[kenyan_cheena]

(continued from post #160)

SUPPORT BOUT

Six days ago, Elmer Ray was in Osaka, Japan eating dinner with Sam McVey and Zora Folley. Ray had been there to support his cousin Terone Haynes in his debut bout in the South-East Asian Boxing League.

Ray, his cousin and the entire Hastings entourage flew back to the U.S.A. on Sunday. They did not stop over in their hometown, instead flying directly to California to prepare for Elmer's second bout in the HBF's World Championship tournament.

From the moment the plane set down at LAX, Elmer Ray and Terone Haynes have been, without a doubt, the main attraction. Yes, it's true that Elmer Ray is only the 33rd seed in the W.C. tournament. It's true that both Jimmy Young and Floyd Patterson are seeded higher than him. But it's also true that Elmer Ray has more charisma, chutzpah and sense of showmanship than both of them combined. This 16 year-old is not even fully-grown yet, but he displays the awareness and maturity of someone twice his age. Simply put, he knows how to sell himself.

Having arrived back in the USA only two days after James Reynolds of the New York Age had launched his latest attack on Ray, many journalists in California focused on the conflict between the Florida slugger and the Gotham City scribe.

"Guess he jus' don't like my way of doin' things," Ray said. "But I ain't gonna sweat it, see? Don't matter what James Reynolds thinks o' me, y'all. Only matter what President Vincennes and all the fans think, man."

Ray had also been asked in the past day what he thought of the rumours regarding an expansion of the HBF.

"Y'all, that'd be somethin' if our sport give a chance to the smaller fellas, sho' nuff. Me and T got a cuz name James. Dude, the brother'd fit right in at welterweight, y'all. He got those quick hands. But we jus' wait and see what happen, I guess."

Unlike his debut bout last month, Elmer Ray had been a perfect gentleman towards his opponent in the lead-up to tonight's event. 20 year-old Tom McMahon of Spring Valley, Illinois, scored an uneventful unanimous decision victory over Nathan Mann in his debut, and Ray had afforded him much more respect than he did Buddy Baer last month.

The 16 year-old had added some bulk to his frame in the five weeks since his debut. Weighing in at 183 for his first fight, Ray tipped the scales at 192 for tonight's bout.

The 65th seed in the tournament, McMahon stood an inch shorter than Ray and weighed five pounds lighter, quite a different proposition than the giant that was Ray's first up opponent, Buddy Baer.

As he had in Japan, Ray made an impressive entrance to the Arrowhead Pond arena in Anaheim. Whereas in Japan the primary colour of the outfits of the Hastings entourage had been black, tonight it was red. However, on this night the entourage was smaller. The audience greeted their entrance enthusiastically.

Accompanied by the song that Ray has previously said is his favourite, Eric B. & Rakim's "Lyrics Of Fury", the entourage made their entrance. First came two of the beautiful ladies who had accompanied Ray to the ring in Japan (Ray had later confirmed they were family members). They wore figure-hugging, ankle-length red halter neck dresses, their hair pulled back and up high. Next came Ray himself, flanked by Terone Haynes on the right and another giant of a man on the left, presumably another one of his cousins. Ray's robe was primarily red, with black and white piping, while his cousins wore sweatsuits that were also dominated by red with touches of black and white. Last up was Ray's cornermen, also decked out in (what else but) red with black and white trim.

Ray bounced around the ring on his heels, eager to get things started. His trunks were of a similar design to the ones he wore in Japan, but whereas the main body of his Japan trunks were black, tonight's ones were red. The waist band was black with white print, ELMER on the front and HASTINGS on the back. Tassles of black, red and white ran up and down each side.

On the other side of the ring, McMahon seemed oblivious to all the hoopla, talking with his trainer, going over their gameplan.

The opening round was largely uneventful, at least for the first two minutes. In the final third of the round, Ray opened up, landing a number of solid single punches, aswell as an impressive left-right-left combo. He was definitely the more aggressive of the two, constantly coming forward, crowding McMahon on the inside but using his quickness to step back and fire away.

