Hammack Shocks Walters
Photos and Report By Jesse Kelley

 

Shawn Hammack (17-6, 14 KO's) of St. Charles, MO shocked local favorite Zach Walters (23-3, 18 KO's) with moments remaining in their bout Sunday afternoon in Tower, MN
Walters controlled much of the action against his shorter opponent using his range and better combination punching. Hammack spent most of the fight waiting to let his punches go and tying Walters up when Walters would land his solid shots.
Walters countered nicely with a right hook to the temple of Hammack late in round two that sent him to the canvas. Hammack was buzzed but Walters was robbed of his chance to go after Hammack as the round came to a close.
Hammack's chances to catch Walters seemed to be slipping as the fight wore on but his patience finally paid off nearing the end of the eighth and final round. A right to the head followed by a flurry of head shots sent Walters staggering. Referee Jeff Ness jumped between the two fighters to give Walters a mandatory eight count as the ropes held Walters from falling. When action resumed, Hammack immediately swarmed Walters with heavy lefts and rights to the head that drove Walters back to the ropes. Hammack let loose with at least four unanswered rights to the head that left Walters hanging over the top rope on his back. Ness broke the fighters apart and ended the bout at 2:28 of the eighth round.
With the win, Hammack picks up the vacant GBU Americas Light Heavyweight belt.
Hammack, who smiled and posed at times during the fight, wore an even bigger smile when asked about his strategy during the contest. "I saw a few highlight video's of Zach on YouTube. My plan was to wait for him to leave himself open on the inside and catch him, which I did."
For Walters, the loss is particularly tough as he was on his way to sweeping the scorecards when the stoppage came with seconds remaining.

In a heated battle between former stablemates, Duluth's RJ Laase (4-0, 2 KO's) stopped Tyler Gould (5-2, 4 KO's) of West Fargo, ND at 1:58 of the third round.
Both fighters came out swinging mean punches at the opening bell. The brawling continued for much of the first round.
Gould began to look tired in the second round. Laase let two left hooks and a right go that landed flush to the jaw of Gould that dropped him to his knees. Gould looked hurt but his pride wouldn't allow him to stay down.
Gould still looked weary at the start of round three. Laase began to hunt Gould down and a quick right hand landed for the Duluth fighter early, dropping Gould once again. Gould rose and stayed on the offensive despite being buzzed. A looping left from Gould grazed Laase and sent him back to the ropes where Gould let loose with a flurry of head shots. Laase stayed composed and blocked most a majority of the punches. Gould had used everything up in the flurry and Laase attacked again despite a small cut under his right eye. A huge left uppercut dropped Gould in his corner. Gould rose to continue but his corner man told him the fight was over. In the end, Gould had nothing to be ashamed of with his efforts and Laase proved he can stay composed and sharp under pressure.

Gary Eyer (4-0-1, 3 KO's) of Duluth, MN and Guadalupe Diaz (4-4-2, 2 KO's) fought to a 6 round majority draw in an exciting, back and forth bout. Eyer played the roll of slick boxer, moving in and out with a higher work rate while Diaz threw single, hard countering shots. Judges scored the bout 58-56 for Eyer, 58-58, and 57-57.

 

Terrance Trottier (1-3, 1 KO) of Bismark, ND stopped Nick Popovich (0-1) of Green Bay, WI at 2:11 of the third round. Both men came out firing hard jabs. A hard body shot that may have landed on the back had Popovich visibly shaken half way through the first. Moments later a glancing right to the head dropped Popovich to a knee.
Popovich continued to press forward as Trottier countered from the outside. Trottier began to beat a tiring Popovich as round two pushed on. A right uppercut-left hook to the head sent Popovich down again nearing the end of the round.
Trottier turned up the pressure early in the third round. A left and right uppercut to the chest of Popovich put the Wisconsin fighter down again. Popovich bravely rose to his feet but didn't look like he could go on much further. Popovich continued to eat head and body shots but never quit until referee Jeff Ness stopped the bout following a final body shot that dropped Popovich to his knees. Later that night, Popovich told MinnesotaBoxing.com that he had broken his sternum in the fight, a result of the body attack of Trottier.

 

Muscle bound Pennsylvanian Brian Cohen (4-1, 3 KO's) stopped Montreze Evens (0-1) of Indiana at 1:19 of the third round. Cohen pounded Evens unmercifully sending Evens to the canvas hard five times in all with thudding shots to the head and body. Evens dropped like an anvil each time he was sent to the floor but would shoot up like a bullet immediately. The end came in the third with a looping right uppercut from Cohen that lifted Evens off his feet and down into his corner where the beating was stopped.

 

Welterweight Mike Davis (2-4) of Grand Forks, ND impressively stopped Dave Dunkin (0-1) of Bismark, ND. The official time was 1:20 of round one. Afterwards, Davis called out for a rematch with RJ Laase who fought later on the card. Davis lost a majority decision to Laase last June in Superior, WI