Unbeaten Chris ‘The Irish Ghost’ Fitzpatrick headlines ‘Undisputed’ with dominating UD victory
COLUMBIA – Chris Fitzpatrick’s seventh professional opponent brought his mouth and plenty of taunts into the ring, but it was “The Irish Ghost” who brought the heat.

Headlining his first professional fight card for Palmetto Boxing Promotions in Columbia on Saturday night at the Radisson, Fitzpatrick put on a boxing clinic for six dominating rounds in earning a unanimous decision victory over former amateur rival Torrence King.

Fitzpatrick (7-0) stuck to his corner’s game plan – consistent work and constant pressure while looking for openings for his power shots – and utilized superior footwork and movement to position King wherever he wanted in the ring, pushing him back into the ropes with an accurate jab before punishing him to the body with damaging hooks.

If anything, Fitzpatrick had to withhold some of his aggression and desire to brawl in order to maintain his concentration. As King, (2-3) fighting out of Akron, Ohio, kept talking and taunting, the sold out home crowd kept spurring the Columbia fighter to seek the knockout.

But that wasn’t part of Fitzpatrick’s fight plan, even though he was able to drop King in the third round after a smart hybrid left upper cut caught his former amateur rival flush.

“I definitely wanted to do it (knock King out), but my coach kept that in my mind about staying with the plan so that’s what we did,” Fitzpatrick, a middleweight, said. “He wanted me to go out there and box and look for my spots (for power) so that’s what I did.”

Fitzpatrick’s trainer, Dom Robinson, said he knew King was not a likely knockout candidate.

“He’s a durable guy and he took some shots, but that’s what we wanted for Chris, a tough, durable guy,” said Robinson of King. “We knew this was a guy who we probably weren’t going to knock out, so I wanted Chris to box him and he did an excellent job of that.”

King rarely threw punches in combination as he retreated for much of the fight.

In the first five rounds, he seemed to be content with laying on the ropes, seemingly hoping that Fitzpatrick would tire later in the fight. But while “The Irish Ghost” did see his work rate decline a bit in rounds four and five, King was only able to take advantage in spots.

And while those punches were able to bruise and swell the area just below Fitzpatrick’s left eye a bit, for the majority of the fight it was the home fighter’s footwork and angles that lived up to his ghostly moniker – leaving the Akron fighter with very little to target or hit.

“He couldn’t hit me because I was moving too much for him and he couldn’t see anything to land,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was a great crowd tonight, these are beautiful fight fans.”

Robinson said Fitzpatrick would be back in the gym on Monday.

“Chris has a lot of potential so we’re going to stay in the gym and stay ready to fight,” he said. “We’ll keep working and start looking for something else.”

“There’s no slacking off in the gym,” added Fitzpatrick.

Two other South Carolina fighters also put on stirring shows for the home crowd.
Noted amateur fighter Jared “The Quiet Storm” Robinson, of Sumter, made his professional debut in spectacular fashion with a knockout of Shaun Piles of North Carolina just 14 seconds into the fight, while female fighter Angel “Non-Stop” Gladney of Columbia made her opponent from Arkansas quit on her stool after just a single round of action.

While his opponent was slinging wild punches from every possible angle immediately after the opening bell, Robinson instead calculated his distance and unloaded a left hook that exploded on Piles’ chin, knocking him cold and rolling his eyes back even before his body slammed into the canvas. Piles remained down for several minutes recovering from the blow, but he would eventually rise to his feet and be declared okay.

Gladney, meanwhile, spent her round forcing Nikita McCargo into the corner and pounding her with various shots. She then stood and implored her opponent to keep fighting, which McCargo was not inclined to do, earning plenty of boos from the pro-Gladney crowd.

In the first bout of the evening’s 11 fights to eclipse the first round, 135-pound South Carolinians Darryl “Rampage” Watson and Jonathan “2 Gunz” Hernandez put on three rounds of steady action with Hernandez earning his first professional victory after Watson’s corner threw in the towel following a pair of knockdowns.

Hernandez saw his consistent work to the body – though several shots did drift below the belt line, for which referee Mark Campbell docked him one point – pay off in the final round of the fight. As he caused damage to the body, opportunities for offense opened upstairs as well and Hernandez connected with well-timed power shots to drop Watson twice.

And after the second knockdown, Watson’s corner had seen enough.

