The Greatest Prize in Sports

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by 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

Thanks, cfm. I'm hoping that your support and enthusiasm for the story translates into some good karma when Cheetah Brown steps in the ring against Weaver.

[kenyan_cheena]

The Manila Metro

TUESDAY 12 DECEMBER 2006

VILLAFLOR STOPS TSHILOLO
IN 11TH, WINS IBL'S I-C TITLE

Story by Romeo Concepcion

Negros-born lightweight Ben Villaflor became the first asian fighter to win an International Boxing League title last night when he stopped Congo native Frederick Tshilolo in the 11th round of their Inter-Continental Championship bout at Manila's Rajah Sulayman Park. Villaflor had controlled the opening ten rounds of the contest and held a healthy lead on all three scorecards heading into round eleven. He floored Tshilolo twice through the frame's first two minutes before referee Silvestre Abainza saved the 10th seed from further harm ten seconds from the bell. An emotional Villaflor mounted a ringpost and thumped his chest, shouting "Yes!" and pointing to the crowd as they warmly applauded him. The 21 year-old was lifted onto the shoulders of his corner crew and completed a trio of victory laps around the ring. Villaflor had outlanded Tshilolo 308-121 at the time of the stoppage.

The win improved his record to 17-1(9) while Tshilolo fell to 9-2(6). Villaflor has struggled to gain recognition and appreciation from the Filipino public during his professional career, mostly due to the fact that he made an early exit from the 2004 Olympics while flyweight Pancho Villa brought home from Athens a gold medal and all the acclaim that comes with it. However, Villaflor's popularity received a boost after his gutsy ten-round tournament semi-final win over Scotland's Jim Watt. That bout was more or less regarded as the final seeing as the two combatants were the highest seeds remaining in the event. Last night's victory over the determined but outclassed Tshilolo was almost an afterthought. Villaflor appeared to agree with this assessment during the post-fight interview but still called it the greatest win of his career. Villaflor spoke of his determination to go through 2007 undefeated, a streak that will earn him a shot at the world championship if he achieves it.

In the evening's co-feature Watt missed out on a chance to gain some redemption when he was knocked out cold by Italy's Aldo Spoldi, the bout an official eliminator to determine the I-C champion's first challenger. In a fantastic contest Watt held a one-point lead on all three cards through round seven. While Spoldi was outlanding him the Scotsman's aggression and workrate was winning him the bout. But with twenty seconds left in the 8th Spoldi landed a jolting right cross flush on the chin and Watt collapsed to the canvas. He remained motionless for a good minute after referee Kevin Champion had counted him out, Spoldi an unexpected winner and securing a shot at Villaflor's title. Their bout will be held during the second week of February. Earlier in the evening Ghana's Azumah Nelson scored an eye-catching one-punch 1st round KO of Ishimatsu Suzuki before Manila's Johnny Sato recorded a gutsy split decision win over South Africa's Benni Williams to up his record to 12-2-2(7).

---

IBL LIGHTWEIGHT
INTER-CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT FINAL

(#1) BEN VILLAFLOR (16-1-0(8)) TKO11 (#10) FREDERICK TSHILOLO (9-1-0(6))

---

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

WEDNESDAY, 13 DECEMBER, 2006

PLUNKETT COMPLETES
TITLE CHARGE IN ENEMY TERRITORY

Story by James Reynolds

Last night Bronx lightweight Richie Plunkett concluded an outstanding start to his time in the International Boxing League by winning the Americas Championship with a 7th round knockout of hometown favourite Vicente Santana at the Ginasio CBBP in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Plunkett was knocked through the ropes early in the opening round but fought back brilliantly to defeat Santana, dropping him with a crunching uppercut midway through round six and then finishing him off with a single left hook just after the one minute mark of the 7th. 3rd-seeded Plunkett came into the evening as a warm favourite having won two of his three preliminary bouts by knockout, including a scintilating one-punch stoppage of the talented New Jersey native Ike Williams in round one of their semi-final bout. However Santana was a much tougher proposition, especially in front of his fellow countrymen and with the inaugural Americas Championship on the line.

