Quick Work For Dusty Harrison, DMV Boxing Prospects
Photos by Gautham Nagesh for StiffJab.com
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Keystone Boxing employed four ring card girls for Saturday night’s boxing card at Washington Convention Center, but they probably could have spared the expense.
The young ladies barely left their seats for the first half of the show, as a parade of young boxers from the District and Maryland scored early stoppages against questionable opposition. Things stiffened up a bit for the special attraction featuring featherweight Kevin Rivers Jr., who handled his first professional test with impressive poise, before climaxing with a dominating performance from welterweight Dusty Harrison (above) in the main event. Harrison knocked Youngstown's Shane Gierke down three times en route to a second-round stoppage.
The late-arriving crowd eventually got their money’s worth, but not before a few grumbles from the cheap seats about the matchmaking. Still, several promising local prospects brought sizable cheering sections, an early indication of box office potential. Fighters scoring wins on this evening included staff favorites Danny “Smooth” Kelly and Day Day Grayton as well as James McCallister, Harold “Sweet Lee” Parker, and Immanuwel Aleem.
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D.C. welterweight David “Day Day” Grayton’s (above with trainer Patrice Harris) reputation from the amateur game precedes him, so word is that finding opponents for the young prospect hasn’t been the easiest task for trainer and manager Barry Hunter. As befits a fighter that trains at Headbangers, Day Day comes looking to bang and cause his opponent serious pain. No wonder the local fans already love him after just a few years in the fight game.
Drawing the unlucky assignment on this night was Anthony Jones of Jackson, Tenn. Jones was game, but that’s about it. From the opening bell, Day Day came forward in his southpaw stance and unloaded heavy combinations to Jones’ body. A hard body shot caused the first knockdown early, followed by a trio of left hands to the body for a second knockdown shortly after. Grayton then began punching through Jones’ guard with his left, forcing Jones to kneel twice more before the referee mercifully ended the beating.
Grayton is clearly a real talent, on the same level as the Olympians currently flocking to Al Haymon. Without the money and influence of Haymon or a big promoter like Top Rank, it will fall to Hunter to guide Day Day’s career to the top, and it won’t necessarily be quick or glamorous. Barry has already proven his ability to do so with the Peterson brothers, so Grayton and Kelly both appear to be in good hands. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for all the talented youngsters in the DMV, though we certainly hope for the best. For his part, Day Day has a job at the Commerce Department and a good head on his shoulders, so we think he’ll be fine.
Kelly (Above with Harris) may have a slightly easier time finding opponents, if only because low-level heavyweights are plentiful and don’t have to make weight. But careful matchmaking is even more important in his case, for reasons of humanity above all else. Ryan Shay of Rock Hill, S.C. turned up to fight Kelly looking more like a tavern brawler than a professional boxer. Neither his ample gut nor his red chinstrap beard inspired much confidence in his ability to last a full round.
“He looks like Butterbean. The fight will last 30 seconds,” complained my trainer Rodriguez to my right.
Meanwhile, Kelly came in looking positively svelte at 237 lbs. and seemed almost bored by the weigh-in and assorted pre-fight activities. He predicted an easy first-round victory by right hand, and eventually delivered with an uppercut-left hook-uppercut combination that stopped Shay in his tracks at 2:47 of the first round. The ref ended the fight after a knockdown left Shay uninterested in continuing, much to the crowd’s displeasure. There was no reason for the fight to go on.
Shay had done an admirable job staying upright to that point by throwing two punches and grabbing, the correct strategy when fighting a much bigger, stronger, and better fighter. The result had been an ugly round of holding, wrestling, and eventually a few choice shots from Kelly that quickly stole Shay’s courage. Kelly is very young, and still rough around the edges. Even Shay was able to land clean overhand rights, as ineffective as they might have been. But the talent is undeniable.
Hunter has big hopes for Danny, and there is no reason he couldn’t become a top-flight heavyweight in time. His road, however, will take much longer than some of his smaller peers. The more lucrative purses earned by heavyweights should help with his patience, often the downfall of a young professional fighter.
Middleweight debutante Jarrett Hurd (above) of Hillcrest Heights, Md. thrilled his vocal fans (below) by overwhelming Mike Arnold of Akron, Ohio in the first round. Hurd is a known quantity locally after a solid amateur career that saw him lose a barnburner in the 2011 Washington Golden Gloves to 2012 National Champion D'Mitrius Ballard. Ballard was among those in attendance as Hurd proved too much for Arnold, scoring two knockdowns and dispatching Arnold with a vicious combination as the Ohioan sank to one knee. Hurd is one of three local middleweights, along with Ballard and Antoine Douglas, that merit watching in the future.
Local crowd favorite Harold “Sweet Lee” Parker barely had time to rebound from dropping a split decision in his last bout in his first-round stoppage of Wilson, N.C.’s David Tomlin. Tomlin came out twitching spastically like a jackrabbit, and Rodriguez immediately proclaimed him hopeless in the ring. Like too many North Carolina fighters, Tomlin lacks even a rudimentary knowledge of the Sweet Science. Parker quickly realized this, and timed him with a hard right hand. The punch landed, Tomlin covered up, and appeared to quit while still on his feet. Parker improved to 3-1 (3 KOs), but looks a bit small to continue fighting at welterweight.
Richmond, Va., super middleweight Immanuwel Aleem (above) opened the show in businesslike fashion, scoring a 2nd-round stoppage of Marcus Clay in his second professional bout. Aleem appeared very relaxed in the opening round, holding his left hand low and catching Clay with well-timed counter-right hand. The shot hurt Clay, and served as a prelude to the action in the 2nd.
That round saw Aleem land a double left hook cleanly to Clay’s body and chin. The Baton Rouge native went down, rose, and retreated against the ropes. He offered little resistance as Aleem chased him around the ring, firing power shots and forcing the ref to stop the fight. This was my first time seeing Aleem fight, and I’m certainly intrigued.
Waldorf, Md. light heavyweight “King” James McCallister returned from a six-year hiatus to win a unanimous decision over Akron’s James Denson. Denson looked out of shape and was frequently inactive, which contributed to the sluggish action in the early rounds. McCallister was content to mostly jab until the 4th, when he scored a knockdown of Denson with a body shot. The knockdown woke up both fighters, and they delivered much better action in the last two rounds. Denson had a moment or two, but only enough to earn a single round out of all three scorecards.