Barrett edges Wiggins!
By Bill Luppert at ringside

Heavyweight contender Monte Barrett earned a 10 round split decision over Robert Wiggins Friday night at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT. Scores were 96-94 twice for Barrett and 97-93 for Wiggins. The fight was the main event on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights.

Barrett, who took the fight on only 4 days notice when former contender Ray Mercer pulled out with neck and back spasms, and escorted into the ring by former heavyweight champion, Hasim Rahman, seemed to do enough to win the fight on 2 of the judges scorecards. It wasn't an easy night however for Barrett, as Wiggins wasn't afraid to trade blows all around the ring.

Both fighters were able to land hard punches throughout the fight, although neither was hurt and there were no knockdowns. In the 3rd round, Barrett was able to land a left uppercut, left hook combo that got Wiggins attention and as the southpaw Wiggins came in at the orthodox Barrett, their feet entangled and Barrett fell to the canvas and was correctly ruled a slip. At the end of the round, both fighters clashed heads, and Barrett was in obvious pain.

As the fight continued into the 4th round, Barrett was obviously affected by the butt as it opened up and began streaming blood down the side of his face. Wiggins took advantage of Barrett's obvious discomfort and was able to land a solid 1-2 combination as well as a hard right hand later in the round. Twice in the round, as Barrett was making it obvious the cut was bothering him, the ref called timeout to let the ringside doctor examine the eye, and each time allowed the fight to continue.

As the fight wore on, the pace slowed down as each fighter appeared to be tiring. While the punches diminished, the bad intentions behind them did not. Wiggins seemed to have to get the better of Barrett toward the end of the fight, however, Barrett also was able to dishout his own power as well, often landing the left hook. Wiggins on the other hand was able to constantly land his right hooks and straight lefts.

In the 10th and final round, Barrett seemed content dancing around the ring, not allowing the shorter Wiggins inside to land his power shots and Barrett utilized his reach by going with the stick and move approach.

After the fight, Barrett said, "He was running as I was punching, but he's a really awkward fighter, but I needed to get the rust out anyway."

Wiggins was also short on words but straight to the point by saying, "I needed to stay busy, but I wasn't. The headbutt took us both out of the fight. It was a close fight, but I feel either I could have won, or it could have been scored a draw.

Barrett of Queens, NY improves to 28-2(15), while Wiggins of East Providence, RI, falls to 17-3-1(10).

Jr. middleweight Andre Tsurkan won a 6 round unanimous decision over veteran Charles Clark by scores of 60-54, and 59-55 twice. The fight from the very start was an all out brawl all over the ring, with Tsurkan getting the better of every exchange. While there were no knockdowns in the fight, each fighter seemed to be hit with everything but the kitchen sink. In the end though, it was Tsurkan who prevailed at the end of the fight, although Clark showed incredible heart, and guts as he was fighting on pure instinct by the end of the fight as the punches from Tsurkan showed their obvious effect. Tsurkan of Bronx, NY improves to 18-1(12), while Clark, of Baltimore, MD, drops to 14-15-1(5).

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Johnson-Judah in Draw!
 

By Peter M. Heintzelman at ringside

Zab Judah's younger brother, Daniel Judah, of Brooklyn, NY, fended off crowd favorite Glencoffee Johnson, of Baltimore, MD, to a controversial draw, after 10 rounds of light heavyweight boxing, with the judges scoring the bout 97-93 Judah, 97-93 Johnson, and 95-95.

It was a fight that lacked action, and had the crowd often booing at the combatants. Judah fended off most of Johnson's punches with his defense, however, often refused to counter Johnson instead just moving back. The crowd became more alive in the 6th round as both fighters hit each other during the break, and continued fighting after the bell. The final seconds of the bout were the best for Johnson as he landed a left, right, left that definitely caught Judah's attention.

In the locker rooms after the fights, the combatants said their peace to Fightnews.com: "People underestimate Johnson," said a frank Judah, "he was at his best, I couldn't get off on him. The punches I got off weren't as accurate as his, but I learned a lot from this fight ... to be honest, I thought I lost the fight, but you can bet I'll be ready for my next fight," said Judah.

Johnson concurred that Judah lost. "I'm very disappointed. I worked harder than the other guy. A blind man could see that I won that fight. Judah did tell me that I won the fight in the ring, and for that I have respect for him. But I don't have respect for those judges. I think those judges ripped off my family and keep setting me back. This is how I provide for my family, and I would like to see something done about this by the boxing commission."

His trainer, Mark Vaz, agreed, "that man (judge) should be held accountable by the boxing commission with a videotape of the fight reviewed, then show me how a draw could have occurred."

Glencoffe Johnson concluded, "The audience here and around the world who watched my fight tonight knew who won the fight. I would like to believe that the honest people in the world should give me the proper ranking I deserve, because I fight good fighters." Johnson goes to 38-9-1 (27), while Judah goes 17-0-2(7).

To the crowd's chants of "Salamone ... Salamone," Craig "The Gambler" Salamone, of Portland, CT, cruised to victory over Brockton, MA's Dan Sheehan, in a six round cruiserweight fight, scoring unanimous 60-54 cards from all three ringside judges. Salamone took advantage of his height and reach superiority, jabbing a defense against Sheehan who needed an inside fight.

For the better part of six rounds, Salamone fought a savvy cruiserweight fight, boxing his way to success, avoiding the brawl Sheehan intended to instigate. Salamone improves his record to 14-2-1 with 4 KO's, while Sheehan drops to 9-22, with 4 KO's.

Junior lightweights, Kennedy "King" McKinney battled with Greg Torres in six crowd pleasing energy-filled rounds, and when smoke cleared, Torres prevailed on cards reading 58-55, and 60-53 twice. Torres was effective with left hooks to the king's crown, which earned him respect from his majesty, who went down on one knee in the third, and ringside comments wafted over McKinney's lackluster performance. Kennedy McKinney's record falls to 36-6-1, 19 KO's, while Greg Torres returns to Ponce, Puerto Rico with a record bettered to 15-2, 7 KO's.

Another McKinney suffered defeat this evening as well. Heavyweight Dennis McKinney was overcome by the power of Vinny Maddalone after four rounds of bodyshots and right clocks by Maddalone that would have left a lesser opponent on the canvas. The look on McKinney's face after the second round, foreshadowed a man not likely to rise for the third round. Maddalone improved his record to 19-1-0, 13 KO's, while Dennis McKinney returns to Columbia, SC at 22-26-1, 12 KO's.

The scheduled bout between cruiserweights, Newton Kidd, of the Bronx, NY and Willie Broadie, of East Hartford, CT did not proceed reportedly due to inadequate or incomplete medical records for Broadie.

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