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R.I.P. Beau Williford, ‘Mr. Boxing’ in Louisiana’s Cajun Country

Beau Williford, an icon of boxing in Louisiana’s Cajun Country, died Wednesday, July 31, at the age of 69 (some sources say 72). Williford, who spent his final few days in hospice care, had recently been diagnosed with lung cancer and renal disease.
Beau Williford, born Mabon Leslie Williford Jr in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was a jack of all trades; a trainer, a cut man, a gym operator, a matchmaker, a manager, a promoter – you name it. He was a throwback to the days when there were low-budget shows across a wide swath of the country and grassroots promoters were identified by their territory.
Williford’s territory was Acadiana, the name given to that part of Louisiana (comprising roughly a third of the state’s 66 parishes) where many of the residents are descendants of French-speaking exiles from Canada’s Maritime Provinces. From his base in Lafayette, the unofficial capital of Acadiana, Williford promoted shows up and down the Gulf Coast.
In 1979, Williford moved to Lafayette to work in the oil industry. Three years later, he opened the Ragin’ Cajun Boxing Club. Before that, he was a boxer, a good amateur who once sparred with Muhammad Ali and a professional opponent for the likes of former world title challenger Ron Stander and Olympic silver medalist Mircea Simon. He was 4-4 in documented fights as a pro and likely engaged in several more.
Promoters operating in the boondocks find it useful to festoon their top fighters with manufactured titles and Williford wasn’t immune to this practice. Randy Williams, a fighter he co-promoted, was garbed with the Universal Boxing Association Pan American 154-pound title.
For a time, Williford trained and managed perennial heavyweight contender James “Quick” Tillis. In May of 1986, Williford brought Tillis to Glens Falls, New York, to fight Mike Tyson who had knocked out all 18 of his previous opponents. Tillis lost a unanimous decision but achieved a moral victory by lasting the full 10-round distance. In fact, take away the knockdown that Tyson scored in round four (Tillis was winning the round) and Tillis may have gotten a draw. Two judges had it 6-4 (the bout was scored on rounds, not points); the other 8-2.
Tillis was from Tulsa, Oklahoma, but most of the fighters that Williford nurtured were found in his own backyard. Three in particular warrant mention.
Jason Papillion won several regional titles, went 12 rounds with tough Paul Vaden, and later fought Winky Wright for a version of the world super welterweight title. Chad Broussard finished his career with a record of 56-5 with 40 knockouts.
In truth, Broussard was nowhere near as good as his record but the opposite was true for Deirdre Gogarty (pictured on the right with Williford in a 2015 Advocate file photo) whose final pro mark of 16-5-2 vastly underestimates her level of skill.
Born and raised in Ireland, Gogarty had two pro fights under her belt when Ireland passed a law, since rescinded, which prohibited women from engaging in prize fights. Although she had a good career going as a commercial artist, she was smitten with boxing and moved to the United States in hopes of continuing her career. She turned up in Lafayette where she induced Beau Williford to take her under his wing.
Gogarty came up short in her signature fight, a robust 6-round affair with Christy Martin that was on the undercard of a show at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas headlined by the rematch between Mike Tyson and Frank Bruno. Gogarty vs. Martin was included as part of the PPV telecast, the second-most-watched card in pay-per-view history up to that time.
It would be no exaggeration to say that Gogarty’s fight with Christy Martin stole the show. “Not only was the fight more than the typical prelim,” said Richard Hoffer in Sports Illustrated, “but it also had more action and better boxing than the main event…and there was gore to boot, all of it Martin’s.”
Gogarty, now Deirdre Gogarty-Morrison, now works as a boxing coach at the Ragin’ Cajun Boxing Club. She reflected on her late mentor in an interview with Kevin Foote of the Advocate, Louisiana’s leading newspaper: “He was one of those people that if he liked you, he’d do anything in the world for you. But if he loved you, he’d die for you. And he loved a lot of people.”
Beau Williford and his wife Teri had five sons, each of whom became a state Golden Gloves champion. Speaking to a reporter from KATC, Lafayette’s ABC affiliate, Beau’s son Christian ruminated on life in the Williford household. “He took [people in and cared for them,” he said. “We had more house guests than anybody could ever imagine.”
It had been Beau’s dream to bring the National Golden Gloves Tournament to Lafayette and he lived to see his dream fulfilled. He spearheaded the effort that brought the 2017 edition to the CajunDome, the first visit to Louisiana for a tournament that has been around for 94 years.
