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Lockport’s Amer Abdallah improves to 13-0 with TKO win over Cleveland’s Tiawan Howard at the Kenan Center Arena

By John D’Onofrio
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

LOCKPORT —  It took just 15 minutes — that’s five rounds in the kickboxing world — for Tiawan Howard to decide he’d had enough of Lockport’s Amer Abdallah, who survived a nasty cut over the left eye to earn a technical knockout win over the tough Cleveland mixed martial arts veteran.

Howard (16-6) failed to answer the bell for the sixth round in the main event of Saturday night’s professional light heavyweight kickboxing bout at the Kenan Center Arena as the Lockport gym owner Abdallah remained unbeaten — and more importantly, took another giant step towards a possible world title bid — before a large, vocal partisan crowd.

Among other big winners in the 11-bout card were Lockportians Pat Thompson and John Calixte.

Abdallah (13-0), the reigning World Kickboxing Eastern United States light heavyweight champion, was in control throughout the WKA-sanctioned, seven-round main event, but a cut over the left eye may have made some fight fans anxious as to the outcome.

Both fighters landed leg kicks and punches to the head in the sizing-up opening round, but one of them apparently caught Abdallah over the left eye and by the second round, Lockport’s U.S. champion was bleeding profusely.

Abdallah came out aggressively the rest of the way and began a well-calculated offensive attack that keyed on delivering body shots to Howard, who is known for his Tyson-like power in the ring.

The affect was immediate and Howard started backing away from Abdallah, who was more than happy to move in and deliver more blows.

Great work from the Abdallah corner kept the bleeding from becoming a factor, as Howard teetered on verge of getting knocked out several times over the next two rounds. A third-round uppercut felled Howard for the first time as referee Joe Pagan stepped in to give the out-of-towner his first of three standing-eight counts.

In the fourth, a powerful right hand to the head again floored the Clevelander, but as Abdallah moved in for the kill, Howard was saved by the bell.

But Abdallah’s vicious leg kicks to the body were taking their toll on Howard, who was spitting up blood between rounds in his corner by now and barely answered the bell for the fifth round.

Relentless Abdallah punishment in the fifth closed out the fight. A left leg kick to the stomach dropped Howard one last time and when the bell rang, Howard stumbled back to his corner. Moments later, Howard’s corner threw in the towel and Abdallah celebrated another giant step towards accomplishing his dream.

“I want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting our wonderful sport,” Abdallah told the large crowd after the fight. “I’m proud to be from Lockport. A special thanks to all of our sponsors, to my team and my family.”
Meanwhile, Thompson improved to 14-2 with an 30-27, 29-27, 28-29 majority decision win over Anthony Winfrey of Cleveland in the night’s only heavyweight matchup — a three-rounder.

After a close first round, Thompson landed three great right hands about 30 seconds apart in the second and finished the round with a flurry. Some strong leg kicks by Thompson landed in the third and the Lockportian once again finished the round with a flurry of punches to Winfrey’s head.

“The first round was kind of even, but I knew if I was patient, I could begin to tire him out. He was going hard,” Thompson said.

“He was breathing heavy by the second round and started grabbing me more. Once I felt his power, his punches didn’t phase me any more. He was awkward because he was wild. It felt good to win in front of the home crowd There was a lot of pressure.”

Calixte was also impressive in his three-round, full contact light middleweight unanimous decision win over Jim Stetson of Syracuse. The three ring judges’ score cards were 29-27, 29-27, 29-28.

A body slam by Calixte when told to break by the referee cost the Lockport fighter a point on all three judges’ cards in the first round, but Calixte was patient and dominated the rest of the fight to win easily.

“It felt great to win. I’m improving and getting good training from my experienced coach Eric Hill,” Calixte said.

“I want to continue to improve my skills and move on to bigger and better things. I dedicate this win to coach Hill and my family.”

Other fight night winners were Matthew McConnell of Auburn, Donalea Maloney of Syracuse, Luay Ashkar of Syracuse, Keith Cole of Weedsport and Jade Jenkins and Kevin VanNostrand of Liverpool.

Matthew McConnell earned a unanimous decision victory over Nick Thomas of Toronto in a three round, light heavyweight bout, Maloney earned a unanimous decision victory over Erin Morris of Buffalo in a welterweight women’s fight, Ashkar’s scheduled four-round welterweight bout against Jose Penilia of Cleveland was stopped due to an equipment malfunction, welterweight Cole edged Lockport’s Dan Dorfman by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29), Jenkins earned a super lightweight technical knockout win over Julie Vincent of Jamestown, just 18 seconds into the second round; and light middleweight VanNostrand earned a technical knockout win over Justin Bennet of Mississaugua, Ontario, 40 seconds into the second round.

