People don’t believe what you tell them. They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves. —Seth Godin
Ty Barnett: Not Built For Prison || Comedy Dynamics
Ty Barnett does not want to be found dead at a strip club Last night on Conan, Ty Barnett shared his tight five with us, as well as some tips on getting older.
Ty Barnett, Kevin Rivers Jr. Headline D.C. Boxing Show Tonight
by Gautham Nagesh
WASHINGTON, DC--After a brief hiatus, boxing returns to our nation's capital tonight at the serendipitously named Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest D.C. A slew of local prospects are scheduled to fight including Kevin Rivers Jr., Mike Reed, Renaldo Gaines, David "Day Day" Grayton and Danny Kelly.
Top Flight Productions will present the show, which will be headlined by Ty Barnett vs. Stephan Alexander (above) at a catchweight of 138 lbs. The last time we saw Barnett (right) was in August, when he fell short in the biggest fight of his career against Filipino lightweight contender Mercito Gesta. The inactivity could make Barnett susceptible early, especially since his beard hasn't always held up in recent fights.
The co-feature matches unbeaten local featherweight prospect Kevin Rivers against Rasool Shakoor, from my hometown Jackson, Michigan. Shakoor is 32 years old and apparently we overlapped at Jackson High School, though we didn't know each other. Shakoor has been boxing for 14 years and currently trains out of 5th Street Boxing in Michigan Center, which is run by trainer Bob Kerr.
Shakoor is trained by Butch Bertram, and both were pleasantly surprised to encounter a fellow Jackson native so far from home.
"He's a good fighter," Shakoor said of Rivers, referencing his opponent's "big amateur career."
"I never expect my fights to be easy," Shakoor added.
His plan is to "try to be smart, and not get caught up in the moment." He offered no predictions, perhaps appropriate for a fighter that has lost four straight since upsetting unbeaten prospect Kieyon Bussey in January 2010. His overall record stands at 3-11-1 (1 KO).
Rivers wasn't interested in knowing anything about his opponent, preferring instead to focus on himself. This is the youngster's first six-rounder in his eighth professional fight, but he got some good preparation by going four rounds with the tough Jason Rorie last month. That fight was eventually broadcast on Comcast Sports Network; Rivers said his first TV exposure got his fans very excited.
"Because I performed in a good fashion, they were even more enthusiastic," Rivers said of his supporters.
Rivers told me he's staying ready for when he gets that call for a real test against another prospect. He isn't worried about his first six-rounder, and credited Marcus Craig, his strength and conditioning coach at No Xcuse for keeping him prepared. Rivers said his routine is largely unchanged.
"It's the same training, just harder. We've got to step it up," Rivers said. Still, his "body is used to going rounds" from his days as a decorated amateur, and he doesn't anticipate any problems against Shakoor. Rivers weighed in near the featherweight limit at 126.6 lbs, while Shakoor was right on the catchweight of 128.
Unbeaten Waldorf, Md. prospect Mike Reed is chomping at the bit for his fight against DeMarcus Rogers after his fight last month was cancelled. Reed weighed in just below the catchweight of 144 lbs. for this bout, but previously told us he plans to eventually cut down to lightweight. Rogers is making his pro debut, which promises to be a short one.
"I'm feeling really good. I'm just ready to put in work," Reed told us. "I've been training for this fight for two months."
The card will also feature a strong presence from Headbangers, who are still the dons of the local boxing scene. Junior middleweight prospect David "Day Day" Grayton will look for its fifth stoppage in as many fights against Jamaal Davis of Lynchburg, Va. Davis lost his only pro fight, but weighed in almost five pounds heavier than Grayton (158.4 vs 153.8 lbs.).
Davis' extra weight might have been partially due to the fact he wore his long johns on the scale. To his credit, Grayton didn't seem concerned. We expect another stoppage, perhaps in the second round. Grayton's gym-mate Danny Kelly is scheduled to continue his journey at heavyweight against Rayshawn Myers, but Myers hadn't shown up at the weigh-in by the time we left. For the record, Kelly looked svelte on the scales at 234.4 lbs.
Another Headbangers product, Antonio Magruder, will make his professional debut against Alan Beeman of Providence. Magruder is 21 years old and has been boxing since he was 12. He's spent the past five years at Headbangers under the tutelage of head trainer Barry Hunter and his colleagues, Jamie and Patrice Harris. Magruder won the Junior Olympics and Silver Gloves in the 119-lb weight class, but plans to fight at junior lightweight (130 lbs.) in the pro ranks.
Magruder described himself as a boxer-puncher and unsurprisingly looks up to the Peterson brothers. He was less impressed by Beeman, whose last two fights were both losses at the same venue to Rivers and Renaldo Gaines last year.
"He's fat," Magruder said of Beeman, who weighed in at 142.6 lbs. Antonio weighed in at a ready 137.8 lbs., and predicted a bodyshot to his opponent's soft midsection would end the fight in the second round.
