Boxers battle for charity
August 14, 2010 11:49 PM
It was a ring that not many people would brag about. The flooring was little more than a vinyl tarp and the ropes were about as flimsy as handwraps. The light wind had also added a layer of sand to the mat, causing the surface outside of Ron's Place to become as slick as the fighters stepping into it.
But for LaShaun Charles, the ring was a major upgrade to where he had done most of his boxing training — aboard a boat, off the coast of Somalia.
A sergeant in the Marine Corps, Charles stepped into the ring for his first organized bout during the King of the Badge exhibition.
The event, which featured multiple military and law-enforcement officers battling in various forms of martial arts, was organized as a benefit for Chamber MMA's fledgling youth boxing program.
It gave aspiring fighters, like Charles, their first opportunity to step into the ring.
“The ring was really bad, the floormats kept sliding,” Charles said. “A lot of times when I wanted to slip to the left, the whole floormat would slide to the right. The ring really messed me up.”
That wasn't the only thing messing Charles up. In the night's second bout, the 24-year-old marine stood in the corner opposite of Jose Diaz in the 180-pound contest. Diaz, 22, had been training for nearly two years and was fighting in his third boxing match.
The pair traded blows for three straight rounds. With circling combinations and constantly moving feet, Diaz placed the pressure on his opponent in the first round with the hope of sending him to the mat. But it was Diaz who would end up on the ground — the kind that lay outside the ring — falling through the makeshift ropes minutes into the fight.
“The ropes aren't boxing ropes or anything like that. But he gave me a good hit,” Diaz said. “The first round, he was hitting like a ton of bricks. In my head, I started to think ‘You have to outbox this guy by keeping your distance, using your jab and start moving your head.'”
As the fight entered the second round, the minutes quickly caught up to Charles.
He was gassed out, something his trainer had expected. It was also something that Charles had expected given the limitations of his previous boxing gym.
“When we trained on the boat it was, maybe, like a seven-by-seven foot square,” Charles said. “It's a lot different coming in, fighting in a 24-foot ring; a lot more leg movement.”
As the fight entered the third, it became less of a boxing match and more like a game of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
The two traded a storm of punches, both digging in their feet as if stuck in quicksand. As the punches kept flying, Diaz could tell that Charles was ready to fall.
“He started getting tired,” Diaz said. “The punches were affecting him pretty bad. I could tell he was gassed out, out of condition.”
Charles refused to fall to the canvass. He got his second wind and was able to survive Diaz's storm of punches, landing several of his own.
“That adrenaline kicks in and it kind of throws you off your game,” Charles said. “Everything hurts, you're sore, you're tired. The pride and the heart makes you want to keep swinging, keep swinging until that guy is on the ground.”
As the final bell rang, Charles was quickly swarmed — this time he welcomed it. It was his wife, Christina, who joined him on a bench outside the ring accompanied by two of his daughters. His nose bloodied and dripping onto his shirt, he caught his breath as he kissed them all. The fight would end without a decision.
In the night's first fight, Michael Mriaglia defeated Justin Hammonds via armbar during a jiu-jitsu contest. After the two battled to a draw in the first round, the match went for an extra two-minute, sudden death round.
Mriaglia quickly got the takedown on Hammonds, who pulled guard after hitting the mat. Mriaglia was able to break the guard, taking side control and moving into a north-south position before locking in the armbar.
Hammonds fought to keep his arm locked but Mriaglia was able to break his hold, forcing his opponent to tap with one second remaining in the round.
Matt Maxson can be reached at mmaxson@yumasun.com or 539-6880.
But for LaShaun Charles, the ring was a major upgrade to where he had done most of his boxing training — aboard a boat, off the coast of Somalia.
A sergeant in the Marine Corps, Charles stepped into the ring for his first organized bout during the King of the Badge exhibition.
The event, which featured multiple military and law-enforcement officers battling in various forms of martial arts, was organized as a benefit for Chamber MMA's fledgling youth boxing program.
It gave aspiring fighters, like Charles, their first opportunity to step into the ring.
“The ring was really bad, the floormats kept sliding,” Charles said. “A lot of times when I wanted to slip to the left, the whole floormat would slide to the right. The ring really messed me up.”
That wasn't the only thing messing Charles up. In the night's second bout, the 24-year-old marine stood in the corner opposite of Jose Diaz in the 180-pound contest. Diaz, 22, had been training for nearly two years and was fighting in his third boxing match.
The pair traded blows for three straight rounds. With circling combinations and constantly moving feet, Diaz placed the pressure on his opponent in the first round with the hope of sending him to the mat. But it was Diaz who would end up on the ground — the kind that lay outside the ring — falling through the makeshift ropes minutes into the fight.
“The ropes aren't boxing ropes or anything like that. But he gave me a good hit,” Diaz said. “The first round, he was hitting like a ton of bricks. In my head, I started to think ‘You have to outbox this guy by keeping your distance, using your jab and start moving your head.'”
As the fight entered the second round, the minutes quickly caught up to Charles.
He was gassed out, something his trainer had expected. It was also something that Charles had expected given the limitations of his previous boxing gym.
“When we trained on the boat it was, maybe, like a seven-by-seven foot square,” Charles said. “It's a lot different coming in, fighting in a 24-foot ring; a lot more leg movement.”
As the fight entered the third, it became less of a boxing match and more like a game of Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
The two traded a storm of punches, both digging in their feet as if stuck in quicksand. As the punches kept flying, Diaz could tell that Charles was ready to fall.
“He started getting tired,” Diaz said. “The punches were affecting him pretty bad. I could tell he was gassed out, out of condition.”
Charles refused to fall to the canvass. He got his second wind and was able to survive Diaz's storm of punches, landing several of his own.
“That adrenaline kicks in and it kind of throws you off your game,” Charles said. “Everything hurts, you're sore, you're tired. The pride and the heart makes you want to keep swinging, keep swinging until that guy is on the ground.”
As the final bell rang, Charles was quickly swarmed — this time he welcomed it. It was his wife, Christina, who joined him on a bench outside the ring accompanied by two of his daughters. His nose bloodied and dripping onto his shirt, he caught his breath as he kissed them all. The fight would end without a decision.
In the night's first fight, Michael Mriaglia defeated Justin Hammonds via armbar during a jiu-jitsu contest. After the two battled to a draw in the first round, the match went for an extra two-minute, sudden death round.
Mriaglia quickly got the takedown on Hammonds, who pulled guard after hitting the mat. Mriaglia was able to break the guard, taking side control and moving into a north-south position before locking in the armbar.
Hammonds fought to keep his arm locked but Mriaglia was able to break his hold, forcing his opponent to tap with one second remaining in the round.
Matt Maxson can be reached at mmaxson@yumasun.com or 539-6880.
