Yakama Nation Legends Casino Resort, Toppenish, WA……June 25, 2005
Not all the great fights are on TV. The best matches are not always between stars with household names. Once in a while two big hearted kids on an undercard bring good skills and enormous desire to demand the very best from each other. Last Saturday night in the high clear air of the Yakama Nation, some 2500 fans were privileged to see one of those rare and wonderful wars.
It was a light heavyweight six rounder between Luis Lopez, 173 lbs (now 6-5) of Pasco, WA and formerly undefeated Marcus Pernell, 173 lbs (now 9-1) of Portland, OR. Pernell is the step-son of former lightweight great, Ray Lampkin. Lopez is the son of Jim “Cobra” Lopez. Both fathers were in the corners. It was Lopez attacking to the body and Pernell fast and heavy-handed from the outside. The pace was hot from bell to bell, the battle was tooth and claw all the way and the crowd roared to its feet after every
round.
Pernell hit the deck briefly in the fifth but came out on fire in the sixth. By the final bell there were tears on the faces of some tough cornermen. There were tears in the standiing, cheering audience. It wasn’t sadness. One ringsider said, “It was a crying shame to have either of them lose. It was beautiful.” The unanimous decision went to Lopez—57-56,58-55, and 60-54.
In other bouts on this card:
In a main event scheduled for 12 rounds for the Global
Boxing Union Americas lightweight title: Rafael Ortiz,
135 lbs (now 12-5-1, 12 KO’s) of Lebanon, OR stopped
Michaelangelo Lynks, 135 lbs (now 8-4-2) of Los
Angeles, CA at 2:54 of the fifth round. Ortiz, the
puncher, had boxer Lynks down in the third and taking
unanswered head-shots in the fifth when referee Jim
Ericksen called the halt.
Women, 6 rounds: World Featherweight champ Kelsey
Jeffries, 123 1/2 lbs of Gilroy, CA stepped in for her
second non-title fight in less than two weeks. Her
opponent was banger Kimberly Colbert, 125 1/2 lbs, of
Atlanta, GA. Colbert didn’t make the contract weight
of 125, so she chose to forfeit 20% of her purse to
Jeffries up front. Colbert still managed to make a
fight of it. Two judges called it 60-54 and one saw it
as 60-55, all for Jeffries.
In a super middleweight four, Alan Medina, 165 lbs (now 1-5) of Aurora, Colorado won a split decision over Jacob Ruffin, 165 lbs of Post Falls, ID who was making his pro debut. Two judges called it 39-37 for Medina. The other judge saw it as 39-37 for Ruffin.
A four round Jr. welter encounter had promising Jason
Davis, 143 lbs, of Vancouver, WA winning his pro debut
with a unanimous decision over Nalo Neal, 143 lbs,
(now 3-5-1) of Seattle, WA.
A heavyweight bout scheduled for 5 rounds ended early
when Roosevelt Parker, 257 lbs, (now 2-4-1) of Denver,
CO failed to answer the bell for the third round. Bridger Bercier, 230 lbs ( Now 3-2, 3 KO’s) of Great Falls, MT won the official TKO in the third.
A scheduled four round Jr Welterweight match ended
when Alejandro Lozono, 139 lbs, (Now 1-4) of Seattle,
WA stopped Matt Blake, 139 lbs (Now 0-2) of Billings,
MT at :46 of the Second round.
Promoter: Ringside Ticket, Inc.
Regulation: Yakama Nation Tribal Boxing Commission
Executive Director: Bruce Anderson
Referees: Jim Erickson, Jeff Macaluso
Judges: Greg baker, Jim Howard, Denis Ryan, Tom Sporar
Ringside Physician: Dr. John Denker, M.D.