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07/09/2005 Archived Entry: "Holmes Finds Range & Wins by DQ Over Wilkes, White Wins Close Shave vs. Wright!"
Holmes Finds Range & Wins by DQ Over Wilkes, White Wins Close Shave vs. Wright!
By Juan C. Ayllon at Ringside
Holmes (left) sets up his right hand (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
MERRILLVILLE, IN, July 8, 2005 – An attractive and willowy young lady with blonde wavy hair, blue jeans and a gray “Jimmy Holmes” T-shirt made a compelling case as she and her brunette counterpart hawked Holmes T-shirts from behind a long row of tables. “There are people coming all the way from California to support Jimmy, she said. You’ve got to buy one!” And through homespun good charm and salesmanship, she and Jimmy Holmes’ significant other outfitted a surprisingly large segment of the audience with gray T-shirts.
The effect was not lost on announcer Joe York, who said, “When I introduced Jimmy Holmes, I looked and I saw all these gray shirts! This is one of the best crowds I’ve seen. In fact, I’ve got a small ringing in my ear. This crowd was loud! I said, ‘I hope there’s someone left in Demotte [Holmes’ hometown] to turn off the lights.’”
Indeed. And they were not disappointed.
Jimmy “The Fightin’ School Teacher” Holmes, 158 lbs., 10-0-1 (6 KO’s) fought a rugged fight and overcame roughhousing Nathan Wilkes, 0-11, winning by disqualification in four rounds. To the delight of the raucous crowd at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza, Holmes won the vacant IN.B.A. Middleweight belt.
Wilkes taunts and stands over Holmes (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Wilkes quite literally threw himself at Holmes from the opening bell, swinging hard with both fists and knocked down Holmes with what appeared to be more from a collision than punches. Holmes received a standing eight count afterwards, but was fine. Appearing to borrow a page from Lamon Brewster’s heavyweight title winning destruction of Andrew Golota, he did not allow Holmes to get set. Later on in the round, Wilkes appeared to stun with a right uppercut that caught Holmes ducking into it.
Round two featured fierce punching, with Wilkes quite literally leaping in and landing some jarring rights and giving Holmes little punching room. Holmes did his best when he backed up and cornered Wilkes, favoring smacking rights to the body and drilling rights and lefts to the head.
Wilkes continued to tear into Holmes viciously in the third round, knocking him down with a combination of body momentum and a right hand as he leapt in. However, he appeared to stun him with a right uppercut. Holmes, who struggled at times with his balance, fought back with some limited success as he managed to get a little more punching room. Wilkes’ incessant mauling and smothering attack clearly frustrated him, as at one point, he grabbed and slammed Wilkes to the mat. This drew a warning from the referee. Angered, Wilkes flew into him with both fists and body. Shortly thereafter, he was deducted one point for unnecessary roughness.
Holmes (right) attacks as Wilkins covers (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
In a heated fourth, Holmes dominated for the better part of three minutes, repeatedly raining down punches on Wilkes, who it was hard to tell if he was merely taking a break or if he was indeed stunned. To the delight of many, Holmes teed off with vicious drilling rights and lefts to the head and pinpoint hard shots to the ribs as Wilkes did his best to cover up along the ropes.
Following a sustained attack by Holmes, Wilkes—who had been pinned to the ropes—grabbed Holmes at the base of his buttocks and—in a move very much like a football drill--lifted and drove Holmes across the ring, tackling him onto the ropes. Referee Kurt Spivey had seen enough, disqualifying Wilkes at 2:27 into round four.
For a moment, it looked like things were going to get ugly as Wilkes argued and gestured violently with the referee as he pleaded his case. His angered second, Mike Shanks, rushed through the ropes and had some harsh words for Spivey. However, the moment passed without further incident.
Shanks claimed it wasn’t fair, saying afterwards, “Holmes hit him three times in the back of the head, Jimmy Holmes put him in a headlock and Wilkes picked him up and carried from rope to rope. He didn’t throw him down like Holmes did him. Holmes was holding Nathan’s left arm and Jimmy was hitting him with his right hand while he was holding him. Nathan knocked him down twice and they didn’t call it; they called it slips both times. Jimmy Holmes went down and they called it a slip!
“They probably had him [Holmes] ahead on the scorecards and look at him; he’s all busted up!”
