Nutmeg State Fighters

[a87star]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Believe it or not, I scored that 96-95 (I think) for Byant. But it was too close to call. Bryant pitter-pattered all night while Clay-Bey threw sporadic bombs. Tough to score, but I think there may have been a tad of home town favoritism going on. Bryant was boring to watch though - 'One Man Riot' indeed.

Bryant has never really impressed me anyway. He is not really agressive unless his opponent gets hurt and for that to happen you must have a really bad chin like Taurus Sykes has. If Clay Bey does stick around for a few more years, he'll be a gatekeeper/trial horse.

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by a87star

If Clay Bey does stick around for a few more years, he'll be a gatekeeper/trial horse.

If he sticks around for a few more rounds, that's what he'll be.

[CONN CHRIS]

Will dug this up for me:

Originally Posted by CES release

Below and attached please find weights for tomorrow night's "Night of the Rising Stars" in Hartford. Also find quotes from today's final press conference.

Bob Trieger
Full Court Press


WEIGHTS FROM HARTFORD
("Night of the Rising Stars")

Matt Godfrey 199 lbs.
vs.
Danny Batchelder 192 ½ lbs.

Matt Remillard 127 ½ lbs.
vs.
Jose Hernandez 127 ½ lbs

Jason Estrada 251 lbs.
vs.
Maurice Wheeler (late replacement, weigh in tomorrow)

Israel Cardona 147 lbs.
vs.
Shaka Moore 143 lbs.

Mike Oliver 123 ½ lbs.
vs.
Oscar De La Cruz (weigh in tomorrow)

Tony Grano 214 lbs.
vs.
Mike Miller 255 lbs.

Enrique Palau 159 lbs.
vs.
James North 164 lbs.

PRESSER QUOTES

Dan Batchelder: "It's good to be fighting back East, back home. Matt's a good fighter and we're going to give you guys your money's worth."

Matt Godfrey: "I want to thank Batchelder's camp for taking the fight. I have less than half the fights he has and he's taking a risk. It's a big fight for me. I trained as hard as possible for this fight. He's in incredible shape, I'm in incredible shape and we're going to put on a good show."

Jason Estrada: "I hope this guy will put up a fight. You'll see tomorrow night why guys keep pulling out against me. I'm ready. I was in camp for a while and I'm in the best shape of my boxing career. I have to thank Bruce Blair (strength and conditioning coach)."

Mike Oliver: "I feel like I'm back in the amateurs up here with Matt (Godfrey), Jason (Estrada) and Matt (Remillard). I'm ready to fight. I'm going to knockout this kid, probably in the second round. I'm ready for him."

Tony Grano: "I'm looking forward to fighting tomorrow night. I'm excited. I know he's a tough opponent. I'm dedicating tomorrow's fight to a good friend I lost, Tim Hazelton."

Mike Miller: "I'm not much of a talker. I'm happy to be fighting."

Matt Remillard: "I want to thank the WBC for giving me this opportunity to fight for a title (WBC Youth). I'm in great shape, I know Jose's in great spade. Two undefeated fighters are putting their records on the line. It's going to be a war."

Looking forward to fun night!

[CONN CHRIS]

Just got back and need to hit the sack. Matt won but shouldn't have. There were two embarrassingly bad decisions. More later.

Here is Jackie Kallen with some fat computer boxing geek.

[CONN CHRIS]

A few more photos from the fights last night before I have to head out:

Here is a view of the ring in the CT Convention Center, which seats approximately 4,000 if you want to add the venue. This was the first boxing card held there and I hope more will be coming. It was a good facility.

[CONN CHRIS]

Mike Oliver who won rather impressively.

[CONN CHRIS]

Former New England WW champion Milton Leaks (boxrec #000838)

Photo moved

[CONN CHRIS]

Mike Oliver's opponent who lost but was tough as nails.

Oscar De La Cruz (boxrec #175807)

Photo moved

[CONN CHRIS]

Judge George W. Smith

Photo moved

[CONN CHRIS]

My photography skills were non-existent but I'll post what ever else I can salvage later today.

[Romultiltus]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

A few more photos from the fights last night before I have to head out:

Here is a view of the ring in the CT Convention Center, which seats approximately 4,000 if you want to add the venue. This was the first boxing card held there and I hope more will be coming. It was a good facility.

Cool Pic Chis. I also liked the Convention Center as a boxing venue, but next time I'll try and show up earlier. It took forever to get in because of the long lines waiting to get through the metal detectors. For some reason they don't want weapons of any kind inside the facility. I managed to watch 2 jackasses get arrested by Hartford PD for screaming obscenities during the the first couple of rounds of Godfrey/Batchelter. I'm sure you heard them from across the room. I left during round 3 and there seemed to be quite a few others leaving en masse as well.

