Giuriceo angered by majority draw decision

Pavlik vs. Espino

Gallery

Jake Giuriceo vs. Henri White

Gallery

Chris Hazimihalis vs. Norman Allen

Gallery

Campbell High graduate Christos Hazimihalis wins his pro debut at YSU's Beeghly Center Dec. 19, 2009 as part of the undercard for the Kelly Pavlik title fight.

The Struthers resident didn’t win for the first time in seven professional fights.

By JOE SCALZO

Vindicator sports staff

YOUNGSTOWN — Jake Giuriceo felt like he got ripped off even though Saturday’s fight was in his hometown. Henri White felt he got ripped off because the fight wasn’t in his hometown.

You could call it a draw. The judges certainly did.

Giuriceo, a Campbell High graduate and Struthers resident, failed to win for the first time in six professional fights as he and White fought to a majority draw in a six-round super lightweight bout as part of Saturday’s undercard at the Beeghly Center.

Judge John Kikta awarded the fight to Giuriceo, 58-56, with White winning the second and third rounds. Judges Phil Rogers and Gene Glenn both scored it 57-57.

“I think that was bull[crap],” said a furious Giuriceo immediately afterward. “Seriously, that was the worst decision ever.

“I didn’t even feel like I came even close to losing a round. Not one round. That’s unbelievable.”

Giuriceo (5-0-1) won the first, fourth and fifth rounds on Rogers’ scorecard, while Glenn gave Giuriceo the first, fourth and sixth rounds.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Giuriceo’s trainer, Keith Burnside. “It was bull[crap]. I don’t know what fight they were watching. The kid would come out busy for 30 seconds and run. We out-jabbed this kid.

“In our hometown, we get a draw. That’s sad.”

Giuriceo was the aggressor for much of the bout, but both fighters landed good shots. Neither came close to getting knocked down, although White did get a little blood from his nose and Giuriceo had some swelling around his left eye.

White, who split two meetings with Kelly Pavlik when both were amateurs, said he considered it a victory since he knew it would be hard to win in Giuriceo’s hometown.

“When they said it was a draw, I really won it because it’s his hometown,” said White (4-4-2), who turned pro in 2007. “If Jake wants a rematch, he’s got it. I didn’t even have time to train for this fight.

“I guarantee it won’t be a draw in Cleveland.”

Campbell High graduate Chris Hazimihalis won his professional debut against Toledo’s Norman Allen (0-6-1) in a four-round lightweight bout. Hazimihalis won by TKO at the 1:06 mark of the third round, earning a big ovation from the crowd.

Hazimihalis was a bigger critic than the crowd. After being congratulated in the hallway outside the locker room, the first thing he said was, “I was terrible.”

“I’ve got a lot of work to do,” he said. “I learned I’ve got to have better defense, better offense, better head movement, more combos, stay busy.

“Everything, basically.”

Hazimihalis entered the bout with 40 amateur fights under his belt and was understandably tentative in the first minute.

“I was reacting to the fighter,” he said. “I’ve got to be more aggressive.”

Then, at the midway point of the round, Hazimihalis backed Allen against the ropes near a corner of the ring and the two exchanged some nice shots. It even resembled a Rocky bout for a few seconds.

Hazimihalis landed more punches and won the round, but there was a lot of grabbing, wrestling and wild swings, particularly from Allen.

Hazimihalis again backed Allen into the corner midway through the second round and landed some nice combinations. He even got Allen in trouble late in the round. Hazimihalis was definitely in attack mode the whole time and Allen was in hold-and-survive mode. He won that round also.

“He got me with some shots, but there weren’t any hard shots,” Hazimihalis said. “It was my first fight, so I’ll take it as a learning experience.”

Hazimihalis ended it in the third, backing Allen into a corner, where he took a knee. Referee Jim Villers then waved his arm to end it.

scalzo@vindy.com