By Ricardo Ibarra
Photos by Mike Blair/boxingprospects.net

On Saturday night at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington, Brian Halquist Productions celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ‘Battle at the Boat’ series with the 111th installment of the Northwest boxing mainstay.

In the main event, Tacoma’s own Mike ‘Imagine Me’ Gavronski (23-2-1, 14 KOs) overcame the tricky southpaw style of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Quinton Rankin (12-4-2, 9 KOs) to claim a close ten round unanimous decision win, capping off an eventful six bout fight card.

In the first round of the light heavyweight fight, both fighters tentatively jockeyed for position, with neither landing much. In the second, Rankin began to find his mark more often, working off his jab and catching Gavronski with counter lefts as the local pushed his way in close. Rankin, who proved to be a cagey fighter, did well in avoiding his opponent’s punches and countering with lefts as Gavronski pressed the fight. Throughout the first four rounds, Rankin controlled the tempo of the fight, jabbing at a distance and catching his foe consistently with counters. The southpaw style was clearly giving Gavronski problems as he struggled to find a way to land.

In the fifth Gavronski began to adjust, pushing to keep his lead foot on the outside of his opponent’s and launching his right hand when he did so. As the round wore on, Gavronski slowly cut the distance down and made his way into the pocket more often where he made it a rougher fight.

The flow of the fight swung in Gavronski’s favor more in the sixth and seventh rounds as he pressed successfully, landing with one-twos and left hooks. Rankin continued to counter with his left, but Gavronski was outworking him with the more effective shots. A vicious left hook in the eighth seemed to daze Rankin, putting him on the defensive and igniting the crowd, but Gavronski was unable to follow up as the southpaw did a good job of weathering the attack with his defense.

Late in the ninth Rankin mounted a small rally, catching the oncoming Gavronski with two big lefts. Gavronski came back in the tenth, closing out the fight with a strong final assault. The judges all favored Gavronski with scores of 97-93, 96-94, and 97-94.

With the win, Gavronski continues his recent resurgence, adding his third consecutive victory and doing so over a skilled fighter.

“He’s a tricky guy,” said Gavronski of his opponent after the fight. “I give him all the credit, being as elusive as he is. I really didn’t know what to expect. When I got in there and I realized that he was so awkward, I just thought I’ve got to stick to my principles and do what we worked on. It was difficult. It was really difficult. It was really bizarre, to be honest with you. It was a good fight to be in because of the learning experience.”

“I hurt him pretty bad (in the eighth). I know I did,” Gavronski continued. “But he’s a survivalist. He tries to trick you and I should have just opened on him and finished him right there, but I knew he was a trickster. He’s not a slouch, he’s a trickster and plays the little weird games and tries to catch you.”

When asked what he’d like to do next, Gavronski stated, “I’d like to put some longer training camps together and just start fighting bigger fights…getting out there, making some money and actually winning a championship. Having fun doing that. You only live once so if the opportunity presents itself, that’s what I would like to do.”

Five other bouts made up the remainder of the card. In the semi-main event, Yakima’s Andres Reyes (7-2-1, 2 KOs) made short work of Tacoma’s Will Hughes (5-6, 3 KOs), stopping him in the first round. Hughes started the fight pressing aggressively behind his jab, but Reyes quickly tempered that aggression with stiff right hands. Using lateral movement, Reyes maneuvered in and out of the pocket well, digging deep with body shots and following up with combinations upstairs. Mid-way through the round, a left hook caught Hughes on the tip of the chin, wobbling him badly. Reyes pressed, finding his mark again with a vicious left hook, followed by a right, sending Hughes down to the canvass. The local fighter made it up, but after seeing him wobble around the ring, referee Terrance Moody made the call to stop the bout at 1:59 of the first round, giving Reyes his seventh win as a pro. The bout was contested in the welterweight division.

Unbeaten former amateur collegiate champion Richard Van Siclen (4-0, 3 KOs) added a fourth win to his perfect ledger, scoring a second round stoppage of Pendleton, Oregon’s Justin Milani (1-5). Van Siclen had to contend with an early push from Milani, who pressed well in the first minute of the fight. Using his movement and more accurate punching, Van Siclen began to stifle Milani’s aggression mid-way through the round and by the closing of the first stanza, was pushing him back with solid right cross-left hook flurries. In the second, Van Siclen maneuvered in and out of the pocket well, firing off quick bursts in close before moving away. Later in the round, Van Siclen unloaded with a sustained barrage, pushing his opponent back onto the ropes. A vicious left uppercut snapped back the head of Milani in the corner buckling his knees and a follow up right hand-left hook put him down for a count. Milani was up fairly quickly, but once referee Bob Howard saw him stumble, he rightly called a halt to the bout, giving Van Siclen his third win inside the distance at 1:53 of the round.

Kent, Washington’s Shae Green (1-0) made his first foray into the paid ranks a successful one, taking a clear-cut unanimous decision win over the winless Niko McFarland (0-4), of Portland, Oregon. After a close first round in which both fighters looked to establish their jab, Green began to take a slight lead in the second working from range and slowly widening the gap as the fight wore on. By the fourth Green had found his rhythm and was out-landing McFarland with the more effective punching. All three judges scored the bout for Green with scores of 40-36, 39-37, and 39-37. The contest was fought at the Jr. welterweight limit.

In a Jr. middleweight fight, Bellingham, Washington’s Kevin Torres (2-0-1, 2 KOs) scored a first round TKO over Jesse Barich (0-2), of Lakewood, Washington. Torres turned up the heat from the start, pushing his way in close behind his jab and slamming Barich with left hooks and right hands. After a violent flurry, Torres ended matters with a well-placed right to the solar plexus, dropping Barich to a knee. Barich was still in obvious pain when referee Bob Howard waved off the fight at 1:34 of the round.

A four round super middleweight bout kicked off the festivities with Tacoma’s Jacob Ikaika Tampos (1-0) taking a unanimous decision win over Eric Cronkhite (0-2), of Eatonville, Washington. Tampos, who as an MMA fighter has a 4-1 pro record, was making his first appearance as a professional boxer, while Cronkhite, who is 2-2 in MMA, was looking for his first win in the squared circle after suffering a loss in his pro debut last February. Tampos, a southpaw, took an early edge with the busier and accurate punches, working his one-two and mixing in looping body shots. In the third, Tampos stunned his opponent momentarily with a right hook late in the round but was unable to follow up before the bell sounded. Tampos kicked up his aggression early in the fourth and rocked Cronkhite once again, this time with a right uppercut. Cronkhite, who was a game fighter throughout the fight, rallied late, making the round close, but Tampos had done enough by that point. The three judges scored the bout 39-37, and 40-36 twice, all for Tampos.

The twentieth anniversary of the ‘Battle at the Boat’ was attended by a number of Northwest boxing luminaries and local celebrities, with videos of early televised bouts and messages from famous well-wishers played on the big screens and over the speakers throughout the night, celebrating the long history of the show. The 112th edition of the ‘Battle at the Boat’ will take place September 9th.