Arkansas
Boxing News: Results From Fall Brawl In Arkansas » October 12, 2024
By Boxing Bob Newman at ringside
Ebony and Ivory promotions put on a slam bang six bout show at The Venue in North Little Rock, Arkansas Friday night.
Headlining the show was Fayetteville, Arkansas’ Light heavyweight knockout artist, Kalvin “Hot Sauce” Henderson, taking on Los Angeles gatekeeper Cleotis “Mookie” Pendarvis in a scheduled eight rounder. With 46 bouts under his belt, Pendarvis looked to use every trick in his arsenal to frustrate Henderson. The action picked up in the third as both men landed telling blows. In the fourth, Pendarvis would back himself to the ropes to lure Henderson in, then neatly pivot away to safety. In the middle of the fifth, a heated exchange saw Henderson finally rock Pendarvis with a hard right in ring center. The crowd reacted as if the end was near, but Pendarvis moved, clinched and survived. It wasn’t however a total defensive effort by Pendarvis, as he did land his fair share of good shots, bloodying Henderson’s lower lip for good measure. In the end, It was Henderson who forced the action, and did enough work to take the nod via scores of 80-72 twice and 77-75. Henderson moves to 19-2, 13 KOs, while Pendarvis dips below .500 at 22-23-2, 9 KOs.
In a heavyweight blowout, Arkansas Kendon Smallwood tangled with the inactive Joshua Brown, Shreveport, Louisiana. Brown hadn’t fought in over three-and-a-half years and it showed. After a sloppy first round, Smallwood connected with a left on the crouching Brown”s temple, which forced him to gently kneel down for the full ten count. Time was 1:10 of round two. Smallwood improves to 3-0-1, 2 KOs, while Brown drops 1-4, 1 KO.
Little Rock super middleweight Yavontae “YaYa” Christopher dispatched Fort Worth ‘s winless Willie “No Joke’ Miller with a 3-knockdown drubbing at 2:20 of round one. A hard right accounted for the first knockdown, while a follow-up barrage to the head, then a body shot made up for the second two trips to the canvas. Christopher comes back from his first loss last March to move to 6-1, 4 KOs, while Miller, and this is indeed “No Joke,” plummets to 0-22! Perhaps a new career if not a new nickname…
Kenton Lee and Justin Jones went at it in another light heavyweight amateur match over three rounds. In the first, it appeared as if both fighters were trying NOT to hurt each other, as if in an easy sparring session. Southpaw Jones came out with a little more gumption in the second, throwing and landing body shots with some intent. The pedestrian affair ended with no bumps or bruises, no blood and with Jones’ hand being raised as the winner. Jones announced that this was his last amateur fight and that he will be turning pro soon.
Light heavyweights Arkansan, Charles Austin Stringfellow and Kansan, Luke Gerard locked horns in a scheduled 4-rounder. It was sloppy early on, but there wasn’t much more to feel out as Stringfellow landed a series of blows to the head, dropping Gerard in a heap in the neutral corner. Gerard beat the count, but was terribly unsteady, prompting referee Rocky Demier to wave matters off at 1:53 of the opening stanza. Stringfellow moves to 2-0, 2 KOs, while Gerard starts out 0-1.
Bryton Cook and Brad Coffey opened the show in a scheduled 3 round super middleweight amateur bout (no head gear or jerseys). It was apparent from the get-go that the shorter Cook’s southpaw stance and precise, combinations were too much for Coffey, his head snapping back time and again. Early in the second, Coffey’s face was a mess, blood pouring from his nose and smearing all over the white gloves of both fighters. Final scores weren’t read, but Cook was the unanimous winner.
Arkansas
Arkansas Bested by Mizzou on Sunday
It was a tight battle all the way through, but ultimately No. 7 Missouri took down No. 8 Arkansas in Sunday’s SEC dual, 197.425-197.225.
There was plenty for the Gymbacks to be proud of in the meet, starting with the all-around performance of freshman Allison Cucci. She earned a new career high of 39.500, good for the all-around crown and the highest of any freshman in the nation this season. Cucci also tied for first on vault (9.900) and got second on beam (9.925).
Redshirt junior had a fantastic outing as a floor specialist and scored a 9.900 on vault and 9.925 on floor. Both marks were good for a share of first place on the events. Senior Morgan Price earned a big 9.925 at bars anchor, which tied for first on the event.
The last two events of the day kept Arkansas in contention with Mizzou, as the Gymbacks went 49.425 on both floor and beam, the latter a season high.
