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CHAMPAIGN — After beating on each others` heads almost nonstop for three rounds, Kenny Bowman and Michael Clarkson stood side-by-side, wrapped an arm over each other`s shoulders and bowed once to the fans on all four sides of the ring.
The two were fighting for the gold medal in the 165-pound Open division at the Prairie State Games, and their postfight routine looked so
choreographed that most of the approving crowd of 100 or so onlookers inside the sweaty University of Illinois Armory figured the two were old friends.
``Never seen the guy before,`` said Bowman, who won the bout on a split decision. ``But it was such a good fight, we had to thank the fans.``
Bowman, a 20-year-old Chicagoan who represented Windy City andfights out of the Valentine Boxing Club on the South Side, got involved in the Games only after his sister, Somone, entered him into competition without his knowing. Not that he minded so much, but he had never boxed before.