BYZANTINE CENTER Billy Lyell dominant in his 'best pro fight'

Lyell staggered his opponent from Lima on several occasions.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Billy Lyell, fighting in his ninth pro fight Wednesday night, showed a crowd of 635 in the Byzantine Center at The Grove that when he is at his best he has the potential to be one of the best boxers to ever come out of the Mahoning Valley.
From a vicious right cross 20 seconds into his main event middleweight eight-rounder against Corey Budd, Lyell, 22, was on a mission and he never let up until the final bell, winning a unanimous decision.
The Niles McKinley High School graduate, now a student at Youngstown State University, improved to 8-1 as a pro with a sustained power punching attack that on four different occassions staggered Budd (6-5) of Lima.
Budd came into the bout with a knockout reputation, as all six of his wins failed to go the distance, but through eight rounds, it was Lyell who persisted from beginning to end with solid right-hand leads and snapping left hooks.
Several exchanges
Budd in the middle rounds did land several good shots, but he fought in a survival mode in the late rounds.
There were several good exchanges, but in round six Lyell showed his punching superiority when a short right snapped back Budd's head. By an estimated punch count Lyell easily landed more than 100 rights in the fight, and he was far from a one-handed fighter.
Judges Harry Arroyo and Dave Myers voted an 80-72 sweep for Lyell and Tom Miller had the fight 79-73.
"This was a good fight against a real strong fighter," Lyell said. "I caught him early and just kept the pressure on him the rest of the bout."
His trainer, Jack Loew, called it Lyell's best pro fight.
"Billy worked hard and looked good in going eight strong rounds," Loew said. "He had excellent defense and did exactly what I told him by staying in Budd's chest."
The main event was part of the "Thanksgiving Feast," promoted by Tank DiCioccio and Loew.
The other fights
Five of the six bouts went the distance with another Loew boxer, Youngstown's Darnell Boone, showing too much punching power in stopping Columbus fighter Alex Black (4-6) after the second round.
Boone (4-0) earned his second KO with a sustained two-fisted attack that included several right uppercuts.
"He got me with a few shots early," Boone said, "but Jack told me between rounds to go get him and I did. I thought he would keep going, but his corner thought otherwise."
"Irish" Davey McBride, a lightweight from Salem, lost a six-round majority decision to Leo Martinez of Columbus.
"Davey trained hard and fought hard, but I am disappointed in his performance," Loew said.
Martinez (3-1), originally from Mexico City, showed quickness offensively with his right hand and defensively with good moves as he was forcing the fight against McBride (5-5). When McBride moved to the outside and used his jab he was the superior fighter, but Martinez more often was an aggressor taking McBride to the ropes and catching him with right hooks.
"I lost the fight on my own, and Martinez is a good fighter who won the fight on his own," McBride said. "He caught me with some good rights, and I thought I could work my right off my jab and it didn't happen."
Loses in debut
Shane Gierke of Niles, a lightweight originally from Kent and trained by former champion Jeff Lampkin, lost his pro debut in a four-round slugfest with Matt Horning (2-8) of Dayton.
In another four-rounder, Jay Holland, the former Ursuline High School running back from New Castle, broke an eight-fight losing streak by winning his first pro bout, a unanimous decision over Kolmarge Harris of Lansing, Mich. Holland, at 171 pounds in the super middleweight match, was too strong for Harris (2-10).
A cruiserweight four-rounder saw Cleveland's Roosevelt Johnson (2-0) knock down Warren's Zack Page (1-2) with a right uppercut in the final round to gain a unanimous decision.
A special sidelight to the event was the fact that three former world champions -- Lampkin, Arroyo and Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini -- were all in attendance.