Buffalo Golden Gloves: January 24, 2015 continued coverage

Featured Bouts of the Day: Opening Round January 24, 2015

• Michael Christopher (UB Boxing Club) vs Michael Stevens (Buffalo P.A.L.): 152lbs. Open Division 

When I saw the match-up of Michael Christopher (UB Boxing Club) against Michael Stevens (Buffalo P.A.L.) on the bout sheet I knew it would be an exciting fight. This is a rematch from last year, where Stevens won a 2-1 decision over Christopher. I filmed one of  Michael Christopher's first fight about 4 years ago at the 2010 Buffalo Golden Gloves tournament. Even in his early fights, he prove to be a game fighter that willing to mix it up. Christopher has been one of UB Boxing Club's premier fighter for the past few years. If you're not familiar with his camp, they are coached by Dean Eoannou, a fired up and inspirational individual that has been a part on the local boxing community for a while now. The UB Boxing Club has produced several amateur champions through the years. Such as Wendy Casey and Todd Atkinson. On the other side of the ring was Michael Stevens out of the Buffalo P.A.L. He hasn't been on the scene a long time, but he has made an impression on those that have seen him fight. Stevens is a strong fighter with a granite chin. I've seen him win fights because his opponent just could not break him down in the fight. His coach, is former professional boxing world champion, Ross Thompson. Ross is also a former National Golden Gloves champion, so he knows what it takes to win this tournament.

I usually give a round by round account of the fight, instead, I'm just going to give you the highlights of the bout. Michael Christopher, technically, is a better fighter than Michael Stevens, but Stevens is a tougher fighter. I heard in a Rocky movie that "it's not how much punishment you can give out that makes you tough, it's how much punishment you can take that makes you tough". Christopher was landing hard shots throughout the fight, but Stevens continued to walk right through them. When a fighter gets hurt from a punch, their legs buckle and that's how you know they're really hurt. Although Stevens was getting rocked at every occasion, he was still in the fight. In the first and seconds rounds Christopher was landing his shot at will and he took every opportunity to end the fight. You could see that Christopher getting frustrated that he could not put Steven on the canvas. Between rounds Dean Eoannou urged Christopher to put his man away, but it wasn't as easy as it looked. Ross Thompson was yelling instructions and inspiration to Stevens during the fight. He yelled"he can't hurt you". Steven fights hard for his coach and refused to go down because that's the type of fighter that Stevens is. In the third round Christopher started to slow down, but he still was getting off huge shots. Stevens did better in the last round and this is the round he usually take over a lesser opponent, but Christopher was ready. He went on to win by unanimous decision.

In my final analysis, I think Michael Stevens is a competitor and he deserves all the praise in the world for his accomplishments. In my opinion, his skillset does not match his heart, yet. His technique rarely wins him fights. He wins with an iron chin, strength, determination, and guts. My only suggestion is, perfect a style that works for you, defensively,  and you will be the man to beat... at 141lbs. Just saying.

I would like to congratulate Michael Christopher and Dean Eoannou of the University at Buffalo Boxing Club for their win the 152lbs. Open Division and advancing in the 2015 Buffalo Golden Gloves tournament. Also, congratulations to Michael Stephens for another exciting effort and competing in the tournament to finish what he started in 2013, winning a state title. Congratulations to Ross Thompson and the Buffalo PAL for their competitive entries in the tournament. I will see you all at round 2 of the 2015 Buffalo Golden Gloves tournament.