Boogey Man Collects Ko, Wants Bowe

Once Thomas Williams was saved by the bell. Another round ended with Williams slumped over the ropes as the bell sounded.

Ultimately, though, nothing could save Williams from the “Boogey Man.” Or at least the Boogey Man’s right hand, which separated Williams from his senses in the eighth round.

Veteran heavyweight Jesse “The Boogey Man” Ferguson dominated Williams in the main event Thursday night before a sellout crowd of 2,100 at the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Bingo/Casino. The knockout followed the evening’s pattern as four bouts ended by knockout and another by technical knockout, keeping the ringside physician busy.

“I went a whole year one time without fighting (1989) ‘cause nobody would fight me,” Ferguson said. “No one would fight me because they are scared of me. Everybody’s scared of the Boogey Man.”

Ferguson shouldn’t have been forced to work eight rounds. By rule, a fighter can’t be saved by the bell, even though Williams was at the end of the second round.

Ferguson, 40, has fought nearly every top heavyweight in the last decade. He holds wins over James “Buster” Douglas and Ray Mercer. He lost to Mike Tyson, Bruce Seldon and Riddick Bowe.

Bowe stopped Ferguson in the second round in a ‘93 title bout. Ferguson wants a rematch.

In the other co-main event, Los Angeles’ Levi Billups floored Philadelphia’s Terrence Lewis at 2:41 of the sixth round.

Billups is a roofing contract by day and a quality boxer by night. In addition, he gives motivational speeches and works with under-privileged kids. He improved to 21-12-1 while handing Lewis his second loss against 20 wins.

“I had to win this because a lot of my kids were watching,” Billups said.

There were other reasons too.

“I needed to win to get a shot at a money fight,” he said. “You have to beat name guys to do that.”

The two were locked in a close bout until Billups landed a short right that ended Lewis’ night.

“Good shot, man,” Lewis told Billups later in a makeshift locker room.

In an entertaining match, Spokane cruiserweight Rick Welliver lost a decision to Tacoma’s Tex Miles in a four-round brawl.

Welliver did extensive damage when he had Miles backed into the ropes, but Miles landed flurries to conclude every round.

“The guy doesn’t hit hard enough to pop a zit,” said Welliver, who didn’t agree with the decision. He indicated there might be a rematch.

Spokane cruiserweight Frank Vassar used two left hooks late in the first round to dismiss Canadian Dean DeLuca. Vassar hiked his record to 7-0.

“His only losses were to pretty decent guys,” Vassar said. “It was just a matter that I got the shot I needed right away.”

So did heavyweight Danell Nickolson, who fought in the ‘92 Olympics. He TKO’d Mexico’s Marcos Gonzalez in the second.

Elsewhere, heavyweight Howard Sconiers stopped Terrance Coffin in the second round and heavyweight Dale Grant won when Michael Rush retired in the sixth round.

, DataTimes