The Greatest Prize in Sports

[kenyan_cheena]

ALPHABET CHAMPIONS
AS AT SUNDAY 14 MAY 2006

(Note: * indicates title vacated by IBL-contracted fighter)

HEAVYWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT*
WBC: VACANT*
IBF: MARKO FRIEDRICH (GERMANY, 27-0-1(22))
WBO: VACANT*

CRUISERWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT
WBC: DAVID LESTER (USA, 33-4-1(26))
IBF: VACANT*
WBO: JAMES SINCLAIR (USA, 22-1-0(15))

LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT*
WBC: JAMES FRANKLIN (UNITED KINGDOM, 29-1-0(22))
IBF: VACANT*
WBO: TYRELL BROWN (USA, 19-1-0(13))

SUPER-MIDDLEWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT*
WBC: VACANT
IBF: FULGENCIO OBELMEJIAS (VENEZUELA, 32-1-1-(24))
WBO: CHRISTIAN FRITZ (GERMANY, 23-2-0(18))

MIDDLEWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT*
WBC: BERT LYTELL (USA, 31-1-0(22))
IBF: FREDDIE STEELE (USA, 33-1-1(29))
WBO: DAVID HERNANDEZ (USA, 22-1-2(15))

JUNIOR-MIDDLEWEIGHT

WBA: COREY GLOVER (USA, 28-3-1(22))
WBC: MIKE MCCALLUM (JAMAICA, 35-0-2(26))
IBF: MIKE MCCALLUM (JAMAICA, 35-0-2(26))
WBO: VACANT*

WELTERWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT*
WBC: JOSE NAPOLES (CUBA, 27-1-0(23))
IBF: VACANT
WBO: VACANT*

JUNIOR-WELTERWEIGHT

WBA: EDDIE PERKINS (USA, 34-2-0(24))
WBC: JAVIER GUTIERREZ (ARGENTINA, 37-4-2(29))
IBF: BRUNO ARCARI (ITALY, 26-2-1(19))
WBO: ALEJANDRO VIELMA (VENEZUELA, 29-3-1(23))

LIGHTWEIGHT

WBA: PATRICIO MARQUEZ (MEXICO, 42-2-1(34))
WBC: PATRICIO MARQUEZ (MEXICO, 42-2-1(34))
IBF: JOE BROWN (USA, 33-2-1(24))
WBO: VACANT

JUNIOR-LIGHTWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT*
WBC: VACANT*
IBF: VACANT*
WBO: BENNY DIAZ (PHILIPPINES, 22-1-1(17))

FEATHERWEIGHT

WBA: JIM DRISCOLL (UNITED KINGDOM, 35-1-2(27))
WBC: JIM DRISCOLL (UNITED KINGDOM, 35-1-2(27))
IBF: VACANT
WBO: VACANT

JUNIOR-FEATHERWEIGHT

WBA: SERGIO PALMA (ARGENTINA, 29-2-0(24))
WBC: VACANT*
IBF: VACANT*
WBO: HIROMI KAWAGUCHI (JAPAN, 29-3-1(21))

BANTAMWEIGHT

WBA: VACANT*
WBC: VACANT
IBF: VACANT*
WBO: RICARDO BEDIC (PHILIPPINES, 25-0-1(17))

JUNIOR-BANTAMWEIGHT

WBA: GIANCARLO ARANGO (VENEZUELA, 32-2-0(24))
WBC: LUIS VALDEZ (PANAMA, 27-1-2(22))
IBF: VACANT*
WBO: GUSTAVO BALLAS (ARGENTINA, 27-1-0(19))

FLYWEIGHT

WBA: CHATCHAI CHAISAM (THAILAND, 35-3-1(26))
WBC: VACANT*
IBF: TEKO DAVIDS (SOUTH AFRICA, 26-1-1(19))
WBO: VACANT*

[kenyan_cheena]

AMERICAN | PUGILIST

*** Published bi-weekly out of Chicago, Illinois since 1950 ***

Monday 29 May 2006
Volume 57, Edition 11

EMPIRE BUILDING
IN PENSACOLA

Story by Lucious Holt

It's a gorgeously-picturesque late spring afternoon and in the north-western Florida city of Pensacola that usually means a trip to the beach. But in the backyard of a sprawling property on Michigan Avenue boxing trainer Roy Jones is putting his charges through a backbreaking workout. Dripping with sweat but obeying his instructions without question are former WBO Heavyweight Champion Terone Haynes, Athens Olympic medallists Holman Williams, James Ray and Elmer Ray and the newest member of Jones's stable, Belle Glade native Romy Alvarez. As I sit at a picnic table watching Jones barks orders like a drill sergeant, subjecting them to countless repetitions of push-ups, sit-ups, squats and fifty metre sprints. And when it seems like they're out on their feet he pushes them further, ordering them to rip into the quintet of heavy bags that hang from the railings of a carport. All the while members of Jones' extended family are preparing a barbeque dinner, almost as if to break the five men's will further.

