Delray Beach Boxing Club

Delray Beach:  It was an exciting night of boxing this past Thursday, as Delray Beach Boxing Club hosted its very first professional boxing card.  In conjunction with Blacksheep Promotions and Impact TV, six fights were seen in total, and all twelve fighters were game.  Each of the six featured fighters won their respective bouts, yet none came easy.

In the first bout, Robz Safar (11-0, 8 KOs) showcased his skills, as he continually split the guard of his opponent.  Fans wondered what was keeping Demetrius Banks up.  Yet Banks would go on to stay in the fight and land a handful of clean shots of his own.  In the end, though, the high output and strength of Safar would ultimately end the fight, as Banks took a knee in the eighth and final round to stop the onslaught.

In the second bout, crowd favorite, Jonas “J-Fade” Sylvain (1-0, 1 KO) made his pro debut in front of many of his fans and in his home gym where he does most of his training.  Henry Mendez gave Sylvain some early trouble in the fight until J-Fade finally found his rhythm.  The punch output and aggression to which Sylvain showed was nothing short of great right up until one final barrage of punches was enough to convince referee Sam Burgos to stop the match.  In the end, it was a TKO victory for J-Fade, much to the crowd’s pleasure.

Over the next three bouts, you saw some giveback from all three opponents with several opportunities to keep it close.  However, Dominque “Trapp” Francis (9-0, 6 KOs), Tobias “Hollow Tip” Green (8-3, 2 KOs), and Antonio “Bang” Williams (14-0-1, 6 KOs) all showed why they were the showcased fighters in their decision wins.  20-year-old Francis had a bit of a dogfight in his Featherweight contest, but it was Trapp who ultimately kept his hands going enough to steal every round.  Green, who weighed in more than eight pounds less than his opponent, had some choice words for Augustine Mauras at that weigh-in.  The hyped-up crowd was ready for anything and saw a bit of a shoot-out in what was probably the most closely contested fight of the night.  Williams, a Lightweight prospect, provided the fans in attendance with a showcase of his boxing skills, as well as why the nickname “Bang” is so fitting.  Early in the fight you could audibly hear the shots around the gym as Williams landed them hard on his opponent.  Bang did play it safe the rest of the way, however, and appeared satisfied not looking for that KO en route to his unanimous decision victory.

In the main bout, Steve Geffrard (18-2, 12 KOs) fought for the first time in three full years and only the second time in more than four.  In his first fight back after that long drought, Geffrard took on journeyman Denis Grachev, who has gone the distance with former world champions Lucian Bute and Chad Dawson, as well as long-time contender Isaac Chilemba.  It was a great test for Steve, who came in with blazing speed to start the contest.  The body work Geffrard put in the first couple of rounds was impressive.  He would eventually abandon that tactic, though, in an act to protect himself from the head shots Grachev was slipping in throughout the fight.  A boxing match would ensue for the remainder of the fight and Grachev would not back down.  Steve’s hand speed would play the biggest role of the night, as he would just land more and at a quicker pace than Grachev.  Ultimately, it was a great first fight back for Geffrard and the right fight for him to shake off those cobwebs.

In the end, the fans were treated to six great fights with one fighter being stopped, another having to quit, and four others winning by decision.  Congratulations to all of the winners, and we hope to see another card at Delray Beach Boxing Club sometime in the very near future.

– Mike Feinberg / TFN Reporter