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Wheeling’s Bledsoe impresses

• Bethesda’s Chervanek falls as Bull Pen FC?goes 2-1

MOUNDSVILLE — Eric Bledsoe hadn’t fought competitively for nearly one year. He needed to be tested in his first time back inside the ring since July 29 of 2016.

The Wheeling fighter found that test Saturday night inside the former W.Va. State Penitentiary and passed with flying colors as he scored a unanimous decision over Jauvan John, of Newport News, Va., in a 6-round welterweight bout. The three judges scored the fight 58-56, 59-55 and 60-54 as Bledsoe improved to 4-1 while John dipped to 2-3.

“He was a real tough guy. He was game,” Bledsoe, who fights out of the Bull Pen Fight Club in East Wheeling, said of John. “He had a good chin and he had some crack in his punches. He hit he pretty decent a couple of times. I got to test myself. It was a real good test for me being removed from combat for almost a year.

“We had a good camp. I trust my coaches and my teammates,” he continued. “My dream is to take this as far as we can take it to pave the way for my kids. I want to set an example for all the younger children that come to the gym in East Wheeling where I was brought up.”

Bledsoe, who weighed in at 156, pretty much dominated the fight, winning each round handily. He hurt John, who tipped the scales at 157, in the first round with a big left and then stunned his opponent in the third with an uppercut. John was warned in the fourth round for a low blow, which didn’t affect Bledsoe.

“I tried to control the pace of the fight and use a lot of movement,” Bledsoe said. “I just trusted my instincts and all the work that we’ve put in to get to where we are today.”

The fight was one of 11 on Prison Fest: Disorderly Conduct. It marked the first time since 1987 that professional boxing had been held inside the former state pen. The card, in addition to professional boxing, include amateur boxing, professional Mixed Martial Arts, amateur MMA and amateur kickboxing.

Bledsoe was one of three fighters from the Bull Pen Fight Club that competed. Wheeling’s Bryce Barcus made his amateur kickboxing debut a successful one when Toronto’s Donald Starkey couldn’t answer the bell for Round 3, resulting in a TKO. However, Bethesda’s Kamron Chervenak wasn’t as fortunate as she dropped a close, but unanimous, 3-round decision to Clarksburg’s Haley Bishop by scores of 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28. Chervenak is now 5-2, while Bishop increased her sparkling record to 10-1.

In the vacant Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) All America cruiserweight title bout, Nashville’s Josh “The Handsome Hitman” Himes outpointed New York City’s Armin Mrkanovic 77-75, 79-73 and 80-72 on the three judges scorecards to capture the belt. Himes improved to 11-2. Mrkanovic fell to 7-3.

In the co-main event, East Liverpool’s Shianne Gist (1-0-2) made quick work of Bethesda’s Crystal “Cocco Vicious” Byers in their 4-round professional welterweight bout.

Byers, who was making her pro debut, took a couple of vicious shots to her face that sent her to the canvas as the second round was coming to a close. She couldn’t answer the 10-count from Hall of Fame referee Bill Clancy.

The fight also made history as it was the first time that two female professional boxers had competed against each other in the venue.

In other action, Parkersburg’s Raymond Davila scored a unanimous decision over Wintersville’s Daniel Hague in amateur kickboxing action; Cameron’s Roger Kupfer won his professional MMA match with a rear naked choke on Beckley’s Turner Williams at 2:34 of the first round; Charleston’s Michael Dyess when Moundsville’s Justin Zeno tapped out from an RNC at 3:37 of the second round of their pro MMA bout; Taylor Borer, from Cumberland, Md., by unanimous decision in an amateur boxing match over Parkersburg’s Reggie Sims; and Parkersburg’s Andrew Satterfield by TKO when Brian Bercik, from Charleroi, Pa., couldn’t continue at 2:22 of the second round in their amateur heavyweight fight.

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