Johnny Lewus defeats Allen Litzau in return

Report and photos by Bill Hillmann at ringside

Chicago Promoter Bobby Hitz revived his annual-tradition of Thanksgiving-Eve bouts at the Belvedere Bash last night in Elk Grove Village IL. The packed house at the sleek Belvedere Hall proved once again that, as Hitz told Fightnews “People love to come out the night before Thanksgiving to see guys knock the stuffing out of each other.”

The main event featured a Light Middleweight battle between Johnny “Bad Boy” Lewus (26-4-1, 21 KOs) of Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood and a game Allen “The American Boy” Litzau (13-7, 7 KOs) of St Paul Minn. Lewus came out fired up and decisively won the early-action with effective-aggression. Litzau found some room to counter in the third. The bout heated up in the fourth, fifth, and sixth. The hometown crowd was appeased as Lewus out-dueled Litzau in several explosive exchanges. Scores were 59-55, 59-55, 58-56 all in favor of Lewus. MORE

Lundy Stops Diaz

HAMMOND, Ind. (Aug. 19, 2011) – Hank Lundy closed out another stellar season of “Friday Night Fights” on ESPN and, quite possibly, wrote the final chapter of David Diaz’s outstanding career.

Philadelphia’s “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy (21-1-1, 11 KOs) defended his North American Boxing Federation (NABF) lightweight title in his first attempt Friday, knocking out Diaz 37 seconds into the sixth round of their scheduled 10-round nationally-televised co-feature at The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino. Friday’s event, promoted by Hitz Boxing in association with Banner Promotions, was the season finale of ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” series.

After getting knocked down early in the fourth round courtesy of a hard right by Diaz (36-4-1, 17 KOs), Lundy switched back to his traditional southpaw stance and closed out the former world champion with an overhand left that sent Diaz to the canvas and sent Lundy to his third consecutive victory.

“There’s something about those straight punches,” Lundy said. “When you land those straight punches, you don’t even have to look. You know once you connect, it’s done. MORE

By Matthew Paras at ringside
www.maxboxing.com

At the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, on Wednesday night, middleweight contender Andy Lee did something most fighters who have appeared on HBO recently haven’t done; he stayed active. To headline Hitz Boxing Entertainment’s “Rosemont Rumble,” Andy Lee scored a shutout unanimous decision victory over journeyman Alex Bunema. The fight was his second in just three months.

The fight started off slow and established a pattern, with Lee coming out each round, flicking his southpaw jab out, backing Bunema into a corner. Once there, Lee cautiously took his time picking apart his man. Bunema, who threw punches sparsely, ate a left straight to the body and then a right hook to the head all night.  Lee did what he wanted for the first six rounds and Bunema did next to nothing to try and change that.

In round seven, Bunema had his best round of the fight. After landing a right hand early in the round, Lee took caution, trying to sit back and counter. Bunema found success with various right hand leads throughout the round. For a moment, it seemed the pace of the fight was about to change. MORE

Photos: Hitz Boxing

Saturday night at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, Los Angeles, via Ghana lightweight Yakubu “Black Mamba” Amidu moved his record to 20-2-1, 16 KOs and picked up the NABA-US Lightweight Championship by taking a unanimous (78-74, 78-74 and 77-75) decision over Golden Meadow, Louisiana’s John Revish (10-3-2, 8 KOs). Amidu broke up a fairly even fight by applying constant pressure that eventually wilted the game Revish. Yakubu and his brother are managed by actor Vince Vaughn who was in attendance.

Ireland’s Henry Coyle (14-2, 11 KOs) finally stopped a stubborn William Prieto (5-5-1, 2 KOs) of Lorain, Ohio, in the sixth round of a junior middleweight bout. Coyle pasted Prieto for most of the fight as the tough Ohioan was content to lay on the ropes and hope to land a Hail Mary shot. Prieto refused to go down and he paid for his bravado, taking a sustained beating.

Buster Douglas protégée John Smith moved his heavyweight record to 2-0, 1 KO by humiliating someone named Robert Mendoza in 1:32 of the first round.

Hammond’s own Ruben “Modern Day Warrior” Galvan (27-16-4, 10 KOs) had his homecoming party spoiled by Toledo, Ohio’s Gabriel Morris (4-9-2). Galvan looked sluggish and stifled by the superior activity rate of the surprisingly capable Morris. All three judges scored it 59-55, giving Morris the unanimous decision. MORE

Andy Lee Victory Highlights Short But Exciting Hitz Card in Indiana

Report by Kerstin Broockmann
Photos by Scott Dray
CBZ Newswire

HAMMOND, IN, October 2, 2010 — Despite the absence on the card of several scheduled bouts, there was still plenty of action on tap for Hitz Boxing’s appropriately titled “Irish Invasion” show on October 2 at The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN.  Numerous changes left spectators with just five bouts, but there were enough fireworks for a longer evening.

Fight Report: "Quest for 50" Thwarted at the Venue, Undercard Shows Potential of Some Future Contenders

By Kerstin Broockmann
Photos by Scott Dray
CBZ Newswire

HAMMOND, IN, May 29, 2010 — Hitz Boxing returned to Hammond, Indiana’s Horseshoe Casino with a packed card headlined by Montell ‘Ice’ Griffin entering the ring for his 58th bout in his quest for 50 wins against Buffalo, NY’s Ross ‘The Boss’ Thompson.  The ‘Quest for 50’ also featured a packed undercard of Chicago fighters, including Henry Coyle returning to the ring after an injury to face Danville, VA’s Marcus Luck, and Achour Esho looking to maintain his unbeaten record against Ann Arbor, MI, veteran Robert Jones in what would be the Fight of the Night. The event featured lots of action in small quantities, as most of the fights ended early. The Main Events were disappointing. There was a respectable crowd (given the fact that another card was taking place just a few miles away at the UIC Pavilion and the Blackhawks were playing in Game One of the Stanley Cup Finals). Hawks fans were mollified by the big screen broadcast of the game between bouts. MORE

Thompson denies Griffin

By Jason Ford at ringside
Photo by Scott Dray

Cruiserweight Ross “The Boss” Thompson derailed former world champion Montell Griffin’s “Quest for 50″ on Saturday night at the Horseshoe Casino, in Hammond, Indiana. Thompson (27-14-2, 17 KOs) beat Griffin (49-8-1, 30 KOs) to the punch all night and was unlucky that the bout ended in a ten round draw. Scores were 96-94 Griffin, 97-93 Thompson and 95-95. Griffin, who turns 40 next week, was looking to cap off his successful career with his 50th professional victory against the Buffalo veteran in the main event of a show presented by Hitz Boxing.

Oquendo TKOs King at Horseshoe

By Jason Ford at ringside
Photo: Tom Barnes

Two-time world heavyweight title challenger Fres Oquendo (32-5, 21 KOs) moved closer to earning another title shot with an impressive TKO over the usually very durable Demetrice King (15-18, 13 KOs) this past Saturday at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Oquendo, the NABA champion and ranked #14 by the IBF, captured the vacant USBA title with his victory over King.

Oquendo came out fast in the opening round working behind his jab and establishing his range while King moved around the ring throwing a few punches.

In round two, both fighters threw bombs trying to end the night early. Oquendo dropped King with a heavy right hand late in the round but King recovered quickly and exchanged even more shots before the bell rung.
Oquendo continued to control the action throughout the middle rounds landing the cleaner shots and being a bit busier than his opponent. King’s eye and face begun to swell from the constant attack of Oquendo as the contest progressed into the late rounds.

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