Fight Club OC: ‘Repo Ric’ nearly steals show
COSTA MESA — On a night Fight Club OC celebrated its first card with professional women mixed martial arts and boxing bouts, a man who called himself “Repo Ric” tried to steal Thursday’s show.
He came dressed in as much glitter you see during a showgirls event in Las Vegas.
Repo Ric wore several hats at the OC Fair & Event Center, from matchmaker to cut man to dancer. He almost stood out more than the boxers and MMA fighters in front of a sold-out crowd of 1,452.
The event inside the Hangar featured nine bouts, two of them women fights, and the headline fighter’s nickname was “Beauty Salon.” The fighter’s real name was Jonathan Hamm, a 6-foot-7 boxing heavyweight.
Hamm sure gave the shorter Andrae Carthron (6-10-2) a makeover, doing a number on the Los Angeles fighter’s face.
Hamm won the six-round fight in a unanimous decision. The three judges scored it 60-52, allowing Hamm, who’s from Atlanta, to improve to 6-1.
The first ladies fight lacked action, but not drama. There was some controversy in the outcome of the MMA flyweight fight between Lake Forest’s Rachael Cummins and Victorville’s Maia Kahaunaele.
Cummins was declared the winner after the ref said Kahaunaele tapped out in the second round. She never did tap out. She actually escaped an armbar, only to see the ref stop the fight.
Cummins, fighting for the second time, went home a winner for the first time and Kahaunaele a loser for the second time in as many fights.
The sellout brought fans from all parts of Southern California. A high school teacher from Oxnard said he cut class early to see the fights, which included a woman boxer from Oxnard. Crystal Morales faced Rowland Heights’ Rhonda Luna in a lightweight bout.
Morales made her return to the ring last year after a five-year hiatus. Luna fought for the first time in two years and it showed at times during the six rounds.
Luna’s experience and bruising style helped her triumph in her return. Luna (17-3-2) recorded a unanimous decision against Morales (7-9-1).
The only person dressed better than the women was Repo Ric. Before the opening fight, Repo Ric outshined both cruiserweight boxers. He wore glittery red pants and a glittery silver shirt with glittery red sleeves, topping it off with a glittery red and silver newsboy cap.
Grover Young asked Repo Ric to be his cut man for the fight against unbeaten Hamilton Ventura, hoping for some luck against the Brazilian. Before Young stepped into the ring, his cut man yelled the words straight off the back of his shirt, “WHUP DAT [BUTT]!”
Young, from Memphis, stood no chance. It wasn’t entirely Young’s fault.
Hamilton went to work in the second round, first nailing Young below the belt. Referee Jack Reiss warned Hamilton of the low blow. When the fight resumed, Hamilton delivered two more illegal shots, striking Young in the back of the head each time, but the ref missed them.
Young staggered to one knee after the first punch to the back of his head. While on the knee, Hamilton caught Young in the back of the head again. Young stayed down. He didn’t make it up in time, as the ref reached the 10 count.
Hamilton won by technical knockout at the 2:59 mark. He improved to 9-0-1, all of his wins by knockout.
Young (7-10-1) complained to the ref about the illegal punches. The southpaw was one second away from having the bell save him. Young threw his gloves up after he dropped his fifth fight in his last six tries.
The next bout, a MMA one between two young 155-pound lightweights, went the distance. Early on, it looked like one fighter was in control.
Visalia’s Jonathan Contrestano damaged Steven Ciaccio’s right eye with a knee to his face early in the first round. Ciaccio, from Irvine, bounced back in the second round. He stood his ground, and after three rounds, Ciaccio left it up to the three judges to decide the winner.
The trio gave Contrestano a split decision victory, taking his record to 3-0, while Ciaccio dropped to 1-1.
The other MMA fight saw Irvine’s Darren Smith (4-3) earn a three-round split decision win against Los Angeles’ James Moontasri (4-1).
Malanga D’Hue, a cruiserweight boxer from Long Beach, won a four-round unanimous decision against Keith Busch, who’s from Chandler, Ariz. D’Hue improved to 2-0 and handed Busch his first setback.
In heavyweight boxing action, Missouri’s Charles Martin kept knocking down Joshua Clark in the first couple of rounds. Clark, who’s from Kentucky, kept rising.
Clark (2-2-2) went the full six rounds with Martin, who scored a unanimous decision and pushed his record to 8-0-1. The result marked the first time Martin didn’t win via knockout.
A 21-year-old named Dwain Victorian prevailed in his pro boxing debut. The Anaheim fighter won a four-round unanimous decision in a junior welterweight contest against Cory Muldrew (0-3), who’s from Chandler, Ariz.
Victorian was the 2012 California Golden Gloves champion. You might be seeing a lot of Victorian at future Fight Club OC events. The promoter, Roy Englebrecht, signed Victorian to a promotional agreement.