Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, March 28, 2001, Page 9, Image 9

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    Page B3
M a rch 28, 2001
And in this Corner, Reggie Davis
A Local Boxer Makes His Pro-Debut
Reggie Davis fro m Northeast Portland will be making his pro-boxing
debut at a match on March 30 at the Multnomah Greyhound Park.
P y J oy R amos
P ortland O bserver
F o r R eggie D avis, tu rn ­
ing p ro fe ssio n a l as a boxer
w as a lo ngtim e d ecision in
the m aking.
H is fixed d esire to b e ­
com e that sta rte d in 1996
w hen he lost all hope o f
ev er jo in in g the A m erican
O lym pic team a fter losing
in th e tria ls. T he six-tim e,
O r e g o n G o ld e n G lo v e s
C h am pion is now ready to
m ake h is pro-debut.
At 5 feet 11 inches and
156 pounds, D avis w ill take
on C h ristopher L ucero from
Phoenix, A rizona who has a
record o f 0 and 1.
The Davis vs. Lucero fight
is sc h e d u le d fo r F rid a y ,
M arch 30 at 6 p.m . at the
M ultnom ah G reyhound Park
in a m atch being b illed as
“ Ring Rage V III.”
H osting the event is O r­
egon T rail P ro m o tio n s, a
com pany run e n tire ly by
women with a m ission to pro­
vide a safe venue for local
G o ld en G lo v e b o x e rs to
carry on in a professional
venue. They are one o f the
sta te ’s first licensed boxing
p ro m o te rs in a lm o s t 10
y e a rs. T h is y ear, O reg o n
Trail Prom otions plan to hold
boxing m atches every three
m onths. A n o th e r P ortland
professional they hope to a t­
tract as a fig h ter is S tevie
Forbes, a 2 3 -y ear old IBF
lig h tw eig h t cham pion h a il­
ing from the K nott St. gym.
R eggie D avis got his start
in a m a te u r bo x in g at the
M att D ishm an C om m unity
C enter in N o rth east P o rt­
land w ith L ee Jen k in s as his
first tra in er. D avis prefers
professional boxing because
it su its h is natural fighting
sty le: ta k in g th e tim e to
Tiger Wins Players Championship
B v P ete I acobelli ,
A P S ports W riter
PONTE VEDRAB1ACT1,Fla - F o r ­
gust, kicking it before hitting again. H e left
w ith a tnple-bogey-7 — his w orst score
o f the w e e k
get the slum p and bring on the Masters.
T iger W oods held o ffa late charge from
V ijay Singh on M onday to capture The
P lay ers C h am p io n sh ip , h is seco n d
straight vie tory after early season doubts.
W oods lost a duel w ith H al Sutton in
H e got as close as tw o shots to W oods
after an im probableeagleonthe 16th hole.
Singh turned his putter sidew ays and
used die toe to pop the ball o f f the
bulkhead and into the cup.
H e follow ed w ith his birdie o n N o. 17
as W oods looked across to the patch o f
land that is the course’s signature hole.
Singh h ad ap u tto fab o u t3 5 feetforbirdie
o n the final hole,butsentit lO feetpastand
m ade par.
”1 m ade one bad sw ing and that’s all
it takes,” Singh said. L an g er h a s n ’t w o n
in th e U n ited S tates sin ce th e 1993
M asters an d lo o k ed u n lik ely to ch al­
len g e, esp ecially after m issin g a p ar
p u tt o n th e 1 Oth h o le o n h is first stroke
w h en p la y resu m ed . R ain d elay e d the
start o f S u n d a y ’s ro u n d a n d p lay w as
a sim ilar M onday finish a year ago. This
time, W oods didn’t need m uch fight to
finish tw o shots ahead ofM asters w inner
S inghtotakeoneo fth efew g o lfp rizesh e
didn’t already own.
Thevictory‘‘m eansm yslum p’sover,”
said W oods, the unquestioned favorite
at A ugustaN ational in tw o weeks. W oods
had his second straight 66 and w as at 15-
under 273. Singh had a 68. B ernhard
Langer w as tw o shots back after a 67.
Littleknow n Jerry Kelly hada73 and was
four o ff o f W oods.
There w asn ’t m uch m agic in W oods ’
round, certainly none to m atch his twist­
ing 60-footerforbirdieonN o. 17’sisland
green Saturday or the 90-foot eagle chip
on the second hole Sunday that first gave
him the lead. It didn’t m atter as each
challenge faltered.
