CERRESSO FORT WINS DECISION OVER DAVE PETERSON IN THRILLER MAIN EVENT

Photos and Report by Jesse Kelley

“Sir” Cerresso Fort (13-0-1, 10 KO’s) won a hard fought majority decision over Dave “The Prodigy” Peterson (13-1, 8 KO’s) Saturday night at the Black Bear Casino in Carlton, MN. The action was presented by Jungle Boy Boxing. The good action in the opening round exploded into an all out war over the next seven rounds which were marked by both boxers giving it everything they had. The blood started flying early and often leaving the fighters cut and swollen and even a few ringsiders spotted in red. Peterson (151.5 lbs at weigh-ins) surprised everybody by coming forward early and controlling the flow inside the ring, which looked more like a kids play pen because of its unusually small size. But it was obvious by the polished boxing moves being display that these weren’t children playing. Peterson spun and circled his way to the inside where he got the better of things to start. Fort (154 lbs) chose to box, and counter with head shots while moving backwards. For now, Fort was letting the aggressive style we have come to expect lay dormant with Floyd Mayweather Sr. giving instructions from his corner.

To this point, both Fort and Peterson were still showing each other respect but the civility of the match went out the window at the end of the second round. Fort nailed Peterson on the back of the head and Peterson tried to take Forts head off in return. Referee Mark Nelson got between the two before all hell could break loose. Both fighters kept their composure however afterwards but the intensity between the two shot through the roof of the Casino from that point on and you could almost feel it sitting ringside.

To make matters messier during a close third round, an accidental head crash left Fort with a wide open gash over his left eye. Fort continued to use Peterson’s assumed roll as counter puncher despite the blood flow and landed some nice shots to the head and body afterwards.

Peterson did his best work in rounds four and five while landing uppercuts and being first to the punch. Fort’s mouth was open during the rounds and I started to ask myself if the move to 154 had taken a toll on him. Fort smiled back at Peterson’s assault as he walked back to his corner to compose himself. But just as it looked like Fort might have been winded, he rallied with a huge round six. Fort looked like a fresh fighter and roared out of his corner with the pressuring bombs we are used to seeing. Maybe the weight wasn’t an issue after all?

Fort was now the fighter pushing the action behind a clubbing right. The faster pace and brawling nature of the contest seemed to better suit him. More great action in round seven but Fort secured the fight on the judges cards by having his best round of the fight in the eighth and final round. Both fighters gained a ton of respect from local fans for their effort who watched both online and live at the fights. Afterwards each fighter said they want to go at it again later this year in the Twin Cities area. Fort brought a lot of fans to the full ballroom and they were passionately in favor of their fighters hand being raised. But their were also a good number of current and past professional fighters in attendance who almost unanimously favored Peterson by a round. This is a fight I would pay to see over and over again. Official scores read 77-75 twice for Fort and 76-76 giving Fort the victory.

In other action, Jamal James (6-0, 4 KO’s) looked extremely sharp in beating Hector Orozco (5-12) for the second time. The first round was close and much like their first meeting. Orozco came forward with pressure and James countered from the outside. James began to pull away after the second round though while landing hard combinations before slipping out of Orozco’s reach. James won more convincingly this time around but Orozco showed the same grit and determination as in their first meeting which made for an entertaining bout. Scores read 59-55, 60-54, 60-54.

Al Sands (4-1, 4 KO’s) scored the KO of the night against game Kia Daniels (6-7, 4 KO’s), stopping him at 2:10 of the first round. Sands’ entrance was almost as exciting as the KO as he danced to the ring with Kevin Lyttle’s “You got me going crazy” echoing in the background. And Sands had the crowd going crazy before and after putting Daniels out with a hard right to the head.

Richard Hargraves (3-0-1, 2 KO’s) won a six round unanimous decision over Michael Faulk (2-2) in a middleweight bout. Scores read 58-56, 59-55, 58-57. Hargraves traveled from California to face Faulk in his home state and was able to out work his opponent by being the busier fighter. The bout was a chess match with both boxers looking for openings to counter punch. Neither fighter looked to be hurt at any point in the bout.
“My plan was to come to Minnesota and knock him out because I didn’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges” said Hargraves afterwards. “But my second plan was to box and that’s what I did. I thought my defense was good and I’m happy the judges saw it the right way.”

Mathew Karaja (1-0) won a four round majority decision over Jerome LaBarge (0-1). Scores read 39-37, 39-37, 38-38. The two fighters have a history that goes back to the amateur days and put simply, neither guy liked the other before hand. Despite neither fighter having tasted the canvas, it was a four round brawl for the duration of the bout. Like many rivalries before, the two men embarrassed afterwards and seemingly put the past behind them.

Corey Thompson (1-0, 1 KO) knocked Stanley Lewis (0-6) down twice on his way to winning his pro debut by first round stoppage. Official time was 1:48. Lewis turned his back at one point early and raised his hands while shaking his head to show Thompson’s shots were not hurting him. But shortly after, Thompson ripped Lewis to the body which knocked the smile off his face. Thompson continued his offensive attack until Lewis could not continue. 

Heavyweight Charles Goodwin (2-0, 2 KO’s) won by first round TKO over Cory Briggs (0-1) in a scheduled four rounder. 

Davalance DePoe (1-0, 1 KO) won by second round KO over John Kingbird (0-1). Time of stoppage was :48 into the second round in the nights opening bout.