The International Boxing League

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ASOTASI EDGES TUPOU IN AUCKLAND

Monday 7 October 2002

In a match-up of heavy hitters local-born crowd favourite Frank Asotasi scored a unanimous decision win over fellow New Zealander David Tupou this evening at Ericsson Stadium. A big crowd was on hand for the event and they were treated to an exciting night of boxing. After an impressive opening round Asotasi had to climb off the canvas in round two after Tupou dropped him with a jolting right cross. Asotasi had the better of an action-packed round three and dominated the 4th but Tupou answered back strongly in the 5th, another three minutes full of powerful exchanges. But Asotasi sealed the deal with a convincing showing in the final stanza to take a razor-thin verdict, 57-56 on all three cards. The win was Asotasi's first after suffering a surprise defeat at the hands of Jason Smith on debut, a loss where the scorecards had been exactly the same as in tonight's victory. Asotasi landed 153 of 315 punches (.429), Tupou 73 of 373 (.196).

Earlier on the card the two other Kiwis in the group gave the crowd a lot to cheer about in victorious efforts, Paul Anderson improving to 2-0 with a unanimous decision win over Jason Wanganeen and Asotasi's good friend Nathan Pritchard doing the same against the Tongan Jonah Maka. The biggest surprise of the night came in its fourth contest when the highly-touted Australian Mark Somogyi lost by unanimous decision to compatriot Steve Matthews. In a fantastic bout Somogyi had been held to a draw by Ali Habib on debut but was expected to achieve his first victory against Matthews. After the first round that looked to be the case. The Melbourne-born slugger started fantastically, catching his opponent with a bone-rattling combination and two smashing uppercuts, one at either end of the round.

However the fight turned in Matthews's favour fifty seconds into the 2nd as he put Somogyi on his backside with a flush, neck-snapping uppercut. Clearly dazzed Somogyi only just beat the count and barely survived the round. He appeared to have cleaned out the cobwebs in round three, controlling the majority of it before Matthews produced an impressive burst of activity near the end.

Rounds four and five were both exciting affairs with neither man taking a backward step. The 4th was really too close to call but Somogyi finished with a flurry of scoring punches in round five, an effort that only one judge rewarded. Matthews was clearly the aggressor in both rounds and the ringside officials favoured him because of it. The 6th was another close one and if Somogyi had been a little bit busier he may have taken it. His failure to do so was costly as the final scorecards read 57-56, 58-55 and 58-57. Like in his debut Somogyi outlanded his opponent, connecting with 141 of 373 punches (.378) to Matthews' 118 of 618 (.191).

Somogyi wore a bemused expression in the minutes after the verdict, unable to fathom that he was still winless after two professional bouts. He has been spoken of as the class of this group on more than one occasion but with his record now 0-1-1 he'll need to dig deep in his upcoming bouts to get himself into contention...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
MONDAY 7 OCTOBER 2002
ERICSSON STADIUM, PENROSE, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

IBL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, SERIES TWO
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
REGION: OCEANIA


OPENING BOUT

Paul Anderson UD6 Jason Wanganeen

PRELIMINARY 1

David Chan TKO6 Ali Habib

PRELIMINARY 2

Tupuola Mataafa UD6 Jason Smith

SUPPORT BOUT

Steve Matthews UD6 Mark Somogyi

CO-FEATURE

Nathan Pritchard UD6 Jonah Maka

MAIN EVENT

Frank Asotasi UD6 David Tupou

***

Series three Matchups...

DAVID TUPOU (0-1-1) vs ALI HABIB (0-1-1)
JASON WANGANEEN (1-1-0) vs DAVID CHAN (2-0-0(1))
MARK SOMOGYI (0-1-1) vs NATHAN PRITCHARD (1-0-1)
STEVE MATTHEWS (1-1-0) vs JASON SMITH (1-1-0)
JONAH MAKA (0-2-0) vs TUPUOLA MATAAFA (1-1-0)
FRANK ASOTASI (1-1-0) vs PAUL ANDERSON (2-0-0)

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MINA GETS A LITTLE SCARE BEFORE
EASING TO VICTORY AT HOME

Tuesday 8 October 2002

Fighting in front of a parochial home crowd at Lima's Acho Stadium Olympic Light-Heavyweight Champion Mauro Mina maintained his perfect career start with a unanimous decision victory over Uruguay's Mario Alberto Sosa (58-56 on all three cards). As was the case in his debut last month the Peruvian didn't have it all his own way, Sosa winning rounds two and three in convincing fashion to take a one-point lead into the bottom half of the contest. Once there Mina took control, hurting Sosa with a hard left hook in the 4th and having little trouble keeping him at bay with that fantastic jab in the final two frames.