By the time the main event kicked off the crowd had worked themselves up into something akin to religious fervour and when Santana sent Plunkett through the ropes with a two-fisted barrage just 42 seconds into round one they erupted as one. Plunkett was up at five and struggled to find his bearings as the round progressed, Santana picking him off with a series of combinations and penetrating jabs. But late in the frame the New Yorker unloaded with a left hook to the body and then wobbled Santana with a left to the head, both shots bringing a concerned look to the 5th seed's face. Plunkett controlled round two, hurting Santana with another stinging body shot near the two minute mark before once again shaking him up with a flush left hook late in the piece. The 3rd was an even, exciting affair with both men having their moments, although Plunkett produced the highlight when he drove home a wicked right to Santana's midsection some forty seconds from the bell.

In round four the competition shifted entirely in Plunkett's favour and stayed there until its conclusion. He found the mark with a pair of left hooks and peppered Santana with left-right salvos throughout the frame. A hard, straight right from Santana late in the round was not enought to cancel out Plunkett's brilliant work and things only got worse for the Brazilian in the 5th. The bout was almost stopped after Plunkett had him in all sorts of trouble shortly before the bell, Santana having to grab onto the ropes to avoid a knockdown. But in round six he couldn't keep the inevitable at bay, Plunkett dropping him on his backside with that perfect uppercut. He couldn't quite finish the job but one minute into the 7th Plunkett came up with his best punch of the fight, a left hook that snapped Santana's head around and had him face down on the canvas. Santana was still prone when the count reached eight, the fight over at the 1:17 mark.

Plunkett's corner crew flooded the ring and celebrated with him, many in the crowd offering begrudging applause to their hero's conqueror. At the time of the stoppage Plunkett had connected with 206 of 677 punches (30.7%), Santana 136 of 575 (23.7%). Doning a Yankees cap the new IBL Americas Lightweight Champion was ecstatic, taking time to say hello to his family and friends back in New York and saying how excited he already was about defending the belt in his hometown. That first title defense will be against the man he KO'd in the semi-finals, Trenton's Ike Williams. Fighting in the co-feature elimination bout Williams defeated Mexico's Olympic bronze medallist Rafael Martinez on cuts in round seven. Having lost a heartbreaker to Santana in the semis Martinez was hoping to get back on track against Williams but only found more frustration. He was cut on the right eyebrow in round two and as the bout progressed the injury worsened, with the ringside doctor examining it in rounds four and five before eventually advising the referee to stop the fight in the 7th.

Even if Martinez hadn't suffered the injury he would not have faired much better. Williams fought a brilliant fight, landing over two-and-a-half times as many punches as the former Americas tournament #1 seed and being simply too aggressive and quick for him to handle. Besides cutting Martinez Williams' lightning fists also produced a nasty mouse under that same right eye. Williams said afterwards that he was humbled and embarrassed by his semi-final defeat to Plunkett and was not only out for redemption but also another shot at him. He'll get exactly that and there seems to be no doubt that the Plunkett-Williams rematch will not only be more competitive but also last longer than their first clash. Plunkett will bring a perfect 13-0(10) record into the February bout, Williams a mark of 7-1(6). Considering their combined stoppage percentage it should be an explosive encounter.

***

IBL Lightweight Americas Championship tournament final

(#3) Richie Plunkett (12-0(9)) KO7 (#5) Vicente Santana (10-1-1(6))

***

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN
Boxing

Larry Holman Blog

McCallum-Napoles shaping up as a classic
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 | Print Entry

While the International Boxing League has been doing a fantastic job of claiming the limelight with their stacked Decemeber schedule they just might have to take a back seat this Saturday night when former WBC and IBF junior-middleweight champion Mike McCallum steps in the ring against former WBC welterweight champion Jose Napoles in a 12-round non-title bout at the Jamaica National Stadium in Kingston. It's a clash that shapes up as being one of the best of 2006 and, as I've said in the past, all credit must be given to the two men for having the resoluteness to go through with the clash without the interference and involvement of one of the alphabet sanctioning organisations. It was McCallum's steadfast attitude that brought about the unusual but welcomed situation and although the exact figures have not been revealed it's believed McCallum will pocket around $8 million and Napoles $5 million.

