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| Michael Penn / Juneau Empire |
Overhand left: Josh Lehauli, left, connects with a left hook to the head of Haans Madsen during Roughhouse Friday at Marlintini's Lounge. |
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Roughhouse Friday at Marlintini's Lounge saw a few big changes last week as the event was held under a new city-wide no-smoking ban and spectators witnessed the first-ever mixed martial arts fight in Juneau.
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In the boxing main event, Ketchikan's Tyson Duckworth defeated Juneau's Julio "The Haitian Sensation" Gregoire in a fight that had the boxers tangled up many times.
The fight paired Duckworth's quickness and stamina against Gregoire's thunderous right hook. The two exchanged late punches after the bell ended the second round. Gregoire tried to land his signature punch, but Duckworth's ring savvy led to a win via decision.
In Friday's most dramatic fight, 30-year-old U.S. Coast Guard member and self-professed "computer geek" Ryan Wong knocked out 25-year-old Eric Erb, a first-time fighter new to Juneau and looking for something to do.
Erb didn't exactly receive Juneau's warmest welcome.
Erb started out strong and forced referee Joe Isturis to deliver Wong a standing eight count. Erb tired early, however, in round two and paid dearly. After faking a punch to the body, Wong caught Erb flush in the face with a huge right hand that knocked out his opponent before his head hit the mat.
Wong said his strategy was to tire Erb by working the body but "I got him in the jaw and knocked him out." He said he initially felt glad to KO his opponent but then felt bad "because now he's sitting with a cold towel on his head trying to figure out where he is."
Here's a rundown of the rest of Friday's action:
Juneau's Jesse "The Roofer" Solomon defeated Ketchikan's Gabe "Steele" Duckworth in an energetic bout. Both boxers packed fast, fiery fists as Solomon tagged Duckworth hard in round two of an even bout. In round three Duckworth missed a huge uppercut that sent him through the ropes as Solomon hung on for the win.
First-time fighter Charles Bagoyo, 20, defeated Logan Henkins, 25, in an adrenaline-filled fight. Bagoyo earned the decision as he popped Henkins along the ropes in the first round.
Stephen Ellison, a 20-year-old fighter from Klawock, overwhelmed Hoonah's Chris Larsen en route to a first-round KO. Ellison landed multiple shots to Larsen's head as the Hoonah fighter retired after one round.
Adam Litke earned a decision over Casey "Little Big Man" Yakovich. After Yakovich controlled the first round, Litke came alive in the second and rocked his opponent towards the end of the round. Both fighters tired in the third round as blood trickled from Litke's nose. Litke held on for the win, however.
First-time fighter Tim Katasse, 20, forced the referee to stop the fight in the third round to beat Hoonah's Matthew Brown. Brown started strong as Katasse received a standing eight count after a barrage of punches. Katasse turned up the heat as the fight progressed, though, to win the bout.
In a battle of the 22-year-olds, Randy Willard defeated Hoonah's Cody Mills via TKO after delivering multiple standing eight counts to Mills in the first two rounds, then pummeling the tired boxer in round three. Willard, who retired from boxing after the fight, said his strategy was to mix it up with combos and body shots to side-step Mills.
Norman "Thunder Punch" Flood III defeated Charlie Gallant in a rematch from last month. Flood delivered Gallant a standing eight in the first round and Gallant answered with some hard taps. Flood seemed to like getting hit as he laughed while opening up his head to Gallant's punches.
Katie "The Killer" Zaruba defeated Stephanie "Cave Woman" Cave in a grudge match pairing the wife and ex-wife of the same man. The action didn't match the build up, though, as both fighters cautiously danced and jabbed each other.
Undefeated 20-year-old Josh Lehauli defeated late substitute Haans Madsen of Kodiak after original opponent Kyle Bischoff failed to show. Lehauli, a former Juneau-Douglas High School football star, dominated the bout between the two good friends and even fought with one hand behind his back for much of round two.
In the first mixed martial arts fight held in Juneau, Ketchikan's Nick Merfeld defeated Juneau's Nick Steele via decision after three rounds.