W oods, w ho w o n the U.S. A m ateur
here at 18 years old in 1994, w as pressed
a bit w hen Singh recovered from a triple
bogey on the 14th hole to go eagle-birdie
on Nos. 16 and 17.
B ut m om ents after Singh hit his 10-
foot birdie putt on the 17th, W oods
tappedinforbird ieo n th e 16thhole— he
barely lipped out a 50-foot eagle p u tt—
to restore his lead to tw o shots.
W oods scared the crow d and him self
at the island hole, flying a 9-iron right o f
the flag that spun perilously close to the
water. B ut like everything M onday, it
settled into the rough and W oods left
w ithpar. ”1 executed the shotjust the w ay
I w anted to, it slid a bit m ore in the wind,”
su sp en d ed b y darkness.
H e m ad e tw o straig h t b ird ies o n the
11 th an d 12 th h o les an d w as o n ly tw o
b a c k o f W o o d s. B u t L a n g e r tru ly
co u ld n ’t find the co n sisten cy to keep
up — he h ad five b ird ies a n d three
bogeys. K elly, p a ire d w ith W o o d s,
w o u ld ’ve b een th e to u rn a m e n t’s m o st
am azin g story. 'The 3 4 -y ear-o ld n e v er
h as w o n in 175 P G A T o u r ev en ts and
iH lb lA h C l
Everyone Qualifies)
suddenly w as m atch ed w ith W oods in
the $6 m illion tournam ent.
K elly, a stro k e b eh in d w hen play
stopped S unday, o pened b y driving
into a left-side b u n k e r o f f the fairw ay
an d m issed a b ird ie p u tt before W oods
tapped in for a tw o -sh o t lead. K e lly ’s
birdie on the 15th h o le b ro u g h t h im to
12-under an d th a t’s all the ch arg e he
h ad left.
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INVITE YOU AND A GUEST TO A SPECIAL SCREENING
Friday, March 30, 2001
Making His Pro Debut
7 P.M. (Doors open a t 6 P.M.)
6 Time Golden Gloves Champion
Multnomah Greyhound Park
Reggie Davis
944 n.e. 223rd ave.
Gresham, Oregon
Singh, a Ponte V edra B each resident
w ho regularly practices at the T PC at
Saw grass’ Stadium Course, seem ed to
have the m ost motivation and the sharp­
est gam e to chase W oods dow n. Singh’s
M asters victory w as alm o st lost as
W oods fashioned one o f g o lf s m ost
F ront Row Ring Side
$50.00
$30.00
Preferred Standinq
Seating -
Room
$20.00
$10.00
amazing years with rune victories, includ­
ing theU .S .O pen,B ntish O pen and PG A
Championship.
Singh tied things at 13-under w ith his
4 -footer for birdie on the 13th hole. B ut
Tickets avai I ab I e a t a 11
lx)
locations. For additional info
b
c a ll 503-631-3421
W oods m ade his ow n birdie m om ents
lateron the 12thholefbraone-stroke lead.
Singh’s chances ended for good, like so
m any on Pete D y e’s fam ous course, in
w a te r.
C om e S ee Us Today
For Inform ation
Maudie W hite 503-288-1140
W oods said.
O n the 18th, w here W oods w as in the
w ater Saturday, he drove into the rough,
chipped outand got dow n in tw o putts for
the victory and th e $ l ,080,000 firstprize.
th e
m ake solid shots instead o f
rushing in w ith fast punches.
C urrently training him are
John P eters, R udy G arza
and Joe C ardello.
F or D avis, tu rn in g pro
d o e sn ’t m ake him nervous.
“ I am h ungry and d e te r­
m ined to display my sk ills,”
he said. He eagerly w ants
to show everyone the kind
o f high calib er, N orthw est
boxing talen t we have here.
A nother goal o f his is to be
th e first to “open the d o o rs”
fo r local bo x ers fighting in
P o rtla n d a n d in c a s in o s
th roughout the state.
Pick up a com plimentary pass fo r Two at
CL he ] J n r t la n h (O lis e v u i'r
H is drive on the 14th hole w as a wild
sw ing that headed left into the water. It
w as probably the w orst stroke all w eek for
4741 NE MLK Blvd (One Block South o f Alberta)
Singh.
Singh threw dow n his driver in dis-
Wednesday April 4 7:30 pin a the Broadway Mctroplcx
kingdom ( nine Opens \a tio n a lh Wednesday, April 11,h
I
Fighters are subject to change
and c o n tra c t Approval by the
Oregon State Boxing Commission