Battle at the Boat 85 January 21, 2012	Brian Halquist at the Emerald Queen Casino
Henry Namauu and Joell Godfrey had recently taken fights close to their homes; Namauu in Las Vegas where he most recently lost, and Godfrey in the southeast, where until two months ago he had been on a winning streak. Therefore, stepping away from home, on to neutral ground, seemed to even the match. Namauu's advantage would come when he fought in close and threw punches to Godfrey's body. Godfrey scored when he fought in the center of the ring and took advantage of his reach. In the opening round both men were content to move slowly about the center of the ring while trying to figure what the other would throw. Godfrey threw and landed a few punches. Namauu answered early in the second round, but neither man took big chances. The third round saw Namauu change his tactics. He backed Godfrey on the ropes, and threw punch after punch. Godfrey covered up, making it a bit more difficult for Namauu to land anything clean, but still, Namauu was scoring points. When Namauu again backed Godfrey to the corner in the fourth, Godfrey fired back and moved out to avoid the onslaught. Because Namauu found a tactic that worked to his advantage, he stuck to it, forcing Godfrey to the ropes and throwing to his body. In the sixth round Namauu began to use his jab in addition to the body assault. That meant that Godfrey had to cover his chin and his midsection to avoid the dual threat. As quickly as he had found the effective jab, Namauu abandoned it. He returned to the assault on the ropes. That allowed Godfrey an opening or two, and he fought well when he was able to turn Namauu or back away toward the center of the ring. Though Godfrey appeared a bit unsteady in the eighth, he found a rhythm in the ninth and began to land punches more often. He also stayed off the ropes, moving to keep Namauu in the center of the ring. That is how the fight wound to an end. Namauu tried to stay busy; Godfrey offered a bit of resistance. At the end of ten rounds, Namauu scored the unanimous decision victory. Scores were 99-91; 97-93; and 96-94.	Namauu did most of the damage while Godfrey leaned on the ropes Namauu's right found Godfrey's chin
Crespo also fought in close, landing a right to the body	In the semi main event unbeaten Nate Serrano faced a tough and once beaten Robert Crespo. Serrano fights non stop. He consistently moves forward, throwing punches the entire time. That meant that Crespo had to be a bit cautious in the opening round. Crespo used his reach to poke at Serrano and slow Serrano's in close body work. In the second round it appeared that Serrano would gain the advantage and break Crespo with a body attack. Then, Crespo found the range with his jab and turned the momentum. Serrano stayed busy in the third, and at the midpoint he landed a straight right to Crespo's chin. Serrano fought well for the remainder of the round, and his movement kept Crespo from scoring big. Crespo scored to the body and the chin in the fourth. Even when he was on the ropes he fought well. Serrano, true to form, stayed busy, but was less accurate. In the closing rounds Crespo used his reach to control the direction of the fight. Serrano pursued Crespo, but he could not pin him or land punches. After six rounds, one judge scored the fight even at 57. The other two scored the fight 58-56 in favor of Cespo, who would claim the majority decision win.
Len Bentley had not been in the ring for a few years, and that showed through the four round fight with Adrian Hermann. Both men answered the opening bell throwing a flurry of punches, but that lasted only a few moments. Hermann threw more punches in the round, and he was more accurate. Bentley suffered a cut over his right eye, and while he was able to continue, it seemed to play in his thoughts when he considered moving in close. The middle rounds saw Hermann fight at a workman like pace. He pumped his arms to land shots to Bentley's body. When Bentley covered his ribs, Hermann fired up top to the head. In the fourth round Hermann landed an overhand right square to Bentley's head. Bentley dropped, rolled and staggered to his feet. The referee counted; Bentley said he was fine; the fight continued. Hermann stepped forward, threw a few punches and the bell sounded to end the fight. Hermann scored the unanimous decision win behind two judges who scored the fight 40-35 and one that saw it 40-36.	Hermann's inside power was too much for Bentley
Hughes's reach worked to his advantage against Corpuz	Randell Corpuz has developed a solid following in Tacoma. He lost his first bout, though it was hard fought and close. He followed that with two impressive wins. Rashad Hughes had yet to win. He lost his first closely; in his second he suffered a KO. The welterweight battle had the makings of a slugfest. The fight started a bit sloppy, the men were holding and pushing rather than boxing. Then Corpuz settled and began to score with shots to Hughes' body. Hughes began to avoid some of those body shots as the round ended. Corpuz maintained control through most of the second round, though Hughes used slick footwork to avoid getting caught flush. Hughes then began to use the reach afforded at the end of a jab to keep Corpuz off balance. Hughes opened a cut over Corpuz's right eye in the third, and after that, Hughes made the eye a target. The pace slowed in the fourth. Corpuz tried to push the action by taking shots at Hughes' head. Hughes slid away from trouble and stayed behind his jab. At the end of four rounds, one judge scored the fight 39-37 for Corpuz, another scored it 39-37 for Hughes; the third judge scored the fight even for a majority draw.
Josh Hewson and Jose Rico are relative newcomers to the pro fight game. Hewson, in his pro debut showed strength and power. Rico was a bit awkward and appeared unable to decide how to attack Hewson. In the opening round Hewson landed a few heavy shots. Rico withstood the assault, and had a better second round because rather than throwing wildly, he settled and tried to establish a jab. The problem with that was that sometimes the jab was from the right, other times from the left. Rico proved he could take a punch as Hewson continued to fire to the body. Hewson's power took its toll in the fourth. He punished Rico's body. As the round drew to a close Rico snuck a right through Hewson's defense and caught his chin. There was however, little power behind the punch, and Rico had no time to follow up. Hewson scored the unanimous decision win behind the scores 40-36 twice and 39-37.	Hewson's power buckled Rico
Behind his right, Adams KOd Courchaine	Brandon Adams showed why he is unbeaten in four fights when he stepped in to face Dave Courchaine. Though he took a few moments to warm up in the opening round, once he found his rhythm, he did not let up. Courchaine was unable find an effective way to avoid Adam's right. Adams caught him with one early in the second round, dropping Courchaine. A minute later, Adams fired another right, it too landed and again Courchaine dropped. This time the referee signaled an end to the fight. Adams remained unbeaten behind a knockout win at 1:54 of the second round.
The EQC Ring Card Girls, a Nurse and a Lingerie Football League Player	What ever happened to Amy Hayes? She's back in the ring announcing fights with the same flare we remember.
The next Battle at the Boat is March 31, 2012	Brian Halquist continues to serve as a promoter of the fights at the Playboy Mansion . Click here to see the story.