Wednesday night’s Team Combat League quarterfinals doubleheader saw the first two teams seal their spot in the semifinals, as Manny Robles’ L.A. Elite sprinted out to a four-point lead and then held off a late surge to eliminate coach Raul Rivas’ Orlando Vipers from contention by a score of 227-224. In the other matchup, coach Marc Gargaro’s Boston Butchers successfully defended their home ring advantage with a 233-219 triumph over Sam Arnold’s Atlanta Attack, all from the Royale in Boston.
The opening matchup saw the Elite being led by the powerful fists of Most Valuable Fighter Award nominee and TCL light heavyweight Brayan Leon, who secured the night’s first star award for his flashy 10-9 win over Orlando’s Sanny Duversonne in Round 7 to put LA up 69-64 and for his devastating 10-7 knockout over Duversonne in their rematch Round 19 to cap a six-fight winning streak for LA and move the team scores to 183-175.
“I just came to do the job we’ve been doing in the gym,” said Leon, post-event. “I wanted to knock him out and the opportunity showed up, so I did it. I feel good and we’re ready for the next team.”
TCL Most Entertaining Fighter Award nominee Raul Salomon of the Elite continued his undefeated run through the league with a pair of 10-9 light heavyweight victories over Orlando’s late-season pickup Abimbola Osundairo in Rounds 15 and 21.
“We train these guys to the fullest and they come in ready for war,” said happy Coach Manny Robles. “We knew we were up against a good team, but we did it!”
The night’s main-event matchup saw the Boston Butchers win by the second largest points margin all season over their Atlanta Attack rivals, thanks to strong performances by their top fighters, including TCL Most Valuable Fighter Award nominee, lightweight Alejandro "El Abusador" Paulino, who got the ball rolling early with a 10-7 KO over Atlanta’s Nicolas Sullivan in Round 3. The impressive power display put Boston up 30-25. Paulino was later voted the night’s first star. “It was great,” said Paulino, post-event. “We have a great fanbase. That was the best for us because they beat us earlier in the season and we got it back.”
The Butchers had another bright light in the form of their gigantic heavyweight, Skylar Lacy, who was able to drop Most Valuable Fighter Award nominee heavyweight Devon Young for a brief count in Round 16 to win the round 10-8 and make the score 154-144 Boston. Young appeared to be off-balance and un-hurt in the exchange.
TCL Rookie of the Year Award nominees, welterweight Amelia Moore of the Boston Butchers and welterweight Ariele Davis of the Atlanta Attack, met again in Round 4, with Moore getting the ultra-thin nod, 10-9. The pair fought before in the 2018 USA Amateur Nationals, which Moore won. Moore also won their only TCL regular season encounter on May 11, 10-9. The rematch round scheduled between the skilful pair had to be canceled when Moore suffered a cut during her winning battle in Round 4.
“It was sweet,” said Coach Marc Gargaro afterwards. “It felt good because Atlanta won the first time we met. We were very confident that time and then the rug got swept out from under us. This time, we came in very focused and took care of business. We’re hungry, as you can see. We’re ready to take it. I can’t see anybody coming near us this season.”
