THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407220237
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY ABE GOLDBLATT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
PORTSMOUTH'S RICKEY FLETCHER, a fighter who refused to quit, is the new Virginia junior welterweight kickboxing champion.
After taking the count three times in the first round, Fletcher made a remarkable recovery to win a 10-round majority decision over Greg Gallup of Richmond in the main event of the pro boxing show at David's Tuesday night.
The taller Gallup swarmed all over Fletcher in the opening round, flooring him first with a kick to the head, and knocking him down twice more before the round was over. It appeared that Fletcher was out of it as he staggered aimlessly at the end of the round and had to be helped to his corner.
The Portsmouth fighter survived the second round, but in the third round the fight began to turn as Fletcher regained his composure. He sent Gallup down for an eight count in the fourth round and chased the tiring Richmonder the rest of the way.
It was the only fight of the evening that went the distance, the high spot of the first pro boxing show staged by the Portsmouth Athletic Club (PAC).
A small turnout was treated to a class boxing show, complete with a colorful ring announcer named ``Discombobulating Jones,'' who was imported from Washington, D.C., and a stately beauty as the ring girl.
It was a sweep for five Portsmouth boxers on the card.
In the semifinal, veteran cruiserweight Carlton West had his hands full before stopping Darryl Traweek, of Seattle, Wash., in 2:10 of the third round of a scheduled 8-round match.
Traweek, a substitute for the injured Joey DeMarco, was ahead on points when West sent him down with a left hook to the jaw and referee Al Rothenberg stepped in and stopped the fight. West was in trouble in the first two rounds, kept off balance by Traweek's left jab.
``Traweek hurt me in the first round,'' said West, who boosted his record to 33-12. ``His left jab worried me.
``It was tough going, but I covered up against his swarming attack and finally got it together. I could see he was getting tired.''
Other results:
Undefeated Tony Pope, 172, of Portsmouth, raised his record to 5-0 by stopping Max Key, 172, also of Portsmouth, in 2:33 of the first round.
The quickest knockout of the evening came when unbeaten junior welterweight Dorin Spivey of Portsmouth spoiled Hampton's James Nelson's pro debut by stopping him in 24 seconds of the first round. It was Spivey's seventh consecutive victory, all by knockouts.
In a super middleweight bout, Elvis Alexander of Portsmouth knocked out Terry Barron of Newport News in 2:27 of the first round.
Opening the card, Sam Hampton, 237, of Virginia Beach, knocked out Robert Jackson Jr. 227, of Hampton in 1:07 of the second round. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
After a rough first round, Rickey Fletcher, left, made a remarkable
recovery to beat Greg Gallup of Richmond.
Veteran crusierweight Carlton West, right, stopped Darryl Traweek of
Seattle, Wash., in 2:10 of the third round of a scheduled
eight-round match.
by CNB