A number of Olympic medallists have already tripped up through these first weeks of IBL competition but Mina has been able to avoid that situation. While there are a couple of skilled fighters in his group none of them appear capable enough to spring an upset, although it wouldn't really surprise if he's unable to get through these regional qualifiers unscathed.

***

In the Co-Feature Venezuela's Fulgencio Obelmejias rebounded from an unexpected debut defeat to score a 3rd round KO of the Argentinian Jorge Ahumada. It was a single right cross that turned Ahumada's lights out after Obelmejias had controlled the opening two rounds. The Argentine was counted out 1:02 into the 3rd.

Earlier Mina's compatriot Francisco Avelino ran his mark to 2-0 with a unanimous decision win over Uruguay's Dogomar Martinez while Argentina's Victor Galindez also stayed perfect with a 6th round TKO of Brazil's Jose Cacciatore, the man who had upset Obelmejias last month.

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
TUESDAY 8 OCTOBER 2002
ACHO STADIUM, LIMA, PERU

IBL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, SERIES TWO
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
REGION: SOUTH AMERICA


OPENING BOUT

Victor Galindez TKO6 Jose Cacciatore

PRELIMINARY 1

Francisco Avelino UD6 Dogomar Martinez

PRELIMINARY 2

Miguel Angel Cuello UD6 Roberto Venancio

SUPPORT BOUT

Ramon Avenamar Peralta MD6 Vicente Rondon

CO-FEATURE

Fulgencio Obelmejias KO3 Jorge Ahumada

MAIN EVENT

Mauro Mina UD6 Mario Alberto Sosa

***

Series Three Matchups...

JOSE CACCIATORE (1-1-0(1)) vs RAMON AVENAMAR PERALTA (2-0-0)
JORGE AHUMADA (0-2-0) vs ROBERTO VENANCIO (0-2-0)
DOGOMAR MARTINEZ (0-2-0) vs MAURO MINA (2-0-0)
FULGENCIO OBELMEJIAS (1-1-0(1)) vs MARIO ALBERTO SOSA (0-2-0)
FRANCISCO AVELINO (2-0-0) vs VICENTE RONDON (1-1-0)
VICTOR GALINDEZ (2-0-0(1)) vs MIGUEL ANGEL CUELLO (1-1-0)

[kenyan_cheena]

BOOKER UPSTAGES FOX IN OMAHA

Wednesday 9 October 2002

Former amateur standout Eddie Booker spoiled the hometown debut of Omaha's Jack Fox tonight, defeating him by unanimous decision in a heated contest (58-56 on all three cards). Back in 2000 San Jose-born Booker lost out to eventual silver medallist Bob Foster in qualifying for the Sydney Olympics but is considered one of the favourites to progress to the World Championship tournament from the USA West group. He justified that favouritism tonight, starting impressively before withstanding a mid-fight Fox rally to take the decision.

Both men had been victorious on debut, Booker by majority decision against fellow Californian Jack Chase and Fox via a controversial split decision over bitter rival Michael Nunn. Fox is by far the stronger of the two but Booker was the more aggressive through the first two rounds, pressing Fox and controlling the tempo with an effective jab. Fox was able to score the occasional hard shot, including a smashing left hook at the end of round one but Booker was clearly outsmarting and outworking him.

Fox is known for a hair trigger temper and he let his frusration show at the end of the 2nd, hitting Booker after the bell. Booker retaliated and Fox got right in his face, the two men forehead to forehead before the referee seperated them. Booker was in command but that all changed in round three as the local favourite wrestled the momentum away and found the mark with a series of damaging blows. Booker was staggered twice during the round and when Fox's domination continued in round four it appeared the fight had swung completely in his favour. He verballed Booker at the end of the 4th and thumped his chest, exhorting the crowd to get behind him, which they did and then some.

