Jerig and Roark Win At Dragon’s Event
DAYTON- Zanesville best amateur boxers performed their best Friday night before an estimated three thousand spectators. Fourteen bouts of some of the best Olympic hopefuls in the country made the card on a special event hosted by the Dayton Dragons and Prime Performance Boxing.
Travis “Roadrunner” Jerig battled Andres Valdez of Indianapolis in the lightweight intermediate division. Valdez had game and hit Jerig with a few shots down the middle but chose to make most of his attack from the outside. Jerig’s defense was almost flawless and he made his points off of some wicked left hooks and a surgical jab that scored cleanly and gave Jerig the edge on the scorecards.
The victory evened the score between the two having met at the regional Junior Olympics in Illinois in May when Valdez won a split decision over Jerig. The Zanesville PAL standout added the win to his streak of five as he heads to the U.S. National PAL Tournament in Texas October 3.
Michael “Mighty-Mo” Roark left his Junior Olympic status behind making his debut in the open men’s division after turning seventeen recently. He stepped in with Angel Blancas, a twenty-four year old from Wisconsin giving up age and about twelve pounds of weight.
Roark’s first round saw Blancas trying to get a quick win by knockout with huge punches that Roark was able to knock down. “Mighty-Mo” came roaring back overcoming a first round injury of his left elbow with his own power shots from his right. Stacking more punches with his quick feet made the call for the judges easy with a unanimous decision for Roark.
The event was at the Fifth Third Field in downtown Dayton and was huge showcasing the standing boxing team from the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University at Marquette. All competitors were by special request to showcase upcoming talents for the Olympic teams in 2012 and 2016.
Travis Jerig has 66 bouts with 5 national championships already to his credits. He is fourteen and attends Zanesville High School where he is an “A” student. He has boxed for five years.
Michael Roark has 30 bouts with 4 national championships and was ranked fifth nationally in junior Olympics in 2010. The seventeen year old now attends Mideast Vocational School and is an outstanding student in the Power Lineman technology. He has been in boxing for over four years.
