On Friday night, Pugnacious Promotions pulled off another quality fight card in Albany, NY, with a sold out show at the Armory. In attendance were renowned fighters Billy Costello, Livingstone Bramble, Otis Grant, Tony Marshall and Gerry Cooney along with Senators Hugh Farley and Jim Tedesco. The evening started off with a super middleweight bout featuring Brandon Mitchem facing Keith Sonley in a scheduled six round contest. Mitchem, who just made his return to the ring after a two plus year layoff, started out slow in the first until he started to find his rhythm.
Once the second round started, Mitchem shook off his ring rust and dominated Sonley. Mitchem opened a cut over Sonley's eye in the third and kept it his main focus throughout the fight. Mitchem was cut in the fifth by a headbutt that opened a cut under his eye and was deducted a point in the third for a low blow that looked to be more of Sonley's antics to buy time than anything else. Even with the point deduction, the decision was never in doubt as Mitchem won a unanimous decision, 58-55 (twice) and 57-53 on the scorecards. Brandon Mitchem moves to 23-4-1 (8) while Keith Sonley drops to 4-12-6 (1).
In heavyweight action, Shannon Miller faced David "Champ" Chappell in a six round bout. In the opening round, Chappell controlled Miller with jabs, using a long reach to his advantage and had Miller bruised and swelling by the end of the round. In the second, things started to even up as Miller began to get inside and find his range, staggering Chappell with hooks. As the third round approached, Chappell started to move more - causing Miller to miss and evened up the scorecard. By the end of the fourth, Chappell fell right into Miller's hands and tried to brawl with the hometown favorite and had to be saved in the sixth. As Miller was about to put Chappell away, the ref stepped in and stopped the fight at 1:57 of the round. Shannon Miller improves to 13-1 (7) while David Chappell goes to 7-6 (3).
In light welter action, undefeated Wayland Willingham took on tough Jose Angel Roman in a six round bout. Willingham came out posing for the cameras and tried to make an exciting fight for the crowd by moving and showboating. He caught Roman at will but was unable to have any effect on the West Palm Beach native. Though Willingham was busier, he was the least effective of the two. Roman, who started to come on strong in the fifth, was just a little to late with his timing and ended up losing on a points decision. At the bell ending the fight, Willingham was done and almost out on his feet while Roman looked fresh and ready to go. Wayland Willingham won the decision feeling relived knowing that he escaped a very close call to head to 8-0 (4). Jose Angel Roman falls to 9-12-3 (4).
In women's action, welterweight Liz Mooney faced world ranked Cristy Nickel at a catch weight of 150lbs. Mooney was stepping up in competition and had to be considered the underdog here but "All Biz" Liz came to prove a point. >From the opening bell, she jumped on Nickel, never giving the Mississippian a second to breathe. Nickel, who looked more like an amateur in her first bout rather than a world ranked contender, couldn't shake off the nurse from Albany and was rocked in the first and second rounds. In the third, Nickel was caught with a hard right that stunned her and caused the ref to issue a standing eight count. When asked if she was okay, Nickel quit, giving Mooney a TKO win after only 1:31 of the third round. Liz Mooney climbs to 4-2 (2) while Cristy Nickel drops to 7-5 (4).
In the main event, it was welterweight action featured local man Frank Houghtaling against Canadian Hercules Kyvelos, who was making his return to the ring after a two year layoff and was supposed to be an easy opponent for Houghtaling. Houghtaling, who was just recently arrested for insurance fraud and out on $20,000 bail, turned out to be the opponent for the night. Frank came out in the first trying to stick and move hoping to take advantage of Kyvelos' layoff but soon found himself in trouble after Hercules found his range.
Houghtaling was running and trying to avoid every shot he could. By the third round, when it was obvious to everyone including Houghtaling that he was outclassed, he resorted to fighting dirty. Houghtaling wrestled, hit low, and held. Kyvelos, who stayed a professional throughout, boxed and cut the ring off, scoring with hooks and straight rights that took the heart out of Houghtaling. By the end of the sixth, the crowd was booing the hometown fighter. Houghtaling went down from a straight right at the end of the sixth and managed to win his only round in the seventh by moving, but it was too late for any chance of a win on the cards. Kyvelos won the fight by a very unpopular split decision. It was a clear-cut unanimous win for Kyvelos, who was never not in control of the fight. If not for the knockdown, the hometown judges may have given Houghtaling an undeserved win but luckily it went in favor of Kyvelos. Hercules Kyvelos returns to the win column and heads to 23-2 (11) while Frank Houghtaling to 19-10-5 (4).
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