Porter, Thompson take wins in TITLE championship bouts

Two local boxers came away with national titles Saturday in the TITLE Boxing National Championship at Hot Springs Convention Center.

Hot Springs’ Noah Porter took a split decision in the Elite 176-pound division over Makale Coleman, both coached by Willie McCoy.

McCoy allowed out-of-state coaches to man the corners, giving both fighters equal footing.

“They ended up in the same division, and everybody looked to me to make a decision who should go on,” McCoy said. “I said, ‘No. See if they actually want to go up against each other and see who should be the champion.’ That’s

what they wanted, so I begged out and let two coaches from out of town coach them.”

Coleman used his size and power to land hard punches against his teammate, but Porter’s speed and agility allowed him to send Coleman to the ropes, landing multiple body shots. Coleman relied on a powerful hook combination in the second round after taking Porter to the ropes, Porter countering with several wild hooks before returning to a two-jab combo.

Both fighters tired in the final round, but Porter dominated as he continued to send his opponent to the ropes..

“It was a split decision,” McCoy said. “Noah won by one point; he lost by one point. They spar all the time, and most times, Noah gets the better. [Coleman] has good boxing technique; he’s just kind of lazy at times. … I’m proud of both of them. He surprised me and the other coach because he switched on [Noah] a couple times.”

Hot Springs’ Kira Thompson took a unanimous decision over Cheyenne Crutchfield in the junior 119-pound division.

Thompson led with a quick series of hooks out of a wide stance in the opening round, switching to a jab-hook combo. In the second round, she used several combos, including a three-jab barrage that left Crutchfield off-balance.

Thompson slowed in the third round, but after drawing Crutchfield in, she used a jab combo before a powerful combination of hooks in the final seconds.

“She had two rounds strong,” McCoy said. “She kind of (tired) a little bit in that third round. She’s a good athlete; she’s come a long way. She runs track, too, so that helps a lot.”

Antonio Rooker, a dominant winner Friday night, fell to Curtis Goodrich in the championship bout Saturday.

Rooker held back in the opening round, allowing Goodrich to keep close quarters and use a two-hook combo. Rooker’s footwork featured heavily in the second, but Goodrich landed multiple head shots, switching to the occasional jab while leaning heavily on his right hook.

Rooker took control in the final round, forcing Goodrich into the corner before closing with a flurry of powerful shots. Goodrich’s hits lacked the power seen in the earlier rounds, but he mustered some solid shots in the final seconds to secure the win.

“He didn’t do what I wanted him to do,” said McCoy. “He would get in, but he wouldn’t get far enough out of the way. I wanted him to use that one-two, but I wanted him after that to step back and then come right back with another jab. He wasn’t able to get away from him far enough to come right back.”

McCoy said he has immediate plans for Rooker.

“We’re going to go to another couple of tournaments,” he said, including one in Kansas City that he plans to enter the 9-year-old boxer. “There will be 10 or 12 fights. He’s still young.”