Joey Dawejko impressive in rematch

J. R. Jowett reporting from ringside: Marshall Kauffman (Kings Prom’ns) teamed with J. Russell Peltz to present a crowd-pleasing and competitive card on 9/15/23 at Philadelphia’s Live Casino. A spirited crowd of around 800 enjoyed the all-action 8-bout show (5-3 Blue Corner), which was also carried on BXNGTV. “Discombobulating” Jones was the ring announcer and Fred Blumstein kept time.

The main event was a rematch of an incredibly violent death match between local hero Joey Dawejko, 253 ¼, Phila., 26-10-4 (14), and formidable Colby Madison, 241 ¾, Baltimore, 11-6-2 (7). Their first fight was a brutal battle of attrition, a WWIII bloodbath, with Madison bleeding profusely and Dawejko not going unscathed. Joey won that fight fairly, but it was brutally competitive, and so a rematch was in order. The stakes were appropriately raised, with a WBC US title on the line. Longtime Jersey judge John Poturaj represented the sanctioning body.

But this one turned out to be a complete reversal, though not unpleasant to anyone but the Madison corner. Sparring with leading British contenders in England had sharpened Dawejko’s already effective style to a mirror finish. The short and stocky local favorite controlled the entire contest, converting what had been a life-&-death cliffhanger to a tour de force exhibition of ring generalship. Joey conserved his punches, moved cautiously and smartly behind the jab, cut off the rangy and mobile Madison, and struck effectively whenever the range was just right. After a feelout first, Joey began controlling the movement with the jab in the second and stung Colby with a left-right combo as the round closed. A looping right behind the ear in the third had Madison taking a knee while ref Eric Dali ruled it a rabbit punch. But the rest of the round was all Dawejko. Madison, ever on his toes, scored some long jabs and got into the contest in the fourth. But Dawejko had him backing up again in the fifth and punctuated the round with some big rights in closing action. The contest settled into this pattern, Madison giving ground and Dawejko stalking effectively, hoarding his punches and making them count. It wasn’t the barnburner of the first fight, but the constant tension was palpable and the crowd into it.

And Joey closed the show in a dramatic final round. A sweeping left sent Colby reeling back into the ropes, where the strands held him up so that the referee ruled a knockdown. A left hook then looped around to Madison’s lower back, where he complained and got a rest. And in the closing rally, Dawejko landed another sweeping left hook that caused Madison’s legs to bend and crumble like a house of cards. He briefly touched the canvas, and bounced back up, but was given another count. The place was going crazy, with Dawejko readily gaining the unanimous decision. Marc Werlinsky scored 78-72, Anthony Lundy 79-71, and Dewey LaRosa 80-70. Like many rematches of great fights, this one settled the issue.    

Quadir Albright, 147 ¾, Phila., 9-1 (9), showed sharp hands and speed in taking out a tough foe, Demarcus Layton, 148 ¾, Little Rock, 9-6-1 (6), in 1:22 of the first of six. What looked like a challenging battle was over almost as soon as started. Both came out blazing away, confident of punching power and not looking for points. But standing and trading with Quadir proved to be not a good idea, as Albright was sharper, shorter and quicker with his punches, almost immediately buckling Layton’s knees with a right, then dropping him in his own corner with a short right-left hook combo. The visitor arose and tried to get back into the fight but was in full rout when referee Harvey Dock stepped in, over Layton’s protests. Though brief, this one was a real crowd-pleaser. 

Dewayne Williams, 158 ½, Phila., 4-7-1 (4), upset popular Brendan O’ Callaghan, 158 ¼, Phila., 5-3-1 (2), with a KO in 42 seconds of the second of six. The tall and angular favorite made the error of walking straight in. Eager to let go with his punches, Brendan seemingly disregarded the other side of the equation, against a dangerous opponent whose knockout record is dangerously out of sync with his win log. O’Callaghan walked straight into a sharp, short right counter and went down in the first. He regrouped and went gamely after his opponent. But in the second, Brendan was dropped twice more, first by a short right and then a crisp left hook. He was still game to fight but referee Dali opted for Popeye’s timeless advice, “Enough is too much”, and stopped the fight. 

