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kenyan_cheena · 03-17-2005, 06:41 AM

SPECTACULAR IN STUTTGART:
SCHMELING DEBUTS WITH DECISIVE VICTORY

Wednesday 30 January 2002

On Friday, the 23rd of November 2001, the life of a 19 year-old German named Max Schmeling changed forever.

That was the day on which the Heavyweight Boxing Federation announced the seedings for their World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments. Schmeling already knew that he had qualified for the World Championship tournament, but when he found out that he had been made the 10th seed, he was simply overjoyed. Not only was Schmeling the highest seeded German in the tournament, he was also the highest seeded European, and one of only three fighters born outside of the United States in the top ten.

The news reached his homeland quickly, and within days the Brandenburg-born Schmeling was the pride of Germany. Within a week of his return, he had met with the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and was being talked about as the nation's "next Michael Schumacher".

It was quite a wild ride for a 19 year-old whose early life had been a struggle, to say the least. But Schmeling took those crazy late-November/early-December days in his stride, not allowing the out-of-control adoration to go to his head. He knuckled down and started training. With the public's appetite for Schmeling insatiable, extended highlights of his training sessions were shown on the evening news bulletins all over Germany.

"Schmelingmania" went into overdrive when the HBF announced that the first fight card for Schmeling's tournament group, Group Ten, would be held at the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart. The situation was identical to that of the tournament's #6 seed, Australia's Peter Jackson. Jackson's debut bout was also held in his home country. As was the case in Australia, tickets for the Stuttgart card were snapped up in no time.

Well, Max Schmeling made his first appearance in the HBF's World Championship tournament tonight, and without a doubt, he showed that he should be considered amongst the favourites for the championship. The Brandenburg man put on a brutal display against the terribly-outclassed 21 year-old George Johnson of Oklahoma City. Schmeling landed 199 punches to just 61, sending the American to the canvas twice during the final minute of the fight and taking the unanimous decision, 60-52, 60-53, 60-52. Schmeling was simply merciless. He did not give Johnson a moment's rest during the whole fight, did not show a contentment to cruise through any of the rounds as a number of other top contenders for this championship have done in their debuts. Schmeling just did not give George Johnson the slightest sniff of victory.

It really does look like the German people have a new hero to cheer for, and it will be fascinating to watch this mild-mannered, humble young man as he proceeds through the HBF's World Championship tournament...

THE UNDERCARD

Opening Bout

19 year-old Washington, DC native Natie Brown could only shake his head in disbelief after his bout with Chicago's Bob Satterfield. Firstly, let me say that Brown did not lose the fight. The 10th seed in the HBF's 1st Defense tournament did, in fact, put on a tremendously dominant display against Satterfield, landing twice as many punches as his opponent. No, what astonished Natie Brown was the fact that ALL THREE judges felt that Satterfield was much closer to winning the bout than 95% of the people who saw the fight would have thought. Brown took a split decision, 58-57, 57-58, 58-56. Despite the victory, he left the ring with a foul taste in his mouth.

Preliminary 1

Doug Jones of New York scored an easy unanimous decision victory over his extremely limited opponent, Manny Burgo of North Shields, England in a 1st Defense tournament bout. 21 year-old Jones is the 7th seed, and, like others before him, showed that it would be unwise to simply pencil Rocky Marciano's name in as the eventual winner of this tournament. Jones knocked Burgo to the canvas in the 3rd and 6th rounds on the way to a 60-52 verdict on all three cards.

Preliminary 2

In perhaps the most unimpressive bout seen so far in either of the HBF tournaments, 19 year-old Italian-born Philadelphian Joe Grim took a split decision victory over Randall Cobb of Orange, Texas. The fight only really came to life during the final two rounds, with Cobb tasting the canvas in the 5th and Grim doing the same in the 6th. Grim took the decision, 58-54, 56-57, 58-54.

Support Bout

New Jersey's Steve Hamas defeated Portland's Thad Spencer by unanimous decision. In a bout that was closer than the scorecards indicated, Hamas prevailed, 59-55 (twice), 58-56.

Co-Feature

21 year-old Pittsburgh terror Frank Moran administered a fierce beating upon Chicago's Floyd Cummings, landing a combined 96 punches during the 4th and 5th rounds. The referee called a halt to the bout at the 2:42 mark of the 5th round with Cummings bleeding, battered and helpless in the aftermath of being knocked down 40 seconds earlier. This was an eye-opening performance from Moran, the 23rd seed in the World Championship tournament. He displayed a real killer instinct, aswell as hitting power that had not been so obvious during the October auditions. Like a number of the other group's "2nd seeds", Moran showed that he will be quite a challenge for Group Ten's top dog, Max Schmeling...

