FIRE AND FURY

BY JOHN MASTALIR jmastalir@yahoo.com

With the demise of Guilty Boxing at the Orleans, club boxing in Las Vegas was without a home...NO MORE !

How wonderfully refreshing to see the South Pointe Casino Hotel and KZ Event Productions combine to fill the void !

Friday's 7 bout card was in fact..... Fire and Fury...boxing and more. I have loathed the delays, dead time and endless intermissions at boxing events for 25 years here in Las Vegas...all due to television and bad promotion. NOT HERE !

The damn thing started on time, my biggest bitch of all, and the between fights dead time was filled with "the karate kid"...a fire magacian with a real act....and between round dancers which were quite good.

The South Pointe convention arena was set up pretty well for this, with its low ceiling...they had a big crowd and a totally complete satisfing entertainment program....LAS VEGAS ENTERTAINMENT NEWS....covers all entertainment as well as boxing and tonight we got it all ! I still went to bed trying to figure out how TELEFUTRA and ESPN could both hold boxing events on this same night at the same time in Las Vegas, and I was told TELEVISON was the answer.

It still continues to amaze me how in spite of everything the sound man can hit the rap music at the bell after every round and never miss a beat...still truly awful.
I guess I can't have it all.

There was Fire and Fury, and even smoke in the ring for the main event...I didn't sneeze or cough before Friday night and haven't stopped since...don't know if they are to blame or not...I continue to be amazed at the cost of indoor fireworks, lazers and nearly naked women for the headliner to enter the ring...in my ancient senario I always think of worst case results like one of the curtains catching on fire....all the precautions were fulfilled here though and they go me home safely.

BOXING....HELL YES !

And while this was a club card with quasi simulated fictional titles and boxers no one had every heard of .....that is not the point....they still have to play the game and this night everyone played well. Good action fights with guys who wished to compete and did and showed some skills and entertained.

A swing bout between Ramon Montano 17-10-2 and Juan Suazo 8-4-3 might have been the best bout of the night...both men never stopped swinging for 18 minutes and Suazo got a 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 call.

It never fails to amaze me what you see...Hector Munoz had the top half of a pistol tatooed over his right buttocks eclipsing his trunks to reveal the theory he was packing heat...just amazing what the thought process is that goes on here...Ravshan Hudaynazarov (16-0) didn't care he beat Munoz every round..altho Munoz made the effort !

After alleged TV title fights with Kahn and Klitsko in my recent memory it was impressive to open this card with light heavyweights Gayrat Ahmedov 17-0-1 and Billy Baily 11-12 they came out and fought hard and they did it for all 8 rounds.

The main event showcased a top B level light heavyweight Beibut Shumenov 12-1 and Danny Santiago 31-5-2....Shuenov scored the KO at 46 seconds of the ninth round...hey this guy is focused, intent, in shape, aggressive and brings the fight to his opponent...here is guy I want to see again.

As my readers know I never use sanctioning alphabet call letters of fight organizations in my storys...there are no champions or....there are 244...you make the call...the point is Shumenov can fight and does.

Finally with the unfriendly atmosphere presented at the MGM where they discourage journalism and hold the philosophy at their cards that says...don't do that, don't go there, you can't do that...we don't want you here.....THE SOUTH POINT AND KZ PRODUCTIONS welcomed us with open arms...the staff was friendly, helpful and accomodating and they put out a world class press kit with everything I wanted to know and more...I read it all.

A first class entertainment event recommended to the world and I for one anxiously await their next event.

99 A+