The last fight card of the 2008 summer in Philly was at the Legendary Blue Horizon on Sept 12th and they came through with an exciting card that featured many local fighters facing off against one another. In the main event, “Showtime” Steve Chambers got his first shot at the headliner against perennial B-sider Kevin Carmody, a fighter who has taken on a bevy of rising prospects in his short career. There was a Cruiserweight showdown between two familiar faces as Israel’s Ran Nakash made his 6th pro stop the famed Philly fight hall. He would get the first real test of his career as he signed on to face the big punching Larry Robinson of South Philly in what was scheduled for 8 rounds but everyone in the building knew it wouldn’t go anywhere near that long. The other co-feature was a battle between two fighters who have been on the opposite end of many controversial decision in their day. Gee Cullmer just can’t seem to get any credit in this town for his wins, while Jameel “Black Gold” Wilson has gone the distance with some of the best in very close, entertaining only to get shafted on the scorecards. Also slated for action were two regarded amateurs making their pro debut in “Dangerous” Darrell Jones & Derek Bivins who fought in separate bouts. New Yawker William Jeter also stopped by to take on Pete Guthy. Scroll down to find out how it went down.
Steve Chambers….vs….Kevin Carmody
Philly………………Philly
17-1-1, 5ko’s………..10-9, 1ko
This main event featured two of Philly’s youngest, yet most experienced Jr. Welterweights. “Showtime” Steve Chambers, the brother of former King of the Blue “Fast” Eddie Chambers was getting his first shot to fill the void his bro left a little over a year ago. Carmody is no stranger to promotionally pushed opposition. At 22 years old, he has traveled the country and at times had his arm raised in victory. The main question coming into this was not if either man could fight, but who would take the initiative to actually make a fight out of it? Carmody isn’t known for his aggressiveness and Chambers, until recently, had a tendency to not fight with much fire.
All questions about the pace of this fight were answered immediately as both men stood in the center of the ring exchanging good leather. Midway through the round, Carmody landed a straight right down the pike which put Chambers on the seat of his pants. Chambers did beat the 10 count as Carmody stayed relaxed and picked his shots.
Down but far from out, Chambers and Carmody continued to exchange with Carmody getting the better through 3 rounds. The tide turned in the 4th when Chambers opened a cut over Caromdy’s left eye. In the 5th a straight right hand from Chambers sent Carmody’s mouthpiece flying into press row. Round 6 was very close and Carmody threw combination on the inside while Chambers looked to land the hard overhand right to the head.
The action died out down the stretch with Chambers seemingly doing more than the tiring Carmody. The fight went to the scorecard which read 78 – 73, 77 – 75 & 77- 74 for Chambers who improves to 18 – 1 – 1, 5ko’s
Larry Robinson….vs….Ran Nakash
South Philly…………Israel
Don Elbaum finally decided to step up the competition for his fighter Ran Nakash and this one was expected to be a war. In the end it was a one sided bombing as a Ran Nakash short right hook ended matters :50 into the 1st round of this Cruiserweight battle. An impressive win to say the least. Welcome to the Philly top 10 list.
Gee Culmer….vs….Jameel Wilson
Philly…………..Philly
As stated in the opening segment, this was a battle between two fighters have been involved in many close fights over the past few years. Culmer seems to always get the nod while Wilson usually gets the shaft. The ending of this one is open for debate as well in what turned out to be a very good two way action battle between two Philly natives.
In the opening three rounds, Gee Culmer put on a boxing clinic, using the ring, working his jab, sneaking in his straight right and getting out of the way of incoming danger.
But I know Jameel Wilson, and the book on him is he will lull you to sleep and give you a false sense of confidence, then lay the hammer on you. The middle rounds were very close, very competitive as Wilson dramatically picked up the pace and in the process, changed Gee’s approach from that of a smart boxer to street brawler.
Round 6 and 7 were big for Wilson who had Gee on the ropes and consistently land a variety of punches. Gee absorbed the shots and fired back some of his own, willing to fight it out. The crowd erupted at the end of these rounds.
The 8th started with a solid toe to toe exchange. Midway through Gee went back to his early formula of boxing instead of brawling and did quite well. Wilson came alive as time was winding down which sparked off another two way exchange until the final bell sounded.
The crowd was buzzing and press row scoring was all over the place. When Ring Announcer Larry Tornambe grabbed the mic, he announced a majority decision in favor of Culmer by scores of 77 – 75, 78 – 74 with the third judge seeing it even at 76-76.
Derek Bivins….vs….Darrell Martin
Philly……………..Baltimore
Derek Bivins started off his pro career in style with a one sided unanimous pounding over the usually durable Darrell Martin. In the beginning it was competitive but after round two, you could make a case for round 3 & 4 being 10 – 8′s as Bivins continuously stalked and battered Martin around the ring.
It went to the cards with all three judges seeing it 40 – 36 in favor of Bivins who is now 1-0 as a pro,
Darrell Jones….vs….James Wynn
Philly……………..
Dangerous Darrell Jones says he plans on cracking the top 10 list by next year and he is off to a strong start with fiery 3rd round KO over James Wynn in his pro debut. Jones fired off some hard body punches followed by soem right hooks to the head. After 2 rounds Wynn wanted out. By round 3 a left – right combo gave him that option as he hit the deck only to get up long after the 10 count was given.
Winner “Dangerous” Darrell Jones who improves to 1-0, 1ko
William Jeter…vs….Pete Guthy
New York………….
Two unknowns came to the Blue and put on a pretty good fight while it lasted. The highlight came in the 3rd where Guthy threw a right handed bomb with everything he had behind it and landed squarely on Jeter’s chin. The problem was, Jeter didn;t budge, then returned the favor two folder with a right handed bomb of his own which did put Guthy down twice, the second of which he wouldn’t beat the 10 count for.
Winner: William Jeter TKO 3 – 2:52
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions you can email Philly Keith at keith@phillykeith.com
Go to www.phillykeith.com for up to the minute info on the Philly boxing scene
The big lumberjack from Minnesota, Joey Abell (24-4, 23 KO’s) did it again, pleasing the crowd with 3 rounds of target practice which led to a stoppage over Houston’s Billy “The Kid” Willis (12-14-1, 9ko’s). Abell looks to have added a jab to his arsenal, a punch he threw a lot of in the 1st which would set up that wrecking ball of a left hand. Give Willis credit, he ate some SCUD missiles and still had the audacity to connect with a strong right hook as round 1 ended, a punch that surely caught Abell’s attention. The fight continued and it was more of Abell hammering the concrete head of Willis. The first knockdown came early in the 3rd which from my vantage point actually looked like a slip. Willis jumped right up but was attacked on the ropes and referee Blair Talmedge jumped right in to stop what could have been a severe beating. Video with Abell below.
