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kenyan_cheena · 04-25-2005, 09:23 AM

2-0: MCVEY, TUCKER & FOLLEY
VICTORIOUS IN OSAKA

Monday 11 February 2002

Today saw the commencement of the second series of fight cards in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments.

In front of a fanatical, capacity crowd at Japan's Osaka Dome, Sam McVey, Tony Tucker and Zora Folley improved their records in the World Championship tournament to 2-0 with (at least in the case of McVey and Tucker) dominant performances, all three men winning their bouts by way of unanimous decision.

The event was the culmination of what has been labelled the HBF's "Osaka Festival". It started last Thursday with the first fight card of the South-East Asian Boxing League from the Osaka Prefectural Gym, which was headlined by a devastating first round TKO victory by Florida's Terone Haynes. Tonight, the people of Japan were once again able to show the HBF how much they love the sport of boxing.

***

Opening Bout

The evening got under way with a bout between two fighters who had both achieved victory in their HBF debuts, but each in vastly different fashion.

Minnesota's Scott LeDoux (32nd seed in the 1st Defense tournament) will always have the distinction of being the first person to win an HBF bout. Back on 7 January, he opened up the HBF's first fight card by scoring a bizarre 2nd round KO victory over Mike Schreck. In the 35 days since, LeDoux celebrated his 26th birthday, but did little else but train, keeping his focus leveled squarely on this second bout.

His opponent tonight, 21 year-old Australian Frank Slavin, had grinded out a tough majority decision victory over Stan Ward on the HBF's opening night, a result many had looked upon as somewhat of an upset (although only really because Ward was the higher seed). Slavin's performance in the fight had brought him a great deal of confidence, and the #48 seed in the 1D tournament went into his bout with Scott LeDoux feeling that he could pull out another victory.

And that's exactly what he did. In another tough contest, Frank Slavin was able to up his record to 2-0, taking a razor thin unanimous decision, 57-56 on all three cards. In an uncanny repeat of his debut, LeDoux started terribly before flooring his opponent in the 2nd round. But this time, the fight didn't end there. Slavin fought back strongly, winning rounds three, four and five on all three judge's cards. LeDoux finished gamely, but it was too little, too late. He had needed a knockdown in the final round to have any chance of victory, and it didn't happen.

Slavin could not hide his jubilation, amazed that he had managed to beat another higher seeded opponent, while LeDoux was a picture of disappointment. He realised that, after the knockdown he scored in the second round, he had let a great opportunity fall through his fingers.

Preliminary 1

Two men seeking respect and their first win in the HBF squared off in the second bout of the night.

Stan Ward of Sacramento, California clashed with Cincinnati's Mike Schreck. It was a hard-fought contest, a 1st Defense tournament bout in which the 40th seed Schreck showed a lot more stamina than in his debut bout against Scott LeDoux. Schreck was leading the bout going into round four, and it looked like Ward (the 24th seed) was on his way to a second disappointing loss. But it wasn't to be. Ward dug deep, showing what he's capable of as he dominated the second half of the bout to take a unanimous decision, 58-56 on all three cards.

"Man, I'm just so relieved," Ward said. "Going into the fourth, I told myself that I wasn't gonna let this one slip away like I did the first one. I worked hard for this win, and I'm proud of that."

Preliminary 2

The first World Championship tournament bout of the night pitted two 20 year-olds against each other.

South Africa's Johnny Arthur had featured in what most said was the bout of the night when he defeated Lem Franklin by unanimous decision in his HBF debut, while Oakland's Roger Rischer had been frustrated by the 41st seed in the tournament Zora Folley before losing on points.

On this night, the two men contested a bout that, besides the fifth round, did not really reach any great level of excitement. The final verdict was a draw, with one judge heavily favouring Arthur 59-55 any the other two scoring it 57-57.

The 57th seed in the tournament, Arthur was quite disappointed with the verdict, believing he'd done enough to improve his record to 2-0.

"I don't know how the one judge gave me the win so easily, but the other two saw it completely different," a dejected Arthur said. "I'm not happy, because this verdict will make it harder for me to progress in the tournament if I'm still in contention at the end of the first stage."

However, looking at the total punches landed, one could say that Arthur was lucky to escape with a draw, as Rischer outlanded him 131-101...

