PHOTOS page 22
1/28/2008
Samuel Peter Chops Down Seven Foot Julius Long at Mohegan Sun Photos by Brendon Pierpaoli
Despite a height differential of almost a foot, Samuel Peter, 256 1/2 lbs., charged out of his corner at the opening bell winging punches at the taller and clearly intimidated Julius Long. Nicknamed The Towering Inferno, Julius Long, 251, was quickly slated for demolition after Peter hurt him with a lead right hand in the bout's opening seconds.
Rising from a quick knockdown, Long retreated from Peter's punches and controlled bursts of chopping hooks to the belly, especially when Long attempted to grab and hold Peter to stop the onslaught. After several hard lunging rights and lefts Peter landed an overhand right that sent Long back into the ropes and a second harder shot put him down and in enough trouble to force referee Arthur Mercante to call a halt to the bout at 2:35 of round one.
Brian Minto defeated Billy Zumbrun by eight round unanimous decision in the fight that kicked off the ESPN2 telecast. With both fighters standing less than 6 feet tall and weighing less than 230 pounds, Minto and Zumbrun are smallish heavies by today's standards. But both guys slugged like titans in a serious beef that was less about skill and more about bash. Minto was the more accurate puncher throughout and in the final seconds of round seven he had Zumbrun all but out on his feet after a big right hand staggered him. Zumbrun made it back to his corner at the bell and survived the final round despite a face that was beginning to look more and more like ground round.
Undefeated heavyweight, Michael Marrone, a protege' of the great Lou Duva, overwhelmed Dan Whetzel causing referee Ken Ezzo to step in and stop the contest the 1:00 mark of the first round
Middleweights Lajuan Simon (in black above) and Darnell Boone (in gold above) fought an exciting six round draw which rounded out the ESPN2 card. The much busier Boone did little damage and rarely landed with any force against the more economical punching offense of Simon.
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