Local boxing clubs shine in amateur boxing tournament

Trainer Tyrese Williams gives instructions to Aziz Ferguson between rounds during Saturday’s amateur boxing tournament.
Photo by St. Clair Murraine

By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer

Aziz Ferguson waits in a neutral corner while the referee administered an eight-count on his opponent.
Photo by St. Clair Murraine

Aziz Ferguson knew going into the ring at the National Guard Armory that the fight play his trainer Tyrese Williams gave him could be trusted.
In his only other fight, the strategy that Williams offered worked for a victory.

 
“I tell them leave it all in the ring; don’t bring nothing out of that ring,” Williams said.

 
Ferguson sure tried, knocking down his opponent Richard Colbert in the second round of a fight that had the crowd standing every round.

 
“I wanted to win,” Ferguson said, after losing a split decision in the three-round fight. “I was going real hard.”

 
Despite Ferguson’s setback, three of his teammates from the host Lincoln Neighborhood Center Boxing scored wins. That gave them a 3-2 record in the one-day tournament that attracted teams from Georgia and throughout Florida.

 
Combined with one win in two bouts by fighters who represented Brickhouse Boxing, Tallahassee boxers left with a 4-3 record.

 
Eggy Bocicot’s split decision win over Tristan Gallicson secured the final victory for the Lincoln Neighborhood club. It was his first win in two bouts.

 
“This actually feels good,” he said afterward. “I want to get plenty more.

 
“This motivated me a whole lot.”

 
The outcome left Williams and his counterpart Darnell Baker, who trains the Brickhouse team, saying the boxers’ performances was a statement for Tallahassee.
“A lot of the fighters have a strong following,” Baker said. “They pleased the crowd and created a great atmosphere for boxing.”

 
Williams said he saw enough talent for Tallahassee to be considered a breeding ground for future champions. The city hasn’t had a major impact on the fight game since Tavoris Cloud and Travis Walker.

 
Cloud held the IBF light heavyweight world championship for almost two years, while Walker was top-ranked in the heavyweight division.

 
“I think boxing in Tallahassee can go a lot further,” Williams said. “If the clubs can come together, there is enough talent here to put out world champions. All we have to do is pull together and help each other.”

 
There was plenty of support for each fighter in the ring no matter which club he represented.

 
In addition to the all-action bout between Aziz and Colbert in their 120-pound class, Michael Hammond also gave a crowd-pleasing performance against Joseph King. Hammond scored a split decision for the only Brickhouse victory.

 
Hammond, the shorter of the two fighters, didn’t let the height disadvantage become a factor in the junior middleweight (154-pound) bout.

 
Hammond and King fought an even first round, but King’s pace slowed under the pressure from Hammond’s body attack. He occasionally landed an overhand right that kept King off balanced.

 
“I know once I started going to the body I’d take his energy away,” Hammond said. “He came out and put a lot of pressure on me but by the last round I had him fatigued (and) I started hurting him.”