By Ryan Songalia
Still reeling from his decision loss to Mike Oliver on Shobox, I recently spoke with Staten Island prospect Gary Stark Jr. about his feelings from his disheartening defeat in Miami, Oklahoma.
Stark, now 18-1 (8 KO) stated of the decision, "I thought it was very unfair. I thought I won when it was 116-112. No way I thought it was for him."
"Mike Oliver is a good fighter. I outpunched him and I believe I beat him. I know I beat him."
"The first two rounds, I was watching the Zab Judah and Mayweather fight, trying to feel him out. When I felt his power, I decided to put the pressure on him. From round 3 to round 9, I felt I was the aggressor. I felt like I was landing the more powerful shots. As you could see, he was hitting me with pitty-pat."
Despite his obvious disappointment in the result, Stark remains reverant of the John Scully-trained contender. "I can't take nothing from Mike Oliver, he's a good fighter and we had a good fight."
When asked whether he felt Mike Oliver, as suggested by John Scully, was a bigger puncher than he was, Stark Jr. responded, "No way. Everybody who saw the fight, he didn't hit me with one shot. He was pitty-patting."
Still sporting marks from his battle with Oliver the night after the fight, Stark stated, "Everytime I hit him with a hard body shot, he was complaining to the referee that it was a low blow. All he was doing was holding the whole night. I broke him down to the body where he couldn't use his speed. When he couldn't use his speed, he didn't have no power. That whole camp knows who won that fight."
"Pressure busts pipes, and I was busting his pipes all night. Everybody thought I won that fight."
"When they said 116-112, I thought that was for me. When they said still, that's when I was heart broken. But I gotta pick up the pieces and keep my head up in there."
"I was shocked," manager and rap mogul Dame Dash commented. "I thought he got robbed in front of alot of people. I thought Gary lost the first two rounds, then I thought he won about every round after that. Something looked fishy because it was unanimous. I think because of how well he showcased his talents, the level of competition should step up."
When inquired about the possibility of a rematch, Dash responded, "I'm sure he wants to knock him out. If they're gonna do it [again], it's whatever he wants to do, I'll talk to Dibella. We're not going back to Iowa, wherever we was."
When asked whether he wanted a rematch with Mike Oliver, Stark responded, "Most definitely."
Any questions or comments? Send them to me at mc_rson@yahoo.com
