NORTH OLMSTED – It was a clean sweep for Freddie`s Boxing Club at the Saturday Night Fights event at St. Clarence Hall on Saturday night, as all four fighters from the Lorain gym had their hands raised after their bouts.
Southview senior Johnny Colon won a high school championship match; Chris Hanczaryk and Jose Guerra captured main-card decisions and Wilkins Santiago pulled out a victory in the night`s main event.
“I knew it was going to be a good fight before I even stepped into the ring,” said Santiago, who improved his amateur record to 52-5. “I was fighting a nationally ranked guy and he has a brother who`s a pro fighter, so I know he`s got experience.
“But it`s been a long road for me, man — and I was hungry. All I was thinking about was my little boy in the hospital and my little family I`m trying to get going, and I decided to keep pushing through.”
Santiago earned a decision over Ken Porter II – whose older brother Shawn is 7-0 as a junior middleweight and was an Olympic alternate for Team USA in 2008 – in the night`s only open-division fight (three three-minute rounds) by using power shots to the body and dominating ring control to outpoint Porter.
Santiago defended against Porter`s jab in the open areas of the ring, pushed Porter into the ropes and let loose with flurries that scored him plenty of points on the judges` cards.
“I had to because in my weight class I`ve noticed that every guy I fight is taller than me,” Santiago said. “I knew he was going to grab me and hold me, so I had to cut loose a little bit and mix in a couple combinations to let the judges know who was the one holding in there.
“I know in this boxing game, attacking the body is one of the most important things. It`s like when you`re cutting a tree down, you have to attack the bottom so it all falls. I knew if I stayed on the body, in some of the later rounds he was going to start slowing up his punches.”
In the other feature bouts of the night, Jimmy Bland of Glennville Boxing Club in Cleveland scored a decision over 2008 Golden Gloves champion Brian Park – who fights for event sponsor West Side Boxing Club – in a 160-pound novice bout, and undefeated MMA fighter Jessica Eye – making her boxing debut – scored a first-round TKO over PC Torres fighter Carrie Fiol in a 132-pound novice bout. Novice fights consist of three two-minute rounds.
Getting things started for the Lorain group was Colon, who used 1-2 combinations to soften up Valley Forge`s Demitious Luter in the first round, then a punishing jab the rest of the fight that eventually scored an eight count on the Parma fighter in a sub-novice – three one-minute rounds – bout.
“As soon as I hit that eight count, it got my energy pumping right there,” said Colon, who was making his amateur boxing debut. “My strongest punch is my left hook, but since he was short I had to use my jab to stay away from him. He was trying to come into my body, and I used the jab to keep backing him away. When he dropped the hand down I threw my right, and that`s what won it for me.”
Next up was Hanczaryk, a Cleveland fighter who trains at Freddie`s, and Guerra, who downed Kenneth Walker from the Hard Knock Boxing Club in Cleveland.
Guerra was hit with three standing eight counts – one in each round – and Walker was given two penalty points for holding during the fight.
“I know it could have gone both ways,” Guerra said. “At the end, he was holding on for dear life. Every time I came in he was trying to hold me so I wouldn`t hit him.”
Guerra used hooks and power shots to the body to pull out the victory, improving his amateur record to 10-5. Walker used strong straights and jabs to earn the eight counts on Guerra.
“It gives me confidence because I really had to battle to get the win,” Guerra said. “It was also a good fight for me because it showed me what I need to work on. The reason I was getting those eight counts was I kept leaving my left down. So that tells me that I have to remember to guard that left side.”
Santiago will fight once more in Lorain before starting his pro career – he will debut on Sept. 26 at St. Clarence Hall – and the fighter knows he has some work to do before beginning that phase of his boxing career.
“I wasn`t too happy with my performance tonight because I know I`m a better fighter,” Santiago said. “Freddie has been working a lot of combinations with me that I didn`t get to really get off like I wanted to, but we go back to the gym Monday and get back on it.”
Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com.

Results

HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS – 152-pound sub-novice: Demetrius Bennett (Cleveland Central Catholic) def. Rafael Morales (Cleveland) by decision; 135-pound sub-novice: Johnny Colon (Southview) def. Demitious Luter (Valley Forge) by decision; 152-pound novice: Mohamad Bodair (Cleveland Life Skills Center) def. Noah Klembara by decision.
MAIN CARD BOUTS: 152-pound novice: Larry Drumond (West Side Boxing Club) def. Travis Dougherty (South Park BC) by TKO; 178-pound novice: Shavar Campbell (Empire BC) def. Aaron Dufor (Downtown BC) by decision; 141-pound sub-novice: Chris Hanczaryk (Freddie`s BC) def. Travis Stoll (Bill Brown BC) by decision; 132-pound novice: Greg Gilbert (West Side BC) def. Romiro Hernendez (Michael J. Zone) by decision; 152-pound novice: Jose Guerra (Freddie`s BC) def. Kenneth Walker (Hard Knock BC) by decision; 175-pound sub-novice: James Gresham (West Side BC) def. Jim Chisholm (Team Energetics) by decision; 185-pound novice: Jason Bush (Empire BC) def. Ray Halasz (Strong Style MMA) by decision; 180-pound sub-novice: Joe Hurst (West Side BC) def. Quason Robinson (Michael J. Zone) by decision.
FEATURE BOUTS: 160-pound novice: Jimmy Bland (Glennville BC) def. Brian Park (West Side BC) by decision; 132-pound novice: Jessica Eye (Strong Style MMA) def. Carrie Fiol (PC Torres) by TKO; 165-pound open: Wilkins Santiago (Freddie`s BC) def. Ken Porter II (Porter Training Team) by decision.

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