Reigning champ falls in Friday night fights

Angoon's Johnson surprises Juneau's "Red Baron" Tucker

By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

Twenty-two-year-old Bailey Johnson, of Angoon, shocked the packed crowd at Marlintini's Lounge Friday for the monthly Roughhouse fights. Johnson picked up an electrifying victory over 2008 Roughhouse Southeast Showdown Champion 19-year-old Aaron "The Red Baron" Tucker, of Juneau.

Johnson (1-0-0) began racking up the points early in round one, using his longer reach to tag the more-experienced Tucker (8-1-0) with lefts to the head, while dodging the champ's huge haymaker attempts. Tucker came out tough in round two but soon walked into a big left hook from Johnson, who followed with a hard left-right combination to Tucker's head. The champ was hit with a second standing eight-count.

The tables appeared to turn in round three, as Tucker sent a stunned Johnson to the mat, and a standing-eight count of his own from referee Joe Isturis, with a stinging left haymaker. Johnson was able to recover, however, sealing the win with a heavy leather left hook that brought the crowd to their feet for the underdog.

First-time-fighter Denise Bennett, 25, defeated Michelle "The Waitress" Macasaet, 23, in a split-decision fight with an edge. Bennett was randomly paired with Macasaet, who Bennett claimed damaged her car during a street fight with another girl downtown last summer. Bennett was the aggressor from the bell, but both boxers appeared gassed out by the end of round one. The fighters gasped their way through round two, but Bennett was able to pick up the win in round three because she "was looking for a payback," she said.

Nick "The Nightmare" Morgan defeated Roger "Barcode" Booth IV in the only mixed martial arts fight of the night, using the full length of the three 3-minute rounds. With one MMA win under his belt, Booth said he "studied Morgan and called him out to fight."

Booth, who took his fight name because of the barcode tattoo on his head, tried unsuccessfully to drop Morgan to the mat with repeated kicks to the knee, and the fighters spent the majority of the bout on their feet. Morgan was able to maneuver Booth into several headlock grips, but "Barcode" proved to be a good escape artist and the close bout was ultimately decided by a split decision.

Heavyweight fighter Inoke Topui, 21, defeated Hoonah's Eric Larsen, 20, whose 79-year-old grandmother showed her support by being the ring girl for the fight. Both boxers weighed in at 215 pounds for the fight. Topui went on the attack from the opening bell, but was unable to seal the win until the third round when he got Larsen pinned against the ropes and delivered a pummeling that left Larsen with a bloodied nose.

Randy Willard, 23, defeated southpaw fighter and childhood friend Shawn Guthrie, 21, in an evenly paired fight that went the three-round distance. Willard was able to take round one after using his longer reach to out-point Guthrie. The action broke even in the second, however, as both boxers gassed out. Willard's reach eventually gave him the advantage in round three again, as he picked up the win.

With a record of 2-0-0, Brian Lauth, 18, remained undefeated with his win over first-time-fighter Gabe "Reachum" Meachum, 21, after Lauth exploded from the bell and tagged the newcomer with a hard shot to the head. Meachum hung on through the first round, but the fight was called after he was issued two standing eight-counts in round two.

Al "Mean Machine" Valentine, 48, tamed James "The Beast" Roberts Jr., 23, of Klawock, in a one-sided bout that showcased Valentine's decades of fight experience. Roberts went into the bout saying his strategy was to "keep moving and try not to get knocked out." Roberts kept his head down and his arms swinging, but Valentine, standing largely with his arms at his side, took the win with his lightning-quick head tags.

Sitka's Selena Slack, 25, brought her record to 3-1-0 with her win over first-time fighter Alexa Elisof, 24, of Juneau. The first two rounds went to the more-experienced Slack, and the fight was called in round three after Slack's left hook came alive, proving too much for Elisof. Slack said her win was "all about my experience over my opponent."

Hoonah's Mitchel Zarazua, 19, defeated Yakutat's Don "Damn Yaki" Johnson, 47, in a fight featuring a considerable age difference. Johnson was hit with a standing-eight-count in round one after an inital hard flurry of hits from the younger Zarazua. Referee Isturis called the fight after the second standing eight-count was issued to Johnson in round two.

