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Richard, Hamayel win main events at The Regency House
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
Armond Richard of Cleveland scored a unanimous decision over Youngstown’s Brian Sims in the main event of Saturday’s “Youngstown Strong,” 13 bout boxing card at The Regency House.
“I knew that I had the experience, but he was coming down a class to fight me,” Richard said. “I used my speed, caught him off-guard and just outboxed him.”
In the end, Sims felt as if he could have thrown more punches.
“I didn’t throw enough punches. It was a good fight, but he was the better fighter this evening,” Sims said. “He was more relaxed and kept going if he missed with a punch. That was the key.”
In the co-main, it was Ronnie Hamayel (4-2) earning a split decision over Isaac Chatman (11-6) of Downtown B.C.
After a 16-month layoff, Hamayel’s win came exactly 28 days since his return to the gym.
“It wasn’t perfect, but it’s a win and that was the goal when I returned to train,” Hamayel said. “I am training for the Golden Gloves in April and while this wasn’t exactly pure boxing, the Golden Gloves will be, so I am going to have to be ready.”
For Connor Young (11-10), getting back into the ring after a six-year absence has been fun.
He will earn his mechanical engineering degree from the University of Akron this spring but loves his gym — Downtown Boxing Club — and wants to enjoy what time he has left in the area in case he has to relocate.
He scored a split decision over Charles Smith (7-3) of Cleveland at 189 pounds.
“I love my gym and no other gym would be the same if my job takes me out of the area,” said Young, who is a veteran of 20 high school fights. “I used my right and underhand right, mixing in my jab as well.”
In a 175 pound battle featuring state Golden Gloves champions, it was Pennsylvania champ and Beaver Falls native Kiante Irving (55-17) earning a third-round TKO (2:19) over Michigan state champion Derrick Miller (32-21) of Monroe.
It was the first time that Miller failed to go the distance and a served as a tune-up for Irving as he heads to his Golden Gloves competition April 28 in Monroeville.
“I really didn’t know how strong he was mentally or physically, but expected most of what he showed me tonight,” said Irving, who is the No. 2 ranked light heavyweight in the country. “I was able to land a lot of rights, upper cuts and shots to the body. I give myself a B+ for my effort but need to be in better punch shape and much more consistent by the time Golden Gloves draws near.”
Da’Juan Carlisle of Stow remained undefeated, winning his third consecutive fight after posting a unanimous decision over Downton Boxing Club’s Karl Hearn III at 140 pounds.
It was Hearn’s first loss after winning his first fight.
“I wasn’t used to fighting a southpaw,” Hearn said. “I felt like I won the first round, but the second and third rounds could have gone either way.”
Cleveland’s Akim Robinson (1-2) won for the first time in three tries as he defeated Mitch Crisp (1-1) of Monroe, Mich., by unanimous decision at 97 pounds in the first bout of the night.