Windy City Fight Night 12 Recap featuring Andy Lee

Windy City Fight Night 12 By Richard Spilotro The fans at the UIC Pavilion were buzzing with anticipation and could not wait for the first fight to get under way. The action-packed card, "Windy City Fight Night 12", headlined by Andy Lee (which also featured many up-and-coming Russian and local prospects) brought out many legendary figures in boxing. Trainers Don Turner and Emanuel Steward both found themselves at Chicago's UIC Pavilion this past Friday night...both guiding their fighters to victories. 8 Count Productions really accomplished a great job by giving the fans a chance to see not only Chicago's hottest prospects but many of Russia's as well. In the main event Andy Lee (23-1 0, 16KOs) showed why he is considered by many to be a future world champion. With the legendary trainer Emanuel Steward in his corner he not only defeated the Chicago native Michael Walker (19-5-2 12KOs) within 8 rounds, but he did it with style. The world-ranked Andy Lee seemed poised and determined to stick to a game plan; through the fight he managed to keep Walker at bay with a stiff, accurate jab - which seem to create the distance Lee wanted. It was that jab that paved the way to multiple combinations landing at will. While Michael Walker tried to take control of the fight in the middle rounds, he was unable to derail his southpaw opponent. Round 8 saw the end of Walker's night, by way of a relentless Lee attack. Several hard combinations later, and the referee put a halt to the fight at 2:03 round eight. The co-main event featured Junior middleweight Anton Novikov (17-0-0, 6KOs) of Kopeysk, Russia against one of Chicago's ring warriors, Luciano Perez (17-11-1- 15KOs). Perez is known for heart and determination in and outside of the ring, so it was no surprise to see Perez give everything he had against the undefeated Russian fighter. Novikov, not as well known in the Chicago area, but no less effective, repeatedly beat Perez to the punch and displayed some nice combinations that kept the Perez off balance most of the fight. During the course of the fight one thing remained clear; Novikov was a puzzle that Luciano Perez could not solve. During the last round both fighters seemed to be going to the body, but with Luciano on the receiving end a lot more than Novikov. Luciano showed his will and heart and survived the onslaught against Novikov who proved he was easily the better fighter. Anton Novikov wins the unanimous decision and remains undefeated. The official scoring was 79-73 twice and 78-74. One of the most exciting bouts of the night was the battle of "The Undefeated" which featured Aslanbek Kozaev (12-0-0, 4KOs) of Vladikavkaz, Russia against Marcus Thompkins (5-1-0, 2KOs) of Michigan, IN. It was evident this match was going to be a great one from the opening bell, as Kozaev immediately went on the hunt...but Thompkins was a slick fighter with some great speed and was quite skilled. The more experienced Kozaev tried to lure Thompkins into fighting his fight, but Thompkins wasn't biting. Rather, he opted to use his footwork, classic stick-and-move, and counterpunching instead of standing and banging. That strategy applied by Thompkins seemed to work, yet due to Kozaev's non-stop pressure, Thompkins made a few mistakes. One of those mistakes was choosing to try to out-slug the slugger, which played into Kozaev's style (who went hunting again... throwing every punch in his arsenal). Thompkins is a young exciting fighter but unfortunately for him, Kozaev was much more experienced and did enough to pull of the Unanimous decision. The official scoring was 59-55 twice and 60-54. Once again Donning camouflage ring attire, undefeated junior welterweight Antonio "Aztec God of War" Canas (2-0-0, 2KOs) was not only dressed for combat but also showed he was ready for war. Canas is not your ordinary practitioner of the sweet science; he is also a professional mixed martial artist who has gained a huge following due to his straight-forward "never back down" style of fighting. Boxing fans who attended this weekend's event hoping to see great fights were not disappointed as Antonio Canas lived up to his ring name, and continued the night's ring excitement. Standing across from Canas was rugged David LaQue of Bloomington, MN who was happy to welcome the "Aztec God of War" to his 2nd professional bout. David LaQue decided to stand and bang with Canas but quickly realized he was in for a long night; Canas quickly unloaded power punches and looked very crisp from the opening bell. From Round one on, Canas easily controlled the fight with the round with lethal combinations and his ever-improving skill. With every punch Canas threw, it was clear he was looking for a knockout. Antonio's wish almost became reality near the end of round two but somehow LaQue was able to hold on. It wouldn't be for long though - the bout was called off at :01 of round three. Chicago Boxing News was able to catch up with Antonio Canas after his victory and conducted a short interview with the Aztec God of War. CBN: Congratulations on your victoryAntonio Canas: Thanks a lot, I appreciate all the support I receive from everyone and I want everyone to know I am honored to have them as fans. CBN: Antonio, you beat a tough David LaQue this past Friday, do you believe after this win people will say you're a legitimate Professional boxer?Antonio Canas: I think I made a statement that I am here to stay & I belong amongst the top up and coming prospects. CBN: Was there anything you did differently in preparation for David LaQue?Antonio Canas: Nah I just stayed focused on my goal which was walking away with a victory. I stay busy between fights keeping in shape. It helped that my trainer Fernando Hernandez is a world class southpaw.We look forward to seeing Canas again, and wish him well. On to the other bouts...Middleweight Ramon "El Dragon" Valenzuela Jr (2-0-0, 1KO) of Chicago's Northwest side made his long awaited hometown debut taking on Michigan's Chris Grays (9-21-0, 2Ko's). Valenzuela showed why many have avoided "El Dragon"; he quickly applied the pressure and overwhelmed Grays to earn a unanimous decision. The judges scored the bout 39-36 twice & 40-35. Junior welterweight Adrian "El Tigre" Granados (4-0-0, 2KOs) of Cicero, IL easily defeated Trenton Titsworth who had a overwhelming height and reach advantage over Granados, but refused to use it to his advantage. This bout reminded me of a boxer vs. a heavy bag. Granados stayed busy from the opening bell to the last round while Titsworth simply was on defense the entire fight. 50-45 twice & 50-44 in favor for Granados. Super middleweight "Hollywood" Mike Jimenez (2-0-0, 2KOs) of Chicago, IL showed that despite his young career, he's already made his name among fans. During the entrance to the ring, fans in attendance erupted in "Holly-wood" chants giving the fighter a reception a Hollywood star normally usually receives. Facing Jimenez was Cesar Martinez (1-2-0, 0KOs) of South Bend, IN. Eventually Jimenez dropped Martinez, and while the Indiana fighter rose back to his feet, the referee deemed him unable to continue and the bout was halted at :43 of round two. Junior middleweight Donatas Bondarevas (9-1-1, 3KOs) of Kaunas, Lithuania showed he was clearly the better fighter by destroying North Dakota's Mike Davis. During the bout, Davis chose to stand and bang with Bondarevas and paid for it by hitting the canvas three times. The end came at :53 of round two by referee stoppage. Featherweight Evgeny Gradovich (5-0-0 4KOs) defeated Steven Johnson (5-2-0, 4KOs) with an impressive performance over the Missouri native. Johnson was dropped in round one and Gradovich was too much to handle for the next two rounds as the referee was forced to halt the action in 2:14 of round three.