FIGHT NIGHT NOTES: Torrence King, for all of his pre-fight talk and aggressive body language before and during Saturday night’s main event (even choosing to fight minus his trunks, a set of faux fur pelts which referee Mark Campbell made him remove due to excessive shedding on the ring canvas) brought very little action where it counted, in the ring with his fists … Jared Robinson’s dramatic KO of Shaun Piles will have fans clamoring for tickets to his next fight … Aiken’s own Paul Williams, who is currently in talks for a future bout with either middleweight king Kelly Pavlik, or Pavlik’s lone conqueror, legend Bernard Hopkins, was on hand and signing autographs for the fans … boxing twins “Tremendous” Travis Simms and Thomas Simms were also on hand and made a special appearance for the capacity crowd … Virginia-based middleweight Jeremiah Wiggins cast an imposing physical figure, and he has Paul Williams trainer George Peterson in his corner helping out his longtime trainer Gloria Peek … All five of the featured fighters from New York were in terrific shape and won their fights in convincing fashion – MR

FIGHT NIGHT RECAP

Promotion: “Undisputed”
Promoter: Palmetto Boxing Promotions
Location: The Radisson on Bush River Rd. in Columbia, S.C.

Fight 11 – Chris “The Irish Ghost” Fitzpatrick (7-0) def. Torrence King (2-3) – UD6

Middleweight (165 lbs), Comments: Fitzpatrick established his superior technical skill and dedication to clean body punching early in the fight, positioning King for action when and where he liked. Fitzpatrick stung King with a hard jab late in the opening round, which only brought a torrent of words back from King, who continued to carry his verbal attack into the second round, another round dominated by work from Fitzpatrick. The constant body work began to show as King was visibly fatigued in the third round. Fitzpatrick worked in close and launched a hybrid left upper cut that caught King on the chin, wobbling him. Sensing vulnerability, Fitzpatrick pressed the attack and sent King down to a roar of approval from the crowd. The Columbia fighter continued that work in the fourth, buzzing King with a stiff jab while continuing the body assault. King kept up with the reserved game plan in the fifth, and Fitzpatrick carried the round easily with his higher work rate. In the sixth and final round, King seemed to come out of his defensive shell and finally press home his own attack. The strategy worked somewhat, as he was able to land more significant punches (even knocking out Fitzpatrick’s mouthpiece at one point) than at any other point in the fight, but it was far too little and too late as he needed a knockout to win. That did not come close to happening and Fitzpatrick cruised to his seventh consecutive victory.

Fight 10 – Broderick “King Scorpion” Antoine (9-6) def. Andre Baker (15-11) – UD8

Middleweight (150 lbs), Comments: Easily the most tactical fight of the card, Baker circled as Antoine stalked in the opening round. Baker landed the harder shots (especially a right and left late in the round) to take the opening frame of action. Antoine began to establish his jab more in the second round, following them with combinations. Baker’s corner wanted him to set and shoot with combinations of his own, but he’s not able to do so effectively. Antoine’s confidence continued to grow in the third as he realized that Baker could be boxed into a corner and nailed with combinations. Baker rebounded with several hard shots in taking the fifth round. Antoine continued to bore straight in, but Baker could not hurt him or back him off for long. Antoine won the sixth with more effective punches and aggression. Baker finally countered with a combination that scored, but he immediately retreated back to his defensive posture. An evenly matched round followed in the seventh, with more domination from Antoine in the eighth round as “King Scorpion” earned the unanimous decision win.

Fight 9 – Stephon Scott (1-0) def. William Armestead (2-8) – UD4

Middleweight (150 lbs), Comments: Scott, a New Yorker making his professional debut, couldn’t have dominated his opponent much more than he did on Saturday night, knocking him down twice in the opening round and leaving him bruised, battered, beaten and bleeding after four rounds of work. Scott did show some inexperience with several low blows in the fight that allowed Armestead to gather himself, and he began to tire greatly after the second round. Armestead did survive to see the end of the fight on his feet, but not by much, and only then by lunging and grabbing hold of Scott and holding on for dear life for most of the fight.

Fight 8 – Jared “The Quiet Storm” Robinson (1-0) def. Shaun Piles (0-2) – KO1

Welterweight (140 lbs), Comments: It would have been difficult for Robinson, a decorated amateur fighter, to have scripted a better ending for his first professional fight had he been allowed to do so. He remained calm as his opponent swung for the fences and when the opportunity presented itself 14 seconds into the bout he launched a left hook that blasted Piles to the canvas.

