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kenyan_cheena · 11-05-2009, 09:33 PM

La Provence

Monday, 11 December, 2006

Belbouli stops May in 7th round,
wins Challenger's tournament

Story by Jeremy Ribery

Fighting on his 28th birthday Marseille-based junior-heavyweight boxer Taoufik Belbouli secured a shot at the IBL world championship with a 7th round stoppage of Germany's Torsten May at the Waldbuehne in Berlin. #1-seeded May had come into the evening as the favourite to win the Challenger's tournament final but Belbouli produced a fantastic performance, dominating proceedings from the 5th onwards before dropping May with an overhand right two minutes into round seven. The hometown favourite was clearly stunned, down on one knee and shaking his head. When he tried to push himself up he staggered back into the ropes, the count reaching ten before referee Arnold Pokrandt waved the contest over at the 2:19 mark.

Mauritania-born Belbouli had made an impressive undefeated charge to the final, scoring wins over Mohamed Azzaoui, Dario Walter Matteoni and Richard Mason in the preliminary stages. The tournament final was an even affair through the first four frames before a stinging body shot late in the 4th gave Belbouli an edge that he would retain through the rest of the contest. Belbouli punished the German in rounds five and six, May suffering a cut on the left eyebrow from a headclash midway through the 5th. He had the appearance of a man resigned to defeat as he came out for round seven and Belbouli was only too willing to oblige, tagging him with a succession of flush power shots before the coup de grace, a smashing overhand right. Belbouli outlanded May 181-120 and held a healthy three-point lead on two scorecards through round six. He's now 31-2(21) while May fell to 32-4-1(24).

Belbouli spoke confidently of his chances to wrestle the world championship away from Jeff Lampkin when the two meet in early March, saying that he felt the American had been fortunate to win the title but that his luck would run out once they stepped in the ring against each other. He suggested that the IBL junior-heavyweight title belongs in Europe as most of the top fighters in the division hail from the continent, adding that he'll be making it his mission to "correct the situation". The unhappy IBL campaign of Italy's Angelo Rottoli continued in the evening's co-feature as he lost a slim unanimous decision verdict to Russia's Pavel Melkomian (95-94, 96-94, 95-94). Melkomian floored Rottoli a minute from the final bell to steal the victory. After his two world championship tournament bouts ended as draws Rottoli is yet to record a win under the IBL banner. He'll go into 2007 ranked #7 in the division and faces a tough matchup with his compatriot Massimiliano Duran to start the year.

11-05-2009, 09:33 PM	#615 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 7,426 Thanks: 73 Thanked 130x in 113 posts	La Provence Monday, 11 December, 2006 Belbouli stops May in 7th round, wins Challenger's tournament Story by Jeremy Ribery Fighting on his 28th birthday Marseille-based junior-heavyweight boxer Taoufik Belbouli secured a shot at the IBL world championship with a 7th round stoppage of Germany's Torsten May at the Waldbuehne in Berlin. #1-seeded May had come into the evening as the favourite to win the Challenger's tournament final but Belbouli produced a fantastic performance, dominating proceedings from the 5th onwards before dropping May with an overhand right two minutes into round seven. The hometown favourite was clearly stunned, down on one knee and shaking his head. When he tried to push himself up he staggered back into the ropes, the count reaching ten before referee Arnold Pokrandt waved the contest over at the 2:19 mark. Mauritania-born Belbouli had made an impressive undefeated charge to the final, scoring wins over Mohamed Azzaoui, Dario Walter Matteoni and Richard Mason in the preliminary stages. The tournament final was an even affair through the first four frames before a stinging body shot late in the 4th gave Belbouli an edge that he would retain through the rest of the contest. Belbouli punished the German in rounds five and six, May suffering a cut on the left eyebrow from a headclash midway through the 5th. He had the appearance of a man resigned to defeat as he came out for round seven and Belbouli was only too willing to oblige, tagging him with a succession of flush power shots before the coup de grace, a smashing overhand right. Belbouli outlanded May 181-120 and held a healthy three-point lead on two scorecards through round six. He's now 31-2(21) while May fell to 32-4-1(24). Belbouli spoke confidently of his chances to wrestle the world championship away from Jeff Lampkin when the two meet in early March, saying that he felt the American had been fortunate to win the title but that his luck would run out once they stepped in the ring against each other. He suggested that the IBL junior-heavyweight title belongs in Europe as most of the top fighters in the division hail from the continent, adding that he'll be making it his mission to "correct the situation". The unhappy IBL campaign of Italy's Angelo Rottoli continued in the evening's co-feature as he lost a slim unanimous decision verdict to Russia's Pavel Melkomian (95-94, 96-94, 95-94). Melkomian floored Rottoli a minute from the final bell to steal the victory. After his two world championship tournament bouts ended as draws Rottoli is yet to record a win under the IBL banner. He'll go into 2007 ranked #7 in the division and faces a tough matchup with his compatriot Massimiliano Duran to start the year. __________________ The Greatest Prize in Sports The Greatest Prize in Sports: Almanac kenyan_cheena's NBA 2K11 Off Topic Dynasty Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 11-05-2009 at 10:29 PM.