Joe Webb III Fights to Majority Draw in Debut, Solid Undercard Entertains
Former NFL Quarterback Joe Webb III headlined the first professional boxing event in Birmingham, AL since Deontay Wilder fought Erica Molina at Bartow Arena in 2017, this past weekend.
There were no five-step drops on display on Saturday. However, there were plenty of five punch combinations. Webb battled Huntsville, AL native Ryan King to a majority draw inside of Bartow Arena this past weekend on August 5.
As someone who has witnessed Webb's journey into boxing first hand, from day one, it was fascinating to see Webb's awkwardness and lack of polish be replaced with skill and confidence through dedication and consistency. Though he is far from his final form, one must appreciate his humility to come from being a world class athlete, to being receptive to be taught a new sport from the ground up.
The fight between Webb and King was an entertaining one. Webb had success staying on the outside, steadily landing the jab and right hand, but King wouldn’t be discouraged and kept moving towards him all fight. In the fourth and final round, perhaps frustrated, King went to the middle of the ring and waved Webb to come meet him. Webb wouldn’t take the bait and continued to box on the outside. Afterwards, the judges would have two strategies to consider: the boxing at a distance by Webb, versus the aggression of King.
In the end, the fight would end in a majority draw with both men feeling like they had done enough to win. I asked Webb immediately following the fight how he felt and he responded “I feel good. I feel great. I feel like I won but it’s a learning experience. It is what it is.”
An experience for sure. An experience that promoter Dave Godber was pleased with. “It was a great night,” Godber told me. “The show went 20 of 30 rounds and people not only got to see big knockouts, but also some great boxing. I’m very proud of Joe but I obviously feel he can do better. Ryan (King) was a very good opponent. Maybe we’ll bring him back in December for a rematch.
Steven MotleyJr. was very impressive in his knockout victory as well. You can’t throw a right hand any better than he did. Overall it was a great night and I’m not only proud of my guys, but I'm also proud of all the fighters who came from out of town to put on a great show.”
At present no plans have materialized for a December show yet, but Godber says it is a possibility.
We'll keep you posted on what's next for Joe.
Full card of fights below:
Joe Webb vs Ryan King
Steven Motley Jr. vs Quinterious Coker
Isaiah Elrod vs Justin Stills
Ray Barlow vs Raymond Chacon
Fred Weaver vs Anthony Stewart
Myles Mizell vs Michael Lemelle
