Fight Night 2013: Slow Start, Strong Finish
Photos by Gautham Nagesh for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
WASHINGTON, D.C.—For over 20 years, Fight Night at the Washington Hilton has meant a night of champions, cigar smoke, ball gowns and black eyes. The black-tie fundraiser for Fight for Children is one of the pillars of the Washington, D.C. social scene, especially if you’re the kind of guy that owns a tux and a humidor.
But the death of Fight Night founder Joe Robert after the 2011 event meant a shakeup was inevitable. That came to fruition this year, as Under Armour founder Kevin Plank (below left) took over as chair, and brought his corporate branding muscle with him.
Like many in the local sports community, I feared the change may diminish what has become one of my favorite Washington rituals. The initial signs weren’t great. New restrictions on the media chafed many longtime attendees among the local fight press, and the cocktail hour featured a noticeable delineation between the most generous donors and the merely well-heeled. The early portion of the program was loud, brash, and a little douchey, keeping in line with the brand that has turned Mr. Plank into a billionaire.
But regardless of what you think of Mr. Plank’s approach, it’s hard to dispute his results. That became crystal clear as the evening raised an astounding $4 million to help educate impoverished children in the District.
Those of us who chose persistence over skepticism were eventually rewarded as well; thanks to the lovely ladies of Qorvis Communications, Stiff Jab was the only boxing outlet allowed to remain in the ballroom during the event to cover the fights. As a result, we are proud to say the fight report below is an exclusive, and the only account of these bouts you are likely to find.
[[MORE]]Flyweight Tyrieshia Douglas (right), who fights out of Baltimore, won a convincing decision in her six-round rematch with Marisol Miranda in the opening bout. A southpaw, “Lady Tiga” started out patiently, working her jab, before starting to unload with her straight left hand in the second round. Douglas prefers to keep her hands low and slip punches, while Miranda sticks to the upright style favored by most female boxers. The two traded blows at several occasions early on, but Douglas consistently seemed to get the better of it.
By the third round the ladies were brawling, and Douglas was landing nearly at will. She began unloading power shots on Miranda with both hands, but the Bronx native was tough as nails. Miranda put up a better fight than in the pair’s first meeting this summer, but Douglas was simply too fast and too strong. Her punishing blows wore Miranda down through the 4th, and appeared to have her on the ropes in the 5th. Douglas finally floored Miranda in the 6th with a left, but the knockdown seemed as much from accumulation of blows as anything. To her credit, Miranda rose and finished the fight. The final scores, all 60-53 in favor of Douglas, were merely academic.
Miranda’s toughness made her an exception on this night, when the other two fights finished without the lower showing much resistance. D.C.’s Cornelius “The Bodysnatcher” Whitlock (right, blue trunks) needed just 2 minutes and 18 seconds to stop Josue Rivera of Philadelphia in a welterweight contest.
Rivera was pressuring Whitlock against the ropes when The Bodysnatcher put him down with a vicious right uppercut in close. Rivera stayed on the mat as the referee counted him, resulting in an old-fashioned knockout.
The main event saw unbeaten junior middleweight John “Apollo Kidd” Thompson (top) of Newark, N.J. break down late substitute Jonathan Batista, a native of the Dominican Republic. Thompson took advantage of his height and reach advantage early, using his jab to control Batista from distance in the first round. Batista fought back in the 2nd, landing a hard overhand right that produced swelling around Thompson’s left eye. But Thompson took control in the 3rd, growing more aggressive as his opponent appeared to wane.
Batista began covering up rather than dodging punches, and was soon laid out by Thompson. He rose, only to taste the canvas again quickly after another one-two combination from Thompson. Batista somehow survived until the end of the round, but his corner elected to stop the fight rather than answer the bell for the 4th. The win means Thompson will reign for a year as Fight Night Champion, an honor no less nonsensical than the myriad of baubles handed out by the various alphabet sanctioning bodies.
Following the final bell, the fans in attendance were serenaded by R&B singer John Legend, who told the press that his favorite fighters were Floyd Mayweather Jr. (present) and Sugar Ray Leonard (past). Legend was among a number of bold-face names in attendance, including Sen. Mark Warner (D., Va.), former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele, Chefs Spike Mendehlson and Jose Andres, Mayor Vincent Gray, and a host of professional athletes.
ESPN reporter and fellow Cornell Daily Sun alum Jeremy Schaap served as the evening’s MC and joined Plank at his table, as did ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell. Hall of Fame ring announcer Michael Buffer handled the microphone during the fights, while The Roots drummer Questlove spun records for the crowd during the after party at the Ritz. The only sour note on the night came from the lack of boxing greats: only Gerry Cooney, Aaron Pryor, and Ernie Shavers were in attendance, a noticeable downgrade for an event where I have met Joe Frazier and Jake LaMotta.
Still, all in attendance appeared to have a great time, and the soul of Fight Night remains very much intact. It’s pretty hard to complain about a night spent partying with the Redskins cheerleaders, and M.C. Hammer himself. And lest we forget, the event appears to have set a fundraising record for a gala event in Washington. So all in all, Fight Night 2013 went largely like the last few: a great party, some OK fights, and one brutal hangover the following morning. We’ll obviously be back next year.