First of all, I am writing this at 3:00 in the morning. I am exhausted and though I have proof read it, I am hallucinating from lack of rest. I hope my thoughts are understood, and I did not say something that will be misread or misinterpreted. Thank you to all who fought on the event.
The C-MAX event tonight was very good. It was attended by about 1700 people. I was happy about this attendance considering this town was in hockey mania with the hometown team in the playoffs. Still I would have been far happier to have a sell-out (ha ha). By the way, the Flames (hockey) managed to lose tonight putting the series into a 7th game (figures). In all honesty after the stumbling blocks I have been encountering since November of last year, I am glad and relieved this event took place. It has allowed me to get the ball rolling and gain momentum for promoting fight events again in this city. Things seem to be back on track!
A quick synopsis of the bouts.
C-MAX 2 - 8 man Tournament
Elimination match 1
Bout 1
Mark Brackenbury (Canada) vs. Jose Luis Uribe Garcia (Mexico)
Mark looked very good. Sharp, nice timing both offensively and defensively. Mark intercepted very well with his teeps, moved from hand to foot attacks very well and dominated handily in the clinch. Jose tried to score on the outside but Mark positioned very well nullifying most of the attempts. Mark shook Jose a few times but did not capitalize. Mark did 3 rounds here and walked out of the ring unscathed. Mark won by unanimous decision.
Elimination match 2
Rino Belcastro (Canada) vs. Oscar Contreras (Mexico)
I expected a knock down, drag out war here. I know Oscar likes to throw hard punches and put his opponents to sleep. But he looked very laid back during the beginning of this fight. Rino moved very well throwing strong punches, kicks and knees. A few very hard body shots took their toll on Oscar. In round three Oscar did land some very good right hands but Rino seemed to absorb the blows off like they were nothing. Towards the end of the third round, Rino landed an explosive right hand that put Oscar down hard. Oscar was back to his feet by seven but was on queer street so the referee wisely stopped the fight. Rino took a little more punishment in his first bout than his upcoming opponent Mark did.
Elimination match 3
Bout 3
Saji Geeverghese (Canada) vs. Rami Ibrahim (USA)
This was a slower fight with both athletes taking their time to try and land shots. Saji was very gung ho in the first round, but started slowing down as each round progressed. Rami went the other direction moving slowly and then providing more movement as each round progressed as he tried to pick his shots. He heavily worked his left hook and though he landed a few, Saji covered very well. In the third round Rami picked up his work rate and started working combinations, from punches to low kicks. This worked very well for him and he walked away the winner. Rami walked away not too bad for wear and tear.
Elimination match 4
Trevor Smandych (Canada) vs. Juan Carlos Bautista Perez (Mexico)
Trevor looked quite rusty and looked like he was trying to find his bearings. Though he powered through his opponent with punches and kicks, he looked a little off in terms of pulling the trigger when he wanted and finding his range. Juan was taking some very hard low kicks when suddenly towards the end of the first round, Trevor landed an explosive left body hook which put Juan down and out of the fight. Minimal damage to Trevor.
Superfight 1
Elimination match 5 (semi-final)
Lee Mein (Lethbridge, Canada) vs. Sahba Hesabi (Toronto, Canada) - Modified Muay Thai
These two superheavyweights stepped in the ring and decided to war. Lee possessed more power than Sahba. Lee managed to land some excellent right hands. The first putting Sahba down hard to the canvas. Sahba showed the warrior he was and he got up in the ring to battle again. Lee jumped in and literally delivered a jumping right cross that landed and he followed with a right uppercut which connected. Sahba went down and the corner threw the towel in. Lee won by first round TKO. Sabha had some eye trouble afterwards and had to go to the hospital.
Elimination match 5 - semi final
Mark Brackenbury (Canada) vs. Rino Belcastro (Canada)
I was really expected a much closer war in this match. Mark seemed to really have Rino's number in terms of controlling the gap. Rino wanted to box and Mark was determined not to let that happen. Rino was held at bay by good teeps and when Rino did get in, Mark would clinch and then spin or trip Rino around the ring. Mark delivered a few deluxe spins and trips followed by some good knees and kicks. Mark looked good. No slight at Rino, because he impressed me with his hands and his power. He just was taken out of his battle plan by Mark. Mark won by unanimous decision.
Elimination match 6
Trevor Smandych (Canada) vs. Rami Ibrahim (USA)
Trevor again seemed to be battling for his bearings. Rami was to choose a hit and move style which for the first round worked quite well. In the second and third round, Rami still employed the same strategy but he did not have the power on his shots he possessed in the first round. Trevor shelled for most of Rami's onslaughts and countered with strong blows. It was a very close fight with Trevor winning the decision.
Superfight 2
Scott Clark (Canada) vs. Gustavo Adoldo Perez Hernandez (Mexico)
Scott looked a tentative in this match as he found his bearings. Gustavo wanted to hit and fall to the clinch. Gustavo would then try and get to the ropes and hold them for leverage. He was warned for this many times by the referee. Scott looked comfortable in the clinch which seemed to frustrate and Gustavo. During round two Scott kept landing good punches to kicks and then both would end up in the clinch. In this round, a fast and furious right elbow strike made it in by Scott and it produced an egg under Gustavo's eye. At the start of the third round, Gustavo would not come out due to eye problems and Scott walked away the winner.
Final match
Trevor Smandych (Canada) vs. Mark Brackenbury (Canada)
Truthfully I was quite disappointed this fight took place tonight. Why? I know both athletes have great support across Canada and I wanted to have this bout as a main event for a TSN (our national sports channel) televised card in the near future. But things work in strange ways. It was a very good and entertaining fight tonight with each athlete delivering clean, powerful, and impressive technique. Truthfully both boys had to work hard in this match and the audience really appreciated it. In the first round, both boys exchanged very well with Mark managing a deluxe teep which was to put Trevor onto the seat of his pants. In the second round, Trevor picked up his work rate. He started to land some nice body kicks. After watching Mark perform so superbly in the clinch in his previous two bouts, I expected him to use this tactic a lot and more so, to use it effectively. The boys did clinch and Trevor managed to nullify Marks' kneeing game plan (thanks Kru Tong!). In third round there was a lot of desire and action between both, but I feel Trevor was to take this round convincingly. The decision was split for Trevor.
There were a lot of good fights on this event. Trevor vs. Mark was very, very good and could have headlined a fight event anywhere. Too bad so many people missed this bout. Hey Mark, you have another fan out in Calgary... me! I also saw some very good talent tonight and managed to consider some future fights. Rino wants a shot at Trevor as does Rami again. Rino also wants a rematch with Mark. The list goes on and on for these warriors.
Mark came out of retirement and looked impressive. Trevor finally got to fight. He trained since last September for today. He trained for November when he was disappointed on the day of the fight because Danny Steele pulled his infamous no show. Then Trevor trained for February 7th C-MAX which had to be cancelled on 10 days notice due to some issues which finally have been resolved. So today he finally got the chance to fight after 8 months of training. He looked a little gym stale (and the 8 months training definitely contributed), but he managed to shake a lot of it off during each successive fight. Trev, now it is time to move forward again onto your next challenge. Congratulations buddy on your fights tonight and on winning the C-MAX 2. From your biggest fan, Mike Miles