(to be continued...)

04-25-2005, 09:23 AM	#128 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,574	2-0: MCVEY, TUCKER & FOLLEY VICTORIOUS IN OSAKA Monday 11 February 2002 Today saw the commencement of the second series of fight cards in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments. In front of a fanatical, capacity crowd at Japan's Osaka Dome, Sam McVey, Tony Tucker and Zora Folley improved their records in the World Championship tournament to 2-0 with (at least in the case of McVey and Tucker) dominant performances, all three men winning their bouts by way of unanimous decision. The event was the culmination of what has been labelled the HBF's "Osaka Festival". It started last Thursday with the first fight card of the South-East Asian Boxing League from the Osaka Prefectural Gym, which was headlined by a devastating first round TKO victory by Florida's Terone Haynes. Tonight, the people of Japan were once again able to show the HBF how much they love the sport of boxing. * Opening Bout The evening got under way with a bout between two fighters who had both achieved victory in their HBF debuts, but each in vastly different fashion. Minnesota's Scott LeDoux (32nd seed in the 1st Defense tournament) will always have the distinction of being the first person to win an HBF bout. Back on 7 January, he opened up the HBF's first fight card by scoring a bizarre 2nd round KO victory over Mike Schreck. In the 35 days since, LeDoux celebrated his 26th birthday, but did little else but train, keeping his focus leveled squarely on this second bout. His opponent tonight, 21 year-old Australian Frank Slavin, had grinded out a tough majority decision victory over Stan Ward on the HBF's opening night, a result many had looked upon as somewhat of an upset (although only really because Ward was the higher seed). Slavin's performance in the fight had brought him a great deal of confidence, and the #48 seed in the 1D tournament went into his bout with Scott LeDoux feeling that he could pull out another victory. And that's exactly what he did. In another tough contest, Frank Slavin was able to up his record to 2-0, taking a razor thin unanimous decision, 57-56 on all three cards. In an uncanny repeat of his debut, LeDoux started terribly before flooring his opponent in the 2nd round. But this time, the fight didn't end there. Slavin fought back strongly, winning rounds three, four and five on all three judge's cards. LeDoux finished gamely, but it was too little, too late. He had needed a knockdown in the final round to have any chance of victory, and it didn't happen. Slavin could not hide his jubilation, amazed that he had managed to beat another higher seeded opponent, while LeDoux was a picture of disappointment. He realised that, after the knockdown he scored in the second round, he had let a great opportunity fall through his fingers. Preliminary 1 Two men seeking respect and their first win in the HBF squared off in the second bout of the night. Stan Ward of Sacramento, California clashed with Cincinnati's Mike Schreck. It was a hard-fought contest, a 1st Defense tournament bout in which the 40th seed Schreck showed a lot more stamina than in his debut bout against Scott LeDoux. Schreck was leading the bout going into round four, and it looked like Ward (the 24th seed) was on his way to a second disappointing loss. But it wasn't to be. Ward dug deep, showing what he's capable of as he dominated the second half of the bout to take a unanimous decision, 58-56 on all three cards. "Man, I'm just so relieved," Ward said. "Going into the fourth, I told myself that I wasn't gonna let this one slip away like I did the first one. I worked hard for this win, and I'm proud of that." Preliminary 2** The first World Championship tournament bout of the night pitted two 20 year-olds against each other. South Africa's Johnny Arthur had featured in what most said was the bout of the night when he defeated Lem Franklin by unanimous decision in his HBF debut, while Oakland's Roger Rischer had been frustrated by the 41st seed in the tournament Zora Folley before losing on points. On this night, the two men contested a bout that, besides the fifth round, did not really reach any great level of excitement. The final verdict was a draw, with one judge heavily favouring Arthur 59-55 any the other two scoring it 57-57. The 57th seed in the tournament, Arthur was quite disappointed with the verdict, believing he'd done enough to improve his record to 2-0. "I don't know how the one judge gave me the win so easily, but the other two saw it completely different," a dejected Arthur said. "I'm not happy, because this verdict will make it harder for me to progress in the tournament if I'm still in contention at the end of the first stage." However, looking at the total punches landed, one could say that Arthur was lucky to escape with a draw, as Rischer outlanded him 131-101... (to be continued...) Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 04-29-2005 at 12:58 AM.