Undefeated middleweight prospect Michael “The Midnight Stalker” Walker, who watched from ringside, said, “Well, it was a weird fight at the start, but I knew Jimmy was going to stop him ‘cause I worked with Jimmy, I prepared with him. He got a good hook; so I knew he was going to use it.
”But the guy probably was getting hurt, doing wrastlin’ attack—this ain’t wrestling; this is boxing! So, I think the stoppage was kind of good.”
Holmes visits at the lounge afterwards (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Jimmy Holmes said, “It was getting to the point where I knew I had him. He came out pretty fast, really awkward. But, I was able to land good body shots on him and I was getting him to the point where I want, but he was kind of roughhousing and him picking me up and carrying me across the ring and throwing me to the ropes and all that—his being disqualified for that, I can understand that. But, you know, it kind of saved him, ‘cause I probably would have put him out in a round or two. He was covering up and he didn’t have anything left. I was nailing him to the body, nailing him with uppercuts, hitting him with everything then. So, I just don’t think he wanted to take anymore punches, you know. He kind of got upset. I don’t know."
Asked if he was ever hurt, Holmes said, “No. He landed some decent shots, but I’m kind of off balance; I’m still working on my balance and everything, so I get off balance a lot. So, at the first round, they called it a knockdown, but he charged there with the shoulder, had me going back, and ended up hitting me at the same time. I wasn’t hurt by that at all. He landed a few good shots in there. You can see I got a few decent marks on me. But he was strong, he really was."
Regarding what his future plans are, Holmes said, “I’ll sit down with my manager, Octavius James, and then see what he wants to do next, probably defend it here in two or three months, stay busy, get back in the gym, try not to get out of shape—stay in shape. That kind of saved me tonight because I always come in shape. So, as he was wearing down, you know, I was kind of just getting going. I was just warming up. So, by the middle of the fight, I was ready to go; he pretty much had nothing left, so, it helped me tonight. My conditioning helped me tonight.”
Announcer Joe York said, “This guy—Wilkes—is going to be lucky if he ever boxes again. He was desperate, and you have to wonder how a guy is going to box again if he gets desperate in a match like that.”
White (left) and Wright trade in close quarters (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Jermaine White, 141 lbs., 8-0 (4 KO’s) won a controversial points win in a hugely difficult fight versus Kelly Wright, 137 lbs., 4-1-0 (0 KO’s):
Jay Cole, member of the board of directors of the Indiana Boxing Commission proved prophetic when he said prior to the fight, “This should be a good bout, as Wright was a Golden Gloves champion in the state of Missouri. People from there tell me that he’s a good boxer. And, Jermaine, he’s just good!”
Wright went to work right away, out-hustling with busy fists and driving White to the ropes repeatedly, smothering most of Jermaine’s punches in the process.
Wright continued to out-hustle White in round two, landing fast shots and smothering and dodging a lot of White’s. He frequently walked White down to the ropes, trapping him there and cracking punches at close range. At one point, White spun free and landed a couple hard shots, but was spun back again, where Wright landed a hard left and right.
White (left) bounces a short right hook off Wright's head (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
White began to put together more punches in the third round, launching a series of bursting five and six punch volleys. Wright jarred White with a hard right. However, White landed a heavy right of his own later in the round as he pounced on Wright on the ropes.
Charging forward in round four, White attacked with a two fisted assault, drove Wright back to a corner and shoved him down hard. This drew a warning from the referee. Resuming the action, both fighters traded freely in bristling exchanges, both landed heavy rights to the head and took turns with their backs on the ropes. Wright appeared to stun White a couple of times in a tightly contested round.
Round five took a toll on both fighters as the pace was clearly beginning to wear. Wright appeared to have an edge in effective aggression, as his punches appeared to land cleaner in another closely fought round.
Round six, as with other rounds, featured a lot of close in-fighting. White appeared to fight off the ropes at least a good one and a half minutes as Wright pressed effectively, while White fought back hard. However, White broke free and banged away with a vengeance for a good 30 seconds. The two traded freely back and forth as the round closed out.
The judges scored the bout 58-56 for White, 59-55 for Wright, and 58-56 for White, granting White a split decision victory, a victory in which the boos overwhelmed and drowned out the cheers for the home fighter.
