BY: Rota Em

     This past Thursday it was a frigid -22 degrees outside my window. Factoring in wind chills, it was a dangerous -42. Schools were closed and traffic was heavy. You won't find morning runners in this horrendous environment. Front page of the local newspaper headline read: "Keep the elderly and children inside. Bring pets indoors. Insulate pipes." These were the warnings issued state-wide by the National Weather Service to reiterate the danger of the pungent cold spell we were in. I took it as a reminder. If it hadn't yet, Minnesota has officially frozen over now. That is until the 'fire' started to do its part against the wavering glacial atmosphere.

     Having just relocated back to Minnesota from California, I was utterly disgusted with what I was feeling. The hairs of my nostrils flared then immediately froze upon contact of the icy air that morning. It made it difficult to enjoy something as natural as breathing. Quite honestly, had this warning been issued in Los Angeles I would've prepared for some sort of massive attack. The local news station showed a glimpse of the forecast in Alaska some 3000 miles northwest of Saint Paul, and surprisingly they were enjoying +48 degree weather in the "Land of the Midnight Sun". Even their northern-most city, Barrow, which doesn't see the sun for another week or two, was sporting a positive six degrees. Jealousy doesn't even start to describe the frustrating trance I found myself stuck in as my mind wanders to a paradise where the warm breeze would soothe the skin, not thaw it.

     While the talk of the town is currently the weather, Minnesotans are looking for ways to get warm and stay warm. At about 8:15pm Saturday night with a packed house filled beyond capacity, I found the right answer to the hostile conditions. Minnesota-based Seconds Out Promotions unveiled the "Fire & Ice" card which was a perfect dub for the combined boxing/MMA event that was held at the Saint Paul Armory just blocks from Minnesota's state capitol and Excel Center, host to last September's RNC. It was perfect in the sense that the smokin' hot match-ups were exactly what the city needed to defrost, so to speak. Local prospects and names known only along the grapevines lined the roster. The rest of the boxing world may have little knowledge of these fights and fighters but the action they brought cannot go unnoticed by fans who were ringside. In essence, these were small name fighters fighting big, entertaining fights.

     Starting off the action was undefeated super bantamweight Willshaun Boxley. Boxley is ranked 19th in the country and last night's bout was an exhibition match to promote his 122 lb fight against Mayweather Sr. stable member Torrence Daniels. Boxley impressed the crowd with precision punching, lightning fast movement, and the clear ability to end the fight. The end comes with a TKO stoppage win in the third of a scheduled four round bout. We will see how he responds to experience next week. The swing should be on his side since Daniels has lost to all fighters he's faced with above .500 records.

     Heavyweight prospect Joey Abell (20-4 19KO), aka the "Minnesota Ice", has been losing steam in 2008. A once-promising 2009 now looks to be only a rebounding year for the 6'4" southpaw. What better way to bounce back than to completely out-gun and out-class his feeble-record-holding opponent in the opening round. Derek Amos (15-26 9KO) truly didn't stand a chance. This was more of a showcase rather than a fight. Judging from the stat comparison it looked like Abell and company were looking to realign their route to superstardom after a series of losses derailed them. Amos had already inked another fight against a rising prospect out of Kenya before he even stepped into the ring with Abell. This is how far past the fight he was looking. Never-the-less, a good journeyman is vital in the world of boxing. It is widely known here that a fruit or vegetable can freeze and become so hard that it can double for a hammer. Amos, unfortunately, was already in the coffin when the "Minnesota Ice" nailed it shut using said 'hammer'. Abell floored Amos for the count 2 minutes in. The "Minnesota Ice" moves to 21-4 with 20KO's.