Boxing Gym

Every now and then, a young boxer emerges with indisputable talent and knockout power that stamps him a prospect without benefit of excessive hype or promotion.Such a fighter is Joe Hughes, a 22-year-old native of Stony Point, N.Y., who will appear in a six-round bout against Tyrone Dillard of Pittsburgh at Martin's West tonight.Fighting at 165 pounds, Hughes is neither flashy nor exceptionally quick with his hands. Unbeaten in seven bouts, he is simply fundamentally sound, possessing a ring maturity that belies his relative inexperience as a professional.

Redistricting has brought a painful state delegate race to the city's waterfront neighborhoods, with two legislative districts squeezed into one and four incumbents - all friends - fighting an awkward battle for three seats. They know that at least one of them will be out of a job after the Democratic primary Sept. 10. The revised 46th District, created June 21 as part of a statewide redrawing of political jurisdictions, extends west from Canton in Southeast Baltimore along the waterfront, through downtown to the South Baltimore neighborhoods of Federal Hill, Locust Point, Brooklyn and Cherry Hill (which used to be in the 47th District)

BADALONA, Spain -- When U.S. flyweight Tim Austin entered the arena for his first Olympic bout after a week of waiting, the first face he saw was that of his close friend, Ravea Springs. Austin was looking up at the ceiling and Springs was looking down from the balcony when the two sets of eyes met. The sight was enough to move Austin to tears."When I looked up and saw Ravea there, I got a soft spot in my heart," said Austin, who broke down in the post-fight interview area after manhandling Bulgaria's Julian Strogov, 19-7.

Greg Watten swayed slowly, his feet flitting back and forth as he slammed his fists into the padded mitts worn by Navy boxing coach Jim McNally. Occasionally, Watten smiled as McNally tried to move him to the ropes. Watten pushed back carefully, waiting for the right time to swing again. The deep thumps of the left-right-left combinations carried through the dank, walk-up gym in Macdonough Hall, where the names of past Navy champions line the walls. Boxing is as much a tradition as marching at the Naval Academy.

Last summer in Las Vegas, Joe Hipp had a chance to make boxing history as the first native American to challenge for the heavyweight title.But Hipp, a member of the Blackfeet tribe, entered the ring with a layer of flab around his waistband and performed listlessly before being stopped on cuts by World Boxing Association champion Bruce Seldon in the 10th round."

In the center of the ring, they touch gloves and look right into each other's eyes. In just a brief moment, each fighter sees and knows everything possible about his opponent. Not just who he is, but where he's from, where he's going. Each also sees the hard truth behind the night's fight: To win, he must defeat one of his best friends. The bell rings, and the fighter wearing yellow fires two quick jabs, the second finding its target. The boxer throwing the jabs, B.J. Richardson, is a senior at the Naval Academy.

By the second round, blood was streaming from T Alford's nostrils and sprinkling Frank Parisi's shirt. The referee's face creased with worry. He had already called a standing eight count to give Alford, a national collegiate champion and a three-time champ in the Naval Academy's annual boxing competition, a rest from Parisi's withering left fist. But the sight of the blood seemed to awaken some force in Alford, a swaggering 21- year-old from Texas. At last, uncoiling like a spring, Alford launched a punch that sent Parisi wobbling to the ropes.

Laurel Park She's All Scat rallies to win Gin Talking Stakes Barry and Joni Butzow 's She's All Scat led to the furlong marker, lost the lead for a few strides, then fought back to win in the $100,000 Gin Talking Stakes for 2-year-old fillies Saturday afternoon at Laurel Park. Jose Caraballo rode the daughter of Scat Daddy for trainer Michael Pino to a clocking of 1 minute, 26.18 seconds for the seven-furlong distance. Ek Haseena , who battled She's All Scat into the deep stretch, lost the win by a length and a half but finished a length and a half ahead of post-time favorite Disco Barbie, who took third.

HAVANA -- Play the worldwide Communist song "The Internationale," and Jose Rodriguez flashes back to the morning of Oct. 5, 1961.He was 11 then, a little scared about the trip he and his family were making to the United States. An uncle told him not to worry, for in America they would go to Coney Island and eat french fries out of paper cups. So, all that morning, Rodriguez thought of french fries, blocking out the journey from the provincial town of Sagualagrande to Jose Marti Airport, passing the hours sat huddled with his mother and father and sister.

Score a knockout for pro boxing at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie Thursday. More than 1,000 fans jammed into the facility to watch an eight-bout crowd.The standing-room-only crowd and the card of 46 scheduled rounds were the largest ever for Michael's and maybe the largest in the county in the last 10 years."We had the best walk-up sale of tickets we've ever had here," said Scott Wagner, who runs Michael's with his father, Mike. "People were standing all up and down the hall and we had quite a few upstairs on the balconies."