Callahan begins quest for third title with prelim victory
By MIKE CONNOLLY
Sports Writer
After receiving a bye in Friday's preliminary 180-pound bouts, two-time champion Mark Criniti opened his quest for a third title with a unanimous decision against sophomore Eric Callahan.
Callahan's wild brawling style that defeated Alex Wood in a split decision in the prelims was no match for Criniti's experienced controlled boxing.
Criniti stood back and pummeled Callahan with 1-2 combinations and straight right hands. Callahan tried to charge Criniti but the veteran's jabs kept Callahan at bay.
At the very end of both the second and third rounds, Criniti crushed Callahan with a series of jabs before hitting him with a hard right that stunned Callahan. Callahan received standing 8 counts at the end of both rounds.
"I try to pace myself at the beginning of the round," Criniti said. "I just really try to work on my footwork and my technique and use the whole ring. The last 30 seconds, I really try to throw hard punches and work really hard in the last 30 seconds."
Criniti will face one of the hardest punchers in his division in the next round as Keith Arnold beat Kevin Conoscenti. The referee stopped the bout 46 seconds into the third.
Conoscenti had a height advantage against Arnold but the off-campus senior moved inside on the taller fighter and threw a flurry of punches.
"Everyone I've fought pretty much has a reach advantage on me," Arnold said. "I just try to throw flurries and hopefully that keeps the jab away."
In the bottom half of the bracket, walk-on football player Matt Sarb abused Jim Christoforetti's midsection as he won a unanimous decision.
Christoforetti had a height advantage on Sarb but he charged right through Christoforetti's jabs and pounded his ribs.
"It's what I am more comfortable with because guys have a height advantage on me," Sarb said about his body blows. "I just get low and stick them in the stomach because everyone forgets about that."
Sarb will face another tall fighter in the semifinals as Tommy Demko picked up a unanimous decision against Doug Lawrence.
Lawrence tried to move inside and get into Demko's body but Demko effectively used his jab to punch his way out of trouble and score points. Lawrence threw more punches but Demko landed more of his.
Demko admitted it was tough staying disciplined against Lawrence's wild style and resisting the urge to stand toe to toe and throw punches.
"That's how I fought last year and I lost," the senior said. "I am trying not to do that too much this year. It just wears you down. If you throw controlled punches, you are going to do much better. A straight punch gets there much quicker than a looping punch."
190-pounds
All the fighters in the 190-pound weight class advanced to the semifinals each Ñ either with the referee stopping the bout or unanimous decisions.
Both of John Lynk's fights during the weekend ended before the final bell rang. He beat Shane Cooper when the referee stopped the contest 1 minute into the second round while Douglas Pope lasted just 50 seconds into the second round of the quarterfinals.
Sophomore William Zizic need just 3 minutes and 24 seconds to finish off Jason Mayes in the quarterfinals. Zizic hit Mayes with a series of jabs that bloodied him. When trainers were unable to stop the bleeding, the referee called the fight in the second round.
At the bottom of the bracket, Kevin Brandl kept Eddy Vulin at bay for most of the bout with a combination of right and left crosses. Late in the third round, however, Brandl got tired and Vulin took advantage of some holes in his defenses to land a series of hard shots to Brandl's face. The late rally was not enough, however, as Brandl won a unanimous decision.
Brandl said he let the shorter Vulin slip inside on him late in the bout which led to the breakdowns in Brandl's defense.
"Once you left someone slip inside on a tall person, you lost a lot of your leverage and some of your strength," Brandl said.
The fighter with the quickest hands in the division slipped inside the defenses of a taller fighter to win a unanimous decision in the last 190-pound fight.
Joshua Kaakua slipped quick jabs and combinations into the midsection of Jose Ronchetta to win his fight.
Although Kaakua is a first time fighter, he has a controlled, mature style that doesn't fit with his inexperience. Unlike most new fighters who mostly brawl in the ring, Kaakua is very controlled and uses his quick moves to his advantage.
"I just try to stay inside and under control," Kaakua said. "I try not to throw too many hooks."
Heavyweight
Two walk-on football players advanced to the semifinals of the heavyweight division in the only two heavyweight bouts this weekend.
Jeffrey Campbell held off the wild attacks of Kevin Herrity to score two standing-8 counts with a good jab in the first round.
After a series of jabs and crosses stunned Herrity for a third time in the first round, the referee stopped the bout 1:28 into the first round.
"I thought I did pretty good," Campbell said. "I just tried to keep my punches straight so I could reach a little more."
Fellow walk-on Eric Nelson went the full three rounds with John Hinchman before scoring a unanimous decision win.
The taller Hinchman charged Nelson several times but Nelson scored points off quick jabs while Hinchman's looping punches didn't score any points.
Nelson said he tried to counter attack against Hinchman's charges since Hinchman was much taller than he was.
"You kind of have to move off their punches first," said Nelson, who is the shortest heavyweight. "You don't want to stick yours out first. If we both throw jabs at the same time, his is going to reach me first."
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 25, 2002
