the HBO Ricky Hatton card in Vegas on June 23rd. The newly formed Northwest Heavyweight title was on the line as Chauncy Welliver (32-4-4) went toe-to-toe with Corey Williams (4-7-2). Everyone loves the bushy-headed Welliver, everyone except Wyoming native Williams. In an effort to confuse Williams, Welliver entered the ring disguised as a sheep, at least from the waist down. His bushy white trunks went almost to his ankles. These two absolutely pounded one another throwing elbows, shoulders, heads, and an occasional glove. Williams threw so many low blows he resembled Andrew Golatta. Welliver landed enough telling blows that the referee finally stopped the bout by TKO in round six and Welliver went home sporting a new collar for his sheep. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 November 2007 ) |
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