Both men were last in action in August, McCallum against compatriot Tyrone Daley on the 19th and Napoles in a successful defense of the WBC welterweight belt over New York's Marcelo Smith on the 26th. It was the first world title fight held in Cuba since 1958. Regarded as perhaps the finest pound-for-pound boxer in the sport today McCallum (36-0-2(27)) will go into the contest as favourite but it must be said that Napoles (28-1(24)) is the most talented and highly credential opponent the Jamaican has faced for some time. A number of experts have said that Napoles really should have fought one or two warm-up bouts to get adjusted to the new weight class instead of jumping straight into such a monumental test, but the man himself has dismissed those beliefs and feels confident that he can send "The Bodysnatcher" to his first defeat as a professional.

"Man, if I didn't think I could beat the brother I wouldn't be havin' any part of him," said Cuban-born, Miami-raised Napoles. "Yeah, he's a huge challenge. Possibly the biggest I'll face between now and the end of my career. But what good's bein' in this sport if you ain't gonna be tested? I ain't interested in the easy route, man. I wanna be right up to my neck in trouble. I wanna be out of my depth."

McCallum has said that he's grown more excited about the bout the closer it gets and is now at a place he hasn't been since the early days of his career, where everything about the fight game seems fresh and new, vibrant. Earlier this week he reflected upon his experiences with the WBC and IBF while defending their titles, saying that their nonsense left him jaded and disillusioned. By nature a laid-back and mellow individual, being out from underneath them has helped McCallum return to a much happier, stress-free outlook. He celebrated his 30th birthday last week, breaking from training camp to host a party that started in the afternoon and lasted well into the night. McCallum expressed his respect for Napoles and knows he'll have to be at his best to come out of the clash with a victory.

"Ain't nothin' more dangerous than a hungry fighter, mon," McCallum said in his thick Caribbean accent. "Dis Napoles, he gonna be really hungry to put his name up der as the one who beat me, so when people look back he can say he was the one who inflicted dat first defeat on Mike McCallum. You know, maybe as world champ I got a little stale, a little rundown. But da challenge that Jose is presentin', it has me excited and determined to produce de best effort of my career."

Saturday night's card will be broadcast on Showtime and gets underway at 7pm eastern. The main event is scheduled to start at around 9pm.

[Ric915]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

The New York Age

WEDNESDAY, 13 DECEMBER, 2006

PLUNKETT COMPLETES
TITLE CHARGE IN ENEMY TERRITORY

Story by James Reynolds

Last night Bronx lightweight Richie Plunkett concluded an outstanding start to his time in the International Boxing League by winning the Americas Championship with a 7th round knockout of hometown favourite Vicente Santana at the Ginasio CBBP in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Plunkett was knocked through the ropes early in the opening round but fought back brilliantly to defeat Santana, dropping him with a crunching uppercut midway through round six and then finishing him off with a single left hook just after the one minute mark of the 7th. 3rd-seeded Plunkett came into the evening as a warm favourite having won two of his three preliminary bouts by knockout, including a scintilating one-punch stoppage of the talented New Jersey native Ike Williams in round one of their semi-final bout. However Santana was a much tougher proposition, especially in front of his fellow countrymen and with the inaugural Americas Championship on the line.

By the time the main event kicked off the crowd had worked themselves up into something akin to religious fervour and when Santana sent Plunkett through the ropes with a two-fisted barrage just 42 seconds into round one they erupted as one. Plunkett was up at five and struggled to find his bearings as the round progressed, Santana picking him off with a series of combinations and penetrating jabs. But late in the frame the New Yorker unloaded with a left hook to the body and then wobbled Santana with a left to the head, both shots bringing a concerned look to the 5th seed's face. Plunkett controlled round two, hurting Santana with another stinging body shot near the two minute mark before once again shaking him up with a flush left hook late in the piece. The 3rd was an even, exciting affair with both men having their moments, although Plunkett produced the highlight when he drove home a wicked right to Santana's midsection some forty seconds from the bell.

