It was a great night of fights tonight in Chicago, with Dominic Pesoli's "Windy City Fight Night 9" in town. Chicago's fight fans were treated to a heavyweight display from their Italian-American son, Mike Mollo. Mollo's resume includes names like Andrew Golota and Jameel McCline, and wins over Kevin McBride and Art Binkowski.
Tonight, Mollo's opponent was Billy Zumbrun, who has also fought his share of marquee heavies in his day. Zumbrun would have to wait to get even a small bit of success, because the early rounds all went to the jabbing tenacity of a re-dedicated, re-focused Mollo. His jab simply couldn't miss, jerking Zumbrun's head back repeatedly for the first five rounds of this eight-round affair.
Tonight, Mollo's opponent was Billy Zumbrun, who has also fought his share of marquee heavies in his day. Zumbrun would have to wait to get even a small bit of success, because the early rounds all went to the jabbing tenacity of a re-dedicated, re-focused Mollo. His jab simply couldn't miss, jerking Zumbrun's head back repeatedly for the first five rounds of this eight-round affair.
Zumbrun somehow remained upright after the Mollo body attacks in rounds 4 and 5 to come on strong, himself, in the final three rounds, making the judging even more interesting. Judges scored the heated contest 79-73 (twice) and 78-74 for a unanimous win for Mike Mollo, improving his professional record to 20-3 with 12 KO's.
The co-main event tonight was a cruiserweight battle between Jason Robinson and Harvey Jolley, which saw both men hit the canvas in a fight that got the UIC Pavilion crowd on their feet. When it was all said and done, the accuracy and overall toughness of Robinson earned him a unanimous nod from the judges, with scores 59-54 and 58-54 (twice). This improves Robinson's professional record to 18-5 with 11 KO's.
Tonight's "Windy City Fight Night 9" undercard also featured some up and coming talent. Chicago heavyweight David "Diesel" Latoria defeated Tim Back at 2:24 of the first round by knocking him down from a solid right hand to the temple. Back's shoulder "went out" due to the fall, prompting him to signal the referee that he was unable to continue. This improves the very popular Latoria's professional record to 5-0 with 3 KO's to his credit. Chicago fight fans will be pleased to learn that they'll be able to see Latoria fight again on May 29th, also at the UIC Pavilion, to a yet-undetermined opponent.
Featherweight William Hernandez used his physical gifts to completely dominate Quincy Johnson in essentially every way while being granted unanimous 40-36 scorecards from the judges. With this win over the game but overmatched Johnson, Hernandez (only 19 years old) improves his professional record to 3-0. We'll be watching this young future star to see where he pops up next.
Heavyweight Krzysztof Zimnoch improves to 2-0 with 2 KO's after stopping rugged Dustin Hendrick at the 0:40 mark of the opening round.
Junior welterweight Adrian Granados improved to 4-1 by pummelling the body of William Ware, sending Ware to the canvas four times, including twice in the first round. The body attack of Granados is sure to be a tried-and-true weapon in the division for years to come, as he stopped Ware for good at 1:12 of the second round.
Sergio Cristobal scored a hard-fought, albeit unanimous decision victory over Deboe Thomas, prompting some question marks from the crowds, who felt Thomas had possibly done enough to at least score a draw. Facts being facts, Cristobal was bloodied and staggered by the end of the fourth and final round, but his pro record improves to 2-1 with this victory.
Heavyweight Maurice Harris opened the night with a raucous unanimous victory over 7-foot-tall Julius "Towering Inferno" Long, whose 90-inch reach endorses his last name. Long had his moments, but was deducted 2 points (bite attempt and an elbow strike). Harris definitely didn't have an easy night with the much taller Long, but he got the decision he deserved, which were 59-53 (all three judges agreed). This improves Harris's record to 22-14.
Bolo Punch would like to thank Mr. Dominic Pesoli and Mr. Bernie Bahrmasel for issuing the credentials for covering this event. Ringside report written by Chris Guzman. Ringside photography by Emil Kegebein. Images available at http://www.legupphotos.com/.
