BOXING Koval comes home: Austintown native gaining experience

Chris Koval will meet Dallas Lang in a six-round heavyweight bout Sunday.
By KURT SNYDER
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
NILES -- Chris Koval's boxing career began during his sophomore year in high school when he won the local K.O. Drugs championship.
The next two years, the then-Austintown Fitch student rolled to two more championships and has been knocking out opponents ever since.
Koval, 21, is a professional heavyweight, and he returns home to put his impressive 17-1 record with 14 knockouts on the line in Sunday's boxing show at the Eastwood Expo Center.
This is just Koval's second area fight since turning professional in January 2003. He fought at the Byzantine Center in Youngstown in May.
"I've got a pretty good fan base around here," Koval said. "Without the fans, this would really be nothing. Fans make it what is it. They push me; they drive me."
Chung is promoter
George Chung, CEO of American Champion Sports, is promoting Sunday's event in conjunction with the Rib Burnoff at Eastwood Mall. He promoted an event at then Cafaro Field last summer and said the event is a way to introduce boxing fans to local talent like Koval.
"(Koval) is the kind of fighter that brings a lot of excitement," Chung said. "He's on his way for that world title contention. By developing a local following, he has a greater chance when he fights on that championship level to be able to bring his fight back home."
Koval will be fighting Dallas Lang in a six-round match. Lang is from Missouri and a relative unknown to the area circuit. Koval has been working quickly through the ranks with just 18 months of professional experience. Trainer Tom Cordell said Koval really wants as much experience as possible before he steps up in competition.
"Chris said he wanted to stay busy," said Cordell, who trains Koval at the Downtown Sports Complex in Youngstown. "We're getting him ring experience. We're going to start picking up the sparring a little more."
Will tackle big opponent
That step up in competition is expected to come in the next four months for Koval, who fights at anywhere between 230-240 pounds. He fights 315-pound veteran Joe Leinhart in Cleveland in August, and he also is scheduled to fight Owen Beck in October at Madison Square Garden in New York. That fight is being promoted by Don King and could vault Koval into the top 10 in the world.
"That's going to be a major stepping stone toward the top," Koval said of the October bout. "I've been on ESPN as a co-main event, but that's going to take the cake so far."
Cordell said it is his job to keep Koval's daily focus. He said Koval's one loss came when he lost that focus and overlooked an opponent.
"A couple weeks before the fight, I might just have him stay at my house," Cordell said. "He's 21 years old. He wants to go out and party with his friends. That's understandable, but like I told him before, 'They really don't have careers like you do.'"
Cordell said that to meet the challenges that Koval will face he will have to continue to improve. As a light heavyweight, Koval can use speed to his advantage. But Cordell said the fight against Leinhart will be Koval's first 10-round match. Cordell has brought in a local strength and conditioning coach to work with Koval, and he has Koval running three to five miles a day to improve his stamina.
"Irish" Davey McBride, 20, of Salem, will also be in action Sunday in the lightweight division. McBride is 3-2 with two knockouts since turning professional in October. He had been an amateur kickboxing champion previously. He thinks the local crowd will enjoy his style.
"I will steal the crowd with my aggressive style and constantly moving," he said. "I always turn the fight into a big fight, and the crowd always seems to get behind me."
Tickets for the event range from $10-$75 and can be bought in conjunction with the Rib Burnoff. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the first fight starting at 6.
ksnyder@vindy.com