Take-On Productions Battle at the Beacon: Live Results and Commentary

Tonight I will be providing you with live results and commentary of Take-On Productions' "Battle at the Beacon". There's a jam packed card tonight, with over 19 muay thai bouts scheduled. I will be extensively covering the main card which features four professional fights, as well as amateur bouts for the WKA Super Middleweight and Super Lightweight titles. After the action is done tonight, make sure to check in tomorrow for my full write-up on the event, including my thoughts on the undercard and the production as a whole.

As for the action at hand, "Battle at the Beacon" boasts the largest muay thai show in New York City history. The undercard is filled with 11 local amateur fights, including two female bouts. The main card mostly contains professional fights, although there are also four highly touted amateurs scheduled to meet. Among the pros featured tonight are Nisvet Sivac, a veteran fighter from the Netherlands, Douglas Edwards, a fighter out of Fairtex San Fransisco, as well as Omar Ahmed, Sean Hinds, Eddie Martinez, and Turan Hasanov. Rounding out the professional fights is a rematch between Andy Singh and Eric Ruiz, who fought in a barn burner of a amateur fight back in 2010. In the co-main event, we have Brandon Mickens looking to defend his WKA Super Lightweight championship over local product Jay Matias. In the main event, Nick Vaughan looks to overtake Gaiuss Ebratt as the WKA Super Middleweight champion.

 I'll post my commentary after the jump, updating each fight as they come to a close. Enjoy!

The first round begins with Edwards throwing an early head kick before eventually tying up action in the corner. Both men exchange solid knees, before the referee breaks them up for stalling. It's all Edwards early on as he has Hinds back up against the corner once again. Off of the restart, Edwards immediately goes back to the clinch, but this time Hinds is able to turn him around and deliver some knees to the body of his own. Hinds is working off the ropes, delivering teaps and solid counter punches. The round ends with Edwards in control of the clinch, and sweeping out Hinds' legs as the bell rings. That round definitely belonged to Edwards, as he dictated the pace throughout the round.

In the second, Edwards again brought the action to Hinds, but Hinds was able to absorb the early attack and reverse the clinch. They were reset, and Hinds was able to land a trip of his own that drew a big reaction from the crowd. Douglas Edwards backed Hinds up again and hit him with a flying knee before they separated. Hinds hit Edwards with a solid combo, and a mouse began to develop under Edward's left eye. Hinds tried for a jumping head kick, but came up short as Edwards backed away. The second came to a close with both men exchanging punches and kicks in the center of the ring. This round was much closer than the first, but I would have to give it to Sean Hinds who did a lot of work off of the counter.

We entered the third and final round with both fighter's attacking from the start. Hinds countered a body kick attempt with a hook that landed on Edward's jaw. The two continued to exchange, but again it seemed that Hinds was coming out better. Edwards has gassed significantly since the first. As I write that, Edwards connects with a punch that sends spit flying from Hinds' mouth onto my computer. Hinds connects with a big knee to the body that obviously hurts Edwards as he tries to backpedal. The clock stopped with 0:01 seconds left, so I'm confused as to why the fight is still going on. Finally, they signify ten seconds left as Hinds lands several more knees from the clinch. The bell rings AS Edwards connects with a big right hook.

Extremely solid fight to open tonight's main card. Douglas Edwards dominated the first round, but lost a lot of steam after that. From the second on, Hinds took control with superior counter punching and work from the clinch. Edwards wasn't able to block many of the knees to the body, and they took their toll as the fight wore down. The judge's scored it unanimously for Sean Hinds, who moves his professional record to 14-5. I have no idea what the deal is with the clock, but I guess they had it under control.

WKA Super Lightweight Championship- Brandon Mickens (C) vs. Jay Matias

Title fight action! As it is an amateur fight, the bout will be five rounds of two minutes each. The first starts with Mickens dominating the early exchanges. Matias lands a head kick that sends Mickens to the mat, but he is surprisingly not given an 8 count. The two clinch up and battle for position, before Matias is able to land an unblocked knee to the body. He follows that up with a solid one-two combo that pushed Mickens back into the ropes. Mickens recovers and landed a solid straight of his own that sent Matias’ head back. The first comes to a close with both men exchanging punches before the referee steps in. Solid round by both fighters, but I would say the challenger Matias did enough to win the first.

We begin the second with an early exchange of leg kicks. Matias catches an attempted body kick by Mickens but isn’t able to sweep. He grabs clinch and this time sends Mickens down to the mat. Mickens is throwing a lot of body and head kicks but they’re all connecting with arms. A lot of circling in the middle of the round. Matias catches another kick and throws Mickens again. With seconds remaining, Matias is able to land three straight counter hooks to help him take the round rather convincingly.

