Dunaway takes close win from Gaines

By Mark L. Elwood
1-13-2008 @ www.womenboxing.com

ST. LOUIS – In an action-packed battle for the vacant NABF flyweight title, hometown favorite Hollie “Hot Stuff” Dunaway of St. Louis won a unanimous 10-round
decision over Sharon Gaines of Las Vegas at the Viking Conference Center on Friday night.



Scores were 98-92 by judges Barbara Madison and Crystal Wright, and 96-94 by Marty Bickle. This reporter’s scorecard agreed with Bickle.

The bout was a give-and-take affair, with Gaines the aggressor the majority of the time as Dunaway counterpunched and occasionally changed things up with a quick attack before reverting. Gaines bobbed and wove in a frenetic way that kept Dunaway from mounting a consistent offense or taking control of the tempo.

Both fighters were in outstanding condition, and neither could hurt the other. Both landed some hard shots, but neither was seriously marked at the bout’s conclusion. It was a cleanly fought contest, with referee Mike England only warning Gaines once for a low blow.

Nearly every round unfolded in the same fashion as Gaines, who fell to 11-9, came out and pressed the action while Dunaway, now 21-6, countered and made short forward flurries before returning to form.

Gaines raised her hands in triumph at the end of the fight, and seemed genuinely stunned by the result. The few Gaines supporters in the vastly pro-Dunaway crowd
were upset by Dunaway’s margin of victory.

Dunaway, the former WIBC, WIBA and GBU minimumweight champion, bounced back from a unanimous decision September loss to Carina Moreno for the WBC minimumweight crown. It was a fight where she felt the scores were too widely in favor of the more aggressive hometown Moreno.

Dunaway appeared to be strong and confident at the 112-pound weight Friday.

The eight-bout card was put on by Rumble Time Promotions, and the women’s championship bout was the main event.

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In other results:
* Welterweight Tim “Irish Pride” Connors (7-1), a St. Louis favorite, KO’d Cory Mayfield (0-3) of Monroe City, Mo., in 1:55.
* Junior welter Tye Chapman (1-0) of St. Louis knocked out Thomas Staten (0-2) of Indianapolis in 1:30.
* Walter Foster (2-0) of St. Louis thumped Mahir Ziga (0-1) of Lincoln, Neb., in 1:26 at light-heavyweight.
* Ryan Coyne (7-0) of St. Louis took a unanimous decision from Leo Pla (3-2) of Kansas City over six rounds at cruiserweight.
* Marvin “Much too Much” Cordova (17-0-1) of Las Vegas won a unanimous decision over veteran Roberto Valenzuela (20-38-2) of Agua Prieta, Mexico, in a welterweight six-round semifinal.
* St. Louis fighter Kevin “The Hitman” Engle (13-0)needed only a minute to knock out Andy Utterback (3-8) of Hannibal, Mo.
*Alexis "Hurricane" Hloros (1-2-2) of Mt. Clemens, Mich., and Chris Tyler of St. Louis (2-2-1) battled to a six-round majority draw at welterweight.