Fight 7 – Mike “Baby-faced Beast” Faragon (7-0) def. Jerry Pressley (0-1) – TKO1

Welterweight (140 lbs), Comments: Faragon, fighting at 14 pounds, appeared to be in top physical condition as he applied effective pressure, movement and a hard right hand in removing his overmatched opponent from the equation via TKO at 2:08 in the first round. Faragon barely broke a sweat in the fight, but he showed sufficient skill that Palmetto State fight fans would love to see more.

Fight 6 – Angel “Non-Stop” Gladney (4-0) def. Nikita McCargo (0-1) – TKO1

Lightweight (130 lbs), Comments: A clearly intimidated McCargo seemed to want no part of going extended rounds with the quick-fisted and aggressive Gladney, who established a frenetic pace to the fight in the bout’s opening moments. Gladney was disappointed (as was the full house) that the fight didn’t go any further, but McCargo felt she had seen enough and chose not to continue.

Fight 5 – Jeremiah “Bounty Hunter” Wiggins (5-0) def. Linwood Harris (0-3) – KO2

Middleweight (160 lbs), Comments: Wiggins, an imposing physical specimen fighting out of Virginia, perhaps got more than he figured from the winless Harris, as the North Carolinian made it clear in the opening round that he came to fight and not simply to be an opponent. Wiggins popped his jab, but Harris hooked his way back into the round before a solid right hand at the bell carried the round for Wiggins. Wiggins picked up the pace in the second round and dropped a fading Harris with a beautiful, perfectly timed left upper cut followed by a powerful left hook that sent him to the floor for a KO at 1:55 of the second.

Fight 4 – Jonathan “2 Gunz” Hernandez (1-0) def. Darryl “Rampage” Watson (1-6)

Lightweight (135 lbs), Comments: In perhaps the most spirited sustained action of the evening, Watson and Hernandez agreed to do battle in the center of the ring o the delight of the fight crowd. Hernandez showed steady discipline and sharp training as he never allowed Watson to trap him on the ropes, Watson, on the flip side, was pinned on the ropes at several points in the fight, periods during which Hernandez let his “2 Gunz” go to great effect. Hernandez dominated the second round with aggressive work to the body, but some of those shots drifted South, eventually requiring referee Mark Campbell to deduct a point from him in the third round. The deduction, however, would play no part in the outcome of the bout as Hernandez placed Watson on the canvas two times before Watson’s corner threw in the towel. Watson was as game as they come in welcoming the back-and-forth action, but his deficiency on the defensive side of the ledger cost him a better shot at remaining in the fight.

Fight 3 – Jonathan Cuba (1-0) def. Cedrick “Bongo” Felps – KO1

Welterweight (140 lbs), Comments: Cuba provided the night’s first highlight-reel type action when he blasted Felps out of the fight with a powerful left hand just :23 seconds into the first round. Cuba would likely have boxed some more, but Felps (both men were making their professional debuts) was reckless and careless in sticking his chin out at Cuba and taunting him. Cuba let Felps get away with it a couple of times before turning his lights out and flipping the crowd into a frenzy with the lightning-fast left hand.

Fight 2 – Brian “Iron Man” Miller (5-0-3) def. Markel “Razor” Muhammed (5-3) – KO1

Welterweight (140 lbs), Comments: Miller, another in-shape New York boxer fighting an overmatched opponent, did what he was supposed to in getting Muhammed out of there with three knockdowns inside of the opening round. By the 1:40 mark it was over.

Fight 1 – Rajiv Bhattachary (2-0) def. Elijah Harris (1-1) – KO1

Welterweight (140 lbs), Comments: Harris answered the bell with wide-swinging punches that Bhattachary easily blocked or slipped for the most part. Bhattachary sized up Harris throughout the first minute of the round before going to work in the second minute, dropping Harris three times with a hard kidney shot and a pair of smacking jabs before the end finally came at 1:52 of the first.

FIGHTERS FIGHT FANS WILL WANT TO SEE AGAIN – Chris “The Irish Ghost” Fitzpatrick, Jared “Quiet Storm” Robinson, Mike “Baby-faced Beast” Faragon, Angel “Non-Stop” Gladney, Jeremiah “Bounty Hunter” Wiggins, Jonathan “2 Gunz” Hernandez, Jonathan Cuba and Brian “Iron Man” Miller.