The third gets underway, and Brandon Mickens needs to turn things up if he wants to walk out of here with his title. Micken’s right eye has begin to swell up quite a bit. They clinch in the corner of the ring, before Jay Matias lands a knee while twisting Mickens, which actually launches him out of the ring. The ringside doctor takes a look at Mickens and decides to end the fight right there. Since the injury occurred outside of the ring, the referee called for all of the judges to score the round right then and there, and that’s the end of the fight.

A very strange ending to the fight, as we don’t go the five rounds, but what’s most important is the health of these young amateur fighters. We go to the scorecards after a shortened affair, and the judges score it in favor of Jay Matias. Matias walks away as the new WKA Super Lightweight Champion. A very impressive performance, as I had all three rounds in favor of Matias.

Eddie Martinez v. Turan Hasanov

Before the fight even starts, the two partake in yet another very intense staredown in the center of the ring. As the bell rings, Hasanov comes out with a quick leg kick to get things started. The two tie up briefly before the referee separates them. Hasanov comes in with a flying knee, that partially lands, but Martinez delivers a counter right. Martinez follows that up with four solid kicks to the body. It's all Martinez early, as he's working the clinch well as well as delivering solid counter punches. Hasanov tries for a spinning back fist, which misses, and leads to him eating several unanswered knees to the body. With thirty seconds remaining, Hasanov seems to be gassed as Eddie continues to work in the clinch. With that, the round comes to an end with Martinez clearly winning.

The second begins with Turan trying several leg kicks that Martinez jumps out of the way of. Hasanov kept his compsure, and came rushing in landing several punches that pushed Martinez up against the ropes. Martinez clinched and managed to sweep Hasanov to the mat. Just when it looks like Martinez has this fight in the bag, Hasanov lands a big hook that sends Martinez to the mat for an 8 count. Hasanov tries to rush in for the finish, but Martinez manages to hold onto the clinch to semi get his wits back. Hasanov's corner is begging for him to throw his hands and you have to agree. The two continue to clinch for the final thirty seconds as the round comes to a close. That round definitely belonged to Turan Hasanov, but a lot of credit to Martinez for hanging in there after coming close to being knocked out.

They begin the third with an exchange of punches that Martinez's corner does not like. Eddie goes back to the clinch, where he lands two consecutive sweeps. It seems that, for the most part, Martinez has recovered from his second round scare. Hasanov tries another spinning back fist that misses, and eats another unchecked leg kick. Hasanov lands a few more solid punches before Martinez is able to clinch up and deliver some knees to the thighs of Turan. The two trade body kicks for 10 seconds, in a crazy exchange. They continue this exchange trading kicks and punches, before they clinch. Off the restart, Hasanov starts winging hooks like a mad man, but Martinez is able to duck out of the way. The third comes to an end with Martinez landing one last leg kick.

I don't envy the judges here. It was clearly split one round a piece going into the third. As for the final round, it could have gone either way, but I scored it in favor of Eddie Martinez. As the announcer reads off the judges' scorecards, it seems that they agree that this bout was too hard to score. Two of the three judges scored it a draw, resulting in a "Majority Decision Draw". In the end, that was probably the best as the second round was a 10-8 for Hasanov. I definitely expect these two to meet again in the future.

Omar Ahmed vs. Nisvet Sivac

More profesional action, with three, three minute rounds. Nisvet Sivac has traveled all the way from Holland to take part in tonight's action. Omar Ahmed is fighting out of Sitan Gym. They begin the first round with a touch of gloves before an exchange of leg kicks. Sivac breaks away from a clinch non-chalantly as he is used to fighting under K-1 rules. Omar takes advantage of this and begins to tee off with punches, delivering a teap when Sivac tries to work in. They clinch again, and Ahmed uses his superior muay thai to sweep him to the ground. This same sequence plays out yet again, which draws cheers from the crowd. Sivac works in again, but Ahmed catches his kick and again uses it to sweep. Sivac has not prepared himself for a muay thai rules bout as he has nothing in the clinch. Ahmed delivers one last kick that opens up Sivac's nose as the first comes to an end. If you couldn't tell, that round was all Ahmed.

The second begins with an exchange of hooks that again sends sweat onto my computer. Ahmed catches yet another kick, and sweeps Sivac to the ground. Sivac is showing good hands, but either gets a kick caught or ties up in the clinch, which winds up with him on the ground. Sivac's corner is screaming for a low kick, which is weird since his hands are what's finding success. Ahmed lands a big knee to the face from the clinch which further opens up Sivac's nose. Sivac catches Ahmed with a hook, but misses with the follow up. Ahmed ends the round with a perfectly timed flying knee that sends more blood from Sivac's nose.

