Lockport’s Amer Abdallah Claims the WKA Cruiserweight Title; Will Defend it in November
By John D’Onofrio
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
It took less than five minutes Saturday night for Lockport’s Amer Abdallah to fulfill a life-long dream of becoming a kickboxing world champion.
In one of the biggest sporting events in Lockport history, Abdallah knocked out England’s Daniel Hughes 1:19 into the second round to capture the World Kickboxing Association Cruiserweight Championship before a large and vocal partisan crowd at the Kenan Arena.
“Amazing. I’m overwhelmed with emotions,” said Abdallah. “I’m proud, excited, happy, grateful, humbled, accomplished — you name it and I feel it.”
Surrounded by a large contingent of family and close friends, including former ring greats “Baby Joe” Mesi and Dewey Cooper, Abdallah sent the Englishman packing quickly in the main event of a spectacular 14-card international MMA fight card that drew thousands to the city’s east side.
The former amateur national champion Abdallah, 38, improved to 17-0 as a professional with a lethal array of leg kicks that sent the WKA British cruiserweight champ down to a knee in the first half of the first round of their scheduled 10-round world title bout.
Hughes withstood that onslaught and went to his corner for instructions from his life-long trainer, his father Christopher.
But the end was near, as Abdallah, as focused as ever, sent a variety of blows the Englishman’s way, connecting with solid, booming leg kicks to the body, then sent him down for good with a solid left leg to the midsection.
Abdallah, said he appreciates all the support he’s received from family and friends.
“My parents flew in from Jordan and my brother flew in from Dubai, and I had family here from San Francisco and Florida, friends, Dewey Cooper and Baby Joe Mesi, Jim Andrello, Kevin VanNostrand, were here — I’m surrounded by the best. We’re loyal. We’re family,” Abdallah said.
“I asked Baby Joe if he’d give me the honor of escorting me to the ring because he paved the way for us and we can’t overlook that he was the face of Buffalo boxing for many years. He said he was hoping I’d ask him and told me before the fight, he said, ‘Control the ring. Know where you are’ — and that’s exactly what I did,” Abdallah said.
Abdallah, looking as good as he’s ever looked in the ring, has announced he will defend his world title this November against an opponent who will be determined by the WKA. Retirement, he stated emphatically, is out of the question at this time.
“My team was talking about it just before I went out and I told them I’d have an answer for them in 20 minutes,” Abdallah said.
“I feel too good to walk away right now. I felt too sharp — faster and stronger than ever,” Abdallah said. “I saw every shot that came. I was just very comfortable. I always told my family that if the day ever came when these younger guys step ahead of me, I won’t let my ego get in the way of my health. But that was the best I’ve ever felt in my life. To walk away now would do my legacy an injustice.”
When asked who his opponent would be in his first title defense this fall, Abdallah said it’s no longer up to him to decide.
“It’s up to the WKA to tell me who I’m going to fight,” Abdallah said. “I can no longer pick and choose. It’s up to the sanctioning body to determine who the number one contender is.”
In the meantime, Abdallah, who now lives in Las Vegas, Nev. and trains at the Mayweather Gym, said he plans to stay in his hometown of Lockport for a few more weeks to celebrate his world title with family and friends. Then it’s back to business with several fighters in his Lace Up Promotions stable set to compete this summer at venues in central New York and Rhode Island.
The Hugheses will return to their homes in Swindon, England, where they operate their gym, Scorpion Muay Thai.
Meanwhile, if this city’s first-ever world title fight wasn’t enough, fellow Lockportians Joe Taylor and Erick Plumeri earned victories in their respective professional kickboxing debuts, while Arcade’s Corey Vail and Buffalo’s Ayanna Tramont captured Lace-Up Promotion championship belts on a night, otherwise, full of upsets and fresh faces.
Taylor earned a second-round, technical knockout victory over Rodolfo Barcellos of Syracuse in their scheduled four-round light heavyweight bout. The former semi-pro football great and Lockport youth ambassador was escorted to the ring by his usual large contingent of young children representing Lockport Little Loop Football.
A solid right hand sent Barcellos to the canvas in the first round. He went down again, just prior to the end of the first, after a flurry of Taylor punches in the corner. It was over about a minute-and-a-half into the second round, when Taylor delivered another solid right hand and referee Tom Jenkins stopped the fight at 1:29 of the round.
“It feels great,” said Taylor, who suffered a minor hamstring injury. “He had some decent kicks. I went to kick him and I think that’s when I popped my hamstring. But I want to thank everyone in Lockport, Buffalo — everyone in 716, for their support and love.”
The “Candy Man” can, as Lockport middleweight Erick Plumeri earned a majority decision victory over Syracuse’s Evander Russ. The judge’s cards were 39-38, 39-37, 37-39. A solid overhand right in the first round by Plumeri set the tone, but the fight was close throughout.
“It was really tough. He came in way over by at least 10-to-20 pounds on me, but I took the fight because I felt I had to fight,” Plumeri said. “My last two fights didn’t work out here and I owed it to my fans and my sponsor, Jay Auto Sales. I just had to fight tonight — and I’m glad it worked out.”
With plenty of friends offering vocal support in attendance, Vail defeated Buffalo’s “Superfly” Sean Felton by unanimous decision to win the Lace Up promotions Super Middleweight Championship belt. The cards for the five-round battle were 50-45, 48-47, 49-46.
Tramont was tra-mendous, en route to a 40-36, 40-36, 40-36 four-round, unanimous-decision win over tough Mindy Hall of Hanover, Ontario. The popular Buffalonian used her height and reach to her advantage throughout in a one-sided affair.
Among the fresh faces was 14-year-old Bryce Mills of Liverpool, who wowed the crowd with an acrobatic blend of spinning jump punches and kicks, en route to a unanimous-decision win over Kurtis Herteis of Kitchener, Ontario. The score cards were 30-27, 30-27, 30-27.
“Bryce is the future of Lace Up Promotions,” Abdallah said. “His last fight before this one, on April 26, he put on a show even better than this one. We call him, ‘The Golden Boy.’ He’s explosive.”
Fight Night Notes
The title fight referee was Joe Pagan. Another fight night referee and familiar face to the Kenan ring was Bill Kiefer … The fight was taped by Lockport Community Television for future broadcast. The ring announcers were veteran broadcasters Jim Slowey and Jim Rhodes … Butter proposed to his fiance in the ring after beating the senior Felton … Among others in attendance were “Smoke” Stover and Tim Mulvey. Papa Leo’s handled concessions.
Photo Above
Abdallah, top, celebrates his World Kickboxing Association world championship victory in the ring on Saturday night at the Kenan Arena. Abdallah KO’d England’s Dan Hughes 1:19 into the second round to capture the WKA Cruiserweight title before a large and vocal partisan crowd at the Kenan Arena.
Click here to see original article