But Booker wasn't going to just roll over and surrender and with the outcome poised on a knife edge late in a competitive 5th the Californian struck, wobbling Fox with a perfectly timed left hook and following it up with a barrage of scoring shots. Consternation overcame the Omaha Community Playhouse crowd and when Fox showed little in an anti-climatic final round it was evident that Booker's 5th round outburst had been devastatingly effective. Fox looked gassed in the concluding stanza, leaving Booker to pepper him with a series of jabs from the outside, taking the round and, as a result, the verdict.

(to be continued)

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(continuation)

Punch totals

Eddie Booker: 156/392 (.398)
Jack Fox: 129/339 (.381)

"The brother packs one helluva punch," said Booker afterwards. "But I was confident that steppin' up and taking the initiative away from him would blunt that. My speed and aggression got me in a winning position after those first two rounds but he came back strong and made it hard for me to keep it goin'. You know, I ain't had the best prep for this one 'cause of some stuff with my family but I felt pretty strong all the way through. Probably got a bit lucky in the 5th there landin' those hard shots. Surprised me how much they slowed him down."

Fox was in no mood for talk, departing the ring before Booker's interview had concluded. Unsurprisingly, his apparent dummy spit did not receive the most favourable response from the crowd but Fox appeared unconcerned, wearing an angry sneer as he made his way back to the dressing rooms. Ever since the St. Louis selection trials the man has had a reputation for being something of a bully and it was clear to see that he was having trouble handling the fact that he'd been "outbullied" by a more lighter-hitting opponent. Mention must be made of the impressive start Booker has made to the tournament. Despite his excellent amateur career he's been overlooked by some of the experts as far as this particular group is concerned. They've preferred to focus on Spinks, Foster, Lewis and Fox but Booker showed tonight that he should not be ignored when it comes to qualifying for the World Championship tournament.

UNDERCARD HIGHLIGHTS...

* Kansas native Scot Long absorbed a ton of punishment from silver medallist Bob Foster on debut. Although he lost the bout the 23 year-old proved that he's as tough as nails, staying on his feet for the duration and actually finishing the better fighter. Tonight he was up against a man he'd clashed with heatedly at the St. Louis trials, the lanky Iowa native Michael Nunn. Having only tipped the scales at 168 pounds for his debut loss to Jack Fox, Nunn had packed on some muscle in the intervening five weeks and didn't look so undersized as he stepped between the ropes and regarded Long with a steely gaze. Long himself was sporting something of a meaner appearance, having parted with his blonde hair in favour of a crew cut that emphasised his chiselled, broad-shouldered physique. With both men looking for their first victory it promised to be a competitive stoush and did not disappoint...

(to be continued)

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(continuation)

ROUND ONE

Both men are weary through the first two minutes but Nunn appears to steal the round with a nice uppercut and a glancing overhand right before Long gets the better of a spirited exchange moments from the bell.

ROUND TWO

Long steps up his aggression and wins the round as a result, catching Nunn with some hard shots early and then almost dropping him with a smashing uppercut in the final minute. Nunn looks eager to avoid that right hand and when Long catches him with it late in the stanza he backpedals, consternation blanketing his face.

ROUND THREE

The action heats up, Long maintaining his momentum early before Nunn lands his best punch of the fight, a flush left hook. Long works the body but when Nunn catches him with another smashing left the Kansas native is on unsteady legs. To his credit he recovers and has the better of the bottom half but it's not enough to overturn Nunn's good early work.

ROUND FOUR

The pace slows somewhat, the combatants appearing to cruise through the round by mutual consent. That is until Long catches his man with a jolting uppercut and a right hook flush on the chin in the last thirty seconds, the flurry of activity enough for him to win the frame.

ROUND FIVE

Getting to the business end of the contest now and Nunn makes it known that he's deadly serious, dominating the round with a succession of scoring shots. Has he just been foxing up until now? Perhaps, because he's much busier in this round than in any other during the fight. The highlights of his work are a hard uppercut and a clubbing left hook that bounces off Long's forehead, both shots coming in the opening minute. Nunn consolidates with more solid scoring punches as the round progresses.

