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Boxing and mixed martial arts fans: Get ready for a good time this weekend in Neosho.
Rumble in the Heartland, a combination of pro boxing and pro mixed martial arts, is coming to the Neosho Civic Center on Saturday. The first fight bell dings at 7 p.m. Tickets are locally available at Neosho Graphics & Competitor's Wearhouse, 13103 Kodiak Road, in Neosho or at the door. General admission prices are $20 for the balcony, $30 for the floor and $40 for ringside. As scheduled, the night will feature four pro boxing matches and four MMA fights, though that may drop to three MMA fights, according to promoter Wes Slay II, of Slay Marketing.
The main boxing event is Jose Gonzales versus Sean Wilson for the North American Midwest Association boxing middleweight championship. Gonzales has come out of a brief retirement after losing a controversial decision in April 2010 to then-United States Boxing Association junior middleweight champion Derek “Pooh” Ennis.
Gonzales was originally scheduled to be matched up against Brandon Baue on Saturday.
However, the biggest local draw, according to Slay, may actually be Jesse Cook versus Alfonzo Williams in the middleweight boxing class. Cook, who is from Seneca, is ranked 2-0 and neither of those fights made it out of the first round, Slay said.
“Jesse has a chance to be special,” he said. “And he's from Seneca. So it's kind of neat to have a kid from right there fighting near home with the champs.”
Williams, meanwhile, is a “tough and rugged” pro mixed martial artist who will make his boxing debut on Saturday, according to Slay.
“Quite frankly, we can't get any young boxers to fight Jesse Cook,” Slay said. “Nobody in boxing will fight him. Some of these MMA guys, though, are like 'hey, I'll give it a whirl. If I beat him I got a shot, and if I don't I'll just go back to MMA fighting.'”
In his two pro fights, Cook scored five knockdowns in the combined two rounds, with both bouts ending as knockouts before the second bell.
“He's been a buzz saw,” Slay said. “And he didn't fight bums, either. In both fights I put him in I had people say 'why are you putting him in with that guy? That guy is good,' and I said 'well, we need to see what he's made of.' And Jesse punished them both in the first round.”
Boxing and mixed martial arts fans: Get ready for a good time this weekend in Neosho.
Rumble in the Heartland, a combination of pro boxing and pro mixed martial arts, is coming to the Neosho Civic Center on Saturday. The first fight bell dings at 7 p.m. Tickets are locally available at Neosho Graphics & Competitor's Wearhouse, 13103 Kodiak Road, in Neosho or at the door. General admission prices are $20 for the balcony, $30 for the floor and $40 for ringside. As scheduled, the night will feature four pro boxing matches and four MMA fights, though that may drop to three MMA fights, according to promoter Wes Slay II, of Slay Marketing.
The main boxing event is Jose Gonzales versus Sean Wilson for the North American Midwest Association boxing middleweight championship. Gonzales has come out of a brief retirement after losing a controversial decision in April 2010 to then-United States Boxing Association junior middleweight champion Derek “Pooh” Ennis.
Gonzales was originally scheduled to be matched up against Brandon Baue on Saturday.
However, the biggest local draw, according to Slay, may actually be Jesse Cook versus Alfonzo Williams in the middleweight boxing class. Cook, who is from Seneca, is ranked 2-0 and neither of those fights made it out of the first round, Slay said.
“Jesse has a chance to be special,” he said. “And he's from Seneca. So it's kind of neat to have a kid from right there fighting near home with the champs.”
Williams, meanwhile, is a “tough and rugged” pro mixed martial artist who will make his boxing debut on Saturday, according to Slay.
“Quite frankly, we can't get any young boxers to fight Jesse Cook,” Slay said. “Nobody in boxing will fight him. Some of these MMA guys, though, are like 'hey, I'll give it a whirl. If I beat him I got a shot, and if I don't I'll just go back to MMA fighting.'”
In his two pro fights, Cook scored five knockdowns in the combined two rounds, with both bouts ending as knockouts before the second bell.
“He's been a buzz saw,” Slay said. “And he didn't fight bums, either. In both fights I put him in I had people say 'why are you putting him in with that guy? That guy is good,' and I said 'well, we need to see what he's made of.' And Jesse punished them both in the first round.”
The main mixed martial arts event will be Joe Gross, of Joplin, versus Chris McDaniel, of Branson.
McDaniel, nicknamed “The Crazy Man,” may be the most popular MMA fighter in the area, according to Slay. That's because he's had more than 60 fights, between amateur rumbles and pro, and none of them were settled by decision, Slay said. McDaniel is about a .500 fighter, he said.
“Most of his fights are flip a quarter, but they never go to a decision so they are always incredibly exciting,” Slay said. “I think that style has just made him a very fan-friendly fighter.”
Gross, meanwhile, is “definitely the underdog,” Slay said, but may have an advantage if he gets McDaniel to the ground.
“If they fight standing up, Chris will probably catch him and knock him out,” Slay said. “But if Joe can get him to the ground, Joe will beat him. I like that, because styles make fights. That's always exciting stuff. When you've got one standup versus one ground guy, it's always action-packed.”
Slay said he's careful to match fighters who are relatively even in skill and ability to make for a much better match. He said Saturday's “Rumble in the Heartland” is no exception.
“It's going to be a fun card, I can promise you that,” Slay said.
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Look up the Rumble in the Heartland event page on Facebook.
