HERALD photo/Rich Muller George "The Terminator" Lindberger lands a had shot to Jeff Yeoman.

AKRON -- A seventh-round TKO by local super heavyweight George Linberger over Jeff Yeoman for the North American Boxing Council's Great Lakes Championship highlighted an outstanding night of boxing at the Chapparell's Social Center, March 24.

The bout was part of a six-fight card that featured five Akron area boxers and drew a good crowd for promoters F & F Berns Boxing and The Olde Harbor Inn.

Linberger, also known as "the Terminator" to area fans, was the attacker the entire fight, stalking Yeoman around the ring and using short jabs and body blows to wear down his opponent while leading in every round. On the rare occasion that Yeoman did land a punch, it had little effect on Linberger whose stern look of determination and concentration never changed. By the fourth round Yeoman seemed to have little left, but still managed to keep on his feet against the local favorite as fans began clamoring for Linberger to land a knockout blow. Linberger was hindered, though, by a torn bicep he suffered in the first round.

"The torn bicep totally took away my hook, and I thought he was open to it most of the fight," Linberger said. "I never felt I caught him clean."

The fans got their wish though in the seventh as Yeoman hit the canvas shortly into the round following a hard right hand body shot. Yeoman got up only to be decked again by a body shot by the Terminator. Finally, after being knocked down for a third time and with 1:43 left in the round, Yeoman slumped against the ring ropes for the final time in resignation, too battered and worn out to continue.

HERALD photo/Rich Muller George "The Terminator" Lindberger scores the technical knockout on opponent Jeff Yeoman during their title match.

"I think the body shot crippled him," Linberger said, "and I was going to keep going back to the same spot. It was good to get out of there with a win. And I was kind of glad to get the rounds in since I haven't fought since the no-contest in Louisville. It was good to get some of the rust off."

The fight was a make-or-break one for the 36-year-old Linberger as a loss would have severely hampered any hopes for national prominence.

"It was a win against a guy with a good record (18-2), for a good organization and for a decent title," Linberger said. "To be considered for bigger fights I definitely had to win."

What's next for the Terminator?

"The team is going to get together this week after I go to the doctor," Linberger said. "Fred Berns will be promoting me now and I'll definitely be fighting in Akron again this summer and I hope to get a fight, maybe in Indianapolis or Chicago, before that."

The opening fight of the night pitted heavyweight Otis Mills of Cleveland against Darren Reese of Anderson Indiana. After both fighters traded punches the first two rounds with Mills, having a slight edge, the crowd began to smell a kill in the third after a right uppercut by the Clevelander bloodied the nose of Reese. Mills stayed on his feet though until early in the fourth round when he took a big swing at Reese and missed only to be knocked out by Mills counter punch. Gives Mills a 2-0 record with both victories coming by way of knockout in the early stages of his professional career.

In a cruiserweight match-up featuring Dannon Svab of Akron against Terrance Taylor of Indianapolis, Svab overcame what appeared to be a big reach advantage by Taylor. A series of combinations by Svab while delivering some solid body blows led to the Hoosier going down for the count 1:41 into the second round.

In a heavyweight battle scheduled for six rounds Akron's Colin Rogers scored a TKO win over Cincinnati's Videl Middlebrook. Rogers looked to be in trouble early with Middlebrook taking the first two rounds knocking Rogers down twice, nearly through the ropes the second time. Rogers began to show signs of life in the third, knocking down Middlebrook early in the round. Rogers, who stayed low through the first two rounds, began to fight standing higher and began to score with a hard jab to the face and some hard body blows. Rogers was bleeding from his nose in the fourth but still was landing solid shots to Middlebrook's mid-section, and knocked the Queen City heavyweight down again as the bell rang to end the round. Rogers continued to take the fight to Middlebrook in the fifth, using a hard right to end the fight by TKO just 55 seconds into the round.

The fourth fight of the night featured a pair of middleweights making their professional debut as Shannon Sharp of Akron took on Cleveland's Bill Brown. Both fighters entertained the fans with their youthful enthusiasm fueled by the adrenaline rush of getting paid to fight for the first time. The fight would go the distance with Brown winning a unanimous 39-37, 40-36, 39-37 decision.

In the final bout of the evening, a four round super heavyweight match, Akron's Joe McCall and Cleveland' s Dan Jamber fought to a draw.