Despite being just 32 Jones is regarded by many boxing commentators as one of the sport's premier trainers, not just in the USA but worldwide. He developed a love for the sport at a young age and, fighting as a middleweight, had a brief professional career that was cut short by an eye injury when he was 21. Come February '97 his older brother-in-law Johnny Williams asked Jones if he'd train his 14-year-old son, Holman. The kid was getting beat up at school and needed to learn how to defend himself. Fast forward to September 2000 and Holman had gone beyond simple self defense. He was in Sydney, Australia as a member of the United States Olympic team, representing the nation in the welterweight division with Roy right there at his side.

Now Jones would be the first to admit that even if his own career hadn't ended prematurely he was never going to reach the level of a world champion. But as for his skills as a trainer, that's an entirely different story. In the space of three years he took Williams from a shy introvert who couldn't stand up for himself to the best amateur welterweight in the USA. Clearly the man had a gift. Holman bowed out in the Sydney quarters but the experience and Jones' continual encouragement drove him forward with renewed determination. He made it his goal to return to the Olympics in 2004 and set about bettering himself, winning a quartet of amateur events during 2001.

In early 2002 Williams was joined in Jones' camp by Terone Haynes. As Jones tells the story he was at a Miami nightclub in February of that year and spotted Haynes working security there, looking like "the meanest brother in the establishment" in a black muscle t-shirt and shades and sporting some tight cornrows. Jones approached the 6'4", 230 pound broad-shouldered giant and struck up a conversation with him, noting how much he resembled NBA star Ben Wallace. They got to talking about boxing and Jones invited Haynes to Pensacola to train with him. Terone accepted the offer and it didn't take long before Jones knew that he had an absolute monster on his hands, albeit a raw one.

As has been witnessed in the years since Haynes possesses perhaps the most devastating knockout power in boxing. However, back in '02 he was inexperienced and only twenty years old. It took some time for Jones to mold him into the wrecking machine he is today. But not too much time. After entering a half-dozen amateur tournaments Terone jumped to the professional ranks in February '03, foregoing a chance to win gold in Athens. The decision was his alone and while Jones didn't entirely agree with it he soon came around as Terone was 12-0(10) by the time the calendar ticked over to 2004. He won another four bouts through the first half of the new year and then challenged fellow Florida native and Sydney gold medallist Ray Mercer in September, stopping him in six rounds to claim the WBO belt.

The Ray cousins came under Jones' tutelage in late 2002. He'd seen them working out at a Jacksonville boxing clinic earlier in the year and by October he was training both of them. Like Williams, their goal was to qualify for the Athens Olympics and as it turned out all three of them made it, working together for a common goal. In a remarkable feat each member of the trio brought a medal back home with them, Holman and James winning silver and Elmer overachieving to take bronze. It started what was an incredible period for Jones and his charges as the Olympic success came just a couple of weeks before Haynes won the WBO title. While Holman and James started their pro careers immediately after Athens, Elmer stayed in the amateur game for a little longer, eventually making the jump last September. All three have been impressive so far and look certain to make a splash in the International Boxing League.

It's only been a couple of months since Romy Alvarez became the fifth member of Jones' stable but he has settled in nicely and made a great start to his time with the group by scoring a 4th round knockout of Tennessee's Dre Kingston back in March. Of course, a couple weeks after that win came the heavily publicised event when Haynes relinquished his WBO belt and the entire quintet signed on with the IBL. They were all on hand in Las Vegas back on the 14th when the league announced the schedule and brackets for their upcoming tournaments, a night that Jones tells me was "fantastic" and made him "prouder than ever bein' involv' in the sport".

He's just told Haynes and the others to take a break and he sits down across from me, sipping from a bottle of water. There's something about the man that is both intriguing and intimidating. It's in his stern, hard eyes, eyes that let you know there's no fear in him. He's in superb shape and insists that if not for his injury he'd probably still be fighting but in the next moment thanks the Lord for it, "'cause otherwise maybe these brothers be someplace else. Someplace worse than here." He thanks the Lord for it every night, says he thanks him for "giftin' me with this ability." He's not one to be modest but at the same time the man isn't saying anything that everyone else in the boxing community hasn't already acknowledged. His ambitions are grand and he insists they have to be to get the best out of his fighters.

