[kenyan_cheena]

UNDERCARD ACTION
LEDYARD, CONNECTICUT FIGHT CARD

Opener

21 year-old Ohio native Amos Johnson (14th seed in the 1st Defense tournament) seemed to have put on a pretty dominant display against Australia's Bill Lang, outlanding him 140-87. But in the end, Johnson only took a slim majority decision, 58-56, 57-57, 58-57. Johnson thoroughly outboxed Lang in all but the 2nd and 5th rounds, and was quite puzzled by the closeness of the result. He didn't let it bother him too much, though, happy enough that he had won the fight.

Prelim 1

Florida's Oliver McCall has been in a bad mood since November, when he found out that he had not been selected to take part in the World Championship tournament. He saw his omission as a personal insult, and has said that his opponents during the 1st Defense tournament will be the ones to pay for the wrong done to him by the HBF. McCall is the #3 seed in the 1st Defense tournament and he entered the ring intent on finishing off his Boston-born opponent King Solomon early. McCall got more than he bargained for, though. He struggled in the opening round, but then came out firing in the 2nd, knocking Solomon through the ropes but failing to follow up. The 3rd and 4th rounds were even and action-packed, and McCall found himself shaking his head in frustration as he returned to his corner after round four. It only got worse in the 5th, with the Massachusetts man peppering McCall with a series of precise combinations. Going into the final round McCall had a two point lead on two cards, with the third scoring it a draw. The man from Fort Lauderdale came out with bad intentions for the final round and produced perhaps the most impressive knockout seen so far in HBF competition. 1:08 into the round, a crippling right hand scrambled Solomon's senses and his knee almost touched the canvas. He staggered forward and into the path of a single, killer uppercut. Solomon fell forward to the canvas and was counted out at the 1:22 mark of the final round. McCall stalked around the ring, an intense anger showing in his eyes. I wouldn't want to be his next opponent, because Oliver McCall looks to be on a mission...

Prelim 2

18 year-old Californian Charles Horn seemed to be staring defeat in the face when he came out and crippled his New York opponent Billy Daniels with a single shot to the ribs 37 seconds into round five. Daniels could not get up and was counted out. It was a minor upset, with Horn the 70th seed and Daniels the 54th seed in the World Championship tournament.

Support Bout

In a more obvious upset (acording to the seedings) than the previous bout between Horn and Daniels, #86 seed Ron Stander of Nebraska put up a really gutsy effort to take a unanimous decision (58-57 on all three cards) against the #38 seed, Clarence Henry of Los Angeles. In an entertaining, hard-fought battle, the two combatants combined to throw 702 punches. Without a doubt, during the October auditions, Henry was held in some regard. He is a strong young man, but Ron Stander really showed the value of determination and heart in this excellent bout.

Co-Feature

#22 seed Johnny Summerlin (28 years old, from Detroit) simply beat up his overmatched opponent, #102 seed Mike DeJohn of Syracuse, New York. Summerlin landed almost three times as many punches as DeJohn (185 to 64) and knocked him down on three occasions (once in the first, twice in the fourth) before taking a dominant unanimous decision, 59-52 (twice), 58-53. Summerlin showed some impressive skills, including a right cross that tormented DeJohn throughout the fight. It will be one helluva fight when Summerlin and Jeannette climb in the ring in a few months time.