Thursday
Jul222010
Friday Night Fights 7/22/10
July 22, 2010 
Written by:
The Arbiter
The Friday Night Fight series has been showcasing up and coming talent from around the US and Canada on Friday nights, starting NYC weekends off with a bang. The summer season has influenced the series' promoter Justin Blair to start the weekend early over the summer, moving his show to a Thursday night, getting a jump on the weekend festivities. A fight card that featured some familiar names and some new ones set the stage for a great night of action.
Starting the night off was James Mahoney of Siam Number 1 in Ottawa, Canada taking on Carlos Nunez of the Stamford, CT based C3 Athletics. It looked to be a physical and more importantly spiritual mismatch, as Mahoney packed a lot more muscles onto his 145 pound frame than his opponent. The spiritual mismatch was forecast by the intimidating glances Mahoney shot at the nervous looking Nunez, as Nunez fidgeted in his corner during Mahoney’s confident, traditional Wai Kru. James dominated the 1st round, driving Carlos to the ropes and from corner to corner with strong punches and a smothering clinch. Nunez’s kicks connected to the chest and thighs of Mahoney, but were tentative and probing. Carlos came out more intensely in the 2nd round, but continued to loop his punches and flick his kicks, whereas James’ were right down the pipe. Some sloppy clinch work and a pair of accidental low-blows ended the round. Wild, sloppy, desperate, and dangerous, Nunez came out for the 3rd. For an instant it was effective, driving Mahoney to the ropes. However, the instant passed, and Mahoney regained control of the fight, clinching Nunez in the corner and working him around the ring with sharp knees and flurries of punches. When Nunez had retreated, taking punishment, around half the ring the referee Eric Torres had seen enough, waiving off the fight and declaring a TKO at 1:43 into the 3rd round.
There was a real contrast in the body-types of the fighters up next. Nick Parenty of Real Elite Training Center in Asbury Park NJ was younger, and shorter, but less mature physically, carrying some left-over baby-fat into the ring. Stan Dzhurayev of American Top Team out of Long Island, NY was longer, leaner and obviously more physically mature, aside from standing several inches taller. Sometimes having a bit of extra fat can help an athlete in the long-run, as an energy reserve, would this be one of those times? They exchanged kicks to the thighs to begin before a flurry of punches sent Nick to the ropes. Dzhurayev’s length and quality were too much for Nick to handle, and he didn’t want to stay at the end of Stan’s long arms and legs, so Nick tried the inside game, but wound up mushing, more than mashing. Nick couldn’t seem to find his balance in the first, which led to a flash knock-down. This lack of a balanced base caused Nick to misfire on his best opportunity, when he landed a powerless round-kick onto Stan’s chin. The second round was more of a sparring session than the middle round of a live fight, both fighters throwing one technique at a time, and neither taking control. In the 3rd, Nick again went to the chin with his round kick, but they were too slow to beat Stan’s guarding hands. Stan then counter-punched Nick to the ropes, where at one point he hit Nick with 16 KNEES IN A ROW, before Nick responded. This fight was a learning experience for both fighters and a Unanimous Decision for Dzhurayev.
Next on the card, Ragelio Castillo of Anderson’s MA stepped into the ring to take on David Vega of CROM MA. The longer, leaner Vega took the center of the ring and used a variety of punches. Most punches were blocked or evaded by the ever circling Castillo, who answered well, combining feet and hands in his attack. Vega responded with his own kicks, but Castillo twice caught them and floored Vega. In the second, Castillo’s kicks lost their snap, and Vega’s punches started to find their mark, causing Castillo to go from circling to retreating. A very even, back-and-forth 3rd round set the stage for a very narrow decision either way. Both fighters pushed the pace in the moments before the final bell, making a difficult choice, but Castillo’s combination of punches, kicks, and knees outscored Vega’s punches and knees alone, for a split decision, with 2 judges scoring it 2 rounds to 1 for Castillo.
