The Greatest Prize in Sports

[Lee]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

That was a great result for your fighter, Ric. I'm pretty confident that he'll win the title.

Ditto, you are cutting a swath through the LW division.

[kenyan_cheena]

The Daily Telegraph

TUESDAY 10 OCTOBER 2006

JACKSON ONE WIN FROM
WORLD TITLE SHOT

Story by John Brown

Caribbean-born Sydney heavyweight boxer Peter Jackson scored a dramatic 10th round TKO victory over Poland's Andrew Golota yesterday to earn himself a berth in the final of the International Boxing League's Challenger's tournament. The 24 year-old Athens bronze medallist climbed off the canvas in the 4th and 9th rounds before producing a fantastic rally in the final stanza. He floored Golota twice in the space of 25 seconds before the referee called the contest off at the 2:30 mark with Golota out on his feet. Going into the 10th two judges had it all tied up at 85-85 while the third favoured Jackson 86-84. Jackson takes on England's Lennox Lewis in the final after his main event bout against the American Jack Johnson ended as a draw. The event was held at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and kicked off at 1pm Monday, Sydney time.

Golota has unsuccessfully challenged for the world championship on two occasions during his career but that experience and his sensational TKO of Athens silver medallist Riddick Bowe in the tournament quarter-finals had him installed as the favourite to send Jackson to his first professional defeat. Jackson's road to the semi-finals had been somewhat less convincing as he'd survived a late rally from the Russian Alexander Zolkin to win by split decision. As usual, he entered the ring in a robe and trunks of white with green and gold trim. Out of the gates quickly, Jackson took the opening round by dominating its bottom half. He landed a hard right and a pair of flush left hooks before finishing strongly by connecting with a right cross and an uppercut from in close.

Jackson controlled the contest through the 2nd and a much closer 3rd, proving to be more aggressive and busy than his Polish opponent. But Golota turned the tables in round four, landing a jolting combination early before finding the mark with a wicked left to the body and then dropping Jackson on his backside with a perfectly-timed uppercut. The Aussie was up at seven but looked quite shaken. Luckily for him the round was nearing its end and he was able to make it to the bell despite absorbing a crushing right cross. Showing no ill-effects from the knockdown Jackson stole back the upperhand in the 5th, a booming left hook early in the frame keeping Golota on the backfoot through the rest of it. Golota appeared set to take the 6th but Jackson made it a much closer thing after some effective work through the final minute, including a left rip to the ribs that had Golota grimacing.

When Jackson produced a dominant 8th he seemed to be on his way to an impressive victory. Golota looked downcast and tired as he sat on his stool, but he hasn't had the excellent career he's enjoyed by giving up and he rallied in the 9th. Jackson was still in control as the round entered its final thirty seconds when, completely against the run of play, Golota floored him with a flush left hook. Jackson was back on his feet at three but looked perturbed by the Pole's sudden fightback. For the last period of the round they went toe-to-toe to the delight of the Las Vegas crowd. As the final round started Jackson looked the fresher of the two and appearances were soon confirmed as reality when he caught Golota with a series of hard shots before knocking him down for the first time with a left-right-left salvo just before the two minute mark.

Golota was up at five but wore an exhausted gaze. Jackson dropped him again just twenty seconds later, a brutal right cross turning his legs to jelly. He made it to his feet at the count of six and was allowed to continue, but when Jackson sent him into the ropes with a jolting left jab/straight right combo referee John Wright stepped in and ended it, Jackson a jubilant winner by TKO at 2:30 of the 10th and final round. He was joined in the ring by his corner crew and fellow IBL competitor Les Darcy, who'll be contesting the final of the middleweight division's world championship tournament come December. While Jackson was overwhelmed by his achievement Golota appeared in the depths of despair as he sat on his stool, head bowed and covered by a towel. After his great win over Riddick Bowe he'd said that he felt confident of going all the way to the tournament final but his countenance in the moments after the fight ended spoke a thousand words of heartbreak and anguish. Jackson remains undefeated at 16-0(10), Golota falling to 29-5(25).

