Boxing fans who traveled on the QE 2 Highway to Calgary, Alberta on Friday, January 13 to watch Challenger Janks Trotter battle two time Canadian Olympian and current NABA Light Middleweight Champion Adam “The A-Bomb” at Desperado’s Night Club expected a knockout and that expectation came to fruition as Trupish stopped Trotter a few seconds before the halfway point in the first round of a bout scheduled for 10. The win moves Trupish’s record to 10-0 w/7 knockouts while Trotter’s record now stands at 7-1-1 w/7 knockouts.
People who didn’t witness this fight; instead, relied on their daily newspaper or Internet blogger/fan accounts as a source of information may get the impression that Mr. Trotter was a sacrificial lamb who didn’t put up much resistance. In reality, the 27 year old Calgarian dominated the 32 year old Fighter from Edmonton until he made the fatal mistake of taking a step back and lowering his hands. Trupish stepped forward and threw a a vicious left hook that caught the right side of Trotter’s skull; just above his ear. The impact from the punch twisted his head and sent neurological shock waves down his spine.
The Champion followed the hook with an right hand upper cut that landed under the chin of the challenger. Trotter recalled trying to reach the ropes;but, his legs wouldn’t cooperate. In retrospect he should have taken a knee and hoped a quick respite would do the trick ;but, there are no do overs in boxing. Referee Wes Melton correctly stopped the fight after two knockdowns. Trupish was tagged a few times and suffered a cut on the bridge of his nose and swelling under his eye. It was a war for 72 seconds. As for future plans, Team Trotter would like a rematch but Adam Trupish’s post fight comments didn’t offer much hope for that to happen. Too bad, Janks Trotter deserves another shot. Trupish told reporters that he has been promised a shot at Austin Trout;but, didn’t give a date.
The Co-Main Event featured Calgary’s Steve “The Dragon” Clagget and Ryan “The Nightmare” Wagner from Orangeville, Ontario in a light Welterweight contest scheduled for 7 rounds. Wagner outboxed Claggett in the first three rounds by keeping his distance and scoring points with a stiff left jab. All three scorecards had him ahead of the favored Claggett. In the fourth round, the taller Wagner abandoned his effective stick and move style and fought toe to toe with Claggett who is a natural counter puncher. Wagner went down to one knee when Claggett connected with a body shot to the liver in the fourth and Wagner continued to take a plethora of shots to the mid section and ribs until the bout was stopped in the 6th. Claggett, who has aspirations of fighting America’s Jose Benavides Jr., raised his record to 13-1-1 w/8 knockouts while the loss dropped Wagner to 4-2 w/ 2 knockouts.
On the Under Card…veteran super middleweight Jason “Notorious” Naugler was hoping to upset Albert “The Punisher” Onolunose in an 8 round bout. Naugler is never afraid to mix it up with anyone; but, Onolunose was busier and threw harder punches than the former Canadian Champion who hails from Halifax Nova Scotia. The judges agreed and scored it 80-72, 79-73, 80-72 in favor of the Nigerian Onolunose; who now fights out of Calgary Alberta. With the victory, Onolunose improves his record to 19-1 w/7 knockouts while Naugler’s record drops to 18-15-1 w/ 11 knockouts. In a classy gesture. Naugler visited Janks Trotter after his loss to Trupish and told him to keep his head high and reach for the stars.
In the first fight of the evening, The Fighting Pride of Phoenix: Andrew “Hurricane” Hernandez waged a war with Ontario’s “Silent” Steve Franjic. The bout was action packed. Hernandez knocked his taller foe down twice before breaking his right hand towards the end of round 1. He managed to finish the fight despite the broken hand ;but, the judges ruled the contest a majority draw with scores of 56-56, 56-56 and 55-57 in favor of Franjic. Hernandez record now stands at 3-0-1 while Franjic’s record is now 7-0-1 w/4 knockouts. Both fighters received a standing ovation from the capacity crowd at Desperado’s .
It was a great night of boxing and Fan Base Boxing and Desperado’s should take a bow for their effort. Go to www.fanbaseboxing for the latest updates.
