Boxer seriously injured in Toledo

By Bradley Snyder/The Undercard at ringside
Photos: Bob Ryder

As a boxing community, we often forget the risks that a boxer puts on the line for our entertainment. Victor Green’s Pulse Boxing had their first event, Friday Night Fights at St. Clement Hall in Toledo, Ohio where we were all reminded of the risks.

The second to last fight of the evening was Roy Barringer (Toledo, OH) vs. Tommy Bagnasco (Walled Lake, MI). Roy was quickly able to use speed and body work to set up Bagnasco on the ropes. Barringer then threw two punches to the body, freezing Tommy against the ropes. Roy connected with a right to the head of Bagnasco. Immediately, Bagnasco crumbled to the ground as Referee Gary Wolfe and his corner attended to him. Bagnasco became unresponsive as he was lying flat on the canvas. Tommy Bagnasco was in serious trouble as they found him unresponsive and not breathing. Thankfully, in the following moments, CPR was beginning to be performed. The Main Event of the evening featured DeAndre Ware who is a First Response firefighter. Supportng Ware for his fight were his friends from the fire department. The first responders in the audience began steps to save Bagnasco’s life. “Their ability to be there saved Bagnasco’s life,” Coach Todd Allee said. Tommy Bagnasco at the time of writing, remains in ICU at Toledo Hospital. Allee said, “He is still on a ventilator and is in the best care.” Roy Barringer improved to 2-0 with the 1:56 KO of Tommy Bagnasco (0-2).

The main event of the night produced a great fight. DeAndre Ware looking to improve on his 5-0 record, faced a tough opponent in Rudy Lozano (2-4-2). Having faced opponents of a combined record 20-2-1, Lozano would provide Ware with a strong, qualified opponent. Round 1, we saw a feisty Rudy working on Ware. Meanwhile, a patient Ware carefully placed shots. The last ten seconds of Round 1 saw Lozano in trouble being caught against the ropes with the bell saving him. Round 2 showed the evasive defensive style Ware produces with quality head movements. Lozano begins to find comfort by fighting against the ropes in the second round. The very exciting second round had Lozano and Ware trading shots until the bell. Ware started Round 3 with a left that buckled Rudy for a moment. Rounds 4 and 5 produced non-clinching, nonstop action. Round 6 showed that Ware was able to adjust to Lozano on the ropes, forcing him in the corner with combinations. Judges Rosemary Gross, Benjamin Rochester, and Tony Martin all scored the fight 59-55 in favor of Ware.

A couple of heavyweights made their pro debut as Marquis “The Bear” Valentine (Toledo, OH) took on Anthony Coleman Jr (Hamtramck, MI). Valentine displayed good footwork and strong two punch combinations. In the third, Valentine was able to catch Coleman with a right. Coleman fell into the ropes slowly, then down to the canvas. With 35 seconds in the third round, Valentine gained his first win.

In cruiserweight action, two fighters were set to make their professional debut. Averil Dotson (Toledo, OH) opened up his pro career with a solid win over Daren Gibbs (Detroit, MI). Between Rounds 3 and 4, Gibbs’ corner threw in the towel giving Averil Dotson the TKO win at the 3:00 mark of the third Round.

The night opened with a quality fight between Alden Wattley (Toledo, OH) of Glass City Boxing Gym vs. John Amerson (Detroit, MI). Wattley was able to land punches, but Amerson was often unimpressed. He shook his head as if to say the punches were not affecting him. Round 3, we saw Amerson quickly knocked down by Wattley’s hand speed. Wattley, on the offensive, produced a barrage of unanswered punches as Referee Wolfe stepped in to give Wattley (3-0) the victory at the 1:03 mark of the third Round. John Amerson fell to 0-2 in his professional career.