Catching up with the local scene…
By Robert Przybylo
BPrzybylo@opubco.com
Whoa, been more than a week since my last post. Things were pretty busy at HQ, but I apologize about that.
This Saturday is UFC 98, headlined by Sugar Rashad Evans vs. Lyoto Machida and not too bad undercard.
I’ll have more on that later in the week.
In boxing, Andre Ward made his first step up (or did Edison Miranda make his first step down?). Either way, a great environment in Oakland for a not-so-dazzling fight.
Ward fought through some adversity (most notably the cut) and boxed beautifully in his first real test.
He was asking for Carl Froch afterward. Hmm, wouldn’t go that far but like his confidence.
Also, my personal favorite heavyweight Kevin Johnson won his third straight fight by knockout last Friday.
Johnson caught my eye a few years ago because of his jab and now he’s trying to add a little power to the flash.
Reports say it was the best outing of his career, but I don’t know what that really means because he hasn’t really fought anyone of note yet.
And before I go, here is a local update from the Oklahoma fight game.
Comanche Boy rained out
Right after the first round, strong winds and rain came through Lawton and forced Lawton super middleweight boxer George “Comanche Boy”
Tahdooahnippah’s bout to be ruled a no-contest last Friday at the Comanche Nation Casino.
The fight was fought in the EvenTTent where the high winds caused some cable damage. Nothing too big or threatening but enough to halt the night’s action. No injuries were reported. Oklahoma has had a couple of weird storms in the last week like that.
Tahdooahnippah was fighting Dan Wallace of Detroit and appeared to have things under control when the storm hit.
The bout is scheduled to take place again in September, but Tahdooahnippah hopes to fight at least one more time between now and the rematch.
In other action at Lawton, junior middleweight Grady Brewer of Lawton needed less than a round to knock out Reggie Nash while former Oklahoma City Blazers enforcer Ron Aubrey’s opponent pulled out the week of the fight and no replacement could be found.
Fagan returns
Former Oklahoma lightweight champion Oisin Fagan has been waiting for another chance after his second-round KO loss to Amir Khan in December.
Fagan gets that chance Saturday night in Ireland.
In his bout vs. Khan, Fagan suffered a spiral fracture in his left fibula in the first round but kept on fighting. His corner stopped the bout in the second round.
The lightweight is 22-6 and said he wants to prove doubters wrong who believed his career was over after the Khan fight.
Cole back to form
Norman’s Wayne Cole has shown an excellent ability to bounce back from loss, and he did it again at a C3 Fights event in Newkirk last week.
Cole, coming off an emotionally draining loss at the Bellator event in Norman in April, needed only 36 seconds to beat Rick Roufus with an armlock submission.
With the win, Cole retained his C3 Fights light heavyweight championship.
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that was a good fight but short at the same time!