Jenkins (6-0-1), who plans to attend the University of Buffalo, was one of the night’s most impressive fighters.

“I’ve been fighting for about three years, but I’ve been taking martial arts since I was five years old,” Jenkins said.

“She was a very aggressive opponent. I tried to keep my space and aim my strikes and just wait for that one opening.”

Lightweights Tyler Toomey of Syracuse and Tyler Claverly of Toronto fought to a majority draw and light middleweights Timothy Allen of Auburn and Craig Diego of Weedsport fought to a unanimous draw.

NOTES — Pete Robinson sang the U.S. and Canadian national anthems … The ring physician was Lockport’s Dr. Margaret Libby … Among the fight night ushers was former Lockort High School star athlete and Lockport Invaders all-star linebacker Anthony Ventura, the son of Lockport boxing heavyweight great Tony Ventura … Papa Leo’s handled concessions … Fight sponsors included Local Edge, Mulvey Construction, All Metal Works and Cain, Witlin & Dry Accountants.

Fight Night Results

Official results from Saturday’s 11-bout Pride & Glory professional kickboxing fight card at the Kenan Center Arena:
1. Light Heavyweight — 3 Rounds (Muay Thai)
Matthew McConnell of Auburn unanimous decision victory over Nick Thomas of Toronto. Score cards: 29-28, 29-28, 29-28.

2. Welterweight — 3 Rounds (Muay Thai)
Donalea Maloney of Syracuse unanimous decision victory over Erin Morris of Buffalo. Scores cards: 29-27, 29-27, 29-27.

3. Lightweight — 3 Rounds (Muay Thai)
Majority draw between Tyler Toomey of Syracuse and Tyler Claverly of Toronto. Score cards: 29-27 Toomey, 28-28, 28-28.

4. Super Lightweight — 3 Rounds (Leg Kicks)
Jade Jenkins of Liverpool technical knockout win over Julie Vincent of Jamestown, 18 seconds into the second round.

5. Light Middleweight — 3 Rounds (Full Contact)
John Calixte of Lockport unanimous decision win over Jim Stetson of Syracuse. Score cards: 29-27, 29-27, 29-28.

6.  Welterweight — 4 Rounds (Leg Kicks)
Luay Ashkar of Syracuse disqualification win over Jose Penilia of Cleveland. Equipment malfunction. Fight stopped before the third round.

7. Light Middleweight — 3 Rounds (Muay Thai)
Unanimous draw between Timothy Allen of Auburn and Craig Diego of Weedsport. Score cards: 28-28, 28-28, 28-28.

8. Heavyweight — 3 Rounds (Full Contact)
Pat Thompson of Lockport majority decision win over Anthony Winfrey of Cleveland. Score cards: 30-27, 29-27, 28-29.

9. Welterweight — 3 Rounds (Muay Thai)
Keith Cole of Weedsport majority decision win over Dan Dorfman of Lockport. Score cards: 29-28, 29-28, 28-29.

10. Light Middleweight — 3 Rounds (Muay Thai)
Kevin VanNostrand of Liverpool technical knockout win over Justin Bennet of Mississaugua, Ontario, 40 seconds into the second round.

11. Light Heavyweight — 7 Rounds (Full Contact)
Amer Abdallah of Lockport technical knockout win over Tiawan Howard of Cleveland. Howard failed to answer bell for sixth round.

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‘Pride and Glory’ Kenan Professional Fight Card is Tonight

By John D’Onofrio
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

If Amer Abdallah and Tiawan Howard like each other, then they sure know how to hide their true feelings.

The featured combatants in tonight’s main event of “Pride and Glory,” a 13-bout professional kickboxing fight card at the Kenan Center Arena, glared unaffectionately at each other following Friday night’s official weigh-in at Lock 34 downtown.

Lockport’s Abdallah (12-0), weighing in at 187 pounds, and Cleveland’s “The Iron Dragon” Howard (16-5, 10-9 MMA), weighing in at 187.6 pounds, will square off in a seven-round light heavyweight main bout sanctioned by the World Kickboxing Association.

“I’m a fighter. I came here to fight,” said Howard, who’s been fighting mixed martial arts professionally throughout the Northeast United States and Ontario, Canada for the past six years.