Services for Beau Williford are scheduled for this Saturday at Lafayette’s First Baptist Church. Visitation is from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. with the memorial service starting at 11.
It cost money to rent a locker at the Ragin’ Cajun Boxing Club but Williford wouldn’t charge a kid if he knew the kid had no money. Some of those “kids” will undoubtedly be at the service and I’m guessing that many now have kids of their own. If I were going, I would get there early to be assured of finding a seat.
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Mercito Gesta Victorious Over Jojo Diaz at the Long Beach Pyramid

LONG BEACH, CA.-Those in the know knew Mercito Gesta and Jojo Diaz would be a fight to watch and they delivered.
Gesta emerged the winner in a super lightweight clash between southpaws that saw the judges favor his busier style over Diaz’s body attack and bigger shots and win by split decision on Saturday.
Despite losing the main event because the star was overweight, Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KOs) used an outside method of tactic to edge past former world champion Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) in front of more than 5,000 fans at the Pyramid.
The speedy Gesta opened up the fight with combination punching up and down against the peek-a-boo style of Diaz. For the first two rounds the San Diego fighter overwhelmed Diaz though none of the blows were impactful.
In the third round Diaz finally began unloading his own combinations and displaying the fast hands that helped him win world titles in two divisions. Gesta seemed stunned by the blows, but his chin held up. The counter right hook was Diaz’s best weapon and snapped Gesta’s head back several times.
Gesta regained control in the fifth round after absorbing big blows from Diaz. He seemed to get angry that he was hurt and opened up with even more blows to send Diaz backpedaling.
Diaz targeted his attack to Gesta’s body and that seemed to slow down Gesta. But only for a round.
From the seventh until the 10th each fighter tried to impose their style with Gesta opening up with fast flurries and Diaz using right hooks to connect with solid shots. They continued their method of attack until the final bell. All that mattered was what the judges preferred.
After 10 rounds one judge saw Diaz the winner 97-93 but two others saw Gesta the winner 99-91, 98-92. It was a close and interesting fight.
“I was expecting nothing. I was the victor in this fight and we gave a good fight,” said Gesta. “It’s not an easy fight and Jojo gave his best.”
Diaz was surprised by the outcome but accepted the verdict.
Everything was going good. I thought I was landing good body shots,” said Diaz. “I was pretty comfortable.”
Other Bouts
Mexico’s Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Chicago’s Alex Martin (18-5, 6 KOs) with a counter right hand after dropping him earlier in the fourth round. The super lightweight fight was stopped at 1:14 of the round.
A battle between undefeated super welterweights saw Florida’s Eric Tudor (8-0, 6 KOs) emerge the winner by unanimous decision after eight rounds versus Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain.
The taller Tudor showed polished skill and was not bothered by a large cut on his forehead caused by an accidental clash of heads. He used his jab and lead rights to defuse the attacks of the quick-fisted southpaw Cato-Cain. The judges scored the fight 80-72 and 78-74 twice for Tudor.
San Diego’s Jorge Chavez (5-0, 4 KOs) needed less than one round to figure out Nicaragua’s Bryan Perez (12-17-1, 11 KOs) and send him into dreamland with a three-punch combination. No need to count as referee Ray Corona waved the fight over. Perez shot a vicious right followed by another right and then a see-you-later left hook at 3.00 of the first round of the super featherweight match.
Photo credit: Al Applerose
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Jojo Diaz’s Slump Continues; Mercito Gesta Prevails on a Split Decision

At age 30, Jojo Diaz’s career is on the skids. The 2012 U.S. Olympian, a former world title holder at 126 and 130 pounds and an interim title holder at 135, Diaz suffered his third straight loss tonight, upset by Mercito Gesta who won a split decision at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA.. The scoring was strange with Gesta winning nine of the 10 rounds on one of the cards and only three rounds on another. The tie-breaker, as it were, was a 98-92 tally for Gesta and even that didn’t capture the flavor of what was a closely-contested fight.
Originally listed as a 12-rounder, the match was reduced to 10 and that, it turned out, did Diaz no favors. However, it’s hard to feel sorry for the former Olympian as he came in overweight once again, having lost his 130-pound title on the scales in February of 2021.
Diaz also has issues outside the ropes. Best elucidated by prominent boxing writer Jake Donovan, they include a cluster of legal problems stemming from an arrest for drunk driving on Feb. 27 in the LA suburb of Claremont.
