“B.B. Kings” is a venue in New York that showcases music that is often considered “oldies, but goodies.” Last night, at that venue, the main event featured two fighters that are oldies, but goodies, and they put on a good performance. It was Randall Bailey in the ring against Demarcus Corley in a rematch of their 2003 encounter in which Corley won a WBO title defense by unanimous decision. Since then, things have changed. Corley is no longer a champion and coming off of five straight losses while Bailey is coming into the fight with a two fight win streak (Both stoppages), and one controversial decision loss. In losing, Bailey put himself back on the map of formidable Jr. Welterweight fighters.
Five years later, they stepped into the ring to square off yet again. The fight started off well. Corley showcased his tricky defensive tactics. Despite recent losses, he still has more than a few tricks up his sleeve and made sure that Bailey knew that from the outset. Bailey, on the other hand, still has his power. Even when his punches were blocked, they were heard loudly from the back of the venue, and were able to move his opponent easily. It was the old style matchup of power versus defense.
Bailey remained aggressive throughout the bout, and it was a bit easier for him considering the fact that it was a small ring. The lack of space made things difficult for Corley, and he had to resort to more upper body movement and less foot movement. It was evident that whoever was the better conditioned athlete, would win the fight. By the third round, it was Bailey in control. He kept the pressure going and a straight right hand landed flush on Corley’s chin and sent him down to the canvas. Corley has been down in the past, but he is one of the more difficult fighters to keep down. He made it back to his feet and continued to make things difficult for Bailey to land a punch.
Afterwards, it was clear sailing for Bailey. He was able to keep Corley moving backwards and into the ropes. It was the right hand that set the pace of the fight. Corley was routinely shaken up from Bailey’s powerful right throughout their encounter. Corley would occasionally land solid left hook counterpunches, but they didn’t seem to phase his opponent. By the sixth round, Bailey almost had Corley down again as a right hand knocked his opponent back into the ropes. He followed up with two more powerful right hands, but Corley was able to move away and get out of the round. By the end of the fight, it was Bailey who looked fresh, and the scorecards showed it. The scorecards read 78-73, 79-72 and 79-72 for Bailey.
The co-feature of the evening saw Gary Stark Jr. come back from seven months away from the ring against Leivi Brea. Stark scored a unanimous decision victory over Andres Ledesma, who had beaten him one year earlier, but suffered severe swelling to his eye. His team, spearheaded by his father Gary Stark Sr., did not want to take any chances and allowed for the eye to fully heal before going back into intense training. Brea was coming off of five straight losses, his most recent being a first round stoppage to Jhonny Gonzalez.
The bout started with Stark stalking his shorter opponent, yet also counterpunching with the right hand. After starting slow, both fighters managed to loosen up and fight more aggressive. While in a clinch, Brea dropped to the canvas holding his hip. Stark did not throw a low blow, so it seemed that Brea pulled something. After a minute or so of a break in the action, Brea continued the fight. After that, Stark began to attack the body, one of Stark’s strongest and most underrated attributes. It slowed Brea down, and allowed for Stark to follow up with the right hand upstairs. In the third round, a right hand followed by a beautiful left dropped Brea hard onto the canvas.
The fight continued with Stark in control, but after such a long stretch of inactivity, it was evident that Stark was a bit sluggish and not as sharp as he normally is. In this six round fight, going the distance and shaking the rush off is the best thing that could have happened to Stark. Despite being in the lead by a very wide margin, Stark began the final round strong and was looking for a knockout. Brea lost all the zip in his punches, and was completely unable to score anything of note against his stronger opponent. Then, from nowhere, Stark landed a powerful right hand that sent Brea down and into his own corner. He was able to beat the count, but held on for the rest of the round, even losing a point due to the holding. As the fight ended, the scores were read. Two judges had it a shutout of 60-51 and the third had it 59-52.
The heavyweight debut of the hotshot amateur from Harlem, Tor Hamer (Yes, that’s his real name), took place last night. He was set to face Joe Rabotte a taller and heavier opponent who had quick hands. Hamer lost his only amateur bout while trying to make the Olympic team. Now that he has turned pro, many at ringside were anxious to see how he looked without headgear and with smaller gloves. He started out terrific. Hamer’s best attribute is his bodywork, something seldom seen with young fighters, and he used it well in the ring. He shot a right hand that sent Rabotte back into the ropes and followed up with another powerful right hand that sent his opponent crashing onto the canvas. The round ended, but it was obvious that Hamer was going to pick up where he left off, and that he did. He continued with the body attack, but this time followed it up with a left hook upstairs that dropped Rabotte hard on his back. He managed to beat the count, but was on shaky legs, and Hamer pounced on his as soon as the opportunity presented itself. A left hand followed by a right dropped Rabotte again, and this time he was out for good. Hamer was credited with a TKO victory at forty-four seconds of the second round.
Philip Jackson Benson, another amateur standout took the ring against Robert Harris. Benson was in control with proper movement and fast punches. A right hand forced Harris to clinch, and as Benson worked his way out of the clinch, he threw a strong left hook that landed flush and sent Harris down onto the canvas. After an attempt to make it back to his feet, Harris dropped again, and the fight was waved off at 1:08 of the first round.
The opening bout of the evening saw the highly regarded Hajro Sujak take the ring against Richmond Dalphone. The fight was a four round war, and something that Sujak probably did not expect. At 2-0 with two knockout victories, he seemed to be a little over-confident. Dalphone enjoyed the fast pace of the fight, and they traded powerful rights and lefts, and totally disregarded defense and jabs. Early in the fight, it was Dalphone that had the upper hand. He threw more punches, and was able to keep Sujak moving backwards. The entire fight was more of the same. Both fighters were tired, but refused to slow down. By the third round, Dalphone managed to wobble Sujak badly and score a near stoppage as Sujak finally stopped throwing punches. Sujak made it out of the round, and in the fourth, there was more trading and Sujak finally threw some jabs that kept Dalphone at bay. The scores were read and Sujak was named the winner reading 38-38, 39-37 and 39-37.
Photos by Claudia Bocanegra