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kenyan_cheena · 11-23-2009, 08:58 PM

(continuation)

The crowd started coming to their feet with about thirty seconds remaining, urging both men on to the end. They showed their appreciation with an extended period of applause as Keshi and Johnson embraced and both held their arms aloft, confident of victory. They had given it their absolute best and complimented each other for it. The tension was palpable in the MGM in the moments before the verdict was revealed and after encouraging the crowd to offer another round of applause for "these two brave warriors" ring announcer Ben Bentley read out the judge's scores. After an excruciating pause, he revealed the victor...

"Your winner by unanimous decision, and inaugural IBL World Light-Heavyweight Champion, is ... Harold, Johnson!"

The moment Bentley started saying "Harold" the Philadelphian and his corner erupted in a jubilant celebration, Johnson embracing his corner crew and the half-dozen entourage members that surrounded him. He then hugged Keshi and spoke some words of consolation to him, although it didn't seem to help the devastated Nigerian much. This was his second world title fight of the year after taking on Dick Tiger in an IBF stoush back in April and he'd come up short in both of them. It was that effort in suffering an 11th round TKO loss to Tiger that had convinced the IBL to sign Keshi and his performances throughout this world championship tournament have certainly validated that decision. It's clear that Keshi will remain a contender for the championship for many years to come.

Johnson was overwhelmed by his achievement, calling it "the greatest test, greatest win and greatest moment" of his career to date. He wondered out aloud what he'd possibly be able to do to top it and praised Keshi for his "warrior's heart", calling the 26 year-old the "most difficult opponent" he's ever faced. Looking at the scorecards reveals that if Keshi had not been deducted a point in round ten the bout would have been a draw, meaning a rematch would have been necessary to crown a champion. Johnson could only shake his head in amazement when made aware of that fact. He'll find out tonight who he'll be facing in his first defense when Keshi's outstandingly talented compatriot Celestine Amakochi takes on the Californian Jack Chase in the Challenger's tournament final. There are some who believe that of the three-headed Nigerian light-heavyweight monster that is Tiger, Keshi and Amakochi it's actually Amakochi that is the best so Johnson will no doubt be hoping that Chase can score a win.

Johnson outlanded Keshi 388-243, although it didn't seem like it with so many of Keshi's shots being memorable, eye-catching power punches. Johnson is now 37-1-2(26) while Keshi fell to 23-3(18). The evening's opening two contests were exciting, competitive affairs. Former WBA super-middleweight champion Murray Sutherland was given all he could handle by the Pennsylvanian Steve Little in their eight-round clash, which ended as a draw. England's Len Harvey then secured the #8 world ranking spot with a unanimous decision victory over Detroit's Michael King. After an even first four rounds Harvey opened up a winning margin by sweeping the 5th, 6th and 7th on all three cards and took the verdict by identical scores of 97-95 from each judge. Harvey improved to 22-2(15) while King fell to 26-7-1(21). The Michigan native unsuccessfully challenged Johnson for the WBA title in March and has now lost two more times since joining the IBL, making it an unhappy year for him.

The co-feature was an anticipated stoush, with former IBF champion Dick Tiger taking on Peru's rising star and Athens Olympics silver medallist Mauro Mina. Both men had suffered their first career defeats in their most recent bouts, Tiger against Keshi in the world championship semis and Mina to Amakochi in the Challenger's tournament. Their clash was a vital one, not just because each man wanted to avoid losing a second consecutive fight. For Tiger a win would wrap up the #4 IBL world ranking while a loss would see him start '07 at #6. Mina would be able to push himself up to #5 with a victory or sit at #7 with a defeat. After a hard fought encounter Tiger emerged with a split decision win (96-95, 95-96, 96-94). It was either man's contest to win after the first six rounds and the more experienced Tiger went up a gear from the 7th onwards, winning the frame and the next couple aswell on two scorecards for the victory.

Mina's furious final round finish was not quite enough to bridge the gap. Tiger is now 26-1-2(19), Mina 14-2(8). After being spoken of as a likely world title challenger a mere six months ago Mina will now have to tough it out through '07 just to position himself for a shot at the championship. As for Tiger, he could possibly find himself in a title eliminator depending on how the results pan out when the division's top contenders step back in the ring in March.

