[kenyan_cheena]

Preliminary 2

Two men who had both featured in drawn bouts on debut contested what was the only really uneventful fight of the evening.

19 year-old New York City native Joe Baksi clashed with New Jersey's Jim Savage in a fight where only the third and sixth rounds featured any sustained action. The 56th seeded Baksi took a majority decision victory, 59-57, 58-58, 58-57.

As a result, Baksi improved his record to 1-0-1, while Savage, the 88th seed in the World Championship tournament, remained winless at 0-1-1.

Next up for Baksi is the 120th seed in the tournament, John Holman, while Savage has the daunting task of taking on the 9th seed (and top seed in the group), Canadian dynamo Sam Langford.

Support Bout

On January 9, fighting in front of his hometown fans in England, 22 year-old Alex Stewart was lucky to escape with a draw against Jim Savage. The 40th seed in the World Championship tournament finished strongly over the final two rounds in avoiding what would have been an embarassing defeat.

His opponent tonight had also featured in a drawn bout on debut. 28 year-old Australian Joe Goddard had taken part in a highly entertaining fight against Joe Baksi, in which the momentum had swung like a pendulum from round-to-round. The 72nd seed went into this clash with Stewart confident of his chances. What he could not have known was that he would be involved in what many have already called THE FIGHT OF THE YEAR.

The New York Sun's boxing analysist Peter Roman was ringside, capturing all the action.

***

WEDNESDAY 13/02/2002 - CONSECO FIELDHOUSE, INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, USA

3(40) ALEX STEWART, 22 years old, England (0-0-1)
vs 5(72) JOE GODDARD, 28 years old, Australia (0-0-1)

Tale of the Tape

Height - Stewart: 6'3" Goddard: 6'0"
Weight - Stewart: 226 lbs Goddard: 196 lbs
Reach - Stewart: 78.5" Goddard: 73"


Alex Stewart enters the ring in black and gold, looking much more focused than he did in his debut. I think on that night, the fact that he was fighting in front of his own countrymen really worked against him. There are no such distractions tonight. He has the advantage over his Australian opponent in height, weight and reach, and I believe he'll be able to do enough to win the bout.

However, Goddard really did put up a great effort against Joe Baksi last month. He showed that he fights with a lot of heart, but will that be enough tonight? Probably not.

ROUND ONE

The opening two minutes of the fight are cautious ones, with the only punch of note a solid straight right landed by Stewart 44 seconds in.

But then comes an explosion of action, with the Englishman connecting with another jolting right hand, stunning Goddard. He shakes it off, though, and with Stewart on the ropes, Goddard unleashes a crushing right cross, snapping Stewart's head around, hurting him!

Stewart backpedals, and the Australian follows aggressively, a pair of left hooks sending a spray of sweat from Stewart's head. The bell sounds, with Stewart looking a little shaky.

*

After a slow start, the round featured some great action in its final third. Both men landed some telling blows. Strange how they started so cautiously, and then, almost by mutual consent, decided to discard their defensive plans and bang away at each other. A fascinating start to the fight.

ROMAN'S SCORECARD: 10-10


ROUND TWO

Joe Goddard comes out for the second with a stern set to his jaw, stalking his taller opponent, showing no fear.

Oh, my! What a shot! Goddard has just unloaded with a big left hook! Stewart looks to be in trouble! He almost lost his footing there. A lead right does some more damage, and the 40th seed in the World Championship tournament is on the back foot. Goddard has him cornered and lands another big shot, a smashing uppercut thrown from the floor! The crowd is going nuts!

Stewart looks like he's gonna go, but he manages to tie the Australian up and when the referee separates them, it appears that his head has cleared.

Goddard seems to be catching a breather, as if his onslaught to start the round really took a lot out of him. But soon the two men are engaging each other at close quarters, neither one caring to utilise a jab, hooks and straight rights catching air more often than not.

Stewart just connected with a big left hook! Goddard is staggered, his face contorted with pain as he backpedals. Stewart tracks him down and Goddard tries to keep him off with a straight right that misses.

Oh, what a shot! Goddard is down! Stewart just walked in and unloaded with a crushing straight right that speared straight through Goddard's defense!

He's up quickly, though, at the count of 2, to be exact. He's looking at Stewart wearily, as if to say, "Where the hell did that come from?"

The referee administers the standing eight, and allows Goddard to continue. But Stewart isn't able to follow up and Goddard survives the round, despite looking even more shaky than the Englishman did at the end of the first.

*

Well, now. I have to say, this fight has already given us more than I expected. Stewart has just shown that he has the type of punching power that should be feared. That knockdown was just a killer, and I'm simply amazed that Goddard got up so quickly. The Aussie fighter looked concerned as he made for his corner at the end of the round. I really have no idea what's going to happen next. This bout has already had two distinct momentum shifts.

ROMAN'S SCORECARD: STEWART 10-9
(I'm sure the judges will have scored this round 10-8 for Stewart, but in all honesty, I can't make myself do it. If the knockdown hadn't occured, I would have given the round to Goddard).
(STEWART LEADS 20-19 AFTER TWO)


ROUND THREE

Coming out agressive once more, Goddard takes the fight up to Stewart and scores with a nice hard cross 37 seconds into the round. That punch seems to have hurt Stewart.

The fighters clinch, and Goddard shows that he can jab, peppering Stewart with a volley of lefts. Goddard is making Stewart look tired here, avoiding a number of wild shots. It looks like Stewart still wants to brawl, but Goddard has decided to settle down.

Stewart is hurt! Goddard just scrambled his circuits with a perfectly timed uppercut! The Englishman looks dazed, but he manages to tie Goddard up and doesn't let go until the referee orders him to.

Trying to clear his head, Stewart alternates between clinching and backpedaling for the next minute.

Goddard unloads with a big left hook, almost throwing himself off his feet. But Stewart isn't in a position to counter. He seems content to let this round slip away, breathing heavily. I don't think he expected this much action so early in the fight.

The Aussie connects with another booming uppercut, and Stewart staggers back onto the ropes! But before Goddard can finish him off, the bell rings, bringing the third round to a close.

*

Three momentum shifts in three rounds? This fight has been incredible. I really don't know what happened to Alex Stewart in that round. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. I hope for his sake that, right now, his trainers are reminding him of what happened last month in London, because it appears to be happening again. Goddard looked absolutely fantastic in that round. He's really made me believe he can win this fight.

ROMAN'S SCORECARD: GODDARD 10-9
(ALL TIED UP AT 29-29 THRU THREE ROUNDS)

To be continued...

(Still to come from Indianapolis: The conclusion of Stewart-Goddard, plus everybody's favourite pocket-rockets, Sam Langford and Tom Sharkey!)

*Apologies for my inactivity during the past five days. Life keeps getting in the way!