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The Carolina Undercard

OPENING BOUT

In a less than inspiring start to the night, the 1st Defense tournament's #15 seed Marvin Hart fell to his first professional defeat, losing by majority decision against Ireland's Peter Maher (58-56, 57-57, 58-56).

It was a heated contest, with each fighter losing their cool on more than one occasion due to some below the belt tactics. It wasn't the most appealing spectacle for those watching at ringside, with Hart appearing to have the better of the first three rounds before Maher finished strongly.

The very nature of the fight made it a difficult one to score, with each judge's card showing a deal of difference, especially in the final three rounds. Kentucky native Hart will no doubt reflect on this bout as one he let slip away, as he looked to have it under control going into the fourth.

Hart falls to 3-1-1 while Maher improves to 3-2.

PRELIMINARY 1

Argentina's Alejandro Lavorante scored his first tournament victory with a 59-55, 60-54, 59-55 unanimous decision against New York's Nick Barone. Both men were coming off good performances, with Barone having upset Charley Retzlaff and Lavorante holding Michael Dokes to a draw.

Barone was a willing opponent, but for the main just wasn't quite good enough. He held his own in rounds one and four and traded some heavy leather with Lavorante in the final stanza, but the Argentinian was always in control and dropped Barone midway through round three with a shot to the ribs.

PRELIMINARY 2

Another bout between Group Two's bottom dwellers, with 79th seed Harold Carter keeping Chicago's Phil Scott winless with a unanimous decision victory (58-56 on all three cards).

Scott made a promising start but it didn't take long for Carter to take control of the contest. He swept the middle four rounds on two judge's cards, the win improving his record to 2-3.

The New Jersey native scored a shock 1st round TKO of Michael Dokes ten weeks ago before being stopped by Liston on cuts in the 4th last month. Today's bout was a welcome change of pace and if he can win his final two contests, he should find a place in the upcoming Continental Americas tournament.

SUPPORT BOUT

The World Championship campaign of Michael Dokes met some major obstacles during the last couple of months. He was blown away in the opening round by Harold Carter back in April and held to a draw by Alejandro Lavorante last month. In against the 4-0 Lou Nova tonight, Dokes needed a win to get back on track, and boy did he get it.

Looking sharp in round one, Dokes dropped his Oakland-born opponent to the canvas with a stinging shot the ribs just 24 seconds into round two. Clearly distressed, Nova was unable to make it back to his feet and was counted out at the 0:36 mark.

Dokes pumped his fist in the air and pounded his chest, excited by the nature and brevity of his victory.

"I needed this win to give myself any chance," said the World Championship tournament's 31st seed. "If I'd lost that would o' been it: I'd have had no chance of progressing no matter what I did in the final two bouts. Now I just have to get myself ready for Sonny."

The Ohio native was asked if he felt he had a realistic chance of defeating the Missouri Monster.

"I know one thing," he replied. "I can't beat him if I don't believe in myself. I have to stay in a positive mindset, train my ass off and give it all I've got."

Dokes improves to 3-1-1(2) but still sits behind Nova (4-1(1)) in the group standings.

CO-FEATURE

In one of the bigger upsets seen in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation to date, 1st Defense tournament #2 seed James Jeffries crashed to his first defeat, losing a unanimous decision verdict against Welshman Johnny Williams (59-56, 58-57, 59-56).

Of all the #1 seeds in both the WC and 1D tournaments, Jeffries seemed to be amongst the least likely to suffer such a fate during stage one. The San Francisco native had been in dominating form through his first four bouts, culminating in a two round destruction of Chuck Wepner five weeks ago. Take into account the fact that Willaims had lost a unanimous decision to the previously winless Jack Roper in his last bout, and an upset seemed even less likely.

But the Welshman took the fight up to Jeffries from the opening round, making his intentions known with a jarring right hook just 32 seconds in. Jeffries had the upper hand for most of the round but Williams connected with some effective shots during the last minute.

