Opening Night of the World Combat League
Do you like spinning back kicks, spinning back punches, and axe kicks? Or how about spinning in general? If yes, then this is the sport for you. This isn’t MMA, this isn’t K-1, this is modified Kickboxing using their “full-throttle” rules. You first have 12 rounds, a 20 minute intermission, and then the final 12 rounds, it seems like you’re watching 24 fights. Of course this is just for the first 2 teams (and there are four teams competing tonight).
For the Colorado team, The Denver Fury, heading up the night their stars were Jack Johnson and Colby Snyder. Backing up Jack was none other than Tom Johnson which is like having Steve Young backing up Joe Montana.
Of course, Colby lost by TKO.
And then up on the next fight, Ronnie Copeland, also lost by TKO.
Thank you Katie Meehan who stepped in to stop the landslide losing streak for the Fury. Katie is a Cherry Creek high school grad who is now a sales coordinator for a human resources company in Florida. We knew she wanted to face the Texas backup, Angela Hayes to be able to avenge an ‘incorrectly called fight’ from their past., I hope in the next battle they get a chance to face off. When Gia Wilson opened, Katie didn’t exactly outclass her competition, but Katie did not take a step back, ate every punch and kick thrown her way but she just bulled her way forward and wore her down. Katie gets our Quinton Jackson ‘Warrior’ award for the night for pushing through and persevering.
Then up steps Jack Johnson, one of Colorado’s best fighters at any weight class. Jack was very good. However, so was his opponent, Nick Gonzalez. This was the night’s best contest with exactly the sort of fight the WCL is looking for on a consistent basis. Unfortunately and to great disappointed jeers from the crowd, Jack also got a TKO which further put Denver in the hole.
At halftime, what can Steve Alley possibly do? He can’t step in there for him. He can’t make them better. Steve plays his next move much like Mike Shanahan does every year on his defense. He puts in the substitutes.
Starting at the beginning of the card, Scott Clark delivers a furious beating to Sherif Ghaly. The best part about this bout was that Scott didn’t get hit a lot but when he did, it was a crack upside the head and he fought his heart out. Small point was that Scott almost got DQ’d for hitting his opponent when he was out of the circle. You can bet Alley had a few words for him after he began the comeback. Clark won 16-3.
Following Clark was Jesse Miles who gave a kickboxing clinic to Matt Fosheee. The fake leg kick followed by the leaping superman punch was a beauty. Again, while not taking anything away from his skill, there was a lot of heart shown here evidenced by the relentless pace and fury. Miles wins 16-6. Denver isn’t so far behind now…
And the ball keeps rolling when Damond Clark comes out. Previously, Lawson Baker was one of the more impressive fighters of the evening when he dispatched Ronnie Copeland. Clark had his work cut out for him and he seemed to just turn it on with a nonstop flurry. Copeland was staggered and in trouble when it seemed like a switch went off on Damond and all of a sudden he was gassed out. Copeland caught his breath and knocked Damond out. Loss is 0-15. Denver breaks stride.
Kornnelija Numic (Katie’s substitute for the 2nd half) is outclassed by Angela Hayes and the LA coach flashed that stupid gang symbol again. Denver falters and is out of reach but still can finish competitive.
Matt Calahan fights again in the 2nd round and comes out fast and very technically sound and bloodies Damion Caldwell’s mouth. Not quite deserving of our Rob Zombie award but he gets it by default since that was the only noticeable blood spilled the entire night. Calahan wins it for Denver at 15-9.
Tom Johnson (Jack’s substitute for the 2nd round) is as well known of a local fighter as any Denver fighter, and he seems out of sync. Something is wrong with him as he just takes a beating by the hands of Shannon Hudson who also was very good. It possibly could have been an early axe kick that landed right in his face and its possible he never recovered.
This ended the fights for the night.
This was an incredibly well produced show, during the halftime show, it was pretty awesome to see kickboxing legends Chuck Norris, Bob ‘Superfoot’ Wallace and Joe Lewis and country western singer Randy Travis mingling in the crowd.
Chuck never forgot his roots and gave out 120 tickets to the CU and CSU ROTC units. Seeing Chuck Norris in the stands taking pictures with the military was one of many highlights during the event. Said Colonel Thom McCarthy from the CSU unit, “Chuck is a great American and I remember before I got in, I read that Chuck credited the Air Force with putting his life on track the right way and that had a strong impression on me.”
Colonel Linda Aldrich from the CU unit hinted that Chuck is still pretty good looking and but then retracted it in front of her husband said something about quoting her mother. “I think the entire sport is wonderful in general and wonderful for women. I remember when I was in college; there wasn’t even a ROTC for women, or even thought of women in combat sports. Today, the younger group is really interested in martial arts and so we’re introducing it into field training”.
Written by Mickey and Mallory
mickey@themmatimes.com
mallory@themmatimes.com
www.themmatimes.com
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Posted October 22nd, 2007 l 174 Views