Shay Mobley (right) stands over Verdell Smith
Shay Mobley, 159 lbs., 10-4-1 (4 KO’s) dramatically stopped experienced Verdell Smith, 159 lbs., 43-55-2 (17 KO’s) in the second round.
Early in round one, Mobley appeared to hurt Smith with the first right he landed, hurt him again with a right to the head and dropped him along the ropes. Pressing, he couldn’t quite get him out of there, as Smith clinched and wiled his way to survive the round.
Mobley landed a crackling lead left hook to the head, dropping Smith for about a four count. Rising, Smith staggered backwards and was waved off by the ref at 1:25 of round two.
Afterwards, Smith complained, “That was bull— [expletive]. He knocked off my equilibrium, but I could have continued. The ref just waved it off.”
Dominique Alexander, 199 lbs., 12-1-1 (6 KO’s) made quick work in stopping big Edgar Meyers, 251 lbs., 2-12-0 (1 KO) in the first round.
Edgar Myers rushed and pinned Meyers to the ropes, winging away with both hands. However, in short order, Alexander cracked back furiously, stunning Myers quickly, resulting in an eight count. Resuming his attack near the blue corner, Alexander stunned Myers again with a fusillade of lefts and rights to the head. Another eight count ensued. Moments later, Referee Spivey stopped the bout as Alexander hammered a clearly defenseless Meyer, halting matters at 1:04 into round one.
Steve Collins, 263 lbs., 5-0 (4 KO’s) overwhelmed and dropped Mike Steele, 225 lbs., pro debut, three times for an automatic TKO victory at 1:17 into round one.
Steele couldn’t seem to get his punches off as Collins relentlessly pounded him with both fists. In all fairness, Steele bounded off the canvas quickly following the third knockdown, but it was too little, too late as the ref waved it off.
McGee (left) stands over Moorehead (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Former Golden Gloves star Mary McGee, 142 lbs., 1-0-0 continued her winning ways in dominating and ultimately stopping feisty but outgunned Willicia Moorehead, 137 lbs., 2-16-0 (1 KO) in the third round.
McGee dropped Moorehead twice with right hands in round one. The two traded freely, with Moorehead’s punches more milling, while McGee’s were straighter and more precise. However, it was McGee who dominated the exchanges.
In round two, McGee dropped Moorehead twice more, the second time with a right hook. Following up, she pinned Moorehead to the ropes and poured on a volley that continued past the bell and prompted the referee’s intervention.
Round three saw matters terminate as, being pummeled by a surging McGee, Moorehead dropped to a knee without being hit. She had been dropped earlier, courtesy of a McGee left. The ref waved off the bout at 1:37 into round three for a TKO.
Hayes (left) knocks down Fulton (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Heavyweight prospect Thomas Hayes, 263 lbs., 21-1 (14 KO’s) stopped Travis Fulton, 253 lbs., 12-10-0 (12 KO’s) inside of three rounds in what a WBA representative--who was somewhere on the premises--was calling a WBA title fight.
Prior to the bout, Indiana Boxing Commission member Cole said, “The WBA has got a representative here and they’re saying it is a WBA title fight; the Indiana Association is not recognizing it.”
No matter.
Hayes dominated round one, stunning a very defensive minded Fulton twice. There was some close in fighting mixed in between as Fulton alternatively sought to fend off Hayes attacks and clinched to avoid harms way.
Fulton became more aggressive in round two, jabbing and throwing ponderous rights. However, there was never any doubt as to who the stronger man was. Attacking on the inside, Hayes landed a low blow that dropped Fulton. After a brief warning and a rest, Hayes resumed the attack and dropped Fulton with a left hook-right combination. Hayes stunned him again as he pressed. To his credit, however, Fulton lasted out the round.
A victorious Hayes flexes his slimmed down physique (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Round three saw Hayes drop Fulton three times: first, with a right to the body; second, in close at rings center; and lastly courtesy of a left hook. This resulted in an automatic TKO victory at 1:33 into round three.
Afterwards, Hayes said, “It was a pretty good fight. I thought he was going to be a tough opponent like he was. I trained hard for this fight. John Patoya’s been running me hard, working me very hard for this fight. I had to lose 28 pounds, so John put me on a special program. He had me working with [the techniques of legendary martial artist] Bruce Lee with different things for weight loss and conditioning, so, you put it all together and it worked out for me.”
