The Greatest Prize in Sports

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Thanks Dan, I always forget how methodically you work through your universes.

Compared to the HBF I've been going pretty quick with this one and have skipped over a bunch of fight cards to get to this point. But seeing as it's a month full of title fights I feel each one deserves at least a few paragraphs of recognition.

[kenyan_cheena]

Boxing

Updated: December 6, 2006, 4.15 PM ET

Drozd stops Suda on cuts,
wins Inter-Continental belt

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

On Saturday night Russian fight fans were celebrating after Igor Berezutskiy stunned Germany's Marko Friedrich with a 5th round one-punch knockout to claim the IBF's heavyweight title. Another dose of championship glory came to Moscow this afternoon (US time) when Grigory Drozd defeated Lubos Suda of the Czech Republic by TKO in the 12th to win the International Boxing League's junior-heavyweight Inter-Continental belt. Though not on quite the same level as a world championship Drozd's triumph was just as hard earned as he battled Suda through an exciting twelve rounds. Drozd suffered a cut under his right eye in round two but it was a cut that Suda sustained on the inside of his left eyebrow in the 5th that ultimately led to the fight being stopped.

Referee Sergey Krupenich halted the contest two minutes into round eleven to allow the ringside doctor to examine the cut. The bout continued but not for much longer as Drozd targeted the wound early in the final frame, leading to an alarming stream of blood trickling down Suda's face. This time the Czech Republic native was out of luck and the bout was called off at the 0:59 mark. Suda had made a fantastic, dominant start through the opening two rounds before Drozd rallied brilliantly to take the 3rd, 4th and 5th convincingly. Round six was uneventful but when Suda controlled the 7th and then sent Drozd to the canvas with a left hook two minutes into round eight he appeared to be on his way to victory. He maintained the momentum through the 9th before Drozd gave the parochial Krylia Sovetov crowd renewed hope with some punishing work in round ten.

Round eleven had been an even affair up to the point when Krupenich intervened. Sensing danger Suda ended the round confidently but one minute into the 12th a certain victory was taken from him and he protested passionately to no avail. Suda held a 105-103 lead on all three scorecards heading into the last round. However, it must be said that the cut Drozd had inflicted upon him was a particularly nasty one and if the fight had continued a handful of well-targeted punches could have made it disasterous for Suda's future prospects. Drozd is now 21-4-1(15) while Suda fell to 21-3-1(14). Drozd will defend the title for the first time against Ireland's Tom Sharkey next month after the Dundalk-born pocket-rocket stopped Germany's Markus Bott late in round nine of their co-feature elimination bout.

In a real slugfest the two combatants traded some absolute haymakers before Sharkey floored Bott twice in the 9th, referee Juergen Langos stopping the fight with the German on his way down for a third time at the 2:49 mark. The explosive Sharkey (16-1-1(14)) will no doubt be a difficult proposition for Drozd to handle. All three of his IBL victories have come via stoppage. However, he did receive a fearful beating from Suda in the tournament semi-finals which is something that Drozd's camp will draw confidence from. The title fight will take place in the final week of January, with an exact date yet to be set.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[kenyan_cheena]

The San Diego
Union-Tribune

FRIDAY 8 DECEMBER 2006

Norris completes title charge,
wins Americas Championship

Story by Geoff Klein

Last night San Diego's Orlin Norris capped off an incredible start to his time in the International Boxing League by claiming the Americas Junior-Heavyweight Championship with a 12-round unanimous decision win over New York's Louis Del Valle. Norris came into the title tournament as an unfancied, 11th-seeded afterthought but fought his way through to the semi-finals with majority decision wins over Dale Brown and Gary Gomez before knocking out Guyana's Wayne Braithwaite in the 2nd round of their September semi-final bout to qualify for the championship bout. As a reward for his admirable run Norris fought the final in front of a parochial home crowd at the San Diego Coliseum, claiming the title after a close, competitive affair. One judge scored it 116-113 but the other two had it even closer, giving the verdict to Norris by a single point, 115-114.

It was reported in recent weeks that Norris had struck up a friendship with fellow San Diego slugger Ken Norton. The former WBC heavyweight champion and current IBL contender had apparently been keeping an eye on Norris as he progressed through the tournament and gave him some invaluable advice in addition to training with him during the last month. Showing his support, Norton made the walk to the ring last night with Norris, an action that drew thunderous applause from the audience. The fight itself was an entertaining stoush. Del Valle was the aggressor for most of the duration but Norris was clearly more effective and accurate with his punches. By the time it was over he had outlanded the Long Island native 315-196, despite throwing just over half as many punches as him.

While the momentum swung back and forth it was the stretch from round seven through nine that was vital for Norris. All three rounds were hard fought but Norris took two of them on two cards and all three on the other. When the verdict was announced the undefeated 21 year-old fell to his knees and shouted jubilantly, his family and friends including Norton celebrating with him in a group embrace. It's been said that the junior-heavyweight/cruiserweight division is perhaps the most talentless in all of boxing but in Norris it appears to have a young, passionate fighter who could bring about some exciting times. He's already captured the imagination of California and if he can string together a series of wins could very well become a national celebrity. Norris is now 12-0(8) while Del Valle fell to 17-4-1(13).