The main event that followed was every bit as dramatic. It was a clash of the Athens heavyweight and super-heavyweight gold medallists, a contest that had been eagerly anticipated and discussed. Both Lewis and Johnson stepped into the ring undefeated. They left the same way, but it was Lewis who progressed to the tournament final by virtue of his higher seeding (Lewis is #5, Johnson #8). The main talking point was how Johnson would contend with the Englishman's ten-inch reach advantage and when one makes an assessment of the fight it's clear to see that Lewis would have been defeated without that edge. There was trouble for Johnson early on when a hard right opened a cut on his left eyelid just forty seconds into round one. Lewis came on strong in the bottom half of the frame, landing a flush left hook, a left-right salvo and a crunching straight right to take it.

After his corner crew went to work on his eye Johnson took the 2nd convincingly, a jolting uppercut and a snapping right cross putting Lewis on the backfoot before he ended the round with a strong response, a left hook that wobbled Johnson moments before the bell. The Texas-born Johnson was even more impressive in round three as he tagged Lewis with a number of flush shots, the pick of which was a right rip to the body that brought a pained expression to Lewis' face. Johnson was getting his punches off without hesitation, his gameplan in sharp contrast to Lewis' more cautious approach. Realising he needed to step it up Lewis became more aggressive in the 4th, the result a spectacularly dominant three minutes. He pounded Johnson throughout the frame, starting with a pair of sledgehammer body blows and continuing with a crushing uppercut one minute in, a left-right-left flurry and a follow-up right cross near the two minute mark and another flush right cross about thirty seconds from the bell.

Unsurprisingly the action slowed in the 5th before Johnson took the 6th despite a late Lewis rally. Little was happening early in round seven until Johnson suddenly had Lewis on the canvas after a lightning-fast left-right salvo. Lewis was up quickly, wiping at his nose and smiling as if to give the impression everything was okay. But Johnson maintained the pressure through the rest of the round, keeping the Englishman on the backfoot and tagging him with a stiff jab, a hard left to the body and a pair of jabs as the stanza drew to a close. The 8th was a much closer affair with both men having their moments. Lewis found the mark early with a left rip to the ribs and late with a smashing right cross, the punch being the highlight of the round. Johnson connected with a number of shots but none of them really had much steam behind them.

In hindsight the point where Johnson lost his chance to win came in the final two rounds as his workrate dropped considerably. Lewis didn't set the world on fire, either, but he did enough to sweep both the 9th and 10th on two scorecards and, as a result, retain his place in the tournament. He hurt a tiring Johnson with a right cross in round nine and a booming left hook in round ten. When the verdict was announced Johnson reacted angrily, exclaiming "Oh, hell no!!!" and briefly arguing with an IBL official. Two judges had it all tied up at 95-95, the third favouring Johnson 97-94. He outlanded Lewis by 32 punches, 219-187. Even though Johnson's supporters outnumbered Lewis' most of those in attendance at the MGM Grand seemed to be in agreement with the result. Lewis' record is now 16-0-1(10), Johnson's 15-0-1(11).

As a consequence of their elimination from the tournament Golota and Johnson both face difficult matchups in their next bouts. Johnson takes on former WBA world champion Sergey Anyukov while Golota goes up against Nigeria's Ike Ibeabuchi. Meanwhile, Lewis and Jackson will go toe-to-toe on the final day of the year for the glory of a shot at the world championship. Earlier in the evening Brooklyn's Riddick Bowe and New Jersey native Joe Jeannette set up what will be an anticipated December stoush with solid victories. Bowe floored the Russian Alexander Zolkin twice on the way to a unanimous decision win (77-73, 79-71, 77-73) while Jeannette dominated and then knocked out the Tongan Simione Paea at the end of round five. The winner of the Bowe-Jeannette bout will be the #8-ranked heavyweight when the IBL's initial world rankings are released in early January.

---

Results

(#11) Jackson TKO10 (#2) Golota
(#5) Lewis D10 (#8) Johnson

Tournament final, 31 December

(#5) Lennox Lewis (16-0-1(10)) vs (#11) Peter Jackson (16-0(10))

---

[kenyan_cheena]

Just to let you all know where I'm at with TGPiS...

