Kansas-Oklahoma Golden Gloves Middleweight title filled after box-off in Wichita last Saturday

Lamontee Hunt, second to left in back, is the Middleweight title holder

The anticipated box-off between Lamontee Hunt of Bad Land boxing from Midwest City, Oklahoma and Jose Arreola of Dodge City, Kansas took place this past Saturday at the Farha Sports Center in Wichita, Kansas.

Due to the greater number of participants in this years middleweight class bracket for the Kansas-Oklahoma Golden Gloves Regional tournament that took place on March 27 & 28, the final winner had to be determined by a box-off. The bout took place after the Missouri Valley Championships Senior tournament.

Both boxers impressed the local boxing fans with their knockout power hitting styles. Jose Arreola had the fans standing on their feet when he stopped Charlie Floyd from Oklahoma City at the Kansas-Oklahoma Golden Gloves Regional preliminaries. Jose Arreola advanced and won by decision over the much taller DJ Devoe of Wichita, Kansas in the semi-finals. Lamontee Hunt had a bye in the preliminaries and had a tough bout in the semi-finals against Jonathan Bullock of Wichita, Kansas winning a close decision against another power hitter. The match up between these two men was anticipated to be a high action bout between these two power hitters.

Round 1

The first round started off with Lamontee taking the initiative as the aggressor. Using his long reach, Lamontee was able to land some lunging jabs and rights. Jose continued to back up straight placing himself on the ropes awaiting for attacks from Lamontee. Ideally, Jose may want to practice slipping to the side or sidestepping against a forward moving aggressor to open up opportunities for some counter hooks and uppercuts; easier said then done. 

Lamontee landed some hard shots as he continued to initiate the role as the aggressor. Jose was able to land some great combination punches when he had Lamontee in the corner at one point. Jose received his first warning for spitting the mouthpiece out of his mouth during the bout. Lamontee won the first round even though there weren't too many punches landed but he took the round due to style and aggression.

Jose Arreola in his win over Charlie Floyd  (J. Thyng)

Round 2

The second round was more intense as Jose stood his ground and challenged Lamontee to a slugfest. Lamontee landed a beautiful triple jab catching Jose off guard.

During an exchange of punches, Jose lost his mouthpiece for the second time. The bout was halted as the mouthpiece was cleansed by his corner. Jose received a second warning from the referee. Thereafter, Lamontee landed a hard leading right to Jose's head giving him a standing 8 count by the referee.

Lamontee took the second round finishing strong as he landed some hard punches.

Round 3

The third round started with Jose taking the role of the aggressor but Lamontee was prepared to land some counter and comeback punches. Lamontee landed the more effective power punches against the resilient attacks from Jose.

Jose is a tough guy who can hang in there with any power punchers but his fatigue betrayed his will. As Jose breathed out of his open mouth, he lost his mouthpiece for the third time resulting in a point deduction by the referee. Shortly thereafter, Lamontee landed a barrage of punches causing Jose to lose his mouthpiece against for the fourth time.

The referee had previously warned Jose three previous times and the fourth resulted in a disqualification giving Lamontee the win.

Disqualification

Understandably, some of the fans were disappointed in the call but it is imperative that the referee acts out on the safety of the boxer. A boxer losing his mouthpiece is an obvious sign that the boxer is breathing heavily out of his mouth which can result in a broken jaw or teeth if he receives a punch after he loses the mouthpiece.

A disqualification normally occurs if the same rule is violated after a point deduction. This was an exciting bout overall and it would have been nice to see these boxers take it to the last bell. Lamontee was ahead and would have won by an unanimous decision.

Assessment of the boxers

Jose has great potential and he still needs to work on developing a style. There's no doubt that he is a very strong boxer with power in his hands but the challenge lies with make using of what he has. Jose is a young boxer who has the tools and he'll be a strong contender in the region as he gains more ring experience.

Lamontee has a very strong boxer with great punches. He has the style for the professional level but there are some things he may want to work on for the national tournament against some of the top amateur boxers in the nation.

He needs to find his rhythm/tempo early on in the bout because he can incur great damage when he lets his hands go. A great way to find your rhythm is by either bouncing around on your feet or by moving your head and upper torso. Lamontee needs to be busier and he has a beautiful quick hard jab. He needs to be patient and allow his jabs to create opportunities for him. He can easily set up his combination punches off of his jab because his jab is strong enough to gain respect from his opponents. Good things can be expected from Lamontee and his experience at the National Golden Gloves can only be edifying. He has the power to turn a fight around with a punch.