As mentioned earlier, Wayne Braithwaite was knocked out by Norris in the tournament semi-finals. Next month the Caribbean slugger will attempt to gain revenge when he challenges for the Americas title in Norris' first defense of it. Braithwaite scored a ten-round unanimous decision win over Oklahoma's Eric Fields to earn the title shot. Fields had been the tournament's #1 seed but after making it to the semi-finals with two impressive stoppage wins has now suffered back-to-back unanimous decision defeats. Braithwaite started strongly and Fields was never able to get a foothold in the contest, the Guyanan dropping him in the 7th and going on to take the verdict by scores of 97-92 on all three cards.

Earlier in the evening two of the more promising fighters in the junior-heavyweight division continued what has been a disasterous start to their time in the IBL. Florida Alliance member Elmer Ray stole defeat from the jaws of victory for a second time in his last three fights before Nebraska's Mark Elwood saw his streak of consecutive losses stretch to three. As was the case in his July defeat to Johnathon Banks, Ray made a fantastic start against Panama's Luis Andres Pineda. He was within a couple of punches of finishing the South American off in the opening round. Pineda then put himself in the contest in the 2nd and 3rd but when Ray dominated rounds four and five it looked all but over. Incredibly, Pineda floored the Olympic bronze medallist twice in the final two minutes of the fight to steal a majority decision win (56-55, 56-56, 56-55). In his loss to Banks Ray had also tasted the canvas twice in the final round and it now appears that the young man has a major problem with concentrating for the entire duration of a fight.

As for Elwood, a career that looked so exciting heading into these IBL tournaments is rapidly descending to ruin. After being eliminated in the quarter-finals by Braithwaite he's now dropped back-to-back decision verdicts in world ranking bouts to Gary Gomez and Dan Harvison. Apparently the September loss to Gomez affected his confidence and he struggled to maintain his focus while training for the Harvison bout. As a result he came into the evening underdone and looking softer than usual. Despite that he appeared to be heading towards victory after the opening three rounds. But an absolutely disasterous 4th swung the contest to Harvison. A right cross deposited Elwood on his backside a minute in before the referee deducted him a point for a low blow shortly before the bell, making it a 10-7 round for the Pennsylvanian. Elwood never recovered and Harvison was the better man through the final two rounds, leading to a 57-55, 59-54, 57-55 unanimous decision win.

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN
Boxing

Larry Holman Blog

HBO's "24/7" looks like a winner
Friday, December 8, 2006 | Print Entry

HBO premiered the first episode of its new boxing documentary series "Norton-Haynes 24/7" last night and, as those who also watched it would agree, it was some of the most fascinating television I've seen for some time. When the network announced plans for the series back in October they promised it would "give viewers a "behind the scenes" insight into the two combatants' lives and preparations for what will be the biggest fight of their careers." Well, I have to say that's exactly what the opening episode delivered. It was professionally produced, with an excellent soundtrack and suitably reverential narration provided by Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actor Liev Schreiber.

The episode opened at the sprawling Pensacola compound of trainer Roy Jones. Filmed two weeks ago, the five-minute segment gave the viewer a brief tour of the surprisingly low-key, fancy-free property and an eye-opening look at Haynes during a gut-busting training session with his fellow Florida Alliance stablemates Romy Alvarez, James Ray, Elmer Ray and Holman Williams, a thumping hip-hop track as the backdrop. Haynes expressed the absolute admiration and respect he has for Jones as his trainer and "soul brother" and credited him as the one individual who really did the most to turn his life around. The fact that Jones' residence is as much a training camp as a home was made clear when it's revealed that the five boxers share two large rooms between them when staying there: Haynes and Williams in one, the Ray cousins and Alvarez in the other. According to Jones it keeps them in the right frame of mind for training effectively.

We then moved some 2,000 miles west to San Diego and the significantly more upscale surroundings that Ken Norton calls home. The former WBC champion was in the mood to entertain and showed the HBO crew around his stunning two-storey, dozen-bedroom mansion before treating them to a five-star three-course dinner. His family aside Norton has a large entourage of friends and hangers-on, many of whom were present at his home on this particular night. Amongst them was fellow IBL competitor and former WBC middleweight champion James Toney. The two men have been friends for many years and although Toney calls Los Angeles home he's staying with Norton while he trains for the Haynes fight. He's there at the gym the following day as an assistant to Norton's trainer Ernie Bennett. When asked about preparations for his own upcoming IBL bout Toney ignored the question and quickly changed the subject. Although he's not the focus of the show this scene was telling as it gave credence to the recent rumours that Toney won't be extending his IBL contract when it expires on December 24.

