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TOLES OVERCOMES MARTIN AT STAPLES CENTER,
WINS PACIFIC LEAGUE TOURNAMENT
Tuesday 17 September 2002
In something of an upset, Detroit's Rosco Toles scored a majority decision victory over Philadelphia native Leotis Martin this evening in the final of the U.S. Pacific Coast Boxing League tournament. The bout was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and even though Toles was the #1 seed Martin came into the fight as a warm favourite, bringing with him a perfect 6-0 record. Toles' path to the final was nowhere near as easy, his 4-1-1 record spotted by two split decision wins, a unanimous decision loss and a draw (all in his last four bouts).
Many observers feared that the rivalry between the Florida Alliance and Indianapolis fighter Mike Hanson (set to continue during the undercard) would upstage the main event but that was not the case. Toles and Martin produced a barnstorming contest, the Michigan native never looking assured of the win until he sent Martin to the canvas two minutes into the 7th round. It had been an anticipated matchup since the day when the tournament entrants were announced, observers who had seen the two at HBF auditions insisting that Toles and Martin clearly stood out as the class of the field.
They started cautiously before Martin came on strong in the back end of the 1st, jolting Toles' head back with a sneaky uppercut from in close. Toles replied effectively in round two, a hard right hand midway through the stanza a highlight of his work. Martin was once again in control in the 3rd, catching his man with a series of scoring combinations. The action started to heat up in round four as both combatants increased their aggression with spectacular results. Martin was in command through the opening minute, catching Toles with a hard right cross before the 17 year-old stole the momentum with a succession of piercing jabs that had Martin on the back foot. But the Pennsylvanian rallied, a smashing uppercut staggering Toles late in the round, the crowd giving a standing ovation as it ended.
The audience was treated to a repeat dose of action in the 5th, all three judges giving the frame to Toles as he was just that little bit more aggressive. He maintained control in round six where he produced some of his best moments of the bout, using volume rather than power to wear Martin down. The opening two minutes of the 7th were more or less uneventful but when Toles unloaded with a five punch salvo Martin was down for the first time in his career. He struggled to his feet at the count of eight, leaning on the ropes for support.
Martin survived to the bell and actually had the better of the final stanza, but it wasn't enough. When the scorecards were revealed it was Toles that was jubilant as he had taken a 76-75, 76-76, 77-74 majority decision verdict.
(to be continued)
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