Cage Titans XX Review

CAGE TITANS REVIEW! Well ladies and gentlemen, we expected Cage Titans 20 to deliver, and Polvere went above and beyond. Every fight on the main card offered something to wow the crowd, and several of the undercard fights went above and beyond in the way of getting the crowd on its feet. Without further ado, let’s get to the review, as all of these fights hardly need any introduction here… Undercard Performances of the Night Max Barrett – “Mad” Max pulled out all the stops in the wild back-and-forth affair to stop the durable Allen Edgecomb in a savage stand-up brawl, as the two striking specialists delivered hands, feet and shins to each other with gusto, until a monster hook dropped Edgecomb to the mat early in the second frame, giving Barrett all he needed to smash his way to a TKO victory, the talented Bantamweight brings his record to 4-3. Jeff Perez – Wow. Perez is a Muay Thai wrecking machine, smashing his opponent throughout the first round before the overmatched fighter was forced to submit to Perez’s savage onslaught. Yorgan DeCastro and Anthony Palazolla – In a fight between two athletic light-heavyweights, Team Boxe product Palazolla made his amateur debut against Lauzon MMA striking specialist DeCastro in an amazingly fast-paced fight, given the weight class. In the first round, Palazolla took it to the powerful Yorgan, bull-rushing him to the cage and unleashing a relentless attack to DeCastro’s midsection via knees and dirty boxing. Keeping his head, DeCastro kept his cool and attacked hard with brutal leg-kicks and some crisp 1-2’s. The fight continued at a frantic pace for the remainder, and Yorgan won a well deserved Unanimous decision over the promising Palazolla, though the real winner in this fight were the fans. Main Card Review Fox vs. Moutinho, Flyweight Amateur Title One scoop, one slam, and it was the beginning of the end. Champion Kris Moutinho charged forward the second the bell rang toward then-undefeated Norman Fox, scooping him up, running to the cage, and slamming Fox to the mat with authority. From there it was all Kris, who would take Fox’s back and punch his way to an early TKO to retain the belt. Gaffney vs. Hunter, Welterweight Amateur Title Gaffney and Hunter was an intense back-and-forth affair that would leave both fighters battered, bruised, bloody and satisfied, as both Hunter and Gaffney let it all hang out for a packed house. Gaffney dominated the early frames, smashing Hunter from mount at several points, but the resilient DCNU fighter rallied back in the later rounds to bloody up a visibly tired Gaffney. The two engaged in an amazing scrap that would see Gaffney awarded the Unianimous Decision, a beautiful moment in which Gaffney shared his receiving of the Title Belt with his son. Fontecchio vs. Gonzalez, Heavyweight Amateur Title This fight took place where many heavyweight fighters dare to tread…on the mat. Fontecchio dominated the fight for basically the entire four rounds, consistently taking the powerful striker Gonzalez to the matt, where he quickly worked to a crucifix or side-control, and released a stream of hammer-fists and punches from the top position. The game Gonzalez would ultimately succumb to a TKO loss at the hands of the Connor’s MMA product in Fonteccio, but earned the respect of the crowd, for fighting valiantly off of his back and surging onward against Nick until the bitter end. Well fought by two true warriors. Proctor vs. Dubuque, Featherweight Amateur Title No one said it had to be pretty, as long as it got done. This fight was a grinder’s delight, as Dubuque and Proctor attacked each other with powerful combinations and takedowns, grinding the fight from the top position, reversing their bad position, and recycling the entire process. Ultimately, it was the grinder in Proctor that was allowed to really shine, as the Lauzon MMA fighter seemed to be just one step ahead of the game with his wrestling, scoring some very impressive slams and showcasing his strength. Well fought and a deserved UD for Proctor. Johnson vs. Flynn, Welterweight Pro Fight A lot of people really like Bobby Flynn, I’m a fan myself. Apparently Ralph Johnson didn’t, as it took him less than a minute to plant a brutal knee on the chin of Bobby and sending him crashing to the canvas. It was truthfully a beautiful