(JAN 13) ST. LOUIS – In an action-packed
battle for the vacant NABF flyweight title, hometown favorite Hollie
“Hot
Stuff” Dunaway of St. Louis won a unanimous 10-round
decision over Sharon Gaines of Las Vegas at the Viking
Conference Center on Friday night.
Referee Mike England goes
over last minute rules with Sharon Gaines (left) and Hollie "Hotstuff"
Dunaway (right) as their trainers listen in before the Main Event at
the Viking Hotel in St. Louis on Friday night.
Early in the match, not
only was Gaines on the attack, she was very aggressive and scored
repeated punches but it was not enough against Dunaway's experience
and strong right hand.
Scores were 98-92 by judges Barbara
Madison and Crystal
Wright, and 96-94 by Marty Bickle. This reporter’s
scorecard agreed with Bickle.
The bout was a give-and-take affair, with Gaines the
aggressor the majority of the time as Dunaway
counterpunched and occasionally changed things up with
a quick attack before reverting. Gaines bobbed and
wove in a frenetic way that kept Dunaway from mounting
a consistent offense or taking control of the tempo.
Dunaway connects with one of her
many right hand blows.
Both fighters were in outstanding
condition, and neither could hurt the other. Both landed some hard
shots, but neither was seriously marked at the bout’s conclusion. It
was a cleanly fought contest, with referee Mike England only warning
Gaines once for a low blow.
Nearly every round unfolded in the same fashion as
Gaines, who fell to 11-9, came out and pressed the
action while Dunaway, now 21-6, countered and made
short forward flurries before returning to form.
Gaines raised her hands in triumph at the end of the
fight, and seemed genuinely stunned by the result. The
few Gaines supporters in the vastly pro-Dunaway crowd
were upset by Dunaway’s margin of victory.
Dunaway, the former WIBC, WIBA and GBU minimumweight champion,
bounced back from a unanimous decision September loss to Carina
Moreno for the WBC minimumweight crown. It was a fight where she
felt the scores were too widely in favor of the more aggressive
hometown Moreno.
Dunaway appeared to be strong and confident at the
112-pound weight Friday.
The eight-bout card was put on by Rumble Time
Promotions, and the women’s championship bout was the
main event.
* * *
In other results:
* Welterweight Tim “Irish Pride” Connors (7-1), a St.
Louis favorite, KO’d Cory Mayfield (0-3) of Monroe
City, Mo., in 1:55.
* Junior welter Tye Chapman (1-0) of St. Louis knocked
out Thomas Staten (0-2) of Indianapolis in 1:30.
* Walter Foster (2-0) of St. Louis thumped Mahir Ziga
(0-1) of Lincoln, Neb., in 1:26 at light-heavyweight.
* Ryan Coyne (7-0) of St. Louis took a unanimous
decision from Leo Pla (3-2) of Kansas City over six
rounds at cruiserweight.
* Marvin “Much too Much” Cordova (17-0-1) of Las Vegas
won a unanimous decision over veteran Roberto
Valenzuela (20-38-2) Agua Prieta, Mexico, in a
welterweight six-round semifinal.
* St. Louis fighter Kevin “The Hitman” Engle (13-0)
needed only a minute to knock out Andy Utterback (3-8)
of Hannibal, Mo.
*Alexis "Hurricane" Hloros (1-2-2) of Mt. Clemens,
Mich., and Chris Tyler (2-2-1) battled to a six-round
majority draw at welterweight.
BYLINES on photos: By Jim Compton
Worldwide