After the first commercial break we were treated to a fly on the wall look at the lively December 2 MGM Grand press conference, where some heated words were exchanged between the two camps both publicly and away from the spotlight, scenes only HBO's cameras had access to. If there's one certainty that came out of that event it's this: Terone Haynes' dislike of Ken Norton is entirely genuine. During the conference Haynes brought up the topic of Norton's refusal to fight him during 2005 when it was clear that the Miami native was the most worthy challenger to Norton's position as world champion after claiming the WBO title from Ray Mercer the previous September. It's a subject that Haynes clearly hasn't put behind him, one he sees worthy of holding a grudge over. Haynes also criticised Norton for his tough words from the previous week, saying "Where those big man words be las' year when you was duckin' me, y'all?"

The final segment of the episode focused on the start of this week, with Norton talking about his new friendship with fellow San Diego fighter Orlin Norris, who he accompanied to the ring before his IBL Americas Championship success last night while the episode was being broadcast. Norton spoke of his ambition to groom and mentor young Californian fighters, such as Norris and his fellow heavyweight Sam McVey, adding that it's something he plans to continue doing when the day finally comes when he hangs up his gloves. Back in Florida, the cameras followed Haynes as he made a brief visit to his family and friends in his hometown Miami, where he received an overwhelming welcome. Keeping with the "guided tour" theme of the episode Haynes took the HBO crew to his own home, which while beautiful doesn't come close to the extravagance enjoyed by Norton.

We were able to see Haynes away from the ring, at home being affectionate and at ease with his family: his wife Lisa and their two year-old son, Terone Jr. The last minute or so of the episode was a rapid-fire sequence of Haynes and Norton training with Schreiber's final words at the conclusion of a lengthy narrative being "The fight, is 22 days away" before the screen cut to black and the credits rolled. I can only speak for myself, but without a doubt that one episode has already heightened the excitement and anticipation I'm feeling about this fight. I can't remember the last time boxing fans were treated to something that regarded the sport with so much respect. When I think that the "24/7" concept was the brainchild of IBL president James Molk I can't help but feel even more admiration for him than I already do. Next week's second installment can't come fast enough.

[Romdawg88]

Lordy, what do Ray and Elwood have to do to buy a win. Both of their struggles are easily one of the most surprising storylines in the IBL so far, especially Elwood. Hopefully, they can turn it around so. Also, I'm interested in seeing what is going to happen with that Toney maybe leaving the IBL storyline.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Lordy, what do Ray and Elwood have to do to buy a win. Both of their struggles are easily one of the most surprising storylines in the IBL so far, especially Elwood. Hopefully, they can turn it around so. Also, I'm interested in seeing what is going to happen with that Toney maybe leaving the IBL storyline.

Those two fights that Elmer has lost have just been ridiculous, especially this last one. He went into the final round leading by at least two points on all three cards and managed to lose it. He could so easily still be undefeated but somehow he's managed to win just one of his four IBL bouts.

Elwood's fall has been just as frustrating but in a way what has happened to him is somewhat realistic. He came into the tournament carrying a lot of expectations because of the way he started his career. The loss to Braithwaite showed that he still had some learning to do and the last two indicate that his confidence has been shattered. His condition for his last fight was "Badly Overweight", which is why I worked in the angle that he hadn't trained well for it.

It's extra frustrating because the two of them are in a division that is one of the least talented and they aren't taking advantage of that. Hopefully their stories take a positive turn in '07.

I have a couple of possibilities that I'm considering for Mr. Toney but haven't made my mind up yet. I should have it decided before '07 rolls around.

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

SATURDAY, 9 DECEMBER, 2006

DIAZ DQ SEES GRIFFITH CROWNED
FIRST IBL WORLD CHAMPION

Story by James Reynolds

In a controversial outcome Virgin Islands-born New Yorker Emile Griffith was last night crowned as the International Boxing League's first World Welterweight Champion after his Mexican opponent Enrique Diaz was disqualified in round ten for rabbit punching. It had been an exciting, breathtaking clash through the first nine rounds and Diaz appeared to be on his way to a fantastic victory as he led by margins of one, three and five points on the judge's scorecards. He had built that lead with an outstanding opening to the contest that saw him lose just a single round on all three cards through the first five frames. However, in round three he was deducted a point and then warned by referee Gelasio Perez Huerta for two seperate incidents of rabbit punching. Known as being strict on foul play, Perez Huerta visited Diaz's corner during the intermission and informed his corner crew that another infraction would see him disqualified.

And so it was when in round ten Diaz caught Griffith with another rabbit punch midway through the round. It was a careless, clumsy shot thrown after Diaz had lunged at Griffith and found himself almost behind him. Griffith clutched the back of his head and within moments Perez Huerta had waved his hands to signal the fight was over, sending both fighters to their corners and informing the judges and other ringside officials that he had disqualified Diaz. There had been a deal of criticism for the IBL over the appointment of Perez Huerta, a Mexican, in a title fight involving a Mexican fighter. The opinion had been that he'd favour Diaz but in the final outcome those beliefs could not have been further from the truth. Diaz and his corner were unsurprisingly outraged by the decision but television replays showed that all three of the fouls he committed were blatant. After having warned Diaz following round three Perez Huerta had no choice but to disqualify him in the 10th. It was a truly bizarre round as Griffith had been deducted a point for a low blow only a minute before the DQ, although it appeared that Perez Huerta had blown the call.

