Following the Crabtree vs Lucky professional bout, Team Sweet Science headed out to Terre Haute, where J’juan Hamilton would compete in the 139 lbs, Senior Division. J’juan Hamilton was pitted against Hugo Garcia of Pittsburg, PA, ranked #1 in the country! This did not deter young Hamilton as he rose to the occasion upsetting Garcia in everyone’s eyes except the judges. To his credit, Hugo “The Hurricane” himself admitted that he had lost to the “Don”. SS fight writers asked Mikayla Nebel(managing partner,professional fighter, trainer) for her take on the matter, ” It was like deja vu for us all over again as last year, same place, same time, nearly same circumstance happened in regards to having a kid fight the #1 kid in the nation, give him a thorough beating, then have to drive all the way back to Hilliard without the trophy and the advancement to the Nationals! Be sure to watch the fight and judge for yourself.”

J'juan Hamilton vs Hugo Garica, FULL FIGHT

On January 21st,2012, in Trenton, New Jersey at the Hamilton Manor, Nedals Boxing Promotions brings you an exciting 7-bout card featuring our Founder, Russ Niggemyer whose slated against local fighter, Alando Swain (3-1) in a 6-round, middleweight bout. Results posted soon.

Friday January 13th at the Horseshoe Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana , Hilliard’s finest “Iron” Dan Crabtree and Team Sweet Science killed two birds with one stone as they braved the harsh winter weather for not only Crabtree’s Professional bout with Aaron Lucky of Indiana on the undercard of Butterbean/Allen fight but also for the Regional Silver Gloves in which “Don Juan” J’juan Hamilton would be competing in. A same day weigh in was held where both fighters Crabtree/Lucky had no problem making weight. The undercard (largely consisting of bums) began at about 7:30pm. This show was not for the die hard boxing fan as most of the bouts were mismatches of epic proportion leaving SS fight writers to wonder how some of these individuals had been granted licenses to fight for money inside of a ring, the exception was the Crabtree / Lucky fight. Both men passed the look test as they appeared to be in peak physical condition which became evident once the bell sounded. Lucky,a southpaw, immediately tried to pressure the younger fighter backing Crabtree into his corner briefly as Crabtree opened up and caught Lucky with something that made him recalculate his strategy. “Iron” Dan from this point on became the hunter and Lucky the hunted. Crabtree stalked the Indiana boxer around the ring letting his hands off in a vicious combination knocking him through the ropes at around the 2 minute mark of the 1st round, with only the quick action of an official sitting ringside was Aaron Lucky braced from falling off the scorer’s table. A very game Aaron Lucky managed to get back in the ring beating the count and surviving the rest of the 1st round. Second round saw “Iron” Dan Crabtree storm from his corner with bad intentions clearly looking to finish off Lucky and :30 seconds into the round, it looked as if Crabtree would do just that by landing a couple of short right hands that sent Lucky crumbling to the canvas, the referee allowed the fight to continue to Lucky’s peril and Crabtree finished him off moments later as Lucky in desperation came running at the Hilliard Fighter, only to be dumped over with an uppercut, left hook that landed flush against the right side of Lucky’s head. As the card continued it was onto the main event with Eric “Butterbean” Esch vs Curt “The Hurt” Allan which was more of a parity than a boxing match. Curt “The Hurt” danced around the ring avoiding the much stronger and powerful “Butterbean” to a lousy victory. As the night comes to a close, Sweet Science packs up to head to Terre Haute, Indiana for our Jr. Team’s annual Regional Silver gloves. We wish Aaron Lucky the best of luck in his career , he was in great shape and an extremely game opponent, we feel he is a better fighter than his record indicates.

Following “Iron” Dan Crabtree’s professional bout on the undercard of Eric “Butterbean” Esch vs Curt “The Hurt” Allan in Elizabeth, Indiana, Sweet Science heads up the state to Terre Haute, Indiana on January 14th-15th for the annual Regional Silver Gloves.. The only Jr. Sweet Science combatant competing is none other than J’juan “Don Juan” Hamilton ; While Derrell “Young Gunner” Gibbs was recently notified of his advancement to the finals due to the other competitors withdrawing from the tournament. Check out our infamous Youtube channel for videos.

On January 11th , Team Sweet Science was notified via email from USA Boxing that both of the kids in Derrell Gibbs division ( 156lb , 15 years old ) had respectively withdrawn from competing in the Regionals thus giving Gibbs his rightful spot at the Silver Gloves Nationals in Independence, Missouri.