In round four the competition shifted entirely in Plunkett's favour and stayed there until its conclusion. He found the mark with a pair of left hooks and peppered Santana with left-right salvos throughout the frame. A hard, straight right from Santana late in the round was not enought to cancel out Plunkett's brilliant work and things only got worse for the Brazilian in the 5th. The bout was almost stopped after Plunkett had him in all sorts of trouble shortly before the bell, Santana having to grab onto the ropes to avoid a knockdown. But in round six he couldn't keep the inevitable at bay, Plunkett dropping him on his backside with that perfect uppercut. He couldn't quite finish the job but one minute into the 7th Plunkett came up with his best punch of the fight, a left hook that snapped Santana's head around and had him face down on the canvas. Santana was still prone when the count reached eight, the fight over at the 1:17 mark.

Plunkett's corner crew flooded the ring and celebrated with him, many in the crowd offering begrudging applause to their hero's conqueror. At the time of the stoppage Plunkett had connected with 206 of 677 punches (30.7%), Santana 136 of 575 (23.7%). Doning a Yankees cap the new IBL Americas Lightweight Champion was ecstatic, taking time to say hello to his family and friends back in New York and saying how excited he already was about defending the belt in his hometown. That first title defense will be against the man he KO'd in the semi-finals, Trenton's Ike Williams. Fighting in the co-feature elimination bout Williams defeated Mexico's Olympic bronze medallist Rafael Martinez on cuts in round seven. Having lost a heartbreaker to Santana in the semis Martinez was hoping to get back on track against Williams but only found more frustration. He was cut on the right eyebrow in round two and as the bout progressed the injury worsened, with the ringside doctor examining it in rounds four and five before eventually advising the referee to stop the fight in the 7th.

Even if Martinez hadn't suffered the injury he would not have faired much better. Williams fought a brilliant fight, landing over two-and-a-half times as many punches as the former Americas tournament #1 seed and being simply too aggressive and quick for him to handle. Besides cutting Martinez Williams' lightning fists also produced a nasty mouse under that same right eye. Williams said afterwards that he was humbled and embarrassed by his semi-final defeat to Plunkett and was not only out for redemption but also another shot at him. He'll get exactly that and there seems to be no doubt that the Plunkett-Williams rematch will not only be more competitive but also last longer than their first clash. Plunkett will bring a perfect 13-0(10) record into the February bout, Williams a mark of 7-1(6). Considering their combined stoppage percentage it should be an explosive encounter.

***

IBL Lightweight Americas Championship tournament final

(#3) Richie Plunkett (12-0(9)) KO7 (#5) Vicente Santana (10-1-1(6))

***

I'm a beast. As always Kenyan your write ups are incredible. Ike don't stand a chance. Just hope I don't have a hometown let down.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Ric915

I'm a beast. As always Kenyan your write ups are incredible. Ike don't stand a chance. Just hope I don't have a hometown let down.

Thanks, Ric. Congratulations on having the first OOTP community fighter to win a title! Let's hope he can ride it all the way to a world championship challenge.

[kenyan_cheena]

Melbourne Herald-Sun

THURSDAY 14 DECEMBER 2006

Melbourne slugger Somogyi
wins I-C title in Germany

Story by Les Hayes

Melbourne light-heavyweight boxer Mark Somogyi scored a convincing 12-round unanimous decision win over Germany's Klaus Bierhoff last night to win the International Boxing League's Inter-Continental Championship. Fighting in Bierhoff's backyard at the Olympiahalle in Munich Somogyi was completely unfazed by the hostile crowd on the way to the biggest win of his young professional career to date, taking the verdict by scores of 118-112, 117-113 and 119-110. There were no knockdowns but one look at Bierhoff's face after it was all over was enough to show that he'd been completely outfought. He wore some nasty swelling under his right eye, a result of the many jabs and left hooks Somogyi landed. The tournament 6th seed connected with 294 of 918 punches (32.0%), Bierhoff 180 of 778 (23.1%).