Coming into the evening Diaz was regarded as a very slight favourite by virtue of his impressive showings in the tournament's quarter- and semi-finals. The former WBO champion had started with a blistering 3rd round TKO of the Frenchman Roger Menetrey and followed it with a unanimous decision win over Marvyn Rollins. In comparison Griffith had looked scratchy in scoring majority decision victories over both Meldrick Taylor and Gustav Eder. The former WBA titleholder has been regarded as the best welterweight in the world since 2003, when he claimed the association's title and held it for almost three years before relinquishing it when he signed with the IBL. However, most believed Diaz had the talent, aggression and desire to claim that status from Griffith last night. The Mexican made a mess of a golden chance and will now have to win a pair of bouts through the first half of '07 in order to gain another shot at the IBL belt.

Going into the 10th Diaz was leading by scores of 88-83, 86-85 and 88-85. He landed 244 of 608 punches (40.1%), Griffith 222 of 549 (40.4%). Griffith improved to 30-1-1(22) with his victory while Diaz fell to just his second career loss and is now 30-2(22). While jubilant that he had won the championship Griffith appeared somewhat deflated, saying that the way the fight ended was disappointing. But he also acknowledged that he might not have won if it had gone the full fifteen-round distance. He'll find out on Sunday night his opponent in his first title defense when Colombia's Hugo Pineda clashes with the undefeated Japanese fighter Shoji Ohashi in the final of the Challenger's tournament in Bogota, Colombia.

The evening featured a quality undercard, with a trio of outstanding bouts preceeding the main event. In the opener Puerto Rico's Wilfred Benitez maintained his undefeated record and gave more ammunition to those who regard him as one of the most promising young welterweights in the world when he scored an eight-round unanimous decision win over Ghana's Ike Quartey (77-75, 79-73, 78-74). Benitez was brilliant, putting on a fantastic display of counter-punching against his more aggressive African opponent. Quartey was competitive in a number of rounds but Benitez was simply too good for him. Benitez connected with an outstanding 242 of 411 punches (58.9%) while Quartey landed 126 of 679 (18.6%). Benitez upped his mark to 14-0-2(10) while Quartey suffered his second loss in three IBL bouts to fall to 28-4(22).

In the second fight on the card Florida Alliance member James Ray recorded his second straight win since being controversially eliminated from the Challenger's tournament. He defeated Los Angeles native Aaron Lister Brown by majority decision in a somewhat dour encounter (96-94, 95-95, 97-94). Ray was looking to restore some pride to the Florida entourage following his cousin Elmer's defeat on the previous night in San Diego and while he won the fight he didn't have it all his own way. After taking the 1st round convincingly Ray cut Brown on the left eyebrow early in round two. Despite that Brown went on to take the round and maintained the momentum through the 3rd. But Ray answered back strongly in round four and re-opened Brown's cut, leading to the ringside doctor examining it. He did the same in the 5th. The action slowed through the bottom half of the contest, Brown preferring to hold on rather than fight. The Olympic silver medallist was clearly frustrated by the tactics but endured to take the verdict and improve to 15-1(10). Brown is now winless in four IBL bouts and fell to 15-4-3(12).

The co-feature was a clash between Germany's Gustav Eder and the South African Benedict Khumalo. Eder had only just missed out on a spot in the world championship bout when he was defeated by Griffith while Khumalo had been eliminated from the Challenger's tournament on cuts in the semi-finals by Japan's Shoji Ohashi. Eder and Khumalo produced a fantastic clash, neither man taking a backward step throughout an enthralling ten rounds. The contest played a part in determining the initial world rankings from #4 to #7 so it was an important stoush. When it was all over the judges could not split them. One favoured Eder 96-94 but the other two had it tied up at 95-95, making the verdict a draw. Eder outlanded Khumalo by a wide margin, 359-211, an indication that the rounds he won, he won big but the rounds Khumalo won were close affairs. Eder's record is now 26-2-1(17), Khumalo's 14-1-1(8). As a consequence of the drawn verdict, Eder and Khumalo will be ranked #5 and #6 respectively in the initial rankings with the winner of Sunday night's clash between Marvyn Rollins and Ademola Udeze to slot in at #4.

