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Klash at Kla-Mo-Ya coming
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| H&N photo by Andrew Mariman Alpacino Weiser trains with a speed bag Tuesday night at Klamath Boxing and Fitness for Saturday’s Klash at Kla-Mo-Ya’s 240-pound bout. |
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Saturday at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, boxers from around the Northwest will take part in the second annual Klash at Kla-Mo-Ya.
Five fighters from Klamath Boxing and Fitness will be in action, which starts at 4 p.m. Zach Dunlap, 25, will have his first match at 160 pounds against 29-year-old Jim Harmes from Lakeview. It is also the first match for Harmes.
“Coach (Ed Clarke, who runs Klamath Boxing and Fitness) didn’t want to put me in a fight with a guy that has been in a bunch of fights,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap said he has been training in Klamath Falls for about six months and trained in Arizona prior to coming to the Basin.
“I run five times a week,” Dunlap said. “I come in and do shadow boxing and jump roping and a lot of cardiovascular stuff to get my stamina up.”
As much as he has been preparing for the match, Dunlap says he will be nervous when he steps in the first time.
“Nerves will kick in,” Dunlap said. “But sometimes the nervous energy can be a good thing.”
Also on the undercard will be Eric Elkins, 17, who also trains at KBF. Elkins will also be making his debut against another 17-year-old, Paul Coates from Lakeview.
Sparring partners
Sparring partners Alpacino Weiser and David Decker will be fighting each other at 240 pounds, which Clarke said is not something he likes to do a lot. However, Clarke has confidence that there will not be any hard feelings after the fight.
“One day, Al will beat David, and the next day, David will beat Al,” Clarke said. “But after they are done sparring, they always touch gloves and walk out of the ring and talk to each other.”
Decker said there will not be any bad blood after the match, because he has respect for Weiser.
Weiser said he is excited for the fight.
“Boxing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” the 21-year-old said. “My uncle and a lot of the members of my family have been involved in fighting. Family gatherings usually consisted of some form of boxing.”
Decker, 26, is primarily a cage fighter who got into boxing because it looked like something that might be fun.
“I thought I might like boxing,” Decker said. “The skills are different from the types that you use in cage fighting. Boxing is all upright. Cage fighting you use ground skills and have to kick and use other styles of fighting.”
See KLASH, page B2
Decker said he is looking forward to stepping in the ring and is hopeful he enjoys the experience of boxing.
Also stepping out of the cage is Jake Wonser, 25, who has a 2-0 record in the boxing ring. Wonser will be fighting in the main event against Mingus Allen from the Warm Spring Nation at 205. Allen is 2-2 in his amateur career.
“I can’t wait to get in there,” Wonser said. “I haven’t really been training any harder, I always train hard. It’s fun to do the cage fights, but I look at boxing as a cage fight without the ground skills and the kicking. Boxing is the icing on the cake.”
Clarke also laid down a challenge to another local fighter.
“There is a guy named Justin Malone who has been going around saying he has had 27 career fights and has 26 knockouts.” Clarke said. “He came in here and we had him spar with one of our guys, and I could tell he had never been in a ring in his entire life. I want him to know that if he shows up, Jake will fight him at the Klash and put his title, which he won in cage fighting, on the line.”
” Ross L. Timbrook
Saturday at the Kla-Mo-Ya Casino, boxers from around the Northwest will take part in the second annual Klash at Kla-Mo-Ya.
Five fighters from Klamath Boxing and Fitness will be in action, which starts at 4 p.m. Zach Dunlap, 25, will have his first match at 160 pounds against 29-year-old Jim Harmes from Lakeview. It is also the first match for Harmes.
“Coach (Ed Clarke, who runs Klamath Boxing and Fitness) didn’t want to put me in a fight with a guy that has been in a bunch of fights,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap said he has been training in Klamath Falls for about six months and trained in Arizona prior to coming to the Basin.
“I run five times a week,” Dunlap said. “I come in and do shadow boxing and jump roping and a lot of cardiovascular stuff to get my stamina up.”
As much as he has been preparing for the match, Dunlap says he will be nervous when he steps in the first time.
“Nerves will kick in,” Dunlap said. “But sometimes the nervous energy can be a good thing.”
Also on the undercard will be Eric Elkins, 17, who also trains at KBF. Elkins will also be making his debut against another 17-year-old, Paul Coates from Lakeview.
Sparring partners
Sparring partners Alpacino Weiser and David Decker will be fighting each other at 240 pounds, which Clarke said is not something he likes to do a lot. However, Clarke has confidence that there will not be any hard feelings after the fight.
“One day, Al will beat David, and the next day, David will beat Al,” Clarke said. “But after they are done sparring, they always touch gloves and walk out of the ring and talk to each other.”
Decker said there will not be any bad blood after the match, because he has respect for Weiser.
Weiser said he is excited for the fight.
“Boxing has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember,” the 21-year-old said. “My uncle and a lot of the members of my family have been involved in fighting. Family gatherings usually consisted of some form of boxing.”
Decker, 26, is primarily a cage fighter who got into boxing because it looked like something that might be fun.
“I thought I might like boxing,” Decker said. “The skills are different from the types that you use in cage fighting. Boxing is all upright. Cage fighting you use ground skills and have to kick and use other styles of fighting.”
See KLASH, page B2
Decker said he is looking forward to stepping in the ring and is hopeful he enjoys the experience of boxing.
Also stepping out of the cage is Jake Wonser, 25, who has a 2-0 record in the boxing ring. Wonser will be fighting in the main event against Mingus Allen from the Warm Spring Nation at 205. Allen is 2-2 in his amateur career.
“I can’t wait to get in there,” Wonser said. “I haven’t really been training any harder, I always train hard. It’s fun to do the cage fights, but I look at boxing as a cage fight without the ground skills and the kicking. Boxing is the icing on the cake.”
Clarke also laid down a challenge to another local fighter.
“There is a guy named Justin Malone who has been going around saying he has had 27 career fights and has 26 knockouts.” Clarke said. “He came in here and we had him spar with one of our guys, and I could tell he had never been in a ring in his entire life. I want him to know that if he shows up, Jake will fight him at the Klash and put his title, which he won in cage fighting, on the line.”
” Ross L. Timbrook
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Bill Hoffman wrote on Apr 10, 2008 10:07 AM:
" Long live Matt Miles! He was the "Billy Kilmer" of Semi Pro Football: tough, gritty, fiery leader, winning mentality. I will never forget this "young gunslinger", he made this league better for being in it.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Hoffman
CO Stampede, #45 "
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Hoffman
CO Stampede, #45 "
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Ken Karnes wrote on Oct 3, 2008 4:23 PM: