First Punch: Still Undefeated and First Time Winners

Jeremiah Artacho | TBL Writer

The Houston Hitmen were finally winners on Sunday, May 3. Head coach Brian Caldwell’s decision to bring on four new fighters for the contest served the team well en route to a 14-13 victory against the Dallas Enforcers. These are the kind of in-season adjustments that help make a difference. And now, Houston sits at the same record as the NYC Attitude (currently sitting at No. 11 in the standings), the season three MegaBrawl champions, of 1-3. 

Who would’ve expected that going into week seven? 

Not me, that’s for sure. 

Now, Houston knows what it feels like to win. Could we see them rise in the rankings? Besides the Miami Assassins and the Philadelphia Smoke (I’ll get to them in a moment) posing as the two undefeated teams, the cutoff mark for a playoff spot is not too far for Houston. The Nashville Smash and the Atlanta Attack are near the eighth spot, right behind the Los Angeles Elite. Still, after six weeks, only four of the 12 teams in the league have at least two wins — the rest are rolling with a losing record. 

The rise of Zae Farr, a super welterweight fighter for Caldwell, holds a record of 5-0 with a +7 in net points, along with sitting at the top of his weight class — ahead of Atlanta Attack’s Amin Mitcheel and Boston Butchers’ Jahyae Brown, according to TBL Stats. Farr has been a difference maker since his first bout on March 22 against San Antonio Snipers’ Jarvis Shepard, since then he has won bouts against Destyne Butler and Emmanuel Calhoune. 

Alright, now for those still undefeated. 

Assassins and Smoke are tough to beat. Miami’s Yosdiel Napoles in the lightweight class, and standing as the league’s best pound-for-pound fighter with a 6-0 record has a +11 net. Right behind Napoles, in the overall standings, is Smoke’s Stacia Suttles — also 6-0 with a +10 net in the super lightweight class. 

They are, to say the least, hard to beat. 

Napoles has earned at least two or more points in three of six bouts, while Suttles has done so in two of six bouts. 

When you have fighters like them on your team, it’ll be hard to lose. However, with the concept of Team Boxing League — the roster up and down for head coaches Herman Caicedo of Miami and Bob Kane of Philadelphia explain why the two have yet to lose. From light heavyweight Jesse Hart, featherweight Rasheen Brown and undefeated Shakilya Ellis, also in the featherweight division for Smoke to middleweight Jeonvanny Estela, featherweight Victor Abreu and light heavyweight Isaac Carbonell for Assassins — the best boxers of the league are on these two rosters alone.

That’s why Sunday, May 17 is going to be elite.

It’s going to be exciting. 

The crowd will be electric. 

TBL fans, whether in person or online watching on MSG Networks or YouTube, will be a show. 

The crowd between the NYC Attitude and Philadelphia Smoke this past Saturday, May 2 was, in my opinion, the best I’ve experienced so far. The loudness and intensity of both respective fanbases was as if I was inside Madison Square Garden watching the current NBA Playoff series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the New York Knicks.

Okay, maybe not that large, but the love for the teams was evident. It was great. 

Assassins, Smoke and Hitmen had a successful week six. 

Week seven will feature the Phoenix Fury taking on the Las Vegas Hustle, the Boston Butchers against the Miami Assassins then to close out the Atlanta Attack welcomes the Philadelphia Smoke to try and disrupt their winning ways.

This is First Punch. 

I’m signing out. I’ll see y’all next week.