Fightfest set for May 6 at Chevrolet Centre

Fighters from Niles, Boardman and Sharon are among those on the card.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- Four Youngstown-area mixed martial arts fighters will be part of a 12-bout card for Royce Gracie's Fightfest scheduled at the Chevrolet Centre on May 6 at 7 p.m.
Jim Bundy of Niles, Todd Seyler of Boardman and Micah Bender and Matt Lenzi, both from Sharon, will be joining Eric "Butterbean" Esch of Jasper, Ala., a 350-pound behemoth considered to be the King of the Four-Rounders, on the Fightfest program.
The show, which also will feature the music of the alternative band Tantric, was announced Saturday during a press conference at the Chevrolet Center Community Room.
The event is promoted by Fischer Entertainment Group of Cuyahoga Falls. Corey Fischer, the company's vice president, predicted that between 5,000-6,000 people will turn out for the show.
"When you have good old rock and roll and a butt-kicking, you will have a big crowd," Fischer said.
Bobish will fight
Also highlighting the show will be Dan "The Bull" Bobish of Cleveland, a superheavyweight champion who is ranked in the top 10 in the world and is a former Mount Union College wrestler.
Bobish is a former heavyweight national wrestling champion (1992) and three-time All-American at Mount Union.
There card, will spotlight mixed martial arts warfare between two opponents within a six-sided cage made of rubberized chain-link fence and raised 48 inches off the ground.
"It's not a real big family event. It's a boxing-type event for a younger crowd [18-35], and 35 percent of the spectators are women," Fischer said.
Bundy operates Niles gym
Bundy, 30, a 1994 Girard High graduate who got involved in martial arts when he was 10 or 11, operates a freestyle karate gym in Niles.
"I do a lot of cross training with kick boxing and jiu-jitsu. The striking arts tend to be my strength," Bundy said.
He said the three main forms of competition that everyone should know about are: Muay Thai, a form of kicking boxing; wrestling; and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Bender, a 2003 Hickory High graduate who competed in football, wrestling and track, said conditioning is paramount in martial arts fighting.
"It's hard to wrestle for three minutes but even harder when you start adding the martial arts and it can be exhausting," said Bender, a former boxer for the Buckeye Elks stable in Youngstown who now trains at Bundy's gym.
Lenzi, a 2004 Sharon High graduate and a former wrestler and powerlifter who also trains at Bundy's gym, said strength helps but that "stamina" is key.
"It is incredibly hard to go three minutes with all of the kicking and grappling. So without conditioning and stamina, you won't have anything." said Lenzi, who holds the national push-pull record in powerlifting in the 175-pound class with 805 pounds (500 deadlift and 305 bench press).
Bobish, Esch back sport
Bobish said that Fightfest is a less-violent sport than pro wrestling.
"The fights are stopped quickly. My daughter can watch me fight," Bobish said.
Esch, who was in Hawaii but was interviewed via telephone, said that Fightfest is more entertaining than boxing, and that it is less violent that some sports, including hockey.
"The objective is to get your opponent to give up," he said.
kovach@vindy.com
Tickets are on sale at the Chevrolet Centre box office (330-746-5600) or by calling 866-4-GETTIX or visiting www.gettix.net.