Welliver squares off with Hempstead Saturday in Idaho

By Ricardo Ibarra

Competing in his second fight since coming back from a two year stretch of inactivity, former WBC Continental Americas heavyweight champion Chauncy “The Hillyard Hammer” Welliver (56-12-5, 23 KOs) will look to add another win to his seventy-three-fight pro ledger on Saturday night at the Coeur D’Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho, taking on undefeated Montana heavyweight Eric Hempstead (7-0, 7 KOs). The match-up will headline the second ‘House of Fury’ card of the year for the Coeur D’Alene Casino, which recently broke its own stretch of inactivity back in March after spending the last seven years dormant.

Welliver, a long-time Pacific Northwest boxing presence as both a fighter and trainer, has accumulated a wealth of experience over seventeen-years as a pro, facing a number of top tier opponents along the way. At one point in his career he managed to crack the top ten in two of the major sanctioning bodies’ world ratings. Some of his more notable fights include a 2012 decision victory over aging former world title challenger Bert Cooper, and a 2008 ninth round TKO loss in a bid for the WBC International heavyweight title against then undefeated Odlandier Solis, who would go on to challenge Vitaly Klitschko for the world title two years later. In 2014 he also faced off with former WBA heavyweight champion Lucas Browne, losing via fifth-round stoppage, and world title challenger Alexander Ustinov, dropping an eight round decision to him.

Welliver stepped away from competing in the sport in 2016 after a split decision loss to Marselles Brown in Mexico, choosing instead to focus on training young fighters. But after spending two years on the sidelines, he made his return this past July, scoring a first round KO win over Ruben Roundstone. A popular fighter in his hometown of Spokane, Washington, located just 30 miles from the Coeur D’Alene, this will mark the first time Welliver will fight close to home in over eleven years.

“The inland Northwest boxing scene needed a bit of a pick me up,” said Welliver of his decision to return to the ring. “Boxing around here is dead and I’m trying to give it that fresh breath of air. Unfortunately, sometimes to give it that fresh breath of air, you have to add something old to it. And I feel great about being able to bring boxing back to one of the three big Northwest boxing venues. I fought at the Coeur D’Alene as a kid and now I get to help guide some of these young fighters here. I want to keep boxing going up here for many years to come.”

Welliver will be facing a hard-hitting, young fighter in Hempstead. Fighting out of Anaconda, Montana, the twenty-six-year-old Hempstead has scored every one of his seven wins by knockout, with all but two ending in the first round. In his last fight this past July, he scored a first round stoppage win over Billy Martin.

“He’s going to give me hell,” said Welliver of his opponent. “He’s getting ready for a solid ten rounder. I think he’s going to bring it because at the end of the day, I’m shop worn. I’m not what I once was. If he’s ever going to get a good win over a former contender, now’s the time to do it and I think he’s going to try and seize that moment.”

Welliver and Hempstead will meet in a ten round fight in the heavyweight division. The Coeur D’Alene Casino and event coordinator Sarah Welliver have lined up a six bout undercard, highlighted by some promising young regional hopefuls.

In the semi-main event, New Zealander Santos Pakau (28-8-2, 11 KOs) will step back into the ring for the first time in five years, taking on local crowd favorite Sean Quinnett (5-3, 2 KOs) in a six round welterweight clash. Pakau, who now resides in Yakima, Washington, has been a pro for over eighteen years and faced a number of world class competitors, including former world champions Paul Williams (L TKO6, 2006), and Randall Bailey (L KO1, 2006). He last fought in March of 2013, losing in the second round to former lightweight world champion Zahir Raheem. A series of injuries forced him to take break following his last fight, but after a long rest and recovery period, Pakau is looking for a good win to get his career back on track.

Quinnett, meanwhile, will be facing by far the most experienced opponent of his young career. The Spokane resident is on a two-fight winning run since suffering a surprising second round loss last year to journeyman Tavorus Teague. In his most recent outing, he scored a four round unanimous decision win over Jacob Fridley this past July.

Undefeated WBC United States (USNBC) cruiserweight champion Patrick Ferguson (13-0-1, 11 KOs) will square off with Mexico’s Miguel Cubos (11-18, 8 KOs) for a second time in a non-title affair. Ferguson initially faced Cubos back in June, winning all but one round on all three judges’ scorecards to claim a unanimous decision victory. This will be the fifth fight of the year for Ferguson, who’s maintained a busy schedule since turning prop in 2016. This past January, he traveled to Accra, Ghana to challenge for the WBO Africa title, battling to a ten round draw against local unbeaten prospect Abraham Tabul. In his most recent fight, Ferguson stopped Panuve Helu in seven rounds in New Zealand. Cubos last fought in June, losing a six round unanimous decision to Blake McKernan. Ferguson and Cubos will meet in a six rounder at the 200 lbs. limit.

Promising Tacoma, Washington fighter Andre Keys (8-1, 4 KOs) will take on Texas’ Lionel Jimenez (5-24-1, 4 KOs) in a six round Jr. middleweight fight. The slick and quick-handed Keys is coming off a dominant second round TKO win over Somethonit Phoumychak in August. Jimenez, meanwhile, lost a seven round decision on that same card to Steven Villalobos.

Rounding out the rest of the card will be former Montana amateur stand-out Kadin LeCoure (2-0, 1 KO) fighting in his third professional contest, taking on former MMA pro Dennis Hallman (1-2) in a four round cruiserweight bout; Andre Whitfield (1-0, 1 KO) squaring off with pro debuting Billy Wagner in a middleweight four rounder; and New Zealand’s Craig Thomson (10-0, 6 KOs) fighting Montana’s Warren Brockie (0-3) in a four round cruiserweight match-up.

Doors to the Coeur D’Alene Casino’s ‘House of Fury’ will open at 6 p.m. with the first bell set to ring at 7 p.m. Tickets to the event are available at the Casino box office and online at www.cdacasino.com/event/house-fury-boxing/