ROUND SIX

Nunn's outburst in the 5th looks to have taken a lot out of him as he's nowhere near as active here in the final round. It's been a hard fight and both men appear quite spent but it's Long who digs a little deeper, finishing strongly in the last minute with a series of combinations to take the round. The man's hunger and passion and determination is not only evident on his face but also in his voice, Long shouting as if to push himself beyond his limits as he unloads his punches.

***

Punch totals

Michael Nunn: 130/454 (.286)
Scot Long: 108/396 (.273)

***

Nunn and Long came into the evening with a strong dislike for each other but it appears that they've come closer to mutual respect after such a tough contest. When the verdict is revealed, no one can really dispute it: each judge scores the bout a 57-57 draw. The three were also in exact agreement over who won each round, giving Nunn the 1st, 3rd and 5th and Long the 2nd, 4th and 6th.

"Real tough fight," said Nunn, shaking his head. "The dude is one hard hombre, know what I'm sayin'? Hard as nails, for sure. If I could have just pushed myself through that final round maybe I could have won it, but I ain't gonna complain. Felt I was robbed 'gainst Fox but I got no problem with this result."

"Kinda wishing these fights were ten rounds," Long said, smiling. "I feel like I'd have a better chance over the longer distance 'cause I finished strong against Foster and I felt like I was in control at the end of this one. Pretty frustrating that neither of us could keep the momentum so the result makes sense, I guess."

Nunn and Long both remain winless at 0-1-1 but it must be said that they've shown enough to convince observers they'll be competing for a top four spot deep into the tournament.

(to be continued)

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(continuation)

* Earlier in the evening Arizona native John Henry Lewis laid claim to the unfortunate distinction of being the first competitor in either the IBL or HBF to lose a bout via disqualification. In against the outclassed Californian Alvaro Lopez, Lewis appeared to be cruising to victory through the first three rounds. He was dominating the contest and had swept two of the scorecards but was warned in the 2nd about leading with his head. In the 4th the two fighters clashed heads and Lewis was deducted a point by referee James Goldstein. Lewis looked perturbed by the incident and as the round drew to a close he led with his head once again when lunging at Lopez with a right hand while trapped in a neutral corner. Fed up with his antics Goldstein called an end to the fight, declaring Lopez the winner by disqualification in the 4th round. Lewis argued long and hard afterwards, his corner crew disputing the decision in a heated fashion. They got in the faces of both Goldstein and the other IBL officials that were in the ring, to no avail.

"This is some crazy $h_t!" snapped an emotional Lewis. "Can't believe they can take a win away from me over some bull$h!t, you know? I ain't gonna stand for this, man. I be talkin' to Mr. Molk, no doubt."

One of the favourites to progress to the World Championship tournament, this defeat could very well come back to haunt Lewis when the regionals are completed. It's a fight he would have pencilled in as a certain victory and before his apparent brain explosion there was no reason to think otherwise. Hopefully for his sake tonight was just one of those crazy moments that occasionally comes along in life and not an indicator of a problem with his boxing technique.

* Olympic silver medallist Bob Foster improved to 2-0 with a convincing unanimous decision win over Hollywood native Jack Chase (60-54, 59-55, 60-54). Foster didn't repeat the mistake he'd made on debut of going out too aggressively early on, producing a more measured performance and outlanding his willing opponent 186-103. The low-key New Mexico native showed little emotion afterwards, aware of Chase's limitations, his eyes clearly on a bigger prize.

* By comparison Sydney's Middleweight Champion Michael Spinks was in a bragadocious frame of mind following his majority decision victory against Leroy Grace (59-55, 57-57, 59-55). After directing some light-hearted abuse towards the judge who had scored the bout a draw the St. Louis slugger praised his own efforts, highlighting that he'd landed almost 100 more punches than his adversary (176-79) while ignoring the fact that Grace had shown some promising signs in round one and had also held his own going toe-to-toe with him in an explosive 5th.

Spinks has spoken in the past of his ambitions to become the first three-division champion in boxing (Light-Heavyweight, Junior-Heavyweight, Heavyweight) and reiterated them tonight, stating that it was important for him to become the Light-Heavyweight division's inaugural champion so that he would have plenty of time to "create a legacy within the division" before moving on to the ranks of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation.

