Talented NJ fighter dominates, yet fails to impress
By Mike Indri
Retired Boxers Foundation
December 7, 2008

The letdown was obvious. Fighting short notice replacement Thomas Reid would not present the same challenge, nor bring the same acclaim, as facing and beating former title contender Eric Harding; Shaun George's originally scheduled opponent for last night's ten round main event at the Robert Treat Hotel, in nearby Newark, NJ.

Earlier this week Harding bailed out of what would have been his first fight in over 18 months (since his 12 round UD loss to current WBC light heavyweight champion Chad Dawson 06/02/2006). Harding claimed to have injured his thumb in training. Many, including George, felt the nearly thirty-five year-old fighter simply was not battle ready.

Nevertheless a fighter as talented and skilled as George can not allow himself not to perform at his best, especially while on a quest to prove to the boxing public that he is "the best light heavyweight in the world!"

From round one's opening bell George quickly established himself the quicker, stronger and much more proficient boxer, peppering the veteran Jackson, TN native with his stinging jab. The only problem was that George never was able, or willing, to commit to a solid three minutes of aggression.

Fighting in spurts, George flashed moments of brilliance.

Unable to stay focused though, George was getting tagged with Reid's telegraphic, looping punches. Now a loser in seven of his last nine fights, the journeyman Reid (35-20-1, 4 KO's) always comes ready to fight and realized his only hope was to catch his distracted foe. Not a big puncher, Reid has only been stopped four times during his fifty-six fight professional career and takes pride in his sturdy chin.

George's body shots were taking their toll on his forty year old opponent, and if George had been a good son-in-law and listened to trainer Tommy Brooks' golden advice of continuing his below-the-chin assault midway through the bout, George would not have had to wait for the judge's decision and the overly large crowd would have left much happier…and much earlier!

Unleashing lethal combinations in round eight George had the beaten Reid tiring and now hurt. As Reid staggered into the ropes George was content to hold back. Reid, whose victory would be in hearing the final bell on his feet, held on and weathered the storm. Round nine brought more of the same as Reid shook his head and smiled as the bell sounded. Tenth and final round George relegated his offense to a safe jab and some too late bodywork.

While all three judges saw it a 100-90 shutout for George, Reid got his "moral victory" and did not hurt his reputation as a solid veteran who always is competitive and willing to fight.

George, who improved to 16-2-2 (7 KO's), got the win but really lost another opportunity to show how truly good he really is. At the level, which the likable Wayne, NJ resident aspires to reach, simply winning the fight is not all that is required. A true champion looks to prove his greatness and thrives to shine with each fight.

Shaun George has all the tools, the talent and his trainer Tommy Brooks is one of the best in the business. There is no reason for him not to succeed.

The fight of the night was the six round jr. middleweight battle between Alex Perez, a local prospect fighting out of Newark, NJ and Cory Peterson, from Flint, Michigan. While Perez was winning the early rounds by out boxing his tough, game opponent, Peterson showed why he is called the "Mad Bomber" and began nailing Perez midway through the bout. With both eyes closing and a cut above his nose the gritty Peterson rallied late and won over the crowd - even though the three judges all came back with 58-56 scores for Perez, who narrowly escaped with his still unbeaten record, now at 9-0. Peterson slipped to 7-2. A great fight, where neither young boxer should have been tagged with the loss.

Also on the Donna Duva-Brooks promoted fightcard….
Irvington's John Watson made his pro debut a successful one with a unanimous four round decision win over Fitzgerald Johnson, from Philadelphia. When Watson abandoned his tentative ways, he controlled the action and hurt Johnson more than once. With Tommy Brooks in his corner, to go along with his solid defense and quick, heavy hands, Watson could become a solid super middleweight. All three judges scored the one-sided bout 40-36. Johnson, who gave his best Philly effort, slipped to 1-2

New York's Jorge Diaz remained undefeated with a first round knockout against Puerto Rican Antonio Vera. The only shots Vera landed were the three or four low blows, which apparently had no affect on Diaz. The stronger Diaz did hurt the still winless Vera (0-3) though, as a body shot forced Vera to take a knee and watch referee Earl Morton count him out at the 1:35 mark. The talented Diaz improved to 2-0.

In the night's opening bout, Big Scott Fairlamb wasted no time in thrilling his huge crowd of fans as he pounded an overwhelmed Dino Weingarten, now 1-2, and sent the short but stout fighter back to Knoxville, Tennessee after only 55 seconds of their scheduled four round heavyweight bout.

Fairlamb, fighting out of Butler, NJ stunned his game foe with a thudding left hand, which drove Weingarten to the canvas. To his credit the hurt fighter beat the count but referee Earl Morton wisely stopped the contest. "Wildman" Fairlamb, who returned to the ring after more than a four and a half year layoff (04/03/2003, 4 round decision win over Orion Sistrunk), improved to 5-0 with his impressive technical knockout victory.

It was nice to see the large crowd packed into the Robert Treat Hotel, in support of the Donna Duva-Brooks promoted club show. The fans also were treated to a night of superlative ring announcing by none other than Henry Hascup, the President of the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame.

Former middleweight challenger William "Bo" James, who defeated John "The Beast" Mugabi and went eleven rounds with Bernard Hopkins, and retired NJ Devil hockey star Ken Daneko were honored during the intermission.

The only sad note to an otherwise nice night of boxing was seeing Lou Duva taken by ambulance from the arena. The boxing icon was said to be in stable condition, but kept overnight as a precaution - our hearts go out to the beloved Lou Duva and all his family.

Mike Indri can be contacted at RBFMIKE@aol.com.