"Ain't no use havin' ambitions if they ain't grand, y'all," Jones continues, smiling. "That's what they all wantin', you know? They all shootin' for the stars just in these tourneys and it be givin' us a great chance to 'stablish somethin' special, right from the start of this IBL."

He talks me through each of his "boys" and what he thinks of their chances in the IBL tournaments, starting with the big guy, Terone. Haynes walked away from the alphabet soup gang because they couldn't, wouldn't, give him a shot at the big time, the big paydays. With the IBL he has it all laid out in front of him, his path to the World Championship likely to include huge matchups against fellow relinquishers Sergey Anyukov and Ken Norton. According to Jones Haynes has been on something like a natural high ever since he gave up the WBO strap and has been training with more intensity than ever before. He sees it already in his mind, holding that IBL belt aloft as the league's inaugural world champion. Jones is right there beside him in that belief.

Being that he's his nephew Jones has a soft spot for Williams, but that doesn't mean he lets him off any lighter than the others. If anything he pushes the middleweight harder just to show there's no favouritism. Holman is the #2 seed in the chalIenger's tournament but he faces the prospect of a very difficult quarter-final matchup against New Jersey's Mickey Walker, the man he overcame to qualify for the Olympic team back in '04. The undefeated 23 year-old is regarded as one of the most promising young fighters in America but Jones is confident in Holman's ability to get past him. A shot at the World Championship at this early stage of his career would be a great achievement.

Jones was quite disappointed with the seeding the IBL gave James Ray in the welterweight challenger's tournament, putting him in at #13 despite the fact that many consider him the finest welterweight in the country. But he's since flipped it, claiming that the snub will make it all the more sweeter when James wins the tournament. He holds a similar opinion on Elmer, believing there's no reason why he can't claim the Americas Junior-Heavyweight Championship, "although that Nebraska dude Elwood look mighty tough." Elmer is driven by his desire to extract revenge on Sam Langford for the defeat the Canadian handed him in Athens and while he feels no actual hatred for the man his obsession with defeating him has pushed him beyond exhaustion during these training sessions. As for Alvarez, Jones sees the Americas Heavyweight tourney as having the most talent of any in the entire schedule, "but Romdawg catch a break bein' in the top half of the draw, see? Some real hungry, young fighters be in it and whoever take it out, they gonna earn it, y'all."

Roy invites me to stay for the family barbeque, an offer I can hardly refuse. We sit, eat, drink and talk as some old school hip hop bangs from a stereo system at the back of the house: PE, Eric B. & Rakim, Run-DMC and BDP amongst others, joints I haven't heard in ages but wish I had. There's a wonderful, party-like atmosphere and as I observe this master trainer interact with his family and fighters I feel like I'm watching a future giant of our sport. Everything I've seen him do today has been faultless, calculated and geared towards getting the most out of his stable of talented young boxers. I feel like I'm watching a future emperor, because what Roy Jones is building here in the suburbs of Pensacola is an empire, one that some day could be amongst the greatest stories boxing and sport in general has ever known...

[kenyan_cheena]

WORLD BOXING REVIEW

v. 52 / e. 5

MAY 2006

(following are selected entries from the magazine's "Notes & Quotes" section)

***

Friday 05/05/06

"I respect the decision they've made, entirely. You know, they have to do what they feel is best for themselves, their families and their careers. So I respect their choices and I would never criticize them because of it. There are different factors at work here: loyalty and security to start with. Then there's the simple nature of change; some people fear change and therefore they might be suspicious of us. If they change their minds our door will always be open but I'll say this right now: anyone who isn't with us by May the 13th is going to have to get in through the ground floor, regardless of what they've achieved in the past."

International Boxing League President James Molk delivers a thinly-veiled warning to boxers who have rejected his organisation's advances. Molk re-affirmed during the league's dinner of 13 May that no favouritism will be shown to any boxer who joins the IBL in the future, meaning that any current alphabet champion who decides to do so will have to fight their way from the bottom to the top of the league's world rankings.

***

Monday 08/05/06

"The Bodysnatcher don't answer to no one, mon. Not to the politicians, drug barons, the kingpins, the hustlers on the street and definitely not to de IBF. He be the king of all you see, mon. He know it and everyone else here know it, right? He defend that belt on his own time, see? When he say so."