Bars
After a 9.675 from Joscelyn Roberson in the lead-off spot, Hailey Klein got the Gymbacks on pace again with a 9.875. Avery King made her collegiate debut next and delivered a great 9.825 routine in a last-minute situation. Her fellow freshmen Avalon Campbell and Allison Cucci went next and scored a 9.750 and 9.800, respectively. Morgan Price anchored with the energy Arkansas needed and capped her routine with a stick to score 9.925. Arkansas finished the bars rotation with a 49.175.
Vault
Cami Weaver and Leah Smith opened the vault rotation with Yurchenko fulls, scoring 9.800 and 9.750. Cucci and Klein were the team’s first 1.5s of the day, and the two scored 9.875 and 9.800, respectively. Lauren Williams went 9.875 in the fifth position and Morgan Price earned a 9.850. The Gymbacks scored 49.200 total on vault.
Floor
Arkansas started out floor with a 9.825 from Hailey Klein and a 9.850 from Cami Weaver. Cucci then broke into the 9.900 range with a new career high 9.900 midway through the rotation. Smith went 9.850 in the fourth position, keeping Arkansas on pace. Williams and Roberson closed the rotation strong with scores of 9.925 and 9.900, which pushed the Gymbacks’ floor total to 49.425.
Beam
Madison Gustitus began the beam rotation with a 9.775, and Priscilla Park went 9.875 next for the Gymbacks. Klein concluded her all-around day with a 9.850 on beam midway through the final rotation. Cucci came up next and got a huge 9.925, a new personal best for her. Weaver followed with a 9.875, which brought Roberson up to anchor. She did her usual and scored a 9.900, and Arkansas closed the meet with a 49.425 event score on beam, a new season high.
Up Next
Arkansas returns to Bud Walton Arena for its home finale against No. 1 Oklahoma on Friday, March 6. The meet has been deemed a White Out, and the team is pushing fans to help break the NCAA gymnastics attendance record, which is currently just over 16,000. It will also be Senior Night, honoring a fantastic class of Razorbacks. Action is set for 7:15 p.m. and tickets are available online, by phone, or in person. The meet will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
More Information
Visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com for the latest information on all things Arkansas Gymnastics. You can also find the Razorbacks on social media by liking us on Facebook (Arkansas Razorback Gymnastics) and following us on Twitter and Instagram (@RazorbackGym).
Arkansas
OPINION | WALLY HALL: Arkansas will need more than Robinson’s coerced contribution | Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Wally Hall
Wally Hall is assistant managing sports editor for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A graduate of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock after an honorable discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he is a member and past president of the Football Writers Association of America, member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, past president and current executive committee and board member of the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, and voter for the Heisman Trophy. He has been awarded Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year 10 times and has been inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and Arkansas Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.
Arkansas
Who is Taylen Green? Arkansas QB dazzles with record-setting NFL combine performance
Will Garrett Nussmeier’s size hold him back in the NFL?
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier will look to impress scouts at the NFL Combine despite size concerns.
Move over, Anthony Richardson. There’s a new quarterback athletic marvel at the NFL scouting combine.
On Saturday in Indianapolis, Arkansas’ Taylen Green broke Richardson’s top marks at the position since 2003 for both the vertical leap and broad jump. Green’s 43½-inch vertical topped Richardson’s previous high by three inches, while his 11-2 broad jump beat the Indianapolis Colts signal-caller’s measurement by five inches.
Then, Green reeled off a 4.36-second 40-yard dash time. That stood as the second-best time for any quarterback since 2003, trailing only Reggie McNeal in 2006 (4.35 seconds). Richardson, for comparison, logged a 4.43-second mark in 2023.
Green didn’t even bother with a second attempt after his initial time.
The testing profile created quite the stir around the 6-6, 227-pound passer, who had widely projected as a developmental option for teams on Day 3.
NFL Network’s Charles Davis said Green told him that no teams had approached him about working out as a receiver, adding that he would not be interested in a position switch.
Green started for the Razorbacks for the last two seasons after playing the first three years of his career at Boise State. Known for his running ability and ample arm strength, Green threw for 2,714 yards and 19 touchdowns last year while adding 777 yards and eight scores on the ground.
It was a banner day for Arkansas, as running back Mike Washington Jr. also stood out among his peers with a group-leading 4.33-second 40-yard dash as well as strong marks in the vertical leap (39 inches) and broad jump (10-8).
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