[bigMatt]

BOSTON - Boston Gardens is the site for round 1 of the PBF heavyweight tournament. Anticipation is palpable among the capacity crowd as they await the opening bell of today's action.

Dick Matthews v. Charles Cooley
The opening bout of the tourney brings #1 seed Dick Matthews to ring center to face #16 Charles Cooley. Matthews carries a perfect 14-0-0 (8) record into the bout to Cooley's 10-3-2 (1). Both enter the contest in perfect form, ready to go to war.

Round 1 begins with both fighters meeting at ring center, wasting no time getting the action started. Both fighters trade blows, but it is Matthews who delivers the heavier response. Matthews goes to work on Cooley and it becomes immediately clear that this is a decided mismatch. Cooley soon loses his will to trade with Matthews, choosing to take cover wherever and whenever possible. Midway through the round, Matthews opens a cut over Cooley's eye. It seems a gift from Providence for the overmatched Cooley, who puts up no fuss whatsoever when the ringside doctor stops the match before round 1 has ended and awards a TKO victory to Matthews.

Tom Sayers v. Tom Allen
The second bout of today's action pits Tom Sayers against Tom Allen for the chance to meet Dick Matthews in round 2 of the PBF tournament. Both fighters enter the ring in perfect shape, ready to go.

Round 1 began with Sayers the aggressor, showing the thunderous power that he is known for. With just over a minute gone in round 1, Sayers dropped Allen to the canvas for a 7 count, the first of two knockdowns in the round.

It was all downhill from there for Allen, who tasted the mat two more times in the contest. Allen lasted the entire ten rounds, but it was Sayers who carried the day with a tremendous showing in his 10 round unanimous decision victory.

Herbert Slade v. Joe Goss
In their first encounter, Herbert Slade collected a close Split Decision victory over Joe Goss in April. Tonight, it was a different story, as Goss finally found the rhythm that had thus far eluded him in previous PBF bouts. The fight tonight was never in doubt, as Goss dominated the powerful but plodding Slade, beating him to the punch for the balance of the contest, and taking a one-sided unanimous victory to advance.

Jimmy Elliot v. Billy Wilson
The most spirited fight of today's action was a war between Jimmy Elliot and "The Black Demon", Billy Wilson. Both fighters came into the match in top form, but it was Wilson who obviously came ready to fight, carrying a big lead early over the sluggish Irishman.

But Elliot was not to be dispatched quietly, and began to find his rhythm in round 5, buckling the knees of his opponent with a tireless onslaught throughout the round. Elliot dominated again in rounds 6 and 7, but Wilson found his second wind in round 8, battering Elliot with a withering barrage that raised an ugly mass of swelling under Elliot's left eye. The swelling increased in round 9, and it looked as though the eye might close entirely. But Elliot fought onward, and in round 10, put a thunderous combination together that dropped Wilson to the canvas. Wilson rose at the count of 8 to finish the round and the match. Both fighters thought they had won the match, and in fact, both were deserving on this day. But only one man could advance, and when the judges submitted their cards, it was Elliot who raised his hands in victory, by a single point on every card.

The bottom bracket of the tourney commences shortly.