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IBL World Light-Heavyweight Championship

(#1) Harold Johnson (36-1-2(26)) UD15 (#6) Taribo Keshi (23-2(18))

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11-23-2009, 08:58 PM	#650 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 7,598 Thanks: 81 Thanked 143x in 125 posts	(continuation) The crowd started coming to their feet with about thirty seconds remaining, urging both men on to the end. They showed their appreciation with an extended period of applause as Keshi and Johnson embraced and both held their arms aloft, confident of victory. They had given it their absolute best and complimented each other for it. The tension was palpable in the MGM in the moments before the verdict was revealed and after encouraging the crowd to offer another round of applause for "these two brave warriors" ring announcer Ben Bentley read out the judge's scores. After an excruciating pause, he revealed the victor... "Your winner by unanimous decision, and inaugural IBL World Light-Heavyweight Champion, is ... Harold, Johnson!" The moment Bentley started saying "Harold" the Philadelphian and his corner erupted in a jubilant celebration, Johnson embracing his corner crew and the half-dozen entourage members that surrounded him. He then hugged Keshi and spoke some words of consolation to him, although it didn't seem to help the devastated Nigerian much. This was his second world title fight of the year after taking on Dick Tiger in an IBF stoush back in April and he'd come up short in both of them. It was that effort in suffering an 11th round TKO loss to Tiger that had convinced the IBL to sign Keshi and his performances throughout this world championship tournament have certainly validated that decision. It's clear that Keshi will remain a contender for the championship for many years to come. Johnson was overwhelmed by his achievement, calling it "the greatest test, greatest win and greatest moment" of his career to date. He wondered out aloud what he'd possibly be able to do to top it and praised Keshi for his "warrior's heart", calling the 26 year-old the "most difficult opponent" he's ever faced. Looking at the scorecards reveals that if Keshi had not been deducted a point in round ten the bout would have been a draw, meaning a rematch would have been necessary to crown a champion. Johnson could only shake his head in amazement when made aware of that fact. He'll find out tonight who he'll be facing in his first defense when Keshi's outstandingly talented compatriot Celestine Amakochi takes on the Californian Jack Chase in the Challenger's tournament final. There are some who believe that of the three-headed Nigerian light-heavyweight monster that is Tiger, Keshi and Amakochi it's actually Amakochi that is the best so Johnson will no doubt be hoping that Chase can score a win. Johnson outlanded Keshi 388-243, although it didn't seem like it with so many of Keshi's shots being memorable, eye-catching power punches. Johnson is now 37-1-2(26) while Keshi fell to 23-3(18). The evening's opening two contests were exciting, competitive affairs. Former WBA super-middleweight champion Murray Sutherland was given all he could handle by the Pennsylvanian Steve Little in their eight-round clash, which ended as a draw. England's Len Harvey then secured the #8 world ranking spot with a unanimous decision victory over Detroit's Michael King. After an even first four rounds Harvey opened up a winning margin by sweeping the 5th, 6th and 7th on all three cards and took the verdict by identical scores of 97-95 from each judge. Harvey improved to 22-2(15) while King fell to 26-7-1(21). The Michigan native unsuccessfully challenged Johnson for the WBA title in March and has now lost two more times since joining the IBL, making it an unhappy year for him. The co-feature was an anticipated stoush, with former IBF champion Dick Tiger taking on Peru's rising star and Athens Olympics silver medallist Mauro Mina. Both men had suffered their first career defeats in their most recent bouts, Tiger against Keshi in the world championship semis and Mina to Amakochi in the Challenger's tournament. Their clash was a vital one, not just because each man wanted to avoid losing a second consecutive fight. For Tiger a win would wrap up the #4 IBL world ranking while a loss would see him start '07 at #6. Mina would be able to push himself up to #5 with a victory or sit at #7 with a defeat. After a hard fought encounter Tiger emerged with a split decision win (96-95, 95-96, 96-94). It was either man's contest to win after the first six rounds and the more experienced Tiger went up a gear from the 7th onwards, winning the frame and the next couple aswell on two scorecards for the victory. Mina's furious final round finish was not quite enough to bridge the gap. Tiger is now 26-1-2(19), Mina 14-2(8). After being spoken of as a likely world title challenger a mere six months ago Mina will now have to tough it out through '07 just to position himself for a shot at the championship. As for Tiger, he could possibly find himself in a title eliminator depending on how the results pan out when the division's top contenders step back in the ring in March. - IBL World Light-Heavyweight Championship (#1) Harold Johnson (36-1-2(26)) UD15 (#6) Taribo Keshi (23-2(18)) - __________________ The Greatest Prize in Sports (a TBCB Dynasty) The Greatest Prize in Sports: Almanac kenyan_cheena's NBA 2K11 Off Topic Dynasty Major League Baseball: 1990 and Beyond... (an OOTP11 Dynasty) Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 11-23-2009 at 09:00 PM.