2009 LUCKY GLOVES CLASSIC - ZANESVILLE -
Zanesville Sweeps In “Lucky Gloves”
The seventh annual “Lucky Gloves” classic boxing event closed Saturday night with Zanesville area boxers standing tall and undefeated. Eleven victories with close decisions and some stunning knockouts were the story of the night for the Zanesville PAL team.
Elgin Mitchell opened the show for the PAL team facing Roy Murphy of Lima’s famous Spyder’s Gym in the men’s light-welterweight division. Murphy was fast but Mitchell quickly established he was faster in what looked like a gunfight of jabs and counter punching that got the crowd into the match. After three rounds Mitchell left no doubt for a unanimous decision and his seventh victory remaining undefeated.
Rashaan “Ray-Ray” Johnson made his debut against Drew Sines of Columbus in the boy’s junior 75-pound division. The two opened up quickly and went ‘toe-to-toe’ for the whole first round and into the middle of the second. Johnson had the accuracy and stuck to straight punches that gave him the lead as Sines faded in the third. The eleven year old Johnson earned his first victory with a unanimous decision of the judges.
Austin Rogers met Chase Thompson of West Virginia in a lightweight intermediate bout. Another fast start made for a stunning battle with Thompson showing the speed and Rogers bringing around a thundering right hand that he seemed to land at will. Rogers made the power shots count and the judges counted the points for a unanimous decision for him.
Michael Norris stepped in with Kaleb Jackson of Dayton’s Prime-Performance Boxing team in light welterweight senior division action. Norris was battling Jackson and the onset of a cold which clearly made a problem with his air. Norris used his reach to maximum effectiveness and brought in a heavy straight punch that set up a quick end. In the third round Norris landed a perfect right and put Jackson down for the count for a TKO victory.
Trevor “T-MO” Mourer of Cambridge faced Devin Culverson of Spyder’s in Lima in an all-out war in the senior light heavyweight division. Both started off banging with Culverson getting the edge early landing shots so hard that Mourer was lifted off the floor several times. The second round saw a reversal as Culverson ran out of gas and Mourer kept on plowing in with his own power shots. Mourer poured it on and ended it there on a TKO. He is currently nationally ranked 5th by USA Junior Olympics.
Michael Roark met Quincy Jones of Spyder’s in Lima in the welterweight senior division. Jones went low hitting the taller Roark in the body while Roark used his reach and went for the head. The pair traded through two rounds and by the third Roark closed in landing uppercuts and hooks on the ducking Jones that forced the referee to stop it there for another Zanesville TKO victory.
Josh Newton made his debut in boxing against James King of Coshocton in men’s super heavyweight division. Both stuck to basics of jabs and punches making a technical contest of who was more accurate. Newton stuck to good combination punches late into the third and outscored King for a unanimous decision and his first victory.
Justin “Bear” Novaria closed the show in the feature bout matching Josh Farley of Coshocton in open men’s super heavyweight action. Novaria jumped into the lead behind some accurate fast combinations and settled in for the long haul of three-minute rounds. Farley was able to rally several times getting Novaria to the ropes and standing him up. Novaria was able to return the favor though and scored well into the third to take the match on a unanimous decision by judges.
Other Zanesville boxers that were matched won by walkover when their opponents failed to show up or were unable to compete. They were Travis “Roadrunner” Jerig, Jesse Dunlap and Jacob Luckett.
The show set attendance records at the Pine Street PAL facility and was sponsored by Pepsi, Domino’s Pizza, Mattingly Foods, Wendy’s, Ohio State PAL and Z-City Trophies & Awards.
Zanesville PAL is a non-profit organization with their mission to fight juvenile delinquency with educational, athletic and inspirational programs offered free of charge to area youth under eighteen. Their staff is all volunteer and operate on donations, grants and their own fund raising efforts locally. Current operating programs include Boxing, Wrestling, Youth Leadership Council, Karate, Scrapbooks and Summer Swim Program. Donations can be made directly to PAL, P.O. Box 1001, Zanesville, Ohio 43702-1001.
