Fairfax, VA – More than six years have gone past since jr. middleweight Jimmy Lange has embarked on the Patriot Center era in Fairfax, VA and his loyal fanbase proved to remain just as strong as thousands were in attendance to support their hero making his fourteenth appearance at the arena often referred as the ‘house that Jimmy built’. Lange surely didn’t disappoint, dominating the workhorse veteran Ruben Gaivan (27-21-4, 10KOs) to capture the WBU and NABU jr. middleweight championships.
Lange was in command from the opening round, targeting his much shorter opponent with consistent jabs and work to the midsection. Gaivan, who was as unorthodox as an opponent could be, did his best to clown his way to befuddle the fan favorite by constantly taunting and clowning. The crowd seemed to enjoy the villainous tactics however, but the rounds were stacking up in favor of Lange who was one hundred percent business. Gaivan’s clowning gradually reduced in the fifth frame while Lange continued to execute his game plan, connecting with hard right hands.
In the sixth, a hard right hook to the body, followed by a combination to the head briefly stopped Gaivan on his tracks. But the Hammond, IN native played possum and later dished back with two hard right crosses of his own and closed out the round strong with last second flurries.
Gaivan might have had his best round in the eighth, successfully outmaneuvering his charging foe and landed short crisp hooks and right hands. Lange answered with a more disciplined strategy in the ninth and focused on keeping the distance to land more jabs.
Championship rounds also belonged to Lange who stuck to his textbook boxing of executing well timed one-two straights. The peppering jabs and straight rights took an obvious toll on Gaivan, whose face begun to redden although he was never in danger of being stopped.
All three judges were in an agreement, unanimously scoring the fight in favor of Lange. Official cards read 120-108 (3x). With the win, Lange improves to 38-4-2, 25KOs.
STEWART EDGES WYATT TO LIFT WBU WELTERWEIGHT STRAP
In the co-feature, long time veteran and Delaware’s popular Mike ‘No Joke’ Stewart (49-7-3, 25KOs) claimed the vacant WBU welterweight trinket with a lackluster technical majority decision win over Pittsburgh, PA’s Joe Wyatt (23-3, 15KOs). It was a difficult contest for the most part with neither guy being able to land effectively. As Stewart stalked, Wyatt circled and the clash of two opposite styles simply did not mesh for an action packed fight that the fans were clamoring for. There were occasional one-twos from both fighters, but constant clinching and tying-up frustrated the fans, drawing a jeer of boos at times. After eight monotonous rounds that saw plenty of feints and clinches, the ref stopped the bout in the ninth at the ringside physician’s advice due to a severe cut on Wyatt’s right eye caused by an accidental headbutt. Joe Wyatt arguably held the edge in measuring the distance, but Stewart was the aggressor. Scores were 76-76, 79-73, and 78-74.
WILSON DODGES BULLETS, OVERCOMES ‘THE WHIP’
Local unbeaten prospect Todd ‘White Lightning’ Wilson (12-0, 3KOs) continued to show progress in his fruitful career, entertaining the Fairfax crowd with a thrilling unanimous win over Bronx, NY’s Fernando ‘The Whip’ Basora (8-8-1, 7KOs). Wilson, fighting from his southpaw stance, controlled the action in the first two stanzas. However in the third, the popular local ran into a Basora counter that put him in perils and on unsteady legs. Wilson regained position in the fourth, but all hell broke loose in the fifth when Basora unleashed a series of attack that prompted Wilson to backpedal on shaky legs. But showing heart and courage, Wilson fought back and finished the round landing head-snapping shots. In another exchange, a right hand buckled and dropped Basora to his knee. Wilson jumped on his wounded foe, but undeterred, Basora fought back and finished in what turned out to be a fantastic slugfest that had the crowd up on their feet. Two judges scored the bout 59-54 while the other saw it 58-55, all for Wilson who extended his unblemished record.
YORGEY BREEZES THROUGH
Bridgeport, PA’s Harry Joe Yorgey (24-1-1, 11KOs) resumed his journey back to title contention by outworking Lawrence Jones (4-6-2, 1KO) of Washington D.C. over six one-sided rounds. Yorgey was the aggressor, moving forward to force action. Jones was reluctant to engage, mostly moving backwards aiming to counter. Yorgey found his rhythm in the third round, focusing on his southpaw counterpart’s body and continued to do so throughout. Jones made some effort to retaliate, but with minimal success and began to tire in the fifth as his Pennsylvanian foe began to pour on. Jones took a beating in the sixth as Yorgey went for the finish, but held on to hear the final bell. Yorgey won by the scores of 59-55 (twice) and 58-56. The bout was contested above the jr. middleweight limit.
NELSON AND LIVING STEAL THE SHOW
Fighting mom and world middleweight champion Tori ‘Sho Nuff’ Nelson (6-0-1) of Ashburn, VA denied the lively effort and challenge of the younger Vashon ‘Lady V’ Living (5-3-1) to claim the vacant WIBA jr. middleweight crown over ten rounds. Living, a Houston, TX native wasted very little time in bringing the heat from the opening bell, but the resilient Nelson responded with a counter that dropped her opponent to the canvas. The third saw Living doing her best to sustain her greater work-rate, but again paid for it by getting knocked down in the process. Two warriors slugged it out in the fourth, battling toe-to-toe and it seemingly favored Nelson, who clearly held the edge in power. As Living was staggered by a hard right hand, Nelson followed up violently with an onslaught of winging body shots and hooks to the head. A huge barrage of punches came in the beginning of the fifth and a thudding right hook dropped Living again for the count. Showing tremendous courage and determination, Living vied to fight on and managed to stay in the war. ‘Lady V’ in spurts appeared to be superior in terms of technique, but the brute strength of Nelson proved to be the factor in winning the exchanges at close quarters. The verdict was unanimous in favor of Nelson who won by 97-90 (twice) and 99-88.
Two unbeaten jr. welterweight newcomers collided to kick off the event, but it was Kevin ‘The Scarecrow’ Womack who downed Richie ‘The Rock’ Andrews (3-1-3) to keep his zero intact. It was a fierce battle between two contrasting styles. Womack proved to be the conventional boxer against an aggressive, more offense minded brawler in Andrews. Womack utilized his reach in the first round and stunned his shorter opponent with ranging shots from the outside and inside uppercuts. Andrews increased the tempo in rounds two and three with wild swinging haymakers, some that landed effectively. Womack closed the gap in the fourth and final round, tying up his foe to find his mark. Official scores were 38-38, 39-37 (twice) in favor of Womack who now improves to 3-0, 1KO.
Upper Marlboro, MD’s Duane Mobley made his professional debut in a satisfying fashion, upending Norfolk, VA’s Dennis Benson (1-1, 1KO) after four tightly contested rounds. Both heavyweights were looking to pot shot, but Mobley appeared to be a step ahead, initiating more with lead left hooks and following up with right hands. Benson, a southpaw, made his effort to remain in pocket and counter, but lacked in work-rate. Scorecards were read unanimously for Mobley who is now 1-0.
