5-bout card features writer/comedian

Fort Mill Fight Night sponsored by Light Bright Boxing returned recently to the Comenius School for Creative Leadership near Regent Park.

After making its debut in July 2014, Fight Night, an amateur card featuring some Golden Gloves hopefuls, again drew a crowd of about 100 to the school gym. The match consisted of three, two-minute rounds.

“There’s no where to go but up,” said Mario Noviello, owner and operator of Light Bright Boxing. “There was a lot of quality fights and we can only go up from here.”

The first bout featured 16-year-old Seth Rizoti of New Life Boxing and Tristen Bradley, 17, who fought as an unaffiliated boxer. At the sound of the bell, Rizoti used a flurry of combinations that landed hard against Bradley’s jaw. But Bradley bounced back before the end of round one, landing a few licks of his own against the 133-pound Rizoti.

With the ding of the second bell, both fighters came out swinging with Bradley throwing a few misplaced jabs while Rizoti landed a few heavy punches that resulted in Bradley’s coach tossing in the towel about 30 seconds in.

Fight No. 2 featured Caleb Solera of New Life Boxing against Princeton Franklin of Light Bright Boxing. In a fight that went all three rounds, the boxers were in a match of strength. Through round one, the battle appeared to be equal, but in round two, Franklin found himself playing a lot of defense against the advancing Solera.

Solera landed a few uppercuts that stunned Franklin, but both survived into the final round.

“You gotta box,” yelled one of Franklin’s coaches from the corner, but the words weren’t quite enough. Solera was crowned unanimous victor after the final bell.

The third match pitted Philip Church, 21, of New Life Boxing against Gage Blackwell, a 22-year-old from Light Bright Boxing. While the previous boxers came out heavy and fast, these two were more meticulous with their punches. Bobbing and weaving, they danced gracefully across the ring, landing a few body blows while defending well. The match seemed even until the end of round one when Blackwell landed a big jab to Church’s face, who never really recovered.

Church came out swinging in the second, but good defense by Blackwell thwarted his efforts. Blackwell came back with a huge combo that knocked Church down. Church rose in time to beat the count, and the referee called a halt to the bout, awarding Blackwell the TKO about a minute into round two.

The second to last bout of the night had a little more meaning for 34-year-old Christopher Corrado of Rock Hill. A writer and comedian who graduated from Winthrop University with a journalism degree, Corrado was making his ring debut after two years of training. Fighting for Light Bright Boxing, Corrado took on 147-pound William Sweatt, who was fighting unattached.

Corrado held his own in the ring. In the closest fight yet, the two put on a show with solid defense and well-placed punches. Both fighters seemed equal until the final seconds of the second round as Corrado pinned Sweatt against the ropes and landed a few solid uppercuts that sent the fighter stumbling. At the bell, it seemed like Corrado had the slight advantage.

Sweatt came out swinging for the final round, landing a few hard jabs, but Corrado, who buckled after one solid shot, regained his composure and the two went toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring for the final few seconds. The judges came back with a final score of 2-1 in favor of Corrado.

“The greatest day of my life,” he said after the win. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’ve wanted to do this since being a teenager.”

The final bout featured 173-pound Brandon Jackson of Rock Hill Boxing against Jacob Dillard, of New Life Boxing, who weighed 175.5 pounds. The two most polished fighters, Dillard and Jackson took to the ring with precision as they bounced around landing heavy, quick jabs. Jackson showed great hand speed and Dillard shifty defense as he slipped some punches and landed a some hefty blows.

The match appeared fairly even going into the final round. The judges scored 2-1 in favor of Jackson.

“Watching these guys and seeing all their hard work inspire into the ring. Win, lose, or draw, it’s a great feeling to see progress,” said coach Noviello of Light Bright.

Light Bright hopes to stage another event this spring.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 4:16 PM with the headline "5-bout card features writer/comedian."