BoxingScene.com, AR
Last update: 09-16-2006
Shaun George, Ter-Meliksetyan Are Victorious
By Ryan Songalia
Local favorites Shaun George and Archak "Shark Attack" Ter-Meliksetyan
returned in triumphant style as Hall of Fame Promotions provided an
entertaining night of fights at John F. Kennedy High School in
Paterson, NJ. A lively crowd met the gladiators as they put on a show
well worth the price of admission.
Most of the crowd in attendance were there to see what George and
Ter-Meliksetyan would be able to produce in light of their recent
performances. While not exactly highlight fights for either men, the
results suggested that both have alot of fighting left before their
stories can be concluded.
In the main event, cruiserweight prospect Shaun George won a lopsided
decision over the game, but outclassed John Douglas. George, 184 1/2,
who suffered his only defeat at the hands of Matt Godfrey in his last
outing, was by far the more polished of the two combatants in the
ring, and that was the only attribute that was of any consequence.
While Douglas, 196, outweighed the favored George by some 11.5 pounds,
it was George’s significantly more impressive hand speed and balance
that drained the fight of any drama from the opening bell. In the
first round, it was immediately apparent that George possessed the
more solid technique. He landed very effectively with lefts and rights
to the head and body, although with significantly less thunder than
his opponent. It appeared that George didn’t need to do much to set up
his offensive attack, as Douglas’ terrible balance created all of the
punching angles necessary for George to take the advantage.
In an interview a few days before the fight, George advised all of the
fans to get to their seats early, insinuating that he planned to make
an early night of his unheralded challenger. Through the first two
rounds, it seemed as if the knockout he had promised might come to
fruition. However, after his quick start, George fell into a pattern
of rote fighting, content to let his man survive in the
non-competitive circumstances that were unfolding. By the third round,
the fight had begun to mirror each preceding round, as George was able
to land at will to the head and body with impunity while not appearing
interested in stopping his foe.
By the middle rounds, Douglas was finding openings in the tight
peekaboo defensive stance of George with clubbing right hands and body
shots, but those glimpses of competitiveness were few and far between.
George won all 8 of the rounds on my scorecard, with the official
decision not being too far off from my unofficial tally. George
expressed interest in a rematch with the man who in May handed him his
one and only loss, a first round technical knockout to Matt
Godfrey. Godfrey will be facing Danny Batchelder on the 23rd of this
month in Hartford, CT. George elevates his record to 12-1-2 (5 KO),
while Douglas slides to 6-12-3 (3 KO).
Archak Ter-Meliksetyan, 155, returned with a dominant TKO at the
expense of the overmatched New York resident Dillan Carew,
154. Despite having fallen short in his last three bouts, Archak did
not at all appear to be lacking in confidence, as he went on the
attack from the opening bell on an opponent who did not appear to be
up to the challenge. Archak, of Paterson, NJ, landed power combination
after combination on his outgunned foe, not leaving for a second any
doubt as to who was in charge. Carew was able to land some uppercuts
from time to time as Archak leaned face forward on the inside,
although with little to no measurable power in his blows. The end was
near from the ring walk, and eventually came at 2:20 of the fourth
round. Archak, who bares a striking resemblance to fellow Armenian and
2004 US Olympian Vanes Martirosyan, gets back in the W column and
moves to 16-4 (13 KO). Carew suffers his tenth loss by way of the
early route, falling to 20-15-3 (12 KO).
Jersey City native Michael Torres remained unbeaten as he stopped a
gutsy Ramiro Rivera in five. After a first round that left little to
take to the water cooler, Torres exploded in the second with a
succession of rights and lefts that left Rivera clinging to his
consciousness by a fine thread. Finally, after landing with some
heavy shots upstairs, Torres connected with a rocket right hand that
sent Rivera to the seat of his pants.
Not coming all the way from Arizona to be embarrassed, Torres fought
back with all his reserves, but by the end of the round Torres had
weathered his opponent’s last hurrah and was on point with the
overhand rights that had been his foe’s poison. Torres dropped Rivera
in the fourth round again, by which time many in the audience,
including myself, began to call for the referee’s intervention in the
bout. Finally, the end came at 1:22 of the fifth round, following a
third knockdown that was more a product of Rivera being without any
legs. Torres, who is trained by former light heavyweight contender
Johnny Persol, raises his unbeaten record to 8-0 (4 KO). Rivera drops
to 4-2 (3 KO).
In other action, Carlos Macias, 134, hammered his way to a unanimous
decision victory over the winless Miguel Orengo, 133, in four
one-sided rounds. Macias dropped Orengo three times on body shots en
route to winning a unanimous decision. Andy Mejias, 152, won his pro
debut in spectacular fashion, knocking out Vincent Irwin, 153 in the
first round. Jamar Patterson, 149, ran through Charles Wade, 149,
dropping his opponent for the ten count in round 2.
The audience was scattered with notable celebrities of ring fame and
other fields of interest. Among the celebrities in attendance were New
York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, R & B singer Oran "Juice" Jones,
and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels of Run DMC. From the world of fistic
endeavors, Vivian Harris, Yori Boy Campas, Lou Duva, Oscar Diaz, and
Jorge Gonzalez were among those enjoying the fights.