Tacoma Elks Club August 14, 2010	Guy Promotions Knockouts and Tapouts 2
When a belt is the prize for the win, fighters step up the game. Everyone at some time wants to be able to either point to the belt on the wall or wear it in the ring. So, when Will Hughes dropped out of the title fight with Dashon Johnson, Paul Mpendo jumped at the opportunity. Mpendo started as a pro in 1997, and he knows a few tricks, and how to work an opponent. Johnson began his pro career in 2008, and in that time, he has just one fewer fights than Mpendo. The six round battle for the Washington State 147 pound title would pit the active youngster against the well traveled veteran. The fighters were two thirds of the way through the first round before firing up the action. Early Johnson tossed a couple of jabs toward Mpendo, who covered up and stepped aside. As the round drew to a close, Johnson found his rhythm and began doubling his punches. That too kept Mpendo from firing back. The pace of the second round was not much quicker. Johnson had to be content standing in front of Mpendo while trying to sneak a jab between his defense. In the third round Johnson turned to a more rhythmic attack and from that he was able to connect with punches to Mpendo's body. Mpendo did what he could to keep Johnson close, thus negating the effect of Johnson's left hook. Mpendo's jab proved effective while he fought in close. He fired it between Johnson's arms, and he was able to catch Johnson, but usually only with one punch, Johnson's quickness enabled him to back away from further trouble. Mpendo had a strong fourth round behind the jab. Had Johnson not used the left hook to near perfection, Mpendo would have won the round. Mouthpiece trouble cost Johnson a point in the fifth round when he lost it for the third time in the fight. Mpendo seized on that to ramp up his inside attack, which once again would have been effective had Johnson not been on target with punches to Mpendo's body. The sixth round was a bit slower until the mid point when Johnson backed Mpendo in to the corner. Johnson unleashed a barrage of punches to Mpendo's body, but Mpendo answered most of them with inside body work of his own. After six rounds all three judges scored the fight 59-54 in favor of Dashon Johnson, who claimed the belt and continues to show he has the skill and the desire to be a serious fighter in his weight class.	Johnson worked effectively to the body Mpendo pouched the fight inside
Williams' right caught Saunders a few times	Willie Williams had been expecting to face Jason Davis in a six round fight for the Washington State 140 pound title. When Davis had to pull out from the fight due to illness, Jason Saunders stepped in. Saunders does not have the fight experience of Davis, and that worked to Williams advantage early in the fight. The punches flew early in this fight as both men looked to send a message. Williams was the beneficiary as he sent Saunders to the mat twice in the first round. Those knockdowns came at the end of Williams' crisp left hand. In the opening round Saunders' aggression was a disadvantage. Undaunted by the 10-7 round, Saunders boxed well in the second. His overhand right landed on target and caused Williams to step back and realize he was not easily going to dispense of Saunders. Saunders forced the fight inside and tight in the third and fourth rounds, and that negated Williams' height advantage. Rather than stepping back and picking Saunders apart, Williams let the shorter man fight inside. Saunders suffered a cut over his left eye in the fourth. The doctor looked at it at round's end, and again in the fifth, and allowed the fight to continue. Williams controlled much of the action in the closing rounds, though Saunders continued to try to land the overhand right. After six rounds all three judges scored the fight 60-52 in Williams' favor. He would claim the belt and his fourth win.
Mikyas Kebede and Dwayne Welch are newcomers to the pro boxing scene. Kebede was making his professional debut, and Welch had lost his only professional fight when he traveled to Canada to fight a local man. Both of these fighters displayed skillful moments and potential. Stylistically they were quite different. Kebede would rely on quickness and movement while Welch used his strength. Welch suffered a cut over the eye int he first round, and that appeared to spark his game in the second. Kebede's jab allowed him to control and win the opening round; Welch won the second round as he upped his work rate. Kebede returned to the fundamentals of boxing in the third round, and that meant keeping his jab in Welch's face. As Welch tried to close the distance, Kebede's left reminded him that it would hurt to do so. In the final round Kebede backed Welch to the ropes and caught him with body punches. Welch too showed he could fight from that position and his looping right hand made its way over the top to catch Kebede. At the end of four rounds, two judges scored the fight 39-37, the third judge scored the fight 40-36 all in favor of Kebede.	Kebede had to move to stay away from the charging Welch
Trotter avoided Azai's right to fight in tight	Sometime soon Darren Azai will get back to winning. He is a fighter that does a number of things well - he uses his height to his advantage, he snaps a jab, he is a tough man, and he seems unafraid to face anyone. The last quality has unfortunately meant he has faced some tough opponents and they account for his three losses. Janks Trotter is on a bit of a roll. He won this fight, by TKO, in a manner similar to how he won his first fight. In the first round Azai was content to counter punch, but doing so meant that Trotter was landing punches first. Those punches would eventually take their toll. Azai opened the second round landing a strong left hand. That made it appear that he might be able to turn the fight in his favor. However, Trotter used the round to fire up his combinations, and as he did so, he continued to outwork Azai. Trotter continued the combination assault in the third, and while Azai weathered the storm, he was not able to answer with effective punches. Tired and a bit battered, Azai felt the force of Trotter's left right combination in the early portions of the fourth round. With Azai backed in to the corner and unable to answer Trotter's assault, the referee stepped in to stop the fight at 1:15 of the round.
Team Johnson along with Promoter Chris Jones and Ring Girl Callie celebrate Johnson's 147 pound Washington State Title	James Birdsley scored a TKO win over Mike Joy at 4:46 of the 2nd.
Kyle Kenney escaped from Nick Braker to score a split decision win.	Brett Malphrus caught Joel Petit with an upkick heel to the chin to score a KO at 4:31 of the first.