“I think Saturday night’s going to be seven rounds of pure hell. I’m 110 percent confident in my own abilities. I’m skillful. He’s just a brawler,” said Howard, who has 22 years martial arts experience, 20 professional Mixed Martial Arts fights and is known in local kickboxing circles as “Mini-Tyson” for his knockout power.

Abdallah, the reigning WKA United States Light Heavyweight Champion, said his confident foe has it in reverse.

“Obviously, height is going to be a big difference and I’ll do what I can to use that to my advantage,” said the undefeated Town of Lockport gym owner Abdallah, who’s hoping to use this fight as another springboard toward his ultimate goal — a world title shot.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s going to be a long and painful night for him,” Abdallah said. “When the bell rings, he’s what’s standing in the way of my world title shot.”

Abdallah captured his coveted title a year ago when he dethroned then No. 1 ranked Francois “Bang Bang” Ambang, then went on to successfully defend the title on April 14 of this year against T.J. Gibson in a 10-round war — both fights at the Kenan Arena.

Among other locals on today’s card (doors open at 6 p.m., first fight at about 7 p.m.) are Lockport’s Pat Thompson, who weighed in at 205.6 pounds. Thompson (13-2), who has fought in past Kenan cards (including a victory last year) will take on Cleveland’s Anthony Winfrey.

“It’s a little nerve racking out there in front of your family and friends, because you want to win so bad — for them, for yourself and for the gym,” said Thompson, a former Golden Gloves champion, “but it’s what you work hard for.”

“I watched Winfrey fight one time. He’s strong, with knockout power. I’m going to try and use my height to my advantage and tire him out,” Thompson said.

In both Abdallah and Thompson’s corner will be Lockport’s Corey Webster, a popular middleweight in the ring-turned respected trainer.

“Pat’s definitely one of the hardest working guys in the gym. He puts in a lot of hard work,” Webster said.

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Lockport’s U.S. Champion Returns to the Kenan Center Arena Ring.

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

Reigning World Kickboxing Association United States Light Heavyweight Champion Amer Abdallah of Lockport will take on giant step towards a world title shot when he facesTiawan “Iron Dragon” Howard in the main event of a professional fight card this Saturday night at the Kenan Center Arena.

The official weigh in for the fight will be held at Lock 34 at 6 p.m. Friday and is free and open to the public. Tickets for the fight card are available at the Lockport Athletic & Fitness Club or at Ticketmaster.com. Gates open at 6 p.m. with the first fight starting at about 7 p.m.

Abdallah (12-0) captured his coveted title a year ago when he dethroned then No. 1 ranked Francois “Bang Bang” Ambang, then went on to successfully defend the title on April 14 of this year against T.J. Gibson in a 10-round war.

Howard is 16-5 overall with a 10-9 Pro MMA record.

“I love fighting tough fights with opponents that come to fight,” Abdallah said. “I train too hard and take too much time away from my personal life to go in there to just lay some of these guys down within a couple of rounds. I love a good challenge and on Saturday, I’m looking for another good one.”

Abdallah says he faced the biggest challenge of his career outside the ring with this upcoming bout in finding a formidable opponent.

“We’ve went through four different opponents and each backed out,” Abdallah manager Ahmed Imamovic stated. “The WKA has never seen anything like this before.”

Howard, who has 22 years martial arts experience, 20 professional Mixed Martial Arts fights and an impressive 16-5 kickboxing record, is known in his circle as “Mini-Tyson” due to his knockout power.

Heading up Abdallah’s training camp is popular Western New York Middleweight superstar turned trainer Corey “The Story” Webster of Lockport. Webster, who began as Abdallah’s pupil, has remained close with his former coach and takes a lot of pride in heading up another camp with the United States champ.

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One of North America’s biggest martial arts superstars, Ed Burris has finally decided he’s not waiting around any longer for a major title shot.

For over a decade Burris has made his mark in the professional Kickboxing circuit having held the highest percentage of knockouts amongst any heavyweight. Burris recently met with Lace Up Promotions CEO Amer Abdallah and decided he was joining the company’s stable of athletes.

“I remember watching Ed fight out in Pennsylvania in the 90’s and predicting he was going to be a force to be reckoned with” Lace Up CEO Amer Abdallah stated. “It’s time we begin getting Ed the opportunities he’s earned and take all the red tape out of his career. I want him focused on training, period.”

Burris was born and raised in Syracuse NY which he considers to always be his home no matter where he ends up. He started his martial training at the young age of 6 taking a Japanese style of martial arts called Ninjitsu, then dabbled in JKD and evolving to Philipino martial arts and Silat. He also studied Kuntao and eventually began fighting full contact Muay Thai and Kickboxing in the early 90’s. Since then it has been a flawless career filled with much success and victory.

