Bengal Bouts — 145-Pounds: Dillon all business in preliminary round
By: CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Writer
Last year, junior Luke Dillon just missed winning the 135-pound division when he dropped a split decision to senior Matt Fumagali. This year, Dillon is the top seed and favorite in the 145-pound division, and he began his quest for a title Thursday with a decisive second round TKO over sophomore Stephen Hill.
Dillon came out of the corner aggressive in the first round and did not let up for the duration of the shortened fight.
Dillon used a steady diet of jabs followed by overhand rights that connected with Hill's temple on nearly every punch thrown.
At the start of the second round, Dillon landed one of those hard rights that bloodied Hill's nose and sent the sophomore to the corner. When Hill came back out, Dillon went back to work with the jab and right, and the referee quickly called the fight.
Sylling def. Piposar
In the second fight of the 145-pound division, freshman John Piposar tried to use an "upright" style and his height advantage over junior Andrew Sylling.
But the tenacious Sylling was determined to get inside of Piposar's reach to eliminate his competitor's advantage.
In the second round, Piposar appeared to gain the upper hand when he sent Sylling to his corner with a cut on the cheek.
But by the time the final round rolled around, it looked like Piposar had run out of energy. Sylling became the aggressor as the arm and leg-weary Piposar had trouble fighting off Sylling's attacks. In the last round, Sylling brought a cut to the cheek of Piposar and later nearly sent the freshman to the canvas. With his strong effort in the final round, Sylling was able to come away with the split decision.
Robinson def. Sims
If you were to measure by his nickname, Thursday night was a failure for junior Paul "One Punch" Robinson. After all, it took him more than one punch, but Robinson still defeated senior Tim Sims by unanimous decision.
Robinson used a deadly jab to keep Sims off-balance for much of the fight and then often followed up with a punishing right when Sims was dazed.
But at the start of the second round, Robinson was sent to his corner to take care of a bloody lip, and it would be the only setback for Robinson.
The junior came out of the corner and soon hit Sims with a strong jab that sent blood flying from his nose. Robinson spent the rest of the fight pummeling Sims with jabs and rights and constantly drawing blood.
In the third, Sims was given a standing eight count to more or less seal the fight for Robinson.
Harris def. Shonkwiler
Junior Joseph "I'm Still, I'm Still Joey from the Block" Shonkwiler didn't fool law student Paul Harris with rocks or fists or just about anything else Thursday as the experienced Harris used a conventional style to defeat the brawling Shonkwiler by a unanimous decision.
Harris used his size and rich over Shonkwiler to feel the shorter fighter out early in the fight and let the younger boxer make the first mistake.
By the time the last round arrived, Shonkwiler appeared worn out from throwing a heavy wave of punches in the first two rounds, and Harris took advantage. The final round proved the difference as Harris got Shonkwiler into a standing eight count that gave the decisive edge to the law student.
Ham def. Schoppe
Senior Jeffrey "Honey-baked" Ham had an easy night Thursday, as the third-seeded fighter advanced to the next round by way of forfeit by grad student Andrew Schoppe.
Streit def. Huml
In the battle for West Quad bragging rights, sophomore and O'Neill Hall resident Jon Streit escaped a highly competitive fight with sophomore and Keough Hall resident Tim Huml with a unanimous decision.
For much of the fight it looked as if neither fighter wanted to take control. Both threw a lot of out-of-control punches that often missed their targets, but in the end, it was the underdog and No. 12 seed Streit who was able to come away with the victory.
DeBoer def. Murphy
It looked like sophomore Rob "Irish Fan" Murphy was trying to resurrect former heavyweight champion Muhammed Ali's patented Rope-a-Dope style in his fight against freshman David "The Flying Dutchman" DeBoer.
The idea of the Rope-a-Dope is that one fighter lures the other into throwing a large number of punches early in the match to tire him out so he can easily attack the fatigued boxer later in the match.
But it looked like Murphy just didn't have enough at the end of the match to make a decisive charge over DeBoer as he dropped a split decision to the freshman.
Through the first two rounds, the taller Murphy threw very few punches and simply felt out DeBoer. In the last round, Murphy finally tried to make a move, but the effort was not enough to secure the decision.
Duffy def. Vaglio
Senior Ryan "The Quiet Man" Duffy was anything but in his preliminary round matchup with law student John "The Notorious V-A-G" Vaglio.
Duffy used several long jabs and a more controlled style of boxing to earn a unanimous decision victory over Vaglio in the final fight of the 145-pound division Thursday.
Duffy was often able to take advantage of several long left misses from Vaglio that left him open to Duffy's jab.
In the third round, the effects of Duffy's punches began to show as Vaglio grew woozy and became an easier target for the senior. In the last round, Vaglio was given a standing eight by the referee. Just as Vaglio came back into the fight, Duffy hit him again with another hard right that sent the law student stumbling back and brought on a second standing eight count to all but secure Duffy's victory.
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 21, 2003
