Dixey dances into semifinals with win
By BRIAN BURKE
Sports Writer
The quarterfinals of Bengal Bouts opened Sunday afternoon with one fight in the 120-pound division. Michael "Mr. Bubbles" Dixey earned the split decision over Reggie "The Ugly Stick" Robles in a closely fought contest.
The two danced around the ring during the opening round, both throwing a series of wild punches, with Robles sending Dixey backpedaling most of the first 1 minute, 30 seconds. Dixey came back in the second as the pace slowed, landing some hard right hooks as he and Robles traded blows. The third round then began with Robles drawing a line at the center of the ring as he and Dixey proceeded to take turns throwing uncontested hooks at each others' faces before they were both warned to protect themselves.
Dixey will face Jimmy "Pirahna" Fishburne, who comes off a bye, in the semifinals Tuesday.
130-pound division
Matt "The Don" Fumagalli advanced to the semifinals with a unanimous decision victory over John "I am the Bombay Bee" Kakkanathu.
Fumagalli worked through the early barrage of furious swinging by Kakkanathu, backing him into the ropes several times and landing straight rights and hooks to the head. Fumagalli will face last year's 125-pound champion, Jason "The Sweet Sensation" McMahon, in the semifinals Tuesday. McMahon had a quarterfinal-round bye.
In the other quarterfinal bout at 130 pounds, Michael Kontz pulled out a split decision win over Dan "Too Short" Gallegos in one of the closer fights of the day. Kontz and Gallegos both started conservatively, with neither seizing control early. In the third round, Gallegos went on the offensive but opened himself up to countering combinations by Kontz, who took advantage.
Kontz will face Camilo "Rollin'" Rueda, who had a semifinal bye.
140-pound division
Kurt Wilson came away with a split decision victory over Dominic "Little Italy" Angiollo in a hard-hitting, 140-pound contest.
Wilson landed solid hooks to the head as both fighters traded shots for the first two rounds. Wilson finished strong however, scoring with both hooks and jabs to the body in the third. Angiollo had reached the quarterfinals with a preliminary round win over Tucker "The Boston Massacre" McGree.
Wilson moves on to face Josh Coleman, who earned a surprising split decision victory over Bill "The Polish Hammer" Uniowski. Coleman showed impressive tactics, staying low when Uniowski hooked, and countered with hard shots to the body.
"He looked big, and he had more height," Coleman said of Uniowski. "My strategy was to get inside with body shots, use my headwork, and slip underneath long punches. I also wanted to throw straight punches, especially a one-two combo with a jab and straight right hand."
In a bloody contest, "Michael "The Motor City Madman" Waldo survived a slugfest to defeat Jim "The Unloader" Shacklett. Waldo and Shacklett stood toe-to-toe for much of the fight, both landing hard shots to the face. Despite the fight being interrupted several times to stop bleeding, Waldo was able to gain momentum in the final round, backing Shacklett into the ropes and landing a series of hooks.
Waldo moves on to the semifinals where he will face Anton "Ton of Bricks Poundin' Down On Yo Face" Kemps. Kemps earned a unanimous decision over Joseph "Got Mad Hits Like I was Rod Carew" Zilligan. Kemps used a series of jabs to the body to wear down Zilligan. Zilligan landed some hard hooks when the two traded punches, but Kemps got the best of most exchanges.
150-pound division
While the lighter divisions made for some very competitive clashes, the story in the 150 pound quarterfinal was dominating performances. First off, captain J.R. "Maddog" Mellin showed why he is the man to beat at 150 pounds with a fundamentally sound victory over Brock "Landers" Heckmann. Heckmann reached the quarterfinals by defeating "Bike" Mike McDonald on Friday. Mellin was in control throughout, earning the unanimous decision by landing combinations and avoiding hooks from Heckmann.
"He likes to put his head down," Mellin said of Heckmann. "I tried to throw uppercuts, he probably hits harder, so I wanted to move in and out."
The final three fights at 150 pounds were short and ugly. First, Tom "T.K." Owens took a second round technical knockout win over Kevin "Layin' The Smack Down" Downs. Owens and Downs both landed hard hooks in the first round, but by the second Owens had backed Downs into the ropes landing enough clean shots to the face for the fight to be stopped after 56 seconds. Downs had advanced by defeating Joe "Mama Can't Help You Now" Masley.
In another TKO, "Cool Hand" Luke Stanton was declared the winner over John Sarson at 1:10 of the second round. Sarson, who advanced to the quarterfinals defeating Rob "The Talented Mr." McColgan, received two standing eight counts in the first round, at times even turning away from Stanton when backed into the corner.
Not to be outdone by Owens and Stanton was Dennis "The Natural Disaster" Abdelnour who also notched a victory by technical knockout over Joe "What's up Ladies!" Biggs. Biggs, who advanced to the quarterfinals with a victory over Pat "PBODY" Broderick, was unable to defend against straight rights and hooks from Abdelnour, and received two standing eight counts in the first round. The fight was stopped soon after at 1:17 into the contest. Abdelnour faces Stanton Tuesday.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 28, 2000
