Fight Night 2011 at Washington Hilton

Originally published on The Queensberry Rules

WASHINGTON, D.C.–If you’re not into booze, boxing or objectifying women, then Fight Night at the Washington Hilton may not be your thing. But for this reformed frat boy it’s become an annual excuse to dust off the tux, break training and push the limits of professionalism while mingling with the fanciest fight crowd you’re likely to encounter, all in the name of charity.

In addition to the usual attractions (charity auction, Redskins cheerleaders, a host of Boxing Hall of Famers, enough cigar smoke to dim the sun), this year’s event on Thursday featured a pair of decent professional bouts featuring fighters with actual potential, a departure from recent years.

Cleveland’s Prenice Brewer handed Baltimore prospect Emmanuel “Tranzformer” Taylor his first professional loss in an eight-round split decision that I scored for Taylor. In the other bout Northern Virginia featherweight prospect Jerren Cochran controlled tough North Carolina veteran Jason Rorie over four rounds to earn the unanimous decision.

Despite his lofty record Taylor (14-1, 10 KOs) seemed unsure of himself entering his first eight-rounder and he allowed the taller Brewer to dictate the first two rounds. Brewer fired rapid combinations and stayed outside, showing more advanced skills and shorter, sharper punches. By the 3rd Taylor was bleeding from his left nostril but Brewer appeared spent. This was his first fight since getting knocked out by Patrick Lopez in Chicago 15 months ago and the layoff showed in his conditioning.

By the 4th Taylor had found his footing and began using his jab more while pinning Brewer on the ropes. Brewer spent most of the 5th dancing and backing up, adding to Taylor’s growing confidence. By the 6th Taylor was landing his right hand freely, but it was a slapping right that didn’t appear to do much damage.

Brewer responded a bit more in the 7th as he caught a second wind. The 8th saw better action as both men started throwing punches in bunches. By the end of the bout it was anyone’s guess who had won. Neither man showed much in the way of desire or confidence. Taylor is just 20 years old but he may have found his level. One could argue he deserved the win but unless he held back there’s not much to write home about. Brewer is a known quantity and will struggle to overcome getting stopped by Lopez, though beating a few more unbeaten prospects would help.

My neighbor, the affable Alec Kohut of MaxBoxing, thought Brewer would win going away after the early rounds but scored the fight as a draw. Unlike Alec I gave Taylor the 3rd and had him winning five rounds to three, though a draw sounds about right. The judges were split: 77-75 for Brewer, 77-75 for Taylor and 78-74 for Brewer from Mr. Smith seated a foot to my left for Brewer, the winner by split decision.

Most of the younger fans were clearly more interested in the idea of boxing than watching the sport live and at this point only the hardcore fans were left standing at ringside when Cochran took the ring for a four-rounder against Rorie. I sat next to Cochran’s promoter Chris Middendorf of United Boxers during the last two rounds and he informed us the Houston native was a decorated amateur back in Texas and is now fighting out ABC Boxing in Alexandria, Va.

Middendorf said Cochran had been used to all-action sparring with Mexican fighters and struggled initially to adapt to the slicker East-Coast style at gyms like Headbangers in Southeast D.C. But he looked strong with good technique the whole night. By the 3rd Cochran was controlling Rorie and appeared to hurt him more than once. He put the finishing touches on his clean sweep of the scorecards with a dominant 4th, with Kohut noting he has seldom seen another prospect handle Rorie as effectively this early.

Cochran looks like he has the goods but we don’t know how well he takes a punch because he barely got hit. Cochran keeps his hands low but works the jab well and stayed busy all four rounds. Middendorf said his only concern is that he’s a bit small for a featherweight at 5'4", but Cochran claims a move down to 122 is not possible. Still, definitely a local prospect worth watching.

After the final scores were read I made my way to the after-party at the Ritz, where the male guests rejoined their companions at the corresponding female-centered event held there. To be frank, on this night the fights themselves are secondary. A crowd heavy on lawyers, finance types and federal contractors was mostly looking for a chance to pose pictures with a childhood heroe like Jake LaMotta or mix with celebs like Chef Jose Andres, Clinton Portis and Dhani Jones.

Thursday’s lineup included Ernie Shavers, Buster Douglas, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, trainer and promoter Lou Duva, Gerry Cooney, Aaron “The Hawk” Pryor and Michael Spinks. But there was a noticeable pall on the proceedings thanks to the recent death of Smokin’ Joe Frazier, who had been the highlight of last year’s event. Ring announcer Michael Buffer was among many paying tribute to Fraizer, introducing him one last time as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and “206 lbs. of chiseled ebony steel.”

Fight Night founder and chairman Joe Robert Jr. was also the subject of many tributes thanks to the more than $450 million he has raised over the past 22 years for Fight for Children, which works with DC Schools to improve the quality of the education offered to local kids. Robert is battling cancer but still used the moment to pledge another $5 million to the cause and thank the many people who help put together the event.

There was some business conducted, with most of the local boxing talk centered around the upcoming HBO card headlined by junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan and local contender Lamont Peterson. Peterson and his brother Anthony were both in attendance looking dapper; Lamont said training has been going well while Anthony has still not found an opponent for his first fight since getting disqualified against lightweight Brandon Rios last year. Tuesday’s open workout at Headbangers should tell us more.

D.C. Boxing Commission Chairman Scottie Irving said promotion for the fight has been going well, with roughly 6,000 tickets having been sold so far. I also ran into Maryland heavyweight prospect Seth Mitchell, who will be the co-feature on the HBO telecast. Mitchell’s adviser Sharif Salim told me opponent Timur Ibragimov will be by far Mitchell’s stiffest test to date; I hope to make it out to Clinton to watch him train at Dream Team Gym next week.

The Ritz is where I made up for some time lost by playing gossip columnist and paid the price this morning. I woke up curled up on the couch with pieces of my tuxedo strewn across the apartment, missing crucial portions of what happened after the final bell. In addition to this report last night resulted in one upset girlfriend, a brutal hangover, a scared dog and two pieces of authentic Joe Montana memorabilia I can scarcely afford. Another great Fight Night.