The fourth fight of the night featured Tom Ni of the host Church Street Boxing Gym and Real Elite’s Chris Aquino, two wiry 135 pounders. At the bell, the confident Aquino charged across the ring, unleashing a flurry of strong punches on Ni. Unfortunately for Aquino, the flurry had no effect, as the ever-composed Ni calmly countered with a couple of knee strikes, and then swept Aquino to the ground. Chris continued to push the pace, but Tom had a very competent clinch-game and dropped him twice with sharp knees to the solar-plexus. In the second, Aquino muscled Ni against the ropes and controlled him, limiting Ni’s attacks, enough to take the round, but was still losing 19-17 by my eye. Tom picked it up again in the 3rd round, relying on clean, sharp technique to carry him through his fatigue. Although Aquino did have Ni’s back to the ropes for most the round, Aquino couldn’t capitalize on this advantage. Thus Ni controlled their tired clinch and was busy enough to take the round and the Unanimous Decision.
Time to mix some beauty in amongst the beasts; Stacey Scapeccia of CT Combat Training took on Alexis Asher of Gleason’s in Brooklyn. Stacey appeared the more heavily muscled of the two, ripped in fact. But that doesn’t always translate into victory, especially against the tough fighters coming out of Gleason’s. A very close first round had neither fighter finding her range. They threw lots of punches and knees, some kicks too, but nothing effective due to their jamming each other up. The 2nd saw Stacey start to find her range with her kicks, and avoided Alexis’ punches by either teeping, or clinching, and controlling her up against the ropes. Alexis had one very clean punch to Stacey’s face, but it wasn’t enough to carry the round. In the third, Asher came out strong, and made use of her superior boxing skills, but was kept out of her range of effectiveness. Stacey’s kicks kept Alexis at a distance too great to cover with punches, and when she tried to close the gap and land her punches, Stacey clinched her up and neutralized her attack. Stacey was also effective offensively in the clinch, continuing a series of knees to Asher’s body. The Unanimous Decision went to Scapeccia.
Fight 6 pitted Brent Reeves of Wichita Kansas’ Team Thunder against Church Street’s up and coming Simon Camaj. Simon looked to be in the best shape of his fighting career, and if he can channel his flamboyant energy into his fighting he will continue to develop well. Brent’s opening salvo of left hooks and right uppercuts drove Camaj into his corner where they clinched up. Camaj scored some sharp knees and elbows but was in retreat for most of the first round. A few strong hand and feet combos from Camaj evened out the round some, but Brent’s punches in bunches helped him scrape by, carrying the round. In the second, Simon ate another bunch of weirdly angled punches before gaining control in the clinch with more solid knees and elbows to Reeves’ body. He caught Brent with a well-placed knee to the solar-plexus that took Brent’s wind, and feet out from under him. Brent went down and, I feel, should have been counted over, but referee Eric Torres ruled it a flash knock down. Brent got his feet back under him, but never his wind back. Nevertheless, he pressed his attack with more wild, bolo-style punches, but caught another knee to his ribs sending him into a corner, momentarily stunned by his predicament. Seeing his opportunity, Simon went for the finish with a flurry of punches that dropped Reeves to the canvas, dazed and looking to recover. Perhaps due to the dazed look on his face, or the arm lying awkwardly across the top of his head, Torres stepped in to wave off the fight, declaring a TKO; he had seen enough. Brent, who had been waiting for a count to start, so he could recover some, realized what had happened and was visibly upset by the ruling. I can’t say I blame him. I would have liked to see a fighter of that level given the benefit of the doubt and the chance to get back into the fight, but I will never blame a referee for erring on the side of caution and safety. After a few moments Brent regained his composure and sportsmanship, raising Camaj’s hand after the official announcement.
Next on the card was the San Jose, California product, Eric Luna of American Kickboxing, taking on Ognjen Topic of North Jersey Muay Thai in Lodi, NJ. These muscular 132 pounders were in for a long night, 5 rounds- two minutes each. A nice length of time in which to show off one’s skills. Luna impressed immediately, catching Ognjen’s first kick and throwing him down. He followed that with a combination of heavy hands and fast feet. An almost even chess-match in the clinch gave Luna the first round. Topic responded well in the second, using his quick teep to keep Eric out of his punching range, and then dumping him from the clinch. A few kicks traded back and forth, but a slight edge to Topic for the round. Luna came out strong for the third, again mixing up his punch and knee combinations, but faded briefly, allowing Ognjen to take the momentum and the round. Topic’s kicks started to really be effective in the fourth round, keeping Luna off-balance and intercepting his punches. Luna came back in the fourth, but again, could find and answer to Topic’s fast, powerful legs. Eric had also been cut, below his left eye in the fourth. Ognjen start the fifth and final round hard and fast with brutal round kicks, but Luna jumped aside and punished Topic with a vicious flurry of punches. This momentum kept Ognjen on his heels for most of the fifth; leaving both fighters exhausted but hopeful the decision would go their way. It was a very close decision, although unanimous, with all the judges scoring it 3 rounds to 2 for Ognjen Topic.
