Monday, May 19, 2008
By Greg Gulas
Six girls will be among the 35 scheduled bouts slated for Wednesday at the ITAM Banquet Center.
YOUNGSTOWN – The 20th annual K.O. Drugs High School Boxing Tournament heads into the third round of action Wednesday with 35 fights on tap at the ITAM Banquet Center.
There are 15 bouts on tap featuring undefeated hopefuls while the night will also mark the debut of six female fighters; all of whom are hoping to advance to the finals in their respective weight classes May 28.
Fourteen underclass and 21 upperclass bouts are scheduled with the boys semifinals slated for next week and the finals May 30.
“The first two rounds have been most competitive with all fighters giving it their all once in the ring,” said tournament director Chuck Nelson. “At this point, however, fighters seem to do that little extra when training with the hopes of gaining the competitive edge on their opponent.
“The cream always seems to rise to the top as each and every fighter now realizes they are just a bout away from elimination, or the finals and a much anticipated date with the championship belt for which each is vying.”
Blasina Martinez of Chaney will take on Shayla DeMar of Austintown Fitch in underclass action while in the upperclass division, featherweights Maria Marchese of Niles and Jenna Spackman of Mineral Ridge will meet and in the final scrap of the evening, Christine Kountz, a home schooler, will take on Brookfield’s Nikki Bashlor in lightweight action.
In boys upperclass action, two super heavyweight battles and a heavyweight scrap featuring undefeated fighters expect to draw plenty of attention.
Bill Manypenny of South Range and Chris Schade of Canfield will meet in one super heavyweight battle, while Anthony Garcia of Chaney and Girard’s Cain McGreggor will mix it up in the same weight class.
The heavyweight bout will feature Sam Valiquette of Struthers going up against Robert Sinkovich of Chaney.
Other upperclass bouts featuring undefeated boxers include super featherweight where Ramon Judkins (Fitch) squares off against Shane Middendorf (Sharpsville); junior welterweight where Canfield’s Ronnie Hamayel takes on Cody Lapushan of Ursuline; junior middleweight with James Watson of Chaney meeting Ben Pecchia of Canfield; middleweights Alex Chang (Canfield) and Andrew Fricker (Girard) squaring off and the super middleweight class where J.J. Diefender of Keystone meets Brian Slaughter of Life Skills Academy.
Three other upperclass bouts will also command special attention. Two lightweight bouts, the first featuring Chaney’s Clemate Franklin and East’s Jamil Wilkins, and the second David Murphy of Sharon and Anthony Middendorf of Sharpsville, are set while cruiserweights Eric Ocheltree of Mathews and Randy Triplett of Youngstown Christian are ready to go.
In other underclass action featuring undefeated entries, Sharon’s Sergio Cabrera will take on Girard’s Nate Parillo in a junior welterweight bout; Crestview’s Steve McCall takes on Eddie Crump of Western Reserve in light heavyweight action, while cruiserweights Darian Rivera (Campbell Memorial) and Ali Abou-Osman (Canfield) will meet.
Tickets are $7 for students and $11 for adults and can be obtained at the door the night of the event.
Doors open at 6 p.m. with all of the action set to get underway at 7.