Boxing is not quite a dead sport, but it is giving ground rapidly to mixed martial arts, and the sport’s lead organization, the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).
At one time, you could view top-level boxing matchups on major networks. Those days are long gone. MMA, though, has brought its product to the masses, and good fights are regularly aired on the Spike and Versus networks (channels 52 and 49 respectively for Norwich Time-Warner subscribers).
The UFC regularly puts together solid MMA cards for television, has profiled up-and-coming fighters with its reality show, “The Ultimate Fighter,” and each fighter – almost to a fault – is a gracious and willing promoter of his sport. In the last two years, I have immersed myself in learning the sport and its combatants, researching fighters, and bringing myself up to date on the history. Late last year, New York native, Rashad Evans, won the light-heavyweight (205 pounds) title. Looking through his biography, I learned that Evans was a talented scholastic wrestler, and his biography stated that he placed in the New York State wrestling tournament while competing for Niagara Falls-Wheatfield in Section VI.
With the magic of the Internet, I looked up the old New York State tournament results. Evans is now 29, so I surmised he probably wrestled in 1997 or 1998. As it turns out, he placed fourth in the state tournament – when it was one division – both years. The first, as a junior, he competed in the 145-pound division. The next year, in 1998, he jumped to 171 pounds. It is there where I was able to make the direct link to one of the most distinguished wrestlers in Norwich High School history.
In 1998, New Hartford’s Dan Perry won the 171-pound state title. Perry eked out a 3-1 decision over Norwich’s own, Joe Downey. Downey, a junior that season, missed nearly a month of the season with a knee injury, but soon rounded into shape, and his lone defeat that year came to Perry in the state finals. Downey ran through his senior season unbeaten as well, but another knee injury the week prior to the state tourney ended his state title hopes.
The story would be a bit juicier if I could add that Downey defeated Evans. I cannot. In fact, Perry didn’t face Evans that year either. Evans was beaten by the third-place finisher that year (who eventually lost to Perry) in the second round of the tournament. Evans wrestled all the way back to the consolation finals, only to lose to the same wrestler again.
In college Evans had some success winning a junior college national title in 2000, then later wrestling for Michigan State. Around the same time, Downey began his wrestling career at the University of Buffalo. Downey qualified for the national tournament as a true freshman. He racked up a lot of wins for the Bulls over the years, but his old knee injury most likely conspired against him reaching his full potential.
