New faces abound for second round

Hubbard senior Anthony Fidram is the only winner returning this week.
HUBBARD -- The second week of action in the K.O. Drugs High School Boxing Tournament at the Hubbard High gymnasium Tuesday night will have plenty of fresh faces included in 32 scheduled bouts.
There will be 22 high schools with competitors with Campbell Memorial (nine) and Hubbard (eight) leading the way.
Anthony Fidram, a Hubbard senior, will be the only winner from the opening night of the tournament coming back to fight this week because he is in the crowded heavyweight field.
There will be some eliminations this week as 22 losing fighters from the opening week will be competing in the double elimination bouts. Some former champions who didn't fight on the opening card will be in the ring Tuesday, which will be the second of six scheduled weeks for the tournament.
John Butler, a two-sport athlete from Ursuline who is the grandson of basketball standout Charlie Butler, was last year's upperclass junior middleweight champion. He will begin a defense of that title against Will Robertson of Keystone.
Last year's upperclass lightweight champion, Tom Peluso from Struthers, who is part of group of young men there who train in Keith Burnside's garage, will be in against John Lucci from Life Skills.
The last scheduled fight will be a battle between two Campbell Memorial classmates -- Anthony Ramun, who was the cruiserweight champion of the underclass division last year, and Jake Guriceo, who was an upperclass light heavyweight runner-up in the 2003 tournament. Their light heavyweight bout will be one of a pair in that weight in the upperclass division.
Tuesday night's bouts will feature heavyweights and super heavyweights.
There will be plenty of beef in the ring with three underclass and six upperclass bouts, nearly a third of the scheduled card, featuring the big boys. Some are football standouts, such as underclass battlers Kyle Banna from Canfield and John Walsh from Ursuline. Then there is 290-pound Justin Rangel from Mathews who will be fighting 279-pound Casey Denz from West Middlesex.
Among the upperclass division heavyweights will be Fidram, Jose Mateo from Campbell, who excelled last year, and Russell Dawson from South Range, who went toe to toe with Liberty's Mike Marvin last Tuesday before losing a split decision.
Thomas Howard of Warren Harding, at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, and Rick Solak from Cardinal Mooney, at 6-5, 245, will be in the next to last fight of the night. Also, Steve Irgang from Liberty, at 267 pounds, will fight Derek Wagner from Warren Harding, at 313.
The doors will open at 6 p.m. with the first bout at 7. Tickets cost $10 for adults and $5 for students.