Didn't have time to work on it over the weekend. Was going to run the two BW regional cards and do brief write-ups but life got in the way. Will try to get them done during the next couple days.

I have to select the 144 fighters (16 in each of the nine weight divisions) who will be taking part in the IBL's upcoming series of world ranking cards. These will take place during the seven week hiatus period for the tournaments. Some of these entrants are already known but most of them aren't. There'll be an IBL press release listing the schedule for the first series with the individual matchups.

Also have to write the review of the BW Challenger's semis. So unfortunately the next week of universe time will probably take at least one week of real life time also.

[Infinity]

No worries bro, your quality makes it well worth waiting for. Take your time!

[kenyan_cheena]

THE LONDON TIMES

Tuesday 10 October 2006

Top seeds to meet
in bantamweight final

Story by James Simpson

In what has been a rarity to date in the International Boxing League's tournaments the #1 and #2 seeds in its bantamweight Inter-Continental Championship event both qualified for the final during last night's card in Copenhagen, Denmark. Fighting in the co-feature London's Danny O'Sullivan scored a 9th round TKO victory over the Italian Casper Leon before hometown favourite Johnny Bredahl took a comfortable unanimous decision verdict against Japan's Takao Sakurai in the main event. This particular tournament was one of just six out of the 36 staged by the IBL in which the top four seeds all made it to the semi-finals, and only the third in which the top two booked a finals berth.

O'Sullivan overcame a slow start to dominate the later rounds of what was an action-packed affair. After controlling the opening two frames Leon appeared in good shape to pull off a victory but the Kings Cross-born O'Sullivan slowly worked his way into the contest. He had the Italian on the backfoot in the 5th and then again in the 7th, before a merciless onslaught in round nine led to referee Richard Davies calling it off at the 2:25 mark. O'Sullivan led by one point on two cards and two points on the other going into the 9th. He outlanded Leon 230-214 and improved his record to 21-3-1(17), Leon falling to 17-3(11). O'Sullivan has won all three of his tournament bouts inside the distance, having knocked out Robert Cohen in the opening round of their stage one bout and then disposing of the Australian Lionel Rose inside of four in the quarters. He is the sixth English fighter across four different weight divisions to qualify for a final of the IBL's Inter-Continental Championship tournaments.

Bredahl set the tone for his clash with Sakurai early, flooring the 3rd seed with a brutal combination just forty seconds into the 1st round. It was a setback that had a fatal affect on the slick Japanese fighter as he struggled to make any impact until the bout had entered its bottom half. Bredahl led by five points on all three cards going into round seven and it was only during those final four rounds when Sakurai gave him something close to a challenge. The final scorecards read 97-92, 96-93, 97-92. Bredahl connected with 251 of 817 punches (30.7%), Sakurai 179 of 754 (23.7%). The Dane now boasts a record of 19-3-2(12) while Sakurai lost for just the second time in his career and is now 17-2-2(11). After scoring a pair of close split decision wins over compatriots Eijiro Murata and Hozumi Hasegawa to make the semis he was hoping to go all the way to the championship bout and wore a gaze of despair after the final bell.

[kenyan_cheena]

Laredo Morning Times

WEDNESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2006

Canizales obliterates Solis
in 1st round

Story by Brian Walsh

Laredo-born bantamweight boxer Orlando Canizales blazed his way into the final of the International Boxing League's Americas Championship tournament with an opening round TKO of Puerto Rican #1 seed Julian Solis at the Laredo Entertainment Center last night. In an extraordinary main event referee Lenny Fredricks ended the bout at the 2:35 mark after Solis had absorbed an astonishing barrage of punches, Canizales landing 42 of 126 blows according to the stats keepers. The punishment started early with a flush left hook before a right hand and a jolting right cross had Solis staggered before the bout was a minute old. Canizales unloaded with a series of wicked body shots through the middle section of the round before he went back to head hunting with a left hook and a straight right in quick succession all Fredricks needed to see before he stopped the contest.

