Closely decided bouts are expected at middleweight
By JEFF BALTRUZAK
Sports Writer
150 lbs.
If their last fights are any indication, tonight's fight between Tucker "The Wicked Bad Bostonian" McGree and Luke "Desperado" Busam should be a close one. Both boxers secured narrow split decisions in the preliminaries, with McGree defeating Patrick "The Kleese" Kolesiak and Busam dispatching Brian "The Irish Stallion" Long.
Julian "Bel Biv" Devoe will have his hands full with Chris Matussa. Matussa received a bye to advance to the quarterfinals, while Devoe narrowly defeated Ted Volz in a split decision. Volz hammered Devoe with an effective jab early in their fight, and the fight was stopped twice to control Devoe's bleeding.
155 lbs.
One standout fighter on Thursday was Steve "The Natural Lightweight" Keppel, who will take on Tom Pierce, who was awarded a bye to the quarterfinals.
Keppel had no problem with Shawn "The Full Monty" Monterastelli last week, securing a standing eight-count on his opponent in the first round, and then continuing his thrashing of Monterastelli for the next two rounds on his way to a unanimous decision.
Keppel's strategy against Pierce is similar to his previous fight.
"I'm looking to establish my stance early," said Keppel. "I want to be aggressive but still pace myself in the second and third rounds."
Sean Novak didn't fight in the preliminaries but faces a challenge from law student Joe "The Polish Tank" Czerniawski.
Czerniawski was one of the more impressive fighters that competed on Thursday night, soundly defeating Paul "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" Stinson in a unanimous decision. Czerniawski stayed aggressive the entire fight, relentlessly pounding his opponent and causing the fight to be stopped due to Stinson's bleeding.
160 lbs.
Chris Pettit will be facing the class of Thursday's preliminaries fighters, namely Mike "The Militia Man" Melby.
Pettit did not compete on Thursday, but Melby did, crushing Michael "Peaches" Kwiatt. Melby never stopped attacking, and while Kwiatt countered Melby for the first round, the next two rounds were all Melby.
The taller boxer Melby has sparred Pettit in practice, and Melby said the exchanges were "pretty even — nobody really got the upper hand."
As far as preparation for his next fight, Melby hopes to use size to his advantage.
"I'm taller, so I want to use my reach and keep my jab strong," Melby said.
Dennis Abdelnour will fight Vince "The Italian Meatball" DeGennaro, giving DeGennaro a challenge. Abdelnour, who did not fight Thursday, is an experienced and talented fighter. DeGennaro beat Andrew "The Atomic" Baum last week, a fight where DeGennaro gradually took control in the second and third rounds.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 26, 2001
