BOXING Niles' Lyell pulls out of Tacoma fight

The 21-year old said he was tired of fighting guys in their hometowns.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A 10-round main event bout for Niles boxer Billy Lyell, the first of his young professional career, will not happen as Lyell has taken himself out of the fight.
Lyell (7-2, 2 knockouts) a welterweight who has grown into a junior middleweight, is co-managed by Tank DiCioccio and Jack Loew of the Southside Boxing Club. He is also trained by Loew, who guided him through a 35-bout amateur career since he was 16-years-old.
Lyell was scheduled to fight Saturday at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Wash., against Seattle boxer Walter Wright (8-1, 4 KOs). One of Wright's wins was a split decision over Lyell stablemate Darnell Boone. Lyell wanted to avenge his friend's loss, but that wasn't the only reason.
"Also I was short of money" said Lyell, who is a junior at Youngstown State. "The $3,000 purse and the fact that it is a main event had a certain appeal to me."
2002 Niles graduate
Lyell, a 2002 Niles High graduate, had second thoughts.
"I started to train for the fight, but then I asked myself 'what am I doing?' I am falling into the same pattern and if I continue to do so I'll just be another fighter with a losing record, so I told Jack and Tank I didn't want the fight.
"I turned 21 in August and have a good winning record, but I am traveling around like a gypsy fighting guys in their hometowns. Basically I have become an opponent where if I am going to win on the road at the other guy's place, I have to stop him.
Learned lesson
"I really learned my lesson in my last fight in Montreal against Victor Lupo (12-0, 10 KOs). Naturally he was a hometown boy and when the fight was over I thought I was the winner and then the ring announcer announced the result as a draw. Then before we left the ring we were told to wait and they switched the judge's cards and called Lupo the winner by majority decision."
Lyell said that is when he decided to stop fighting opponents in their hometowns.
"But when Jack and Tank brought up the fight with Wright I had second thoughts, but I decided if I had to fight this way I might as well get a regular job," said Lyell.
"I have to agree with Billy you never get the best of it on the road at the other guy's backyard and we have him signed to a promotional contract with Bobby Hitz promotions in Chicago," said Loew.
"I can't blame Billy for being dissatisfied and with a fighter of his caliber we just have to do a better job of moving him."
Figured he could win
DiCioccio added: "I can certainly understand where Billy is coming from, but we took this west coast fight figuring he could take Wright and he thought the same about it.
"But Billy is a smart and strong-minded kid and a bad decision like the Lupo fight in Montreal didn't do a lot to affect his thinking in another direction. The kid can fight and he has a lot of crowd appeal so we will have to find another way to move him."