Spivey-Martinez: Full Report

By Chris Perry at ringside

The August 28 “War At The Shore” event at the Virginia Beach Convention Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia was aptly named as “Dangerous” Dorin Spivey and Leo Martinez engaged in battle for 10-rounds in the evening’s featured contest. Although Martinez stayed busy attacking Spivey with his straight forward, in-your-face style, Spivey won a hard-fought unanimous decision landing more effective shots throughout the bout. The judge’s score cards read 95-92, 98-90 and 95-94.

“I’m a warrior. I had to suck it up, dig deep and fight,” said Spivey (38-6, 29 KOs) following the event promoted by Nick Garone of X-Cel Worldwide and Daryl DeCroix of Daryl DeCroix Promotions. “I pulled a muscle in training camp. I thought it was 100% healed but after the first round it was hurting like crazy. I wouldn’t quit but I couldn’t concentrate, box and move like I wanted to because I kept thinking about the pain. But, I’ve got no quit in me. I don’t know how to quit so I had to fight my way through.”

Spivey worked his jab early in round one. A straight left hand forced Martinez down for a standing eight count from referee Chris Wollesen. A left, right combination connecting before the bell sent the fighter from Mexico, who now lives in Chicago, Illinois, stumbling into the ropes for another standing eight.

Martinez regrouped and pressured the former NABA lightweight champion with a relentless attack from round two on. In the trenches, both fighters were bleeding by round three with their eyes puffy and swollen late in the bout. Although in pain from his left arm biceps injury, Spivey pushed forward to earn the decision in front of a thrilled hometown crowd.

“He landed the most effective punches and he had two knockdowns.” said Spivey’s head trainer John Hunter after the bout on what gave his boxer the victory. “That made the difference. Martinez threw a lot of punches. He probably threw more punches than Spivey, but Spivey was more effective.”

“I knew it was going to be a war, it’s just hard to concentrate when you’ve got a pulled muscle,” said Spivey. “I was working the jab, hitting him, but it was hurting like crazy. He’s a tough guy. I got hit a little too much. I should have boxed more but I just couldn’t concentrate that much with my arm. This wasn’t my best fight, but I won the fight and that’s all that matters.”

“Dorin Spivey is a warrior,” said promoter Nick Garone. “He’s a tough kid and he’s one of the best in the world. At this stage of his career, he deserves a shot at the title. My goal right now is to keep him active and keep him winning.”

“Dorin’s coming off three straight wins,” continued Garone. “He got a win against Major. He got a win in April. Now he has a really good win against a tough, legitimate guy. I would really like him to be recognized by a couple more organizations and really have an opportunity to fight for a world title. I think he deserves it. I think he’s a guy who has paid his dues. He’s been a professional for 17 years and he deserves an opportunity. I just wish somebody would recognize that.”

“I hope to campaign and get a WBA world title fight soon,” said the 37-year-old fighter. “In the meantime, I’m going to let my arm heal up and keep myself in shape by running and just enjoy life. I got a victory. It wasn’t my best victory but it’s a victory and that’s what matters most. Sometimes you’ve gotta go to war and get beat up like this to show your toughness. I definitely showed my toughness in this fight.”

The “War At The Shore” supporting card showcased five professional boxing matches and three mixed martial arts bouts. In boxing action, MMA star Antwain “The Juggernaught” Britt and junior lightweight Meacher Major “Pain” won their respective feature bouts in impressive fashion.

Britt, a Virginia Beach native, won his boxing debut knocking out Danville, Virginia fighter Antonio King just :49 seconds into round one. “The Juggernaught”, who will compete both in boxing and MMA moving forward, overwhelmed King (0-1, 0 KOs) sending him down soon after the opening bell with a straight left followed by a right hook. Seconds later, a barrage of punches sent King down again forcing referee Jack Rourke to end the bout.

Major (18-4-1, 14 KOs) defeated Jamar Saunders (5-7-1, 2 KOs) by TKO when the Atlanta, Georgia boxer suffered a sever cut over his right eye in round two and was unable to continue. Major sent Saunders to the canvas with a right hook in the second round. The cut opened up during a heated exchange and referee Chris Wollesen waved off the fight between rounds.

In other bouts, Norfolk supper middleweight Frankie “The Freight Train” Filippone (6-1, 2 KOs) was victorious for the second time in two weeks earning a six-round unanimous decision over Baltimore, Maryland fighter Willie “For Real” Williams (12-6-2, 3 KOs). A left hook thrown by Filippone sent Williams down in round two. Both fighters stayed busy throughout the bout. Filippone was given time to recover from a low blow in round five and a point was taken away from Williams by referee Chris Wollesen for another low shot in the final round. The score cards read 58-55, 58-54 and 57-56.

Another fighter called “Freight Train”, Washington, DC heavyweight Maurice Byarm (8-0, 6 KOs), remained undefeated scoring a TKO victory at the end of round three over Earl Ramone Hayes (15-31-1, 10 KOs). In control throughout the contest, Byarm landed a left hook followed by a ripping right hook that sent his opponent from Athens, Georgia to a knee. Hayes went down again seconds later. Stunned by an onslaught of punches as round three ended, referee Todd McGovern had seen enough and waved off the fight as Hayes stumbled back to his corner.
In the evening’s opening boxing contest, Baltimore, Maryland middleweight Omar Sims (4-2-3, 1 KO) defeated Kenny Moody, Jr. (1-2, 0 KOs) when the Virginia Beach fighter could not continue after a shot to his left eye rendered him unable to see. Simms scored standing eight counts in rounds two and three. Moody’s vision was clearly impaired in round three and referee Jack Rourke stopped the bout at the 2:02 mark when he was unable to continue.

Promoters Garone and DeCroix may return to Virginia Beach later this year. “Nothing specific as of yet,” said DeCroix of their next co-promotion. “We are talking about doing something around Halloween time here in Virginia Beach and we potentially have a show in New York around November 5. We plan on keeping these fighters busy and keeping Dorin busy.”

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August 30th, 2010

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