By Derek Gionta at ringside: Pittsburgh super featherweight Monty Meza-Clay (29-3, 20 KOs) made his eagerly anticipated return to the ring Saturday night (August 28) at the Rivers Casino outdoor amphitheater in downtown Pittsburgh in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd as he defeated Saint Paul, Minnesota’s Allen “The American Boy” Litzau (13-6, 7 KOs) by a third round TKO.
The main event capped off an exciting night of boxing, which was the Rivers Casino’s inaugural boxing event. The undercard featured some new faces to the local fight scene as well as a very familiar face to boxing purists.
The 8-round main event between Meza-Clay and Litzau was a one-sided affair from the start.
In the opening stanza, Meza-Clay went right to work making his way inside on his taller opponent landing a variety of power punches to the head and body of Litzau. Meza-Clay mixed in the jab well in between combinations. Litzau landed a couple of counter-right hands to the head of Meza-Clay, but the shots had no effect on him.
In the second round, Meza-Clay took over where he left off and finished the round by knocking down Litzau seconds before the bell sounded with a short flurry finished off with a right hand to the head sending him to the canvas and into the ropes. Litzau made it to his feet to survive the count and the round.
As the third round began, you had to wonder how much more punishment Litzau could take. After a multitude of power punches from a slipping and weaving Meza-Clay, Litzau took a knee as referee Ernie Sharif began counting. Not long after the 8-count, Litzau’s corner threw in the towel saving their fighter from taking any further beating. The stoppage came at 2:47 of the third round.
After the fight, Litzau was very upset at the stoppage and felt the fight should have continued, however the final result was inevitable.
A rejuvenated Meza-Clay shared his thoughts, and thanked the hometown crowd and his team for their generous support. “I knew after the first round that there was no way he was going to be able to go the full eight rounds,” stated Meza-Clay. “Tommy and I worked very hard for this fight, it was a great venue and a great show,” said Meza-Clay.
Meza-Clay’s trainer Tommy Yankello commented, “That’s the best Monty has ever looked. He mixed it up so well and his defense was great too.”
Talks of a Meza-Clay-Jason Litzau bout have already surfaced. Jason is the younger brother of Allen and a more accomplished fighter.
The co-main event of the evening was a 6-round junior welterweight contest between southpaw Derrick “Smoke” Gainer (42-7-1, 24 KOs) of Pensacola, FL and Angel Hernandez (14-7, 11 KOs) of Gary, IN. Gainer, the former WBA featherweight champion, made his first ring appearance in three years.
The opening round was all Hernandez as he landed the harder punches and scored a knockdown with a left hook to the head as Gainer had his back against the ropes. Round 2 was the same as Hernandez continued as the aggressor and showing his youth against the 38 year old veteran.
However, Gainer came on in the third round and looked to have some extra hop in his step. Gainer landed a solid counter right hook towards the end of the round that gave him the nod on the cards. The last three rounds were all “Smoke” Gainer as he out boxed Hernandez landing the straight left hand to the head and body as well as a left uppercut to the body. The final minute of the last round showed a fading Hernandez, with blood running out of his nose and Gainer looking as if he had a few rounds left in him.
The bout ended as a split decision victory in favor of Gainer. Scorecards read 57-56 and 58-55 for Gainer and 57-56 for Hernandez. Both sides gave a great effort but it was the familiar face of Gainer that walked away with the victory.
Gainer commented after the fight, ‘I felt a little rusty in the first two rounds. My legs really didn’t feel good until the third round,” said Gainer. “I’m used to starting a little slower and picking it up in the later rounds.” “It was a tough fight but I thought I won.”
Undercard Results:
In a 6-round light heavyweight contest, Azea Augustama (8-0, 5 KOs) of Hollywood, FL by way of Haiti, won a one-sided unanimous decision victory over William Gill (9-26, 7 KOs) of Toms River, NJ by scores of 60-54 (twice) and 59-55. Augustama out boxed Gill from the start landing sharp jabs and combinations that overwhelmed Gill, who was at a height advantage.
In one of the more entertaining bouts of the night, Pittsburgh heavyweight “All-Lee” McGinnis (3-0, 3 KOs) scored a second round TKO over Johnnie Davis (1-1-1) of Niagara Falls, NY. McGinnis, the former two-time World Toughman champion, made his Pittsburgh debut and did so in scintillating fashion. Aside from carrying heavyweight power in his hands, the lefty showed that he can box, and when it’s time to close the show, he can. After an opening round of boxing and landing a few 1-2 combos to the head of Davis and Davis responding with a few shots of his own, McGinnis turned it up and opened an assault on his 6’6” opponent leaving no option for referee Rick Steigerwald as he stopped the bout at 53 seconds of round two. Davis had no counter attack as he was knocked around the ring from corner to corner. The fight was scheduled for 4 rounds.
In the second bout of the evening, super middleweight “Big Chief” Morgan Fitch (2-0) of Pittsburgh, PA won a 4-round unanimous decision victory over a tough Philadelphia, PA fighter in Greg Hackett (0-2). Fitch, trained by Tommy Yankello, worked well behind his jab and showed a solid display of body work. Scores at the end of 4 rounds were 40-35 on all three cards. Fitch also made his Pittsburgh debut.
In the opening bout of the evening, a 4-round super middleweight rematch from this past January, Isaac Jermain Salter (3-0, 1 KO) of Pensacola, FL, won a unanimous decision over John Farley (0-2) of Pittsburgh, PA. Salter was more active and landed the cleaner power punches behind a stiff jab. All 3 scorecards were 39-37.
The 6-bout card was promoted by Roy Jones, Jr.’s Square Ring, Inc. in association with Troy Ridgley’s TNT Sports Promotions and the Rivers Casino.
Roy commented to the fans after the show when handed the microphone, “We will be back in Pittsburgh, thanks for a great night!”
August 28, 2010
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