Slade, Aiken wow Trench Warz crowd

(First of three-part series)

lade “Rage” Adelbai was without an opponent for the main event of Trench Warz III: Commotion.

Just when it seemed the Palauan phenom was not going to hit the cage, football star Charleston Aiken, who was on hand to watch the event, responded to a call for an opponent and the two rocked “The Trench” that put an exclamation point to the conclusion of the event Saturday night at the Trench Tech Purebred Saipan Gym.

Adelbai was originally scheduled to fight 270-lb Ton “Xcalibur” Nekaifes, however, Nekaifes was not able to see action due to reasons beyond the control of fight organizers.

“I definitely didn’t want to disappoint the fans. Majority [of them] were there to see the main event. When I got the bad news right before we opened the doors, I didn’t want to make everybody mad,” event coordinator Cuki Alvarez said.

After the 10th fight of the night, Alvarez announced the news to the jam-packed crowd and called for anyone over 200 lbs to step up.

“When I looked for a last-minute replacement, it totally worked,” he said. “I got the answer within five minutes. This guy [Aiken] stepped up to the plate. I briefly went over fight contract and fight rules, and I asked him, ‘you understand what you’re getting yourself into’ and he said ‘yes I do.’ [And] He went in there and started banging and put on a good show.”

And a good show it was, as Aiken did not disappoint, fighting Adelbai for two rounds before Adelbai was able to win.

Adelbai was the aggressor at the start of the first round, using his wrestling skills to take Aiken to the mat. Adelbai was able to land a flurry of punches, but Aiken remained patient and was able to work the fight back off the mat. Adelbai again forced the battle to the ground just before the end of the five-minute stanza.

The start of the second round electrified the crowd as both Adelbai and Aiken came out punching.

As the fight progressed, Aiken got the crowd on its feet as he worked Adelbai down and landed a bunch of punches.

The veteran Adelbai, however, recovered, turned the fight around, and swung favor to his corner. While on the mat, Adelbai muscled his way to the back of Aiken and began to punch his way to victory as the referee stepped in and stopped the bout.

The win improved Adelbai’s record to 3-0 in amateur fights.

Despite the loss, Aiken walked out a champion as the fans recognized him for his effort, especially since he took the fight just minutes before.

“In this game, anything can happen, so you have to expect the unexpected,” Alvarez said. “He [Aiken] earned a lot of popularity points, he earned a lot of respect from people, and you know what, even the guys from Fury Guam were freaking out ‘who is this guy that just stepped up to the plate out of left field.’ He’s tough to go two rounds with Slade and it wasn’t a walkover.”

Alvarez even went as far as saying he is interested in signing Aiken up for future fights.

“Absolutely. I got his number and everything so I’m going to sign this guy up again,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kelvin “The Big Hit” Fitial earned his first win as he defeated Luka Tapuaialupe in a very entertaining semi main event. The fight was pretty even, with Luka getting a fair share of the spotlight, however, in the end, Fitial’s experience persevered and he was able to pull off the win.