As posted below, there was a paid attendance of 2412, but I did see a few empty seats. I'm not sure if the venue could fit 4000, more like 2500 to 3000. Also I thought the pricing was a little too steep (but I guess someone has to pay for the extra staff to run the metal detectors)

Godfrey outpoints Batchelder!
Saturday, September 23 2006
By Scott Ploof and Peter Mark Heintzelman at ringside

Before 2,412 at the the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut, cruiserweight Matt Godfrey (13-0, 7 KOs) outpointed Danny Batchelder (24-3-1) over twelve rounds two unify two minor WBC belts (Continental Americas and USNBC). Godfrey did just enough to win the majority of the rounds against an opponent who kept his hands down most the way. Scores were 116-113, 116-112, 118-111. Matt "Sharp Shooter" Remillard (11-0, 7KO's) was victorious in the biggest fight of his young career scoring a ten round unanimous decision over a very game Jose Hernandez to capture the WBC Youth super featherweight strap. Scores of the bout were 96-94 twice and 98-92.
Lightweight Israel "Pito" Cardona outlasted Shaka Moore in a scheduled 6 Round welterweight attraction, which ended when Moore quit after three rounds.
2004 U.S. Olympian, Jason Estrada (7-0, 1KO) remained undefeated by scoring an eight round unanimous decision over late-sub Maurice Wheeler (10-8-1, 1KO). All three judges scored the bout 80-72. The victory for Estrada now sets the stage for his upcoming November 17th fight on ShoBox against the undefeated Travis Walker (21-0-1, 17KO's).
Enrique "El Palo" Palau, of Worcester, MA bettered his record to an undefeated 4-0, 4 KO's with a resounding beating of James North, of Westen, West Virginia. Palau dominated the 4 round bout, coming out ahead by unanimous decision (40-35).
Hartford's own Mike Oliver (16-0, 7KO's), the USBO super bantamweight title holder, delivered a very dominating performance in his six round fight, knocking down his opponent, Oscar De La Cruz (4-4, 2KO's) twice in the contest to score a 60-52 unanimous decision on all three judges scorecards.
Heavyweights Tony Grano , of Hebron, CT, a former U.S. Championship Heavyweight Gold Medalist, and Mike Miller, scheduled for four rounds, only made it into the 2nd round, when Grano pummelled Miller into a TKO loss, with referee, Johnny Callas, calling it quits at 2:54.

[CONN CHRIS]

Dave:

Will and I were going back-and-forth all night as to the seating capacity; 2,500-3,000 does sound more like it.

Great night. Oliver was better than I expected. Too bad that he hasn't got a little more pop.

Remillard didn't have the power that we have come to expect but showed that he doesn't have an ounce of quit in him. I don't think he won that fight though. It wasn't even really debatable in my opinion. Oh well, so goes boxing.

Estrada and Godfrey were awful. Batchelder was robbed just like Remillard's opponent was.

[IceTea]

Estrada and Godfrey were awful. Batchelder was robbed just like Remillard's opponent was.

* Estrada better get his stuff together. He has to face Travis Walker next. Is Estrada a bum or did he just have a bad night?

MJ

[Romultiltus]

Enrique "El Polo" Palau W-U4 James North
Palau easily dominated North. The fight should have been stopped in the 1st as Palau constantly pounded away on the cornered North against the ropes. Referee John Callas seems to be very reluctant to pull the trigger and stop fights. North really could have been hurt. After the 1st, Palau seemed pretty happy to just pound away until the final bell.

Tony Grano W-TKO2 Mike Miller
Grano was clearly the aggressor and got the crowd cheering against Miller, an opponent who outweighed him easily by 30 lbs. Although Grano was impressive, he's a bit too small (214lbs) to really make a mark in the HW division. He should probably trim down to CW.

Mike Oliver W-U6 Oscar De La Cruz
The most obvious thing about Oliver is that he is very fast. It just seems that he is hesistant to put guys away when he should. I thought he should have poured it on after a very strong 1st, but let De La Cruz hang around. After withstanding the initial fluries from Oliver, De La Cruz turned out to be a tough little fighter. (BTW, De La Cruz's last fight was a TKO-4 loss to Matt Remillard 2 months ago. He came into the fight 6 1/2 lbs lighter and maybe lost some power, but also allowed him to handle Oliver's punches better). Oliver is definitely impressive though.

Israel "Pito" Cardona W-TKO3 Shakha Moore
This was only Pito's 2nd fight back after a 3 1/2 year layoff and there's still a bit of rust to be shed off. This fight had quite a bit of action, but most of it was Moore seeing how fast he could circle the ring clockwise. There were a few good exchanges and in Rnd 2, I noticed that Moore shake his hand after landing a punch near the end of the round. He came out and tried to put a effort in Rnd 3, but it was clear that he couldn't slug it out w/ Pito. Moore retired in his corner at the end of Rnd 3 and I'm guessing that his hand was injured and could not continue.

Jason "Big Six" Estrada W-U8 Maurice Wheeler
Yeah "Big Six" won, but I think he should "Deep Six" his boxing career. Here is another example of a big 250lb man who can't punch. Against trial horse Wheeler [10-8-1 (1)], I had the feeling that this one would go the distance - and it did. Two fat guys that couldn't hurt each other. Estrada is set to go to California in November to fight Travis Walker [21-0-1 (17)]. This should be a career defining KO loss to send Estrada home looking for a new profession.