***

IBL World Welterweight Championship tournament final

(#1) Emile Griffith (29-1-1(22)) DQ10 (#2) Enrique Diaz (30-1(22))

***

[comicfanman]

DQ - what? who saw that coming

great stuff

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by comicfanman

DQ - what? who saw that coming

great stuff

Only 8 IBL fights have ended in a DQ so far. Amazing that one of them was the first world championship bout.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE OHIO EXPRESS

Sunday, 10 December, 2006

MIRACLE AT THE
CHEVROLET CENTER

Story by Jerry Anderson

No matter what other craziness transpires during the remainder of the International Boxing League's various tournaments, when they're all done and dusted the fans and experts alike will look back upon them, think of Jeff Lampkin and say "How the hell did he do that?" Last night the Youngstown native completed one of the most unlikely, fariytale-like runs in recent sports history when he claimed the IBL's world junior-heavyweight championship with a 5th round stoppage of the tournament's #1 seed Carlos DeLeon in front of a parochial crowd at the Chevrolet Center. In doing so the 29 year-old won his first ever world title in his fourth attempt at doing so and avenged a loss to DeLeon in a July 2004 IBF cruiserweight championship bout. Despite scoring upset wins over two former world champions in Maurice Holmes and Massimiliano Duran in the quarter-finals and semi-finals Lampkin was a heavy underdog to overcome DeLeon, who has been regarded as the division's best for the last couple of years.

Lampkin had spoken confidently on his chances during the past week, refering to DeLeon's indifferent form in the lead-up bouts while also saying that if he failed to win he'd probably retire. After having the better of a mostly uneventful opening round Lampkin became more aggressive in round two and stunned DeLeon early in the frame with a flush left hook before punishing the Puerto Rican with some ripping body shots. The crowd applauded enthusiastically at the round's end, Lampkin's good start appearing to validate his pre-fight optimism. However, it didn't take long for DeLeon to turn the situation around. He controlled round three behind a penetrating, potent jab and then dominated the 4th, catching Lampkin with a number of flush, stinging blows. Some alarming swelling had developed under Lampkin's left eye, his corner crew working on it in a desperate fashion during the intermission.

They could not have known in the midst of their panic that within three minutes it would be all over and their man would be the new world champion. Through the first minute of the 5th Lampkin landed a cracking combination and a jolting right cross, the shots putting DeLeon on the backfoot and eliciting wild applause from the audience. The Chevrolet Center then erupted when, midway through the frame, DeLeon went down courtesy of a perfect left hook. The punch caught him flush on the jaw and as he struggled to his feet the #1 seed looked badly hurt, ill even. He was up at six and allowed to continue but when Lampkin went back on the offensive it was clear that DeLeon was out of it. A big uppercut rubberised his legs and when Lampkin shot a right cross through his defenses moments later DeLeon was on the canvas for a second time. Surprisingly he was up at five and, even more surprisingly, was once again given the go ahead to keep fighting. Lampkin came rushing in and unloaded a left hook, followed by a quartet of power shots, right-left-right-left, before referee Rocky Burke jumped in and saved DeLeon from further punishment, wrapping his arms around him.

Lampkin walked a few steps towards his corner before falling to his knees and bursting into tears in the middle of the ring, the enormity of his achievement flooding over him in a torrent. His crew raced into the ring and joined him in celebration as the crowd reached a new level of fervour. Soon after Lampkin was hoisted up onto his cornermen's shoulders and paraded around the ring, both arms raised in victory with tears streaming down his cheeks. The official time of the stoppage was 2:40 of round five. DeLeon had slightly outlanded Lampkin 105-103, which didn't matter one bit. Going into the 5th two judges had it all tied up at 38-38 while the third favoured DeLeon 39-37. Ten minutes after it had ended DeLeon appeared to be in better shape, although he wore an understandably downcast expression. He'd congratulated a still emotional Lampkin and stood back and watched as the inaugural IBL world junior-heavyweight champion made a speech straight from the heart.

"Firstly, I'd like to thank Mr. Molk and the IBL for givin' me this opportunity," Lampkin started. "My career was kinda stuck in neutral before they came along and I couldn't really see how that was gonna change. They gave me a chance to compete for a world championship and I can't thank 'em enough for that. I'd like to congratulate Carlos for making it to the championship bout. He's had a fantastic career so far and I'm confident that there'll be more world title fights in his future, if not against me than surely whoever comes after me. I'd love to fight him again down the track but you never know what the future holds. I wanna say a big "thank you" to everyone in this arena. The support I've received from you guys leading into the fight and here tonight has been incredible and I'm not sure if I could've pulled this off without it."

The crowd applauded warmly, a couple of people shouting out "We love you, Jeff!"

"Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank my family for all the love, encouragement and support they've given me. There've been some dark times during my career, times when I've been real difficult to live with. Times when I've taken my frustrations out on them. But they've never given up on me, never turned me away, although they had every right to."

Lampkin had choked on those last few words, emotion overwhelming him. He paused for a few seconds before continuing.

"I'll never be able to repay them for all that love. You know, I said before this fight that if I lost I'd probably retire. Having now won it, it's impossible to describe the feeling that's goin' through me. Like I said, you never know what the future holds. I ain't got no idea how long I'll be able to hold onto this championship for, and right now, I don't even really care. All I know is that when I look back on my career in twenty years from now, I'll be able to say, that I, was a world champion!"