Burris and Abdallah fought together on several events having created their history and camaraderie as stable mates first. Under Abdallah’s promotions company, Burris captured the ISKA North American Super Heavyweight crown and was regarded as one of the world’s top heavyweights. In 2007, Burris made a career change from working as a mental health counselor to becoming a deputy Sherriff for the Maricupa County Sherriff’s Department. He would come back to NY to fight 2 times during a span of 5 years until making a decision that would change his life. “I wanted to win a world title and continue to do what I’m good at doing” Burris stated. He moved back to Syracuse this summer and signed with Lace Up Promotions last month.

“We are thrilled to bring Ed aboard our team” Lace Up Vice President Lizz Bouchard stated. “He’s a fan favorite and very exciting to watch.”

Recently Burris made short work of his last opponent who was regarded as his biggest challenge to date. In February of 2011 in Rochester NY, Burris knocked out former Superheavyweight World Champion Dan “The Lizard” Lucas in less than 20 seconds of the first round with a spinning heel kick that shattered Lucas’ ribcage. “I was in complete awe of his athleticism, composure and performance.” Abdallah stated. “He’s coming back into the sport he loves and I commend him for taking such a life changing step. His fighting style(s) are as unique as are his careers. From arresting criminals and placing them in jail to going back to the gym to train for a fight and then be a mental health counselor are distinct roles to play. He’s remarkable for being so diverse.”

Burris is slated to make his first fight with Lace Up Promotions on November 17th in Lockport NY, where both Abdallah and Burris have high expectations.

Amer Abdallah is CEO and President of both Lockport Athletic & Fitness Club and Lace Up Promotions. Lace Up has been hosting kickboxing, boxing and Muay Thai events around the upstate New York area since 1998 and has opened markets in Syracuse, Rochester and Connecticut. They have hosted events in Texas and New Jersey. “It’s been such a blessing to have an opportunity to do what I love and be a part of so many communities. In each town we promote these events we feel right at home,” says Abdallah.

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Montes, Pulmeri Score Weekend Victories in Flower City.

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

ROCHESTER — Two local amateur fighters represented Lockport with victories over the weekend.

Welterweight boxer Brian Montes competed at the Puerto Rican Day Festival Boxing Show, while kickboxer Eric Pulmeri participated in a Lace Up Promotions-sponsored event.

Montes, who is just surfacing on the amateur boxing scene, is a senior at the Lockport High School and one of the most dedicated athletes in the gym, according to Team Abdallah coach Amer Abdallah.

“Brian is the first guy in the gym and the last one out,” Abdallah said. “He’s so eager to train all the time, that he works out both at the Lockport Athletic Club as well as Western New York MMA under Corey Webster. He’s as dedicated as they come and has tremendous potential.”

Montes faced Rodney Paris of Rochester’s infamous Future Boxing Team. The opening round had both boxers evenly measuring each   other with some good exchanges back and forth. Towards the end of the round Montes landed a big right hand that seemed to get Paris’ attention.

“Brian didn’t waste any time jumping on Paris right away in the second,” Webster said.

Montes came out and began opening up with quality combinations that sent the Rochester native into the ropes where Montes unleashed a barrage of power shots forcing the referee to call a halt to the bout. Montes picked up his first technical knockout (TKO) win and was thrilled to represent his hometown in fashion.

Meanwhile, at the Doubletree Inn, Pulmeri had his hands full with Mike Shiffhauer of Rochester, a Golden Gloves boxer and veteran of over 15 kickboxing fights.

Pulmeri is no stranger to the kickboxing scene, with three title bouts and over a dozen boxing matches. He started the bout strong with several precise punch/kick combinations in an attempt to set the pace.

The experienced and poised Pulmeri countered effectively and nullified every attack Shiffhauer initiated and the crowd was on its feet, witnessing some world class kickboxing at its finest.

Pulmeri rocked Shiffhauer with two solid right uppercuts in the third round that sent him stumbling backwards. The resilient Shiffhauer fought off a hungry Pulmeri who was looking to finish him.

In the end, all three judges scored it the same with Lock City’s Eric Pulmeri getting a unanimous decision victory. Pulmeri was later awarded Fighter of the Night.

For Pulmeri’s next bout, promoter Abdallah has his sights set on September in Syracuse, then November back in Lockport.

“These two warriors were on top of their game,” Webster said. “Nobody trains as hard or with as much determination as these guys and it really paid off. I couldn’t be an prouder.”

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