Matt Remillard U10 Jose Hernandez
I've been hearing quite a bit about Remillard from the other CT natives and thought he was going to put on a spectacular performance. What he showed was a spectacular chin and heart, but not the power I was expecting. Maybe Hernandez was just the wrong style of fighter or just physically too big for him. Hernandez had a clear height and reach advantage Remillard. Hernandez was an explosive body puncher who seemed to throw nothing but wide haymakers, although Remillard is fast and seems to have an impressive body attack as well. Also Remillard left his left side open too much and took far too many clean shots to his left eye. He's very lucky it didn't swell up and close. The ONLY reason Remillard won was a very biased hometown decision. One judge actually scored 98-92 for Remillard which was obsurd. Don't get me wrong, Remillard is definitely and impressive prospect, but he clearly lost the fight. It's sad to say that one of the best, action filled fights I've seen this year also turned out to be one of the worst decisions as well.

Matt Godfrey W-U12 Danny Batchelder
I left after the 3rd round (it was getting late and my step-father had to get up early for work in the morning), so I really don't have much to say about this fight except that from what I saw, it was boring. Batchelder was clearly the aggressor, but I had the suspicion that the officials were going to "job" him no matter what he did. Some drunk Batchelder fans were screaming obscenities from a few rows behind me and that seemed to get more attention than the fight. Two of them then almost got into a fight with a Godfrey fan and the Hartford Police Department arrested them. (I guess the metal detectors were not a bad idea after all)

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by IceTea

Estrada better get his stuff together. He has to face Travis Walker next. Is Estrada a bum or did he just have a bad night?
MJ

* He's not good. He gets blasted by Walker. This guy was an Olympian? Every time I see him, he just flat out sucks. He got some lame 80-72, 79-71 decision in which I thought he lost maybe even 3-4 rounds.

* Chris tried to take a pic of a ring card girl for you. It didn't work out. It's too bad, they were from the Gold Club, a local TnA joint.

* Remillard: "It was a lot easier than we though it was going to be. We made a game plan and did it to perfection."
Ummmmmmmmm, ok.

* Mike Oliver had the best night of anyone I'd say. Watch him move and he just looks like a boxer. He's wicked fast and really slick, he all the moves, gets in and out, defensively rolls the shoulders and moves his head.

I don't think this was known too long before the fight . . . maybe to keep commission from finding out too far in advance? But Oliver weighed 123 and Cruz 139. Mike-Mike isn't a big hitter (16-0, 7 KO) though he did floor him twice but that weight may have had something to do with his his inability to end it by KO.

* Upcoming:
Mike Oliver vs. Adam Carrera, Oct. 28 at Mohegan Sun, for the vacant NABF Jr. Feather title.
Remillard: According to KAllen last night Matt will fight at the convention center if they do another card there or Mohegan in early Dec.

* The crowd was good, right around capacity. I thought it was bigger, but when a promoter says 2,400, I guess it's not much more than that. Still, I'd have to think they'd try again after that success. I might be a CES convert after all!

Edit: Typos

[a87star]

Looks like despite the fact Estrada and Godfrey are grossly overrated, they got biased hometown decisions. Walker will kill "Big Six". That massacre will be over in the first few rounds. I figured Remillard would be in for a rough fight against Hernandez. I think he needs to pick up more experience against guys from the Southwest and/or Mexico.

[CONN CHRIS]

Excellent recap Dave. I agree with everything that you and Will said.

As for Oliver, he reminds me of the classic descriptions of the artful prize ring era fighters. Slick hit-and-get-away style, countering in retreat. A real pleasure to watch.

Remillard-Hernandez was a flat-out slug fest and well worth the price of admission. While I thought Hernadez was the clear winner, a Remillard decision (but not 98-92) was at least remotely plausible. Godfrey's decision was not even plausible. Batchelder was the aggressor throughout and Godfrey only had flashes of being in a fight. We stuck it out to the bitter end and heard the boos when the decision was read. I doubt Godfrey even thought he really won that bout.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by Thunder

* Chris tried to take a pic of a ring card girl for you. It didn't work out. It's too bad, they were from the Gold Club, a local TnA joint.

Man do I owe everyone an apology on this front. Will even talked one of the girls into posing with the ring card for us. She complied and the knucklehead with the camera couldn't get it straight.

This is the best I could do after about 15 attempts.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by IceTea

Estrada and Godfrey were awful. Batchelder was robbed just like Remillard's opponent was.

* Estrada better get his stuff together. He has to face Travis Walker next. Is Estrada a bum or did he just have a bad night?

MJ

At this juncture, I would have to vote bum. This dude that he fought was a stiff who signed on to the card the day prior. Estrada could not hurt or get away from him.

[CONN CHRIS]

Moochie was there too, sitting right in front of Dave's seats.