“Have No Fear!”

Written by George Hanson

December 28, 2010 – In an era of carefully guided careers—boxers fighting infrequently, skillfully crafted public personas, television producers masquerading as boxing promoters peddling their chosen lot as “the real McCoy”—Dhafir “No Fear” Smith is an anomaly. Just 28-years- old the Philadelphia super-middleweight, approaching his 10th year as a professional, is a 50-fight veteran and a free-agent—he isn’t signed to a promoter. To provide perspective, consider future Hall of Famer, Bernard “The Executioner” Hopkins—18 years Smith’s senior, has been a professional fighter for 22 years and has competed in only eight more fights. The thought or fear of being burned out never intruded itself into the breast of Smith.

There is an old adage in boxing that “records don’t beat you, fighters do!” It basically means that when choosing an opponent for your fighter don’t focus on the record alone but pay careful attention to talent level and the circumstances surrounding the losses. Thus, I wanted to send former IBF super-middleweight champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy a smoke signal, warning him to avoid Smith during our radio interview two weeks prior to their match. Having known Smith for some time it is safe to say that his record at the time of 23 wins – 19 losses – 7 draws was misleading. The only reasonable conclusion that should have been drawn was that Smith had competed in 49 fights. Had someone “taken Lacy behind the numbers” he would have realized that given their respective positions there were many paths of least resistance. Simply put, Lacy didn’t need Dhafir Smith. But, as a proud warrior and true gentleman Lacy had “no fear. 

R.I.P “Bad” Bennie Briscoe

R.I.P. “Bad’ Bennie Briscoe – one of the toughest Philadelphian’s to ever live. (2/8/43 – 12/28/10). Toll the bell 10 times for the best of Philly Boxing’s golden era…

B-Hop dropped twice early, dominates late, settles for a controversial draw in Canada

On December 18th, 2010 – Bernard Hopkins (51-5-2, 32 KOs) almost did it again. Live on Showtime, The Executioner stepped into enemy territory to take on WBC Light Heavyweight titlist Jean Pascal in front of a jam packed, sell-out crowd of 17,000 screaming Canadian’s – everyone one of whom came to see their local hero Pascal. A win would put Hopkins in the history books as the oldest world champion ever in the history of professional boxing. Many are saying it was the best B-Hop fight they have seen in years. The end result was a majority draw that is being appealed up to the highest courts of boxing.

Maurice “Freight Train” Byarm: The Philly to DC Connection!

Maurice Byarm wins in MD. photo by Pete Silver / Philly Keith Sports

article by Ken Hissner/ photo credit Pete Silver

When you think of Philadelphia heavyweights most people think “Smokin” Joe Frazier. A couple of Frazier’s protégé’s have come and gone like his son Marvis and “Smokin” Bert Cooper. Marvis never fought in Philly as a pro. Top Philly promoter J Russell Peltz has never been big on using heavyweights. He had “Big” John Poore and now young unbeaten Bryant Jennings out of Fred Jenkins ABC Gym.

Joey “Polish Thunder” Dawejko signed with Hasim Rahman and Empire Promotions while Paul “Machine” Koon has remained an amateur so far. The heavyweights know “get out of town or waste away”.

Malik Scott, 32-0, only fought in Philly 3 times and hasn’t fought in 2 years. He got buried on Don King undercards. He was one of Jenkins fighters. “Fast” Eddie Chambers, moved in from Pittsburgh and had his career built up at the Blue Horizon by Don Elbaum. Then he signed with an out of town promoter and is again on the verge of a championship.

This brings us to the son of Lionel Byarm, a once promising cruiserweight then was 9-1-2 when he fought Olympian Evander Holyfield in the future champs pro debut over 6 rounds losing a decision. Maurice “Freight Train” Byarm has something all the other heavyweights didn’t have. He is taller and carries 247 very well. On top of that he is a southpaw. When asked if he patterns himself after Michael Moorer, the first southpaw heavyweight champion he said “I like Holyfield”. He may not fight like him but he certainly has the tools to go a long way.

Dhafir does it in Florida! Philly road warrior likely puts Jeff Lacy into retirement

Dhafir Smith defeats Jeff Lacy!

On Saturday, December 11th – West Philly Super Middleweight Dhafir “No Fear” Smith entered the ring for the 50th time as a pro. He left the ring on this evening winning the biggest fight of his career, taking a clear 12 round unanimous decision over for world champion Jeff “Left Hook” Lacy in Lacy’s hometown of St. Petersburg Florida. The final scorecards read 118 – 110, 117 – 111 & 116 – 112 in favor of Smith.

With the win, No Fear acquires the UBO Super Middleweight Title. He also has very likely finished the career of a one time blue chip prospect who many thought would dominate the sport.

Congrats to Smith who once again shows that he is capable of getting it done anywhere and at anytime. Stay tuned as this will likely lead to another high profile fight in the near future.

Rosado rolls over Medina, Jennings says bye-bye to Smith in the 2nd round Newark!

Gabriel Rosado decisions Jose Medina in Newark! photo by Luke Walter

Boxing returned to the home of the Devil – The Prudential Center in Newark, NJ on December 9th, 2010. While the event was focused on Polish ticket seller Tomasz Adamek who was competing in the main event, there were a few local Philly fighters doing their thing in the lead-up’s to the featured attraction.

