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Portland Club Show and Hot Dog Picnic
Portland Club Show
Saturday, July 29
at the Jackson Armory, Portland, OR
Promoter: Oregon Trails Inc
Matchmaker: Bob Oleson
Judges: Joe Bonaventura, Bob Flemme, Paul Weitzel
Referees: Arnette Churn, James Erickson, Mike Fisher, Darrell Penn
Lewis
Ringside Physicians: Dr. Louis Rios. Dr. Patrick Shipsey
It was a sweltering night at the National Guard Armory near the
Columbia River Slough. The big doors were open at both ends of the
room and the smell of grilling hot dogs hung in the air. The
only breeze came from shouts and hands clapping. The crowd looked
to be somewhere between three and four hundred, which was about
right for the arena--not full but you could holler insults at the
ref or the boxers without them knowing instantly it was you.
It was a pleasant show featuring a few pros and a number of
hobbyists--the equivalent of back porch guitarists, garage bands,
or, in some cases, karaoke singers.
The local sports radio station, KFXX 910 Am, The FAN was
broadcasting live from ringside for the main event. Those in the
Pacific Northwest who couldn't make it to the fights can set their
VCRs for Midnight on Saturday, August 13 when a videotape of the
show it will be broadcast by KOIN Channel 6 television.
Forty year-old John Egge is a plump, pleasant electrician with a
lot of friends and workmates who delight in cheering him on. He
had a sizeable local following for his tough guy career in the
1980's, and when he made a decade-later comeback recently his fans
came out in noisy force. Egge keeps his chub firm and nicely
tanned so he's not unsightly at 200 lbs. Word drifting out of the
dressing room was that Egge arrived late and worried for his main
event, saying he'd only had three weeks or less to train. This
despite the Oregon Trail Promotions announcements of his main
event starting in late May.
The first round with last minute opponent, 30 year-old
John Flewin, 210 lbs, (now 2-3) of British Columbia looked like
serious trouble for Egge. The rangey Flewin had a simple
repertoire, jab-straight right, but it was sufficient to dismay
Egge and had him on the ropes and wobbling badly. Luckily, Flewin
ran out of gas entirely by the end of the round and came out for
the second barely able to lift his hands. Egge slapped and swatted
Flewin to the deck twice before ref Mike Fisher called it off at
2:07 of the second round.
A scheduled 8 rounds at a contract limit of 151 lbs (actual
weights not available for the moment) had sad twists for the local
guy. Hard training, hard banging Chris Huntwork (now 4-10-1, 3 KO)
of Portland was fit and ready for sturdy Canadian Ron Pasek (now
9-12-3) of Canada. Pasek started out with a hook and uppercut
combo that had Huntwork swinging wild at first but late in the
first round Huntwork got his hook in gear and put Pasek in the
corner on the receiving end. Early in the 2nd round Pasek got that
nasty right uppercut going but Huntwork's heavy hooks took the
last minute of the round. From then on in was hook heaven for
Huntwork. The Portlander has no jab, wouldn't know what to do with
it. His right hand is an adjunct more for balance than power.
Pasek has a pawing, kittenish jab and feeble straight punching.
Nothing to deter Huntwork. That hook came from every angle, in
multiples, in rhythms and syncopations. A marvelous hook, and it
was a marvel Pasek survived until two minutes into the sixth round
when Pasek put his own miracle together. Huntwork charged forward
with his head down and Pasek came up from the center of the planet
with another one of those right uppercuts to the face. As
Huntwork's head
bounced up you could see the huge gash opening and spreading red
beneath his left eye. Referee Mike Fisher halted the action
immediately and introduced Huntwork's gushing cut to the ringside
physician who recommended stopping the fight. It was done at 2:14
of the 6th. A TKO win for Ron Pasek.
A light heavyweight 8 rounder provided a scholarly demonstration
involving Kip Triplett , 35 years (now 8-5-3) of Eugene, OR vs 41
year-old Jeff McCracken (25-9-3, 15 KO) of Las Vegas. McCracken
was out of ring from May of '90 to April of '99 but may be
remembered for having lasted eight rounds with Thomas Hearns back
in 1982, when both men were middleweights. The lean, shave-skulled
McCracken says "I was battered and busted up and the ref got
tired of looking at me so he stopped the fight."
McCracken was undefeated until he met Hearns and things got
rockier after that. He says during his decade away from boxing he
went to college and worked for the Los Angeles Police Department.
"But nothing allows me to express myself as boxing
does."
McCracken expressed himself with feints and
bobbings and odd combinations lacking in pop although ornamental
and inventive. Stalwart Kip Triplett often seemed bewildered but
stepped up to dance as best he could. The judges called it a draw.
A cool, determined attack gave Jesus Santiago,134 1/2 lbs (now
2-0) of Seattle a unanimous decision in four over Saul
Hernandez 128 lbs (now 0-3, or maybe 1-1-2, depending who's
telling the tale) of Gresham, OR. Hernanadez started out busy and
had brief frenzies of desperate action but his balance is goofy
and he doesn't throw straight, so the relative skill of the
stalking Santiago flummoxed him.
The thirty year-old Imad Abouzaki,128 1/4 lbs, of Portland made
his pro debut in a re-match with the guy who beat him as an
amateur. This time around Abouzaki didn't get thumped but he
didn't do much thumping either, opting to skate in circles around
Cesar Garcia Lopez (now 1-2-1) of Woodburn, OR. Lopez charged
inside with a quick body attack occasionally but in general this
was a keepaway game. The judges called it a draw in four.
Rob Mansfield, 147 lbs (now 3-1) of Bremerton, WA started his
six-round evening with a crisp jab and hook to the body that did
everything necessary to Amaury Bandera Tissert, 154 lbs (now 0-3)
the chef of an Indian restaurant in Hillsboro, OR. Bandera Tissert
hit the deck twice in the first round. Then, mysteriously,
Mansfield seemed to decide his work was done and proceeded to
dance and circle for the next five rounds, rarely letting his
hands go. Wild, hapless attacks by Bandera Tissert were not
effective but the five monotonous rounds gave the audience time to
offer high volume if futile strategic advice to both participants.
The judges gave a split decision to Mansfield.
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