At this early stage of his career it would certainly be prudent for Spinks to keep himself in the present, but the man's talent can certainly not be denied. It would be a huge surprise if he doesn't stay in the reckoning deep into the World Championship tournament...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER 2002
OMAHA COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE, OMAHA, NEBRASKA, USA

IBL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, SERIES TWO
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
REGION: USA WEST


OPENING BOUT

Tommy Harrison D6 Gordon McKenzie

PRELIMINARY 1

Alvaro Lopez DQ4 John Henry Lewis

PRELIMINARY 2

Bob Foster UD6 Jack Chase

SUPPORT BOUT

Michael Spinks MD6 Leroy Grace

CO-FEATURE

Michael Nunn D6 Scot Long

MAIN EVENT

Eddie Booker UD6 Jack Fox

***

Series Three Matchups...

TOMMY HARRISON (0-1-1) vs JACK FOX (1-1-0)
BOB FOSTER (2-0-0) vs GORDON MCKENZIE (1-0-1)
EDDIE BOOKER (2-0-0) vs JOHN HENRY LEWIS (1-1-0)
LEROY GRACE (0-2-0) vs JACK CHASE (0-2-0)
MICHAEL NUNN (0-1-1) vs MICHAEL SPINKS (2-0-0)
ALVARO LOPEZ (1-1-0) vs SCOT LONG (0-1-1)

[kenyan_cheena]

AMAKOCHI HELD TO DRAW
IN NIGERIAN DEBUT

Thursday 10 October 2002

Talented Nigerian Light-Heavy Celestine Amakochi left the ring disappointed tonight after being held to a draw by the tough Congonese fighter Shabani Mputu at the Surelere Stadium (57-57, 58-56 (Mputu), 57-57). In an action-packed encounter Amakochi controlled the opening round before Mputu put himself in front with some solid work in both the 2nd and 3rd. But Amakochi wrestled back the momentum with a dominant effort in round four and when he maintained the upperhand through the 5th it appeared that he was on his way to victory. But Mputu came through in the final stanza, showing a busier, more aggressive disposition to take the round and bring about the final verdict.

Mputu upset German bronze medallist Graciano Rocchigiani on debut and his performance tonight serves as more evidence that he's one to watch in the tournament. Amakochi was sensational in dismantling the South African Mike Holt last month and had been favoured to defeat Mputu. He apologised to the crowd afterwards, appearing quite overwhelmed that he'd failed to achieve a victory in his homeland debut.

UNDERCARD HIGHLIGHTS

* Despite coming into the fight somewhat underdone, "The French Pastry" Petite Fourie scored a comfortable unanimous decision win over Zambia's Lotte Mwale to improve to 2-0. Each judge favoured Fourie with a 58-56 verdict, the 28 year-old doing just enough in most rounds but displaying some uncharacteristic aggression in the 4th, where he peppered Mwale with a succession of jabs and left-right salvos. Mwale had been blown away by Fourie's fellow Frenchman Georges Carpentier last month and when questioned over his inability to do the same Fourie sniffed dismissively before replying.

"That is, eh, not my way," he said in French-accented English. He regarded the ringside reporter with a disapproving gaze. "I am an artist, not a brute. This sport needs, how to say it? More creative fighters, fellows like me, to show the science and masterpiece of it, no?"

(to be continued)

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(continuation)

* After an evenly fought opening three rounds England's Bob Fitzsimmons pitched a shutout through the last three of his bout against the Irishman Steve Collins, Fitzsimmons winning by unanimous decision (60-55, 59-56, 60-55) to improve to 2-0. There were high hopes for Collins coming into the tournament but in his two bouts so far he's simply been outclassed, despite showing tremendous heart.

* In complete control going into the final round, teenage French sensation Georges Carpentier floored South African Mike Holt twice in the last ninety seconds to put an exclamation point on an impressive outing. Carpentier took a 59-53, 60-53, 59-53 unanimous decision verdict and is now 2-0(1) and looking like a real chance for a World Championship tournament berth.

* Germany's Graciano Rocchigiani put the disappointment of his debut loss behind him, defeating the hometown favourite Taribo Keshi by unanimous decision (59-56, 59-57, 59-56). The bronze medallist was in an aggressive mood, especially in rounds two, three and five, which he thoroughly dominated much to the frustation of the Surelere Stadium crowd.

