The card at Northlands Agricom in Edmonton was titled Oktober Fight Fest yet it could just as easily have been titled Oktober Slug Fest, for all but two of the matches ended with a knockout. The main event consisted of two giants, one being 6’6 223lbs WBB (World Boxing Board) Heavy weight champion from Germany Andreas Sidon with a record of 33-8 taking on local product 6’4 246 lbs Sheldon “Prime Time” Hinton. The first round had the two heavyweights circled each other with the only punches being thrown were a few jabs. Both men seemed to be feeling each other out and waiting for the other to make a mistake. Round two had Hinton throwing hard jabs and looking as if he was getting upset with Sidon constant backpedaling. Round three was much of the same as the previous two with Sidon not wanting to get into a war with Hinton and Hinton trying to prove that he was more than just a brawler by boxing and saving his energy for the later rounds. Hinton landed a right hook that rocked Sidon and put him on the mat. Although the German was able to beat the count, he stumbled around enough for the ref to wave the fight off at 1:02 of the third round. The victory gave Hinton (11-6-1, 4 KOs) the WBB crown and the biggest victory of his career so far. Sidon, a stoppage loser in 3 of this past 4 efforts, slips to 33-9.

On the undercard, Brad Marks from Edmonton made his pro debut by dismantling Lethbridge ,AB product David McQuaker in a mere 24 seconds of the opening round, McQuaker made the mistake of trying to exchange punches instead of covering up against the ropes. A decision which earned him (McQuaker) his first loss in his second fight.

In a jr welterweight bout, Arash Usmanee (now 3-0 with 2 KOs) from Red Deer, AB danced around Edwin Perez from Mexico and landed hard punches almost at will yet what Perez lacked in skill was made up with heart. Usmanee threw everything he had at his Mexican counterpart but could not drop Perez (1-2) over the 4 rounds and had to settle for the unanimous decision of 40-36 on all three judge’s cards.

Olympian Adam Trupish from Ontario, making his pro debut, put on a boxing clinic against Mexico's Edgar Hernandez. Trupish used his superior hand speed to outbox and outpunch his opponent. After Hernandez tasted the canvas twice, his corner threw in the towel to stop the fight at 2:06 in the first round.

Former Canadian heavyweight title challenger Steve McKay 225 lbs took on fellow Ken Frank, fighting out of Lethbridge 285 lbs. This fight looked like two bulls colliding with neither man being able to budge the other. Frank (1-0-1, 1KO) appeared to have hurt his right hand with one of his last punches thrown in the fourth and final round. The hard fought battle ended in a draw with scores of 39-37 for each and one score of 38-38. McKay, fighting for the first time since 2004, moves to 5-2-2 as a pro.

Orangeville, Ontario's Logan McGuiness (now 8-0 with 4 KOs) landed punches at will and block almost everything that Mexico's Hugo Pacheco (6-10, 6 KOs) threw his way on route to a stoppage victory. With Pacheco being used as a punching bag, the scheduled six round fight ended with a big knockdown in the fourth. Pacheco went down hard and wasn't going to be able to rise before the 10 count. The referee ended matters, saving the Mexican the of hearing the full count. McGuinness looked very impressive, a fighter with a lot of talent.

If you wish to contact the author of this article, email Tom Hebert at FightNews Canada