Despite Bierhoff's superior experience and his #1 seeding Somogyi came into the evening as a slight favourite, his brilliant form through the earlier tournament bouts winning over many observers. He vindicated them by coming out and controlling the opening three rounds, working from the outside and picking off the German with that piston-like left jab. Bierhoff woke from his slumber in the 4th, taking the round with a more aggressive mindset. The action slowed during the 5th, 6th and 7th, Somogyi content to frustrate Bierhoff and keep him out of range. Despite doing barely enough during those rounds Somogyi stretched his lead on two scorecards. If anyone in the crowd still believed their man was a chance those hopes were extinguished in the 8th when Somogyi stepped up a gear and punished Bierhoff, landing a pair of jolting rights and a neck-snapping uppercut late in the frame.

Bierhoff never gave up but his quest proved a futile one as Somogyi was able to handle everything thrown at him through the final four rounds. It was hard to believe that Somogyi came into the fight having been involved in less than half as many contests as Bierhoff, his assuredness and confidence making him appear to be the more seasoned combatant. Many fighters in the past have left Germany and returned home with claims of highway robbery but that wasn't the case last night, Somogyi's winning verdict a clear and comfortable one. He'll take on England's Alexander Lucas in his first title defense, the bout to be a rematch of their memorable tournament semi-final bout from September in which Somogyi scored a 6th round knockout.

Lucas eeked out a split decision win over the Frenchman Petite Fourie in the co-feature to earn the title shot. He rallied superbly through the final four rounds to take a 96-95, 94-96, 96-94 verdict. After a dominant opening Fourie was in complete control heading into round seven but he made the lethal mistake of easing off too early, allowing Lucas to steal the victory. He swept rounds seven to ten on two scorecards and won the 8th, 9th and 10th on the other. The Englishman's camp celebrated as if they'd won the championship itself when the verdict was announced. Fourie has now fallen to defeat in two consecutive bouts after being in a position to win both of them. In his tournament semi-final against Bierhoff he led by four points on two scorecards with two rounds remaining but lost on cuts in round nine. Last night's defeat would have been just as, if not more disappointing as Fourie was ensconced in the driver's seat and only needed to keep doing what he'd been doing to win.

It's very likely that the Somogyi-Lucas rematch will be held at the same venue as their first clash, the Rod Laver Arena. What is certain is that it'll take place in mid-February. Somogyi has expressed on more than one occasion that his sole ambition for 2007 is to retain the Inter-Continental Championship the required five times to earn himself a shot at the IBL's world title. Hopefully he can complete the first part of that quest when he steps in the ring against Lucas come February.

---

IBL Light-Heavyweight
Inter-Continental Championship tournament final

(#6) Mark Somogyi (12-0(9)) UD12 (#1) Klaus Bierhoff (25-3(18))

[djday45]

Thks for your continued work here, so impressive. Can I be a pain and make a request?

Could you spell out all the different titles and tournaments? I'm a bit confused lol.

[Gunsmoke]

Wooohooo!! I have gold. Now for Lucas and another big KO win on the march to the top

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by djday45

Thks for your continued work here, so impressive. Can I be a pain and make a request?

Could you spell out all the different titles and tournaments? I'm a bit confused lol.

Thanks, Dean. I'm glad you've been enjoying it. I was so disappointed when your guy lost the IC title fight but as he said himself, it must mean that there are even better things in store for him.

As for the tournaments...

In each weight division in the IBL (HW, JHW, LHW, MW, WW, LW, FW, BW, FLY) there's two regional championship tournaments, which are Americas and Inter-Continental. The Americas encompasses North America, South America and the Caribbean while the IC covers the rest of the world. There were 16 fighters in each of those tournaments. There's also a world championship tournament featuring 8 fighters and a Challenger's tournament with 16 fighters. The winner of the Challenger's tournament gets first crack at the world champ. With the regional titles, any champion who successfully retains his title five times will be rewarded with a shot at the world championship.

Post 564 on page 29 is the entire schedule for the tournament finals. There are also bouts on the schedule which determine each fighter's initial world ranking once the tournaments are over. I started a seperate thread called "The Greatest Prize in Sports: Almanac" which will list the title lineages and title fights for every IBL championship. I'll also use the thread to post monthly world rankings as the uni progresses.

Originally Posted by Gunsmoke

Wooohooo!! I have gold. Now for Lucas and another big KO win on the march to the top

Congrats, Mark. Your guy's run through the tournament was pretty much faultless. Let's all hope that 2007 is a huge year for him.

