Superfight at the Silverdome: Undercard

PONTIAC, Mich.–Living in Michigan for over twenty years imparts one lesson more than any other: all life’s plans are subject to the whims of Mother Nature. Once again we were reminded of that fact when we emerged from AMF Summit Lanes close to midnight the evening before the fight to a clear, frigid night.

Since it appeared the journey to Pontiac would be an afterthought, we continued our night. At some point between that decision and three the snow began. As we finally fishtailed homeward in Calvin’s rusting late-90s Mustang, merrily inebriated and mere hours from daylight, the miscalculation became apparent.

Thankfully the journey was uneventful thanks to our state’s able plowmen and we found ourselves at the gate early without incident. The Silverdome loomed like an oversized driving range above the unending gray of the surrounding landscape.

Security was typically relaxed as we made our way into the complex, marveling at how little it has changed since we watched the Lions throttle Tony Dungy’s Buccaneers in the franchise’s last Monday Night Football victory, circa 1998.

As the writers milled in the lobby waiting for their credentials it became apparent our grey nailhead suit and navy knit tie were not en vogue among the boxing press, who appear to prefer jeans and sneakers. Nevertheless we will continue to hold that respecting the significant of the event includes dressing the part, leaving aside issues of professionalism.

After staking out our seat in press row and meeting the useful Bill Shimizu of Detroit Boxing Examiner, we disappeared upstairs for a smoke, only to find no lighter at hand. A quick trip to the gas station yielded an interested query from the Hispanic attendant.

“You work at the Silverdome?” he asked, eying the green press pass dangling beneath my scarf.

“No, I’m here to cover the fight.”

“There’s a fight? Are there tickets?”

“I think so, there aren’t that many people yet.”

“When’s it starting, right now?” He looked crestfallen.

“Well the first fight is now, but the main event is going to be on HBO and it won’t start till ten at the earliest.”

“I get off at ten.” He beamed, and then hesitated.

“How much are tickets?” he asked, then offered hopefully, “$40?”

“I think you can get tickets for that much, maybe less. They should have a lot of tickets.”

He looked infinitely less defeated as I paid for the lighter.

“It’s a huge fight. Two undefeated champions. You should really try to go.”

As we stood next to the car tapping ashes into a pile in the snow, we wondered how many people would attend the fight. By the time former lightweight champ Julio Diaz finished pummeling the obviously overmatched Pavel Miranda of Tijuana in the eighth round of the opening welterweight bout, the arena started to show some signs of life.

The owners of the Silverdome had paid only $583,000 for the Silverdome less than a year ago and then forked over another half million to host the fight between light welterweight champions Tim Bradley and Devon Alexander.

Local opinion was evenly divided on whether they were stupid or delusional, despite promises of major investments to the aging facility. A Canadian business journalist seated one row behind was there to write about them and their grand plans for the aging dome beyond the fight, such as the seemingly impossible dream of luring a Major League Soccer team to one of the most economically depressed areas in the country.

But the crowd started filling and speaking up when local super middleweight Darry Cunningham took the ring against Alberto Mercedes, who looked aware of his role as the evening’s foil. Cunningham bobbed and weaved, brusing aside Mercedes’ pawing jab in favor of swift right hooks and straight lefts.

My neighbor Nick correctly obsevered Cunningham’s southpaw style was confounding Mercedes, whose 16-14 record entering indicates the confusion was not novel. By the fourth round Cunningham’s punches were finding their target at will and a cut above the Dominican’s right eye belied the effect of the Detroiter’s punches.

A straight left in the sixth sent Alberto cowering to the campus as Cunningham loomed over him screaming taunts at his injured opponent. Mercedes games tried to respond as blood flowed from the cut while Cunningham showed the restraint of a veteran if not the killer instinct of a champion.

Cunningham scored a clean sweep on all three scorecards after the six-round contest and received appreciation from his hometown crowd in line with the solid but not sensational performance.

Junior middleweight prospect Julian Williams followed by making short work of Indianapolis’ Alan Moore. Williams dropped Moore with a sharp short hook and floored him again immediately, forcing the ref to stop the fight after just 28 seconds.

Allen Conyers woke up undefeated welterweight “King” James De La Rosa with counter uppercut in the second round that sent the touted Texan to the mat, from which he sprang up in disbelief. Conyers (11-4, 9 KOs) looked too big and strong for De La Rosa (20-0, 12 KOs); anyone ringside could be forgiven for assuming their records had been transposed.

De La Rosa’s poor defense left him reduced to clutching Conyers’ leg for support after a sixth-round knockdown and another in the eighth put the result beyond doubt. After the fight Conyers was thrilled to win after a three-year absence and said he felt pleased politics hadn’t prevented him from securing the unanimous decision.

Former junior welterweight champ Kendall Holt shimmied in victory after dispatching Lenin Arroyo with a left hook one minute and 50 seconds into the first round. Holt is looking to resurrect his career after losing his last two fights to headliner Tim Bradley and Kaizer Mabuza.

Your correspondent was forced to miss much of the light heavyweight contest between Marcus Oliveira and local journeyman Demetrius Jenkins due recurring WiFi issues at the Silverdome. Fortunately the contest proved to be the evening’s least noteworthy. Oliveira secured the unanimous decision.

Miami heavyweight Bermane “B-Ware” Stiverne picked up a host of alphabet trinkets by tapping Kertson Manswell with the left hook and following it with a straight right that hit the mark. The ref stopped the fight at one minute 52 seconds of the second round.

– Gautham Nagesh from ringside.

Portions of this article were cross-posted at The Queensberry Rules.