January 6-8th, the annual State Silver Gloves was held in Cleveland, Oh at the West Side Masonic temple. Due to the restructuring of Sweet Science amateur program (Team SS now only handling Top amateurs) we had just two in the tournament and those competing were the incomparable Derrell “Young Gunner” Gibbs and the one and only J’juan “Don Juan” Hamilton. First night of the bouts, “Young Gunner” had drawn Jafet Medrano of Blackburn Rec., 156lb division, 15 years old. This bout had been highly anticipated for quite sometime as it was rumored going into the bout that “Young Gunner” would be in with stiff competition in Jafet, possibly even taking a loss back home to Columbus instead of the first place medal, this however was not to be! Round 1 had both boys feeling each other out and finding range with their jabs. Gibbs began to pick up steam about 30 seconds in with a body, head assault that had the Blackburn Rec fighter shuffling backwards attempting to bait the “Young Gunner” into a trap, but it appeared Gibbs had been setting up a trap of his own as he clearly timed Jafets’ lunging in and out movement and planted a hard, right hook on the kisser of Jafet dropping the young Columbus boxer like a sack of potatoes. Visibly shaken and bloodied, Medrano managed to get to his feet and survive the round as the knockdown was just before the bell. Round 2 saw the wounded Jafet storm from his corner (seemingly at the advice of his Coach, Columbus’ Hall of Fame Coach Mike Johnson) and the Blackburn fighter managed to land a left hook upstairs and a hard shovel hook to the right side of Gibbs to no avail. Gibbs tightened up weathering the storm from his desperate opponent while walking him down, putting himself in position to let off a multitude of shots coming from all angles, followed by a brief period of holding from Jafet bringing Round 2 to a close. Clearly not satisfied with any easy win on the score cards, Round 3 had “Young Gunner” powering up for what seemed to be any attempt to stop his opponent while Jafet was content on finishing. And Medrano, a Westland Highschool student, accomplished just that. When the score card was read, there was little doubt in anyone’s’ mind as to who won the bout giving Derrell Gibbs an advancement to the finals vs. Jake Harper of Zanesville PAL.

Advancing to the finals on Saturday, January 7th was both J’juan “Don Juan” Hamilton and Derrell “Young Gunner” Gibbs. First up is J’juan Hamilton pitted against Ben Stenson in the 139lb division, 15 years old. Almost immediately from the onset it was apparent that Hamilton was working with a significant amount of experience over his green but game opponent. In Round 1, Hamilton wasted no time establishing his superior range and boxing skill, countering nearly all of Stensons’ early attempts, forcing him on the bicycle to cope with Hamilton’s steady pressure. “Don Juan” seemed to chase his opponent coming just a half a step too short of landing anything significant as the round came to a close. In Round 2, J’juan making the necessary adjustments, cutting the ring off with ease, giving his opponent no refuge as Hamilton began picking young Ben off with straight right hands and hooks to the head and body using his jab to stay within range and around the halfway mark of the 2nd stanza Hamilton drops Stenson with a perfectly placed 1,2 on the button. Ben got back to his feet, turned his back on the ref and appeared to get instruction and encouragement from his corner. Hamilton then resorted to showmanship letting the Cleveland fighter off the hook and the fight resumed as the visibly hurt Stenson managed to hang on through the round. Round 3 had more of the same from both fighters bringing the bout to a close thus giving “Don Juan” Hamilton a State Silver Gloves title and an invitation to represent his division at the Regional level in Terre Haute, Indiana next weekend January 14-16th. Next up in the finals, Derrell “Young Gunner” Gibbs vs Jake Harper of Z-PAL. Derrell easily cruised to a points win over the super tough and always dangerous Jake “The Snake” Harper. As the weekend came to a close, tourny favorites Gibbs and Hamilton both advance to Regionals. Stay tuned for updates.

January 13th, 2012, in Elizabeth, Indiana at the Horseshoe Casino, central Ohio’s favorite fighter “Iron” Dan Crabtree (2(2KO)-3) is slated to face Aaron Lucky (0-2(2KO)) in a 4-round welterweight bout. Main event will a long-awaited rematch of rivals Eric “Butterbean” Esch and the promoter of the event, Curt Allan. Tickets are on sale.

Twas the night before Christmas and in Hilliard, Ohio,
There was a pretty girl with brown hair and a pretty smile,
As she mixed holiday tunes she turned up the treble,
And introduced herself as Mikayla Nebel.

As Everyone was Merry and filled with cheer,
She reflected and looked forward to the New Year,
2011 was a fun year to see,
Capped by a win in New Jersey from Dan Crabtree.

And a World Title undercard appearance heralded by the town cryer,
for Mr. Russ Niggemyer!

So as the New Year Approaches be sure to give em Hell!
Have a Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

-Peter Cyzmbor

January 6-8, 2012 , The National Silver Gloves Boxing tournament is an advancing qualifier for amateur boxers from age 8 – 15 years that will have its state level in Cleveland, Ohio. Jr. Team Sweet Science boxers competing are Derrell ” Young Gunner ” Gibbs and J’juan ” Don Juan ” Hamilton! Gibbs will be entering in the 156 lb division for 15 years olds while Hamilton will be in 139lb division for 15 years olds. Stay posted for results from states , regionals ,and Nationals!

SS fight writers were treated to an outstanding night of Boxing at Pilger’s Old Skool Boxing Gym located in Grandview, OH. The bouts were evenly matched and extremely entertaining. The atmosphere truly was reminiscent of an “Old school” fight club complete with a raucous crowd, jam packed in a nice intimate setting. The card was a mix of local boxers and some talent from around the state. Several local dignitaries were on hand. The event seemed to be well organized and controversy was at a minimum. All in all it was a great night of Boxing, tickets were $15 at the door, which in our opinion was a great value for the caliber of Boxing shown. Sweet Science would like to Thank Mr. Pilger for the hospitality he showed us!