Ringside Boxing Report: Harry Yorgey – Jeremy Yelton

Harry Yorgey suffers three knock downs and a broken nose but Jeremy Yelton is the one who leaves in an ambulance!

Click for larger image © Keith McMenamin / Saddo Boxing

In the record books it will say that on November 30, 2006 light middleweight Harry Yorgey defeated Jeremy Yelton by unanimous decision. That stat alone does not do justice for what went down at the Valley Forge Convention Center on Thursday night. I am here to tell you that this was not only by far the best fight of the year in Philadelphia, it was one fight fans tune into the TV hoping to see every week.

Click for larger image © Keith McMenamin / Saddo Boxing

This is a tale of courage that one day I will tell my grand kids about, one that makes some of the BS one deals with when working in professional boxing worthwhile. I won’t go into detail about how my “unofficial” official scorecard says Jeremy Yelton won a slim decision against Harry Yorgey or how I could be upset at the big cushion of victory the ring judges gave in the end. For those who follow my work know that I will scream bloody murder, roast a promoter and report a highway robbery when warranted.

Tonight is one of those rare occasions where I throw all of that out the window and just let it ride. I will say the heart Yorgey showed tonight overshadowed everything Jeremy Yelton did with his hands in the ring and in my book what it all really comes down to is your testicular fortitude. Tonight at the Valley Forge Convention Center, Harry Joe Yorgey showed that his pair beats a royal straight flush.

For his second straight ring appearance, Harry Joe Yorgey entered the ring as the headliner on cards that were poorly constructed as a whole. At the intermission, most of the ticket paying audience in the concession lines loudly swore up and down to each other that they would never buy a pro boxing ticket again. But when the show was over they all left the building basically saying “that last fight alone was worth the price of admission”. There isn’t a fight fan on earth that wouldn’t have enjoyed this one.

On this night, the undefeated Yorgey, 16-0 (8), was set to face off against North Carolina native Jeremy Yelton, 17-7 (8), a one time prospect who has dropped his last five outings entering this contest albeit to some of the best young talent in the division. On paper, a record says one thing but you never really know what to expect, especially from a guy who was supposedly jobbed in New York out of a win over Paulie Malignaggi. Tonight there were times when Yelton looked softer than a fresh batch of Twinkies and other times he looked every bit the fighter who started his career 16-1.

For the first three rounds, it was all Yorgey and we looked to be on our way to an early exit. Yorgey was a bully in the ring early on, he came out aggressive, worked with both hands, using the left jab upstairs to set up the straight right and also work to the body. Yorgey was in complete control, and his old man was up front screaming his approval. To Yelton’s discredit, he really looked like he didn’t want to fight. He was slipping all over the place, holding, basically trying to get out of the way.

Somewhere in the second round, his own corner man yelled out “You can’t win if you don’t fight”. On the rare occasion he did throw, you could tell this kid packed a punch; maybe he was just a bit gun shy early on. Either way, this hesitance is probably what cost him the fight. The highlight of the early going came in the second round where Yorgey lands a right uppercut followed by a swift left hook that floors the Carolina Kid. Yelton managed to get to his feet and Yorgey goes for the kill, landing bomb after bomb. Yelton looks like he is ready to leave, but luckily for him, the bell rings just in time.

Just when everyone thought it was smooth sailing for Team Yorgey, Yelton comes out of the gate blazing in the fourth and completely changes the momentum of the fight. Early in the round, Yelton landed a left to the body followed by a clean right that without a doubt broke Yorgey’s nose. Yelton stays on the attack, popping off combos at a steady pace and within seconds, Yorgey’s nose is leaking like an old roof.

Before long, both men and parts of press row are covered in blood. Wearing the Crimson Mask, Yorgey continues fight on and actually lands a right that momentarily stunned his opponent. Yorgey goes into attack and Yelton meets his fire which leads to an all out battle along the ropes until the final bell sounds. After the round, in complete bonehead fashion, Yelton smacks Yorgey on the back of the head as he heads to his corner. This move caused the referee to deduct a point from Yelton.