performance from a fighter who is now quietly developing a nice win-streak, notching two in a row over some very talented opponents in Flynn and Nick Lavin. Barrett vs. Isabell, Featherweight Pro Fight Peter Barrett was under a spotlight this fight, as many of his fans seemed to be waiting with baited breath for that true break-out win in Barrett’s young career. While his first fight with Lionel Young was a good strong win for the talented featherweight, Barrett was held to higher expectations, and was expected to perform to the higher caliber he has been held to in his next bout against Franklin Isabell. He exceeded those expectations. A blistering and powerful combination was all it took to smash the over matched Isabell into an early stoppage. “Slippery” looked like everything but slippery, and instead looked more like a steamroller, running over Isabell and into a nice 2-0 record as a professional. Counting his amateur career, Barrett is on a five-fight winning streak and hasn’t been defeated since 2012. Cardarelli vs. Carmenatty, Flyweight Pro Fight As expected, Carderelli kept the hype-training moving that night, scoring a takedown, taking Carmenatty’s back, and locking in a fight-ending rear-naked choke. Remo is building himself a nice fan-base as well as an undefeated record, and looks every bit the part of future champion…I see gold in this kid’s future. Perez vs. Campbell, Feathweight Pro Fight Now this, my friends, was a fight. Johnny “Cupcakes” Campbell and “The Peruvian Prince” Fernando Perez went to war in a gold ol’ fashioned grudge match that rocked the house. South Shore Sportfighting is quickly ascending to one of the most dominant local teams, showing skill and excellence in the cage, as well as an “anywhere, anytime” mentality that many camps lack. In addition, brand-new camp of Team Boxe proved that, above all else, they may be one of the most game gyms in the region. Those boys come to scrap. This is what makes for a Fight of the Night, folks. The first round saw something that local fans haven’t seen in quite some time…Campbell taking punishment. Lately, Campbell’s beautiful slipping and rolling has carried him to the promise land whenever he fights, but against Perez, Campbell was forced to change it up a bit. Crisp boxing was the name of the first round, as Perez seemed to be picking Campbell apart with snapping leg-kicks and some strong right hands. That said, Campbell stayed competitive with his usual high-flying showmanship, utilizing front kicks and flying knees, as well as precise and well-timed jab. The second round was similar to the first, as Perez continued to stalk “Cupcakes” along the fence and score with strong and fast combinations, while Campbell worked his head movement and kicks, landing some hard shots on Fernando’s left eye, as well as lead leg. That said, “The Peruvian Prince” kept a steady pressure on Campbell, busting up Campbell’s face and doing some visible damage to his leg with some ferocious low-kicks…leading to a crucial third round. The third round, the animal in Johnny Campbell awoke, and he came out of the gates hard, knowing the score could be too close for comfort. Stuffing a takedown attempt from Perez the cadio-centric “Cupcakes” smashed Perez’s body with hammer-fists and elbows from the sprawl, leading to some very entertaining scrambles from the Brown Belt in Perez and Catch-Wrestler in “Cupcakes”. At the end of the fight, Campbell was awarded a controversial split-decision victory, in a fight that was one of the best in recent memory. It seems that Perez and Campbell are just totally unable to put on boring fights, and given the close nature of this one…why not a sequel!? Truly though, an amazing fight from two great competitors, as Campbell now will surely be taking a big step forward, as he extends his win streak to three and career record to 8-5. Frank Sforza vs. Steve McCabe, 150 Pound Catch-Weight Pro Fight Well the return of the hometown hero was a successful one, as South Shore Sportfighting star Frank Sforza dispatched of Philly fighter Steve McCabe with his typical, beautiful ground-work. Sforza bullied McCabe into a powerful takedown, ultimately getting the Philly son’s neck and locking down a rear-naked choke that was, visibly, devoid of anything resembling brotherly love. Great finish by a great fighter.