K.O. DRUGS Schools' students put fists to test

One girls bout will be on Wednesday's card.
HUBBARD -- There will 36 bouts, including one involving girls, as the 16th K.O. Drugs High School Boxing Tournament semifinals are contested at Hubbard High gymnasium Wednesday.
In the underclass division, welterweights Joanna Button from Boardman will get in the ring against Canfield's Melissa Collinsworth.
Also in the underclass division, one fight will be a rematch; welterweight Dave Castronova of Austintown Fitch takes on Nick Hartshorn of Keystone. Two weeks ago Castronova (2-0) won a hard-fought decision over Hartshorn (1-1).
More at 2-0
Other undefeated underclass boxers, all 2-0, are William Rios and Tim Davis from Campbell Memorial, Tom Peluso and Mike Duponty from Struthers, Mark McNulty and Greg Slade from Keystone, Travis Huntley and Aubrey Chambers from Farrell, Mike Rosa from Chaney and Dustin Flick from Canfield. Flick will fight schoolmate Chuck DeColla (1-1).
Twenty-seven schools will be represented, with Canfield and Keystone having seven participants each. Boardman has six fighters, while Campbell, Champion and Hubbard have five each.
A big bout among the upperclass heavyweights will be between two former champions who were in different weights last year. Billy DeColla (2-0) of Canfield takes on Dave Phillips (1-1) from Hubbard.
Upperclass super heavyweight Kiff Kinkead (1-0) from Champion will fight Josh Fetty from West Middlesex in the scheduled finale of the night.
Liberty's Mike Marvin, a tournament veteran with a 9-1 record over three years and a two-time champion, is scheduled against Jose Mateo (2-0) from Campbell in a cruiserweight battle.
Marvin suffered his first K.O. Drugs defeat last week. The winner of that bout will advance to face either Poland's Mike Jones or New Castle's Ryan Gidaro, who defeated Marvin last week. Both Jones and Gidaro are 2-0.
Junior middleweights
A battle of upperclass junior middleweights, both with 2-0 records, has Kiez Smith from Boardman against Brandon Holmes from Champion.
Other bouts matching fighters with 2-0 records is in the super lightweight division, where Dan Ramun of Poland and Chayce Behnke from Niles, and middleweights Scott Lenhart from Champion and Chris Pankewicz from Canfield.
Two other boxers in the upperclass division with 2-0 records are Larry Starr, a middleweight from Hubbard, and light-heavyweight Jake Guriceo from Campbell, who won in a tournament-record eight seconds last week.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the first bout will be at 7. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults.