|
(continuation)
* BRUCE WOODCOCK
The Englishman holds the unenviable distinction of being the only competitor to lose just a single bout in stage one and still not progress, but it was the manner in which Woodcock missed out that makes his failure even more difficult to handle. He and compatriot Jack Gardner both took 5-1 records into their series seven bout, the winner of which would stitch up a berth in stage two. Favoured to triumph on the strength of more impressive efforts in previous bouts, Woodcock dominated the opening round before dropping Gardner twice in the 2nd. He appeared to be on his way to stage two but Gardner fought back strongly in the final four rounds, to the point where two judges ruled the bout a draw. With their records still identical at 5-1-1 it was Gardner who qualified for the tournament's 2nd stage due to his higher seeding.
Woodcock was named the #1 seed in the European Championship tournament last month but, unsurprisingly, that honor has not come close to erasing the pain of his near-miss against Gardner. Woodcock has publicly confessed to falling into a deep, week-long depression after the August 19 bout and it's only been in the past couple of days where friends have seen him start to return to his normal self. Hopefully the memory of the Gardner fight won't affect his chances in the European tourney.
* TONY TUCKER
This hard-hitting Michigan native had a perfect 4-0 record going into his May 27 contest against South Africa's Johnny Arthur. A win in that bout would have secured a stage two spot for Tucker with two series of stage one bouts still to be played out. After controlling the early going Tucker faded badly after being sent to the canvas at the end of round four, finding himself back there thirty seconds from the final bell. He lost the bout by unanimous decision and was then defeated by top seed Sam McVey five weeks later.
That result was expected but even after consecutive losses Tucker was still in a position to qualify for stage two. He had to overcome Arizona's Zora Folley to do it but failed once again, the defeat sending him to the Continental Americas Championship tournament. Considering that he had three chances to qualify Tucker's failure to do so is quite extraordinary and it's something that has eaten at him for the last couple of months.
"You know, I see all these guys like Liston and Johnson being talked about on TV," Tucker said. "I know in my heart I should be there with them, getting ready to challenge for the title. I know it's still early in my career but you never know when you'll get another chance and I've already blown one. I just have to make sure the same thing doesn't happen in the American tournament."
* TOM SHARKEY
After stopping his first two opponents inside of three rounds Ireland's Tom Sharkey was being spoken of as a possible dark horse for the World Championship, but he would only manage to win one more fight during the remainder of stage one. Back-to-back draws against Joe Goddard and Jim Savage were followed by a victory over Joe Baksi and a one-sided defeat at the hands of Canada's top contender Sam Langford. Sharkey was now in a position where he had to beat England's Alex Stewart to make stage two but fighting in front of a parochial home crowd the Irishman threw away a great start and lost by split decision (58-57, 57-58, 58-57). Sharkey had been leading going into the 5th but Stewart dug deep to sweep the last two rounds on all three cards, a continuation of some edge-of-your-seat contests he'd won earlier in the tournament.
For some it's still hard to believe that Sharkey missed out on stage two and he's often mentioned as probably the best of the fighters who aren't there. It would have been a great boost for Irish boxing if he'd been able to achieve it but he's been quoted as saying that he's put the defeat behind him and is firmly focused on becoming the HBF's first European Champion.
"It's a fantastic opportunity," Sharkey said enthusiastically. "If I can win that belt and defend it five times I earn a shot at the World Champion. I don't know how anyone couldn't get excited about that. It's an incredible incentive to succeed, without a doubt."
***
As their stories illustrate, this quartet of young men have already experienced big disappointments in their careers so far. It certainly will be interesting to see if their fortunes turn around during the months ahead...
|