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Originally Posted by mikehoudini

James Beattie vs. Jean-Pierre Coopman (3-1-1 1) – Could Beattie, known for his power punches, who once challenged Ali for the title in another universe, stop the Lion of Flanders? Would the lion roar or sleep?

The tall, powerful Beattie snapped Coopman’s head back with a straight right to start the fight, and Coopman and the Streak were in jeopardy! The Lion pawed back with some ineffectual jabs, but Beattie was landing everything he threw, topped off by a ferocious hook, and the round ended, 21-4, Coopman in big trouble!

Coop demonstrated his toughness in the 2nd, as the Lion roared as he fired off jabs and uppercuts, taking the aggressiveness out of Beattie in a 22-4 shellacking! The see-saw match continued in the 3rd. Coopman landed five jabs in the first half of the round, but Beattie brushed them aside, connecting with a massive hook and then two jarring uppercuts at the end of the round, winning, 18-8!

The Lion roared again in the 4th, moving in and landing a series of combinations in outlanding Beattie, who was looking to finish the fight. James was cut over the right eye, an added benefit. Odd rounds, Beattie, even rounds Coopman, will this trend continue?

Wham, Beattie jolted Coopman with an overhand right to start the 5th. The two has several good exchanges, then Beattie put the Lion down for an 8 count KD to win the round handily, 21-8, but he couldn’t put the Lion away!

Coopman lashed out in the 6th, connecting for his best punches of the fight, a lashing left and a big uppercut, and Beattie was suddenly in trouble, perhaps punched out from his efforts in the previous round! He landed several punches, but Coopman was all over him, connecting with everything he threw, and the accumulated punches caused the referee to stop the bout, Coopman the winner at 2:52 of the 6th by a TKO! Beattie and his corner complained bitterly but to no avail, so it’s 7 for 7 for the underdogs! The Lion acknowledged Beattie’s prowess, and said he’d be happy to meet him in a rematch!

Nick Barone vs. Larry Alexander (3-1-1 2) – Barone landed a number of lighter punches in the 1st, but Larry offset them with a booming cross and a savage combination, winning, 8-6. Nick then put on a boxing clinic for the next 3 rounds, landing punch after punch while avoiding most of the big bombs Alexander was throwing. He won these rounds in a convincing manner, 14-4, 17-4 & 13-6, and seemed to be in a position, if he continued, to end the level 3 fighters’ jinx.

Alexander landed another big combination in the 5th, following that with a ferocious uppercut that made Barone back up! Nick regrouped and fired off a series of blows that tattooed Larry and produced a cut over his right eye, which caused a temporary halt to the fight. This last-minute rally resulted in a 12-12 round.

Barone connected early in the 6th, and the cut was reopened and looked worse, and the fight was stopped at 0:14 of the 6th, Barone the winner by a TKO on cuts! He had connected for far more punches, 199 to 63, at a higher rate, and offset Larry’s power. So the jinx was now broken.

David Vedder vs. Dick Richardson – In the only battle of true level 3 fighters, after an even 1st round, Richardson dominated the next four, 14-9, 21-7, 17-4 & 14-8. He landed several ringing rights and thumping lefts, and was jabbing and throwing his crosses very effectively! He did take a cut outside his left eye in the 2nd, but it didn’t seem to bother him and his corner took care of it.

Dick smashed Vedder with a combination in the 6th, but Vedder rallied at the end, coming up on the short side, 8-7, of an even round. Richardson had a point deducted for a low blow that wasn’t, and his cut was reopened. Vedder needed the 7th, but Richardson was evasive and landed some counters to take it, 7-4.

Vedder went all out for the KO in the 8th, and was floored for a 6 count instead! Richardson then pounded away, landing a thundering hook, a booming cross and a savage uppercut! With the score 29-0 and Vedder almost out on his feet, the referee mercifully stopped it, Richardson the winner by a TKO at 2:28 of the 8th! He had landed almost twice as many punches, 256-141, and dominated the action!

Ed Mahone vs. China Smith (2-1 2) – China had accepted this fight at a moment’s notice, and it showed in his conditioning, as he was badly overweight, to the dismay of his loyal Floridian followers.

Like all fights involving China, this one had a lot of action! He raced out at the opening bell, but was met with a booming hook from Mahone that sent him down for a 2 count! He made a tactical error in getting up so fast, as a searing combination from Mahone felled him again, this time for a 9 count! Discretion finally being the better part of valor, he covered up and lasted the round, coming out on the short end of a 23-0 score.

China was more cautious in the 2nd, and fired a sweet combination of his own. Mahone answered with a bruising uppercut, but China refused to wilt, landing a jab that sent Ed reeling backwards. He was leading the round 10-7 when, either at the bell or just after, Mahone connected with a three punch combination that floored the game fighter for the count! There was a controversy as to whether Mahone’s punches beat the bell, but it goes into the record books as a KO at 3:00 of the 2nd for Ed Mahone! China has vowed to come back for more fights and insists he’ll be in top conditioning!

So the box-in is complete, and seven of the nine challengers from the Terrible Twos Tourney will enter this one as well! The pairings for the 64 man tourney will follow, hopefully soon!