Grey Eagle Resort and Casino was filled to capacity as many Calgary residents came out to catch Zab Judah’s debut in Canada. The undercard also featured quite a few highly touted local talents which made for an electric night from start to finish. Liberty Multimedia’s Dylan Bowker was ringside for this Dekada card and came out of the event with more than a few takeaways.
The evening of pugilism opened up with Gwyn Lewis taking on Cristobal Diego. Gwyn entered the ring with a lot of hype from the Canadian and international boxing community. The Calgary based prospect showed enough developing skills to warrant the praise he has been getting. Lewis began finding his rhythm with the jab and was able to land some good hooks. In the second frame, Gwyn edged it but both men were able to land slobber knockers throughout. Diego was deducted a point for a late strike but it ended up not factoring into the proceedings too much. Gwyn peppered Cristobal on the ropes to end off the second. The third frame saw the two men position their skulls together and they traded some sweat knocking strikes. Lewis was able to knock down Diego multiple times throughout the bout with the fight finally culminating in a fourth round body shot that dropped Cristobal to the canvas.
Zach Manywounds vs Justin Schmit was the next feature on the card. Schmit was able to connect with more regularity all throughout, use constant forward pressure to stifle Zach’s efforts, and showed some good body work too. Manywounds seemed to have difficulty finding his range and getting any traction. Manywounds came in with a fair bit of hype from quite the energetic pow wow entrance with tribal drumming/ vocal stylings. The performance wasn’t quite enough to notch a W though. As the announcer read the decision aloud, Manywounds took his first pro boxing loss in this four round light-heavyweight fight as Justin logged he first win of his professional boxing career.
Isidro Toala vs Devon Reti was next on the docket and followed a similar pattern throughout the night of Mexican fighter taking on a local Calgary based fighter. Reti made his jab a known factor in the fight early on and one could almost see the confidence level rising in him as the contest carried on. With each passing round, Devon was landing with greater power and precision. Reti closed the distance and landed combos at will while also timing Toala’s entries to maintain a defensive savviness too. Big credit should be given to Isidro for not losing his determination at any point in the bout. Angles and footwork from Reti kept confusing Toala until Devon dropped Isidro with a thunderous body shot in the fifth round. As Toala returned to his feet, Devon was able to wobble him with a head strike soon after to get a second knockdown. Shortly after this, Reti lit up Toala with a multi punch combo until Isidro’s corner called an end to the bout. It was an important win for Devon Reti and the W took on extra significance with Reti revealing he works as a security guard at the Grey Eagle Resort and Casino. The victory came in the fifth round of the Welterweight contest.
This lead to the baby faced assassin Alvin Tam colliding with Arturo Garcia Lujano in a six round Super Featherweight tilt. The first round was a bit of a feeling out process with both men having a modicum of success. The second frame saw Tam establish a more aggressive forward moving pursuit of Lujano. Alvin seemed to pick up on the proclivities of Lujano and was able to parry strikes while throwing accurate combos that connected to Arturo. The crowd began loudly chanting “Alvin” and shortly after Tam rocked Lujano in the fourth. Arturo wasn’t able to recover, the bout was halted, and Alvin secured a TKO win on his record as Lujano took umbrage with the referee’s call to stop the proceedings. Alvin broke a three fight losing streak with this performance and the Calgary by-way of Philippines fighter received quite an ovation for his efforts.
Albert Onolunose vs Victor Manuel Palacios was slotted in the co-main event spot and the two delivered. Albert worked a quick, crisp jab through the early stages of the fight. A member of the audience was playing a hand drum throughout the fight to punctuate key moments in the fight. The drummer chanted “Champion” with great zeal whenever Onolunose found success in the contest. Both fighters traded body shots in the second but Albert had the greater output/ overall rate of effectiveness. Palacios mounted more offense in the forth but this was also the round Albert began integrating his uppercut. Albert dropped Palacios coming in but the tough Mexican fighter hung in there until the end. Another knockdown was dealt out from Albert to Victor but Palacios again got up from the canvas. Ultimately though it was clear that Onolunose notched another win under his belt and the judges saw it that way as well. Despite being the victor in the 8 round Middleweight affair, Albert was still disappointed that he didn’t finish the strong willed Palacios. A few minutes later, a video package played signifying the entrance of multi-time world champion Zab Judah.
Judah came out with many of his prized championship belts that he collected all through his two decade plus career. Zab Judah vs Noel Mejia Rincon was the top of the marquee fight and the electricity of the crowd conveyed a tangible excitement for this prize fight. With this being Zab’s first time competing in the great white north, Calgary made sure that the decorated veteran got a warm reception.
The 40 year old former lineal champion took on journeyman Rincon and definitely showed flashes of brilliance throughout. Super Judah at times utilized a crisp jab, dizzyingly fast multi-punch combinations, and savvy nuanced defensive movements. Still though the efforts were never sustained for a long enough period to end the bout. Zab largely dictated the pace and rage but Rincon was still able to bloody up Zab a bit. Judah was hit with a bad low blow but rallied back in the fourth round. Zab connected with great accuracy on combos during the 6th and 7th frame but at times would only be working his jab. Noel was cracked at times late in the fight where mass amounts of sweat was knocked off his body. The visuals were dramatic but yet Noel stayed in the pocket and never wavered in his efforts to secure a victory. Noel certainly had moments of success and managed to crack Super a few times through the match up. Rincon hung in there until the final bell with the judges deciding in favour of Judah who recorded his 44th win as a pro. After ten rounds, Super Judah was the winner in the Super Lightweight contest.
Zab thanked the Canadian fans for coming out, said he felt adopted by our nation, and also declared that his next fight would be later in 2018 with Dekada. Bonus points were given from the ringside canucks as Zab drew attention to his red maple leaf socks. It was a great night had by all and the fans seemed to be buzzing long after they had filled out of the Grey Eagle event centre. Many local prospects notched key wins and they got the rub from being on a card with a decorated world champion in Zab Judah. If this card is any indication, 2018 is going to be a banner year for Dekada Boxing and by proxy the Calgary/ Alberta combat sports scene.