[kenyan_cheena]

The Heavyweight Boxing Federation bestowed Canadian Sam Langford with the number nine seed for their World Championship tournament. When you understand that over 300 men auditioned for the tournament, this fact alone is impressive. When you consider that at only 5'8", Langford is THE shortest man in the tournament, it becomes even more so.

Langford's opponent in his first professional fight was John Holman of Chicago, Illinois, a man who stood a full six inches taller. When the two came together at the centre of the ring, a handful of spectators at the London Arena attempted to make light of the difference in size, perhaps unaware of the high regard that Langford had earned for himself during and since the HBF's October auditions. Many Londoners had witnessed Langford's heated sparring session against Rocky Marciano before Christmas and had felt an instant admiration for him as a result.

If there were some who were ignorant, Langford quickly put them in their place. He started aggressive and continued to be aggressive, dominating the opening four rounds with lightning quick attacks, making it appear that Holman was moving in slow motion. The crowd was in awe as he pummeled his overwhelmed opponent with merciless intent. It was quite a sight to see Langford launching crushing left hooks, swinging up at his man and putting his whole body behind each punch. For the audience, it was worth the price of admission to watch him punish Holman's midrift with ripping body shots. Langford is by no means the strongest boxer in the tournament. But he makes up for this by staying busy. He never gave Holman a moment's rest during those first four rounds, dropping him to the canvas 1:07 into the 4th round with a perfectly thrown left hook, picking him off with multiple combinations in the bottom half of the round.

Langford cruised through the 5th round, taking his foot off the accelerator for the first time in the fight. He came out smoking again in the 6th, looking as fresh as he had at the start of the fight. As time expired, an exquisite uppercut sent Holman to the canvas for a second time. Saved by the bell, he had to be helped back to his corner.

The crowd awarded the Canadian with a standing ovation for what was truly a masterful, dominating performance. Many were astonished that the young man they had watched was making his professional debut. The judges were just as impressed, awarding Langford with a clear-cut unanimous decision (59-53 (twice), 60-52).

In the post fight interview, Langford succeeded in further enamouring himself to the crowd with a display of respect and humility.

"I give all praise and thanks to my lord Jesus Christ," said Langford, raising a hand to the heavens. "I could not have done this without his blessing and love. I'd like to congratulate Mister John Holman for his gutsy performance tonight. He's a very tough competitor, and I wish him the best of luck for the remainder of the tournament."

"That's a pretty modest assessment of your performance, Sam," said ESPN's Jay Marlow. "And I'm sure that John appreciates those kind words, but to be honest, he was really no match for you."

Langford smiled and laughed nervously. "I wouldn't say that. During training, I adopted the mantra that every opponent is only one good punch away from being more than a match for me. I take nothing for granted."

"There has been quite a bit written about your height, Sam," said Marlow. "Some have said that they think you are too small to compete in this tournament. I'd have to say that after tonight's victory, all of those voices will fall silent."

"It doesn't bother me," replied Langford. "This is the way God created me. I am the shortest boxer in the tournament. It had to be someone, so why does it matter that it is me? All that is important is that I am above the minimum weight of 180 pounds, so that qualifies me to participate. They don't have to worry about me. I can look after myself."

This last comment brought a warm round of applause and amused laughter from the audience.

"Well, I'm sure everyone here agrees with you, Sam," said Marlow. "Congratulations on a terrific debut, and we wish you all the best for your future endeavours in the tournament."

"Thank you, Jay. I'd just like to thank the HBF for the opportunity they have given every fighter who is boxing under their banner. But even more so, I want to thank the London crowd for their incredible support."

As Langford left the ring, another thunderous round of applause erupted. The crowd stood and clapped the Canadian pocket-rocket. Langford applauded in return, even stopping to sign a number of autographs before disappearing up the tunnel and into the dressing room...

***

ON THE UNDERCARD

* In the Opening Bout, New Jersey's Tony Galento was upset by Jose Luis Garcia of Venezuela in a 1st Defense tournament contest. Galento, the 16th seed, was expected to have little trouble against Garcia, the 56th seed. Apparently, Galento made the mistake of thinking that this would be the case. In a fight where the momentum continually shifted, Garcia simply outworked his more fancied opponent. He won by unanimous decision, 58-56 (twice), 58-57.

* After Rocky Marciano had destroyed Oscar Pharo, Joe Baksi and Joe Goddard entered the ring to contest the first World Championship tournament bout of the night. There was a ten year age difference between the two combatants, with the New Yorker Baksi 18 years-old and the Australian Goddard 28 years-old. It was a highly entertaining fight, with each round being won decisively. The final result was a fitting majority draw, with two of the judges having it 57-57 and the third strangely scoring the fight 59-55 to Goddard.

* In the Support Bout, 22 year-old Alex Stewart was excited to be fighting in his city of birth for his professional debut. But it did not go smoothly for him. After dominating the opening round against Jim Savage (another New Jersey native), Stewart went into his shell. It took winning rounds five and six for him to salvage a draw (57-57 on all cards) and avoid a humiliating loss in front of his fellow Londoners. Stewart, the 40th seed in the World Championship tournament, will have to re-think his approach in his next fight.

* Ireland's Tom Sharkey showed that he will be one to look out for as the tournament progresses. He scored a crushing 2nd round TKO victory over Gerrie Coetzee of South Africa in the Co-Feature. 20 year-old Sharkey is the 24th seed in the tournament, and he showed a brutally professional efficiency in completely tearing his bigger opponent to pieces without dropping him to the canvas. Referee Zach Clayton had no option but to end the contest, saving the battered South African from further punishment at the 2:57 mark of the second round. Like Sam Langford, Sharkey is a short man, standing only 5'9". But he is powerfully built. Many are already looking forward to the Langford-Sharkey matchup in July.