[kenyan_cheena]

THE LONDON TIMES

Tuesday 5 December 2006

JACKSON FALLS AT
FINAL HURDLE

Story by James Simpson

With victory clearly in sight, East Londoner Ashley Jackson's dream of being crowned the very first International Boxing League champion came crashing down in a handful of astonishing seconds last night at the Waldbuehne in Berlin, Germany. Taking on and convincingly beating hometown favourite Reinhardt Kohler through the first seven rounds Jackson appeared to be cruising to an outstanding victory when, totally against the run of play, the German floored him with a jolting left-right-left salvo late in round eight. Backpedalling at the time, Jackson's head impacted hard with the canvas when he went down. He didn't move for the duration of the count, Kohler and the crowd starting their celebrations at seven when it became apparent that Jackson wouldn't be getting up. The fight was officially over at the 2:29 mark.

The bout was the Final of the IBL's Inter-Continental Welterweight Championship tournament, Kohler winning the title as a result of his 8th round KO victory and earning the eternal distinction of being the league's first champion. It shouldn't have ended that way, though, as despite his lower tournament seeding Jackson entered the evening as a warm favourite to claim the belt. The 15th seed had taken the event by storm, winning each of his three tournament bouts by knockout and becoming a celebrity here in England as a result. His charisma, good looks and extroverted nature have only helped to endear him to the British public, who were hoping that his fairytale run who end in triumph.

It all started so perfectly for Jackson as he had Kohler down on one knee with a brutal body shot late in a punishing 1st round. The momentum swung in each of the next four rounds, Kohler having the better of rounds two and four, Jackson controlling the 3rd and just edging his man in the 5th. After taking rounds six and seven comfortably Jackson was in the driver's seat and held a three-point lead on each scorecard heading into the 8th. Kohler had been the more aggressive, busy fighter but Jackson's superb defense and superior accuracy was winning him the fight. He hurt Kohler with an uppercut and a flurry of shots through the first half of the 8th and was on track to take the round when Kohler unleashed his stunning trio of blows. Having recorded eight knockdowns himself through the tournament Jackson was dropped for the very first time in his career and it took a number of minutes for him to regain his senses.

Upon realising that he'd lost the bout Jackson appeared distraught, but by the time of the post-fight interview was more philosophical about his defeat, saying that "it must mean there are much better things in store" for him as his career progresses. When asked if he would pursue the Inter-Continental belt in the future he simply shrugged and said "if it happens, it happens", but implied that he was more interested in climbing the rankings and earning an eventual world title shot. Kohler was in a jubilant mood, thanking the crowd but acknowledging Jackson's great efforts throughout the tournament. He conceeded that he was struggling heading into the 8th and that he'd taken a risk which had paid off big time. The win improved his record to 10-1(6) while Jackson fell to 9-1(8). At the time of the stoppage Kohler had landed 122 of 710 punches (17.2%), Jackson 164 of 516 (31.8%).

The German's first title defense is scheduled for late January and will be against Japan's Akio Kameda, who earned the shot by knocking out the Frenchman Francois Pavilla in round six of an official IBL title eliminator in the evening's co-feature. Kameda held a slight edge through the first five rounds before flooring Pavilla twice in the 6th. The first came from a flush left hook midway through the frame, after which Pavilla barely beat the count. A jolting right cross put him down for good one minute later, the contest over at 2:31 of round six. Kameda (10-2(7)) gets the chance to avenge the 1st round KO that Kohler inflicted upon him in the tournament semi-finals. Pavilla was the most experienced of the four men who contested the semis but after being knocked out first by Jackson back in September and now by Kameda in the eliminator, falls to 14-3(9).

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IBL Inter-Continental Welterweight Championship tournament final

(#9) Reinhardt Kohler (9-1(5)) KO8 (#15) Ashley Jackson (9-0(8))

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