[kenyan_cheena]

UNDERCARD ACTION

Opening Bout

The night got off to a promising start when Dick Richardson of Wales took a split decision victory against Sweden's Olle Tandberg. It was an arm-wrestle from the outset, with the two combatants spending long periods of the bout fighting from in close, exchanging short, hard shots.

Neither man could seem to get the upper hand for more than one round, with both of them showing tremendous resilience and determination. Tandberg, the #26 seed in the 1st Defense tournament, was cut on two separate occasions: above the left eye in the second round, and on his right eyelid in the final round.

Considering the great effort the two fighters put in, it was a shame that there had to be a loser. But there was, and Richardson (42nd seed in the 1D tournament) took the verdict, 58-57, 57-59, 59-56.

Tandberg collapsed to the canvas in his corner after the announcement. He had been confident after the final bell that he would win the decision. The punch totals seemed to support his belief, as he landed 174 punches to 143. Much of that difference was due to the way in which he dominated the first and third rounds. But there were no knockdowns, so both of those rounds were only scored 10-9. Richardson was, in the opinion of most, slightly more dominant for the rest of the bout.

Tandberg's debut against California's Tom Kennedy had been a war, with the judges scoring it a draw. And so, the Swedish fighter was overwhelmed with frustration. He had fought hard in his opening two bouts, both against fighters seeded lower than him, and had come out on the other side without a victory.

Richardson, who lost by unanimous decision on debut against England's Don Cockell, is now 1-1.

Preliminary 1

Compared to the first, the second bout of the evening was more of a strategic battle. The 18th seed in the 1st Defense tournament, England's Don Cockell upped his record to 2-0 with a majority decision victory against Tom Kennedy of Woodland Hills, California.

Indeed, in quite a contrast to the opening bout, Cockell and Kennedy spent much of the six rounds at a distance, sniping at each other from long range.

As in his debut (a draw against Olle Tandberg) Tom Kennedy gave a good account of himself. The #34 seed could have been victorious if only he had shown more aggression during the late stages of the bout. Going into the fifth round, he was leading by a point on one card, with the other two judges having it even. But Cockell was the one who stepped up in the final two rounds, and as a result he took the verdict 58-56, 58-57, 57-57.

Kennedy now finds himself in the same position as Sweden's Olle Tandberg. After two competitive performances, he is 0-1-1.

Perhaps the only consolation for both Kennedy and Tandberg is that their next two bouts are against the lowest seeds in the group, Chicago's Bob Satterfield and England's Manny Burgo. It will be crucial for them to win both of those bouts if they are to have any chance of posing a threat to the group's top seeds, Doug Jones and Natie Brown...

Preliminary 2

Canada's Jack Renault was fuming in the minutes after his debut bout against England's Frank Bruno. Renault believed that he had done more than enough to win, yet found himself on the wrong side of a unanimous decision verdict. He had told both his opponent Bruno and the judges what he felt of the decision before leaving the ring in disgust. In the days that followed, he had presented a more humble visage. The Canadian said that after viewing the bout a number of times, he could understand why the judges scored the fight as they did. This was despite the fact that many watching in the arena had felt the same as he did. One ESPN analyst had gone as far as calling it "the worst decision given so far" in these HBF tournaments. Even so, Renault offered an apology to both Bruno and the judges for his behaviour.

Well, tonight Renault was once again on the losing end of a unanimous decision. But in this instance, it was a clear cut verdict. Against fellow Canadian Earl Walls (58th seed in the World Championship tournament), Renault started impressively. He led by a point on two of the judges cards through three rounds, and appeared to have his opponent's measure. But a poor showing in the fourth round, followed by a fierce assault by Walls in the second half of the fifth round literally lost the fight for him.

Walls sent Renault to the canvas with a single thunderous left hook thirty seconds from the end of the fifth (the only knockdown of the six bouts featured on the night). So in the space of two rounds, Renault had gone from leading by one point to being behind by two points. He went for the knockout in the final round, but his body simply could not do what his brain was demanding of it.

Each judge gave the same verdict: Walls, 58-55.

Following his debut victory against the Californian fighter Mac Foster, Walls is now 2-0. Renault (the 90th seed in the WC tournament) falls to 0-2. The tournament will not get any easier for him, with his next two bouts against the top seeds in the group, Young Stribling and Roland LaStarza.

Support Bout

21 year-old Englishman Frank Bruno didn't make the greatest start to his professional boxing career. Against Canada's Jack Renault he was, in the eyes of many, lucky to score a unanimous decision victory. Considered to be one of the five strongest fighters in the entire HBF, Bruno nonetheless struggled in that bout, and looked towards his second fight as a way of restoring some lost confidence.

Indeed, some wondered what Bruno's second bout would show ... Did he just have a bad night against Renault? Or was that performance a true indication of his abilities?

Well, unfortunately for Bruno, it appears that the answer is the latter.

Tonight, Bruno put on another ordinary display as he was held to a draw by the #74 seed in the World Championship tournament, Mac Foster of Fresno, California. Honestly, Bruno was lucky that he went the distance. In just the second round, Foster had the Englishman out on his feet after a three minute barrage. If that round had lasted for perhaps another thirty seconds, Bruno would have found himself on the canvas. To his credit, the 42nd seed was able to claw his way back into the fight, bullying the smaller Foster during the next three rounds and landing some damaging shots in the fifth. But Foster would not go away, and he actually finished the fight stronger, with all three judges giving him the final round.

The scorecards were 58-56 (Foster), 57-57, 57-57. The Californian couldn't hide his jubilation, while Bruno simply leaned on the ropes, shaking his head in dismay.

Being the 3rd seed in Group Seven of the WC tournament, Bruno's next two bouts will be against the lowest seeds in the group. That is perhaps the only positive thing for him to look forward to at the moment. Other fighters in this tournament have put in courageous performances and have nothing to show for it, performances that would put Bruno to shame. He has managed to stay undefeated while displaying little of the potential HBF officials saw in him back in October.

Defeated by Canada's Earl Walls on debut, Foster is now 0-1-1.

Co-Feature

Roland LaStarza remained undefeated as he took a unanimous decision victory over the stubborn Boston native Dan Flynn. The fight was closer than the 59-56, 60-55, 59-56 verdict indicated, with LaStarza landing 171 punches to 147. Flynn was able to cut the #26 seed midway through the second round, but LaStarza's corner was able to neutralise the problem during the intermission.

Flynn deserves some praise for his performance, especially during the even-numbered rounds where he really did hold his own. It was the aggression he showed in those rounds that led some to question why the verdict had not been closer.

Both of LaStarza's fights have featured controversy in regards to scoring. In his debut he was dominant, but the cards told otherwise. Tonight, it was a much more even affair, but again, the verdict did not reflect this. Regardless, no one would deny that LaStarza deserves to be 2-0.

LaStarza was animated and talkative after the bout.

"I just have to keep winning," LaStarza said. "This Stribling kid is only seventeen. He's the youngest of all the fighters in the World Championship top ten. That's gotta be pressure for him. He's the one who is expected to win the group, which is good for me. I've got the tools to defeat him and when we meet, I'll show him why it's not a good idea for kids to play adult games."

If that's not laying down the gauntlet, I don't know what is...