By Michael Campbell

George Foreman III, aka “The Monk”, made his professional boxing debut a successful one with a boxing style reminiscent of his father, the legendary former world heavyweight champion of the world.  Monk knocked out Clyde “The Stalker” Weaver of Parsons, Tennessee, in the first round with a series of power hooks that looked like he had cinder blocks in his gloves held low and swung from his waist.

Inside the Pavilion at the Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, Louisiana, promoter Ron Weathers staged a night of boxing featuring a mixture of fighters from Louisiana and Texas.  But the fans came to see his featured fighter in a bit of curiosity to see if he would be his father’s reincarnate.

To be expected, the younger Foreman admitted to some pre-fight jitters.  Those quickly wore off as he immediately went to work at the sound of the opening bell, crossing the ring and immediately throwing a barrage of punches which landed with authority and put down the sacrificial lamb early in the first round and then ending it soon thereafter.

“Everything went just as planned,” Foreman III said afterwards.  “I’m so happy to make my debut here at Coushatta.  This is such a beautiful place and I’m glad to be here.  Thank you to the great people of Lake Charles and Houston for coming out to see me.”
Monk declared, “I plan to be back in the ring as soon as possible.”  With no amateur experience and a late start at boxing, Foreman will have to be a quick study and learn on the job under the tutelage of his father and trainer Roscoe Hill III at the George Foreman Youth Center on Houston’s northside.

Johanna “Bam Bam” Mendez dominated Kasha “The Fighting Marine” Chamblin of Lafayette.  Chamblin had a height advantage but Mendez fought like a spark plug and was both the aggressor and the bigger puncher.  Mendez’s work on the inside easily won her every round on two of the three judge’s scorecards.

“Crazy” Robbie McClimans of Conroe and Aaron Lyons from Gulfport, Mississippi engaged in a battle of tough men.  Lyons invested in good bodywork early and often landed big power shots on Robbie who absorbed the punishment and valiantly answered back.  Lyons controlled the early rounds but tired and McClimans took over the exchanges resulting in a four rounds to two unanimous decision victory.

Jarred “Leathal Weapon”Lablanc from Lafayette, Louisiana, destroyed Billy “Outlaw” Outley by first round technical knockout.  Lablanc showed decent power and quickness taking apart his overmatched foe at will.

Travis “Freight Train” Walker of Tallahassee, Florida, and is trained at Main gym in downtown Houston by Dwight Pratchett, put on a body shot clinic in scoring a first round knockout of Dallas’s Gary Butler.  After dropping Butler with a low blow in round one, Walker kept his punches above the belt and scored two legitimate knockdowns with punches to the belly.  Taking the bout into the second frame, Walker continued his assault on Butler’s body ending the bout before one minute had expired in the round.

Southpaw Blake” The Candyman” Prevost of Lawtell, Louisiana, took home a decision over Moses Robinson who had been away from the ring for 16 years.  Prevost, who also was returning to the ring for the first time in almost three years, mastered his craft while a member of the Marine Corps with over 200 fights during his days of active duty.  It was only fitting that Prevost’s ring return took place on the anniversary of D-Day, when the Allied forces invaded the beaches of Normandy, France, in 1944, during WWII.
In one of the best fights of the night, the ladies had to show the boys how to fight as Tiffany Junot defeated Kita “Ready Made” Watkins by a four round decision.  Junot threw a variety of power punches, as both fighters were game combatants and often traded punches toe-to-toe to entertain the crowd.

University of Houston student Cody Richard scored his first professional knockout with a third round stoppage.  A native of Orange, Texas, Richard landed his punches at will before the referee called a merciful end to the bout.

Former Texas Southern football player Chase “White Tiger” Shields won six round unanimous decision over Charles “In Charge” Simms.  The bout opened the evening’s fights and was mostly pedestrian until the fifth round when Shields had Simms hurt and up against the ropes before Simms tied him up and engaged in a tussle which ended with Shields on the matt.  Shields splits his time in between Houston with trainer Bobby Benton and in Lafayette with trainer Deirdre Gogarty.

Results from the Coushatta Casino Resort, Kinder, Louisiana
Ron Weathers Promotions
Saturday, June 6th, 2009

Heavyweights - 4 rounds
George Foreman III (1-0, 1 KO) of Houston, TX over Clyde Weaver (0-2) of Parsons, TN by TKO at 1:16 of the 1st round.  Referee was Rick Exe.

Heavyweights - 6 rounds
Travis Walker (31-2-1, 25 KOs) of Tallahassee, FL over Gary Butler (13-32, 8 KOs) of Dallas, TX by TKO at 0:53 of the 2nd round.  Referee was Rick Exe.

Robbie McClimans (6-5-2, 2 KOs) of Conroe, TX over Aaron Lyons (9-5, 7 KOs) of Gulfport, MS by Unanimous Decision scored 58-56 by Naquin, 58-56 by Boudreaux, & 58-56 by Dayton.  Referee was Rick Exe.

Women’s Bantamweights - 4 rounds
Johanna Mendez (5-0-1, 1 KO) of Houston, TX over Kasha Chamblin (11-3, 5 KOs) of Lafayette, LA by Unanimous Decision scored 40-36 by Naquin, 40-36 by Boudreaux, & 39-37 by Dayton.  Referee was Kenny Licata.

Women’s Welterweights - 4 rounds
Tiffany Junot (5-2, 3 KOs) of New Orleans, LA over Kita Watkins (3-4, 1 KO) of Camden, AR by Unanimous Decision scored 39-36 by Naquin, 39-36 by Boudreaux, & 40-36 by Dayton.  Referee was Kenny Licata.

Light Middleweights - 6 rounds
Chase Shields (27-2-1, 13 KOs) of Lafayette, LA over Charles Sims (3-30-1, 1 KO) of Arlington, TX by Unanimous Decision scored 60-54 by Licata, 60-54 by Boudreaux, & 60-54 by Dayton.  Referee was Russell Naquin.

Jarred LeBlanc (8-0, 6 KOs) of Lafayette, LA over Billy Outley (15-52-2, 12 KOs) of Shreveport, LA by TKO at 2:39 of the 1st round.  Referee was Russell Naquin.

Cruiserweights - 4 rounds
Blake Prevost (11-1-1, 4 KOs) of Lawtell, LA over Moses Robinson (6-10-1, 2 KOs) of Marshall, TX by Unanimous Decision scored 39-37 by Naquin, 39-37 by Boudreaux, 39-37 by Dayton.  Referee was Kenny Licata.

Super Featherweights - 4 rounds
Cody Richard (2-0-1, 1 KO) of Orange, TX over Carlos Johnson (0-5) of Parsons, TN by TKO at 1:12 of the 3rd round.  Referee was Rick Exe.

Louisiana Boxing Commissioner
Buddy Empanado

Referees (also rotating as judges)
Russell Naquin, Rick Exe & Kenny Licata

Judges
Elmer Boudreaux & Pat Dayton