Ray picked up the pace even more in the second round, dominating his opponent with some accurate, powerful shots. He staggered McMahon with a punishing combination late in the round, and acknowledged the audience's applause as he returned to his corner.

The pattern continued in the third, with Ray scoring well early before cruising until the bell. The fight had reached its halfway point and McMahon had not really shown much of anything. It was obvious that he would have to pick himself up if he was to have any chance of victory.

And that's what he did. The fourth round appeared to be proceeding in the same fashion as the previous three. Ray was doing what he pleased through the first ninety seconds. But then, McMahon came to life. It was like he had been jabbed by a cattle prod, and during the second half of the round, he landed probably as many punches as he had landed in the entire fight up to that point. It started with a stinging left jab, followed soon after by a nice left hook. A murmur made its way throught he crowd as they realised that Ray had been cut under the right eye. A nice uppercut snuck through Ray's defense. Ray backpedalled as McMahon teed off, landing shots to both the body and the head. The Illinois native had Ray up against the ropes and ripped away at his body, a stiff straight left snapping Ray's head back as the round came to a close. The audience, already beside themselves as a result of McMahon's sudden rally, rose to their feet and applauded. The Hastings teenager looked a little puzzled (and annoyed) as he returned to his corner.

Unfortunately for McMahon, his brief rally would be all that he had to offer. The cut that Ray sustained was only minor, and he came out steamed in the fifth, showing more resolve than he had in the earlier rounds. McMahon just could not do anything to back Ray up, and the Florida native carried his aggression through the final round, big power shots and rapid-fire jabs illustrating Ray's great fitness. The fight ended with McMahon covering up on the ropes, Ray unleashing a barrage of punches in an effort to score another late knockout. As the final bell sounded, the crowd gave an extended round of applause for Elmer Ray's great performance.

When the judge's verdict came, it surprised no one. Elmer Ray had won by unanimous decision, 59-55, 58-56, 59-55.

Ray was much more subdued than he had been after his victory over Buddy Baer, exchanging jokes and smiles with his entourage, embracing each one of them. He spoke at length to McMahon and his cornermen.

"He's got a lot of power for such a young guy," McMahon said. "He's just sixteen, so he's still a way from reaching his full potential. He just overwhelmed me with his aggression, his activity."

"He didn't show me much, y'all," Ray said. "Jus' that brief flurry in the fourth, you know? Think I kept 'im under ma thumb besides that. Don't know, maybe jus' a bad night for him. But he's a tough dude, man. Took some solid shots and stay on his feet. Y'all, it's all good, man. The hometown's 3-0 now, baby."

ESPN's Tony Daniels asked Ray what he had said to McMahon after the fight.

"Jus' told him to look forward, y'all," answered Ray. "You know, he 1-1 now, but ain't no reason he can't win his next fights, see? Everybody in this tourney gotta realise, man. You might not make stage two, see, but that ain't the end, man. Everyone gotta know that we still got the Continental Americas tourney. You finish high in your group, you be a high seed in that tourney, man. That's what I jus' love 'bout how President Vincennes and the HBF set this thing up, man. Everyone got somethin' to shoot for, y'all."

"Okay, now Floyd Patterson and Jimmy Young haven't fought yet tonight. How do you think they will each go in their bouts?" Daniels asked.

Ray laughed. "Man, Floyd's gonna show that Jimmy Young's a bum, see? Floyd's goin' in 'gainst Tony Ross, the dude that almost beat Jimmy Young in Japan ... Floyd's jus' gonna dominate him. Young's goin' up against Rocky Jones. Wouldn't surprise me if Rocky give him a helluva fright, man. That's what I see happ'nin', y'all. Jus' let y'all know, I be ringside for Jimmy Young. Ain't gonna miss that."

"Now, your next two bouts are against both of those guys, Tony Ross and Rocky Jones. You must feel confident that you can beat them both and get to 4-0 before you clash with Jimmy Young."

Ray nodded. "That's def'nitely the plan, man. But, you know, we jus' take it one at a time. Don't wanna look too far ahead, see?"

With that, "The Hastings Express" departed the ring, the audience applauding Elmer Ray and his entourage as they made their way back to the dressing room...