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07/26/2004 Archived Entry: "Hitz Boxers Entertain at Boxing Exhibition on North Avenue Beach"
Hitz Boxers Entertain at Boxing Exhibition on North Avenue Beach
By Juan C. Ayllon
Kerrin (L) lunges at Riley
(Chicago, Illinois): Despite overcast skies, several hundred yards to the south, hundreds of people banded about a volleyball tournament on the Lake Michigan waterfront adjacent to the colorful, two-story steamship shaped North Avenue Beach House. Numerous joggers, bicyclists, walkers and beach combers traversed the jogging path stretching up and down the beachfront. Meanwhile, another crowd assembled at the open air Crunch Gym. Clad in T-shirts and shorts, workout gear or swimsuits, people stopped to gaze at a spectacle uncommon in these parts: a boxing ring with real boxers swapping blows. Incredibly, this sparring session pitted a muscular, African American male against a tall and fiery white female boxer in a ponytail.
The mood was collegial and light as upcoming cruiserweight prospect, Chris Riley and light heavyweight Elizabeth Kerrin galloped about the ring in an athletic and violent dance, attacking, blocking, countering and moving with mesmerizing ease. A right hand punch with too much steam on it snapped Kerrin’s head back, prompting a terse apology from Riley. Acknowledging it, Kerrin shrugged the blow off and pressed on.
Riley (L) sets up the right hand against Davis
After a couple rounds, Kerrin exited and hulking heavyweight Carl “Iron Fist” Davis ambled in. Ignoring his manager’s protests, Davis sparred with the smaller Riley sans headgear and a mouthpiece, saying, “it’s okay.” Sparring between Davis and Riley was a tad more tactical and subdued than that with Elizabeth Kerrin. This prompted Kerrin—who had been coaching Riley with admonitions like, “Keep your hands up, Chris”—to chide Riley, saying, “Oh yeah! You take it easy on him, but you beat me up! Great!”
In all fairness, Chris Riley was being careful, as he had an upcoming ESPN2 fight on Tuesday for which he had been called as a last minute substitute just several days ago. There was no need to risk a cut here, which could prove disastrous in a fight just three days away. Along with Elizabeth Kerrin, he and a handful of Bobby Hitz’ fighters were participating in a boxing exhibition to stimulate interest in boxing with people who might not normally watch the sport.
The publicity move was brilliant. The highly trafficked jogging path adjacent to Crunch Gym—as well as spill-off from the volleyball tourney and the beach itself—provided a steady stream of onlookers as well as the occasional participant! After watching slick boxing Jermaine “Money” Marks spar rigorously with Jimmy “Superfly” Sandoval, a young and athletic man by the name of Don responded to publicist/announcer Trayce Zimmerman’s invitation to the crowd to spar with Elizabeth Kerrin.
Don (L) poses with Elizabeth Kerrin
Kerrin instructed and modeled the basics of stance, the jab and the right cross to Don, then sparred lightly with him for exactly one round. She easily parried, blocked and sidestepped most of his blows and had no problem landing whatever she threw his way. After the round ended, he retired from the session, citing that he was tired. He appeared appreciative of Kerrin’s light touch, having heard that she had knocked out men in real sparring before! Elizabeth Kerrin is looking for a match versus Laila Ali sometime in the near future.
Marks (R) attacks Sandoval(L) on the ropes
Next, Jermaine Marks sparred with a succession of three male volunteers from the audience, toying with them as he ducked low, moved and blocked. All the while, he exhorted them with words like, “Is that all you got,” and “come on, hit me! Don’t hold back.” His style called to mind a young Pernell Whitaker. One winded participant said afterwards, “Man, it looked so easy on TV!”
Carl Davis joined in on the fun, sparring with an athletic young African American woman. Dwarfing his diminutive sparring partner, he mostly covered, ducked and mugged at her, brushing aside her mighty swings and, at one point, apologizing for knocking her hat off the top of her head.
In another comic pairing, Davis mixed it up with Jermaine Marks, who was quite literally half his size. At one point, Marks grabbed Davis around the waist, spun around to Davis’ rear and jumped on his back!
Chris "Cold Steel" Thomas
New NABO Cruiserweight Champion, Chris “Cold Steel” Thomas, sparred with Elizabeth Kerrin, playing mostly defense as Kerrin attacked with controlled flurries. Ostensibly making an appearance only to shadow box, he balked when Davis gloved-up, climbed in the ring and entreated him to spar against him. However, Davis prevailed with assurances that it would only be “...light sparring.” The two entertained, demonstrating deft movement, quickness and slick punching in their light session. When publicist Zimmerman declared the sparring session a draw, Thomas facetiously said that he “...was robbed,” while Davis ascribed the blatant favoritism to Thomas removing his shirt, which “clearly” dazzled the ‘judge’ and thereby tainted the scoring of the ‘bout.’
Sandoval (R) unloads on sparring partner
Earlier, junior lightweight Jimmy “Superfly” Sandoval continued to show improvement as he logged a lot of rounds, provided solid entertainment and kept the event moving by mixing it up with junior welterweight Jermaine Marks and two or three other partners. Most notably, he surprised Zimmerman when he not only volunteered to spar against the heavier and much more experienced Marks, but also showed some moxxy mixing it up well with him. The younger brother of former WBC Lightweight Champion of the World Jesus Chavez, Sandoval will be fighting on August 27 at Hitz Boxing Promotions next event at the Ramada O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois. Joining him on the fight card will be Chris Thomas, Carl Davis, Elizabeth Kerrin, Jermaine Marks and Chris Riley.
After his spirited last round of sparring versus Jermaine Marks, an enervated Jimmy Sandoval exclaimed, “Whew! Next time, they’re going to have to pay to see this!” Judging from what they showed today, it will be worth every penny.
From left, Jimmy Sandoval, Carl Davis, Davis' trainer, Jermaine Marks, Chris Riley and Elizabeth Kerrin
For further information on the upcoming fight card on August 27, see:
