ESPN Breezes Into Chicago For Some Boxing

Andrzej Fonfara has a chance to elevate his career this Friday (photo by ME!)

Boxers don’t start their careers in glory. Most debut at a small, hometown arena and spend the next few years fighting a collection of stiffs as they learn and improve. Even Floyd Mayweather’s first fight was at the nondescript Texas Station Casino in Nevada against someone named Roberto Apodaca whose career lasted all of four fights. It would be two years before “Money” fought for a title and he had an advantage coming from a prominent boxing family.

At some point in every talented boxer’s career there is chance for them to make the jump from back-bar hero to nationally recognized fighter. Local favorite Andrzej Fonfara has a chance to make that leap. This Friday, at the UIC Pavilion, he will take on former IBF Light Heavyweight Champion Glen Johnson in the headline match for ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. A night of fighting that 8 Count Productions is rightfully calling “Crossroads”.

Fonfara has built a loyal following in Chicago over his six-year career. The 24-year-old Warsaw native has lived and fought in the Windy City since he was 18 and has racked up a 21-2 record during that time.  His last nine fights have all ended with him battering his opponents into submission which explains the boisterous following he has in this city.

However, this isn’t the lanky fighter’s first brush with national exposure. After winning 10 of his first 11 professional fights he appeared on Friday Night Fights in 2008 and suffered a brutal second round TKO at the hands of Derrick Findley.  Despite the knockout it appeared his career was backon track as he won his next two fights to set up a match against Skyler Thompson for the vacant WBF United States super middle weight title.  Fonfara won the fight, but had the title stripped when he tested positive for a banned substance.

Since then, “The Polish Prince” has moved up in weight (from 160 to about 175) and steadily put his career back together with a string of dominant victories over increasingly better opponents. His opponent on Friday, Glen Johnson, presents a significant step up in competition. Johnson has fought everyone and everywhere truly earning his “Road Warrior” nickname. At 43 he might not be the same fighter who beat Roy Jones, Jr. (back in 2004 when beating Jones actually meant something) Johnson is still in a better class than anyone Fonfara has fought since Findley.

The Jamaican native proved that last June when he took one of the best super middleweights in the business, Carl Froch, the distance. An old boxing adage is that “styles make fights” and Johnson’s style is to be aggressive and try to outwork his opponents. Fonfara would be smart to move around the ring and work the body of his much older foe, but that’s not what he does. Like Johnson, he prefers to attack and trade shots in the middle of the ring.  While it might not be the smartest plan of attack it will at least make for an entertaining fight.

Fonfara at 6’2” is a tall fighter with long arms and a long midsection. He’ll present an inviting target for Johnson who is at his best when he is able to land his jab to the chest and follow it up with a powerful overhand right.  It was a combination that he was able to employ with success against Froch, who like Fonfara, likes to keep his hands low.

It will be in Fonfara’s best interest to keep Johnson at a distance by using his jab and trying to extend the bout as long as possible and hope that the older fighter tires in the late round. The “Polish Prince” does have deceptive power for a boxer as lean as he is and that could play a factor in the fight as well. If he lands some big shots early, it might dissuade Johnson from pressing forward.  If the fight is fought at a distance, Fonfara should have the advantage.

Should the local boy do well and beat his older opponent it could be a springboard for launching into the national scene at the light heavyweight/super middleweight level. Boxers who are successful on Friday Night Fights tend to find themselves on undercards for cable network fights which could then lead to undercards on Pay-Per-View fights and then onto true notoriety and title fights.  It has been a long time since a Chicago-based fighter has achieved national prominence in the boxing world. With a victory on Friday, Andrzej Fonfara could begin a journey to end that drought.

Also appearing on the card will be Jose Luis Castillo who will be taking on Ivan Popoca. Other matches will feature Elijah McCall (son of former heavyweight champion Oliver McCall), local favorite Jamie Herrera, as well as up-and-coming prospect Paul Littleton. Tickets are available at the UIC Pavalion box office as well as through TicketMaster. The night of boxing is brought on by 8 Count Productions, Warriors Boxing, Round 3 and Blue Wave Boxing.

Mike Lee - Pitchman or Puncher?

Mike Lee is arguably Chicago’s most recognized boxer.  Not so much for his work in the ring, but for his appearance in a nationally televised commercial.  He’s the guy in the Ryan Howard/Justin Strahan Subway commercial that has people saying, “Who the hell is Mike Lee and why is he in this commercial?”

The answer is that Mike Lee is an up-and-coming light-heavyweight that has nine professional matches under his belt (all of them wins) and a taste for turkey subs from the ubiquitous sandwich chain. His role as a spokesman for Subway probably has more to do with his Notre Dame connections more than his proficiency of pugilistic acumen. Lee, who had 16 amateur bouts before turning pro, graduated from Notre Dame as did Subway’s Chief Marketing Office, Tony Pace.

While Lee has some notoriety due to the commercials he still needs to prove himself in the ring.  Being in the Top Rank stable can help him build on that popularity since it would be easy for them to put him on some of the pay-per-view fights that the promotion company puts together.  Most popular boxers rose to fame on those types of undercards.

Before that happens, Lee has to start facing some more competent fighters in the ring. Scrolling through his fight history doesn’t exactly elicit a “who’s who” of light-heavyweight contenders. Seven of the nine fighters he’s faced have losing records including three guys who hadn’t won a fight when they faced him. I understand bringing a fighter along slowly, especially one who doesn’t have an extensive amateur career, but due to his popularity (especially in Chicago) one has to wonder if Top Rank will rush the 24-year-old along.

I didn’t want to paint him with the “all flash, no substance” brush before actually seeing him fight, so I tuned in to ESPN3 Friday Night to watch him take on Eliseo Durazo in a six-round contest (there was some discrepancy on how long the fight was supposed to be. Top Rank had promoted it as a four-rounder, but the Las Vegas commission had sanctioned it for six. This led to the amusing situation of Durazo heading to his corner after the fourth round thinking the fight was over).

Lee put in a winning performance as he took five of the six rounds on all three judges’ scorecards (as well as mine), but he didn’t score the highlight reel knockout.  To my eye it looked almost as if he was in a training session. It was as if trainer Ronnie Shields told his fighter to go out and work on his jab, which was crisp, and his defense, which was a bit spotty.

Durazo was a willing, if slightly fleshy, competitor who had taken the fight on only five days notice after Lee’s scheduled opponent, Isiah Barela, withdrew due to an injury.  El Negro’s game plan seemed to center around walking forward and hitting Lee’s body as much as possible with little concern for using his jab.  Lee did a good job of deflecting most of the punches with his elbows, but enough got through that I wondered how he would have fared against a fighter with a little more power.

While Lee was clearly the boxer with better stamina and mobility in the ring, he was willing to stand still and take punches from slower-footed opponent. As he matures that’s a trait he hopefully gets away from.  After all, it’s always better to slip a punch then take it or block it. With a little better footwork he can also get himself into positions to throw more effective punches.

In close Lee had a tendency to lean over and keep his chin exposed, a chin that Durazo tagged with an upper cut on at least two occasions. Luckily for the Subway aficionado there wasn’t much power behind the punches.

On offense Lee did a good job snapping off his jab and working a hook off of it. It was kind of surprising that Lee didn’t work the body more, especially with how soft Durazo looked in the ring. Lee did land several decent punches through the match and looked to have Durazo hurt in the second when the Mexican fighter backpedaled rapidly after absorbing a few punches from the Wheaton native. However, Lee was content to let him back up and didn’t keep the pressure on his rotund opponent.

He didn’t show game-changing power that elite boxers usually possess. Again, it’s possible that he wasn’t interested in raining down power shots on Durazo, choosing instead to get some live ring work in. When Lee did throw punches he was on balance and able to string some combinations together including some three and four punch combos.

At this point in his career Mike Lee is still a bit of a raw product in the ring. It will be interesting to see how Top Rank brings the24-year-old along. His ability should keep him away from the top-tier boxers for the next few fights, but his name recognition might provoke them to reach above his current skill set for a bigger payday.

If they asked me (and they won’t) I would point out that he hasn’t fought in Chicago since his pro debut at the UIC Pavilion. Perhaps the future could include a Friday Night Fights in the Windy City against some of the local talent that is on the way up. Maybe the powers that be could arrange a Mike Lee vs. Andrzej Fonfara match-up for sometime in the fall? They shouldn’t have any trouble at all selling that one out. Fonfara’s willful aggression would be a good test for Lee’s defense and chin.

After watching one boxing match I’m not ready to crown him as Chicago’s best boxer yet, but at the same time I’m not going to write him off as nothing but hype. With the win I’m sure he’s also kept his name and face in Subway commercials a little bit longer.

Recap Windy City Fight Night 22

The air outside the UIC Pavilion rumbled with thunder and lightning as the building on the outskirts of downtown Chicago played host to Windy City Fight Nights 22, an 8 Count Productions event cosponsored by ESP, INC. The big draw for the night’s fights was undoubtedly Andrezj Fonfara, the Polish titleholder with the large fan base.

Let’s take a look at how the fights went.

Raeese Aleem (1-0-0, 1 KO) vs. DeWayne Wisdom (2-2-0, 1 KO)

The opening match of the night featured a couple of featherweights who didn’t mind mixing it up a bit. Aleem, in his second pro fight, was the aggressor during the entire match often landing three punches to everyone that Wisdom did.  “The Beast” also dominated the ring, spending most of the match pushing Wisdom (who took the match on only two days notice) against the ropes and into the corner. 

It wasn’t close on the scorecards as Aleem won by unanimous decision with all three judges’ scorecards reading 40-36. Personally I had Wisdom winning the third round when Aleem seemed to take a break and Wisdom was able to land three lunging power rights.  In the end the decision went to the boxer who landed more punches rather than the one who landed bigger punches.

Clifford McPherson (2-7-1, 1 KO) vs. Chad McKinney (Debut)

McKinney, a Chicago-based fighter, was making his debut in this contest, and he made it a memorable one.  For four rounds he beguiled his opponent by switching from a southpaw to an orthodox stance. Throughout the four rounds, McPherson’s corner exhorted their fighter to use his right hook more to and to pressure the less-experienced fighter.  Even though the opening for the right hook was there (McKinney kept his left low no matter what style he was fighting in) McPherson never threw it and wasn’t really able to mount any offense at all.

Chad McKinney lands a jab on Clifford McPherson as Ref Dave Smith looks on

By the fourth round McKinney was landing punches at will and walked away with a unanimous decision in his debut by sweeping all founds on the judges’ scorecards.

Adan Ortiz (Debut) vs. Ricky Lacefield (0-3-0)

Another Chicago fighter fighting in his first professional fight, Ortiz didn’t need four rounds to pick up his first win. Lacefield had shook off a couple of big punches earlier in the round, indicating that Ortiz couldn’t hurt him, however the fighter out of Lincoln, Nebraska ended up taking a knee at the 2:44 mark of the first and wasn’t able to answer referee Dave Smith’s ten-count and Ortiz had his knockout.

The punch that did the damage was a left hand that staggered Lacefield who dropped to his knees after Ortiz followed up with a glancing right hand.

Paul Littleton (2-0-0, 2 KOs) vs. Guy Packer (4-35-2, 1KO)

Following a 10-minute intermission the boxing resumed with up-and-coming Paul Littleton faced off against the experienced Guy Packer.  Packer had more than 40 professional fights coming into Friday night. Unfortunately for his career he lost 35 of them.

Littleton, coming off a first-round knock out last month, is building a fan base in Chicago and was clearly the better fighter. He won the first round by patiently waiting for his chances and landing solid punches when they presented themselves.  In the second round he would land a solid left to Packer’s gut that would end the fight at the 1:17 mark.  With cheers of “Paulie, Paulie” reigning down from the crowd the ref stopped the it and Littleton had the third win of his career.

Andrzej Fonfara (20-2-1, 11 Kos) vs. Byron Mitchell (29-9-1, (22 KOs)

For the USBO Light Heavyweight Championship

This was the main event of the evening, even if it wasn’t the last fight of the night.  Fonfara has a tremendously vocal following in Chicago, especially among its Polish population.  Mitchell, although on the downside of his career at the age of 38 was no slouch as he could claim two WBA Super Middleweight titles on his resume.

The crowd was in full voice during the playing of the Polish national anthem and during the introductions.  Rhythmic cries of “An-DRE FON-FAR-A” reigned down as the fighters were announced.

Once the bell rang, Fonfara didn’t disappoint his faithful followers.  He overwhelmed his elder opponent early and often. After the first three minute were up Mitchell would find himself on the canvas twice courtesy of powerful combinations from The Polish Prince.

Fonfara lands one of the numerous powershots he threw against Byron Mitchell

The second round was more of the same as Fonfara proved to be the quicker and stronger fighter.  He was able to work the body and the head, landing his punches at will against Mitchell.  The former champ tried to mount a bit of a rally and was able to land a few shots against Fonfara, but it wasn’t enough. With two rounds finished the only question remaining was how quickly Fonfara could finish his business.

In the end it would be Mitchell’s corner that decided their fighter had had enough.  After Mitchell weathered a minute of Fonfara’s combinations to start the third round they would throw the towel in.  When referee Celestino Ruiz didn’t see it (he was watching Mitchell hit the canvas) the downed fighter’s trainer would actually step into the ring to make his intentions known.  At the 1:03 mark Ruiz called a halt to the fight and Fonfara had his ninth straight victory, all of them by TKO or KO.

It’s an important time in 24-year-old’s career. He has won those 9 fights since having to forfeit a TKO against Skyler Thompson in 2009. However, his competition hasn’t been the top of the class. Nor has he traveled to take on opponent as 8 of the 9 fight have been at the UIC Pavillan.

If he wants to contend against the top light heavyweights like Antonio Tarver, Chad Dawson or the ageless Bernard Hopkins he’s going to have leave the Windy City and fight in hostile territory.  Does he have the talent to complete on that level?  That’s to be determined, but he has displayed the hand-speed and the power to be competitive.

His defense is still a little shaky.  Despite being outclassed for the entire fight, Mitchell was still able to find holes in the Polish fighter’s armor.  He just couldn’t take advantage of it.  Fonfara does look a more comfortable fighting at 175lbs then he did at the 160lb. weight that he fought at earlier in his career.  The added weight does let him absorb big punches easier.

It’s no secret that the Mitchell fight was a test.  If Fonfara had struggled against the former champ his chances of finding the big paydays on ESPN or on HBO and Showtime undercards would have dried up. Now that he has done what he has had to do it will be interesting to see who his next opponent (and where the location) will be.

Viktor Polyakov (11-0-0, 6 KOs) vs. Derrick Findley (18-7-0, 11 KO’s)

For the USBO Middleweight Championship

The final fight of the night (and billed as the co-main event) featured another fighter rebuilding his career in Polyakov and the last man to beat Fonfara in the ring in Findley.  After the raucous event that was the prior fight the Polyakov/Findley contest was a rather tame affair.

With the subdued crowd seemingly mildly interested in the outcome the two boxers traded punches for 10 rounds.  Polyakov was a hair faster on the exchanges allowing him to frustrate his more experienced opponent.  Findley, known for his power left hook never found the chance to land it and experienced his only success when he doubled up his right hook.

Unfortunately, Findley did not discover that combination until late in the 10^th round and by then Polyakov was well on his way to a unanimous decision. Both fighters were evenly matched and despite landing fairly solid punches throughout the match neither showed signs of being hurt. Two judges scored the fight 99-91 for Polyakov while the third had it a bit closer at 96-94. I had the Ukrainian winning 97-93 on my unofficial card.  According to Findley’s promoter there was a rematch clause in the fight contract and it will be interesting to see if Findley invokes it as he was visibly upset with the decision after the fight.

It was another entertaining night of fighting for Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions.  Check into their website to see when their next event will be held.