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kenyan_cheena · 10-30-2009, 08:38 PM

The New York Age

SATURDAY, 9 DECEMBER, 2006

DIAZ DQ SEES GRIFFITH CROWNED
FIRST IBL WORLD CHAMPION

Story by James Reynolds

In a controversial outcome Virgin Islands-born New Yorker Emile Griffith was last night crowned as the International Boxing League's first World Welterweight Champion after his Mexican opponent Enrique Diaz was disqualified in round ten for rabbit punching. It had been an exciting, breathtaking clash through the first nine rounds and Diaz appeared to be on his way to a fantastic victory as he led by margins of one, three and five points on the judge's scorecards. He had built that lead with an outstanding opening to the contest that saw him lose just a single round on all three cards through the first five frames. However, in round three he was deducted a point and then warned by referee Gelasio Perez Huerta for two seperate incidents of rabbit punching. Known as being strict on foul play, Perez Huerta visited Diaz's corner during the intermission and informed his corner crew that another infraction would see him disqualified.

And so it was when in round ten Diaz caught Griffith with another rabbit punch midway through the round. It was a careless, clumsy shot thrown after Diaz had lunged at Griffith and found himself almost behind him. Griffith clutched the back of his head and within moments Perez Huerta had waved his hands to signal the fight was over, sending both fighters to their corners and informing the judges and other ringside officials that he had disqualified Diaz. There had been a deal of criticism for the IBL over the appointment of Perez Huerta, a Mexican, in a title fight involving a Mexican fighter. The opinion had been that he'd favour Diaz but in the final outcome those beliefs could not have been further from the truth. Diaz and his corner were unsurprisingly outraged by the decision but television replays showed that all three of the fouls he committed were blatant. After having warned Diaz following round three Perez Huerta had no choice but to disqualify him in the 10th. It was a truly bizarre round as Griffith had been deducted a point for a low blow only a minute before the DQ, although it appeared that Perez Huerta had blown the call.

Coming into the evening Diaz was regarded as a very slight favourite by virtue of his impressive showings in the tournament's quarter- and semi-finals. The former WBO champion had started with a blistering 3rd round TKO of the Frenchman Roger Menetrey and followed it with a unanimous decision win over Marvyn Rollins. In comparison Griffith had looked scratchy in scoring majority decision victories over both Meldrick Taylor and Gustav Eder. The former WBA titleholder has been regarded as the best welterweight in the world since 2003, when he claimed the association's title and held it for almost three years before relinquishing it when he signed with the IBL. However, most believed Diaz had the talent, aggression and desire to claim that status from Griffith last night. The Mexican made a mess of a golden chance and will now have to win a pair of bouts through the first half of '07 in order to gain another shot at the IBL belt.

Going into the 10th Diaz was leading by scores of 88-83, 86-85 and 88-85. He landed 244 of 608 punches (40.1%), Griffith 222 of 549 (40.4%). Griffith improved to 30-1-1(22) with his victory while Diaz fell to just his second career loss and is now 30-2(22). While jubilant that he had won the championship Griffith appeared somewhat deflated, saying that the way the fight ended was disappointing. But he also acknowledged that he might not have won if it had gone the full fifteen-round distance. He'll find out on Sunday night his opponent in his first title defense when Colombia's Hugo Pineda clashes with the undefeated Japanese fighter Shoji Ohashi in the final of the Challenger's tournament in Bogota, Colombia.

The evening featured a quality undercard, with a trio of outstanding bouts preceeding the main event. In the opener Puerto Rico's Wilfred Benitez maintained his undefeated record and gave more ammunition to those who regard him as one of the most promising young welterweights in the world when he scored an eight-round unanimous decision win over Ghana's Ike Quartey (77-75, 79-73, 78-74). Benitez was brilliant, putting on a fantastic display of counter-punching against his more aggressive African opponent. Quartey was competitive in a number of rounds but Benitez was simply too good for him. Benitez connected with an outstanding 242 of 411 punches (58.9%) while Quartey landed 126 of 679 (18.6%). Benitez upped his mark to 14-0-2(10) while Quartey suffered his second loss in three IBL bouts to fall to 28-4(22).

