By Joe Harrison, at ringside
Friday night’s “Lightning Strikes” card from Cicero Stadium near Chicago provided a terrific evening of boxing. Each bout was very entertaining, especially the final match at the end of the evening.
In the main event, Polish heavyweight Art Binkowski (14-1-3, 9 KO’s) fought Tipton Walker (13-12-2, 6 KO’s) over six rounds and earned a majority draw. Throughout the battle, both fighters threw many punches but neither would submit to the other. In the first round, Binkowski seemed to be landing the more accurate punches, yet, Walker caught him with a shot that staggered him, possibly stealing the round on the scorecards.
As the fight continued, Binkowski continued to land punches, but Walked seemed quicker and more accurate with jabs and hooks. However, during the last couple rounds, Walker appeared to be tired, and even spit out his mouthpiece twice in exhaustion. Binkowski’s onslaught continued and Walker was in a complete daze at the sound of the final bell. Although one judge scored the bout 59-55 in favor of Binkowski, the other two judges scored it 57-57.
Also on the card, super bantamweight Omar Reyes (2-3, 0 KO’s) lost by unanimous decision to Darby Smart (10-3, 4 KO’s). In more of a wrestling match than a boxing match, Smart constantly drove his body into Reyes backing him against the ropes and leaning onto him. The crowd began to boo and show their displeasure as Smart used this tactic throughout all six rounds. Reyes seemed at a loss, spending most of the fight against the ropes, not being able to throw effective punches. Even though it didn’t look pretty, Smart connected with enough punches to earn the decision.
Earlier in the evening, super lightweights Emanuel Hernandez (5-2-1, 1 KO) and Jeff Curran (1-0-1, 1 KO) battled over six rounds which ended with a majority draw. Curran spent most of the fight boxing backwards and in the corner, but was still able to show off his accurate punching ability. Hernandez continued to work at the body and the effect began to show as the fight progressed. In the end, one judge scored the fight 59-55 for Curran while the other two scored it 57-57.
The first bout of the evening was between super welterweights Damian Jonak (3-0, 2 KO’s) and Mike Hatfield (0-2, 0 KO’s). Hatfield was looking for his first win but Jonak was far too smart and skilled to let this happen. Jonak knocked Hatfield down twice in the first round, totally overpowering him with multiple power punches. In the 2nd round, Hatfield hit the canvas again, and the ref called a halt to the bout.
