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(JAN 2) CHESTER, WV - (Fight date: Oct. 30)
Since this was my first time to cover a local boxing card here at The
Harv at Mountaineer, I was not familiar with the local fight scene, but
from what I seen here on this card, I must admit that the tri-state area
has a lot of talented boxers, with the performance from the following
bouts:
The first bout of the evening was a 4-round match in the heavyweight
division, between Devon Vargas (219.5), from Toledo, Ohio, and Ed Perry
(218.5), out of Lafayette, Indiana. Vargas, a member of the 2004 Olympic
team, was the winner by a controversial majority decision. On two
judge’s scorecards, the flabby-looking Vargas lead 40-36 and 39-37, but
the other judge saw it, as I did, as a draw. With the win, Vargas
advances his record to 8-0, with four KOs, while Perry drops to 6-2-1,
with three by KO.
The second bout showcased local Pittsburgh middleweight, Joe Wyatt
(151), from Oakland against journeyman, Roland Commings (154.5), from
nearby Youngstown, Ohio, scheduled for eight rounds, but Wyatt easily
handled Commings, winning by a TKO at 2:21 of round 3, when the referee
stopped the contest, upon the advice of the attending physician, after
Commings sustained a cut. With the victory, Wyatt advances his
undefeated record to 23-0, with 15 wins coming by KO. The journeyman
Commings drops to 22-25-3, with 10 by KO.
The Third bout: Women's
Boxing bout - Perella vs. Blair
The fourth bout was a heavyweight match, scheduled for eight rounds,
between another local Pittsburgh favorite, Brian Minto (212), from
Butler, and another seasoned journeyman, Troy Weida, from Kewanee,
Illinois. Minto’s punching power was too much for Weida, when Minto
tagged him with a few good right hands, putting Weida in a daze by the
end of round 2. As a result, Weida could not answer the bell for round
3. With the win, Minto advances to a record of 23-1, with 14 by KO.
Weida drops to 44-21-2, with 31 by KO.
The fifth bout was another heavyweight match, pitting 2004 Olympian
Nicolai Firtha (241), from Akron, Ohio, against a lighter Jeff Yeoman
(217), another Hoosier, from Lafayette, Indiana, and scheduled for six
rounds, but Yeoman was no match for the taller Firtha. Yeoman took one
of his many kneel downs throughout the first 4 rounds, at 1:30 of the
fourth, when the referee stopped the contest. With the win, Firtha
advances to 9-1-1, with 5 by KO. Yeoman drops to 19-5, with 8 by KO.
The main event of the evening was a championship match, featuring a
really impressive local Pittsburgh featherweight, Monty Meza-Clay (130),
from Rankin, a Pittsburgh suburb, against formidable southpaw Shamir
Reyes (130), from Brooklyn, New York, fighting for the WBO Super
Featherweight Title, scheduled for 12 rounds. The Rankin native, a
distant relative of Muhammad Ali, entered the ring with an entourage
that included Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Casey Hampton and linebacker
Joey Porter.
Meza-Clay took an early lead over the first four rounds, but ran into
trouble at the end of the fourth, when Reyes tagged him with a straight
right that cut Meza-Clay just above his right eye, but Meza-Clay’s
corner took great care of the cut, while he battled throughout the next
three rounds. In the eighth, Meza-Clay took command of the fight again
and never relinquished it, when he pummeled Reyes with a series of four
and five-punch flurries, winning by a unanimous decision, scoring
116-112 on two judges’ scorecards and by a closer 115-113 score from the
other judge. With the victory, and the WBO Super Featherweight belt, now
around his waist, Meza-Clay advances his undefeated record to 19-0, with
12 wins by KO. The game Reyes drops to 18-5-2, with 7 wins by KO.
With this action-packed card, many kudos and thanks goes out to all
those that put this card together, including promoter Greg Nixon, as
well as the very gracious folks at Mountaineer, but especially Tamara
Cronin, from the press office.
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in 2014 - Now Free to Public!