TORONTO STAR
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2006
Gorecky & Battaglia continue
march towards tournament final
Story by Geoff Neill
Canadian middleweights Greg Gorecky and Frank Battaglia are now just one win away from what would have been considered a highly unlikely meeting just a couple of months ago. Last night each man secured a berth in the IBL's Americas Middleweight Championship tournament semi-finals with victories on a fight card in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Both of them replicated their efforts from the tournament's opening stage in that they scored wins over opponents seeded higher than them. Fighting in the co-feature 12th-seeded Gorecky sent Utah's Don Fullmer to his first professional defeat, stopping him on cuts in round three. Gorecky inflicted the wound in round one, a right hand opening a nasty gash over Fullmer's left eye.
It got progressively worse and in the 3rd the situation became almost farcical as the referee halted the fight on three separate occasions to allow the ring doctor to check on the injury. The contest was finally called off at the 1:34 mark, Gorecky maintaining his undefeated record with the TKO win. In the main event Battaglia spoiled the party for hometown hero Mariano Ronaldo, dropping him twice on the way to a unanimous decision win (76-74 on all three cards). It was a competitive affair and the final outcome would have been different if not for Battaglia's two moments of brilliance. A crunching uppercut planted Ronaldo on his backside in the 3rd and a perfectly-timed right cross had him back there early in the 7th. The #2 seed was visibly upset afterwards while Battaglia celebrated enthusiastically. Both Gorecky and Battaglia have perfect records through their first seven professional bouts.
In the semi-finals Gorecky faces 16th seed Ernie Vigh. The 20 year-old followed up his stage one upset of top seed Walter Gomez with a majority decision win over 8th seed Coley Welch. Battaglia will trade punches with Philadelphia's Willie Monroe, who added to the night of upsets with a unanimous decision victory over Steve Belloise. Only four of the top eight seeds made it to the quarter-finals and all four of them were defeated last night, making the semi-final field a very surprising one. Gorecky and Battaglia are in a fantastic position to start their IBL careers with a bang. The semi-finals will more than likely be held here in Canada, something that should give them an even greater chance of making it to the final.