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2002
SURELERE STADIUM, LAGOS, NIGERIA

IBL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, SERIES TWO
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
REGION: EUROPE/AFRICA


OPENING BOUT

Allan Pollock UD6 Len Harvey

PRELIMINARY 1

Petite Fourie UD6 Lotte Mwale

PRELIMINARY 2

Bob Fitzsimmons UD6 Steve Collins

SUPPORT BOUT

Georges Carpentier UD6 Mike Holt

CO-FEATURE

Graciano Rocchigiani UD6 Taribo Keshi

MAIN EVENT

Shabani Mputu D6 Celestine Amakochi

***

Series Three Matchups...

ALLAN POLLOCK (1-1-0) vs GEORGES CARPENTIER (2-0-0(1))
GRACIANO ROCCHIGIANI (1-1-0) vs BOB FITZSIMMONS (2-0-0)
SHABANI MPUTU (1-0-1) vs LOTTE MWALE (0-2-0)
PETITE FOURIE (2-0-0) vs STEVE COLLINS (0-2-0)
CELESTINE AMAKOCHI (1-0-1) vs LEN HARVEY (0-2-0)
MIKE HOLT (0-2-0) vs TARIBO KESHI (1-1-0)

[Romdawg88]

Things ain't getting any easier for Steve Collins. Seems like he will probably be dropping to 0-3 after throwing down with the Bear.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Things ain't getting any easier for Steve Collins. Seems like he will probably be dropping to 0-3 after throwing down with the Bear.

Wouldn't surprise me if it goes that way. Rocc-Fitz should be a good one.

[kenyan_cheena]

FAVOURITES STRUGGLE IN NOTTINGHAM

Thursday 10 October 2002

In surprising results Pennsylvania's Tommy Yarosz and Liverpool-born slugger John Conteh were both held to draws during tonight's Light-Heavyweight Future Contender series fight card at Nottingham's Harvey Hadden Leisure Center. Yarosz and Conteh are considered the class of their group, a belief they backed up when scoring convincing debut victories last month. Tonight was an entirely different story as the pair looked out of sorts and uncomfortable in narrowly avoiding defeat.

Conteh had needed only 79 seconds to dispatch of Christian Roff last month but he found all manner of trouble when he stepped in the ring against fellow Englishman James Paul Warwick. Conteh started slow and Warwick made the most of his lethargy, sweeping the opening three rounds on two scorecards before Conteh dug deep to save himself from what would have been an embarrassing defeat. One judge had Warwick a 58-56 victor while another favoured Conteh by the same score, the third seeing it a 57-57 draw. In the Co-Feature Yarosz simply couldn't get into a rhythm and despite showing signs of his best in the 3rd and 4th rounds it wasn't enough to secure as victory, each judge showing a 57-57 verdict.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2002
HARVEY HADDEN LEISURE CENTER, NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND

IBL FUTURE CONTENDER SERIES
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION - GROUP ONE, SERIES TWO


OPENING BOUT

Yvon Durelle UD6 Victor Cordoba

PRELIMINARY 1

Sixto Rodriguez UD6 In-Chul Baek

PRELIMINARY 2

Gus Lesnevich D6 Giraldo Rossetti

SUPPORT BOUT

Gustave Roth UD6 Christian Roff

CO-FEATURE

Tommy Yarosz D6 Cezary Bisniek

MAIN EVENT

John Conteh D6 James Paul Warwick

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TORRES THRILLS FELLOW COUNTRYMEN
IN GUTSY WIN OVER BERLENBACH

Friday 11 October 2002

In a fantastic tussle Puerto Rico's Jose Torres produced a late rally to take a split decision victory over New York's Paul Berlenbach tonight at San Juan's Escobar Stadium. It was a matchup of two fighters who are expected to contend for a spot in the Light-Heavyweight division's World Championship tournament and it did not disappoint. Both Torres and Berlenbach were coming off victories on debut, Torres flooring Yolande Pompey five times on the way to a 6th round KO win while Berlenbach had defeated fellow New Yorker Johnny Persol by unanimous decision.