Also making his pro debut on the card is Monrico Goldson, a middleweight from Salisbury, Md. Goldson weighed in at 162.2 lbs. for his bout against fellow debutante Darryl Fields, who weighed in at 160.8 lbs. Local lightweight Renaldo Gaines will look for his fifth win in six fights against Anthony Smith II. Both weighed in a shade over 133 lbs.
Barnett is acting as the face of this show, but the promoter of record is April Hairston. Matchmaker is Brian Dillon. First bell is scheduled for 7 p.m., so if you're there by 7:30, you should be good. Tickets are available at the Convention Center; hopefully we'll see you there.
WASHINGTON, D.C.--It's been a rough month for boxing in the nation's capital.
Most of the momentum gained in recent months appears to have been squandered, after a series of unfortunate events connected to December's Khan-Peterson fight. That night's big winner Lamont Peterson is facing intense scrutiny and possible suspension after testing positive for a banned substance, which forced the cancellation of the rematch scheduled for Saturday.
In addition, Amir Khan's promoter Golden Boy has pulled out of a scheduled June 30th card at the Verizon Center, reportedly still smarting after some hometown officiating helped Peterson upset the British 140-lb titlist. Finally, NoVa junior middleweight and crowd favorite Jimmy Lange injured his leg in training, forcing the postponement of the June 23rd card at the Patriot Center headlined by Lange vs Tony Jeter.
Harrison's team formerly billed him as the youngest professional fighter in America, but the almost-18-year-old Dusty doesn't need gimmicks to enhance his marketability. The Beltway Boricua is just a nice kid that can really fight, who happens to have grown up in a town that loves the Sweet Science. Harrison's appearance on the posters last Saturday night helped draw a healthy number of fans, many of whom left after he obliterated Joey Ortega with a series of right hands in the second round. Dusty scored a knockdown early and was simply too much for Ortega, a professional tomato with a record of 3 wins against 22 losses.
This win doesn't say much about Dusty, but he looks like he could have the goods. The plan is to bring him along slowly and keep him very busy, fighting 6-8 times both this year and next. Eventually Harrison will run into another prospect or a grizzled veteran with something left, and that's when we'll find out how good he is. Until then, it looks like a growing number of DMV locals will be spending the summer tracking his progress in person.
Barnett is a fighter I'm less familiar with, but his record shows he's gotten close to where Dusty eventually hopes to be. At 29, Barnett appears to have enjoyed a nice run of knockouts while climbing the ladder, before getting stopped himself twice in a span of four fights. In between, he secured the best win of his career against Tyrese Hendrix, but Barnett has shown he lacks the beard to contend. That didn't seem to matter to the large crowd on hand at the Convention Center, most of whom were there to cheer Barnett against Robert DaLuz.
Barnett's last two opponents have had a combined record of 22-74-5, so you can imagine what took place. DaLuz was noticeable smaller in the ring and easily bullied by Barnett, who took control immediately. Barnett scored a knockdown with two hard body shots in the second round, but failed to press his advantage. A few rounds of toying with the game DaLuz came next, culminating in another knockdown in the 7th. DaLuz valiantly stood up to the onslaught, but eventually another right hand hurt him badly and forced the ref to step in.
Barnett did as he was expected, delighting his fans in the process. That will likely be the formula for the rest of the year, as his handler truck in opponents to serve their purpose without posing too much danger. Barnett could potentially make another run at the top, but perhaps accepting his role as a ham-and-egger would be wiser for his long-term health. Few fighters at his level are currently positioned as consistent box office attractions in major American cities.
I missed local welterweight Dillon Hayman's professional debut (TKO-1 over Mike Arnold) but arrived in time to see local featherweight Shadeed Floyd win his first fight by stopping TayShawn Autry in the opening round. Floyd hurt Autry with an overhand right before trapping him against the ropes, where a barrage of body shots forced the ref to step in after just 54 seconds. We'll be keeping an eye on Floyd, who won the regional Golden Gloves title in 2010 and is trained by local legend Darryll Tyson at Langdon Boxing Center.
Next up came a junior lightweight matchup between Renaldo Gaines of District Heights, Md. and debutante James Young of North Carolina. Most fighters from the Carolinas are brought in to lose, but no one told Young that before his first pro fight. He fought well, catching Gaines in the second, and probably could have earned a draw in a more neutral setting. Instead, a late barrage by Gaines helped him bring home the fourth round and end any doubt. The judges scored it for the hometown fighter 39-37 (twice) and 40-36, the latter card a clear case of home cooking.
Local junior middleweight Harold "Sweet Lee" Parker made his long-awaited debut by stopping of fellow debutante Marcus Bess of South Carolina. Parker was an amateur star roughly ten years ago before getting side-tracked from his ring career. A strong body attack forced Bess to capitulate in third of four scheduled rounds.
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