I know Yorgey had his jaw broken in the ring a few years back but I would be hard pressed not to say that the fifth round was the worst of his life. His nose was still leaking as he came out for the round, and Yelton showed no mercy as he went in like a shark. The man who looked uninterested in the early going was now firmly planting his feet on the ground before he fired off hard, crisp punches, moving around the ring and patiently found his spots before moving in.

He hits Yorgey, who at this point is a bloody mess, with a short left upstairs that sends the undefeated fighter to the canvas. Yorgey beats the ten count but is dropped once again by another short left hook that lands flush on the jaw. Yorgey has a surprised look on his face, it could be curtains. But no, he once again beats the ten count and absorbs more of a beating but the bell eventually rings and when it does, the whole crowd breaths a sigh of a relief as the hometown fighter was seconds away from taking a loss.

In the sixth, Philly fans show what they are all about as they rally behind their young charge in the ring ,chanting “Harry, Harry, Harry”. It worked, because the fighter who looked oh so shaky a minute ago was the first to land anything major as he rocks Yelton with a right hook, staggering the outsider but unable to put him down. Yorgey tries to follow up and this leads to a very exciting two way throw down, highlighted by a right hook by Yelton that lands flush. A very action packed round with both men, still covered in Yorgey’s blood, standing toe to toe trying to put the other guy away.

Things slowed down in the seventh as it went back to being a boxing match. This was a great move on Yorgey’s part because by now, he has lost a lot of blood and had to be woozy. I have to give his cut man a big shout out, the nose was not bleeding anymore. After a few love tap jabs from both fighters, Yelton scores a cheapo knockdown when he grazes a back peddling Yorgey, causing Harry to lose balance and therefore the tip of his glove scraps the canvas.

Yorgey goes on one hell of a spurt when action resumes, running out of the corner and laying the wood on Yelton, landing close to 20 unanswered punches to the face and body. He seriously beats Yelton around the ring for a good full minute before any fire is returned. Big round for Yorgey but unfortunately, the knockdown negates him winning the round outright.

The eighth starts off with both men once again facing each other in a traditional boxing sense. This lasts about a whole 20 seconds when Yorgey slips in a hard straight right hand. Yorgey stays with the right and lands two more cleanly as both men try to connect. After a little lull in the action, Yelton catches Yorgey in the body which sends the local man into the corner. Yelton is pounding away on Yorgey and it looks like the ref is ready to step in.

Out of nowhere, Yorgey connects with a quick right hook that stops Yelton dead in his tracks and drops him to a knee. The crowd goes nuts. Unfortunately for Yorgey, the referee calls it a rabbit punch and does not allow the knockdown to stand. Action does resume but Yelton doesn’t look like he wants to bang anymore. The final bell sounds and both fighters raise their arms in the air.

The fight went to the judges and was scored an absurd 76 -72, 76-73 with the third judge being more reasonable at 74-72, all in favor of Harry Joe Yorgey. On the road, I think this fight would have been scored 75-74 for Yelton, but I can never call a man who spilled that much blood and still went on to fight like he did, a loser.

When Chazz Witherspoon, Tyrone Brunson, Antonio Mesquito, Chucky Cavallo and battle horse Mamadou Thiam fall off a card, not much is expected. Harry Yorgey and Jeremy Yelton saved the day and gave everyone in attendance something they will remember for a long time. After the show, unfortunately Jeremy Yelton was spotted being driven away in an ambulance. It is almost certain that Yorgey will be taken there as well. My prayers and wishes for a speedy recovery to both men.

In other action:

Willingborough, NJ native welterweight Troy Browning, 18-0 (8), returned to the ring after a long layoff and took a hard fought unanimous decision over Philly’s Chris Hall, 5-6, by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 (twice). It was a very good, stiff fight but Browning’s discipline and ability to rattle off punches were too much for Hall.

Lightweight Brandon Darby, 3-4 (2), used a stiff left jab to easily defeat Samuel Guzman, 0-1, on all three cards by a score of 40-36.

Andy Mejias, 2-0 (1), and Manuel Guzman, 0-2, banged it out over four rounds at light middle with Mejias taking a unanimous decision victory, 40-36 and 40-35 (twice). Both fighters showed spark and willingness to fight in the ring. Mejias scored a knockdown in the second round.