(FEB 20) Once again, the ladies stole
the show in Houston. On a card chock full of one-sided quick bouts,
Kita Watkins and Michele Nielsen engaged in a back and forth battle
which kept everyone on their seats edge from bell to bell. The
unfortunate part is that a mere four two minute rounds couldn't
possibly decide a clear cut winner.
Arkansas native Watkins had previously engaged in a spirited four
round battle with Houston trained and New Orleans native Tiffany
Junot while Houston's Nielsen was coming off a competitive showdown
with cross-town rival Crystal Delgado.
The bout opened with the younger and more active Watkins showing a
higher punch output and controlling the majority of the first round
until Nielsen's strong body attack stemmed the tide and changed the
momentum Watkins had built. Michelle carried the plan into the
second round, controlling the action often bullying Watkins to the
ropes and unloading her close range arsenal. The infighting produced
a bloody stream coming from Nielsen's nose.
As the bout looked to be headed towards a down and dirty brawl,
Watkins never wilted, utilizing her superior conditioning and
athleticism to create range and unload straight shots on her forward
charging foe. The final round was perhaps the closest of the fight,
illustrating each warrior's desire for the victory.
In a fair world, this bout could only be decided a draw, but a 3-1
decision either way could be validly argued. In the end, one judge
saw it 2-2, and the other two decided it 3-1 for Watkins resulting
in a Majority Decision. Watkins improves to 5-5 while Nielsen now
stands at 8-5-1.
Clearly, these two women needed more time to decide who was better,
and most definitely the fans in attendance deserved to see more of
two fighters leaving everything in the ring in order to achieve
victory. Eight minutes is hardly enough for veterans of 10+ bouts to
show everything they are capable of doing. Perhaps three minute
rounds would have provided more clarity to the result. Any rematch
between these ladies must be extended to six or eight rounds. After
all, with the female boxers providing the best action on the card,
why not give the fans as much of it as possible.
ALL RESULTS OF CARD
Results from the Stafford Centre, Stafford, Texas
K-Rich Promotions
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Light Middleweights - 8 rounds
Lanardo Tyner (22-3, 13 KOs) of Houston, TX over Taronze
Washington (13-12, 7 KOs) of Dallas, TX by Unanimous Decision
scored 80-71 by Robertson, 79-72 by Phillips, and 78-73 by
Russell. Washington was deducted 1 point in round 6 by referee
Ralston for holding.
Light Middleweights - 6 rounds
Calvin Green (21-4-1, 13 KOs) of Baytown, TX over Adrian Redmond
(4-7-1, 3 KOs) of Turnersburg, NC by Technical Knockout at 2:33
of the 1st round.
Women’s Lightweights - 4 rounds
Kita Watkins (5-5, 1 KO) of Camden, AR over Michele Nielsen
(8-5-1, 2 KOs) of Houston, TX by Majority Decision scored 38-38
by Russell, and 39-37 by Phillips and Robertson.
Cruiserweights - 4 rounds
Medzhid Bektemirov (2-0, 2 KOs) of Houston, TX over Gabrial
Hayes (2-3, 1 KO) of Texarkana, AR by Technical Knockout at 0:55
of the 1st round.
Welterweights - 4 rounds
Jimmy Guzman (3-0, 2 KOs) of Houston, TX over Breuntre Miller
(3-3, 3 KOs) of Texarkana, TX by Technical Knockout at 2:04 of
the 1st round.
Heavyweights - 4 rounds
LaDerrick Miller (1-0, 1 KO) of Houston, TX over John Little,
369 lbs., (0-2) of Texarkana, TX by Technical Knockout at 0:54
of the 1st round.
Matchmaker
Reggie McGowan
Referees
Gary Simons & Ronnie Ralston
Judges
Randy Russell, David Robertson, & Charles Phillips