After a cautious start from both combatants round one exploded late, Berlenbach tagging Torres with a flush right hand and then snapping his head back with a hard uppercut as the frame entered its final minute. But the home town hero answered back in fantastic style, catching Berlenbach with an uppercut of his own before staggering him courtesy of a left hook as the final seconds ticked away. The New York slugger dominated round two, hurting Torres early and never letting him into the stanza. Berlenbach found the mark with a pair of jolting uppercuts aswell as a rapid three-punch salvo and a hard right to the forehead. Torres had the better of a frantic exchange late in the round but he was clearly outfought for most of it.

To the audience's delight Torres rallied strongly in the 3rd, using volume rather than power to take the round in convincing fashion. He landed a series of pinpoint jabs and clean combos, Berlenbach shaking his head in frustration as he returned to his corner. But he was right back in command in round four, swaying the frame in his favour with a smashing left hook at its midpoint. Berlenbach followed it up by pressing Torres, crowding him and working the body before sneaking home some damaging lefts and rights from in close. With two rounds remaining Berlenbach appeared to have the advantage and the crowd let their man know that he needed to lift.

Torres did exactly that in the 5th, a stinging jab one minute in hurting his man and leading to Torres controlling the rest of the round. He dropped a hard left hook on Berlenbach's chin and then had him backpedalling with a four-punch combination that brought a loud roar from the crowd. Berlenbach fired back as the round drew to a close but as he sat on his stool during the intermission his trainer hammered home the point that he "needed this final round" to secure a win. It looked like Berlenbach was on his way as he opened the round fantastically, catching Torres with an uppercut, a straight right and barrage of shots to the head and body all within the opening minute. The outburst silenced the crowd and as the seconds ticked away and the bout entered its final minute Berlenbach seemingly had the victory in hand. But with just 34 seconds remaining Torres unloaded a crippling body shot that sucked the air out of Berlenbach, dropped him to one knee and led to a thunderous chorus of applause resonating around the stadium. Torres thumped his chest and shouted to the crowd as he moved to a neutral corner. Berlenbach was up at seven and although he wore a pained expression managed to survive to the final bell, avoiding a couple of haymakers from his excited opponent.

When the verdict was announced the audience exploded once more: Torres was the winner by a 57-56, 56-57, 57-56 split decision. Torres outlanded his opponent 148-132 but that meant little to him as he was carried around the ring on his trainer's shoulders, fists raised in the air and tears streaming down his cheeks. He spoke afterwards of how proud he was to headline a fight card in his homeland and was clearly overwhelmed by the nature of his victory.

(to be continued)

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(continuation)

UNDERCARD HIGHLIGHTS...

* Dominican Republic native Merqui Sosa scored his first professional victory, defeating New Jersey's Dwight Braxton by unanimous decision (58-57, 60-55, 59-56). It was an action-packed contest and although Braxton had a number of fine moments he was unable to equal Sosa's aggression, workrate and determination. Sosa outlanded Braxton 154-142, those numbers a clear indication of the quality of the contest. Braxton has distinguished himself in both of his bouts to date but sits in an 0-2 hole that he'll be desperate to climb out of.

* Considered the favourite to top the group Harlem's Maxie Rosenbloom was tested by Dwight Braxton on debut last month and tonight he overcame another challenging opponent in the shape of fellow New Yorker Tom Bethea. As was the case against Braxton, Rosenbloom was the victor by majority decision (58-56, 57-57, 58-57) after a spirited encounter. The bragadocious Rosenbloom was in the driver's seat heading into the bottom half of the bout having shown some impressive defensive skills and masterful counter-punching in the early rounds. But Bethea rallied well in the 4th and 5th to put himself in a position to force at least a draw. But Rosenbloom would have none of that and he dominated the final round to secure the victory.

"I think Tommy gave me a harder night than Braxton did," Rosenbloom said. "He was smarter with his punches even though he doesn't have as much pop as Dwight does. It was a good test for me, I have to say."

Rosenbloom is now 2-0 while Bethea fell to 0-2 having lost to Iran Barkley last month.

* Fighting in the Co-Feature Guyana's Dennis Andries rebounded from a poor debut performance to take a unanimous decision verdict against the Bronx's Iran Barkley (60-53, 57-56, 58-55). Barkley had easily accounted for Tom Bethea on debut and was expected to do the same to Andries. But he started slow and never really got into the contest. When Andries dropped him with a hard uppercut late in the 4th it was a clear sign that this wouldn't be the New Yorker's night. Both men are now 1-1.