Already cheering wildly the parochial crowd went nuts when Canizales was confirmed as the winner. The 22 year-old improved his record to 18-2-1(14) while Solis, who came in as a warm favourite, suffered just the second defeat of his career in falling to 28-2-1(22). The former top seed was a shattered, stunned man afterwards, his face a mask of distress and dismay. Canizales has been recognised in the past for his punching power and last night it was on full, eye-opening display. He'll take on Jeff Chandler in the championship bout after the Philadelphian was a unanimous decision winner over Ohio's Greg Richardson (99-90, 97-92, 98-90). In a dominant showing Chandler floored Richardson in rounds four and nine and landed just on twice as many punches (236-119). Chandler is now 15-1-2(9) and after surviving a scare from Florida's Carmelo Aleman in the quarter-finals was relieved to find a much easier evening against Richardson.

[Infinity]

This one'll make for an interesting clash of styles.

[Beno999]

Hozumi Hasegawa to win the tourney, absolute class.

[kenyan_cheena]

Probably take me three or four days to select the world ranking fighters and post the schedule.

[Jeff1787]

As usual, always worth the wait!!

[kenyan_cheena]

HW and JHW divisions done. Hopefully get the rest set by Friday US time.

[kenyan_cheena]

Five down, four to go. Should be able to get it finished by tomorrow and post the schedule also. In the meantime, while at work I've been working on another AMERICAN | PUGILIST article.

[kenyan_cheena]

THURSDAY 12 OCTOBER 2006

INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE
PRESS RELEASE

Following is the schedule for the first series of International Boxing League World Ranking fight cards. The purpose of these fight cards is to determine the initial IBL world rankings in each weight division from rank #56 through to rank #71. A second series of fight cards will commence starting on the 15th of November during which the winners and losers from series one will be matched up against each other. Each bout on these fight cards will be six rounds in duration.


WEEK ONE

***

WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2006

LONDON, ENGLAND

WELTERWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

JIMMY DOYLE (USA, 5-1-1(3))vs IDRISSA DIONE (CON., 5-1-0(3))
CLYDE GRAY (CAN., 3-0-1(2)) vs GENE BURTON (USA, 5-1-0(3))
FLOYD MAYWEATHER (USA, 4-0-0(2)) vs SILVANO BERTINI (ITA., 5-1-1(3))
GLENWOOD BROWN (USA, 6-1-2(4)) vs RODOLFO GOMEZ (MEX., 4-1-1(2))
DEMARCUS CORLEY (USA, 5-0-1(3)) vs ALVARO GUTIERREZ (MEX., 4-0-0(3))
ISAAC HLATSHWAYO (SA, 6-0-1(4)) vs GERALD DREYER (SA, 4-1-0(2))
JUAN VILLEGAS (ARG., 15-4-0(11)) vs RAMON TISCARENO (MEX., 4-1-1(2))
JIMMY FULTON (UK, 22-1-1(18)) vs TSUYOSHI HAMADA (JAP., 4-0-1(2))

***

FRIDAY 20 OCTOBER 2006

JUNIOR-HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

MILAN, ITALY

AARON WILLIAMS (USA, 4-0-1(2)) vs VALERY BRUDOV (RUS., 4-0-1(3))
RAVEA SPRINGS (USA, 5-0-0(4)) vs MAGNE HAVNAA (NOR., 4-0-0(4))
EZRA SELLERS (USA, 5-0-2(3)) vs ROB CALLOWAY (USA, 3-0-1(2))
VINCENZO ROSSITTO (ITA., 5-0-0(3)) vs AKIM TAFER (FRA., 4-0-0(2))
TROY ROSS (GUY., 5-0-1(3)) vs FRANCISCO PALACIOS (PR, 3-0-0(2))
GARY WILCOX (USA, 5-1-0(3)) vs ANDRE PROPHET (USA, 4-1-1(2))
JAMIE WITHERS (AUS., 5-0-1(3)) vs SAMMY REESEN (UK, 3-0-0(3))
GIACOBBE FRAGOMENI (ITA., 7-1-1(5)) vs CHISANDA MUTTI (ZAM., 4-0-1(2))

