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10/05/2008 Archived Entry: "Walker Decisions Echols in Close One!"
Walker Decisions Echols in Close One!
Report and photos by Juan C. Ayllon at ringside
Walker (left) bangs away at Echols in the waning seconds of their crowd-pleasing slugfest as referee Kurt Spivey looks on
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – To the delight of the delirious crowd at the Radisson Star Plaza, the main event was non-stop slugging at close quarters for eight violent rounds.
In a match designed to set the record straight following last February’s draw on ESPN 2 Friday Night Fights, Chicago’s Michael “The Midnight Stalker” Walker (18-1-2, 12 KO’s) fought with the tenacity of a pitbull terrier, constantly crowding and ultimately prevailing over Davenport, Iowa’s “Kid Dynamite” Antwon Echols (31-8-4, 27 KO’s) in a close decision win. However, the win wasn’t without controversy.
They didn’t waste any time getting acclimated. Echols landed several jarring rights in a round characterized by bull rushes, quick swings and tying up in the first.
Echols (left) and Walker swap blows in a corner
Walker managed better in the second, banging in close and warned several times for use of the forearms. He knocked Echols into the ropes with a wide left hook and maintained the pressure with his head up in Echols’ chest.
Walker really banged to the body as the two traded freely, albeit in close in the third and at the end of the fourth, he badly stunned Echols with a left hook. It was similar to the one he landed earlier at the exhortation of someone in the audience: “Hit him with the left hook—it’s there all day!”
Echols' left slams through Walker's guard
Echols’ best chance to pull off a victory came in the fifth. Echols’ nailed Walker with a right off the ropes in close and, later as the two slugged at close quarters, suddenly Walker’s knee hit the canvas, apparently the result of a sharp inside blow.
“It was lackadaisical footwork. I was [coming forward with the momentum of a] punch and he caught me with a punch,” Walker said afterwards. “We fought a crafty guy. I wasn’t hurt in the fight.”
Be that as it may, referee Kurt Spivey appeared to be screened off from seeing the blow land. This was crucial. Later at T.J. Maloney’s, an Irish pub at the Radisson Star Plaza, a judge confided that he didn’t score the knockdown as Spivey had ruled it a slip. “But was it a knockdown?” he said. “Yes.” Had that knockdown been scored, the bout would have likely been ruled a draw.
Bouncing up immediately, Walker’s left arm clamped around the back of Echols’ neck in a vice grip. The moment passed. After Spivey separated the two, Walker appeared fine and went right back to work.
Echols (left) and Walker trade furious blows
The sixth and seventh were bell-to-bell pitched skirmishes in close. When Echols got some breathing room, he scored with occasional sharp blows. Using slick boxing skills, he slammed in some vicious uppercuts, rights and lefts as he slipped to either side to get enough room to leverage his shots. Still, Walker pressed in close and banged away, seemingly gaining momentum in the latter portion of both rounds.
Above, Echols (right) jars Walker with a hard right to the jaw and opens up with both fists below
Already trading hard and fast in the eighth, their slugfest reached a feverish pitch as Echols fought off the ropes and Walker swarmed looking for that senses altering blow. It was not to be, but that didn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm or din, as they got their money’s worth in these torrid rounds.
Walker has Echols ducking moments before the final bell gongs
Judges scored the bout 76-76, 78-74 and 77-75 for a majority decision win for Walker.
“If it was close, they should have scored it a draw,” said a disappointed Echols drenched in sweat. “I thought I was winning by a (bleep)—damned mile!”
“It was a good fight—I just abandoned my jab,” said Walker afterwards. “If I used my jab, I could have caught him with a lot more better shots. When I used the jab, I caught him with some good right hands. Last fight, I couldn’t press the issue; I was running out of gas.”
“The win, it was great. It wasn’t what I wanted, but I’ll take it.”
Findley (right) savages Nash in a corner
The crowd cheered shrilly as Gary, Indiana’s "Superman" Derrick Findley (161.5 lbs., 12-2, 7 KO’s) never gave Cincinnati, Ohio’s Rashawn Bland (1-18, 1 KO) a chance to breathe, driving him into a corner with larruping lefts and rights and pounding him over and under. It was over in 18 seconds. Forehead to the canvas, a gasping Bland hunched over on elbows and knees as referee Bill Paige counted him out.
“He knocked the wind out of him,” said a corner man for Bland as he exited the ring.
Just as well, considering that Bland was 1-18 going into the bout, which begs the question, at 12-2, what was Findley doing fighting someone with such a record?
Referee Bill Paige (right) raises the hand of Derrick Findley, who celebrates his walkover victory with sponsor Mr. Rogge standing proudly behind him
It turns out that Findley's original opponent, Chris Govan "failed to get his medical tests done in time," Indiana Boxing Commissioner Jake Hall wrote by email. In other words, Bland was a last minute substitute. However, Govan was 2-4 with 2 knockouts and 3 losses by knockout. It looks like either way, this evening was designed to whet fans appetites for more lucrative fights down the line for the "Superman."
Hobart, Indiana’s Ed Ochoa (146 lbs., 5-0, 5 KO’s) and Cincinnati, Ohio’s Christian Nash (2-10, 1 KO) pitched an entertaining scrap with Ochoa finally prevailing inside four rounds.
The second and third rounds heated up with hard back and forth action. Sure, Ochoa – or Eddie, as the crowd chanted – packed the harder punch, but Nash took a decent shot and cracked back a bit, too.
As they traded in a corner in the fourth, Ochoa snapped Nash’s head back hard with a left. Amping up his attack, he repeatedly hurt Nash with rights, turning him sideways with one and prompting referee Kurt Spivey to halt the bout at 1:38 into round four.
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