[kenyan_cheena]

Am working on a review of ep. 2 of "Norton-Haynes 24/7". Should be posted within the next day or so.

[kenyan_cheena]

TheSweetScience.com

FRIDAY 15 DECEMBER 2006

Latest "24/7" instalment
provides more intrigue

Story by Steve Bruce

Last night's second episode of the HBO documentary seriers "Norton-Haynes 24/7" added even more interest to what is already going to be one of the most anticipated bouts of the last twenty years. During an intriguing thirty minutes we were given some insight into Terone Haynes' childhood and Ken Norton's fears, and also found out that all is not entirely well in the Roy Jones camp. It was at Jones' Pensacola home where the episode started, HBO's cameras catching a heated argument between Jones and assistant trainer Montel Howard that took place last Saturday. The subject of the spat was Jones' junior-heavyweight boxer Elmer Ray, who had suffered his second professional defeat two days earlier in San Diego. With Jones dedicated 100% to preparing Haynes for the Norton bout Howard had worked the corner for Ray's fight, which the Olympic bronze medallist had lost by a slim majority decision verdict after being floored twice in the final round.

Clearly frustrated by the result Jones appeared to be placing the blame for it on Howard, at one point asking him "what the f%ck" he said to Ray before the final round. Ray has struggled through his first four International Boxing League bouts, losing two while only recording a single win and also a draw. He was not there in Pensacola to face his trainer, having flown back to his home in Hastings, St Johns County to recuperate. Howard had also been in Ray's corner for his first defeat and Jones appeared to be on the verge of dismissing him from his staff before turning his attention back to Haynes. Viewers were then given another example of Haynes' awesome power when he gave sparring partner Jamal Close an absolute beating, the intensity of the Miami native's assault something to behold. Jones praised him afterwards, saying he'll need to "maintain the rage" all the way up to fight night.

Later in the episode Haynes sat down with the HBO crew and reflected on growing up poor in the Miami ghetto of Liberty City, his mother raising him and his three sisters pretty much by herself from the time Terone, the oldest of the four, was only ten. His father was an alcoholic and a womaniser but in '91 things became even worse when he fell victim to heroin. His addiction almost destroyed the family. Eventually deserting them he turned up dead on a sidewalk in March '92, shot in the head during an apparent drug deal gone wrong. Terone had to become a man "ahead o' schedule", as he put it. His uncles and aunties were not especially helpful and government benefits only went so far, so Terone worked in order to assist his mother in raising the children. After being absent through most of the '92 school year Terone dropped out entirely in '93 and did whatever he could to bring money into the family.

Working at Burger King, cleaning the local video game arcade and selling pirated hip hop cassettes for local artists were just some of the things he'd done before his 14th birthday. It wasn't long before the temptation to join a gang and become involved in the drug trade was right there in front of him. But Terone resisted, the path his father had taken a constant reminder to steer clear of anything drug-related. Only in his mid-teens Terone was big for his age, standing almost six feet tall and weighing 180 pounds. He soon came to the attention of a man named Leroy Ellis. He ran a Miami nightclub called "Heatwave". Despite being underage Terone started working for Ellis as one of the club's security personnel, his mature appearance alleviating any suspicion. It was a job that he ended up keeping for more than five years, until that fateful meeting with Roy Jones in February 2002.

While he doesn't see him as often as he'd like to Haynes is still good friends with Ellis and credits him with helping him through some of the most difficult years of his life. Haynes also met his wife Lisa while working at Heatwave, something he's forever grateful to Ellis for. The episode featured an almost continuous fifteen-minute look-in on Norton's preparations, which sat in the middle of the two Haynes segments. Viewers were given an in-depth look at the former WBC champion's "cross-armed" defense, which his trainer Ernie Bennett believes will play a vital role in blunting Haynes' fierce punching power. Speaking during an interview with the HBO crew Norton revealed that his biggest fear as far as his boxing career is concerned is that he won't achieve his primary goal, which is to be regarded as the greatest heavyweight of his era.

