Warrior's Boxing Promotions in association with the Seminole Coconut Creek Casino presented the third installement of their BACKYARD BRAWL SERIES, aptly titled "Throwdown at the Creek" Saturday, June 28th.

Three championship bouts on the evening's agenda, a total 8 bouts being offered to the enthusiastic crowd that once again came out to support the Warrior's Boxing Promotions presentation.

A fight broke out in the opening bout; what a way to start the evening! Joseph Awinongya, from Ghana, now living in West Palm Beach faced Ezra Sellers in a cruiserweight 8 rounder.

This was an exciting match, both men showed up, giving their best effort. In the end, Joseph came up short, out classed and out gunned by a sharp Ezra Sellers. The judges scored it 80-72, 79-73 twice for the Washington, DC fighter, who improves his record to 27-5, 24 KOs.

The following bout had the crowd on its feet before it even began. The participants: Robert "Bad Boy" Stewart out of Daytona Beach and Jack Cohen, a young man announced as "the pride of Coral Springs, Florida." They were scheduled to rumble in a four rounder in the welterweight division.

Jack's name echoed throughout the arena as he made his ring walk, and the youngster didn't disappoint.

A vicious left hook put Stewart down within seconds of the opening stanza; "Bad Boy" beat the count but it was not to be. Cohen rocked him with a hard right-left hook combination followed by a left hook to the head which dropped Stewart very hard.

Jack Cohen, a fan favorite and crowd pleaser, was impressive in victory; he boosts his record to a perfect 3-0, 3 KOs. Stewart drops to 1-2, 1 KO.

Two veteran female fighters, two of the best in the game, followed. Belinda "Brown Sugar" Laracuente and Tracy "The Lady" Byrd were scheduled to go 8 rounds in the lightweight division. In Ms. Byrd's corner, one of the most avoided boxers of his era, her brother and IBF heavyweight champion Chris Byrd.

Byrd was the aggressor throughout, showing sharper skills than Laracuente, who was once again booed by the home crowd. To add insult to injury, the fans in attendance also expressed their displeasure at the judges decision, which was a draw, and in particular to the judge who scored it 77-75 for Laracuente. Oh, but it will get better, or worst, as the case may be...

The first championship bout of the night followed, with Pensacola's Vernie Torres and Colombia's Angel Priolo facing off for the vacant WBC Latin American Bantamweight title.

The fight got off to a bit of slow start, although Torres was dropped in the opener, a "slip" was the ruling. Priolo dropped him again the second, this time it did count as a knockdown, but Torres came back with a vengeance tagging Priolo hard and often to close the round strongly.

Torres ruled the middle rounds, but seemed to be slowing down a bit in the 11th and 12th. The fight ended as it began, hard fought and both trainers should be commended for having had their men in excellent shape.

Now we await the decision, surely a win for Vernie Torres thought yours truly and the majority of those in press row and in attendance. Announcer Mark Beiro calls out a split decision, WHAT? Two judges saw it 114-113 for the Colombian while Peter Trematera scored it 116-111 for Torres.

I try very hard to avoid criticizing the judges; they have a hard enough job to do and I realize that it is all a question of subjectivity. However, I have noticed one thing, Peter Trematera's scoring is always in tune with the reality of the bouts. He was on target here as well; Vernie Torres should have walked away with the belt wrapped around his waist. A rematch should be in order here, with the officials undergoing a thorough eye exam prior to the proceedings.

Priolo improves his record to 28-1, 27 KOs while Torres drops to 25-6, 15 KOs.

Championship bout #2 followed, with Ada "Ace" Velez defending her WIBA bantamweight title against Delia "Chikita" Gonzalez.

Velez got off to a slow start but by the end of the second round was loose enough to establish who was boss. Gonzalez didn't play nice, holding excessively, which cost her 1 point in the 4th round, 1 point in the 5th round and eventually the fight in the 7th.

Oddly enough referee Armando Garcia, (who made the correct call here in our humble opinion, as well as in the Gonzalez' corner it seemed, neither the corner nor the fighter objected to the stoppage), also disqualified Velez' previous opponent, Leona Brown, in the same round and for the same infraction back in March of 2003.

Hard working Ada Velez improves to 14-1-1, 6 KOs, while Gonzalez drops to 13-9-4, 3 KOs.

The vacant WBC Latin American Super Middleweight Title was up for grabs; Tito "El Misil" Mendoza and Raymond Berry were scheduled next.

Mendoza cuts an imposing figure in the ring, 6' 3", lean and mean, a throwback to the old school. No big entourage, no gimmicks, what you see is what you get, and Berry found that out very early on.

Mendoza launched 'el misil' followed by a strong hook, opening up a huge cut over Berry's right eye. The Panamanian had a solid opening round, and he was just warming up in the following candle when the fight had to be stopped due to the cut over Berry's peeper.

"El Misil" Mendoza is one to watch, and one of the best acquisitions Warrior's Boxing has made. He improves his record to 28-4, 21 KOs, Berry drops to 19-11-2, 7 KOs.

The main event followed, in a ten rounds heavyweight "special attraction" which showcased Lance Whitaker vs Russell Chasteen. This one lasted two rounds as well, with Chasteen getting tagged hard and heavy throughout.

There is something to be said about hard blows to the head... Chasteen, who had to be revived by the ringside physicians, began to chant "bullshit" when he came through and one can only wonder what was going through his battered brain at the time.

He also argued with referee Armando Garcia, who saved his life by stopping the fight when he did. Chasteen had this to say to the referee: "What happened? Why you stopped it? That's my style of fighting!" Enough said.

Whitaker improves to 26-2-1, 22 KOs while Chasteen drops, and I mean drop, to 20-7, 14 KOs.

Last but not least, Friday Ahunanya vs Brazilian Daniel Frank in an 8 rounder in the big boys division. It didn't last long, with Frank falling hard in the opener, beating the count, only to have the bout mercifully stopped by referee Bill Connors. Official time 1:13.

Congratulations are in order to Warrior's Boxing Promotions for presenting a very entertaining and ambitious evening of boxing; a mixture of seasoned pros, up and coming talent, well balanced and evenly matched.