By Gary “Digital” Williams at ringside
Photos by Mike Greenhill
Jimmy Lange of Great Falls, VA captured the NABA Super Welterweight title with a 10th round knockout of Richmond, VA’s Joe Wyatt last night at the George Mason University Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA. Wyatt seemed to be the aggressor throughout the contest, especially in the early rounds. However, in the fifth round, Lange caught Wyatt with a counter right hand that dropped Wyatt to the canvas. Wyatt was able to bounce back and maintain his pressure.
Both men would later suffer cuts from accidental head-butts. This set up a final round that was worthy of an outtake from a Rocky movie.
With two judges having the fight even (85-85) going into the final round, the two warriors struggled fiercely and both were cut before Lange landed a crushing right hand in the final minute that sent Wyatt to the canvas. Referee Dr. Joe Cooper reached the count of 10 at 2:38.
Lange is now (34-4-2, 24 KOs) while Wyatt is (23-2, 15 KOs).
Both men were very upbeat after the bout.
“It was a great bout,” Lange said. Joe was as tough as I thought he’d be.”
“Jimmy’s wearing my belt,” Wyatt said. “Next time, I will be champion.”
The co-feature saw former three-time WBA Middleweight champion William Joppy and Maryland Super Middleweight champion Cory “Black Ice” Cummings battle to a spirited 10-round majority draw. The matchup featured a strong contrast in styles — the boxing ability of Joppy against the pressure of Cummings. Both men were successful at different times throughout the contest. Judges Mike D’Antillo and Brian Costello scored the draw at 95-95 while Bill Osterman scored the bout for Joppy, 96-94.
Joppy is now (39-6-2, 30 KOs) while Cummings is (17-4-1, 13 KOs).
Fairfax, VA junior welterweight Todd “White Lightning” Wilson remained undefeated with perhaps his best performance as a pro, scoring a third-round TKO over Corey “Bad Boy” Goodwin of Columbia, SC. Wilson pressured his opponent throughout the contest, ending his barrage with a series of punches that trapped Goodwin in a neutral corner and forced referee Vic DeWysocki to stop the contest at 2:24 of the third. Wilson is now (9-0, 3 KOs) while Goodwin falls to (7-6, 4 KOs).
In other bouts on the card, Alexandria, VA junior middleweight Brandon Quarles survived a first-round knockdown to win a four-round unanimous decision over Lawrence Jones of Reston, VA. Quarles remains undefeated at (3-0, 1 KO) while Jones is (3-3-1).
Zain “Tiger” Shah of Chantilly, VA won an unpopular six-round unanimous decision in a middleweight bout against Omar “The Machine” Sims of Baltimore. Many in the crowd thought Sims won the contest. Shah is (4-0, 2 KOs) while Sims falls to (5-3, 3 KOs).
Jonathan Reid of Nashville, TN won a six-round unanimous decision over Baltimore’s Mike McFail. Reid is now (35-13-7, 19 KOs) while McFail is (12-41-2, 4 KOs).
Perry Ballard of Martinsburg, WV blasted Booker Mullins on Spartansburg, SC with a right hand that put Mullins down for the count at 2:54 of the first round. Ballard is (21-2-1, 16 KOs) while Mullins is (3-10, 2 KOs).
Ice Promotions Boxing promoted the card. The matchmaker was J.D. Brown.