The evening’s matchmaker J. Russell Peltz threw “King” Gabriel Rosado (15-5, 8ko’s) a bone – giving local Jr. Middleweight a tune up bout against Massachusetts based tough guy Jose Medina (12-9, 5ko’s) on the under card. Rosado came into this bout fresh off a razor thin 12 round majority decision loss to USBA champion Derek “Pooh”Ennis in a match that is sure to go down into the history books as the 2010 Philly Fight of the Year.

During this fight in Newark, the 154 lber from the Badlands section of North Philadelphia was effective over the 8 round duration, using his time wisely and fine tuning certain aspects of his game though it certainly looked at time that he could take Medina out.

Overall it was a good showing for Rosado who put together some crisp combinations throughout the evening, scoring a knockdown in round 3 and having a few other close calls before taking his foot off the gas a bit. He seemed to follow trainer Billie Briscoe’s orders for sequences code named “The Mickey”, “The Mayweather” and something that sounded like “The Danny Bonaducci”. Medina was game and did take some big shots throughout the fight.

Word around the ring is that Rosado has an open date in Atlantic City early next year with offers on the table to Harry Yorgey and Jamaal “Da Truth” Davis. Many believe that Davis is the leading choice to take the fight. More to come soon…

Hard hitting North Philly Heavyweight Bryant “Bye-Bye” Jennings (5-0, 3ko’s) blasted out his opponent in round 2 of a scheduled 4 rounder. Smith didn’t have a prayer in this one.

There were some good fights in front of a gate that is estimated to be  around 3,500. Patrick Majewski scored a big time 8th round KO to cap off a two way war. Sadam Ali was given a nice test by Manuel Guzman. Tarvis Simms handled Willis Lockett like no one else has.

In the evenings main event, Polish Heavyweight Tomasz Adamek stopped Vinny Maddalone in the 5th round. Maddalone was throwing some heavy-handed meatballs but Adamek’s hand speed was too much to handle.

Luis Franco wins by DQ over Eric Hunter in Santa Ynez

On December 3, 2010 live on Showtime -West Philly’s Eric “Outlaw” Hunter (15-2, 8ko’s) lost by disqualification against former Cuban Olympian Luis Franco (8-0, 5ko’s) – the offical time of stoppage was 2:34 in round 8 because of repeated low blows. It was a tough spot for Hunter who took the fight on less than two-weeks notice, travelling to fight on Franco’s promoters card on the opposite side of the country.

While the loss may be a very tough pill for Hunter to swallow at the moment, it gives him an opportunity to learn and grow. Even the all-times greats have taken losses at one point or another. It is all about how you bounce back from adversity. If Hunter is to be the true champion that many feel that he can be, he will learn from this experience and bounce back stronger. Stay tuned…

On the under card, local Jr. Middleweight Julian Williams improved to 4-0 with a 6 round unanimous decision win over Mario Evangelista.

check the photo gallery

http://picasaweb.google.com/keithfmt3/ShoBoxInSantaYnezCalifornia12310#

15th Annual “Salute to Philly Boxers” to be held on January 9, 2011

Dave Wilkes returns for the 15th year with his “Salute to Philly Boxers” – an annual awards banquet event to pay tribute to those who help make Philly Boxing great. This year Willie Torres will be honored and Marty Feldman will be special guest. Other awards will be given to some of the best in the business. Click the link to vote for Philly’s best boxing writer, young boxer, trainer, cut-man, promoter and more. Event will be held at The New Palladium Ballroom 229 W. Allegheny Avenue on January 9th, 2011. Tickets are $30.

Miranda upsets LaJuan Simon at Dover Downs!

Columbia’s Dionisio Miranda (21-6-2, 18ko’s) was awarded a close split decision win over Lajuan Simon (23-3-2, 12ko’s) for a regional portion of the WBC title at Dover Downs on 12/3/10. Mike “No Joke” Stewart & Ryan Belasco won their respective matches by unanimous decision. Check out George Hanson’s latest edition of The Mouth Piece titled “Barranquilla, Barranquilla! – Miranda Upsets Simon” at FightKings.com for an in-depth recap.

Serrano crushes Spruiell at Ballys!

photo gallery by Bill Pellegrino

On Saturday in Atlantic City, Raymond “Tito” Serrano (14-0, 8ko’s) scored a 5th round KO over Geoffrey Spruill (8-10, 2ko’s) in the evening co-feature that was promoted by Star Boxing. Serrano almost finished the fight early, scoring two knockdowns in the opening round. Spruiell beat the count and was able to survive a few more rounds but a continued Serrano body attack opened the door for a single shot left to put his opponent away for good.

With the win, Serrano stays undefeated and again proves that the journeyman type is no match. Many would like to see a jump up in competition starting in 2011. It is not out of the question to see him fight for a smaller regional title sometime soon.

In the evenings main event – Ayi Bruce won a hard fought 10 round majority decision over Shamone Alvarez to win a vacant regional title. Here is an idea – MATCH ALVAREZ VS. SERRANO NEXT!

Chuck “The Professor” Mussachio improved to 17-1-2 with an unanimous 8 round decision over Theo Kruger (10-11-2, 3KO’s) by scores of 80-72, 80-72, 79-73.

Philly’s Rashad “Tha Buizness” Brown improves to 2-0 with a unanimous decision over Corey Preston

Ismael Garcia W4 Joe Yerdon

Isiah Seldon W4 Todd Eriksson

Althea Saunders W4 Natoya Ervin

check the photo gallery here http://picasaweb.google.com/keithfmt3/StarBoxingBallySCasinoAtlanticCity12310Stamped#