Toughman tourney to determine toughest fighters

By KEVIN JAKAHI

Tribune-Herald sports writer

The Toughman Hawaii kickboxing tournament is saving its best for last — a survival of the fittest or, in relative terms, a best chin test that has promoter Wally Carvalho Jr. sounding somewhat like Charles Darwin.

The Toughman’s season finale will feature the hometown’s finest against some good, tough lads from Oahu’s rugged coast of Waianae, where fighters grow tall and strong from kicking and boxing against coconut trees.

In one of the headline bouts, Hilo’s own Riquo Abadilla, undefeated in Toughman, will test his mettle and the strength of his chin and coconut against the hard-hitting thunder of Chad Pavao, formerly of Hilo and now residing on the Leeward coastline.

The golden carrot on the stick for each is the Toughman 130-pound junior lightweight title — a belt if Darwin (1839-82) were still alive as a ring announcer would certainly proclaim, “Art thou, no man of steel jaw and grand survival shall be deemed a more compensated Toughman than you, good sir.”

With the territorial rights neutralized, the old plotline of protagonist and antagonist goes out the window; there will likely be cheers, roars and groans all around when either fighter plucks the other or gives as good as he gets.

Late in the afternoon in his cabin near the seashore, Carvalho was drawing up his 20-card lineup of throwing pairs of fighting fish into the same Hilo Civic bowl, all the while salivating at the intriguing matchups.

When motivated by the anticipation of a potential packed house witnessing entertaining fighting carnage of epic local proportions, Carvalho turns to his trademark “No doubt” tagline to punctuate his sentiments, a natural byproduct of sheer fulfillment — like a burp after a good meal and a swig of beer.

“Riquo is an outstanding kickboxer, very fast and very elusive. He moves around very well and throws great combinations,” he said. “He’s 4-0 in Toughman. He’s an all-around outstanding kickboxer, no doubt.”

The dubious yet ingenious job of any promoter worth his weight in tokens is to drum up interest in the other guy, too, even if he is expected to take a beating, tomato-can or coconut-cracking style; by all accounts from the Toughman promoter Pavao won’t be subject to either.

Quite the opposite. And should Pavao require a boost in morale support he’ll be well received in such manner from the good folks of his family tree.

“This kid’s phenomenal in fighting and kickboxing. He’s been in martial arts his whole life,” Carvalho said. “His family is from here. He’ll have a lot of family coming to watch him fight. He’s won several kickboxing championships on Oahu. He comes from the West Oahu MMA club, where Yancy Medeiros of Strikeforce trains at. His coach is ‘Big’ Doug Amaral.

“Chad and Riquo do the same, both kickboxing and MMA (mixed martial arts). They’ve both won titles and are better kickboxers. This fight will definitely prove who’s the better stand-up fighter. That’s their expertise. We’ll see who survives and I guarantee it’s going to be banging, no doubt.”

Another bumping of the noggins to keep an eye on is the engagement between Kona’s Dillon Fillekes and Waianae’s Arnold Berndon, who throws two-inch nails into his breakfast bowl of Wheaties to increase his iron chin.

The two are climbing the mountain for the Toughman’s 160-pound welterweight division’s No. 1 seed. It’s a vacant title. The winner kicks the loser to the curb.

“Arnold grew up in Hilo and he’s another kickboxing champion. He’s very elusive, moves well, punches very hard and is very energetic, like the Energizer Bunny,” said Carvalho, who had an equal amount of confetti for his opponent. “Fillekes trains at Average Joes in Kona. He’s a straight brawler. He’s comes straight forward. There’s no reverse. He’s a muscle-bound haole kid. He can just bang. I’m expecting nothing but fireworks between the two, no doubt.”

Tyler Leopoldino, another celebrated island son, will venture into new territory to measure his toughness, fighting for a top ranking in the 140-pound lightweight division.

His last appearance at the Toughman in May was a prosperous one. Leopoldino scored a second-round knockout over Waianae’s Theodore Brown, securing the 120-pound flyweight belt and ensuring the prized possession remains on the Orchid Isle, at least until the next challenger comes knocking on his door.

His title won’t be on the line against Nikolai Parks, someone Carvalho details as a hungry young gun.

“Both are from the Puna side,” he said. “Parks is a banger. That fight will draw a lot of attention. They’re two upcoming athletes. They’re trying to make a name for themselves.

“But there can only be one highlander. One guy moves forward. Both are equal on the scale of fighting. Nikolai hasn’t had as many fights. But he’s a very talented fighter. Both are coming up the ladder. One will be better than the other. It’ll be a great fight for the crowd to see, no doubt.”

In the ring of survival, the referee raises one fighter’s hand. The winner gets the glory; the loser in Toughman receives a medal, at the very least. Carvalho buys medals for both winners and losers at all his events. He buys trophies, too.

His last two Toughman events didn’t draw very well. A promoter who spends money to make sure everyone goes home with something can only survive for so long. The fight promotion business in Hilo has taken a beating.

But to spark interest, Carvalho is bringing in former MMA fighter Frank “Twinkle Toes” Trigg, who fought in the UFC and Pride, for an autograph session. He’ll also stick around and give a pep talk at the local fight schools.

Trigg is an old friend of Carvalho, a former fighter with a pretty tough chin. He’s got thick arms and a square jaw. But the Toughman promoter’s best feature is his big heart.

“When I started this I made a commitment to the kids. They’ve been training from Day One. Some have won belts and that gives them a reason to go to their schools to keep training,” Carvalho said. “Even if they lose, they go home with a medal or they’ve got a chance to get a trophy for best fight of the night. I post the stuff all over the Web, in India, too. I’m trying to get the kids exposure. I just do it for the kids.”