Najeem Johns, 138 ¾, Darby, 5-0 (4), won a tough match with a unanimous decision over Muhammad Robinson, 139 ½, Baltimore, 6-1 (2), six. This was a textbook contest for students of the game. Good, tense, close competition all the way, with the local showing a vigorous, physical attack while the more compact visitor boxed and picked short punches smartly. They began mixing in the first, with Robinson sharp with short right leads. Najeem seemed to take over in the second by vigorous forcing of the action while Robinson seemed to shy away. Johns began to open daylight in the third with long right leads punishing Muhammad. But in the fourth, Najeem began backing off, letting Robinson back into the fight, while losing his mouthpiece. Najeem revived to open the fifth with a wild and muscular volley. But then he eased off again and the more poised and contained visitor popped away with short rights, making it anybody’s round. The fight seemed to be on the line, though it actually wasn’t, in the final round. Another close round saw Johns crude and physical on the inside while Robinson was sharper while carefully picking his shots from midrange. A good contest and clash of styles, this might well have been a draw. But the officials were having none of that. Surprisingly, Johns was awarded a near shutout; Bernard Bruni and Lundy scored 59-55, LaRosa 60-54. Dock refereed.

Ibrahim Robinson, 146 ¾, Balto., 6-0-1 (5), beat Elizer Olmeda, 147 ¼, Gloucester, NJ, 3-4, by unanimous decision, six. A tame yet interesting contest, with Robinson seemingly establishing control in the first when Olmeda lunged into a short right and got dropped. The much taller and rangier Robinson exhibited a nonchalant approach and picked his punches carefully, never expending much energy. Olmeda tried to work his way inside but just couldn’t. The bigger, stronger favorite would just tie him up or step away. Right leads were the favored punch against the southpaw underdog, but never more than one at a time. There was no prolonged exchanging. Olmeda suffered a cut right eye in the fourth and by the fifth was no longer lunging in. Elizer still tried a closing rally, but they were misses with quick counters by the favorite. Bruni and Werlinsky scored 60-53, LaRosa 59-54. Dock refereed.

Jackie McTamney, 125 ¾, Phila., debuted with a TKO over Brittany Dukes, 118, KC, MO, 0-5-1, in 0:59 of the final round of a women’s four (2 min. rds).  (Discombob hardly endeared himself to local fans by announcing that Dukes’ hometown was home of the Super Bowl Champions.) The sturdy favorite conserved her punches but was too strong for the diminutive opponent. In the second, they tied up and crashed to the canvas, McTamney’s weight concentrated on Dukes’ midsection and injuring her. She fell back to her corner and bent over the ropes for an extended time before finally resuming the contest. Coming out for the final round, the favorite was bleeding from a scalp cut, but then ref Dock interrupted the contest for the doctor. It was for Dukes, not McTamney. It was later reported that she’d thrown up three times in her corner from the impact of the fall and the ringside physician felt she could not continue safely.

Camar Morrison, 156 ¼, Harrisburg, 5-1 (2), looked sharp in defeating experienced Philly vet Vincent Floyd, 156 ¾, 5-16-1 (3), by unanimous decision, four. It was a bristling contest throughout, with the stocky favorite fighting out of a nearly squared stance and taking the fight to the southpaw veteran. Short, sharp right leads were Morrison’s payoff punches all night as he consistently stepped smartly into range and jarred Vincent. The punch rattled Floyd at the start of the third, and Morrison capped his performance with a late rally in the final round, staggering Floyd in a corner just before the bell. Bruni gave Camar deserved extra credit, 40-35, while Lundy and Werlinsky had 40-36. Ref: Dali.

Local favorite Tyler Zwicharowski, 154 ½, Phila., 1-2 (1), disappointed his fans in an action-packed but wild and sloppy four against debuting Tevon Watson, 155 ¼, Ft Worth. The stocky and square-stanced favorite showed footwork that could best be described as none at all, as he constantly stumbled and couldn’t keep his feet firmly planted. The scrawny and longer-armed Watson didn’t help Tyler’s cause as he belted away with roundhouse punches. A sidearm right dropped Zwich in the first as he tried to step out of a clinch, got nailed and fell to one side, glove touching the canvas. In the second, Tyler was down twice, a short right uppercut and a sweeping right. In none of these knockdowns did he appear terribly hurt, just unable to keep his feet under him. Zwicharowski gamely battled to the decision, all (Werlinsky, Lundy, LaRosa) 38-35. Ref: Dali.