As we enter the third, Sivac needs to finish this fight if he has a prayer of winning. He opens the round strongly, delivering several punches and low kicks, before Ahmed is able to secure another clinch. Sivac's corner is now calling for the jab, but he isn't going to win with jabs. They trade knees in the corner before the ref resets them. Ahmed delivers a three punch combination that Sivac  has no answer for. They trade punches against the ropes, which is not Ahmed's best gameplan at this late stage. With thirty seconds remaining, both fighters are running on fumes. Ahmed lands a winging hook that wobbles Sivac and sends him running back. The fight comes to an end with Ahmed landing one last sweep to punctuate his victory.

We go to the judges' scorecards, but there's no doubt who won this one. All three judges give it to Omar Ahmed, which moves his professional record to 5-3. Sivac was a much more experienced fighter, which made many believe he was the favorite, but most of his fights were under K-1 rules. It was clear that Sivac did not know what to do in the clinch, and ultimately that's what cost him the fight. Sivac was very impressive with his clinch work, and managed to put together several solid combos.

WKA Super Middleweight- Gaiuss Ebratt (C) vs. Nick Vaughan

More amateur title fight action! The first came to an open with Ebratt as the agressor, landing a solid combination before landing knees in the clinch. Off the restart, Ebratt worked in with punches, before hitting several knees to the body. Vaughan kept his composure, and turned Ebratt around to deliver knees of his own. Vaughan followed this up with a big knee that pushed Ebratt back. Vaughan on the attack now, landing big unanswered blows that wobbled Ebratt. One last hook sent Gaiuss down to the mat just as the first came to a close. While Ebratt was out early, Vaughan won that round.

The second started with a patient Vaughan waiting for his opportunity to land some more hooks. Ebratt kept them in the clinch, and both fighters exchanged knees to the thighs and body. Vaughan began to tee off again, which caused Ebratt to desperately grab onto the clinch. Ebratt is running on fumes at this point as Vaughan finishes the round with two more big punches that push him back into the ropes.

Ebratt began the third with some more gas in his tank attacking breifly before Vaughan came back. Vaughan with a huge leg kick that echos through the arena. He follows this up with a leg kick that Ebratt barely blocks. Vaughan finishes the round with a flury of punches that almost finish Ebratt before he is saved by the bell.

The fourth begins with another early flury by Ebratt, before Vaughan catches him with a hook. Ebratt's eye is badly battered, and Vaughan is teeing off on it. Vaughan is caught with a solid knee to the groin which sends him to the mat. The action resumes with thirty seconds remaining, and both men are throwing. Ebratt eats a big jab to the jaw, but answers with a head kick of his own. The two trade punches as the round comes to an end.

We enter the final round of the fight with Vaughan ahead on the scorecards. Vaughan begins the round by working the legs, but Ebratt answers with a counter hook. Ebratt is pushing the pace despite being worse for wear. They clinch, but neither is able to work before the ref separates them. Ebratt turns his back on Vaughan, and eats a haymaker in return. They tie up in the corner and exchange big knees to the ribs. What a fight! Both men are throwing. Vaughan hits a superman punch and a big knee from the clinch as the fight comes to a close.

We go to the judges' scorecards who rule it in favor of Nick Vaughan who is your new WKA Super Middleweight champion. What a fight. Vaughan had this from the beginning, but Ebratt showed a tremendous amount of heart in the championship rounds. This is another fight that I wouldn't mind seeing another installment of.

Andy Singh vs. Eric Ruiz

A little backstory for this fight; these guys hate each other. This is the third time they've met, with their last fight in 2010 being considered one of the best North American amateur fights of the year. At the weigh-ins yesterday, they had to be physically separated before things came to blows. This is both of their professional debuts, which means longer rounds. So, in short, expect fireworks.

The fight begins with an early combo from Singh, as he mixes up punches, kicks and teaps. Ruiz keeps his composure and delivers a big kick to the body. Singh tries for a flying knee, but Ruiz counters with another kick to the body. Ruiz begins working the lead leg kicks, which Singh doesn't check. Singh jumps into another flying knee which lands, and follows it up with several punches to the head. Ruiz  works the clinch and delivers several knees. Ruiz lands a big teap that sends Singh into the turnbuckle. The first comes to a close in a very close fight.

The second begins wit ha big leg kick landed by Andy Singh. Ruiz follows it up with a body kick, but Singh jumps into another flying knee. Ruiz takes control of the clinch, delivering knees to the body. The two fight for position before the referee seperates them. They clinch again, with Ruiz delivering punishment in the form of knees. He hurts Singh with won that causes him to back pedal. Singh delivers a few knees of his own, but can't take control of the clinch. As the round comes to a close, Ruiz delivers some more punishment in the corner.

Unfortunately, at this point I had to leave the event. It was 12:30 and the last train out of New York City was leaving at 1 A.M. Andy Singh went on to win via a majority decision. From what I hear, it was an extremely close battle which will probably see yet another rematch.