Fighters hope the victories are a springboard to bigger and better events.
By JOHN C. COTEY
Published April 18, 2004
TAMPA - Championship boxing returned to Tampa for the first time since 2001 on Saturday night, and though it promised a show featuring thunder and lightning, about 2,500 fans settled for a steady downpour as every fight but one went the distance.
The card, put on by upstart Warriors Boxing Promotions out of Hollywood, Fla., was what it was: a dozen fighters on the fringe looking for a break that could vault them onto the boxing landscape.
The one fighter already there, World Boxing Organization junior middleweight champion Daniel Santos, dominated Michael Lerma in the main event at Florida State Fairgrounds Entertainment Hall. Santos retained his 154-pound title with a unanimous 12-round decision, winning 118-110, 120-107 and 120-107.
Tampa's Michael Rush was among those resuming a quest for another title shot. He won a unanimous six-round decision over Cameroon's Manu Ntoh in a light-heavyweight fight void of any boxing but filled with big blows, as both took turns trying to knock out the other with one punch.
Rush (26-7-1) almost succeeded, putting Ntoh down at 2:40 of the first round. After using his jab effectively the first two minutes, Rush all but abandoned it after putting Ntoh on the canvas.
"I wanted to get the knockout," Rush said. "We've been working on the power. I went after it. That's probably why I didn't get it. If I had stuck with my jab, I probably would have knocked him out around the fourth or fifth round."
Rush also knocked down Ntoh in the final round. He won 60-52 on two judges' scorecards and 59-53 on the other, and he hoped his performance would get him a shot at the United States Boxing Association title.
But that title remains vacant after Daniel Judah and Julian Letterlough fought to an unpopular majority draw, though the fans clearly felt Letterlough won.
Judah controlled the first three rounds from a distance, flicking jabs and keeping the shorter Letterlough at bay. But in the fourth round Letterlough (20-5-3) finally made his way inside, getting off some hard body shots and forcing Judah to run.
In the last 20 seconds of the round Letterlough chased Judah around and appeared to have him in trouble at the bell. That set up a big fifth round.
Just seconds after Judah was warned for the second time for holding, he was knocked down by a left cross from Letterlough.
That was only the beginning of Judah's trouble, despite the efforts of brother Zab Judah exhorting him on from ringside. The boxing Judah kept holding Letterlough until he had a point taken away in the seventh round.
Despite the knockdown, the point taken away and the fact Letterlough was the aggressor the majority of the fight and landed the harder punches, it was scored 113-113 by two judges. The other had it 114-112 for Letterlough.
It was the second draw for Judah (19-0-3) in his past four fights, both questionable decisions.
The best fight of the night was Syd Vanderpool's 12-round unanimous decision over Tito Mendoza, which makes the Canadian the No.1 super middleweight in the International Boxing Federation and the mandatory challenger for champion Steve Ottke.
Vanderpool, who last lost in 2001 to Bernard Hopkins, had to overcome a dirty attack from Mendoza, who pushed Vanderpool to the canvas and stepped on his face trying to avoid him.
Mendoza, who was supposed to fight St. Petersburg's Jeff Lacy last month before Lacy was injured, was knocked down in the 10th round, and he retaliated by hitting Vanderpool in the back of the head well after the bell sounded.
Two points were deducted, and Vanderpool picked up an impressive 114-111, 116-109, 119-106 victory.
The two heavyweight title fights were a mixed bag. Lance Whitaker defended his North American Boxing Association and Organization titles, beating Friday Ahunanya by technical knockout, and DaVarryl Williamson won a tactical majority decision over Elieser Castillo to capture the North American Boxing Federation title.
A former title contender, Whitaker (28-2-1) wound up his right hand on numerous occasions, but that only seemed to send Ahunanya scurrying out of reach.
For Whitaker, whose only two losses were to Lou Savarese and Jameel McCline, the victory likely did little to forward any movement up the heavyweight rankings. Ahunanya was giving away eight inches in height and 11 inches in reach and was never a threat.
Williamson frustrated Castillo the whole fight. Despite absorbing the majority of the hard blows, Williamson rode his jab to a 113-113, 115-111, 115-111 edge on the scorecards.