***

SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER 2006

LIGHTWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

ALDO NAZARENO RIOS (ARG., 5-0-0(3)) vs YURI ROMANOV (BEL., 5-1-0(3))
FABIAN TEJEDA (ARG., 5-0-0(3)) vs SAMMY MANDELL (USA, 4-0-1(2))
JUAN CARLOS RAMIREZ (MEX., 6-1-1(4)) vs RICKY QUILES (PR, 4-0-0(3))
IWAO OTOMO (JAP., 5-0-1(4)) vs BOBBY SCANLON (USA, 3-0-0(2))
JACQUES PRIGENT (FRA., 7-1-0(4)) vs GILBERTO SERRANO (VEN., 5-0-2(3))
PHILLIP N'DOU (SA, 6-1-0(3)) vs JOEY ANGELO (USA, 4-0-1(2))
AUSTIN GIBBONS (UK, 8-1-1(5)) vs MIGUEL ANGEL GONZALEZ (MEX., 3-0-0(2))
JAVIER LOPEZ (MEX., 23-4-1(16)) vs ALI FUNEKA (SA, 4-0-1(2))

***

WEEK TWO

***

WEDNESDAY 25 OCTOBER 2006

LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA

BATTLING SIKI (SEN., 5-0-0(4)) vs MIKE QUARRY (USA, 5-1-2(2))
BOBBY CASSIDY (USA, 5-0-1(3)) vs ROCCO MAZZOLA (ITA., 4-0-0(2))
EDDIE DAVIS (USA, 5-0-2(3)) vs PIERO DEL PAPA (ITA., 4-0-0(1))
FRANKIE SWINDELL (USA, 4-0-2(2)) vs HUGO GARAY (ARG., 4-1-1(2))
CHRIS FINNEGAN (UK, 5-0-1(3)) vs BOB GODWIN (USA, 3-0-0(2))
OLE KLEMETSEN (NOR., 6-1-0(5)) vs LOTHAR STENGEL (GER., 4-1-0(2))
FREDDIE MILLS (UK, 7-0-1(5)) vs BOB AMOS (USA, 4-0-0(2))
CHARLEY BELANGER (CAN., 6-0-1(3)) vs BRUNO GIRARD (FRA., 4-1-0(2))

***

FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER 2006

MIDDLEWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

TACOMA, WASHINGTON, USA

JOE DENUCCI (USA, 6-0-2(3)) vs GARY STRETCH (UK, 6-1-1(3))
TROY ROWLAND (USA, 6-1-1(3)) vs HARRY SCOTT (UK, 4-0-1(2))
ERIC REGAN (USA, 5-1-1(3)) vs ITALO SORTICHINI (ITA., 4-1-0(2))
PEDRO MIRANDA (CUB., 6-1-0(4)) vs LAURENT DAUTHUILLE (FRA., 5-0-1(3))
JIMMY BEAU (USA, 7-1-1(4)) vs LOU GUTIERREZ (NIC., 5-0-1(3))
GENE WELLS (USA, 12-3-1(8)) vs WILLIE GIBBS (USA, 5-1-0(3))
VITO ANTUOFERMO (ITA., 11-2-1(7)) vs CARLOS BOJORQUEZ (MEX., 5-1-0(3))
FREDDIE STEELE (USA, 33-2-1(29)) vs HEROL GRAHAM (UK, 4-0-0(3))

***

SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 2006

FEATHERWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

MANILA, PHILIPPINES

BILLY HARDY (UK, 5-1-0(3)) vs RED CHAPMAN (USA, 4-0-1(2))
PEDRO GOMEZ (VEN., 4-1-0(3)) vs CARMELO COSTA (USA, 5-1-1(2))
CALVIN GROVE (USA, 4-0-0(2)) vs SERGIO CAPRARI (ITA., 5-1-0(3))
OSCAR LEON (COL., 5-1-1(3)) vs PATRICK FORD (GUY., 5-1-0(3))
AURELIO HERRERA (MEX., 6-0-1(4)) vs LUISITO ESPINOSA (PHI., 3-0-0(1))
OSCAR GARDNER (USA, 8-1-2(5)) vs LUIS FUENTE (MEX., 5-1-0(3))
DAVE CROWLEY (UK, 7-0-1(4)) vs ANSEL BELL (PAN., 4-0-0(3))
ELINO FLORES (PHI., 6-0-2(3)) vs TIM HEGARTY (AUS., 4-0-1(2))