The main event was set to be explosive, as “Bazooka” Joe Valtellini brought his arsenal south from Ottawa, Canada’s Team Ultimate gym, to go to war with the powerful UFC veteran Dorian Price of the host gym, Church Street Boxing. This was only the second professional fight for Valtellini, who had won his first with a spectacular knock-out. Price had a real advantage in experience with 10 wins and 4 losses as a professional. Dorian answered the bell quickly with a head kick that Joe blocked easily, and countered with a clean straight right. Dorian got on his bike and started retreating to Joe’s left, away from that bazooka-right hand. Joe stayed with him, unleashing 1-2-low-kick combos that sink deep into the meat and bone of Price’s lead left leg. The classic Thai strategy of chopping your opponent’s legs out would pay dividends later in these long, three-minute rounds. As Price came out of his corner for the second round, I could already see his thigh swelling and reddening all the way around. Valtellini saw it as well, and saw it as a target to exploit. Joe continued to use his hands as a prelude for those vicious leg kicks, laying his shin into Price’s thigh like he was beating an ox with a bamboo rod; swack!-swack!- SWACK! Eventually Dorian’s leg couldn’t take the punishment anymore. It gave out from under him twice, forcing the referee to count over him, once to 7 and once to 9. Luckily for Price, the bell sounded and allowed him to limp back to his corner. In the third round, Joe showed the bazooka right hand, and his Side-winder Missile left hook, landing both flush to Dorian’s head on several occasions. One put Price down for another count, a second bloodying his nose, and a third ending the fight. He had knocked down Price for a fourth time in the fight, earning him a TKO victory over the more experienced UFC veteran.
Congratulations to all the fighters, gyms and promoters on another great night of Friday Night Fights (on Thursday)!
There was a real contrast in the body-types of the fighters up next. Nick Parenty of Real Elite Training Center in Asbury Park NJ was younger, and shorter, but less mature physically, carrying some left-over baby-fat into the ring. Stan Dzhurayev of American Top Team out of Long Island, NY was longer, leaner and obviously more physically mature, aside from standing several inches taller. Sometimes having a bit of extra fat can help an athlete in the long-run, as an energy reserve, would this be one of those times? They exchanged kicks to the thighs to begin before a flurry of punches sent Nick to the ropes. Dzhurayev’s length and quality were too much for Nick to handle, and he didn’t want to stay at the end of Stan’s long arms and legs, so Nick tried the inside game, but wound up mushing, more than mashing. Nick couldn’t seem to find his balance in the first, which led to a flash knock-down. This lack of a balanced base caused Nick to misfire on his best opportunity, when he landed a powerless round-kick onto Stan’s chin. The second round was more of a sparring session than the middle round of a live fight, both fighters throwing one technique at a time, and neither taking control. In the 3rd, Nick again went to the chin with his round kick, but they were too slow to beat Stan’s guarding hands. Stan then counter-punched Nick to the ropes, where at one point he hit Nick with 16 KNEES IN A ROW, before Nick responded. This fight was a learning experience for both fighters and a Unanimous Decision for Dzhurayev.
Next on the card, Ragelio Castillo of Anderson’s MA stepped into the ring to take on David Vega of CROM MA. The longer, leaner Vega took the center of the ring and used a variety of punches. Most punches were blocked or evaded by the ever circling Castillo, who answered well, combining feet and hands in his attack. Vega responded with his own kicks, but Castillo twice caught them and floored Vega. In the second, Castillo’s kicks lost their snap, and Vega’s punches started to find their mark, causing Castillo to go from circling to retreating. A very even, back-and-forth 3rd round set the stage for a very narrow decision either way. Both fighters pushed the pace in the moments before the final bell, making a difficult choice, but Castillo’s combination of punches, kicks, and knees outscored Vega’s punches and knees alone, for a split decision, with 2 judges scoring it 2 rounds to 1 for Castillo.
