BOXING: LOCALS FEATURED ON SHOWTIME CARD IN HINCKLEY MARCH 13
The Grand Casino and Rapacz Boxing will team up with Showtime on March 13th, 2020 to bring televised pro boxing back to Hinckley, MN. The show is not officially set from top to bottom yet but local boxers will be featured on the show. Finalized fight details will come later this week.
Undefeated Cruse Stewart (6-0, 6 KO’s) of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and fighting out of Minnesota appears to have the biggest fight of his career lined up against another undefeated prospect Shawn “The Amazing” McCalman (4-0, 2 KO’s) of Colorado.
Stewart picked up an impressive body shot knock out win last month in Hinckley. This would be his fourth time featured at the Grand Casino.
“The body shot was so fast, it was just on point hard” said Stewart. “He (Deangelo Curtis) has never been stopped before so I was shocked but in my humble opinion, the ref made the right move by stopping the fight when he did.”
” It was another impressive win by Cruse over a guy who had never been previously stopped” said Stewart’s manager Eric Hinderaker of One-Two Boxing. “Cruse has a tremendous amateur background and is now 6-0 as a pro with 6 knockouts all in the first or second round. I know what everyone is thinking – he needs better opponents – but nobody wants to fight him! We’re negotiating a pretty big step-up fight and if all goes according to plan you won’t have to wait long to see him back in the ring. We’ve had to go up in weight to get fights, but I want him between 160-165 going forward. Cruse has blue-chip pedigree and high-level skills. He just inked an extension with One-Two Boxing and SEG through 2023 so we’re committed to his future and can’t wait to show the fans what he can do in 2020.”
Marlin “So Icey” Sims (7-0, 4 KO’s) of Minneapolis, MN is also scheduled to be on the card. The south-paw featherweight defeated 30+ fight veteran Mike Fowler at the Grand Casino last month, winning by unanimous decision and dropping Fowler twice in the bout.
“Man it was a great night” said Sims. “I think I put on another master class performance of boxing. I was able to have my way with him and I realized that in the fourth round. I was dictating the pace and had all control. I am not sure what round I put him down in but that was me realizing he was moving the same way and dipping when I threw a single jab. So the first knock down I fainted with the jab and he did the dip. I pressed the action a little more and tried to set up the same shot in that same round. I got him against the ropes but this time I doubled up to the body and saw the effect that had on him. Right after that, dropped him again with a perfect 1-2 punch. We went the distance and after reviewing, I know I could have pushed and got him out of there but he is a veteran and I didn’t want to be caught with any vet moves that I might not be aware of. Still, it was all control by me. I hope that I have a fast turnaround because I have no damage at all and I’m 100% OK looking for a fight as soon as possible.
“Marlin has been a pro for about two years now and took on a game veteran in Mike Fowler for his first 6 round fight” said Hinderaker. “Fowler has fought EVERYBODY including Devin Haney, Pablo Rubio, Ramiro Hernandez, Michael Dutchover and on and on and on. I was worried about this one because Marlin had only 19 rounds to Mike Fowler’s 125, but he passed the test with flying colors. Marlin is a tough match up for anyone at featherweight with his combination of height and power from the southpaw side. After the fight Fowler said Marlin was one of the hardest hitters he’s ever faced, and that’s saying something. Marlin is now 7-0 and the pool is more limited at the lower weight classes. I’ll have my work cut out for me to keep developing him the right way, but I have a lot of confidence in Marlin’s skills and his preparation. Marlin got a big pop from the crowd his last time out, and it’s clear to me that the fans are starting to take notice. He’s another guy that we plan to have back in the ring in the next couple of months.
27 year-old Joe James (7-0, 4 KO’s) of Saint Cloud, MN made quick work of Drake Heitfield on the January 17th Hinckley show, dropping Heitfield twice in the second round with well placed body shots. The end came at 1:30 of round two in that bout. “The Sniper is scheduled to make his sixth Grand Casino on the show and it will be the second time he has fought on a Showtime undercard bout.
“I’m not sure what’s next but I feel ready to compete with the top guys in our state at 135 pounds” said James. “I want to fight for the state title this year”.
Hinderaker, who manages Stewart, Sims, and James continued; “Joe moved up to welterweight to take on Drake Heitfield in his second 6 round fight. Drake had won 2 of his last 5 and was known as a tough fighter who had 12 pro fights and over 30 pro rounds. I was hoping we’d get a few more rounds out of this one, but Joe took Drake out early in the second round for his second consecutive knockout in round 2. Joe has a big fan base and really knows how to put on a show – when he smells blood, he goes for it. He got great sparring with Caleb Truax, Nick Compton, and several other big, strong fighters to help him prepare for this fight. Joe is a tremendous athlete and is going to keep getting better and better as he racks up the rounds. He moved to 7-0 with 4 KOs and is ready to keep stepping up as we move toward that 10-0 mark. Joe has only been a pro for 18 months, so we’re in no rush with “The Snipa”. He’s got all the tools, he just needs to keep getting good sparring and working his way up the rankings.”
29 year-old Heavyweight Colton Warner (1-0, 1 KO) of Apple Valley, MN scored a knockout win over Matt Foster in his pro debut on January 17th in Hinckley. Warner will be looking to further his experience in his second pro bout on March 13th.
“I feel that I gained very valuable experience in my first professional bout” said Warner. “Matt wasn’t there to be hit, he was using his feet and good head movement. It was nice to have to use my head and not just have someone standing in front of me. I noticed when I planted my feet he would bounce back and forth so I wanted to catch him on his way in. Throughout the fight he would hinge at the waist with hopes my right hand would miss him high. On the final shot I timed him coming in, feinted and threw the straight right hand where his head was going to be and not where it was. I am pleased with my performance and cannot wait to perform again soon!”
Hinckley’s own Matthew Hatfield (1-0, 1 KO) will be back on his home turf looking for knockout number two in a heavyweight bout. Hatfield stopped Tyler Prokop at 1:55 of the second round. Prokop was tough but Hatfield came forward and was able to eventually get through with left and rights to the head dropping Prokop twice in the fight.
Stay tuned for info on the Televised bouts and more throughout the week.