The next fight night will be Feb. 13 at Marlintini's lounge.

The Karma Krew

By Kim Andree | JUNEAU EMPIRE

After opening Taproot Yoga Center last September, Malia McInerney also was inspiried to establish a local Karma Krew, which, as part of its mantra to "Do Good Things," recently volunteered its time at Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies.

"We drank tea, shared stories, listened to holiday music, soaked our feet in Body Shop baths and sampled the wonderful products," McInerney said. "We basically enjoyed one another's company, which is what Karma Krew is all about."

According to McInerney, the goal of all Karma Krews is to participate in Simple Seva - selfless service - by doing community service projects. She said she discovered the Karma Krew idea while on a Buddhist retreat last January with her friend Scott Feinberg, one of the founders of the national group.

"It was exactly what I was looking for," McInerney said, "a template for which I could be supported and offer support through a broader vision."

To support its vision, the local crew dedicates a service every other month. Its first project was "Our Furry Friends," for which it established a drive and adopted a "pet" polar bear for the center.

"I needed to do something low key because I was consumed with opening the yoga center," McInerney said. "The decline of polar bears and their rapidly changing habitats are on everybody's mind, so this small act went to support that."

And since October centered around women's issues - Women's History Month and Women's Leadership Month - Taproot decided to hold two events to raise awareness. The first was a public yoga and pampering day held at Taproot to provide the opportunity for people to donate Body Shop products to AWARE in time for Christmas. For this, Heather Ollenburg, a local Body Shop consultant, donated her time and profits.

"All of her commission went to AWARE, and she spent the afternoon pampering the women who showed up," McInerney said. "We transformed the center into a Body Shop so people could browse items, try them out and opt to make purchases for themselves or donate products to AWARE if they wanted."

After shopping, McInerney taught a yoga class to approximately 20 people in a large circle.

The second event to celebrate women was held Dec. 14 at AWARE, for which McInerney lead AWARE women in a brief session of yoga, featuring deep breathing and gentle movement, and Courtney Nelson entertained with some basic belly dance instruction.

"We delivered all the donated products to the AWARE shelter and spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon with the women there," McInerney said. "Heather presented a portion of the products to the women who were taking up residents at AWARE that day."

According to McInerney, the estimated retail value of the donations was around $4,000.

"There were a lot of products," McInerney said. "AWARE kept most of it to distribute over time and at special events in the future."

Also at the event, healing touch practitioner Mary Pat Schilly gave AWARE women foot massages and did some foot reflexology. Ollenburg facilitated the pampering with foot baths and hand soaks, and Jodi Neil also volunteered.

McInerney said keeping in touch with other volunteers around the country has motivated her work as Juneau Krew Chief.

"Learning about the amazing impacts some of the other Krews are having helps keep me inspired and feeling good that I'm part of something so much needed in the world," she said.

McInerney also hopes Taproot's crew will continue to blossom in the future.

"The Juneau Karma Krew is a baby," she said. "It's just evolving along with Taproot Yoga, but my goal is to alternate Simple Seva and Community Service Projects every month by next year."

The crew already has several community service projects coming up. In February, they will visit Juneau Youth Services to hang out with kids and help out in various ways. In March, they will help SAGA with one of its outreach projects, and in April, they will do an environmental clean-up project for Earth Day.

"We have a few core volunteers and would like to recruit more in addition to opening up each project to anyone interested in the cause," McInerney said. "The more volunteers the better of course."

Those interested in joining the Karma Krew can contact Taproot Yoga at 523-9848 or e-mail McInerney at breathe@taproot-yoga.com. Details about specific projects can be found at www.taproot-yoga.com under the "Events" link, and details about the national Karma Krew organization can be found at www.karmakrew.org.

"Suggestions are always welcome, as are volunteers for committee organizing," McInerney said. "We are also open to collaborating with other organizations or committees. Benefactors may include nonprofits, schools, individual community members, the environment, etc. There are no limits."