Dusty Harrison & Ty Barnett Prop Up DC Boxing
by Gautham Nagesh
WASHINGTON, D.C.–It’s been a rough month for boxing in the nation’s capital.
Most of the momentum gained in recent months appears to have been squandered, after a series of unfortunate events connected to December’s Khan-Peterson fight. That night’s big winner Lamont Peterson is facing intense scrutiny and possible suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, which forced the cancellation of the rematch scheduled for Saturday.
In addition, Amir Khan’s promoter Golden Boy has pulled out of a scheduled June 30th card at the Verizon Center, reportedly still smarting after some hometown officiating helped Peterson upset the British 140-lb titlist. Finally, NoVa junior middleweight and crowd favorite Jimmy Lange injured his leg in training, forcing the postponement of the June 23rd card at the Patriot Center headlined by Lange vs Tony Jeter.
That means the only action in town this summer will be at the Convention Center, where local welterweight prospect Dusty Harrison (above) and lightweight Ty Barnett are quickly becoming staples of the DMV fight scene. The pair won lop-sided bouts as headliners on May 12th in front of a packed house; fans will have four more chances to catch the duo in action this year at the same venue under the banner of Keystone Boxing.[[MORE]]
Harrison’s team formerly billed him as the youngest professional fighter in America, but the almost-18-year-old Dusty doesn’t need gimmicks to enhance his marketability. The Beltway Boricua is just a nice kid that can really fight, who happens to have grown up in a town that loves the Sweet Science. Harrison’s appearance on the posters last Saturday night helped draw a healthy number of fans, many of whom left after he obliterated Joey Ortega with a series of right hands in the second round. Dusty scored a knockdown early and was simply too much for Ortega, a professional tomato with a record of 3 wins against 22 losses.
This win doesn’t say much about Dusty, but he looks like he could have the goods. The plan is to bring him along slowly and keep him very busy, fighting 6-8 times both this year and next. Eventually Harrison will run into another prospect or a grizzled veteran with something left, and that’s when we’ll find out how good he is. Until then, it looks like a growing number of DMV locals will be spending the summer tracking his progress in person.
Barnett is a fighter I’m less familiar with, but his record shows he’s gotten close to where Dusty eventually hopes to be. At 29, Barnett appears to have enjoyed a nice run of knockouts while climbing the ladder, before getting stopped himself twice in a span of four fights. In between, he secured the best win of his career against Tyrese Hendrix, but Barnett has shown he lacks the beard to contend. That didn’t seem to matter to the large crowd on hand at the Convention Center, most of whom were there to cheer Barnett against Robert DaLuz.
Barnett’s last two opponents have had a combined record of 22-74-5, so you can imagine what took place. DaLuz was noticeable smaller in the ring and easily bullied by Barnett, who took control immediately. Barnett scored a knockdown with two hard body shots in the second round, but failed to press his advantage. A few rounds of toying with the game DaLuz came next, culminating in another knockdown in the 7th. DaLuz valiantly stood up to the onslaught, but eventually another right hand hurt him badly and forced the ref to step in.
Barnett did as he was expected, delighting his fans in the process. That will likely be the formula for the rest of the year, as his handler truck in opponents to serve their purpose without posing too much danger. Barnett could potentially make another run at the top, but perhaps accepting his role as a ham-and-egger would be wiser for his long-term health. Few fighters at his level are currently positioned as consistent box office attractions in major American cities.
I missed local welterweight Dillon Hayman’s professional debut (TKO-1 over Mike Arnold) but arrived in time to see local featherweight Shadeed Floyd win his first fight by stopping TayShawn Autry in the opening round. Floyd hurt Autry with an overhand right before trapping him against the ropes, where a barrage of body shots forced the ref to step in after just 54 seconds. We’ll be keeping an eye on Floyd, who won the regional Golden Gloves title in 2010 and is trained by local legend Darryll Tyson at Langdon Boxing Center.
Next up came a junior lightweight matchup between Renaldo Gaines of District Heights, Md. and debutante James Young of North Carolina. Most fighters from the Carolinas are brought in to lose, but no one told Young that before his first pro fight. He fought well, catching Gaines in the second, and probably could have earned a draw in a more neutral setting. Instead, a late barrage by Gaines helped him bring home the fourth round and end any doubt. The judges scored it for the hometown fighter 39-37 (twice) and 40-36, the latter card a clear case of home cooking.
Local junior middleweight Harold “Sweet Lee” Parker made his long-awaited debut by stopping of fellow debutante Marcus Bess of South Carolina. Parker was an amateur star roughly ten years ago before getting side-tracked from his ring career. A strong body attack forced Bess to capitulate in third of four scheduled rounds.