Commenting on specifics of his program, Hayes said, “Mainly a lot of reps for weights, and we did a lot of movements that Bruce Lee had taught him when he was working with him. So, he kind of put that altogether and it just worked out for me really well.”
Regarding what’s next in his career, Hayes said, “I don’t know; that’s up to the people, you know, it’s up to the managers. I’m just a fighter. They tell me what to do, how to train and I do it.”
Kevin Rooney (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Kevin Rooney, a former contender and trainer of Mike Tyson, who also happens to work with Hayes said in regards to Hayes’ career, “Well, now we’re hoping it’s going to take off now! But now, we’re going to be ranked in the top 10 with the WBA. We’d like to go after [WBA Heavyweight Champion John] Ruiz like in maybe three or four more fights, you know, and take a shot. I mean, at this point in time it’s [the heavyweight division] wide open! And, he’s young.
”He’s got to throw more combinations; you know, in the next two or three fights, he’s going to be able to do that. [Also] Well, when I come around, he moves his head more; when I’m not around, he doesn’t move his head, like Tyson, right! [laughs]. But, when I’m around, he listens to me, so, he’s got potential. You know, he’s got potential.
“Well, I would hope within a year, we would fight for a title. He’s going to be ranked in the top 10 now. Now that he’s won the belt, he can defend the belt, get another fighter with a little more experience, so he can step up, ‘cause he’s got to step up.
“I mean, Ruiz, he’s been around forever. He’s very beatable, but he’s got a lot of experience, and that’s just one thing that Tommy doesn’t have. He never had much of an amateur career and he’s had 24 fights now and, you know, most of them are just ordinary guys. We’ve got to put him in with someone with a little more experience. And, hopefully, Tommy will be able to knock him out, or learn.
“You know, he needs to get more experience. So, the fact that he’s in the top 10, that’s good on one hand. The heavyweight division is so wide open, I think that Tommy could step up to that level within a year. But, we need to put him in with better fighters, someone that’s going to make him go the 10 rounds. He does 10 rounds in the gym, but normally you do 10 rounds in the gym, but still, you’re not sure until you do 10 rounds in a real fight. And, he’ll need to do that before he’s able to do the 12 round fights.
After being informed of Cole’s remarks, Rooney said, “I don’t know. The guy from the WBA was at this fight, and I believe he told Mike that if Thomas wins, that he’ll put him in the top 10. So, he’ll probably be [ranked] 10. But, once you’re in the top 10, you can always negotiate and fight the champion, as long as you’re in the top 10. You know, if you become the number one mandatory fight, then the champ can’t duck you; he’s got to fight you or he loses his belt.
You know, Tommy’s still learning and I would say in another good year—I’d like to see him get like—say—another four or five fights. But, I want the competition to be stepped up. You’re not learning anything—like this guy—he just came in for a payday. You know, he was just sitting down. Tommy could have thrown better combinations. But, at least, he won the fight. So, we’re back to the gym and start moving his head more.
That’s half the problem. See, I’m not around here, these guys—when I say, he listens; when they say, he doesn’t listen. And, that’s typical with a lot of fighters. You’ve got to get their attention. And, I was always able to do that.”
Thus, the night’s entertainment ended with a big, heavyweight-sized bang.
Spotted at ringside, Ruben Galvan, who was originally slated for tonight’s fight card, talked about his recent fourth round TKO loss to Julio Caesar Chavez’ son, Julio Caesar Chavez, Jr. He said about his loss, “If I had four weeks to prepare, I could have beat that guy. However, I only had four days, two days, really, with medicals. I was surprised though; he hit harder than I thought.”
Commenting on the enthusiasm of the crowd backing Holmes, announcer Joe York said, “Did you hear it out there? I’ve done a fight at Conseco Field House in Indianapolis, IN where the Pacers play…they had 17,211 people in attendance and 75 million people watching worldwide. But this was louder!”
And, probably, judging by the mood and the reactions of the crowd, One in a Million's event was a lot more fun.
A jubilant 'One in a Million' Promoter, Octavius James (left) and Michael Gonzales,
his publicist relax at the lounge afterwards (Juan C. Ayllon)
From left to right: Fighters Shay Mobley, Michael Walker and Joseph Pujoe
--who is also in the ministry and just finishing off college! (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Announcer Joe York (Juan C. Ayllon photo)
Questions or comments? Feel free to email Juan C. Ayllon at:
