When a draw is a victory
BUTLER TWP— Even in a draw, Jim Emrick might have won.
The Butler heavyweight continually traded punches with Dan Whetsel of Toledo, Ohio, for six rounds in the main event of a professional boxing card before an overflow crowd Friday night at the Butler Days Inn.
"I feel good. I feel fine,"Emrick said. "I trained hard for this fight, but now I know I have to train harder. I have to get in better shape.
"Tommy (Yankello) is going to train me full time now. I showed him I have heart, that I'm a fighter."
Emrick, 37, is 3-1-1 in five pro bouts. Whetsel (9-14-1) has 24 pro fights.
Emrick opened a cut on the side of Whetsel's nose with a right hook and straight right during the second round. He connected with hooks and uppercuts through much of the fight, but couldn't put Whetsel away.
Whetsel controlled the final seconds of nearly every round, forcing Emrick against the ropes while throwing flurries of punches.
"Jimmy threw the cleaner punches, Whetsel threw more punches,"Yankello said. "He (Whetsel) might have stolen a couple of middle rounds with the way he'd come on at the end"
Emrick said Whetsel never hurt him during the fight. There were no noticeable welts or scratches on Emrick's face after the bout.
Whetsel's nose was swollen and there was puffiness beneath both of his eyes.
"He took some shots,"Emrick said. "That guy is tough, but he's going to wake up sore tomorrow."
Only four of Whetsel's pro fights have been in his hometown. He raised his arms in victory before the final round and again before the decision was announced.
The judges scored the bout 60-54, 57-57, 57-57.
"Honestly, I thought I won the fight,"Whetsel said. "The first round was close and the last round was close. I thought I had the middle rounds covered."
Yankello said the fight was Emrick's best performance as a pro so far.
"He handled himself extremely well against a seasoned pro," the trainer said.
Whetsel, 36, has no amateur fighting background. He won a Toughman contest in Toledo and turned pro eight months later at age 32.
"This is the kind of fight I like," he said of the high number of punches thrown by both men. "I would love to have a rematch with him, maybe a nice eight-rounder someplace."
Emrick welcomes a rematch as well and doesn't plan to take much time off."They're putting together a show in Philadelphia pretty soon and I want to be on it,"he said.Former Butler Cubs amateur fighter Dave Cook made his pro debut in the super middleweight division and wound up scoring the lone knockout of the night.Cook won by technical knockout over Gonzalee Jones (1-9) of Akron, Ohio, 2:11 into the second round.Cook connected with a left hook that sent Jones staggering into the ropes, forcing an eight-count. The referee allowed the fight to continue, but it lasted only a few seconds longer.Cook kept Jones pinned against the ropes, connecting repeatedly with rights and lefts before the referee stepped between the fighters and stopped the bout."This feels incredibly good — unbelievable,"Cook said. "The left hook was there. That's what took him out."Don Spinetti, Cook's trainer, said the ropes were the only thing that kept Jones on his feet."He's on the floor otherwise,"Spinetti said. "We knew (Jones) was a wild puncher, so we had Dave take his time and counter. He did a great job."Like Emrick, Cook wants to get back in the ring as soon as possible."What I learned tonight is patience and hard work pay off in boxing,"Cook said. "I want another fight as soon as I can get one. I've got momentum, so let's strike while the iron's hot."In other fights on the card, Khristian Geraci (1-2-1) of Pittsburgh and Cliff Gregory (0-2-1) of Farrell fought to a draw, Rod Salka (4-0) of Pittsburgh scored a unanimous decision over Eric Burke (6-17) of Columbus, Ohio, and Jimmy Lubash (4-1) of Pittsburgh won by unanimous decision over Don Schrock (2-8) of Cincinnati.In the co-feature, Mike Strauss of Carnegie improved to 5-0 with a unanimous decision over Randy Dodds (6-11) of Cincinnati in a junior welterweight bout.
