Willard settles, and Goose cuts loose with a KO

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One evening in late February will always be memorable for Willard Lewis. It was Feb. 23 when the talented 23 year-old had to settle for second best, if that.

His opponent, turned out to be Mike Lewars from Vancouver. His original opponent, American grappler Kenneth Whack, failed his medical and credible could be found in time.

Lewis was quick to admit the disappointment he felt when the fight promoters, Big Bang Boxing, and his handler, Milan Lubovic, were unable to supply him with a foe to meet his fighting stature.

Discomfort showed throughout the first two rounds in Lewis as he plodded about and tapped Lewars every now and then, not knowing just how much force he could apply to his punches when, all the while, the crowd sent up a chorus of boos at a rather dismal, inactive exibition bout.

Lewis picked up the pace and ran up a number of solid body shots and a few head shots during the third and fourth rounds to give the fight fans a bit of their money's worth.

Currently ranked sixth by the North American Boxing Federation, Lewis later admitted to Sweetgrass newspaper that he felt uncomfortable in the ring because he couldn't go "all out."

"I had zero motivation," said Lewis, who holds a perfect 15-0 record as a pro with 12 of those coming as KOs.

Probably the biggest surprise of the fight night was a rapid knockout scored by Edmonton's Ritchie Goosehead.

Goosehead threw a thunderous right square on the jaw of British Columbia's Conrad Brown. Brown, who recently turned pro, walked in wide open and was clobbered just 25 seconds into the first round. He had to be carried back to his corner.

"The Goose is here. The Goose is back," exclaimed Goosehead as he joyously raced around the ring and did his trademark flip in mid-air. "That's what the fans want to see," he added. "Boom! Fast!"

One judge, Bill Warwick, maintains that Goosehead could really be one heckuva fighter if he trained hard, stayed in shape and remained focused.

In the opener, it was Camrose resident John Martinez, who squared off with another Aboriginal fighter, Sherman Merasty from Saskatoon.

The last time these two boxers entered the ring, it was a pretty close scrap. Not this time, however, as Martinez scored time and again, knocking his opponent down in the first and third rounds to win the bout.

In other match-ups, middleweights Jeff Anderson received a unanimous decision over Bernie St. Pierre and Edmonton's Tony 'Bad Boy' Badea, now 20-2-1, had no problem with Greg Johnson from Kitchener, Ont. who now falls to 8-6-1.

Because Lewis' bout was relegated to exhibition status the Badea-Johnson bout was billed as the main event. That bout was also a title match for the Canadian super-middleweight crown in which Badea started off slowly, giving ground to Johnson for the first couple of rounds.

Nonetheless, Badea found his tools in the third and easily won the bout after applying a tattoo of body shots that wobbled Johnson badly in the fourth, then literally had him out on his feet in the fifth. Several body shots were swiftly followed by a few head shots that were more than Johnson could take even though he refused to cave in and "kiss" the canvas.

In The Corner: Willard Lewis is presently negotiating with some casino operators in Saskatchewan who are talking about sponsorship for the talented Alberta Native. They are suggesting a possible training camp in the Battleford area and some fight cards in Saskatchewan. Only time will tell whether it's the kind of break he needs. Lewis still wants to go head-to-head with Dale Brown who he says has been avoiding him like the plague.

Although fans and promoters would love an Edmonton-based Lewis-Brown match, a card in Montreal may be more realistic given the attraction and big money over that way. Lewis feels confident he can take Brown out of the picture and raise his own profile as well as his standings which could lead to bigger paydays and, perhaps one day, to a world title shot.