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Abdallah Retains His WKA Title, Irr & Gibas Victorious at Kenan Pro Fight Card Saturday Night

By John D’Onofrio
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

LOCKPORT — If Saturday’s “Und1sputed” professional kickboxing fight card proved anything to the thousands attending at the Kenan Center Arena, it’s that Lockport fighters are undisputedly worth their weight in blows.

Light heavyweight Amer Abdallah of Lockport successfully retained his World Kickboxing Association United States championship belt, beating up on T.J. Gibson of Duluth, Minn. in their 10-round main event.

Other winners include Lockport’s Kyle Gibas and Brian Irr, making for yet another loud, happy hometown atmosphere at the sold-out Kenan Arena.

Abdallah (12-0), who has fought more than a half dozen times at the Kenan in his pro career, was in control throughout his title fight, pounding Gibson with a consistent left leg-right hand combination to the head that found their mark throughout the 10-round battle.

Gibson’s thundering right hand was negated by Abdallah’s superior ring movement, as the Lockport gym owner and trainer sidestepped the attacks, then countered successfully, keeping the powerful Gibson off balance and unable to deliver a balanced blow.

Abdallah seized control of the fight only seconds after referee Joe Pagan started it with his trademark thundering leg kicks. The fighters exchanged some light blows, then Abdallah delivered his first impressive left leg-right hand combo that got the large crowd going.

“We were thowing a lot of different things at him to see how he reacted and we found that there two elements that he couldn’t figure out. My lead leg roundhouse high and the straight right hand,” Abdallah said.

“They became our tools. He adapted well and he’s used to taking punishment.”

Gibson, a former international kickboxing champion, took more punishment in the second. A wicked left leg-right hand dropped the Minnesotean. Pagan gave him an eight-count and the fight rolled on. Abdallah cruised through the middle rounds with better combinations and fluid movement, but Gibson was a warrior and kept coming.

“I hurt my hand in the sixth round,” Abdallah said. “I hit him on the top of his head and felt it crack. I shook it for the rest of the round and thought I might have broken it, but we had x-rays done after the fight and it’s just badly bruised.”

By the 10th round, the fight was already decided, but Abdallah went for the knockout and almost got it. Gibson tried a spinning kick and Abdallah labeled him with a left leg, then moved in and hit him with legs and fists as the final bell rang and the fighters embraced.

“Our game plan was to be able to pick him off and turn him. We didn’t want to stand in front of him. He was

tough, strong and durable. We knew it would be a war.”

The judges awarded Abdallah the fight by scores of 98-89, 99-91, 99-92.

“I feel good. I’d do it again, where ever he wants,” Gibson said. “I think I should have thrown more kicks, but I got tired in the legs a little. He hit me with some good solid shots, but I just kept battling.”

Heavyweight Gibas was impressive in his three-round 30-27, 29-28, 28-29 major decision victory over Jesse James of Ontario.

Gibas came out as the aggressor, but James landed a couple of good blows in an even first. A strong right leg by Gibas was followed by a couple of good right hands by Gibas in the second and the former football and wrestling standout at Starpoint finished with a flurry in the corner as the bell sounded.

The third was another close round with both fighters clenched a lot of the time, but James finished with a bloody nose and Gibas walked away with the close win to improve to 3-2 in his career.

“I felt good. Comfortable,” Gibas said after the fight. “I feel good about the changes I’ve made, working with (Lockport MMA trainer) Corey Webster now. It’s a family atmosphere and you get a lot of help.

“I get a lot of sparring time now, which I didn’t get before. Jesse was strong, maybe 10 to 20 pounds heavier than I am, so I didn’t want to slug it out with him. I tried to be patient and not be wild — which is when I start dropping my hands and  make dumb mistakes. I felt a lot more patient tonight.”

Irr, fresh off another impressive karate performance at an international tournament in Las Vegas last week, was noticably fatigued, but dug down deep to slip past Sean Connor of Jamestown, 39-36, 36-37, 39-37 in their four-round light heavyweight matchup. Irr improves to 3-0 as a professional and is trained by Eric Hill at Lockport’s Seishin Kan Karate School downtown.

“I’m just happy to be here. I’ve been away the last two few weeks and fought a lot of fights. I definitely felt a little tired out there,” Irr said.

“But it was a great matchup. He’s tall like me and we fight the same style. We like fighting from the outside.”

Hill added, “It was a long week with Brian talking gold and silver in Las Vegas. He had several fights over six days and he did well. I liked the matchup. They have similar styles and similar features, but above all else Sean’s a good kid and that’s what we look for.”

Other fight night winners included Muzzamal Nawaz of Burlington, Ontario, who claimed the WAKO Inter-Continental Middleweight Championship with a 10-round, unanimous decision win (97-92, 97-93, 96-92) over Shannon Hudson of South Carolina.

