Pittsburgh is rivaling the rest of the country as the hot spot for City of Championship Supremacy. Former world champion Monty Meza-Clay, (29-3), fighting in front of the “City of Champions” crowd, needed less than three rounds to stop Allen “American Boy” Litzau, (13-6), of Minnesota, at the Rivers Casino Amphitheatre last Saturday night.
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| FIGHT FANS COME OUT—A large crowd and boaters on the Ohio River watch the live boxing action at the “Rumble on the River” at the Rivers Casino Amphitheatre.
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Meza-Clay got the sellout crowd hyped before the fight by doing the Rankin “Electric Slide” and shadowboxing in front of a big glass overlooking the amphitheatre.
Litzau, who recently had corrective eye surgery, was still unable to see the fury of punches coming from the Tasmanian devil. Litzau’s trainer threw in the towel and waved the white flag, but the referee wasn’t in position to see it, so Pennsylvania State Athletic Commissioner Greg Sirb had to jump into the ring to halt the assault.
Meza-Clay was fighting after nearly two years of competitive inactivity that included surgeries on his right elbow, left elbow, a torn rotator cuff and a broken right hand; sidelining him and ultimately allowing him more time at the tattoo parlor.
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| HOME COOKING—Monty Meza-Clay is on the attack as he has Allen Litzau pinned in the corner. Clay scored a TKO in the third round to win the bout.
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For many fighters it is more sizzle than steak, more flash than cash, more bark than bite. Well, Meza-Clay is a blue-collar type fighter who gives his all in the ring. Maybe the next fight for Clay will be Allen’s brother Jason Litzau who is ranked in the top five in the world.
“This ain’t no game. I ain’t playing. There has been talks of me fighting his brother Jason for a long time,” said Clay. “It is my understanding that he had a few things to say about me also. I am not the type of guy to bad mouth anybody but I’m a fighter. Now that I knocked out his brother I can holler at Jason if he wants and I’ll get him out of the way, too.”
Meza-Clay’s hometown rival Verquan “The Show” Kimbrough, was sitting at ringside and wasn’t impressed.
“Everybody still wants to see me and Monty fight and we could probably sell out Heinz field,” said Kimbrough. “I’m a boxer and I got a style that could beat him.”
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| “ALL-LEE”—Lee McGinnis of Pittsburgh throws body blows in his win against Johnnie Davis of Niagara Falls, N.Y., in their heavyweight bout.
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The matchmaker for this event, Mark Yankello, put together the six-bout pro card card with promoter Roy Jones Jr.’s Square Ring Inc., in association with Tammy and Troy Ridgley’s TNT.
The winners of the night were “Big Chief” Morgan Fitch of Pittsburgh who defeated Greg Hackett from Philadelphia; Isaac Salter of Pensacola, Fla., who defeated John Farley from Pittsburgh; Azea Augustama of Hollywood, Fla., who defeated William Gill from Toms River, N.J.; and Derrick “Smoke” Gainer of Pensacola, Fla., who won an unpopular decision over Angel Hernandez from Gary, Ind.
The heavyweights still draw the biggest crowds and many fans came to see Pittsburgh native and former three-time World Toughman champion, “All-Lee” McGinnis, and he didn’t disappoint. Like a freight train going full-steam ahead, McGinnis is a sledge-hammer hitting southpaw with a penchant for ending his fights early and dramatically. He is a wrecking machine and throws bombs from anywhere and won’t stop ’til it’s over.
McGinnis was matched up against 6-6, undefeated heavyweight Johnnie Davis of Niagara Falls, N.Y. McGinnis scored a technical knockout over Davis in the second round.
“I get my style from toughman. That’s how we get down. I didn’t have any amateur fights,” said McGinnis.
“Davis is 6-6 so I trained to kill the body. My plan was to get inside his long jab and destroy his body. I hurt him with a body shot in the first round. Kill the body and the head will come. He dropped his hands in the second round to protect his midsection and I went to work on his chin.”
McGinnis is brash, bold, not afraid to challenge people, challenge himself, and set the bar high in a sport where mistakes and weaknesses are not easily masked.
McGinnis plans to follow Toughman heavyweight alumni Tommy Morris and five-time World Toughman heavyweight champion Eric “Butterbean” Esch, who both had successful professional boxing careers.
McGinnis is looking to fight and spar with tall opponents because his goal is to defeat one of the Klitschko brothers and become the heavyweight champion of the world.
All-Lee, who works hard and does his road work at Antimarino Stadium, has never experienced a loss. He is a former Toledo, Ohio Valley, Steubenville, Wheeling and World Toughman champion.
You would have to be a Kamikaze to want to get in the ring with 275-pound All-Lee. He plans to continue his knockout streak as he climbs the hills of Monroeville to the top of the heavyweight championship mountain.
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