While most people are sleeping safely in their beds, Scott McCracken is running. He works a full-time job from about 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., so long after his town of Aliquippa has gone dark is the only time he gets to pound the pavement. Then he goes home to try and grab as much sleep as he can before heading into Tom Yankello’s Gym in Ambridge for three hours. After that, McCracken drives back to work, and it starts all over again. It was all part of the life that McCracken (16-6, one KO) took on to prepare for his shot at the West Virginia State Junior welterweight title Friday night at The Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va. It paid off in a big way. After almost six tough rounds with Brian “Mountain Man” Thacker (10-10, six KO) of Gallipolis, Ohio, McCracken took the belt with a TKO. McCracken was dominant throughout much of the fight and was able to out-box his older, slower opponent. Countless times during the bout, Thacker, who is known for his unusual style and appearance, lowered his head in an effort to get inside on McCracken. More often than not, McCracken was there waiting with a sharp-right uppercut. By the time the sixth round arrived, Thacker was clearly winded and McCracken took advantage. Halfway through the round, McCracken sent his opponent to the canvas for the first time with a hard right. After a second similar knockdown, the referee stopped the fight, and McCracken’s hand was raised in victory. McCracken wasn’t the only fighter from Yankello’s World Class Boxing Gym on the card at The Mountaineer. Alphonso Williams (6-1, four KO) of Pittsburgh lost his undefeated record and the right to wear the West Virginia State Junior middleweight belt to Maxwell Taylor (8-1, three KO) of Baltimore by way of a unanimous decision. Williams definitely displayed the majority of the power in the fight, but Taylor proved to be resilient and much more accurate than his opponent. In the main event, Uniontown’s Jacy Kuhn (13-1-1) peppered the more seasoned John Bailey (23-12-2, 13 KO) of New Cumberland, W.Va. for seven rounds. After that, Bailey was unable to answer the bell and Kuhn took the West Virginia State Welterweight title with a TKO. Junior lightweight Monty Meza-Clay (11-0, 6 KO) of Pittsburgh also took home a West Virginia State title with a four-round TKO over Terrence Roy (5-6, 2 KO) of Memphis, Tenn. Another Yankello fighter, Abraham “The African Assassin” Okine (12-0, six KO) of Pittsburgh, took on Billy Douglas (10-2, nine KO) of Columbus, Ohio, for the IBC heavyweight title. After controlling most of the fight against a very soft-looking Douglas, Okine captured the crown by way of a unanimous decision. In non-title action, the undefeated featherweight Verquan Kimbrough (7-0, three KO) of Aliquippa won a unanimous decision in a four-round bout over a clearly out-classed Yamin Muhammed (1-5, one KO) of Dayton, Ohio.

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