The fourth fight of the night featured Tom Ni of the host Church Street Boxing Gym and Real Elite’s Chris Aquino, two wiry 135 pounders. At the bell, the confident Aquino charged across the ring, unleashing a flurry of strong punches on Ni. Unfortunately for Aquino, the flurry had no effect, as the ever-composed Ni calmly countered with a couple of knee strikes, and then swept Aquino to the ground. Chris continued to push the pace, but Tom had a very competent clinch-game and dropped him twice with sharp knees to the solar-plexus. In the second, Aquino muscled Ni against the ropes and controlled him, limiting Ni’s attacks, enough to take the round, but was still losing 19-17 by my eye. Tom picked it up again in the 3rd round, relying on clean, sharp technique to carry him through his fatigue. Although Aquino did have Ni’s back to the ropes for most the round, Aquino couldn’t capitalize on this advantage. Thus Ni controlled their tired clinch and was busy enough to take the round and the Unanimous Decision.
Time to mix some beauty in amongst the beasts; Stacey Scapeccia of CT Combat Training took on Alexis Asher of Gleason’s in Brooklyn. Stacey appeared the more heavily muscled of the two, ripped in fact. But that doesn’t always translate into victory, especially against the tough fighters coming out of Gleason’s. A very close first round had neither fighter finding her range. They threw lots of punches and knees, some kicks too, but nothing effective due to their jamming each other up. The 2nd saw Stacey start to find her range with her kicks, and avoided Alexis’ punches by either teeping, or clinching, and controlling her up against the ropes. Alexis had one very clean punch to Stacey’s face, but it wasn’t enough to carry the round. In the third, Asher came out strong, and made use of her superior boxing skills, but was kept out of her range of effectiveness. Stacey’s kicks kept Alexis at a distance too great to cover with punches, and when she tried to close the gap and land her punches, Stacey clinched her up and neutralized her attack. Stacey was also effective offensively in the clinch, continuing a series of knees to Asher’s body. The Unanimous Decision went to Scapeccia.
Fight 6 pitted Brent Reeves of Wichita Kansas’ Team Thunder against Church Street’s up and coming Simon Camaj. Simon looked to be in the best shape of his fighting career, and if he can channel his flamboyant energy into his fighting he will continue to develop well. Brent’s opening salvo of left hooks and right uppercuts drove Camaj into his corner where they clinched up. Camaj scored some sharp knees and elbows but was in retreat for most of the first round. A few strong hand and feet combos from Camaj evened out the round some, but Brent’s punches in bunches helped him scrape by, carrying the round. In the second, Simon ate another bunch of weirdly angled punches before gaining control in the clinch with more solid knees and elbows to Reeves’ body. He caught Brent with a well-placed knee to the solar-plexus that took Brent’s wind, and feet out from under him. Brent went down and, I feel, should have been counted over, but referee Eric Torres ruled it a flash knock down. Brent got his feet back under him, but never his wind back. Nevertheless, he pressed his attack with more wild, bolo-style punches, but caught another knee to his ribs sending him into a corner, momentarily stunned by his predicament. Seeing his opportunity, Simon went for the finish with a flurry of punches that dropped Reeves to the canvas, dazed and looking to recover. Perhaps due to the dazed look on his face, or the arm lying awkwardly across the top of his head, Torres stepped in to wave off the fight, declaring a TKO; he had seen enough. Brent, who had been waiting for a count to start, so he could recover some, realized what had happened and was visibly upset by the ruling. I can’t say I blame him. I would have liked to see a fighter of that level given the benefit of the doubt and the chance to get back into the fight, but I will never blame a referee for erring on the side of caution and safety. After a few moments Brent regained his composure and sportsmanship, raising Camaj’s hand after the official announcement.
Next on the card was the San Jose, California product, Eric Luna of American Kickboxing, taking on Ognjen Topic of North Jersey Muay Thai in Lodi, NJ. These muscular 132 pounders were in for a long night, 5 rounds- two minutes each. A nice length of time in which to show off one’s skills. Luna impressed immediately, catching Ognjen’s first kick and throwing him down. He followed that with a combination of heavy hands and fast feet. An almost even chess-match in the clinch gave Luna the first round. Topic responded well in the second, using his quick teep to keep Eric out of his punching range, and then dumping him from the clinch. A few kicks traded back and forth, but a slight edge to Topic for the round. Luna came out strong for the third, again mixing up his punch and knee combinations, but faded briefly, allowing Ognjen to take the momentum and the round. Topic’s kicks started to really be effective in the fourth round, keeping Luna off-balance and intercepting his punches. Luna came back in the fourth, but again, could find and answer to Topic’s fast, powerful legs. Eric had also been cut, below his left eye in the fourth. Ognjen start the fifth and final round hard and fast with brutal round kicks, but Luna jumped aside and punished Topic with a vicious flurry of punches. This momentum kept Ognjen on his heels for most of the fifth; leaving both fighters exhausted but hopeful the decision would go their way. It was a very close decision, although unanimous, with all the judges scoring it 3 rounds to 2 for Ognjen Topic.
