Marine Boxers Sweep Four Bouts at Regionals

Lance Cpl. Robert Allen’s powerful, straight left hands led the Marine Corps troops at Camp Pendleton to a sweep of their four bouts Saturday at the United States Boxing Assn. regional championships at the Scottish Rite Temple.

Allen, the assistant boxing coach at Camp Pendleton, forced four standing eight counts before the referee finally stopped his 156-pound bout with Don Small of Nevada in the third round.

But even though Allen dominated almost the entire fight, he wasn’t pleased with his performance.

“I was throwing short punches from too far out,” Allen, 22, said. “I was trying to finesse him. I was just confused with his style a little bit.”

But Allen, who has only been fighting four years, appeared to figure out Small in the third round. He unloaded a barrage of solid left hands after seeting Small up with short rights.

“That’s what a lefty’s supposed to do to a right-hander,” said Allen, whose hometown is Houma, La. “You take away his right hand by neutralizing it with your left.”

Ranked as high as sixth nationally in 1989, Allen took last year off because doctors believed he had an irregular heart beat. But with his heart problems gone, Allen said he is poised for a run at making the Olympic boxing team.

To reach the nationals in Colorado Springs Feb. 24, Allen (37-3) must defeat Nashun Lomax of Nevada in today’s finals.

Jim Connolly, Allen’s manager, likes his fighter’s chances.

“He’s aggressive enough once he gets going,” Connolly said. “He knows how to finish a guy. Once he started punching with his legs tonight, he was fine.”

Lance Cpl. Ricardo Ponce advanced to the 139-pound finals with a victory by disqualification over Jermaine Thompson of Nevada. Ponce looked to be controlling his fight when the referee disqualified Thompson for holding.

Lance Cpl. Chad Houk barely won a decision over Charles Lucas of Nevada in the 147-pound weight division. Houk took the first two rounds by nailing Lucas with solid right hands to the head. But he tired in the third round and got caught several times with right uppercuts and overhand rights.

“That third round seemed like a long time,” Houk said.

Houk will face Joseph Pommier of the Southern California boxing team in the finals.

Cpl. Rowdy Houston completed the sweep with a stunning first round knockout of Nevada’s Willie Moreland. Houston had two standing eight-counts called on him early in the round, but came back to put Moreland down with a left-hook that he set up with a right hand.

“He hit me hard, but I had my arm caught in the ropes and that’s why they called the eight counts,” he said. “I couldn’t get my hands up.”

Houston (34-7) will face John Bray, the top-ranked amateur heavyweight in the nation.

In other bouts, Leo Delara of Southern California and Paul Griffin of Nevada won decisions.