Joey Dawejko defeats Colby Madison in Philly bloodbath

Two living legends teamed for an excellent small club show at Philadelphia’s new Live Casino, located in the sportsplex area near the football stadium. One of the most active promoters in all of boxing, Marshall Kauffman (Kings Prom’ns), and Hall of Fame promoter & manager J. Russell Peltz put on a lively and competitive card with no setups or pushovers (Red 3, Blue 2) that greatly entertained a crowd estimated around 800. “Discombobulating” Jones did the ring announcing and Fred Blumstein kept time.

The main event, cut from eight to six, pitted Peltz’s new heavyweight acquisition Joey Dawejko, 262 ¼, Phila., 24-10-4 (13), against tough competition in Colby Madison, 252 ½, Balto., 11-5-2 (7), in what turned out to feature blood as much as guts. This was no punch-&-grab heavyweight mauler but rather a riveting clash of styles and tactics. The tall and rangy visitor moved well behind a long jab, but the slightly rotund local favorite, a much better tactical boxer than would be suggested by his barrelhouse appearance, was able to duck, slip, and counter the long payoff punches. Dawejko’s patient wait-&-strike style kept the crown on edge, as at any second they expected to see the visitor on the canvas. That never happened, but the bout remained tense and exciting throughout.

Joey took immediate advantage of Colby’s habit of throwing the jab and then dropping it in bringing it back. A modern version of Schmeling-Louis? Dawejko would bring the overhand right, his main weapon all night, and rocked Colby in the first. Fans would have been happy with a one-rounder, but in the second the match turned into a prolonged battle. Colby’s jab had Joey’s nose bleeding and knocked out his mouthpiece while Joey kept countering with solid rights that threatened to turn the fight on a hairpin. The third was Madison’s best round, as the jab had Dawejko’s left eye puffy and notably reduced his output of payoff punches.

Dawejko turned the fight back to his advantage in a brutal and bloody fourth. Joey had a jab of his own, short and less noticeable than Colby’s long rockets. But at the start of the round, Madison’s nose began to pour blood in a blinding cascade that more resembled a war casualty than a boxing injury. Dawejko said later that it was a single left and apparent when it happened. Madison continued gamely in an action round, but Dawejko had him concentrating more on protection now. The favorite rocked him with rights in the fifth, but Colby remained amazingly game. The sixth was a grand finale as both boxers went all out to nail the win. Madison was still bleeding profusely but fought hard with long lefts and held his own. Late in the round, Joey mounted a closing rally, stunning Madison with a sneak short right. Colby countered with a solid left-right combo, but undeterred, Dawejko rocked him again with the right just before final bell to put the finishing touch on a crowd-pleaser. The decision seemed like it would be tight, but no, the judges all had Dawejko comfortably in control. Anthony Lundy, Steve Weisfeld and Dave Braslow all scored 59-55 Dawejko. Shawn Clarke refereed.

The semi six was also an excellent and hard-fought seesaw contest between local favorite Brendan O’Callaghan, 155 ½, Phila., 5-2-1 (2), and Roudly Lolo, 154 ¼, Camp Hill, PA, 6-1-2 (3). The contest produced constant action and a good clash of styles. The taller and rangy crowd favorite O’Callaghan held his arms loose and looked for left hook-right cross payoff combos. He landed enough of them and sometimes stunned Roudly, but never for long. The compact visitor pressed the action behind a lot of head and shoulder movement and short, pumping two-hand punches out of a nearly squared stance. Brendan just couldn’t hold him off. He rocked Lolo in the first with a left-right, but Roudly answered with an overhand right that dropped O’Callaghan. Brendan fought back gamely but was again rocked before the bell. The pattern continued in an all-action second, both battlers going at it full tilt but Lolo prevailing by counter rights when O’Callaghan punched and then dropped his hands. Action settled slightly in the third, with Roudly again making good use of overhand rights. The torrid pace appeared to have O’Callaghan tiring and losing snap in the fourth. But to his credit, it was Brendan who rallied over a tiring Lolo in the final two rounds to make it a close fight. Roudly was still chugging and coming forward in the final two, but couldn’t get his punches off anymore. Brendan’s best round was the final, in which Lolo was still game but had no offense left. The knockdown proved the deciding factor, as all three judges, Weisfeld, Lundy and Dewey LaRosa, had Lolo, 57-56, a good call. Eric Dali refereed.

A scheduled four produced a minor upset in a dramatic encounter between favorite Tyler Zwicarowski, 156 ¼, Phila., 1-1 (1), and Vincent Floyd, 161 ½, Phila., 5-15-1 (1). The tall and slender Floyd fights out of an odd style, a southpaw who gives up his reach advantage and lets opponents walk to him and then fight on the inside. This should have favored the decidedly shorter Zwicarowski, but didn’t. The fight started with intense action, but seemed to follow the hero-opponent pattern. Vincent fell to the canvas, no knockdown, early, and didn’t appear to present much of a threat. Zwicarowski drove him to the ropes and worked him over in close, seemingly on way to an expected win. Not happening! Vincent erupted and took over in a blistering second with sidearm punches from all angles. Tyler recovered briefly with a volley but Vincent regained control. Rugged trading in the third had Vincent catching Tyler hung up on the ropes where a big left dropped him. Tyler fought back gamely and got back into the fight but a long, straight left thrown from outside collapsed him to the canvas. He got up and tried to regroup but was wandering aimlessly and ref Clarke stopped it just as the round ended.

The only one-sided bout on the card nevertheless produced torrid action. Christopher Burgos, 140 ¾, Phila., 4-6-2 (1), battered game Tyree Arnold, 143, Phila., 1-6, throughout, but Tyree’s gameness still made it a good fight. The bigger Burgos fought out of a nearly squared stance as a relentless aggressor with both hands pumping, mostly to the body. By the second, the body shots had the game underdog giving ground. Burgos began mixing in roundhouse rights to the head in round three. Tyree tried to rally in the fourth and final but was battered to the ropes where Chris brought up a left hook from the hip and buckled him, the ropes holding him up. Ref Dali gave Tyree a standing count, and he gamely finished the fight. All scores 40-35 (Braslow, Weisfeld, LaRosa).

The show opened with an upset win for the visitor, Emanuel Moreno, 118 ¾, Wichita Falls, TX, 3-0, over debuting hero Darin Holliday, 119 ¾, Phoenixville. This fight was not a barn burner but rather a tactical mix of styles that held the audience. The tall and rangy local won the first with a judicious jab. But in a close second, the short, stocky visitor began to close the distance and go to the body. Moreno gained confidence in the third and began slipping jabs and coming back with left hooks. Something triggered Emanuel to open the fourth with an ambitious volley, then action tamed as Moreno remained the aggressor to the somewhat dispirited local favorite. This would have been stolen in many locales but PA judges are not homers. Braslow and Weisfeld scored 39-37, Lundy 40-36, for Moreno. Clarke refereed.

Two women amateurs, Natalie Dove and Lia Lewandowski, opened the show with three entertaining 2-minute rounds in an exhibition “for Suicide Awareness." No one committed suicide during the bout.