Promoter Ken Richardson Packs the House in Debut Boxing Card, Richardson and Tate Building Stable of Fighters
By Michael Campbell
The past two years in Houston has seen approximately a half dozen new boxing promoters burst onto the scene trying to ride the momentum generated by high profile Golden Boy Promotions fight cards in the city. Each trying to enact their own vision of a magic formula, some have had marginal success, but most have had a scant few hundred paying fans. Even at this cavernous ballroom inside the Stafford Centre, situated just to the southwest of the city limits, recent fight cards have been held in front of empty chairs and echoes.
Friday’s card was the debut for boxing promoter Ken Richardson, but he’s hardly a rookie to the game. A longtime strength and conditioning trainer, Richardson has teamed with USA Olympic gold medalist Frank Tate to build a healthy stable of fighters at Hank’s gym in the densely populated SW side of Houston. Now Richardson may have found a formula that works for a local clubs show fight card as well. Relying on a large clientele from the gym, combining live music, and inexpensive dinners with a diverse lineup and holding it in a classy easily located venue resulted in a nearly full ballroom with well over a thousand in attendance.
With Tate and Richardson providing the hometown team, matchmaker Reggie McGowan again relied on his Texarkana Shooter’s team for many of the visiting foes. In the opening bout, Hank’s gym prospect Jimmy Guzman showed off his muscle in stopping Breuntre Miller with a series of short left hooks and overhand rights. LaDerrick Miller made his professional debut in the card’s second bout facing off against John Little, who at nearly 370 lbs, was anything but little. Miller smartly opened with a feint followed by a shot to Little’s belly. Still early in the round, a solid overhand right found it’s mark and staggered Little John into a neutral corner, dazed but still upright. The follow-up shot from Miller fixed that, dropping Little in a heap.
Keeping the trend of 1st round stoppages intact, next up was Russian M M A champion Medzhid Bektemirov who continued to do his best Iron Mike Tyson impression operating out of a peek-a-boo stance and wasting little effort that wasn’t focused into throwing potentially knockout punches. His opponent, Gabrial Hayes came out looking like he wanted to trade in the action, but this quickly changed when Medzhid landed a fierce combination of punches that sent Hayes down to the mat, not unconscious, but with absolutely no desire to return to the firestorm as he awaited the ten count before picking himself up.
In possibly the best matchup on the card, Kita Watkins and Michele Nielsen engaged in a back and forth battle from bell to bell. The unfortunate part is that a mere four two minute rounds couldn't possibly decide a clear cut winner. The bout opened with the younger and more active Watkins showing a higher punch output and controlling the majority of the first round until Nielsen's strong body attack stemmed the tide and changed the momentum Watkins had built. Michelle carried the plan into the second round, controlling the action often bullying Watkins to the ropes and unloading her close range arsenal. The infighting produced a bloody stream coming from Nielsen's nose. Watkins never wilted, utilizing her superior conditioning and athleticism to create range and unload straight shots on her forward charging foe. The final round was perhaps the closest of the fight, illustrating each warrior's desire for the victory. In a fair world, this bout could only be decided a draw, but a 3-1 decision either way could be validly argued. In the end, one judge saw it 2-2, and the other two decided it 3-1 for Watkins resulting in a Majority Decision.
Ring veteran Calvin Green was featured in the co-main event versus North Carolina native Adrian Redmond. After a four year layoff and an ill advised bout versus tough journeyman Darnell Boone, Green got back on track with an impressive body assault resulting in a 1st round KO victory. With his opponent unable to cope with the body punches, Green smartly never let up, landing a continuous barrage of shots which took Redmond’s wind and left him unable to move as the referee counted to ten.
Tate and Richardson’s protégé Lanardo “The Pain Server” Tyner was the headliner. In a bit of curious matchmaking, welterweight Tyner was pitted against Texas Light Middleweight Champ Taronze “T-Reezy” Washington who trains as part of Charles Hatley’s Black Gloves stable in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas. Three times Tyner has stepped up to elite competition fighting for regional title belts against the likes of Mike Arnaoutis, Lamont Peterson and Saul Alvarez. Washington’s no slouch himself having faced an all-star list of opponents.
Tyner impressively faced off with Washington, outworking him from bell to bell, while landing combinations and a varied punch arsenal as well as landing with the heavier hands and doing more damage. Taronze stood in there and tried to keep up with the work rate at times, but was easily drawn in to fighting at close quarters, effectively negating any height and size advantages that he had. By the third round, Tyner was slipping most punches thrown at him and dominating the action. Frustrated, Taronze began holding and was warned in the 4th and 5th rounds before having a point deduction early in the 6th by referee Ronnie Ralston. In the 7th round Washington was bleeding from his right eyebrow as Tyner finished the bout strong teeing off with power shots. Washington deserved the fifth round and perhaps one other as the judges scored it a Unanimous Decision victory for Tyner who raises his record to 22-3.
