By Shea Smith, photo by Zach Taylor
Pittsburgh based Integrity Fighter Management made their promotional debut on Friday in the spectacular 900 seat Carnegie Music Hall Theater just outside of Pittsburgh. Despite the rain, a sizable crowd of boxing faithful came out to see the region's top unbeaten talent and a last minute USBA title fight addition to the card.
In the main event, Milwaukee's unbeaten USBA middleweight champion (16-0) Luis "Cuba" Arias took on Virginia's (29-10-1) Scott 'Cujo' Sigmon. In the first 4 rounds Arias, trained by John David Jackson, controlled the action using a steady body attack.
In the later rounds, Arias seemed to abandon the jab, as the always tough advancing Sigmon never stopped coming for 10 solid rounds. The judges and I all had it the same with scores of (99-91x3)
The show kicked off with 5x Ukrainian national featherweight champion Oleg "Ukraine Pitt-Bull" Dovhun, trained and managed by Integrity's Michael McSorley, having his professional debut put on hold. His scheduled opponent, Memphis Tennessee's Adam Young, came in soo overweight that Pennsylvania commissioner Greg Sirb mandated they fight an exhibition. Young, who boasted an amateur record of 37-7, was no match for the relentless Dovhun who battered him from start to finish. The relentless body-head attack by Dovhun landed Young with 2 standing 8 counts as he barely survived the fight. Had this fight been without head gear and with 8oz gloves...Young would have likely been carried out on a stretcher.
Braddock PA's "Leathal" Leemont Johnson improved his record to 3- (3KOs) with a 2nd round TKO at 1:32 against Indiana's game and gritty (0-3) Brian Stevens. Stevens cane to fight but was dropped twice in the 2nd from the southpaw Johnson's head and body attack. The management & coaching team of Derek Gionta and James Lewis have a dangerous prospect.
Local debut and MMA combat veteran Ric "The Bully" Borowski was successful in his pro debut against Dayton Ohio's Noel Rodriguez (0-3). Rodriguez was looking and gunning for his first pro win, but the work output and punching velocity from the Bully gave him the clear cut unanimous decision (40-36 x 3)
In the most exciting fight of the night, another Integrity & McSorley trained prospect, cruiserweight Lyubomyr "The Demolition Man" Pinchuk made his pro debut. Pinchuk, a 2 time Ukrainian national champion took on the rugged NY (1-0) southpaw Eric Abraham. The Lviv, Ukraine boxer now making his home in Pittsburgh, relentlessly pushed the action for 4 straight rounds. He walked right through the sporadic pot shots that the retreating Abraham occasional landed while crouching in survival mode. By the 4th, Abraham had little in the gas tank and Pinchuk unleashed a fleury of body shots that sealed the victory. I had it 40-36 for Pinchuk, but the judges gave him a MD victory with scores of (38-38, 39-37, and 40-36). It's encouraging to see 2 young hungry cruiserweights take such a tough fight early in their careers. Kudos to both.
Unbeaten middleweight prospect Gerald "G5" Sherrell continued his assent up the middleweight ladder with a unanimous 4 round decision over Youngstown's game (0-2-2) Danny Rosenberger. Sherrell had several very last minute pull outs including Phoenix's Roberto 'Ali' Yong, North Carolina's Corvin Farmer, and Milwaukee's Akeem Black. When Pittsburgh junior middleweight (1-0-1) Mark Daley pulled out of his fight with Rosenberger due to injury, the gusty Rosenberger stepped up a weight class to take on Sherrell. G5 stalked his gutsy opponent for 4 rounds landing a relentless body attack, but Rosenberger got on his bike and used the ring wisely. The judges and I had it the same with scores of 40-36 across the board.
