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THE PINELLAS NEWS

Wednesday, 9 August, 2006

Brown outsmarts Hanson
in anticipated IBL bout

Story by Larry Dobey

Last night Pinellas Park heavyweight Cheetah Brown showed the boxing world that he's just as capable of winning a fight with caution and wisdom as he is of doing so with thunderous right hands. Appearing in the main event of an International Boxing League card at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Brown defeated hometown favourite Mike Hanson by split decision in a contest that was not nearly as explosive or dramatic as most observers expected. Both men are known for their knockout power but with a spot in the semi-finals of the Americas Championship tournament on the line Brown decided to take advantage of his superior speed and ring movement.

To the disgust and frustration of both Hanson and the parochial crowd Brown spent much of the bout out of range, quickly moving in to unload with a flurry of punches before bouncing back to the outside. While it was a smart strategy it was a genuine surprise that Brown employed it. He'd been an aggressive knockout machine through his first seven professional bouts and there was little reason to believe he'd sway from that path against Hanson. Brown's tactics saw him skip to an early lead as he controlled round one and then caught Hanson with a succession of flush blows in the 2nd. However, the man known as "Hector" to his friends found some success in round three, Brown getting a little careless and allowing Hanson to land some telling punches.

Rounds four, five and six were lacking in drama and had the crowd booing at one point. Hanson's inability to find the mark with a killer blow was just as frustrating as Brown's unwillingness to goe toe-to-toe. Brown appeared to have wrapped up the contest with a dominant showing in the 7th but less than a minute from the final bell Hanson gave his fans a glimmer of hope when he dropped the Florida slugger with a hard left hook. Brown had been dazed by a right hand moments earlier and when he hit the canvas the crowd erupted as one. He was quickly back to his feet, the suddenly excited audience cheering Hanson on as he tried to finish the job in the final seconds. He landed a left-right-left salvo but couldn't drop Brown for a second time.

The verdict was greeted with hostility by the crowd, Brown announced the winner by the slimmest of verdicts: 77-76, 76-77, 77-76. Speaking to ESPN afterwards Hanson gave Brown a serve, saying he hoped he was proud of himself and that he didn't win the fight "like a man should". Brown's retort was simple and to the point, saying he had nothing to feel ashamed about. His goal had been to reach the semi-finals and he achieved it. He also said that anyone else in their right mind would have used the same strategy. It certainly worked as Hanson was only able to land 89 punches throughout the entire fight, Brown connecting with 128. Brown even took a shot at Hanson's post-fight reaction when he said "Well, I know it never feels good to be outsmarted."

The evening's first quarter-final was a much more dramatic affair as Brown's fellow Florida native Romy Alvarez climbed off the canvas in round one and rallied to take a unanimous decision verdict over his more experienced Puerto Rican opponent Fres Oquendo. Alvarez could not have made a worse start to the fight as Oquendo took the momentum the knockdown gave him into round two, which he also won convincingly. But with highly-regarded trainer Roy Jones in his corner the Winter Park-born 12th seed was able to mount a fantastic fightback. Alvarez wore Oquendo down behind what is regarded as one of, if not the best jab in the heavyweight division. He swept rounds three through seven on each scorecard to take control of the contest. When it was all over Alvarez actually appeared the loser thanks to a nasty knot under his left eye, a legacy of Oquendo's fantastic opening.

Alvarez was the victor by scores of 76-75, 77-74 and 76-75, his corner celebrating wildly after the verdict was announced. He is the first fighter from Jones' Pensacola stable to win two bouts in these IBL tournaments, succeeding where both James Ray and Holman Williams had failed in recent weeks. Known as "The Iceman" to his fans because of his calm, emotionless demeanour in the ring Alvarez was a portrait of extroverted behaviour when his victory was confirmed. His record remains perfect at 7-0(4) but he faces a much tougher test in the semi-finals in the shape of the Californian Mike Weaver. The most experienced competitor left in the tournament, Weaver scored a stunning upset of the #1 seed Arturo Godoy in the co-feature. Having had the better of the first seven rounds it seemed certain that Godoy was going to secure a semi-final berth but Weaver erupted in the final frame, decimating the Chilean with an all-out attack that led to referee Arthur Mercante stopping the contest just fifteen seconds from the bell.

Godoy was leading by three points on two scorecards going into the final round so if he'd been able to just stay out of trouble in the 8th he would have been the victor. Weaver's fellow golden state slugger Sam McVey set up a fascinating semi-final clash with Cheetah Brown thanks to a unanimous decision win over Frank Childs. In contrast to his destruction of David Kane in stage one, this was an at-times ugly fight, with neither man able to establish a consistent rhythm. Each scorecard had McVey the winner by a 77-75 verdict but it probably should have been a more comfortable win as he looked to be cruising to an easy victory going into the 6th. But Childs finished strongly in the last three frames to keep McVey honest. The Oxnard native is now 9-0(6) and is regarded by most experts as the favourite to win the title.

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Results

(#12) Alvarez UD8 (#4) Oquendo
(#11) McVey UD8 (#3) Childs
(#8) Weaver TKO8 (#1) Godoy
(#15) Brown SD8 (#10) Hanson

Semi-final matchups

(#11) Sam McVey (9-0(6)) vs (#15) Cheetah Brown (8-0(7))
(#8) Mike Weaver (25-6-1(21)) vs (#12) Romy Alvarez (7-0(4))

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