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Fast starter
— Pavlik vs. Martinez undercard —
Campbell’s Chris Hazimihalis polishes off foe midway through first round
By Joe Scalzo
ATLANTIC CITY
After a sluggish start in his first professional fight, Campbell’s Chris Hazimihalis wanted to make sure he started fast in his second.
He did.
Finished fast, too.
Hazimihalis needed just 90 seconds to earn a TKO of Philadelphia’s Ramon Ellis in a four-round lightweight bout on Saturday’s undercard at Boardwalk Hall.
“In my first fight, I was a little bit nervous and I had to make sure I stayed relaxed,” said Hazimihalis, who made his pro debut in December at YSU. “This time I was very relaxed and I know that was a big difference from the first fight.”
Hazimihalis floored Ellis with a right hand about a minute into the first round. After a standing eight count, Hazimihalis backed him into the corner and unleashed a flurry of punches.
The referee stopped the fight at the 1:28 mark.
When asked if they stopped it too early, Hazimihalis (2-0, 2 KOs) said, “I’m not sure. I thought I got him with a good punch. He seemed like he was OK when he got up.
“I’ll take a win any way I can get it.”
Hazimihalis defeated Norman Allen by third round TKO on Dec. 19 as part of the undercard of the Kelly Pavlik-Miguel Espino bout at Beeghly Center. He allowed Allen to dictate the tempo early in that fight and vowed to come out faster on Saturday.
“My problem lately is starting slow,” said Hazimihalis, an accomplished amateur fighter who trains for Jack Loew at the Southside Boxing Club. “ I was trying to feel the guy out too much. My trainers kept saying, ‘Come out fast, come out fast, come out fast.’
“Sometimes in the first round, I like to feel a fighter out. But I’m only fighting four-round fights so I’ve got to start aggressive and start right away. If I lose the first round, I start giving it away and if I lose the second round, I’ve got to start thinking about a loss.”
Hazimihalis did get caught with a short right hook to the head in the first minute but was otherwise unscathed by Ellis.
“I came in a little with my head and he caught me with a good shot,” he said. “But after that I figured out what I did wrong, I corrected my mistakes and I caught him with a good shot and got him hurt.”
Hazimihalis, who brought a contingent of fans from Campbell, entered the ring to Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” with fellow Southside Boxing Club trainers John Loew (Jack’s son) and John Hutter.
(The announcer did pronounce the “b” in Campbell.)
His was the fourth bout on a nine-fight card headlined by Pavlik’s 12-round middleweight title fight against Sergio Martinez.
Hazimihalis, 24, had at least two fights fall through over the last four months and said he was anxious to get back into the ring. He fought more than 40 amateur bouts and won a Cleveland Golden Gloves championship before turning pro.
Now his goal is to get some attention and get a promoter, allowing him to get more experience and more exposure as his career develops.
“This is the first time I got to fight in Atlantic City and I think I did pretty good,” he said. “I wanted to put my best effort forward.
“There was a lot of people here to see me fight and I wanted to show them what I’m about and what kind of fighter I am. I wanted to put a good show on and show that I belong.”