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LIVE FROM LONDON:
MARCIANO DESTROYS, LANGFORD DOMINATES

Wednesday 9 January 2002

LONDON ARENA, LONDON, ENGLAND

Brockton's Rocky Marciano announced his future intentions for the HBF's World Heavyweight Championship in devastatingly effective fashion here tonight, scoring a brutal 3rd round knockout victory over the hopelessly outgunned Oscar Pharo. Those in attendance at the Arena were searching for superlatives to describe the performance of the number one seed in the HBF's 1st Defense tournament: "awesome", "breathtaking", "destructive" and "just plain scary" were some of the more popular ones.

Back in November, the HBF was criticised for omitting Marciano from their World Championship tournament. Many boxing experts were dumbfounded, as they had observed the federation's tournament auditions and felt that Marciano was easily one of the best - if not the best - to attend. Some looked upon the federation's decision with much scepticism, saying that the HBF had deliberately made the move in order to set up a blockbuster fight between Marciano and their inaugural champion. The fact that Marciano was made the top seed for the 1st Defense tournament only added fuel to the argument. Regardless, HBF President Michael Vincennes had denied the claims on a number of occasions.

Marciano had not spoken on the matter in the meantime, but it was quite apparent during his three round demolition of Pharo that he was taking out his pent-up frustration on the Syrian-born Detroit native ... or perhaps simply trying to inform the federation of the mistake they had made.

Marciano received a huge round of applause as he entered the ring, adorned in a black robe with white trim. The time had come for the public to see if he was able to live up to the hype that had been generated in the months since the HBF's auditions. The Marciano-Pharo fight was only the second bout on the card, but the crowd were treating it like a main event. They were fascinated by Marciano, watching him as he prowled around the ring, impatient for the fight to begin.

From the opening bell, Marciano was all over Pharo, staggering him twice within the first minute with a pair of right handed bombs. Not long after, he landed a solid left jab-right hand combination. Pharo started to backpedal, finding himself trapped in a neutral corner. Marciano punished him with a series of damaging combinations, a look of stern resolve upon his countenance. Pharo managed to slide away, tying Marciano up in a clinch near the centre of the ring. His cornermen shouted at him to step it up, but the look on Pharo's face seemed to indicate that he had already accepted his fate. Marciano scored with a crunching left hook to reinforce his opponent's state of mind. As the round drew to a close, the two men were once again tied up in a clinch. As Pharo tried to break free, his head smashed into the bridge of Marciano's nose, cutting him. Marciano reeled back, wiping at his nose with his glove. As the round ended, the two fighters exchanged words, and referee Rudy Battle was forced to separate them. Marciano got in his ear, motioning to his nose, showing an incredulous expression.

Marciano's corner worked on the cut during the break. It was not as bad as it might have seemed, and the man form Massachusetts came out steaming in the second, determined to end the fight. Marciano stalked Pharo, his anger leading to a brief lapse in concentration as Pharo tagged him with a left hook. But that only succeeded in making Rocky madder. He cornered Pharo and unleashed a wicked right cross, flooring the Michigan resident. On his feet by nine, Pharo might have been better served to stay down and let the fight end there. He was in a world of hurt, and Marciano was relentless. But it seemed that Marciano had allowed his emotions to get the better of him, missing with a number of wild shots. With about 40 seconds left in the round, Pharo almost tasted the canvas again, a vicious three punch combination buckling his legs. He survived the round, but it was a wonder that the referee and the fighters could hear the bell over the noise being made by the crowd.

Marciano continued the punishment in the third round, a crushing right cross hurting Pharo. But it was a body shot that sent Pharo to his knees, a crippling right that connected just under his ribcage. Bravely, Pharo managed to beat the count again, but there was a resigned, vacant look in his eyes. Still, the referee allowed the fight to continue. A right hand landed flush on Pharo's chin, followed by a smashing uppercut and a left hook that sent Pharo crashing to the canvas for a third and final time. He was counted out, and was out cold, 2:23 into the third round...

"Rocky, I think I speak for most of the people here when I say ... WOW," said ESPN commentator Jay Marlow, minutes after the fight. The crowd voiced their agreement with a strong round of applause.

"Well, thank you very much," said Marciano. "I'm glad that you all enjoyed it."

"I think that 'enjoyed' is an understatement, Rocky. That was just a phenomenal performance."

Marciano smiled. "I'm just very happy that I was able to win the fight," he said. "I wouldn't call what I did phenomenal. There were a few mistakes there."

"A lot of people would say that's the sign of a man with lofty ambitions. To say that you aren't over the moon with that performance shows how determined you are."

"Well, this is only my first pro fight. I've trained hard for it, but it's just the beginning. I can't let myself be satisfied. That's what my training team has been drilling into me. This is just the very first step on a long journey."

"What did you think of the head clash incident at the end of the first round?" Marlow asked. "Because from my vantage point, you seemed to be pretty steamed about it."

Marciano let out an exasperated sigh. "I really thought that he was trying to get out of there with a TD," he said. "I don't mean to question his character, or to big note myself, but the truth is that he knew he was outclassed. I could see that before the fight started. I hurt him a few times during the first round, and it seemed to me that maybe he was thinking that if he could cut me early on, the fight would be stopped. It made me pretty mad, and I think my temper got the better of me in the second round. I missed a lot of easy shots, a lot of chances to finish it off."

"Now, Rocky, ever since the HBF auditions in October, there has been a group of boxers who have received a lot of media attention. There's Riddick Bowe, there's Lennox Lewis and Jack Johnson. There's also been you. It's true to say that the media built you guys up, even before a punch had been thrown. Have you felt any pressure to perform because of this?"

"No, I haven't," came Marciano's quick reply. "I haven't read any of the newspapers or watched any of the television coverage. I've just been concentrating on training. I'm aware of my capabilities. I know that the HBF have declared that I must emerge as the winner of the 1st Defense tournament in order to receive a shot at the World Championship. That's all that matters. I can only worry about my own performances."

"Many boxing commentators have said that they were amazed the HBF entered you in the 1st Defense tournament, instead of the World Championship tournament. How disappointed were you by this decision?"

Marciano's countenance took on a darker tone. "Well, I'd really prefer not to talk about that," he said. "It doesn't matter anymore. Hopefully, eventually, my performances in the ring will make it irrelevant."

"Well, Rocky, thank you for taking the time to talk to us, and we wish you the best of luck for the rest of the tournament."

"No problem." Rocky shook Marlow's hand and made his way out of the ring, acknowledging the applause from the crowd. Many of them came up to him, patted him on the back and shook his hand.

(Shortly: POCKET-ROCKET LANGFORD IMPRESSIVE, DOMINATES IN MAIN EVENT)