Artem Levin in semi final action (Photo by Ray Martinez – Cage Side Photos)
By George Hernandez
(Inglewood) – Los Angeles Last Man Standing lived up to the hype for everyone in attendance and on television. The finals of the middleweight tournament saw #1 Artem Levin facing off against #2 Joe Schilling. There were also two other world titles finding homes.
Glory 17 Results:
Semi Final: Gabriel Varga beats Yodkhunpon Sitmonchai via unanimous decision.
Semi Final: Shane Oblonksy victorious over Marcus Vincius via unanimous decision.
Lightweight # 1 Contender: Andy Ristie made short work of always dangerous Ky Hollenbeck. After rocking Hollenbeck seconds into the fight he connected on a left hand that dropped Hollenbeck. With the referree at the count of eight it didn’t look like Hollenbeck was going to make it to his feet and he didn’t. Ristie got the first round knockout in 39 seconds and will now get a shot at the lightweight title.
Featherweight Challenger Title: After a tough start for Oblonsky he faced the fresher Varga to see who will get a spot in the eight man tournament for the world title. Oblonksy took it to Varga in the first round with his boxing rocking Varga. In the second and third rounds Varga took control landing solid combos and finished them with leg kicks. Oblonksy had flurries here and there but it wasn’t enough. Varga got the unanimous decision victory and a spot in the featherweight tournament.
Joe Schilling in Quarter Finals (Photo by Ray Martinez -Cage side photos)
Heaveyweight Headliner: Jarrell “Big Baby” got a rematch with Mirko “Cro Cop”, the only man to defeat him. It was mostly the same as the slicker and faster “Cro Cop” landed the more solid strikes missed his signature left head kicks three times rocking Miller once. Miller gets his second loss by decision both to “Cro Cop”.
Glory Last Man Standing:
Quarter Final: Artem Levin made it look easy against Brazilian Alex Pereira with a unanimous decision victory.
Quarter Final: Filip Verlinden out points Melvin Manhoef for a decision victory.
Quarter Final: On the other side of the bracket was what everybody considered the fight of the night when Los Angeles’ own Joe Schilling faced Simon Marcus of Canada for the third time in their careers. Schilling took the first round with punches that looked like they were rocking Marcus but Marcus was able to withstand the onslaught. In the second round Marcus hit Schilling with a shot that dropped him to the canvas. Schilling got back to his feet and survived the round. The third round was more of the same for Schilling as he landed the more powerful punches. At the end of three the judges had it a 28-28 draw and it called for a sudden death fourth round to declare the winner. The round was going back and forth but after Marcus’ mouthpiece fell out for the third time in the fight, referee John McCarthy took a point from Marcus for spitting it out. Marcus, knowing he needed a knockout, rushed Schilling with a flurry of punches. Schilling threw a right hand that hit its mark and put Marcus to sleep with just seconds left and handed him the first loss of his 40 plus fight career. Schilling advanced to the semi finals.
Quarter Final: Wayne Barrett puts Bogdon Stoica to sleep in the third with an overhand right while Stoica attempts a flying knee.
Welterweight World Title Bout: Joseph Valtellini and Marc de Bonte put on a show for five rounds. After a close first round Valtellini took control in the second and third even dropping Bonte with a headkick. That seemed to wake up Bonte as he controlled the final two rounds dropping Vatellini in the fourth round with a flying knee. With the match in the judges hands all three judges scored the bout 47-46 in favor of the new welterweight champ “Bazooka” Joe Vatellini.
Semi Final: Levin was too much for his opponent. Verlinden never gave up but Levin gets another unanimous decision victory and advances to the finals.
Semi Final: After a brutal first fight for Schilling he faced off against the last man to defeat him in Barrett. The undefeated Barrett had his moments but Schilling’s experience and heavy hands got him a split decision victory.
Heavyweight World Title: Rico Verhoeven and Daniel Ghita went for the inaugural heavyweight world title. Both fighters knew each other well and tried to avoid each others’ power. Ghita landed solid body kicks but Verhoeven did his damage with Ghita on the ropes. The judges got to pick the winner in this one and crowned Verhoeven the World Heavyweight Champion by unanimous decision.
Middleweight World Title Final: Levin got his first crack at Schilling after losing to him in the first meeting last September. Levin dropped Schilling in the first round with a spinning back fist but he survived and finished the round strong. In the second round Levin used his slick boxing skills to land effective strikes. In the third round he had a point taken away after landing an illegal spinning back forearm/elbow. Schilling applied the pressure in the last half of the round but it wasn’t enough. Levin avenged his earlier defeat and is the Last Man Standing to be crowned Glory middleweight world world champion.
Leave a Reply