By Craig Wick at ringside
In the ballyhooed lead-up to the CBS Sports Network televised “Rosemont Rumble: Going for 20-0,” the only thing left unsaid was the manner in which undefeated light heavyweight contender Mike Lee (20-0, 11 KOs) would dispose of his opponent, Aaron Quattrocchi (10-2-1, 5 KOs), in their scheduled 10-round contest. The fact that Quattrocchi was hand-picked for the momentous occasion was of little concern to the legion of Lee fans that filled the ‘Dome at the Ballpark’ in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, IL, Friday night. And true to form, “Mendoza Mike,” as in Notre Dame’s College of Business, picked up his 20th win and perhaps propelled himself into a big money fight as a result.
Now for the bout’s highlights: A passive Quattrocchi down twice from right hands to the chin and stopped at 2:32 from a follow-up Lee flurry. There you have it!
Chicago’s Tommy “White Lightning” Hughes remained unbeaten after clobbering Joshua Kuhn (1-2-1, 1 KO) Madison, WV into submission in the final round of a scheduled light heavyweight four. Everything in the Hughes arsenal worked in this one yet Kuhn, who absorbed an eye-popping number of flush shots, bravely pressed forward despite being outgunned on every front. After absorbing a huge right hand early in round four, referee Celestino Ruiz mercifully halted matters at the 30 second mark. With the win, Hughes improves to 4-0, 3 KOs.
In a heavyweight encounter, Taylor Deurr (5-0-1, 4 KOs) Detroit, MI, took out Matt Cameron (1-1-1) Chicago, IL, in round two of a scheduled four. After a competitive opener, Deurr hurt the Chicago fighter midway through the 2nd with a big left-hook to the body. With Cameron backed into a corner, Deurr bombed away, prompting referee Lou Hall to jump in and stop the contest at 1:38.
Returning after a 20-month layoff, Gorjan “Gogo” Slaveski (3-0, 1 KO) steamrolled rugged Emmanuel Sanchez (7-6, 1 KO) Laredo, TX, around the ring for four one-sided rounds. All three judges tallied 40-35, with Sanchez deducted a point in round 3 for holding.
Sarah Curran (2-1) McHenry, IL shutout tough Jenna Johlin Thompson (1-1-1) in a four round super welterweight clash. No drama in this one as Curran controlled the action, pasting Thompson with right hands to the head throughout, and easily coasted home the winner, 40-36 across the board.
In a heavyweight snoozefest, Chicago’s David Latoria (13-1, 6 KOs) defeated 70-fight veteran, Travis Fulton, by unanimous decision after four. Very little work done by either fighter in this one and the final bell couldn’t come fast enough.
In the night’s opener, Chicago’s Nick Brindise (2-0) was generously awarded a four round unanimous decision over hard luck Matt Murphy (2-16-2, 2 KOs) East St. Louis, MO. Murphy pressed the action throughout and seemingly outworked Brindise for large stretches, however judges didn’t see it that way, turning in 39-38 and 39-37 (twice) scorecards for the local fighter.
Fight Night Finales: The “Dome at the Ballpark” has certainly caught on as a fight fan destination however covering the action is another story: A short distance from the ring is one thing, but with media seating being so far out in the boonies perhaps an article in ‘Field and Stream’ would have been more appropriate…Not sure what the night’s beer sales amounted to however they appeared to be substantial. And since the “Dome” has so few urinals, I’m betting that on the next steamy day the surrounding parking lot will be smelling a tad rancid…Bobby Hitz, who promoted the night’s event along with Frank Mugnolo of Round 3 Productions, told Fight News that even with some major headwinds he was pleased with the final product. “Listen, we had a major fight lined up tonight that was to have been part of the CBS Sports Network telecast. It was scratched at the last minute but Tommy Hughes stepped up to the plate and put on a great performance for the fans here as well as those tuning in around the country. These things happen but you have to be able to switch gears when there’s adversity and that’s what we did.” And finally, a very happy birthday to legendary sportscaster, Al Bernstein, who was on the ringside call with Chicago’s very own, “Sweet Baby” Ray Flores.