With the defeat, Diaz’s ledger declined to 32-4-1. His prior losses came at the hands of Gary Russell Jr, Devin Haney, and William Zepeda, boxers who are collectively 83-2. Mercito Gesta, a 35-year-old San Diego-based Filipino, improved to 34-3-3.
Co-Feature
Chihuahua, Mexico super lightweight Oscar Duarte has now won nine straight inside the distance after stopping 33-year-old Chicago southpaw Alex Martin in the eighth frame. Duarte, the busier fighter, had Martin on the deck twice in round eight before the fight was waived off.
Duarte improved to 25-1-1 (20). Martin, who reportedly won six national titles as an amateur and was once looked upon as a promising prospect, declined to 18-5.
Other Bouts of Note
New Golden Boy signee Eric Tudor, a 21-year-old super welterweight from Fort Lauderdale, overcame a bad laceration over his right eye, the result of an accidental clash of heads in round four, to stay unbeaten, advancing to 8-0 (6) with a hard-fought unanimous 8-round decision over Oakland’s Damoni Cato-Cain. The judges had it 80-72 and 78-74 twice. It was the first pro loss for Cato-Cain (7-1-1) who had his first five fights in Tijuana.
In the DAZN opener, lanky Hawaian lightweight Dalis Kaleiopu went the distance for the first time in his young career, improving to 4-0 (3) with a unanimous decision over 36-year-old Colombian trial horse Jonathan Perez (40-35). The scores were 60-52 across the board. There were no knockdowns, but Perez, who gave up almost six inches in height, had a point deducted for a rabbit punch and another point for deducted for holding.
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‘Big Baby’ Wins the Battle of Behemoths; TKOs ‘Big Daddy’ in 6

Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne weighed in at a career-high 277 pounds for today’s battle in Dubai with Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller, but he was the lighter man by 56 pounds. It figured that one or both would gas out if the bout lasted more than a few stanzas.
It was a war of attrition with both men looking exhausted at times, and when the end came it was Miller, at age 34 the younger man by nine years, who had his hand raised.
Browne was the busier man, but Miller, whose physique invites comparison with a rhinoceros, hardly blinked as he was tattooed with an assortment of punches. He hurt ‘Bid Daddy’ in round four, but the Aussie held his own in the next frame, perhaps even forging ahead on the cards, but only postponing the inevitable.
In round six, a succession of right hands knocked Browne on the seat of his pants. He beat the count, but another barrage from Miller impelled the referee to intervene. The official time was 2:33. It was the 21st straight win for Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs). Browne declined to 31-4 and, for his own sake, ought not fight again. All four of his losses have come inside the distance, some brutally.
The consensus of those that caught the livestream was that Floyd Mayweather Jr’s commentary was an annoying distraction that marred what was otherwise an entertaining show.
As for what’s next for “Big Baby” Miller, that’s hard to decipher as he has burned his bridges with the sport’s most powerful promoters. One possibility is Mahmoud Charr who, like Miller, has a big gap in his boxing timeline. Now 38 years old, Charr – who has a tenuous claim on a WBA world title (don’t we all?) — has reportedly taken up residence in Dubai.
Other Bouts of Note
In a 10-round cruiserweight affair, Suslan Asbarov, a 30-year-old Russian, advanced to 4-0 (1) with a hard-fought majority decision over Brandon Glanton. The judges had it 98-92, 97-93, and a more reasonable 95-95.
Asbarov was 12-9 in documented amateur fights and 1-0 in a sanctioned bare-knuckle fight, all in Moscow, entering this match. He bears watching, however, as Glanton (18-2) would be a tough out for almost anyone in his weight class. In his previous fight, at Plant City, Florida, Glanton lost a controversial decision to David Light, an undefeated Australian who challenges WBO world title-holder Lawrence Okolie at Manchester, England next week.
A 10-round super featherweight match between former world title challengers Jono Carroll and Miguel Marriaga preceded the semi-windup. Carroll, a 30-year-old Dublin southpaw, overcame a cut over his left eye suffered in the second round to win a wide unanimous decision in a fairly entertaining fight.
It was the sixth straight win for Carroll (24-2-1, 7 KOs) who elevated his game after serving as a sparring partner for Devin Haney. Marriaga, a 36-year-old Colombian, lost for the fourth time in his last five outings, declining to 30-7.
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