The main event was set to be explosive, as “Bazooka” Joe Valtellini brought his arsenal south from Ottawa, Canada’s Team Ultimate gym, to go to war with the powerful UFC veteran Dorian Price of the host gym, Church Street Boxing. This was only the second professional fight for Valtellini, who had won his first with a spectacular knock-out. Price had a real advantage in experience with 10 wins and 4 losses as a professional. Dorian answered the bell quickly with a head kick that Joe blocked easily, and countered with a clean straight right. Dorian got on his bike and started retreating to Joe’s left, away from that bazooka-right hand. Joe stayed with him, unleashing 1-2-low-kick combos that sink deep into the meat and bone of Price’s lead left leg. The classic Thai strategy of chopping your opponent’s legs out would pay dividends later in these long, three-minute rounds. As Price came out of his corner for the second round, I could already see his thigh swelling and reddening all the way around. Valtellini saw it as well, and saw it as a target to exploit. Joe continued to use his hands as a prelude for those vicious leg kicks, laying his shin into Price’s thigh like he was beating an ox with a bamboo rod; swack!-swack!- SWACK! Eventually Dorian’s leg couldn’t take the punishment anymore. It gave out from under him twice, forcing the referee to count over him, once to 7 and once to 9. Luckily for Price, the bell sounded and allowed him to limp back to his corner. In the third round, Joe showed the bazooka right hand, and his Side-winder Missile left hook, landing both flush to Dorian’s head on several occasions. One put Price down for another count, a second bloodying his nose, and a third ending the fight. He had knocked down Price for a fourth time in the fight, earning him a TKO victory over the more experienced UFC veteran.
Congratulations to all the fighters, gyms and promoters on another great night of Friday Night Fights (on Thursday)!
3 x 2 min. rounds - 145 lbs.
James Mahoney
Siam No.1 Ottawa CA
Siam No.1 Ottawa CA
TKO - 3rd
1:43
1:43
Carlos Nunez
C3 Athletics CT
C3 Athletics CT
3 x 2 min. rounds - 185 lbs.
Stan Dzhurayev
American Top Team NY
American Top Team NY
Unan. Dec.
Nick Parenty
Real Elite Training Center NJ
Real Elite Training Center NJ
3 x 2 min. rounds - 135 lbs.
Rajelio Castillo
xxx
xxx
Maj. Dec.
David Vega
CROM Martial Arts NYC
CROM Martial Arts NYC
3 x 2 min. rounds - 135 lbs.
Tom Ni
Church Street Boxing NYC
Church Street Boxing NYC
Unan. Dec.
Chris Aquino
Real Elite Training Center NJ
Real Elite Training Center NJ
3 x 2 min. rounds - 118 lbs.
Stacey Scapeccia
CT Combat Training Center
CT Combat Training Center
Unan. Dec.
Alexis Asher
Gleason's Gym NYC
Gleason's Gym NYC
3 x 2 min. rounds - 200 lbs.
Simon Camaj
Church Street Boxing NYC
Church Street Boxing NYC
TKO - 2nd
1:19
1:19
Brent Reeves
Team Thunder Orlando FL
Team Thunder Orlando FL
Co-Main Event
5 x 2 min. rounds - 132 lbs.
Ognjen Topic
North Jersey Muay Thai
North Jersey Muay Thai
Unan. Dec.
Eric Luna
American Kickboxing San Jose CA
American Kickboxing San Jose CA
Pro-Main Event
3 x 3 min. rounds - 165 lbs.
Joseph Valtelleni
Team Ultimate Toronto CA
Team Ultimate Toronto CA
TKO 3rd
1:43
1:43
Dorian Price
Church Street Boxing NYC
Church Street Boxing NYC
tagged Friday Night Fights, NYC, The Arbiter in Events, Muay Thai
Friday Night Fights, NYC, The Arbiter in Events, Muay Thai 
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