The fight ended on a sour note, with Hudson walking away in disgust at the three judge’s ruling and Nawaz doing damage control with a microphone trying to calm Hudson’s supporters down.

In other fights, Pat Thompson of Buffalo scored a 30-27, 27-29, 30-27 major decision win over A.J. Babour of Ontario in a three-round cruiserweight bout, Tom Marlat of Ontario earned a 30-27, 30-27, 29-28 unanimous decision win over Brian Macinanti   of Connecticut in a three-round light heavyweight

battle and Justin Holden of Ontario posted a 38-37, 40-36, 37-37 major decision win over Kassine Omar of Buffalo in a four-round super middleweight contest.

In the night’s only knockout, welterweight Kevin VanNostrand of Liverpool, N.Y came away with a technical knockout win over Chris Greig of Ontario. VanNostrand was in control throughout before the fight was stopped with at 1:37.9 to go in the fourth round.

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Lockport’s Lockport’s Amer Abdallah will defend his national light heavyweight title against T.J. Gibson of Duluth, MN.

By John D’Onofrio
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

LOCKPORT — The anticipation is so high, you can almost taste it.

Lockport’s Amer Abdallah will defend his national American Kickboxing Association light heavyweight championship tonight against T.J. Gibson of Duluth, Minn. in the main event of an eight-card professional fight card at Lockport’s Kenan Center Arena.

Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first fight beginning at about 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door.

Lockport Mayor Michael Tucker was among the local dignitaries on hand at Friday night’s official fight night weigh-in at Finnan’s Bar & Grill on Lincoln Avenue.

Gibson (14-2) said he’s been treated well since he first arrived in Western New York.

“I don’t know too much about him,” Gibson said of Abdallah, who remains undefeated as a professional at 11-0. “I’m just a knockout artist. I’ve knocked out just about everybody I’ve boxed.”

The Abdallah-Gibson fight is scheduled for 10 rounds, as is the co-main event, a battle between Muzzamal Nawaz and Shannon Hudson for the WAKO Inter-Continental Championship.

Among other locals on tonight’s fight card are former Starpoint football player and wrestler Kyle Gibas, who will take on Canada’s Jessie James in a three-round heavyweight bout. Gibas (2-2) weighed in at 209 pounds.

“ When I first started, I just go thrown into the ring. Now, working with Corey Webster, I’ve learned to be more patient and not just go wild out there,” Gibas said.

Weighing in at 175 pounds was Lockport’s karate great Brian Irr, who just got back from last week’s United States Open International Karate Championships in Las Vegas, where he shined.

Irr, 2-0 as a pro kickboxer, placed second in the international North American Cup karate competition, then helped Team USA Karate place first, beating teams that included Bosnia, Kosovo, Mexico, Peru, Canada and Germany.

“I know we’ve got karate backgrounds. We’re both tall and long we both like to kick,” Irr said of his opponent tonight, Sean Connor of Canada.

Other three-round bouts scheduled are Pat Thompson against A.J. Babour (cruiserweight), Tom Marlus versus Brian Macinanti (light heavyweight), Kassine OMar versus Justin Holden (super middleweight) and Chris Greig against Kevin Van Nostrandi (welterweight).

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Kenan Arena Will Host Triple Main Event Card on April 14.

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

LOCKPORT — United States WKA undefeated light heavyweight champion Amer Abdallah (11-0) of Lockport has accepted an offer to defend his title on April 14 at Lockport’s historic Kenan Center Arena. Abdallah’s opponent is hard-hitting T.J. Gibson (14-2) of Duluth, Minn.

“We look forward to a tremendous training camp,” said Team Abdallah manager Ahmed Imamovic. “As always, we’re proud to be able to put on this caliber of fight for our  Western New York hometown fans.”

Gibson, a former IKF heavyweight world champion, is known for his tremendous punching power and iron chin. He’s never been stopped in his career and is among the most durable light heavyweights in the world. Currently, ranked at the top of the Light Heavyweight Division, Gibson has dabbled in MMA and pro boxing.

“T.J.’s getting back to his roots of kickboxing. That’s where he’s at his best,” said Gibson’s manager and trainer Frank Maki. “We’re happy that we finally found a worthy opponent. We’re going to go toe-to-toe and put on a great fight. T.J.’s hungry, confident and we want the title. At the end, we respect all, but fear none. It’s going to be a plus fighting in Lockport because we want Amer to feel comfortable enough to let his guard down. Believe me, we’ll take full advantage of that. He thinks he’s got the judge’s decision, but we’re not leaving it up to the judges.”

Imamovic said Abdallah never takes anyone lightly.

“If T.J. thinks he’s going to come to Lockport and take this title, he’s in for a rude awakening,” Imamovic said.

“Gibson’s team is counting on us to slip up and give them a chance to win. That was their second mistake. The first was signing the contract to fight Amer.”

