Friday May 28, 2010 at the Banquet Hall, on Speers, hosted by Primetime Boxing & Fitness Club....fights at 7:30 p.m.

Great night with many current & former football pros in attendance as some came to support Matt Robichaud & some came to wish another hit on him...but for the most part, he brought a great cheering fan club in his first official fight.

The night opened after Hamilton's Dr. Joe Falletta, checked all the boxers & Gentleman Geoff  took to the ring to bring on the first bout. Ring side officials, OBA’s faithfuls...Director of Officials, Bill Hardy from St. Catharines, Ian Vanderpool from Kitchener, Keith Kleinstruber from Brantford; Bill Williams from Brantford; Shawn Hardy from St. Catharines, Sophie Melki from Hamilton & Amber Beaudin from Hamilton.  Administrator, Sherry Boone...yes me.

The young guys entered the ring while being applauded by the full house - sold out tables & seating - the 100 lbers were Aidin Ghotbi from Primetime & Chasen Michaud from Boone's in Niagara Falls. Greg Post worked Aidin's corner while Brodie Boone & Harrison King-McBain replaced Hank Boone who was at another boxing event. Aidin was a true gladiator & showed great heart while Chasen showed good skill.

The second round was a shocker as the 125 lbs ladies 'brought down the house' with their action filled bout. It was close. Annie Shannon from Boomerz from London showed she has been working hard for this bout & Kyle Fallis the 'Unstopable' from Hamilton just kept up her fast pace & non-stop punching. Good bout.

The 3rd bout toasted the Masters...White Collar, Todd Christie from Florida Jacks in Toronto against Matt Thomas from Primetime, in the over 200 lb bout which certainly was a crowd pleaser.  Todd could have taken the fight to Matt but this was only Todd’s 2nd fight outside of White Collar bouts & there is a definite difference whereas Matt was in & out of gyms for a few years & not a White Collar boxer. It was an action bout & a good bout.

The 4th bout featured Rough House's from Peterborough, Chris Cunningham at 175 lbs who was ahead on the judges score cards but got shaken 5 seconds short of the end of the bout, by Shawn Hill from Warriors, in London. These guys gave it their all & as they said in the boxing world, 'they left nothing in the tank'.

The 5th bout featured an exhibition between Brett Huffman from Hamilton at 145 lbs against Primetime's 'Calculating' Chris Black. Chris was showing good form as Brett kept the bout controlled. This was one of the best exhibitions to be seen by anyone. Brett never took advantage of the novice Chris & Chris used his wits to try to match Brett's ability. Good going guys!

The 6th open class bout featured Destiny's Shawn Murray from Kitchener at 160 lb against Jeremy 'The Train' Masterson from Boomerz in London. The first two rounds were close but the third was the deciding factor. There was no breathers in this bout. Good fight from both these guys.

The 7th open class bout had Goodfellows from Owen Sound, George Kelley at 145 against 'The Hitter' Bryan Edge from Primetime. This fight had Greg Post sitting with his towel in his mouth. I guess that was the only way of controlling him from coaching in the corner. Greg's new tactic so he won't get kicked out the corner for talking. That's Greg. Bryan had his hands full for the first 2 rounds as George kept at bay & fought from the outside when possible. But The Hitter' moved in hard pressing for a stoppage in the third that never came. Good jaw prevailed. These guys have hearts like lions!

The 8th bout featured Open class boxers, 135 lb. Marc 'Pac-Man' Pagcaliwangan from Boomerz in London against Anthony Kuznik from Old School in Hamilton. Both boxers are well schooled with good coaches from each club. They both showed nice moves & good quick thinking. Good for a rematch?

The 9th bout had Phady's Boxing Club’s Chris Ansari from Cambridge in the super heavy novice division against Matt Robichaud making his debut as well. These heavies were both game boxers. It was surprising to see the level of energy & movement these guys exhibited.

10th bout had Heather Stuart from Boomerz in London, at 140 lbs against Patti Griffin from Hamilton. Heather has the moves & the power but this bout was decided by who wanted the win more. 'Machine hitting' Patti, like her team mates, just don't stop punching. Some people refer to the Hamilton gals as machine guns with their style. This match took some of the 'puff & softness' away from the mistaken few that think gals can't box.

The 11th & main event was so close that a DRAW would have been nice but the judges aren't allowed that luxury. They must make a decision. The bout featured Kyle Millette from Ring London. Kyle has shown so much heart & improvement over the past year & a half & he is also a coach where his skill has shone also.  Then at 160 lbs in the opposite corner, you had TJ Post from Primetime who had a following that nearly tore the roof off. The judges must ignore all the fans. The scoring was so close that those of us, judges that is, who didn't judge the fight just shook our heads. These guys were both striking with good landing shots & each showed great defence & their styles were mirror images of each other. Kyle & TJ are both well liked fellas amongst the OBA & both are pleasant & hard working at their sport. Great Main Event!

I, for one, was very glad that there wasn't a fighter of the night to be chosen. There would have been just too many contenders.

Stay tuned for the next great OBA show.