Evel's way: Fight night behind the bank

By Matt Vincent of The Montana Standard - 07/28/2005

For Butte's boxing fans, the tale of the tape on Club Boxing's "Thursday Night at the Fights" affair as part of the Evel Knievel Days festivities is as follows: come early, stay late and expect one heck of a show.

Ticket gates for the Thursday night outdoor affair open at 6 with the first bell to ring at 8. The venue is located in the parking lot behind the Miners Bank building on West Park Street (former Thomas' Apparel location).

The annual summer event which drew over 1,000 fans last July, boasts a card on Thursday that is loaded with statewide talent and local favorites, not to mention the legend himself, "EK" is expected to be at ringside — Butte's own Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel.

"I'm excited to see him," said one of the card's main event contenders, Tony "The Quick Toothpick" Sullivan, a 6-foot-3 160-pounder out of Billings. "He's a big name and it will be exciting to fight in front of him." Sullivan, who said he was born in a car on a Billings highway, has been rolling up victories in the ring the past few Club Boxing seasons in The Magic City. He owns an 18-4 ring record, with his latest action being a decision loss to Club Boxing state middleweight champion Jesus "Mexinugs" Vallejo in Laurel on July 20.

"A lot of people who watched said I beat him," Sullivan said of his bout with Vallejo. "I almost dropped him a couple of times with my body shots." When asked if the body shop is where he earns his ring keep, Sullivan replied: "My reach is my bread and butter." But Sullivan may have to "reach" good and hard to apply his advantage on Thursday night. His opponent — Butte's Matt "MP Palms" Palmer — is plenty used to being on the short end in the ring these days. And according to him, he's never felt better.

"I've never been in this kind of shape before, I've never felt this good before and I'm anxious to get in there to see how much I've improved," Palmer said of his main event billing. "It's awesome and I'm excited to fight in front of so many people. I love the crowd — that's the best part — hearing them yell for you. But I'm not See FIGHTS, Page B6 going to concentrate on that thought. My focus is going to be on 6-3 Tony Sullivan." Palmer, whose Club Boxing record is an impressive 13-1 with either nine or 10 of his wins by knockout ("Nine or 10," Palmer said when asked. "It's easier for me to think back of who I didn't knock out than who I did."), has jumped beneath the experienced wing of Anaconda boxing tutor Chris Eamon, who runs Golden Gloves Boxing Gym in The Smelter City. There, Palmer said, he has experienced the work — and the payoffs — of actual training for the first time in his short but so far sweet fistic career, butting heads against a slew of Anaconda's best including Club Boxing's undefeated heavyweight Aaron "The Ogre" Forsberg. Forsberg, a 6-4 230-pound Goliath, has yet to lose a bout on his lengthy yet selective Club Boxing resume.

"He's given me quite a few black eyes," Palmer said of his sparring run-ins with The Ogre. "but he has yet to put me down for a 10-count." The only blemish on the 20-year old's record is a split decision loss in Butte two years ago to former Club Boxing lightweight state and regional champion J.J. "Showtime" Sangrey of Great Falls.

Palmer and Sullivan's main event bout at 165 pounds is scheduled for four rounds, as opposed to the Club Boxing standard length of three.

Other heavy hitter match-ups on the Evel Days card include Butte's Keith "The Hitman" Larson versus Luke "Hollywood" Pierce of Bozeman at 175; Michael "Mad Dog" Graa of Anaconda against Butte's Pete "The Pawn Boy Kid" Solan in a bout that has been long anticipated in Club Boxing fan circles at 130 pounds; and at heavyweight, Chris "Lights Out" LaTray will slug it out against Trevor "Giant Box" Steiner, who traveled all the way to The Mining City from Shelby to make Wednesday night's weigh-ins at the Joker's Wild.

Larson, who has plenty of ring experience, came back to Butte from Wyoming last year in time to win the Club Boxing state title at light heavyweight in Bozeman last April over Hollis "Strictly Business" Huggins. His opponent, Pierce, is a scrappy mainstay in the Club Boxing circuit who is well known for his ridiculous crowd-pleasing antics both inside and out of the ring. Graa and Solan are two of the toughest lightweights in Montana and have yet to face each other. And LaTray, who took second place at heavyweight in the 2005 State A wrestling tournament for the Anaconda Copperheads, is a local favorite with loads of knockout potential.