Dean “Pit Bull” White Upsets “Rockin” Ryan Belasco at Dover Downs!

Dean “Pit Bull” White Upsets “Rockin” Ryan Belasco at Dover Downs!

By Ken Hissner at ringside for Doghouse Boxing (July 25, 2009)

The 38 year old southpaw, Dean “Pit Bull” White, 15-10-1 (8), of Frederick, Maryland came into Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, in Dover, Delaware, before a packed Rollins Ballroom, upsetting local favorite “Rockin” Ryan Belasco, 11-3-3 (3), of New Castle, Delaware, by majority decision over 8 rounds Saturday night.

Capital City Promotions, which was formed by Reds Bruner, Poncho Tiberi and Keith Stouffer, should be quite pleased with the turnout. Few in the audience gave White much of a chance against Belasco. He was unbeaten in his last

7 fights, which started with a draw. On the other hand, White was riding a 5 fight losing streak. The unorthodox southpaw seemed to have Belasco totally confused from the start. There was no need for a punch count in this one with a lot of holding and hitting. Belasco seemed flat except for an occasional straight right that landed on the chin of White. White simply outworked Belasco in the first 3 rounds. In the 4th he rocked Belasco on two different occasions with straight left hands. Belasco tried to mount some type of an attack in the 8th and final round but it was too little too late. Judge’s Mark D’Dtitoio had it 79-73 and Brian Costello 80-72 for White. Somehow, Greg Coleman voted it a draw at 76-76. This writer had it 79-73 White. Rumors were the judges were from Virginia so there was no hometown advantage with the scoring. Referee Steve Smoger had his hands full throughout this light welterweight match separating the two but did his usual good job.

The semi-windup had local favorite “Mighty” Mike Tiberi 10-1 (5), of Smyrna, ending his fight with a left hook to the liver area of Brad “Firecracker” Hill, 11-12-1 (9), of Russellville, Arkansas, at 2:32 of the 1st round. Referee Vic deWysocki counted over Hill as he lay in pain in this 6 round middleweight bout. Tiberi fans went crazy!

The evening started out with a bang as Oscar “El Bandito” Vasquez, 4-1 (0), of New Castle, was cut over the right eye, as the aggressive Manuel Jimenez, 0-2 (0), Paterson, New Jersey, worked the head and body. In the 2nd round Vasquez was backing up his opponent with body shots. In the 3rd Vasquez seemed to be overwhelming Jimenez again with an overall attack. In the 4th Jimenez mounted an attack of his own and seemed to take the round. All three officials had it 39-37 for Vasquez. This writer had it 38-38. Neither fighter deserved to lose this one. The referee was deWysocki.

In the fight of the night Mike “Strictly Business” Denby, 2-3-3 (2), of Felton, came out unloading on the much taller southpaw, Nate Francis, 3-5-1 (2), of Sanford, North Carolina, who looked like he stepped into a beehive. Late in the round Francis rocked Denby. In the 2nd round Denby had Francis out on his feet while pounding him with no return against the ropes. All of a sudden Francis, who had been covering up as well as he could, unleashed a couple of right hooks of his own to the head and body to almost score a knockdown. In the 3rd round Francis used his height and reach to outbox Denby. In the 4th Denby seemed to control the round and gave Francis a bloody nose and almost knocking his opponent out. Referee Smoger kept a close watch on Francis. Just when you thought Francis had enough, he lashes out at Denby and at the bell a near exhausted Denby was ready to go. This fight had the fans on their feet throughout. Philly matchmaker, Don Elbaum, sitting at ringside was ready to sign both up for a rematch. Unfortunately for him, the show’s matchmaker Nick Tiberi, I am sure, already has that one covered. Judge Costello scored it 39-37 Denby while being overruled by the two other judges who had it 38-38 as did this writer.

White was not the oldest fighter on the card. Bernard “Road Dog” Miller, 3-1-1 (0), of Dover, is 47 years old, and made John “Jaw Breaker” Colvin, 2-7 (0), of Pennsboro, West Virginia cover up for the entire fight in this middleweight match. Referee Smoger went to the corner of Colvin after the 3rd round to see if he wanted to continue. That is how one sided this fight was. Colvin stuck it out the remainder of the 4th and final round losing on all three judge’s scorecards 40-36.

The third bout was held up as retired local favorite Richie Stewart was called to the corner of Phil Hicklin, 1-7 (0), of Wilmington. Off ran Stewart toward the dressing room. It seems Hicklin forgot his supporter cup. His cut man Joey I quickly put it over his trunks and the fight was started. It seems all that took more time than the fight itself as Anthony Caputo Smith, 2-0 (1), of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, administered a body beating with occasional uppercuts until a left to the body dropped Hicklin. Upon rising he had that look “what am I doing in here?” The referee deWysocki wisely called a halt at 1:02 of the 2nd round. Caputo Smith had a very large fan base at ringside in this light heavyweight match.

Local favorite Clarence “Sonny Bono” Taylor and New Jersey’s Liz Sherman were scheduled to fight, but their opponents were no shows. The ring announcer was Henry “Discombobalating” Jones, doing his usual good job, and Shannon Tiberi singing the national anthem to the delight of the crowd! The fans should look for a return to Dover in the not so distant future.

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Ken at: kenhissner@yahoo.com