Jirov Beats...Beets...!
Vassily "The Tiger" Jirov (34-3), the 1996 Olympic Gold Medalist and former Cruiserweight Champion, continued his campaign into the heavyweight division with a 10 round Unanimous Decision over Troy "Basher" Beets (12-5-1).
After a bit of feeling out in the first minute of round 1, Jirov got down to business and brought the fight to Beets. Jirov kept his jab in Beets' face and also landed many powerful body shots. By the 4th round, Beets was showing fatigue, mainly because of the body work Jirov was putting on him....but, surprisingly, Jirov seemed just as fatigued. Beets took full advantage of the tiring Jirov by stealing a few rounds in the middle of the fight, but that only seemed to light a fire under the former Cruiserweight Champion. Despite the fatigue, Jirov proved to be the better fighter by taking control of the fight and never looking back. He didn't exactly dominate the last few rounds, but looked very impressive. In round 9, Beets was on the verge of going down, but was saved by the bell. Jirov didn't exactly win over the crowd, but he did enough to win over the judges as he won by Unanimous Decision, 97-92, 97-92, & 97-93.
Aikens upsets McIntyre!
In a shocker, local favorite Will "Kid Fire" McIntyre (36-3-1) lost a 6 round Split Decision to Alabama native Jo-Jo Aikens (7-4-1). On paper, this was a huge mismatch, but in the ring, this was one hell of a battle.
McIntyre looked good in the early going, was caught with a solid left hook that floored him in round 2. The knockdown sent McIntyre a message that Aikens isn't just "an oppenent," quite like Aikens stated in his pre-fight interview. The fighters kept up the busy pace for the rest of the fight, but Aikens outboxed McIntyre in the later rounds and squeeked out a close decision. The scorecards all read 57-56, but two of the judges were in favor of Aikens.
Sanders dominates late sub Laracuente!
In what has become a regular occurance at Bayou Promotions shows, women took center stage and battled with a title on the line. Undefeated IBA Continental Light Welterweight Champion, Mary Jo Sanders (15-0) didn't have much trouble with late sub Belinda "Brown Sugar" Laracuente. Laracuente took the fight on two days notice because of an sparring injury sustained by Sanders' scheduled opponent, Lisa Holewyne. It was a really good fight, it just wasn't a very close fight. Mary Jo Sanders was dominant and left no doubt in anyone's mind that she was the better fighter. Sanders' stamina was incredible, as she threw LOTS of punches throughout the whole fight. She never seemed tired. Even in the later rounds, she took the fight to Laracuente with lots and lots of accurate punching.
Laracuente looked very good also, but she was just clearly overmatched. Her punches were lightning quick, and she showed good movement. Laracuente also entertained the crowd with her version of the Ali Shuffle, blowing kisses at Sanders, other antics during the fight. The final scorecards read: 100-90, 99-91, & 98-92.
Look for Mary Jo Sanders to become a major player on the women's boxing scene. She has all the tools to go straight to the top. Hopefully Bayou Promotions (or any other promotion in this area) decides to put her on another card, she was very impressive.
Broussard Breezes By Thompson
Hometown hero, "Bad" Chad Broussard (48-4) of Lafayette, LA made short work of Brad Thompson (14-5) of Tuscaloosa, AL, as Broussard continues his comeback. Early in the first round, Broussard landed a viscious body shot, and from then on, ferociously attacked the overwhelmed Thompson. Broussard dropped Thompson in every round of the bout that was scheduled for 6 rounds, but only went 4 rounds due to the referee stopping the fight due to Thompson getting completely pummeled.The stoppage came 50 seconds into the 4th round after Broussard knocked down Thompson for the 4th and final time. This was, by far, Chad Broussard's best showing since returning to the ring. Look for Broussard to fight for an IBU title in Lafayette next month.
Pudwill Shuts Out Kitchens
"Showtime" Shelby Pudwill (20-2-1) of North Dakota looked very impressive in his four round, unanimous decision over local fighter, James Kitchens (6-2) from Lake Charles, LA. Pudwill unloaded to the body early in the first round and quieted the many Kitchens' fans who made the short trip to Kinder. This was Kitchens 2nd fight after a 4 1/2 year layoff. Kitchens didn't really look rusty, he was just way overmatched by the fundamentally sound, counter-puncher Pudwill. Kitchens resorted to throwing bombs after the 1st round, much to the delight of Pudwill, who was countering with ease. Quite a few times, Pudwill was close to flooring Kitchens, but Kitchens managed to stay on his feet for the whole fight. The scorecards read 40-36 across the board, all for Shelby Pudwill.
Henry Hammers Pierce
Light Heavyweight Prospect, Chris Henry (3-0) of Houston, TX kicked off the night with trash talking in his prefight interview. "...you didn't show up for the weigh in, and you might as well not even show up for the fight, 'cause your m--- f--- a-- is dead. Sure, it was a bit over the edge, but for a second, it looked like Chris Henry made true of his promise.
About 10 seconds into this fight, you could tell where this one was going. Carl Pierce (2-4) threw wild punches, and Chris Henry countered with devestating counter punches. Then midway through the 1st round, Henry landed an overhand right that sent Pierce face-first onto the canvas. Referee Kenny Licata didn't even bother counting, as he waved the doctor into the ring and began checking on Pierce who was out cold. Carl Pierce made it back to his feet with help from his corner and the doctors, but don't bother asking him what happened, because I doubt he even knows. Chris Henry scores another knockout, and improves to 4-0.
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Gulf Coast Boxing would like to thank Jimbo Stevenson and Bayou Promotions for the great fights and the accomodations that were provided for us.
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Notables In Attendance: Women's Featherweight Prospect "The Fighting Marine" Kasha Chamblin (4-0), Undefeated Lightweight Prospect "The Bayou Bomber" Bobby Aucoin (13-0), Welterweight Prospect Jeremy "The Crusader" Duplechain (2-1), and Former Welterweight Johnny Casas (11-4).
