FIREWORKS WERE PROMISED, FIREWORKS WERE DELIVERED! By Elisa Harrison

The opening bout of the evening pitted Kenworth "Lightning" Minus, from Nassau, Bahamas against Las Vegas, Nevada's Willie Stewart, a super middleweight contest scheduled for 6 rounds. Score this one a first round KO for Stewart, Minus was eliminated by a phantom blow within 58 seconds of the opening bell. Minus, 13-9, 10 KOs, has now lost his last six fights by way of TKO or KO within the first four rounds. Willie Stewart improves his record to 18-0, 10 KOs.

Next up, an interesting four rounder between Roman "Rocky" Martinez from Bayamón, Puerto Rico and St. Petersburg, Florida's Adisone Sengaroun in the junior lightweight division. Sengaroun seemed to be much heavier than Martinez,  who more than made up for the smaller frame with sharper punches and overall better technique.

Martinez is the young man who back in February 2002 scored an upsetting 1st round KO of highly touted prospect Ricky Piedra. "Rocky" wins this one by way of a 3rd round TKO, after successfully wearing down his opponent with constant pressure and punishing body blows. Martinez pushes his record to 6-0, 4 KOs while Sengaroun drops to 4-8, 1 KO.

Veteran Agustin Silva, from Toa Baja, Puerto Rico returned to this venue in a 6 round welterweight bout against Ian Mackillop, from Hollywood, California. Silva has lost 8 of his last 10 fights, and at age 35 should really be calling it quits. The Canadian born Mackillop has only suffered 2 defeats in his young career, the last one a 2nd round TKO loss at the hands of Kermit Cintron, back in August 2002.

Mackillop traded with Silva throughout the fight, scoring a TKO in the final stanza, 1:55 into the round. It was not a spectacular win, not even an exciting stoppage, but Silva was taking a lot of clean shots and referee Jorge Alonso was very justified in calling it. Following the bout Silva assured us that he is out of boxing for good. By the way, Agustin Silva is the the man who dealt Kassim Ouma his lone defeat, an embarrassing 1st round TKO stoppage at the Miccosukee venue in November of 1999. Ouma was in the house to see Silva fight what we hope will be his last fight.

The Latin beat and the Cuban flag were a sure indication that Julio "The Cuban Lover" Garcia was entering the arena, and the crowd went wild. Wearing blue and gold, and sporting the Cuban and USA flags on his trunks, the solidly built Garcia stepped up to the plate after an eight months layoff. His opponent, Irving Garcia, clad in black with white trim, a relatively unknown but undefeated Puerto Rican Light Middleweight champion.

To say that this fight was action packed would not even begin to tell the story. From the opening bell, Julio Garcia went after his opponent, forcing the action, and taking two punches to give four. At times Julio lulled the Puerto Rican fighter into a false sense of security, counterpunching him beautifully. There were instances when the opposite also took place.

In the second round "The Cuban Lover" did excellent body work, connecting with powerful left hooks, but Irving Garcia let it be known that he came to fight. Irving took round 3, with Julio missing a lot of his shots, and seeming over anxious, trying too hard to score a homerun.

The fourth round was one heck of a round for both men, as Irving hurt Julio with a right hand to the head, while Julio turned the tide towards the end of the candle punishing Irving against the ropes with hard combinations to the body. When the bell sounded, the savvy boxing fans at the Miccosukee venue were on their feet, acknowledging the effort and valor being displayed by both fighters.

Julio received a warning in the fifth round, due to a 'low blow.' Irving took full advantage of the time to get a breather; Julio made him pay, taking it to the body, fighting in a phone booth the remainder of the round. This was toe to toe action, much to the delight of the appreciative fans. There were a lot of "Cuba" chants, but Irving, whose nickname is "Chuma" was also getting his fair share of support, and seemed to have pulled out the round.

Julio continued to force the action in the sixth round as he had done every second of the fight, being forced to fight on the inside due to the height and reach disadvantage. Irving headbutted the Cuban man on his forehead. Blood was squirting out, running all over Julio's face, and the taste of it seemed to infuriate him. This round was a replay of the previous, with Julio taking it to Irving, hurting him to the body, while scoring nice combinations to his head. Irving got on his bike but he couldn't pedal away fast enough.

The seventh round was a tremendous round for Julio Garcia. He lost a point due to a 'low blow' that looked more like a devastating body blow to most of press row. With a warrior's heart, and to the loud chants of "Cuba," "Cuba," Julio went to work, scoring crisp combinations to Irving's head. Julio evened the round, and took a lot of steam from his opponent, who was beginning to look frustrated, and very tired.