***

WEEK THREE

***

WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2006

HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, USA

OLLE TANDBERG (SWE., 3-0-1(2)) vs LUIS FIRPO (ARG., 4-0-0(2))
ALEJANDRO LAVORANTE (ARG., 4-0-0(2)) vs MARVIN HART (USA, 3-0-0(2))
THAD SPENCER (USA, 4-0-0(2)) vs LARRY GAINS (CAN., 3-0-1(2))
JOHNNY ARTHUR (SA, 5-0-1(3)) vs NATIE BROWN (USA, 4-1-1(2))
TIMO HOFFMANN (GER., 5-0-0(3)) vs DANNY WILLIAMS (UK, 4-0-0(3))
LAWRENCE CLAY-BEY (USA, 7-0-1(5)) vs BARTLEY MADDEN (IRE., 4-0-1(2))
RON E. VINCENT (USA, 6-0-0(3)) vs LUIGI MUSINA (ITA., 4-0-0(3))
MARK LYONS (USA, 7-0-0(7)) vs FLOYD JOHNSON (USA, 3-1-1(1))

***

FRIDAY 3 NOVEMBER 2006

FLYWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

BANGKOK, THAILAND

JOHNNY MCCLUSKEY (UK, 6-1-2(4)) vs PAUL GONZALES (USA, 6-1-0(4))
GABRIEL BERNAL (MEX., 6-1-0(3)) vs JONG-KWAN CHUNG (KOR., 5-1-1(3))
ARISTIDE POZZALI (ITA., 5-1-1(3)) vs YUL-WOO LEE (KOR., 4-0-1(3))
CHARTCHAI CHIONOI (THA., 6-1-1(4)) vs ALBERTO JIMENEZ (MEX., 5-0-0(3))
JUN KITANO (JAP., 7-2-1(4)) vs KIMIO FURESAWA (JAP., 4-1-0(2))
JEAN GUERARD (FRA., 9-2-1(6)) vs HIROSHI NAKANO (JAP., 5-0-1(3))
RAMON CALATAYUD (VEN., 7-0-1(3)) vs FERNANDO ATZORI (ITA., 4-0-1(3))
CHOKCHAI CHOCKVIVAT (THA., 10-1-1(7)) vs SUZUKI CABATO (PHI., 5-1-0(3))

***

SATURDAY 4 NOVEMBER 2006

BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD RANKING FIGHT CARD

SALTILLO, MEXICO

JOSE MONTIEL (MEX., 6-1-2(3)) vs ELLYAS PICAL (IND., 5-0-0(3))
TETSUYA YAMAGAMI (JAP., 5-1-1(3)) vs RAFAEL PEDROZA (PAN., 5-0-1(3))
STEVE DOTSE (GHA., 4-1-1(3)) vs RUSH DALMA (PHI., 4-0-1(3))
LEO ESPINOSA (PHI., 5-1-0(3)) vs SATOSHI SHINGAKI (JAP., 5-0-0(3))
GEORGE DIXON (CAN., 3-0-0(2)) vs STAN ROWAN (UK, 4-0-1(2))
TOMMY KELLY (USA, 6-1-1(4)) vs EFRAIN PINTOR (MEX., 5-1-0(3))
JIMMY KRUG (USA, 5-0-0(3)) vs JOHNNY VACCA (ITA., 4-1-0(3))
JOSE TOLUCO LOPEZ (MEX., 7-0-2(4)) vs HOWARD MAYBERRY (USA, 3-0-0(2))

***

[PWillisTheMan]

Good to see I'm at home. The first fight I ever saw live was at the Baltimore Civic Center, Chaplin/Shavers.

