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PHILADELPHIA MASSACRE:
TENDLER DESTROYS JUUKO
Sunday 22 September 2002
Hometown hero Lew Tendler made about as impressive a professional debut as one could hope for tonight at Philadelphia's Adams Mark Hotel, the 15 year-old southpaw decimating Uganda native Justin Juuko inside of four rounds to score a TKO victory. Considered one of the International Boxing League's premier young talents Tendler did not disappoint as he floored Juuko once in the 1st and then twice in the 4th before referee William Conners called an end to the carnage at the 1:49 mark.
Tendler will celebrate his 16th birthday next Saturday and gave himself an early present, landing 170 punches during the fight while only being hit by nineteen from the hapless Ugandan. There are some who believe that fifteen year olds shouldn't be fighting professionally and while their arguments might have some merit there's no doubt that Lew Tendler is more than capable of handling himself in a boxing ring. With his wild mop of hair gelled in place like he'd stuck his head in an electricity outlet the youngster showed a destructive mindset as he chopped Juuko to pieces with a relentless offense.
"Yeah, he's turning sixteen next week but the kid is mature," said his trainer and uncle Archie Davis. "He fought a couple years in the amateurs and the officials there couldn't believe how far along he was, both in talent and mindset. He's a bit different to some of the kids his age in that he knows what he wants to achieve, and that's to be a World Champion boxer. I'm really happy that the IBL brought in this Future Contender series because it's going to give him a chance to learn the craft of the sport without feeling any pressure. We can bring him along as slowly as we need to and that's a bonus."
***
On the undercard New York's Lou Ambers had a considerably tougher time than Tendler did as he defeated the Venezuelan Idelfonso Bethelmy by majority decision (58-56, 57-57, 59-55) in an entertaining stoush. Earlier in the evening Honduras native Ludwig Lightburn survived a determined effort from Mexico's Bernabe Vasquez in winning by unanimous decision (58-57, 59-56, 58-57). The fighters combined to land 341 punches with the 3rd, 4th and 6th rounds being particulalrly action-packed.
SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
SUNDAY 22 SEPTEMBER 2002
ADAMS MARK HOTEL, PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, USA
IBL FUTURE CONTENDER SERIES
LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION - GROUP FOUR, SERIES ONE
OPENING BOUT
George Araujo UD6 Al Ford
PRELIMINARY 1
Maxie Docusen D6 Larry Boardman
PRELIMINARY 2
Willie Ritchie UD6 Rodolfo Gonzalez
SUPPORT BOUT
Ludwig Lightburn UD6 Bernabe Vasquez
CO-FEATURE
Lou Ambers MD6 Idelfonso Bethelmy
MAIN EVENT
Lew Tendler TKO4 Justin Juuko
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