By KEVIN JAKAHI Tribune-Herald sports writer ADVERTISING There’s all sorts of fun for fight fans to tweet about at the Toughman Hawaii Challengers, which will feature top dogs chasing steak bones. Dylan Rush and Chris Barnard will throw down for
By KEVIN JAKAHI
Tribune-Herald sports writer
There’s all sorts of fun for fight fans to tweet about at the Toughman Hawaii Challengers, which will feature top dogs chasing steak bones.
Dylan Rush and Chris Barnard will throw down for the super heavyweight title. Tyler Leopoldino will fight for Hilo’s dignity against belt-holder Theodore Brown in the flyweight championship. Riquo Abadilla, a Just Scrap champion, will battle Isreal Lovelace for the junior lightweight title.
There’s no official state rankings for local mixed marital arts fighters or kickboxers. But if there were, Toughman Hawaii promoter Wally Carvalho Jr. would stand on a soapbox with trumpet in hand for Rush, a former Stanford wrestler, as the top heavyweight.
“Dylan knocked out Chad Thomas and he knocked out a lot of other guys,” he said. “So why not? He ran through the competition in MMA. He’s definitely the best wrestler in the state.”
On the Challengers card, it’s a kickboxing affair in a boxing ring. Punishment can only be enforced on the feet. Rush will have to leave his wrestling skills in his dressing room.
“Dylan has always fought in a cage, utilizing his weight and strength to pin somebody against a cage,” Carvalho said. “That’s not going to happen this time. Barnard has a lot of technical kickboxing experience. He’ll bounce off the ropes. For that fact, it should be an interesting fight. It’s a good contrast.”
Still, in MMA or kickboxing, Rush’s fights usually end one way: an opponent flat on his back. At January’s Toughman, he delivered a third-round TKO against Jacob Smith.
On that same card, after Brown got a decision over Hilo’s Ikaika Rodrigues for the 120-pound belt, the Oahu fighter declared to the crowd, “I can beat anybody in Hilo at that weight.”
“He created a little problem for himself because everybody in Hilo wants to fight him now,” Carvalho said.
Leopoldino is first in line. Nothing like fighting for island pride to stir fan interest. He could care less about that than cracking Brown’s coconut.
“That title is definitely coming back to the Big Island and staying on the Big Island,” Leopoldino said.
He’s also coming off two good wins, a decision over Michael Kay in January, and a white-towel surrender over Kevin Villanueva last month in his MMA debut at the Unorthodox Industries Championship.
“Tyler is relentless. He’ll bring the pressure forward for the whole fight,” Carvalho said. “We’ll see how Brown fights backing up.”
Abadilla, the 125 bantamweight Just Scrap champion, can add to his title haul with a win over Lovelace, who beat Leopoldino on Oahu a while back.
In another connect-the-dots circle, Abadilla got a decision for his Just Scrap belt over Reed Akashi, who won in the recent UIC 125 tournament. The tourney winner will fight Keenin Cohen, who beat Abadilla last year at the UIC.
Confusing?
In any case, Carvalho has a simple solution to anyone’s Saturday night schedule: a bargain deal at his Challengers event.
“We put on a minimum of 20 to 25 fights. That’s less than a dollar a fight,” he said. “We cater more to the kids. We do have adult fights. We have fights for 8, 9 and 12 year olds. That feeds my fire to help kids find other avenues in life.
“This card will be filled with nonstop action. It surely will be a night you won’t soon forget.”