03-17-2005, 06:41 AM	#107 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,316	SPECTACULAR IN STUTTGART: SCHMELING DEBUTS WITH DECISIVE VICTORY Wednesday 30 January 2002 On Friday, the 23rd of November 2001, the life of a 19 year-old German named Max Schmeling changed forever. That was the day on which the Heavyweight Boxing Federation announced the seedings for their World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments. Schmeling already knew that he had qualified for the World Championship tournament, but when he found out that he had been made the 10th seed, he was simply overjoyed. Not only was Schmeling the highest seeded German in the tournament, he was also the highest seeded European, and one of only three fighters born outside of the United States in the top ten. The news reached his homeland quickly, and within days the Brandenburg-born Schmeling was the pride of Germany. Within a week of his return, he had met with the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, and was being talked about as the nation's "next Michael Schumacher". It was quite a wild ride for a 19 year-old whose early life had been a struggle, to say the least. But Schmeling took those crazy late-November/early-December days in his stride, not allowing the out-of-control adoration to go to his head. He knuckled down and started training. With the public's appetite for Schmeling insatiable, extended highlights of his training sessions were shown on the evening news bulletins all over Germany. "Schmelingmania" went into overdrive when the HBF announced that the first fight card for Schmeling's tournament group, Group Ten, would be held at the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Halle in Stuttgart. The situation was identical to that of the tournament's #6 seed, Australia's Peter Jackson. Jackson's debut bout was also held in his home country. As was the case in Australia, tickets for the Stuttgart card were snapped up in no time. Well, Max Schmeling made his first appearance in the HBF's World Championship tournament tonight, and without a doubt, he showed that he should be considered amongst the favourites for the championship. The Brandenburg man put on a brutal display against the terribly-outclassed 21 year-old George Johnson of Oklahoma City. Schmeling landed 199 punches to just 61, sending the American to the canvas twice during the final minute of the fight and taking the unanimous decision, 60-52, 60-53, 60-52. Schmeling was simply merciless. He did not give Johnson a moment's rest during the whole fight, did not show a contentment to cruise through any of the rounds as a number of other top contenders for this championship have done in their debuts. Schmeling just did not give George Johnson the slightest sniff of victory. It really does look like the German people have a new hero to cheer for, and it will be fascinating to watch this mild-mannered, humble young man as he proceeds through the HBF's World Championship tournament... THE UNDERCARD Opening Bout 19 year-old Washington, DC native Natie Brown could only shake his head in disbelief after his bout with Chicago's Bob Satterfield. Firstly, let me say that Brown did not lose the fight. The 10th seed in the HBF's 1st Defense tournament did, in fact, put on a tremendously dominant display against Satterfield, landing twice as many punches as his opponent. No, what astonished Natie Brown was the fact that ALL THREE judges felt that Satterfield was much closer to winning the bout than 95% of the people who saw the fight would have thought. Brown took a split decision, 58-57, 57-58, 58-56. Despite the victory, he left the ring with a foul taste in his mouth. Preliminary 1 Doug Jones of New York scored an easy unanimous decision victory over his extremely limited opponent, Manny Burgo of North Shields, England in a 1st Defense tournament bout. 21 year-old Jones is the 7th seed, and, like others before him, showed that it would be unwise to simply pencil Rocky Marciano's name in as the eventual winner of this tournament. Jones knocked Burgo to the canvas in the 3rd and 6th rounds on the way to a 60-52 verdict on all three cards. Preliminary 2 In perhaps the most unimpressive bout seen so far in either of the HBF tournaments, 19 year-old Italian-born Philadelphian Joe Grim took a split decision victory over Randall Cobb of Orange, Texas. The fight only really came to life during the final two rounds, with Cobb tasting the canvas in the 5th and Grim doing the same in the 6th. Grim took the decision, 58-54, 56-57, 58-54. Support Bout New Jersey's Steve Hamas defeated Portland's Thad Spencer by unanimous decision. In a bout that was closer than the scorecards indicated, Hamas prevailed, 59-55 (twice), 58-56. Co-Feature 21 year-old Pittsburgh terror Frank Moran administered a fierce beating upon Chicago's Floyd Cummings, landing a combined 96 punches during the 4th and 5th rounds. The referee called a halt to the bout at the 2:42 mark of the 5th round with Cummings bleeding, battered and helpless in the aftermath of being knocked down 40 seconds earlier. This was an eye-opening performance from Moran, the 23rd seed in the World Championship tournament. He displayed a real killer instinct, aswell as hitting power that had not been so obvious during the October auditions. Like a number of the other group's "2nd seeds", Moran showed that he will be quite a challenge for Group Ten's top dog, Max Schmeling... Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 04-29-2005 at 06:34 PM.