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LOS ANGELES DAILY MAIL

Sunday, 25 June, 2006

SMITH CLIMBS OFF CANVAS TWICE,
RALLIES TO STOP MEZA!

Story by Frank Jackson

In the space of 48 hours heavyweight boxer Ken Norton experienced the highs and lows that being a fan of the sweet science can bring. On Friday morning he could only watch with frustration on satellite television as, half a world away in Australia, his long-time friend James Toney was eliminated from the International Boxing League's World Middleweight Championship tournament in a poor showing against Japan's Koichi Wajima. Then on Saturday night Norton was sitting nervously at ringside in Saltillo, Mexico to witness the biggest upset seen since competition in the new league kicked off earlier this month. Los Angeles featherweight Solly Smith came back from being floored twice in round four to score a 6th round TKO win against the World Featherweight Championship tournament's #1 seed and absolute crowd favourite Juan Meza.

Although he has not known Smith for as long as Toney, Norton considers the 25 year-old Irish-Mexican slugger a close friend. The trio have often been referred to collectively as USC (United Southern Californians), with the young heavyweight Sam McVey believed to have made the clique a quartet in recent months. It's a nickname Norton has previously said "sounds stupid", one he cringes at but has grown to reluctantly put up with. With Toney yet to return from down under and McVey in Las Vegas preparing for Tuesday's Americas Heavyweight Championship card it was up to Norton to provide Smith with just about the only support he received at the Estadio Saltillo. Despite Solly's Mexican heritage the crowd was almost entirely behind Meza, the former IBF junior-featherweight champion who had not lost a fight since a four-round split decision defeat in his third pro bout back in 2002.

After the first five rounds it appeared that he would continue his streak against Smith. Meza dominated round one, finding the target with a succession of flush right hands and some damaging body work. The Californian held his own in rounds two and three, opening up the possibility that he would be a competitive opponent. But the contest swung firmly in Meza's favour in the 4th, a left-right-left flurry dropping Smith on his backside midway through the frame and a hard, jolting cross putting him down again twenty seconds from the bell. Smith was up quickly following both knockdowns but appeared dejected as he slumped on his stool during the intermission. Things didn't improve for him in the 5th, Meza continuing to control the bout. Heading into the 6th he held a five-point lead on two scorecards and a three-point advantage on the other. He also had that parochial, adoring crowd cheering him on.

But that was when the contest took an extraordinary and immediate turn. Early in the 6th Smith connected with a hard left hook that clearly hurt Meza. He initiated a clinch but once the action continued Smith kept on landing punches. Sensing an opportunity that might not come again he unloaded with a two-fisted assault, lefts and rights bombarding the now stunned #1 seed and bringing howls of consternation from the equally bamboozled crowd. As the round drew to a close referee Benji Esteves was watching Meza closely and when Smith found the mark with a quintet of unanswered power shots he jumped in to save Meza from further punishment. The 23 year-old was out on his feet and almost fell to the canvas moments after Esteves ended it. An exhausted Smith started walking to his own corner, arms raised in victory before falling to his knees, overwhelmed by his achievement. Norton and his corner crew flooded the ring to congratulate and celebrate with him, Norton lifting Smith up on his shoulders and parading him around in front of the shocked crowd. It must rank as one of the most stunning and sudden turnarounds in a fight for many years. Smith is now 23-1(17) while Meza fell to 27-2-2(22).

While the main event was a bitter disappointment for the Saltillo crowd the other two Mexican fighters in the tournament were victorious beforehand. But only just. #2 seed Jesus Carrillo improved to 26-1-1(17) with a dramatic split decision win over Nigeria's Julius Siasia (96-94, 94-96, 96-94). Carrillo was the WBC junior-featherweight champion before joining the IBL and Mexican fight fans were hoping that they'd finally get to see the eagerly anticipated clash between him and Meza in the featherweight championship bout. If Siasia had been a little bit more aggressive we might have seen both of the top two seeds out of the running but Carrillo's whirlwind start helped him secure the win in the end. He swept the opening three rounds and did enough to keep his nose in front the rest of the way. It was Carrillo's first outing since a 4th round knockout of San Francisco's Michael Tate in March.

3rd seed Gilberto Vasquez had not fought since last September as a result of the highly-publicised and messy legal squabble with the IBF. That inactivty and the IBF situation appeared to have an adverse effect on him as he struggled to a split decision win against the Filipino Ricardo Unabia (96-94, 93-96, 97-93). It was not a particularly exciting bout, at least until Vasquez floored Unabia late in the final frame. Carrillo will more than likely go into the semi-finals as a favourite to defeat Vasquez.

In the evening's opener Texas native Keith Harrison produced a fantastic final six rounds to take a unanimous decision verdict against Germany's Michael Schneider. Going into the 5th it was a very even affair but Harrison slowly wore his man down, culminating in a smashing right-handed knockdown as the 9th round was ending. The final scorecards were 97-94, 98-93 and 97-93, Harrison improving to 30-4-1(22) and Schneider falling to 28-3-2(22). It was rumoured that Schneider's preparation for the fight was not an ideal one and that rumour appeared to be confirmed as truth as he struggled to keep pace with the Dallas-born Harrison.

Coming into the tournament Mexican fight fans were confident of seeing an all-Mexican championship bout but last night's events have put an end to that dream, although one of their competitors will be contesting the title bout come December. As for who is standing across the ring from them, that's up for debate. Harrison has the edge over Smith as far as experience is concerned but he's previously lost two shots at world titles, indicating that he's not a big-time fighter. Smith will take tremendous confidence and self-belief out of his defeat of Meza and that might just be enough to propel him into the championship bout.

(#4) Harrison UD10 (#5) Schneider
(#3) Vasquez SD10 (#6) Unabia
(#2) Carrillo SD10 (#7) Siasia
(#8) Smith TKO6 (#1) Meza

Semi-finals

(#4) Keith Harrison (30-4-1(22)) vs (#8) Solly Smith (23-1(17))
(#2) Jesus Carrillo (26-1-1(17)) vs (#3) Gilberto Vasquez (27-2(19))