Jeffries showed some of the form we've come to expect of him in round two, pressing his Welsh opponent and scoring with powerful lefts and rights. Williams did very little before landing a flush straight right late in the piece, but Jeffries hurt him with a right hook to the forehead just seconds from the bell.

The third round was close to a non-event, with the highlight being a big left hook that had Jeffries' head snapping around on its shoulders, Williams producing a late flurry that led to each judge scoring it a 10-10 round.

The fight would turn in the Briton's favour in round four as he became the first man to send Jeffries to the canvas. The Californian had landed a hard right cross moments into the round, the punch appearing to stun Williams. But he regrouped and at the 37 second mark caught the #2 seed with a perfect right cross. The shot landed flush on Jeffries jaw and he slumped to the canvas. Looking up at the referee in stunned amazement, Jeffries lurched to his feet at the count of five. Allowed to continue, he weathered a Welsh storm for the remainder of the round, trying to stay at a distance while letting his head clear. Jeffries was almost down fora second time when Williams dropped a right hand on him near the two minute mark. The action had the crowd in a frenzy, the majority of them on their feet and cheering the Welshman on.

Jeffries' cornermen did their best to bring him back to reality during the intermission, splashing water in his face and even slapping him a few times. Their man was in a contest for the first time in his professional career and, to put it plainly, he was losing. ESPN's ringside cameras picked up one of Jeffries cornermen say "All those words you been goin' on with gonna look pretty foolish if you can't pull this one out, Jimmy" as he applied vaseline to swelling under the Californian's right eye.

Digging deep, Jeffries struck back in the fifth, taking the initiative with renewed aggression. Williams looked to be tiring and when Jeffries rocked his man with a spearing right cross and then a crushing uppercut moments later, victory appeared to be in sight. But Williams showed that he had equal reserves of intestinal fortitude, stopping Jeffries in his tracks with a left hook as the round drew to a close. Jeffries' left knee almost touched the canvas and Williams fired away, a left jab/straight right combo followed by a left hook and then, as the bell was sounding, a crushing right hook that had Jeffries on the ropes and in gaga land. He stumbled back to his corner, the audience applauding what was the round of the fight. So effective was Williams' late round rally, each judge scored the round 10-10, the second round in the fight where his late efforts had saved him a point.

Jeffries looked exhausted as he sat on his stool, his cornermen seemingly resigned to the fact that he was just three minutes from defeat. They worked on him silently and as the final round progressed, it was clear that he had nothing left to give or, at least, that he didn't believe he could win. Williams took the round convincingly, his rally at the end of the fifth spurring him on to finish the bout brilliantly. He peppered Jeffries with the jab, keeping him off balance and out of range and building up points.

The combatants embraced briefly when the bell sounded but Williams was quick to strart his celebrations, letting out a delighted shout much to the appreciation of the audience. They greeted the verdict with thunderous applause, Williams' cornermen parading him around on their shoulders like he'd just been crowned World Champion.

Punch totals

Williams: 156/386 (40.4%)
Jeffries: 120/323 (37.2%)

"You know, the guy is a really talented fighter," said Williams. "That's been clear to see from what he did to his other opponents. But he's been running his mouth off, complaining that he wasn't getting any respect ... I was getting sick of hearing it, to tell you the truth. He hadn't really been tested in his other fights and I knew I could do that. I had a bad night against Roper, but I really felt confident about this one. I tested the guy and look what happened?"

Indeed, Jeffries had been quite vocal about the media's love affair with the 1st Defense tournament's unassuming #1 seed Rocky Marciano. Tonight, he failed in backing up his words, something that will certainly bring him some embarassment in the coming days.

Despite the loss, he's still in 1st place in the Group Two standings of the 1st Defense tournament. Marvin Hart would have found himself sitting there with a win in the evening's opener, making his loss to Peter Maher even more costly...