2007 local Philly boxing awards

Local Fighter of the Year

Mike "Machine Gun" Jones

Every year, one fighter separates themselves from the pack. Last year it was Harry Yorgey, the year before that it was Eddie Chamber. In 2007, Mike Jones took the quick leap from early 4 round prelim fighter to main eventer by knocking out all 7 men who stood in front of him in this year. In every fight he raised the level of competition and by the end of 2008, he could be in a position to put some of the worlds best welterweights on notice. He has become the man they pay to see at The New Alhambra, pretty soon he might be the man they pay to see on TV. Hand speed, two fisted power, knockout potential, he has it all. There are still a few questions lingering to see what the Mount Airy native can or can not do, he has already done enough to cement his status as the top national prospect fighting in our region. Catch him while you can because this show might be going on the road really soon.

Rookie of the Year

Teon Kennedy

Teon "The Technician" turned pro in January of this year and has made the transition from amateur to pro look really easy so far. The former Golden Glover & National Champion has drawn comparisons to another fellow Philly featherweight Jeff Chandler who happens to be in the International Boxing Hall of Fame. While some say Teon is the second coming, others say hold up because Joltin' Jeff only had 2 amateur fights and that Teon's experience will carry him much further as a pro. Time will tell if these great comparisons are warranted but I do have to say that Teon is off to a great start in his young career and a lot of people are looking forward to a 2008 where he steps up the competition. From what I have seen so far, he does seem to be a very well schooled boxer but can also but an opponent down for the count.

Upset of The Year

Dave Brunelli over Aaron Lyons - UD

Coming into this fight, not many were giving Brunelli a snowballs chance in hell to win this one. Aaron Lyons was fresh off a 1st round TKO over Joey Abell, a fighter who was flat out smoking people at the time. Brunelli on the other hand was fresh off of an uninspired loss to Levon Warner. Comcast was in the house and the honchos at The Blue Horizon were ready to springboard Lyons into main event status after this one. But then a funny thing happened in this contest. Team Brunelli brought their A game and overcame what seemed to be a 300 degree Fahrenheit night at The Blue and handed Lyons his first loss as a pro. This fight vaulted Brunelli into bigger fights during the year while Lyons hasn't been seen or heard from since.

Knockout of the Year

Joey Abell knocks Cornelius Ellis out of the ring twice @ The Legendary Blue Horizon - 02/09/07

"Minnesota Ice" almost incites a riot at The Blue by knocking his opponent out of the ring and into my lap not once but twice! I am still waiting on a thank you card from Ellis for saving his life by not letting him splat on the concrete floor. Watch the video here

Local Philly Fight of the Year

Lenny DiVictoria TKO 6 over Elad Schmouel @ The Legendary Blue Horizon 12/07/07

This fight had it all. Young prospect against grizzled veteran, an early knockdown and a late surge to cause a knockout victory. There were a lot of great moments in this two way thriller but after withstanding an early assault from the young Israeli solder, North Philly's "El Diablo" Lenny DiVictoria dug deep and eventually scored an amazing 6th round TKO in this scheduled 8 round main event. Fittingly, this was the last final fight Philly would see in 2007