Jamaican disc jockey Demar Marshall gives an indication that it's unlikely WBC/IBF Junior-Middleweight World Champion Mike McCallum will obey the directions of the IBF and make a mandatory defense of his belt against Oakland native Jimmy Doyle. As Marshall intimated 29 year-old McCallum (35-0-2(26)) is a living legend, the pride of his homeland and a man respected and revered by all on the Caribbean island.

***

Wednesday 10/05/06

"I never had any problem with the guy personally. We got along well at the Olympics and we both came home champions. Everyone was happy with what he achieved and what I achieved, Georgie Dixon also. Folks say the guy turned his back on Canada when he went back to the UK but I prefer to believe his side of the story. He was born there and grew up there and only came to Canada 'cause his family moved here, so I understand him saying he always considered himself to be British. But how can you complain about a guy who became an Olympic Champion for our country? No, I won't speak a bad word about him and I'll be wishin' him all the best in the IBL."

Canada's Sam Langford voices his opinion on British boxer Lennox Lewis. After representing Canada during his amateur career Lewis returned to live in his place of birth (West Ham, England) shortly after the Athens Olympics. After finding an initial lack of acceptance from the English public Lewis has now been embraced as their greatest hope in decades of delivering the nation a world heavyweight championship.

***

Saturday 13/05/06

"This has been the driving force behind everything I've done these last couple of years. To step in the ring against him has been my one ambition since before Athens and for it to possibly arrive so soon ... words can't describe how I'm feeling right now."

Interviewed at the MGM Grand following the unveiling of the IBL's tournament schedules Mexican featherweight Vicente Saldivar expressed his excitement over a possible quarter-final clash with his hated rival Salvador Sanchez (translated from spanish).

***

Monday 15/05/06

"Most of the younger fellas haven't established themselves yet so we were able to make some pretty appealing offers to them. But some of the older guys, the "name" fighters, they're locked into really iron-clad deals, six- and seven-fight contracts that they couldn't get out of even if they wanted to. That was the situation with Frdddie Steele, although I had a feeling that even under more favourable circumstances he might have turned us down. All he cares about right now is getting ready for Lytell. That's his focus. But there were a couple of instances where we had to buy out huge deals just to get to square one. I get dizzy whenever I think about what it took to get Kenny Norton's signature. Of course, we couldn't pick up everyone we wanted to but we always knew that would be the case. But who knows what the future holds? I think that we've done pretty damn good, hell, better than good, just looking at it as a starting point."

IBL vice-president Michael Vincennes outlines some of the difficulties the organisation experienced while signing over 500 fighters to contracts for their upcoming tournaments.

***

Tuesday 16/05/06

"No doubt the IBL and the world will find out they made a big mistake in placing Pancho so low once the tournament starts. Everyone saw what he did in Athens and how fantastic he's been since then so when they say "upsets" they'll just be expected results for us."

Filipino boxing writer Jovin Unabia voices his country's reaction to the IBL's decision to place undefeated Olympic gold medallist Pancho Villa as only the 15th seed in the flyweight division's challenger's tournament. The 23 year-old has accumulated a 15-0(13) record since turning professional after Athens and in the opinion of Unabia and others will one day be regarded as one of the greatest fighters the country ever produced (translated from tagalog).

***

Wednesday 17/05/06

"What can you say that hasn't already been said? I mean, they ripped the heart out of the WBA, plundered and pillaged them. They ain't got a single champion from heavyweight down to middleweight, Jim. How the hell do you put a positive spin on that?!? The IBF ain't faired any better but they took the hit in the lower divisions. You know, I laughed it off last month when Vielma suggested the WBC merger but after what Molk has done to them that might be the only way for them to get back any relevance."

Showtime's Hugh Ballard discusses the dire situation the World Boxing Association finds itself in after losing seven of their reigning world champions to the International Boxing League.

***

Thursday 18/05/06

"A lot of people said that I made a mistake retiring at 32, and in hindsight I guess they were right. Even though I was completely at peace with the decision, the bug never left me through these last two years. I felt I'd achieved everything I wanted to in the sport but when Mr. Molk went to the effort of seeking me out and asking if I was interested in a comeback, something inside just told me to do it. Now I'm like a young kid again, just real excited about being involved in something that I think'll be pretty special."