With that he raised the IBL title belt in the air and shouted "Yes! Yes!" The crowd exploded once again, their cheers reverberating around the Chevrolet Center. Lampkin won't have to wait long to find out his opponent for his first title defense, as the final of the junior-heavyweight Challenger's tournament takes place tonight in Berlin with Germany's #1 seed Torsten May taking on the Frenchman Taoufik Belbouli. According to the IBL schedule makers that first defense will be held in twelve weeks, on the 3rd of March. During his three-fight winning streak in claiming the championship Lampkin has pocketed almost $3.6 million, although he's said in the past that for him it's never been about the money. Considering how long he's endured to fulfill his world championship quest, he might just be telling the truth.

---

IBL Junior-Heavyweight World Championship tournament final

(#7) Jeff Lampkin (35-7-1(28)) TKO5 (#1) Carlos DeLeon (31-1-1(21))

---

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN
Boxing

Updated: December 10, 2006, 2.30 PM ET

Holmes fractured right wrist
in loss to Thompson

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

The comeback of former WBA light-heavyweight champion Maurice Holmes hit another pothole last night when he was defeated by British fighter Carl Thompson in the opening bout of the International Boxing League's world junior-heavyweight championship card in Youngstown, Ohio. In a dramatic fight that featured four knockdowns Holmes held a slim lead going into the 8th and final round but within moments of the bell the contest was over, Holmes unable to continue after injuring his right hand. Upon examination it was discovered that the Brooklyn native had suffered a fractured wrist and will be out of action for up to twelve weeks. It's doubtful that he'll be fit to take part in his next scheduled IBL bout in early February.

Holmes joined the IBL with the singular intention of claiming the new organisation's inaugural junior-heavyweight world championship but his time with them so far has been nothing short of disasterous. As the #2 seed he lost his opening world championship tournament bout to eventual champion Jeff Lampkin by 5th round TKO after sustaining a cut on the left eyebrow. He bounced back from that disappointment by winning a world ranking bout in September against the Algerian Mohamed Azzaoui but last night's defeat will be a bitter pill for him to swallow. Holmes has said on a number of occasions that he won't even consider retiring again until he's won the world title so it will be interesting to see how he handles this latest setback.

Thompson had floored Holmes with a barrage of punches just thirty-seven seconds into the contest but the New Yorker recovered to control the next four rounds and drop Thompson with a stinging body shot midway through the 5th. From that point on the fight turned crazy. In round six Thompson rallied superbly, sending Holmes to the canvas for a second time with a crunching uppercut early in the frame and then punishing him through the rest of it. His efforts almost led to the referee stopping the fight. Round seven was an absolute cracker, with Thompson maintaining the momentum early before Holmes set him on his back just after the two minute mark with a flurry of shots. He was up at four and for the remainder of the round they traded hard shots to the crowd's delight. It should have been the prelude to a breathtaking final stanza but unfortunately, it was not to be. Holmes connected awkwardly with a hard right and reeled away, clutching his wrist in pain. The bout was officially over at the 0:14 mark.

Holmes is now 39-5-1(33), having lost almost as many fights since starting his comeback (two) as he did during the eleven years of his first career (three). Thompson improved to 27-4-1(18). It was also a bad night for the man that Lampkin beat in the semi-finals, Massimiliano Duran. The former IBF world champion dropped a ten-round split decision to Cleveland's Richard Mason in the co-feature to fall to 31-6-1(22). Duran was deducted a point for a low blow in the 4th, which proved critical to the outcome as the final scores were 95-94, 94-95 and 95-94. As a result Duran will be ranked no higher than #6 when the IBL releases their initial junior-heavyweight rankings on Monday. A win against Mason would have guaranteed the Italian the #4 ranking and a chance to secure a world title shot with a pair of wins through the first half of '07. However, from 6th it will most likely take him an extra victory or two to achieve that, making the defeat a costly one.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[comicfanman]

back to back holy cows
I hope this is not a sign of things to come for my man Brown

Thanks again for your work here

[kenyan_cheena]

THE TOKYO TIMES

Monday, 11 December, 2006

OHASHI SECURES WORLD TITLE SHOT
WITH WIN OVER PINEDA

Story by Hiroko Yamamoto

Tokyo-born welterweight Shoji Ohashi completed an amazing run through the International Boxing League's Challenger's tournament yesterday with a surprising unanimous decision win over the Colombian Hugo Pineda in Bogota. Fighting in front of a crowd that cheered whenever Pineda looked like landing a punch, Ohashi proved too determined and resilient for the hometown favourite. He took the verdict by scores of 115-113 (twice) and 116-112, overcoming the crowd factor and a pair of cuts in rounds ten and eleven to record the victory. The first was above his right eyebrow and the second on the inside of his left eyebrow. While neither was particularly serious they certainly alarmed his corner crew as cuts were the deciding factor in Ohashi's fortunate quarter-final and semi-final victories over the American James Ray and South Africa's Benedict Khumalo.

While luck had played something of a role in those wins Ohashi needed no such assistance yesterday. He landed almost twice as many punches as Pineda while throwing considerably less. Ohashi connected with 395 of 728 shots (54.5%), Pineda just 213 of 1,241 (17.2%). Ohashi's defensive brilliance frustrated the Colombian throughout the contest and the crowd was keenly aware of it, doing their best but failing to sway the judges. Having celebrated his 21st birthday last month Ohashi gave himself a fantastic belated present and will now take on IBL world champion Emile Griffith in his first title defense on March the 3rd. Ohashi remains undefeated, his record now 20-0-1(14) while Pineda fell to 22-3-1(14) with the defeat.

Despite coming into the tournament as the 5th seed Ohashi had not been seriously considered as a threat to win it. While there was no championship at stake in the Challenger's tournament the IBL will be rewarding the winners of the tournament with a commemorative trophy and Ohashi held it aloft as he was shouldered around the ring by his corner crew. It must be acknowledged that he was well on the way to defeat when his quarter-final against James Ray was stopped in the last round due to a cut above Ray's right eye. The situation was similar against Khumalo, with the South African being in the driver's seat when the bout was halted. Ohashi was in no mood to reflect on those results in the aftermath of yesterday's win, his triumph a clear example of an individual making the most of an opportunity. Whether he can overcome Griffith is an entirely different discussion.

The IBL's #4 world welterweight ranking was up for grabs in the evening's co-feature but neither Nigeria's Ademola Udeze or the American Marvyn Rollins were able to claim it. Their bout ended in a draw, with one judge favouring Rollins 96-94, another having Udeze a 97-93 winner and the third scoring it even at 95-95. It was akin to two fights in one with the excitement of the first five rounds giving way to a more subdued, anti-climatic bottom half. Considering that, it must be said that the chance was there for both combatants but both failed to take advantage of it. Rollins is now 30-3-2(22), Udeze 23-3-1(17). As a consequence of the drawn result Rollins and Udeze will be ranked 5th and 6th respectively when the IBL releases their intital welterweight world rankings today. Germany's Gustave Eder will be ranked 4th and the South African Benedict Khumalo at seven following their own drawn result on the undercard of Friday night's world championship bout.

***

IBL Welterweight Challenger's tournament final

(#5) Shoji Ohashi UD12 (#3) Hugo Pineda

***

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by comicfanman

back to back holy cows
I hope this is not a sign of things to come for my man Brown

Thanks again for your work here

I was really happy that Lampkin pulled that one off. Made for a fantastic story considering the history I created for him of his previous world championship failures. I watched the fight rather than simming it and literally pumped my fist in the air when he won. His first defense is one fight I'm looking forward to running.

We just have to think positive thoughts that everything goes as it should for Cheetah.

Thanks for your enthusiasm for my story, cfm.

[kenyan_cheena]

La Provence

Monday, 11 December, 2006

Belbouli stops May in 7th round,
wins Challenger's tournament

Story by Jeremy Ribery

Fighting on his 28th birthday Marseille-based junior-heavyweight boxer Taoufik Belbouli secured a shot at the IBL world championship with a 7th round stoppage of Germany's Torsten May at the Waldbuehne in Berlin. #1-seeded May had come into the evening as the favourite to win the Challenger's tournament final but Belbouli produced a fantastic performance, dominating proceedings from the 5th onwards before dropping May with an overhand right two minutes into round seven. The hometown favourite was clearly stunned, down on one knee and shaking his head. When he tried to push himself up he staggered back into the ropes, the count reaching ten before referee Arnold Pokrandt waved the contest over at the 2:19 mark.

Mauritania-born Belbouli had made an impressive undefeated charge to the final, scoring wins over Mohamed Azzaoui, Dario Walter Matteoni and Richard Mason in the preliminary stages. The tournament final was an even affair through the first four frames before a stinging body shot late in the 4th gave Belbouli an edge that he would retain through the rest of the contest. Belbouli punished the German in rounds five and six, May suffering a cut on the left eyebrow from a headclash midway through the 5th. He had the appearance of a man resigned to defeat as he came out for round seven and Belbouli was only too willing to oblige, tagging him with a succession of flush power shots before the coup de grace, a smashing overhand right. Belbouli outlanded May 181-120 and held a healthy three-point lead on two scorecards through round six. He's now 31-2(21) while May fell to 32-4-1(24).