Also on the Kenan card is the highly-anticipated rematch between world middleweight champions Muzzamal Nawaz and Shannon “The Cannon” Hudson. This will be the third time the two warriors have faced each other with each of them splitting a victory.

In addition to the two main events is the highly anticipated return of popular hometown favorite Corey “The Story” Webster (1-0). Webster’s last performance was an exciting second round knockout victory in his professional debut. Webster has knocked out his last eight Canadian opponents in a row earning the title, “The Canadian Killer.” In Webster’s next challenge, he will attempt to avenge his only amateur loss suffered against Jesse Ronson of Canada back in 2009.

Also returning is Buffalo’s warrior, Jay Bauman, who put on the Fight of the Night in his last outing and had the crowd on its feet. Local martial arts superstar Brian Irr will also make his return to the ring en route to a title shot.

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World Champion is Working Out at Lockport Athletic & Fitness Club.

Lockport Union-Sun & Journal

TOWN OF LOCKPORT — Professional boxer and World Boxing Organization Lightweight champion of the world Jose Miguel Cotto (32-2-1) has chosen Lockport as his training camp for his upcoming fight with Jose Luis Castillo (63-11-1) on March 24 in Houston Texas.

The two journeymen will fight on the undercard of the Erik Morales versus Danny Garcia main event, which will be televised worldwide on HBO.

Cotto, the younger brother of boxing superstar Miguel Cotto (who just signed to fight Floyd Mayweather) is trained by Team Abdallah head coach Juan Deleon and Team Abdallah strength and conditioning coach Gina Nowak.

Cotto’s boxing and sparring workouts are conducted in Buffalo under Deleon’s watchful eye, while Nowak is in charge of conditioning, agility and weight management.

“I’ve always had the confidence in knowing the Team Abdallah conditioning program is at a world class caliber,” said gym owner Amer Abdallah, the WKA United Stateslight heavyweight champion.

“Bringing in such elite athletes as Cotto further reaffirms this assurance. Whether it’s preparing me for an upcoming fight, working with select world class athletes, or working with the everyday beginner, this program is exceptional. It’s physical, mental and emotional toughness.”

Nowak, who has been with the LA&FC for more than eight years, has personally taken over the strength and conditioning training of Abdallah, the No. 1-ranked light heavyweight in the country and undefeated at 11-0.

In his last fight on Nov. 14 at the Lockport Kenan Center Arena, Abdallah defeated the former No. 1-ranked kickboxer, Francois Ambang, proved Nowak’s effectiveness in camp.

“We fought a young, fast and powerful kid that has all the tools to become a world champion. It came down to our skill, effectiveness and conditioning.” Abdallah added.

Cotto has been training with Nowak for the past six weeks and she sees tremendous improvement from day one.

“I’ve seen an amazing change from the first day Jose walked in until today,” Nowak said.

“Nothing is going to stop him from beating Castillo and becoming world champion once again.”

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Back in November, Amer Abdallah added another win back in to his already impressive record, taking the national World Kickboxing Assn.’s title after a grueling eight-round battle with Francois Ambang. He proudly carried his undefeated status back to the Lockport Athletic and Fitness Club, where he has already begun training to defend it again on April 14th.

On November 12th, 2011, the Kenan Center Arena and kickboxing promoter, Lace Up Promotions, hosted more than 2,500 raucous spectators for the national WKA title fight, and what a fight they got. The crowd was on their feet as Amer Abdallah and his opponent Francois Ambang went toe-to-toe for a full eight rounds, with Amer clinching the victory with a last minute unanimous decision win. Shortly after hearing Lockport’s own mild-mannered Miles Patterson announce the win, Amer held the title at last, saying that Ambang “was by far the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced.” After catching his breath, he continued by explaining that “I’m a little banged up and a little sore, but the fight went exactly as we planned.” Indeed it did. Congratulations to the new WKA champion, Amer Abdallah. His record now sits at 11 wins and 0 losses. Amer admits he didn’t win on his own, though. The training he takes part in at the Lockport Athletic and Fitness Club played an essential part in his hard fought and well-deserved victory.

Abdallah is CEO of kickboxing promotion company, Lace Up Promotions, and the Lockport Athletic & Fitness Club, a premier fitness club located in Lockport, NY, where many athletes train. The Western New York-based Lace Up Promotions has featured many local athletes that have made it to the big stage including Sam Stout, Mark Hominick, Chris Hordecki, Jim Andrello, Ty Hafner, Kim Andrello & Ed Burris and now, Corey Webster. “We are so proud to have given these fighters the opportunities to build their careers and having had them on our shows,” says Abdallah with a passion for growing the sport that is apparent. Abdallah has been in the martial arts since the age of 8 and says he’s living his dream through his promotions company. “I love the martial arts, love the people I’ve met over the past years, and love watching young local athletes turn into champions,” he says.

Lace Up Promotions 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 are currently hosting 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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