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Once again, Ken Lakusta and Independence Big Bang Boxing have demonstrated their ability to put together an exciting and balanced fight card, with Rumblefest II at Edmonton's Mayfield Inn Trade Centre.
Although the Jan. 22 six-card boxing match was one card shy of a full deck, the five bouts that did go provided boxing fans with their money's worth. Headlining Rumblefest II was Native Fisherman Troy Roberts from Campbell River, B.C., versus Edmonton's Patrick Graham.
"I'm looking forward to fighting Tom Glesby," said the 240 pound Roberts. (Glesby is the reigning Canadian heavyweight champion).
Roberts missed many of his punches but, when he did land the,, Graham, who weighed in at 218 pounds, knew he was in a battle. The Edmonton fighter entered the bout aggressively, but could not withstand the punching power of the man from Vancouver Island. In the second round, he was already tired, unbalanced and punched out, with a cut eye and bloody nose.
In the third round, Roberts caught Graham with two solid lefts that rocked him so badly that trainer Lakusta threw in the towel at 1:12. The win improved Roberts' record to 14-2 while Graham's fell to 6-2.
The opener in the card saw Edmonton's "Rockin" Ron Pasek defeat Jawed Mukhamad of Toronto in the middleweight division. Next, Winnipeg's Martin Separatist took a close decision over Edmonton's Red Sukero in the super middleweight class. Another Toronto fighter, Philip Udofe, drew with Edmontonian Andrew Poulos.
Probably the most thrilling match-up of the evening was the lightweight scrap between 16-year-old sensation Mario Lechowski and Winnipeger David Horvath. Inexperience saw Lechowski lose in the second round. Nevertheless, former Canadian Heavyweight champion George Chuvalo bubbled with enthusiasm over the kid's abilities and heart.
"I like him," exclaimed an impressed Chuvalo. "Great fight, fantastic fight!"
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