In what could be the biggest local heavyweight fight in 20 years, featuring two of the top prospects in the Pacific Northwest, unbeaten Vincent Thompson and Jonte Willis square off in a 10-round Battle of the Boat 84 main event at Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma on Saturday night, Nov. 5. The six-round card begins at 7 p.m.
"It's been a long, long time since two heavyweights with this kind of talent have met, not since Joe Hipp fought Mike Cohen at the old Executive Inn in Fife in 1991," said fight promoter Brian Halquist.
The only other Seattle-Tacoma pro heavyweight fights of some note in the past 30 years were the Ibar Arrington-Harvey Steichen bout in Everett in 1982 and the Pinklon Thomas-Lee Mitchell fight at the Seattle Center Arena in 1981. Thomas, the former WBC champ, and Arrington won on knockouts.
Boone "Boom Boom" Kirkman knocked out Charles Atlas at the Arena in 1978, but that was the last best local heavyweight fight of that era.
All these fights pale in comparison to the big outdoor fights in the Seattle-Tacoma area in the 1950s. Boxing was a big sport in town then, along with University of Washington Husky football and hydroplane racing.
"Irish Pat" McMurtry's two fights at Lincoln Bowl in Tacoma in 1956 and Pete Rademacher's matchup with Floyd Patterson in 1957 at Sicks Stadium in Seattle drew overflow crowds and fawning local media publicity.
Tacoma's McMurtry, who recently passed away and was once a fighter ranked in the top five in the world, beat Ezzard Charles in July and lost to Willie Pastrano in August of the same year, both fights in front of more than 10,000 fans.
Rademacher, a 1956 Olympic Gold medalist as a heavyweight boxer, lost to Patterson, a top heavyweight contender.
This Saturday night's Thompson-Willis matchup might be a preview of better things to come for the victor; it could be a stepping stone to more notoriety and television exposure.
Thompson, 28, of Federal Way, has won all nine of his fights as a pro and Willis, 28, of Tacoma, is 8-1-1.
"I think Vince and Jonte both deserve a lot of credit to face other at this stage in their careers," said Willis' manager, Bill McDonald.
Thompson’s biggest win so far was against Charles Ellis last year. Elllis had been a 2003 National Golden Gloves heavyweight champion.
Willis, a top national and international heavyweight as an amateur, is coming off a win over Gary Gomez in a main-event seven-rounder for the Northwest Boxing Association title at the Silver Reef Casino in Ferndale last August.
Two months earlier, at the Emerald Queen, Willis was knocked out, shockingly, by a short left hook in the fifth round by Canadian Shane Andressen. Willis dominated the first four rounds, but then ran out of steam in that telltale fifth round, leaving himself open for big punches.
"So many people judge Jonte's ability on his match with Shane Andressen," McDonald said. "Jonte, to his own fault, was undertrained, and he let his own pride get in the way of that fight. Jonte beat Andressen up for four rounds, then he hit the wall conditioning-wise."
McDonald, who has since reunited with Willis as a manager, said he believed Willis' former trainers "did nothing to assist him the right direction."
He has had Willis on a strict training regimen for this fight with Thompson, knowing full well that his fighter must match Vince's speed and stamina.
"I have heard Jonte's people are planning on making the fight go into the late rounds where they feel they have the advantage," said Thompson's cut-man and coach Sam Ditusa, of Normandy Park. "They are wrong. It will be Vince who gets stronger as the fight goes on. In the end Vince is bigger, stronger, faster, more dedicated, and has not yet been beat."
In the other camp, McDonald says different.
"Jonte has been in the ring with more experienced fighters than Vince," McDonald said. "Also Jonte is unlike Vince in that he has fought and won on the road. Vince's wins primarily came from the safe confines of the Emerald Queen, with soft matchmaking.
"Vince has fought only two fighters of any note, my fighter Vili Bloomfield, who had been out of semi-retirement for two years, and Charles Ellis, who had done some prison time (before his comeback). Both Bloomfied and Ellis were far, far from the top their games.
"Vince was impressive in beating them, but he will not have the same luck with Jonte ... I am looking for a Jonte Willis win via TKO around the eighth round."
Thompson's coaches Cal Thompson (Vince's dad), Jack Stafford, Jr., Ditusa, and personal trainer Dave Grisaffi have been putting Vince through some tough boxing and strength-and-conditioning paces for this fight. He has been working out at the Sea Mar Boxing Club in the South Park gym in Seattle.
"I have placed a high priority on doing things correctly for this fight," Ditusa, who is also a Seattle policeman (Ballard beat) and a pro boxing writer, said. "I have the utmost respect for Jonte Willis. I anticipate a competitive fight, and have prepared Vince as such.”
"I believe our strength is Vince's conditioning, which will hopefully show up in the end," he added. "It's still a heavyweight fight and anything can happen, which is why I am giving Jonte the respect that he has earned."
Doors at the I-5 Emerald Queen Casino open at 6 p.m.
Tickets are priced at $100, $40 and $25 and are on sale at the Emerald Queen Casino box office (1-800-831-7655) and all other Tickemaster (www.Ticketmaster.com online) outlets.
