Guenther gets win for Cubs boxing team
Isaac Guenther was more than upset about earlier proceedings of the evening.
“I was mad,” said Guenther, 16, of Prospect, leading into the final bout of the annual Butler Cubs Amateur Boxing Show Saturday night in the Cubs Hall. “I didn't like what was going on at all.”
Guenther, a three-year amateur fighter, watched three of his Cubs boxing gym teammates make their debuts earlier in the night. Marli Knox, 15, of Bruin lost a narrow split decision. Leland Anderson, 12, of Butler lost a unanimous decision. Hayden Gregg, 13, of Butler lost by TKO in the third round.
“You can never be totally prepared for that first fight,” Guenther said. “It's never like sparring in the gym. Everything's different, everything's faster.
“Those were tough losses. When I stepped into the ring, I felt like I had to win.”
Guenther (10-2) was fighting for the first time in a year. He easily dispatched Kamax Marshall (3-1) of the 3rd Avenue gym in Pittsburgh by fighting patiently and choosing when to attack. Guenther won by unanimous decision.
“Isaac is an excellent technical fighter,” Cubs boxing manager Don Spinetti said. “He makes his opponent miss. He frustrates his opponent and that's what you want to do.
“When a boxer is frustrated, he makes mistakes.”
Marshall pounded both fists into the canvas at the conclusion of the third round, realizing he had lost for the first time in four amateur fights.
“I had some personal issues I had to take care of, so I took a break from boxing for a while,” Guenther said. “But I trained hard for this fight. I was ready.”
Knox battled Bella Erb of James 5:16 on fairly even terms in a mutual debut to begin the show.
“I knew it was close,” Knox said. “I couldn't believe how fast the fight went. They were minute and a half rounds that just flew by.
“Basically, this was like half a punch landed that (the referee) didn't catch. That's how close this was.”
Knox — who also takes ballet classes and piano lessons — plans to box on an amateur card in Youngstown this weekend.
“This was definitely different,” she said. “But I learned from it. She (Erb) kept getting inside on me and I'm not used to fighting with shorter punches in close. I'm used to having more room.“I wasn't tired, though. We spar three to six rounds for six minutes ... This was nothing compared to that.”Anderson has been with the Cubs boxing program for nearly a year. He also plays football and does not come to the boxing gym during that season.“I decided to try boxing for the conditioning,” he said. “I was nervous, but I thought I did OK.“What surprised me the most was how hard that kid (Gizz Beasley of 3rd Avenue gym) could hit. He stunned me a couple of times.”Gregg took a lot of punishment during the first round of his bout with Tyrell Richards of Southside Boxing in Youngstown. Gregg responded with a couple of brief flurries in the second round and was beginning to hold his own in the third.The referee stopped the bout early in the third round, however, awarding the TKO to Richards.“I'm not sure why he decided to stop it in that round,” Cubs trainer Billy Wolfe said. “If he was gonna stop it at all, I thought it might be in the first round.”Gregg admitted he was caught by surprise by Richards' early aggressiveness.“Yeah, a little bit ... I know I lost, but I still had fun,” he said. “I'll do this again, definitely.”Spinetti said that “when our kids get hit, all we ask of them is that they fight back. All of our boxers did that tonight. We can't ask for anything more.”When Gregg was introduced before the start of his fight, the near-capacity crowd in the Cubs gym erupted in cheers.“That's hard for me to describe,” Gregg said, fighting back tears. “That felt amazing.”
Bella Erb (James 5:16) split dec. over Marli Knox (Butler Cubs), 135 poundsMaximus Ruiz (USS Fight Academy) split dec. over J.B. Reagan (Pittsburgh), 50 poundsMahrle Ryons (Lower East Side, Erie) split dec. over T. Jackson (3rd Ave. Pittsburgh), 110 poundsTrinity Burke (Heilman-Punxsutawney Boxing) unanimous dec. over Sandra Gonzales (Bronson House), 160 poundsNico Provins (Carmen Peluso Boxing) unanimous dec. over Blaise Baker (Jack's Gym, Pittsburgh), 150 poundsGizz Beasley (3rd Avenue) unanimous dec. over Leland Anderson (Butler Cubs), 150 poundsJairo Gonzales (Bronson House) 1st-round TKO over James McKee (Jack's Gym, Pittsburgh), 135 poundsKevin Weinhamer (Carmen Peluso Boxing) unanimous dec. over Tom Weaver (Heilman-Punxsutawney Boxing), 160 poundsTyrell Richards (Southside Boxing Youngstown) 3rd-round TKO over Hayden Gregg (Butler Cubs), 130 poundsIsaac Guenther (Butler Cubs) unanimous dec. over Kamax Marshall (3rd Ave. Pittsburgh), 150 pounds