Belbouli spoke confidently of his chances to wrestle the world championship away from Jeff Lampkin when the two meet in early March, saying that he felt the American had been fortunate to win the title but that his luck would run out once they stepped in the ring against each other. He suggested that the IBL junior-heavyweight title belongs in Europe as most of the top fighters in the division hail from the continent, adding that he'll be making it his mission to "correct the situation". The unhappy IBL campaign of Italy's Angelo Rottoli continued in the evening's co-feature as he lost a slim unanimous decision verdict to Russia's Pavel Melkomian (95-94, 96-94, 95-94). Melkomian floored Rottoli a minute from the final bell to steal the victory. After his two world championship tournament bouts ended as draws Rottoli is yet to record a win under the IBL banner. He'll go into 2007 ranked #7 in the division and faces a tough matchup with his compatriot Massimiliano Duran to start the year.

[kenyan_cheena]

There'll be one more post which will mention a couple of results on the JHW and WW world ranking cards to complete the opening week of action in the tournament finals.

Once I've done that I'll be posting the initial world rankings for the two divisions in the Almanac thread, then it'll be on to week two, the lightweights and light-heavyweights!

Two of our community members' fighters (Ric15 and Gunsmoke) will be contesting regional championship title bouts, which is something to look forward to.

I'd just like to mention that TGPiS celebrates its 1st birthday tomorrow!

Thanks to everyone who has shown an interest in the story I'm telling, in particular Romy (my biggest fan), Mike (Hanson Bros), PWillis, Beno999, comicfanman, Marciano6, Jeff1787, Infinity and everyone else who's taken the time to post and provide me with encouragement and enthusiasm. The interest and excitement you've all shown has really helped fuel my determination to tell a good, entertaining story.

We're one year down and if all goes to plan I'll still be here in another twelve months. The plans I have for this story and the fights that are going to take place really have me looking forward to its future.

Thanks again for all the support you've given me.

[Romdawg88]

Congrats on making it one year KC, TGPiS is really coming along great. Here's to another year.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Congrats on making it one year KC, TGPiS is really coming along great. Here's to another year.

Thanks, buddy. I hope the next year will be just as enjoyable as the first, and that your fighter has a fantastic twelve months (starting with McVey in a couple of weeks ).

[kenyan_cheena]

Boxing

Updated: December 11, 2006, 10.45 AM ET

Langford and Taylor victorious
in world ranking bouts

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

While most of the focus during yesterday's schedule of IBL bouts was on who would emerge as winners of the junior-heavyweight and welterweight Challenger's tournaments there were also two other fight cards taking place in Philadelphia and Kingston, Jamaica that had significant importance. Fighting at the Blue Horizon hometown favourite Meldrick Taylor recorded the most impressive victory of his career to date, defeating former WBA welterweight champion Roger Menetrey by unanimous decision (77-74, 76-75, 77-74). Both men had exited the league's world championship tournament in the quarter-finals and then scored victories in September, and so the winner of their contest would earn themselves a world ranking just outside the top ten.

Taylor's win was built in the opening three rounds as, despite some solid work from the Frenchman, he was able to sweep those frames on two scorecards. Menetrey damaged his nose with a jolting uppercut, drawing blood and leading to speculation that it may be broken. Taylor's team did a fantastic job tending to it and it didn't really bother him until the final round, when a sharp combination a minute from the bell brought more blood and led to the ringside physician examing it. By then Taylor had added to his lead with some outstanding efforts in the 5th, 6th and 7th. The fight continued and soon after Taylor was down on the canvas courtesy of a punishing body blow. He was up at three and on the backfoot when Menetrey landed a solid cross. But it was too little, too late for Menetrey. Taylor surivived the round and took the verdict, improving his record to 24-3(17). Menetrey fell to 30-5-1(21). Other winners on the evening were Charlie Shipes, Japan's Jiro Suzuki and Fausto Rodriguez.

Down south at Jamaica's National Stadium Canada's two-time Olympic Champion Sam Langford won for the second time since being controversially eliminated in the quarter-finals of the junior-heavyweight world championship tournament. He won by majority decision against the local favourite Uriah Grant, although that verdict didn't indicate what a one-sided contest it was. One judge somehow managed to score it a 76-76 draw while the other two were right on the mark, giving it to Langford 79-73 and 78-74. While it wasn't the most polished attacking effort of his career Langford's defensive skills were on full display as Grant was only able to land a total of 59 punches at an accuracy rate of 17.7%, Langford connecting with exactly 150 at 34.6%. He's now 16-1(11) and earned the #12 world ranking with his win. Robert Daniels, Mohamad Azzaoui and Idaho's Kenny Keene were also victorious on the card.

While Taylor and Langford are well positioned they'll have to be patient through the first half of 2007 as the IBL schedule calls for them to take on a pair of lower-ranked opponents which they'll have to defeat in order to maintain their rankings before getting a chance of breaking into the top ranking tier. As has been discussed in the past, there will be no easy rides under the IBL banner. Only those who can win consistently will be able to earn themselves a shot at the world championship. Most observers believe that it's only a matter of time until Langford earns that title but he'll have to work hard to get there.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[comicfanman]

Happy One Year - I'll keep reading and enjoying as long as you keep plugging away. A lot of dedication to be so involved and I really do appreciate it