In the second fight on the card Florida Alliance member James Ray recorded his second straight win since being controversially eliminated from the Challenger's tournament. He defeated Los Angeles native Aaron Lister Brown by majority decision in a somewhat dour encounter (96-94, 95-95, 97-94). Ray was looking to restore some pride to the Florida entourage following his cousin Elmer's defeat on the previous night in San Diego and while he won the fight he didn't have it all his own way. After taking the 1st round convincingly Ray cut Brown on the left eyebrow early in round two. Despite that Brown went on to take the round and maintained the momentum through the 3rd. But Ray answered back strongly in round four and re-opened Brown's cut, leading to the ringside doctor examining it. He did the same in the 5th. The action slowed through the bottom half of the contest, Brown preferring to hold on rather than fight. The Olympic silver medallist was clearly frustrated by the tactics but endured to take the verdict and improve to 15-1(10). Brown is now winless in four IBL bouts and fell to 15-4-3(12).

The co-feature was a clash between Germany's Gustav Eder and the South African Benedict Khumalo. Eder had only just missed out on a spot in the world championship bout when he was defeated by Griffith while Khumalo had been eliminated from the Challenger's tournament on cuts in the semi-finals by Japan's Shoji Ohashi. Eder and Khumalo produced a fantastic clash, neither man taking a backward step throughout an enthralling ten rounds. The contest played a part in determining the initial world rankings from #4 to #7 so it was an important stoush. When it was all over the judges could not split them. One favoured Eder 96-94 but the other two had it tied up at 95-95, making the verdict a draw. Eder outlanded Khumalo by a wide margin, 359-211, an indication that the rounds he won, he won big but the rounds Khumalo won were close affairs. Eder's record is now 26-2-1(17), Khumalo's 14-1-1(8). As a consequence of the drawn verdict, Eder and Khumalo will be ranked #5 and #6 respectively in the initial rankings with the winner of Sunday night's clash between Marvyn Rollins and Ademola Udeze to slot in at #4.

***

IBL World Welterweight Championship tournament final

(#1) Emile Griffith (29-1-1(22)) DQ10 (#2) Enrique Diaz (30-1(22))

