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Finchley and District Amateur Boxing Club (ABC)

FINCHLEY ABC vs LAS VEGAS SELECT (Barrys Boxing) 11th September 2004.

Reprinted from Boxing News September 24th 2004

FINCHLEY ABC lost 7-5 to a Nevada select at The Orleans Hotel & Casino on September 11 but it was another grand occasion.

This annual extravaganza opened with a parade of both teams being led by a four-man band of bagpipes and drums. These were provided by local publican Mark McGrory, with the parade starting in the front reception area of the hotel.

The teams were led by former WBC heavyweight champion Frank Bruno – a guest of Finchley’s – and marched around the entire casino floor, cheered on by casino players and boxing supporters, up the stairs to the Mardi Gras Ballroom and into the ring.

The Union Jack and Stars & Stripes were held aloft by respective team captains Joe Smyth and Teddy Padilla.

After the national anthems were sung by George Phillips (Finchley) and Faye Miller (Nevada), a host of former champions were introduced in the ring.

They included Bruno, Michael Spinks, Cornelius Boza-Edwards, Wayne McCullough, Kevin Kelley and Augie Sanchez – also ex-British champ and ‘world’ title challenger turned Finchley coach Sean Murphy (who prefers to stay out of the limelight).

Now it was up to the boxers to play their part – and they did.

Rudi Rizzo (14) held his nerve to outbox local boy Trinidad Manzo, showing good straight punching and footwork. Belying his inexperience – this was only his fourth contest – Rizzo won on points.

Next up was 15-year-old Danny Murphy (son of Sean), already on his third trip to Vegas.

From the start, his contest with Jesse Vargas had the sold-out crowd on its feet. The boxers stood toe to toe in a very exciting affair won by Vargas on points.

The skills displayed by these two were a pleasure to see.

Ashley Rice (Finchley) stood out as one of the stars, his speed and rapid combinations overcoming Bernardo Zamora (Vegas) for a decision success.

Danny Lawless faced homeboy Jeremy Estrada and, having lost the first, was given a good talking-to by Joe Smyth Snr in the corner. Lawless promptly won the next two rounds by outboxing his opponent for a clear decision win.

It was now 3-1 to Finchley and the fans were revelling in it. “USA, USA…” came the chant. That brought “England, England…” in reply.

But Charlie Rock found Rocco Espinoza (Vegas) too strong and was retired by Murphy during the interval between rounds one and two. It was a good piece of corner work.

Next up for the North West London Division club was Michael Vassiliou against tough Raul Perez.

“This contest was my one big worry,” said Finchley organiser Johnny Oliver, Spencer’s uncle. “I’d spied on Perez in training and he looked very good.”

But Michael rose to the occasion, winning the first two rounds, using his footwork to stay out of trouble and scoring with the jab.

In the final session Perez came roaring out with combinations and hooks which typified action seen in American rings. The decision went to the local boy, which was just about right, but Vassiliou also stood out.

The match was now 3-3.

Richard Connolly against La Ron – as in the previous bout, a clash of 17-year-olds – was a decent one, with the latter clinching it on points. But Oliver said: “We thought Richard rose to the occasion and should have got it.”

The interval arrived with Finchley down 4-3 and first up afterwards were middleweight 18-year-olds Stuart Stratford (Finchley) and Jared Johnson (Vegas).

Sratford used his superior boxing ability to outbox Johnson, who was very strong, and after two rounds was clearly ahead.

The last also belonged to the Finchley boy but, with just eight seconds to go, he walked on to a big left hook and was flattened, the referee waving it off immediately.

Next came a return eagerly awaited by both sides: Finchley’s Mehmet Mehmet versus Devon Lawson. Mehmet had won last year.

Lawson was really up for this one – had been in training for months just for this. The British lad again had his number, though, and took the decision to the chants of, “Mehmet is the guv’nor!”

The American came over to Mehmet’s entire family afterwards to shake hands.

Finchley were now 5-4 down but the bout between Tony Miltch and local boy Miguel Beltran proved the turning point.

Milch seemed to give the American a lesson with slick footwork and sharp boxing, outjabbing him at every turn. But the decision went to Beltran, which stunned the crowd into silence.

Into the ring came 18-year-old Grant Skehill, four-time national Schools champion, against Jose Abrego of Las Vegas.

Grant dished out a lesson with his jab and skills. He enjoyed himself for three rounds, then upped the power in the last to force a stoppage.

With the match now 6-5 to Nevada, the visitors needed to win the next two bouts for the match. As in previous years, it was going down to the wire thanks to good matchmaking.

However, while Finchley’s Liam Skinkwin seemed to do more than enough to beat swarthy and flashy Andres “Chips” Chipres after four quality rounds, the decision went against him.

So the team match was lost when Joe Smyth Jnr entertained Nevada boxer Jacob Mami – and worse was to follow.

Less than half a minute after the opening bell, these middleweights clinched and the referee called a break. The American hit Smyth, who retaliated. After some confusion, it was announced Joe had been disqualified.

Finchley complained, saying both had fouled, and the officials agreed. So both were disqualified and it was still 7-5 Nevada plus that double-DQ bout.

A disappointing finale, but it couldn’t put a dampener on another cracking trip.

Bruno was a ray of sunshine, said Oliver, being recognised wherever he went and being only too happy to sign autographs and have his photo taken with hundreds of fans. He didn’t complain once.

“He was the perfect ambassador,” said Oliver. “Absolutely perfect. One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.”

A regular night-time visitor at The Orleans, where the Finchley team were staying, was local resident Floyd Mayweather Jnr.

Floyd, who when not in training likes to party, had photos taken with the Londoners, also signed autographs.

Oliver received a phone call from Wayne McCullough inviting all the boys over to his home in the city to watch him train (he has his own gym).

To their amazement, McCullough sparred six rounds with fellow-former world champ Kevin Kelley despite temperatures in the gym being 94 degrees. The Belfastman was wearing a boiler suit, too.

Wayne said they trained together during the course of the day for five hours, which was an eye-opener for the boys.

The visit ended in McCullough’s trophy room, which was a shrine to his many boxing achievements, amateur and pro, across the globe. A terrific day out with a terrific guy. “It was like a museum,” said Oliver of the trophy room.

Next year Finchley’s team match in Vegas will be expanded to include at least four other US states; the show will be spread over two days with semi-finals and finals – a multi-nations event, if you like.

What a success story.

Note: Barry’s Boxing Center in Vegas were promoters of the show and said proceeds would go to the Metro Police Widows & Orphans Fund to mark the day this match was staged… September 11. Oliver said the fund they had originally intended to boost – the more appropriate New York Firefighters’ Disaster Fund which was introduced in the wake of the Twin Towers tragedy in 2001, had made so much money it had closed.