Results and Recap: Take-On Productions "Battle at Bally's 2"

By Eric Rivera for Muay Thai is Life

In the first pro bout of the evening, New York’s Andy Singh made quick work of Anthony Demaio when he put together a beautiful combination that began with a flying knee to Demaio’s chin before unleashing a barrage of 4 successive hooks that put Demaio down for good. The fight began slow and technical with both fighters looking solid but Singh looked to finish early in Round 1 and got exactly that. One of the most impressive KO’s in a night full of impressive KO’s!

The second pro bout of the evening went much like the first as the young and relatively unknown Deshawn Robinson also made it a short night, knocking out the veteran Sean Hinds with a vicious straight cross at 2:40 of Round 1. This bout was a rematch of the two fighter’s previous meeting at Madison Square Garden back in March of 2012. In their previous bout both fighters fought to a somewhat controversial majority draw. As the fight began Hind’s facial expression demonstrated that he was all business. Deshawn Robinson was up to the task however and similar to their bout in March, Robinson relied on his crisp and powerful boxing. From the beginning of the bout, every one of Robinson’s punches contained nothing but pure venom. In one exchange where Robinson’s combination landed flush, Hinds expression immediately changed from staunch determination to one of subtle worry. His guard stayed high no doubt worried about Deshawn Robinson’s punching power. He would not have time to readjust however as Robinson landed the powerful straight cross that would end the bout early. Deshawn Robinson came from virtually no where, replacing an injured Anthony Ford in his previous bout with Sean Hinds and surprising all those in attendance with a solid performance. With his decisive win over Sean Hinds at “Battle at Bally’s II”, the once homeless Robinson who credits Muay Thai for turning his life around is truly destined for success if he continues to turn in these impressive performances.

The main event of the evening saw Jay Matias face off with an outmatched Douglas Ahammer. I have to reiterate that in my opinion, Jay Matias is one of the top professional prospects in the country. Along with fighters like Ognjen Topic (whom Matias lost to recently), Justin Greskiewicz, Brett Hlavacek, Alex Berrios, Marcus Fisher, Rami Ibrahim, Liam Tarrant, and Omar Ahmed, I consider Matias to be in a group of top class professional Muay Thai talent coming out of the east coast. With that said from the onset of Matias’ bout vs Douglas Ahammer at “Battle at Bally’s II” it was clear that Matias was the superior fighter. Matias is pretty soft spoken outside of the ring but inside the ring he is nothing but business, bringing a laser like focus to each one of his bouts that is both impressive and intimidating. Both fighters weighed close to their 132 contracted weight but when the fight began it was clear that Ahammer is not a fighter who cuts weight as Matias clearly was the larger and stronger fighter. From Round 1 it looked like Jay Matias had no problem with what Ahammer was offering. Firing off and landing some very nice body kicks and punch combinations, it was clear Matias was pacing himself for a 5 round bout. As Round 2 opened up so did Matias’ game. He unleashed a few more solid striking combinations, hard kicks, and elbows all while stalking down his opponent. Towards the middle of Round 2, referee Coban Lookchaomaesaitong seemed to have seen something he didn’t like and called an end to the bout. While I do feel the stoppage was premature, I feel that Coban (who is a legendary Muay Thai fighter and experienced ref), like many others in attendance, felt that Matias was vastly superior to Ahammer and stepped in to help Ahammer avoid a potential injury. 

For the full recap of the night's action visit Eric Rivera's Muay Thai is Life.

Results: 

Professional:
Andy Singh def. Anthony Demaio by KO at 2:29 of Round 2 (Left Hook)
Deshawn Robinson def. Sean Hinds by KO at 2:40 of Round 1 (Punches)
Jay Matias def. Doug Ahammer by TKO at 1:04 of Round 2 (Referee Stoppage)

Amateur:
Mike Gianone def. Joshua Aliaga by Decision
Christina Peteraf def. Jennie Nedell by Decision
Ramon Maldonado def. Jordan Mamroud by Decision
Kate Allen def. Melissa Laterra by TKO at 1:09 of Rd. 1 (Knees)
Ariel Abreu def. Paul Miller by Decision
Jessica Ng def. Melanie Odria by Decision
Joe Bastone def. James Gregory by TKO at 0:42 of Rd. 1 (Punches)
Prairie Rugilo def. Kylie Noll by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Henry Lee def. Jessie Jiminez by TKO at 0:53 of Round 2 (Punches)
Freddie Cheung def. Scott Krampetz by KO at 1:11 of Round 2 (Knees)
Chris Mauceri def. Spencer Greokoski by KO at 0:50 of Round 2 (Spinning Elbow)