"I feel like I kind o' wasted the last year or two," Norton said. "My management put me in against some guys who weren't able to push me or extend me and while that allowed me to keep my title it didn't do anything for my legacy, you know? It wasn't something I thought I could control, but looking back now I wish I'd been more pro-active in controlling my career. The way I look at, I've got two guys out there right now who I have to defeat to solidify my status. That's Haynes and Anyukov. All these younger fellas like Johnson, Lewis and Bowe, those guys are the future. Whether I fight them or not ain't gonna matter 'cause they're gonna have their own time to shine. They're gonna produce some great rivalries amongst themselves. All that matters to me right now is getting past those two guys. When I do that I'll be able to retire a happy man."

During the week Norton's heavyweight protege Sam McVey paid a visit from Los Angeles. McVey will be involved in an important fight of his own on December 26 when he takes on Haynes' fellow stablemate Romy Alvarez in a ten-round IBL Americas Championship eliminator in Miami. Much has been made of the perceived rivalry between the Californian and Florida camps and the fact that two members from each of them will be squaring off come late December. While Norton understands it from an entertainment perspective he said during last night's episode that it's not something he's interested in investing his time in. The episode ended with a series of clips of Norton and Haynes socialising with their fellow stablemates and trainers, narrator Liev Schreiber speaking of the importance that allies play in warfare, and finishing by telling us that "the fight is 15 days away."

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

FRIDAY, 15 DECEMBER, 2006

BETTINA JOINS PLUNKETT
AS AMERICAS CHAMPION

Story by James Reynolds

On Tuesday Bronx-born lightweight Richie Plunkett captured the International Boxing League's Americas Championship title with a 7th round KO of Brazil's Vicente Santana. Last night he was joined in bringing an IBL title to New York by Connecticut-born, Beacon-based light-heavyweight Melio Bettina. Like Plunkett, Bettina scored a knockout in round seven to win the belt. With an inexperienced field the tournament was full of unexpected results, and so it was that 10th-seeded Bettina defeated New Jersey's 8th seed Mike Rossman in the championship bout. The card was held at Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino, the parochial hometown support not enough to get Rossman over the line. It was a competitive affair through the first five rounds with neither man being able to seize the upperhand, although Bettina took some promising momentum into the 6th. Rounds two and four featured a number of exciting exchanges.

The top half of round six was uneventful but Rossman put himself in the driver's seat when he rattled Bettina with a pair of punishing combinations within twenty seconds of each other, the latter salvo dropping Bettina for a seven count. Rossman was unable to produce an effective follow up and Bettina was quick to turn the tables. Early in the 7th he hurt Rossman with a stinging body shot and then dumped him to the canvas with a barrage of punches. Rossman started moving at four but looked in bad shape and was unable to beat the count, the contest suddenly over at the 1:21 mark of round seven. Bettina landed 161 of 401 punches (40.1%), the more aggressive Rossman 124 of 620 (20.0%). Rossman was leading on all three cards heading into the 7th, with one judge favouring him by three points. The win improved Bettina's record to 9-1(4), while Rossman fell to 8-2(4).

Bettina will first defend the title against the man he defeated in the tournament semi-finals, Philadelphia's Dan Bucceroni. In the evening's co-feature Bucceroni took a comfortable ten-round unanimous decision verdict against Bayonne native Richie Kates (98-93, 96-93, 98-92). He floored Kates with a flush left hook late in the 9th, the knockdown a fitting exclamation point on Bucceroni's efforts. The Pennsylvanian is now 9-2(5) while Kates suffered his second loss in a row to drop to 7-3(4). Earlier in the evening the two men who most experts believed would contest the Americas Championship tournament final recorded victories in world ranking bouts. Former 1st seed Steve Finley scored his third consecutive KO win since being surprisingly eliminated from the tournament in stage one. The Virginia native followed up stoppages of Victor Cordoba in July (KO2) and Allen Thompson in September (KO6) with a 2nd round knockout of the New Yorker Tony Anthony.

