This past weekend Danny Vaz da Costa won the 2017 Chicago Lightweight WBC Amateur Tournament and brought home a beautiful belt.
A week before the tournament started Danny fought Ryan Hamel in the main event of a show in Wheaton, IL. Hamel had requested a rematch after he lost their August 31th bout by disqualification. Danny boxed and moved well in the first round, but had a point taken off in the second for holding. In the third round Danny landed lots of punches, including a massive overhand right (see photo) and ended strong. It was good preparation for the tournament. Danny won by split decision.
On the first day of the “Green and Gold” WBC tourney his opponent was Danny Gomez, whom he had defeated twice earlier this year. Vaz da Costa scored often in all three rounds and won yet again by unanimous decision. Gomez landed fewer punches but swung hard, a style that will serve him well when the southpaw turns pro in 2018.
The lightweight final bout was against Marcellus Campbell, a boxer Danny had beat up in sparring recently. Campbell came out strong, as expected, hoping to catch Danny early with a big punch. That did not happen, but Danny clearly lost round 1. In round 2 Danny broke his opponent and gave him an eight-count. In the last round Danny landed clean left hooks, sharp uppercuts and nasty right hands. I thought the fight should have been stopped by the ref. Danny won by split decision, probably due to a point taken off for lowering his head in the second round.
Getting the WBC belt was a great way to end 2017, a year in which Danny learned a lot. I can’t wait to see what he’ll accomplish in 2018.