***

10-30-2009, 08:38 PM	#607 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 7,425 Thanks: 73 Thanked 130x in 113 posts	*The New York Age* SATURDAY, 9 DECEMBER, 2006 DIAZ DQ SEES GRIFFITH CROWNED FIRST IBL WORLD CHAMPION Story by James Reynolds In a controversial outcome Virgin Islands-born New Yorker Emile Griffith was last night crowned as the International Boxing League's first World Welterweight Champion after his Mexican opponent Enrique Diaz was disqualified in round ten for rabbit punching. It had been an exciting, breathtaking clash through the first nine rounds and Diaz appeared to be on his way to a fantastic victory as he led by margins of one, three and five points on the judge's scorecards. He had built that lead with an outstanding opening to the contest that saw him lose just a single round on all three cards through the first five frames. However, in round three he was deducted a point and then warned by referee Gelasio Perez Huerta for two seperate incidents of rabbit punching. Known as being strict on foul play, Perez Huerta visited Diaz's corner during the intermission and informed his corner crew that another infraction would see him disqualified. And so it was when in round ten Diaz caught Griffith with another rabbit punch midway through the round. It was a careless, clumsy shot thrown after Diaz had lunged at Griffith and found himself almost behind him. Griffith clutched the back of his head and within moments Perez Huerta had waved his hands to signal the fight was over, sending both fighters to their corners and informing the judges and other ringside officials that he had disqualified Diaz. There had been a deal of criticism for the IBL over the appointment of Perez Huerta, a Mexican, in a title fight involving a Mexican fighter. The opinion had been that he'd favour Diaz but in the final outcome those beliefs could not have been further from the truth. Diaz and his corner were unsurprisingly outraged by the decision but television replays showed that all three of the fouls he committed were blatant. After having warned Diaz following round three Perez Huerta had no choice but to disqualify him in the 10th. It was a truly bizarre round as Griffith had been deducted a point for a low blow only a minute before the DQ, although it appeared that Perez Huerta had blown the call. Coming into the evening Diaz was regarded as a very slight favourite by virtue of his impressive showings in the tournament's quarter- and semi-finals. The former WBO champion had started with a blistering 3rd round TKO of the Frenchman Roger Menetrey and followed it with a unanimous decision win over Marvyn Rollins. In comparison Griffith had looked scratchy in scoring majority decision victories over both Meldrick Taylor and Gustav Eder. The former WBA titleholder has been regarded as the best welterweight in the world since 2003, when he claimed the association's title and held it for almost three years before relinquishing it when he signed with the IBL. However, most believed Diaz had the talent, aggression and desire to claim that status from Griffith last night. The Mexican made a mess of a golden chance and will now have to win a pair of bouts through the first half of '07 in order to gain another shot at the IBL belt. Going into the 10th Diaz was leading by scores of 88-83, 86-85 and 88-85. He landed 244 of 608 punches (40.1%), Griffith 222 of 549 (40.4%). Griffith improved to 30-1-1(22) with his victory while Diaz fell to just his second career loss and is now 30-2(22). While jubilant that he had won the championship Griffith appeared somewhat deflated, saying that the way the fight ended was disappointing. But he also acknowledged that he might not have won if it had gone the full fifteen-round distance. He'll find out on Sunday night his opponent in his first title defense when Colombia's Hugo Pineda clashes with the undefeated Japanese fighter Shoji Ohashi in the final of the Challenger's tournament in Bogota, Colombia. The evening featured a quality undercard, with a trio of outstanding bouts preceeding the main event. In the opener Puerto Rico's Wilfred Benitez maintained his undefeated record and gave more ammunition to those who regard him as one of the most promising young welterweights in the world when he scored an eight-round unanimous decision win over Ghana's Ike Quartey (77-75, 79-73, 78-74). Benitez was brilliant, putting on a fantastic display of counter-punching against his more aggressive African opponent. Quartey was competitive in a number of rounds but Benitez was simply too good for him. Benitez connected with an outstanding 242 of 411 punches (58.9%) while Quartey landed 126 of 679 (18.6%). Benitez upped his mark to 14-0-2(10) while Quartey suffered his second loss in three IBL bouts to fall to 28-4(22). In the second fight on the card Florida Alliance member James Ray recorded his second straight win since being controversially eliminated from the Challenger's tournament. He defeated Los Angeles native Aaron Lister Brown by majority decision in a somewhat dour encounter (96-94, 95-95, 97-94). Ray was looking to restore some pride to the Florida entourage following his cousin Elmer's defeat on the previous night in San Diego and while he won the fight he didn't have it all his own way. After taking the 1st round convincingly Ray cut Brown on the left eyebrow early in round two. Despite that Brown went on to take the round and maintained the momentum through the 3rd. But Ray answered back strongly in round four and re-opened Brown's cut, leading to the ringside doctor examining it. He did the same in the 5th. The action slowed through the bottom half of the contest, Brown preferring to hold on rather than fight. The Olympic silver medallist was clearly frustrated by the tactics but endured to take the verdict and improve to 15-1(10). Brown is now winless in four IBL bouts and fell to 15-4-3(12). The co-feature was a clash between Germany's Gustav Eder and the South African Benedict Khumalo. Eder had only just missed out on a spot in the world championship bout when he was defeated by Griffith while Khumalo had been eliminated from the Challenger's tournament on cuts in the semi-finals by Japan's Shoji Ohashi. Eder and Khumalo produced a fantastic clash, neither man taking a backward step throughout an enthralling ten rounds. The contest played a part in determining the initial world rankings from #4 to #7 so it was an important stoush. When it was all over the judges could not split them. One favoured Eder 96-94 but the other two had it tied up at 95-95, making the verdict a draw. Eder outlanded Khumalo by a wide margin, 359-211, an indication that the rounds he won, he won big but the rounds Khumalo won were close affairs. Eder's record is now 26-2-1(17), Khumalo's 14-1-1(8). As a consequence of the drawn verdict, Eder and Khumalo will be ranked #5 and #6 respectively in the initial rankings with the winner of Sunday night's clash between Marvyn Rollins and Ademola Udeze to slot in at #4. * IBL World Welterweight Championship tournament final** (#1) Emile Griffith (29-1-1(22)) DQ10 (#2) Enrique Diaz (30-1(22)) * __________________ The Greatest Prize in Sports The Greatest Prize in Sports: Almanac kenyan_cheena's NBA 2K11 Off Topic Dynasty** Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 11-02-2009 at 01:20 AM.