[kenyan_cheena]

The Daily Telegraph

*** Late Edition ***

MONDAY 16 OCTOBER 2006

FENECH JOINS JACKSON & DARCY
IN TOURNAMENT FINALS

Story by John Brown

When they signed on with the International Boxing League back in April Sydney boxers Les Darcy, Peter Jackson and Jeff Fenech said that their goal was to bring a trio of world championships to Australia. While Darcy was considered a favourite to claim the league's inaugural middleweight title, Jackson (heavyweight) and Fenech (bantamweight) were not held in the same high regard. However, earlier today Fenech matched the achievements of his two good friends when he scored a 10th round KO of Mexico's Lupe Pintor to secure a berth in the final of his division's Challenger's tournament. Fighting in front of a hostile crowd at the Monterrey Arena Coliseo 15th-seeded Fenech produced a fantastic effort in slowly wearing down Pintor before finishing him off with a jolting right cross 45 seconds into the final round. Fenech held a six-point lead on two cards and a four-point lead on the other heading into the 10th.

Pintor was the second Mexican that Fenech had overcome in consecutive bouts after he'd recorded a gutsy split decision win against Jesus Pimentel in the quarter-finals. Surprisingly, he had a much easier time against Pintor, who was simply unable to handle the Aussie's aggression and relentless style. Fenech established control early, dominating the first four rounds to silence the crowd before Pintor found a glimmer of hope with some good work in the 5th. But it was only a brief detour from the path for Fenech as he took back the momentum in round six and held it through the remaining rounds, despite Pintor's improved resistance. Little was happening early in the final round before Fenech unloaded that right cross, the punch catching Pintor flush on the chin and sending him to the canvas. He started moving at six but never looked like regaining his feet and was counted out at the 0:56 mark.

At the time of the stoppage Fenech had outlanded Pintor 246-151. He improved his perfect record to 18-0(15) while Pintor fell to 27-5(18). Fenech's opponent in the tournament final will be the #1-seeded Argentinian Ernesto Miranda, who pitched a near shutout against Panama's Enrique Pinder on the way to a unanimous decision victory (98-91, 99-90, 98-91). The outclassed Pinder tasted the canvas in rounds eight and nine but never gave up, making Miranda work hard in every frame. Miranda is now 27-3-1(17) and will go into the tournament final as the favourite. But Fenech has already made it this far against the odds so only a fool would dismiss him.

The determined Athens bronze medallist celebrated with Jackson and Darcy in the ring afterwards. Incredibly, the trio are now just a handful of victories from reaching their goal of world championship glory. Darcy will be crowned the IBL's inaugural middleweight world champion if he defeats Japan's Koichi Wajima in their December 22 clash while Jackson and Fenech will earn world title shots with victories in their respective tournament finals. If they are able to pull it off there's no doubt it would be one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of Australian sports.

---

Results

(#1) Miranda UD10 (#5) Pinder
(#15) Fenech KO10 (#3) Pintor

Tournament final, to be held 7 January 2007

(#1) Ernesto Miranda (27-3-1(17)) vs (#15) Jeff Fenech (18-0(15))

---

[Infinity]

Always did like Fenech! He'll win and shock the world!

[kenyan_cheena]

Thanks, Infinity. I hope he can go all the way, also. Not just 'cause I'm Australian but also because I am really, really wanting this triple-world title storyline to play out successfully.

The semi-finals of the IBL's various tournaments are now complete! The finals commence on December 4 (uni date) with one of our very own community fictional fighters Ashley Jackson (djday45) going for glory when he tries to capture the Inter-Continental Welterweight Championship.

During the seven week hiatus the schedule of cards posted further up this page plus a second series of bouts involving the same fighters will take place. I'm going to try to cover this period pretty quickly although there will be some other things happening, including the blockbuster Patricio Marquez-Joe Brown IBF lightweight world championship bout on November 25.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Infinity

Always did like Fenech! He'll win and shock the world!

Hey, Infinity, would you like to have a fighter in this uni? I just bumped the sign-up thread in General Discussions if you're interested.

[Infinity]

That would be cool I'll take a look now! BTW did you notice how the Australian team shaped up in my newest tourney?

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Hey, Infinity, would you like to have a fighter in this uni? I just bumped the sign-up thread in General Discussions if you're interested.

[kenyan_cheena]

nx pg