Fight Night in Red Lake

Knockout Nightmare at Seven Clans Casino-Red Lake

      (RLNN) - According to Red Lake Gaming Manager, Charles Prentice, the last fight card that took place at the Seven Clans Casino - Red Lake, did okay, but it could have done better.

      With their second professional fight card on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2003, titled ‘Knockout Night’, and the first fight promotion sanctioned by the newly formed Red Lake Nation Boxing Commission, without seeing any type of financial numbers involved, it did appear a success.

      It was pretty exciting, even for those who didn’t appear to be fight fans, and there were at least two big names–although neither were on the fight card to fight–who were Virgil ‘Quick Silver’ Hill, World Cruiser Weight Champion, and Duane Bobick, former Olympic boxer and World Heavyweight Contender.

      Hill was present prior to the fight for speaking engagements, as well as to meet fans during and boxing event. Bobick was one of the guest referees.

      The day before the fight, Hill and J. J. Corn from the Menominee Nation in Wisconsin–who was a middleweight fighter featured in the main event against Reggie Strickland of Indianapolis, Indiana–appeared at an informal breakfast that Friday morning, where they met with some Red Lake Tribal Council members, the Red Lake’s Boxing Commission, Red Lake Gaming officials, and others.

      After that meeting, although there was some mix-up in an ad ran by a local newspaper of an incorrect date and time, Hill and Corn appeared at the Red Lake High School mini-theater where they talked about their careers and what motivated them from the beginning to the present.

      Corn said as an amateur he was 106-12 and ranked number 5 in the country. He said he has been all over the world, Germany, London, Ireland, Africa, Denmark, Canada, and more.

      “I came from the same reservation as everyone else,” he said to the group of about fifty. “I hate to say this, but if you’ve been to one reservation, you’ve pretty much been to them all–they’re all the same makeup, the same things.”

      He said he had asked to give the talk because as Native Americans, there were far too many negative statistics.

      “We as a race are growing, but we’re failing to make an impact on the professional level, whether it be athletics, whether it be the job market–we’re still known for the alcoholism, the suicides, the teen dropouts, the pregnancies, things like that,” he said. “To me, that’s unacceptable. I mean, with the emergence of the Native Casinos out there, it’s given us a whole new political clout, it’s given us money for schools, money for so much things, but yet we as a people are failing to make an impact, either because we don’t want to get off the Rez, or start to get off the Rez or whatever.”

      He said it was up to everyone to realize that they were the next generation. Natives seemed to only go with the flow and nothing more.

      “Anybody can do whatever they want,” he said. “Whatever you set your mind to, you an accomplish. I’m a perfect example of that. Like I said, I was really good as an amateur; as a pro I’m 50-6, and got some big fights lined up, and hopefully in March I should be fighting on ESPN. So, things are coming up for me. I’m from the Rez, I’m a Native, things are going good for me, and that’s all because I chose to step up.”

      He said he didn’t want to just go with the flow. If everyone stepped up, anybody could do whatever they want with a little hard work.

      “It’s been 511 years since we as Indian people discovered Columbus, and we’re still here,” he added. “We’ve been through everything under the sun. They moved us to Reservations–they just did everything bad to us as a Native people but we’re still here. That shows we’re fighters.”

      He also challenged everyone, that if he could do this, anyone could do it. Everyone just had to go out there and change people’s perception.

      “I’ve been all over the world and they think we’re he greatest things in the world, but here in our own country they think we’re just a negative statistic,” he said.

      Corn also spoke about the importance of education, what young people had to do, and the work that was involved to succeed.

      “I’m a pro-boxer, Virgil’s a pro-boxer, I mean, anyone in here could beat Virgin or us, but it’s going to take work and it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “Virgil’s not going to let you beat him; I’m definitely going to let you beat me, but it can be done. It’s just going to take work, sacrifice, dedication...”

      Corn said he has been boxing for seventeen years of his life, and pretty much starving for 16 of those years. But now he can hold his head up knowing that he did the best with what he had and for what God gave him. He said he accomplished a lot more than anyone thought.

      Hill said he was raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and fought in these parts for most of his amateur career. The big thing for him was to get to Minneapolis for bigger fights.

      He went to the 1984 Olympics receiving a Silver medal, and his amateur record was 288-11.

      “I’m a professional world champion with a record of 49-4,” Hill said. “I currently signed a contact with Don King to hopefully get another world title, and go on from there and retire.”

      Hill was actually 39 years old and would be 40 next year. He would fight once more and then he would retire from his boxing career.

      He also spoke about motivation and how different things have changed over the years.

      “My biggest things is, I say, if you believe, you can achieve–believe me, you can,” Hill said. “The last world title I fought in 2000. I was a 16-1 underdog, which means basically you’re a bum–you shouldn’t be in the fight. I knocked the guy out in the first round. All the writers and all the people that put those imagines together and stuff like that, they’re the geniuses of boxing. But I believed–I believed in what I could do. As a result I gained my fourth world championship in a hostile country of France.”

      Rep. Jim White asked Hill about his interest in helping out the newly formed Red Lake Boxing Commission, of which Hill said he would be more than happy to help in any way that he could with that.

      Both answered questions from members of the audience as well.

      On the following Saturday, the first fight of the evening was an amateur youth bout between Ricky Johnson from Coon Rapids against Allery Carson III from Indianapolis, Indiana, which lasted three rounds and Carson came out with the win. All amateur exhibitions went for 3 rounds.

      Other winners in the amateur bouts included David Moen from the Red Lake Boxing Club defeating Matika Ryan from Indianapolis; Sean Thunder of Red Lake defeating Corey Burton from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota; Syrus Sargeant defeating Rocky Zuniga of Winnepeg; Tony Bushey of Leech Lake defeating Nathaniel Sargeant of Naytahwaush; Joshua Hall of Winnepeg defeating John Sargeant Jr. Of Naytahwaush; and Red Lake’s Tyrone Thunder defeating Nestor Hayden of Winnepeg in a Super Heavyweight bout.

      Allery Carson also won the Fightingest Fighter Trophy and Sean Thunder the Best Boxer Trophy in the Jr. Division, with Rocky Zuniga winning the Fightingest Fighter Trophy and Tyrone Thunder the Best Boxer Trophy in the Sr. Division.

      In the professional fights, with all matches lasting 4 rounds and the Main Event scheduled for 8, Timmy Lindren of Cass Lake defeated Randy Dobbs of Indianapolis in a Featherweight bout; Chris Holt of Detroit Lakes TKOed Nick Wang in a Super Middleweight match; Kenny Kost defeated John ‘Diehard’ McClain by TKO in a Middle weight fight; Innocent Otukwu of Fridley defeated Richard Goosehead of Winnepeg in a Super Heavyweight fight; Brad Croaker was a winner in a Super Middleweight fight against Mark Hoffman; and J. J. Corn narrowly decisioned Reggie Strickland of Indianapolis in the Middleweight Main Event.

      The Ring Physician was Javait Saleem of Fosston; Murphy Thomas of Red Lake was the amateur announcer; Judges were Ian Goodman, Rocky Papsadora, and Bob Goggleye; Referees were Duane Bobick, Bobby Burnett and Mike Robinson; the Ring Girls were Red Lake’s very own Bev Pemberton, Debbe Graves and Denise Lussier; and Bill Miley from the Michigan Boxing Commission was present during the fight card for assistance.

      Prime sponsors of the event included the Red Lake Nation Chemical Health Programs, Green Lake Pawn Shop, Red Lake Foods, Ponemah Market, the Other Store and the Redby Garage.