Linebred LLC's AFC2 was back at the Blaisdell, giving some spirited amateur brawlers a taste of the lime light. The beauty of the AFC is that it's an amateur competition with a professional flavor. Instead of throwing blows in a high school gym, the fighters get the entrance music, lights, and intro from Augie T, and center stage at the NBC.

AFC2 featured two eight man divisions and a bonus "alternates" bout as well. The fights were action packed, with many of the fighters trying to get as many punches as they could into three one minute rounds.

It was a showcase of skills at the AFC2 at the Blaisdell Center on May 23, 2002.  The 200 and under Champ was PJ Dean and the Over 200 winner was Waianae's crowd favorite Kaleo Westbrook.

Other than the occasional windmill punches (which host Augie Tulba did not hesitate to make fun of), this batch of fighters battled like a group of experienced veterans.  The excited crowd witnessed throws, spinning backfists, and pinpoint accurate devastating strikes.

The night started with a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by local singer Lehua.  A prayer followed, led by Joe Onosai  of Hawaii's Strongest Man fame.

Augie Tulba of Island Rhythm 98.5 injected his local style humor as the AFC2 host of the evening.  He pointed out the various celebrities in the crowd such as Jesus Salud and Mufi Hannemann.  Augie then introduced the first fight of the night.

AFC2 RESULTS:

Fight 1 
under 200 lbs

Jason Verdadero judges' decision over Louis Kuamoo

Fight 2
over 200 lbs

Wayne Ham judges' decision over Lovell Brown

Fight 3
under 200 lbs

Clyde Paling judges' decision over Eddie Ohia

Fight 4
over 200 lbs

Shiloh Ho TKO Rd 2 over Jon Vistante

Alternates fight:
Mike Stone dec. 3 Rd over Jake Nawahine
under 200 lbs


Fight 5
over 200 lbs

Kaleo Westbrook TKO Rd 2 over George St Germaine

Fight 6
under 200 lbs

PJ Dean KO Rd 2 over Eddie Fagelsdorf

Fight 7
over 200 lbs

Chris "Boo Boo" Kaawa over Samson Taito - fighter withdrew after 1st round

Fight 8
under 200 lbs

James Romano Judge's Decision over Bam Bam Ka`aikamanu

Semi Finals
under 200 lbs

PJ Dean Judges' Decision over Jason Verdadero

Clyde Paling Judges' Decision over James Romano

over 200 lbs

Kaleo Westbrook TKO Rd 1 over Wayne Ham

Shiloh Ho TKO over Chris Ka`awa (Round 3)

Finals
Under 200 lbs
In the fight of the night, PJ Dean matched his precision punches against the quick deliberate style of Clyde Paling. Dean and Paling, who showed obvious boxing skills in earlier matches, stung each other while trading flurries of punches. The momentum swung from fighter to fighter throughout the match, as the crowd got up to its feet and cheered. In the end, Dean won a close decision over Paling and stirred the crowd to a resounding ovation.

Over 200 lbs
Shiloh Ho was giving up almost 90 lbs to Kaleo Westbrook, so he decided to fight in close to avoid the big blows from his bigger opponent. Ho sowed a strong chin as he took some of Westbrook's hardest shots to the head and body. While Ho was able to land a fair amount of punches to the head and body, the weight and power put him in an insurmountable situation. Westbrook took Ho's best shots and then got a 2nd round knockout for the heavyweight title.  His home crowd went crazy as an entire section of spectators rose to their feet in deafening applause.  An awesome ending to an awesome night of fights.

AFC2 was all of that and then some.  The action seen here is something you will never see in a professional fight.  Diverse skills are matched in the ring, and champions are crowned and rewarded - The other competitors gain valuable experience and learn their strengths and weaknesses.  While all of this is happening, the fighters also bond together and become friends.  Can't wait for the next one.  Tune in to www.afchawaii.com regularly for more news updates about when AFC3 will be scheduled.