Coincidentally Anthony was born in the same Virginia town as Finley, Roanoke. Anthony made a promising start, getting the better of an uneventful opening round. But sixteen seconds into round two Finley's power was on fierce display when he connected flush with an overhand right. Anthony collapsed to the canvas and after trying to push himself up at six was counted out at the 0:27 mark. Finley's record improved to 11-1(10) and one can only wonder what he could have achieved in the Americas tournament if not for that uncharacteristic performance in his stage one defeat. Kansas native Scot Long has not made the greatest start to his time in the IBL. He was the tournament's #2 seed and after defeating Yvon Durelle in stage one was bundled out by the eventual champion Bettina in the quarters. He then struggled against Clarence Hinnant in a September world ranking bout, the result of which was a draw.

Long was not terribly convincing last night, either. He may have defeated Buffalo's George Nichols by unanimous decision but the fight was much closer than the scorecards of 58-55, 59-54 and 58-55 indicated. Nichols outlanded Long 152-132 and was the busier, more aggressive fighter for much of the contest. Long scored a knockdown two minutes into the opening round and from that moment on the judges seemed to be on his side. Each of the following five rounds were close and competitive but Long was able to do just enough to take the 2nd, 4th and 6th (rounds that could have gone either way) on all three cards. The win sees Long at 9-1-2(4). The 22 year-old former amateur standout would freely admit that he has a lot of improvement in him for 2007. Indeed, it will be interesting to follow the progress of both Finley and Long through the coming year.

***

IBL Light-Heavyweight Americas Championship tournament final

(#10) Melio Bettina (8-1(3)) KO7 (#8) Mike Rossman (8-1(4))

***

[CONN CHRIS]

Eight days to my fighter being in action again (I believe).

[kenyan_cheena]

Looks like the board eliminated the last couple days worth of posts.

[Romdawg88]

That sucks well at least it wasn't as bad as that massive crash we had a few days ago.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

That sucks well at least it wasn't as bad as that massive crash we had a few days ago.

I didn't lose anything from the thread and even if I had, all the posts are saved in notepad format. I could have just re-posted them.

[kenyan_cheena]

Next three posts will be:

1) IBL Lightweight World Championship review
2) McCallum-Napoles review
3) IBL Light-Heavyweight World Championship review

[Claybor]

Earlier in the evening the two men who most experts believed would contest the Americas Championship tournament final recorded victories in world ranking bouts. Former 1st seed Steve Finley scored his third consecutive KO win since being surprisingly eliminated from the tournament in stage one. The Virginia native followed up stoppages of Victor Cordoba in July (KO2) and Allen Thompson in September (KO6) with a 2nd round knockout of the New Yorker Tony Anthony.

Coincidentally Anthony was born in the same Virginia town as Finley, Roanoke. Anthony made a promising start, getting the better of an uneventful opening round. But sixteen seconds into round two Finley's power was on fierce display when he connected flush with an overhand right. Anthony collapsed to the canvas and after trying to push himself up at six was counted out at the 0:27 mark. Finley's record improved to 11-1(10) and one can only wonder what he could have achieved in the Americas tournament if not for that uncharacteristic performance in his stage one defeat. Kansas native Scot Long has not made the greatest start to his time in the IBL. He was the tournament's #2 seed and after defeating Yvon Durelle in stage one was bundled out by the eventual champion Bettina in the quarters. He then struggled against Clarence Hinnant in a September world ranking bout, the result of which was a draw.

Long was not terribly convincing last night, either. He may have defeated Buffalo's George Nichols by unanimous decision but the fight was much closer than the scorecards of 58-55, 59-54 and 58-55 indicated. Nichols outlanded Long 152-132 and was the busier, more aggressive fighter for much of the contest. Long scored a knockdown two minutes into the opening round and from that moment on the judges seemed to be on his side. Each of the following five rounds were close and competitive but Long was able to do just enough to take the 2nd, 4th and 6th (rounds that could have gone either way) on all three cards. The win sees Long at 9-1-2(4). The 22 year-old former amateur standout would freely admit that he has a lot of improvement in him for 2007. Indeed, it will be interesting to follow the progress of both Finley and Long through the coming year.

Well, Mr. Long managed to beat the fighter that eliminated me, but not very convincingly. Nichols is a tough bistard and I'd like to get another shot at him.

[kenyan_cheena]

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