A relentless "Cuban Lover" forced Irving to fight on the retreat in the eighth. There was little pop in "Chuma's" punches, and Julio never stopped applying pressure, coming at his opponent with the worst of intentions.

The ninth round saw Julio rip Irving's left eyelid wide open. For those fans that enjoy gore, this was the fight to watch. Julio Garcia fought like a possessed man, taking shots to the head in order to get to Irving's body; it would be hard to question either man's heart or chin.

With every fan on his or her feet applauding, the final stanza opened up in the same manner the first one did, with Julio coming straight at his opponent; not much finesse, but oh, what heart! It was toe to toe throughout this round; Irving more on a surviving mode, Julio letting it all hang out to ensure a win in the round.

A split decision was announced, and the audience gasped loudly. A hush fell over the crowd as Amy Hayes struggled with the cards. Judge Mark Streisand saw it 96-93 for Irving Garcia... WHAT??? Judges John Ruppert and Peter Trematerra were more in tune with the action, scoring it 95-94 for Julio "The Cuban Lover" Garcia.

In a tremendous display of class, Julio told the press he was dedicating the victory to the memory of legendary Cuban Hall of Famer Gerardo Gonzalez, better known the world over as "Kid Gavilan," who had passed away a week prior to this event. Julio acknowledged some ring rust, and made no bones about the fact that his lack of amateur experience gets him in deep at times. He stated his camp had not been able to secure tape on Irving Garcia, and the adjustments had to be made as the fight progressed.

I heard several officials say this was the best fight ever held at the venue, and there was talk of it being a candidate for ESPN fight of the year. Irving Garcia gets his first L, and Julio Garcia improves his record to 23-1-2, with 9 KOs.

After a short but much needed break in the action, Ricardo Williams led Ravea Spring's entourage, holding the Cincinnati fighter's NABO Cruiserweight belt with great pride. Looking quite 'golden' in sequined trunks and with Ricardo Williams, Sr. by his side, Springs entered the ring.

Reggae music and a loud clamor led the way for the WBC champion and his entourage, his beautiful green belt also being held high. Wayne "Big Truck" Braithwaite's trunks represented the Guyanese flag colors, and his imposing figure evoked heavy handed applause from his fans.

Braithwaite is not the most polished fighter in the world, but let me tell you this, he packs a WALLOP! He hurt Springs in the opening round, throwing some of the most awkward punches you'd ever want to see, which come from all angles. He is definitely a work in progress, but it became very obvious that he was the aggressor, the hungrier fighter. Springs seemed dazed and somewhat rattled by the onslaught, and even this early on one could sense it was a matter of time before Braithwaite would dispose of Springs.

The pace slowed a bit in the second round, but Braithwaite was the aggressor, with Springs content to survive. Bombs were thrown, and Ravea caught them all. "Big Truck" cuts an impressive figure in the ring, he is brawny, and fights with his mouth wide open, something he later told us, he enjoys doing. It cost him a busted lip in the third round, but his body work had Springs breathing hard at the end of the assault, looking thoroughly confounded and out of his league.

Braithwaite sensed that Springs was laboring and came out to end it in the fourth, dropping his opponent with a hard left and putting a beatdown on him that prompted ref Tommy Kimmons to halt the bout 2:40 into the fourth round.

The comic relief of the evening was provided by the WBC champion, who demonstrated his dancing talent in the center of the ring as he awaited the official call. Yes, folks, Mr. Braithwaite can throw down and get down as well.

We spoke to the champion after the fight, and asked him about those incredibly wide and looping shots he throws. He acknowledged that he still has a ways to go, but with a wide grin added, "it may not be pretty but I will hurt you." We won't argue with that assessment, champ.

A very disheartened Williams Sr. told us that his son was doing well, and perhaps needed the wake up call of suffering his first pro loss in such a lopsided fashion. Mr. Williams also told us that "young, rich kids have a problem listening sometimes," but he really seemed confident things would improve from this point forward. He had no excuses for his charge Ravea Springs, and made none. Springs drops to 25-3, 19 KOs while the champion keeps on trucking to 19-0, 16 KOs.

In the last bout of the action packed evening, Guyana's Rodney Tappin defeated Arnold Hill, from St. Petersburg, Florida unanimously in a four rounder in the junior welterweight division.

2-21-2003