Brooklyn-born former WBA light-heavyweight champion Maurice Holmes speaking on his decision to join the IBL. The 34 year-old retired in July 2004 after being dethroned by Harold Johnson a year earlier but will add some much-needed intrigue to the league's World Junior-Heavyweight Championship tournament as its #2 seed.

***

Saturday 20/05/06

"I told him that I was feeling real gratitude for him, you know? Real respect and gratitude and admiration. I was washed up, on the scrap heap when they came callin'. For them to give me this opportunity is more than I could ask for."

Former heavyweight contender Michael Dokes discussing the debt he feels he owes to James Molk and the International Boxing League. The 33 year-old had been out of action for sixteen months before Molk contacted him personally and said that he'd love to have him compete in the league's World Heavyweight Championship tournament. One of boxing's hard-luck stories, Dokes (33-6-2(24)) has been unsuccessful in three world title fights during his career, losing one by contentious split decision and being held to an even more questionable draw in another. He's also been abused by a number of promoters and, having previously expressed his admiration for him, Molk has now held out his hand to give the Ohio-born boxer another chance, albeit against Ken Norton.

***

Monday 22/05/06

"No way, man. Joey Jeannette's my boy, understand? I got massive respect for the brother, both in and out of the ring. He pushed me all the way back in Detroit and I've been payin' attention to what he's achieved since then. The brother is dangerous and if we happen to meet in the tourney I'll need to be at my absolute best to get past him. Now, as for that bum from Brooklyn, he ain't got a hope in hell. You just watch him choke his way out of contention. You know it'll happen 'cause the chump did it before and, God as my witness, he'll do it again."

California-based slugger Jack Johnson offers contrasting opinions on two of his potential opponents in the IBL's Heavyweight Challenger's tournament, Joe Jeannette and Riddick Bowe.

***

Wednesday 24/05/06

"They're all saying I ain't prepared for this, that I've been fightin' cream puffs and what I've done to date won't help me when I step in the ring against Fulton. I say screw that! Has Freddie Fulton ever faced anyone with my power? I don't think so! They're sayin' I'm in a tough part of the draw but I ain't got a thing to lose, you know? A man with nothing to lose is a dangerous man, and I'm plannin' on bein' dangerous."

Hard-hitting Indianapolis heavyweight Mike "Hector" Hanson talking tough during an interview with a local radio station ahead of next month's IBL tournaments.

***

Friday 26/05/06

"It's amazing to see how much progress has been made in just three short years. I think a lot of people were worried about how the situation would play out after Castro passed but I don't think we could have asked for much better than this. I really can't believe that I'll be contesting the first world title fight in Cuba since 1958."

WBC Welterweight Champion Jose Napoles speaking on his August title defense against #1-ranked New Yorker Marcelo Smith. The fight will be staged at Havana's Gran Stadium, making it, as Napoles said, the first title fight to be held in Cuba in almost fifty years. The IBL have scheduled one of their upcoming tournament cards to be held at the same venue on the 13th of June.

***

[Beno999]

Great quotes section, once again got to congratulate you on such a thrilling universe Cheena, you've captivated your audiences with every update.

[Mad Bomber]

I love this stuff, it really adds to the universe when you can build up the fights this way.

[Romdawg88]

Why must our head trainer always taunt us with BBQ while running us into the ground. Bastards all of them. Reading through that post it seems like to me that Haynes and the Rays are related this go around is this correct? Great stuff as always KC.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Beno999

Great quotes section, once again got to congratulate you on such a thrilling universe Cheena, you've captivated your audiences with every update.

Originally Posted by Mad Bomber

I love this stuff, it really adds to the universe when you can build up the fights this way.

Thanks for the kind words, guys. Like I said in an earlier post, my main goal is to tell an exciting, interesting story. IMO the build up to a fights is often just as, if not more, entertaining than the fight itself. These "notes & quotes" sections allow me to build plot threads by implying rather than going into a lot of detail.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Why must our head trainer always taunt us with BBQ while running us into the ground. Bastards all of them. Reading through that post it seems like to me that Haynes and the Rays are related this go around is this correct? Great stuff as always KC.

LOL I knew you'd pick up on that again. That post was very similar to the one in the HBF, which I used as an inspiration. I decided not to have Terone related to the Rays in this uni simply because I thought it would be a bit more realistic. I know that in real life there are stories of talented sporting families but I thought that having just the two cousins being related works better. I wanted to use the idea of Jones discovering Haynes almost by chance in a Miami nightclub rather than him coming across all three of them in one instance. Even so, Terone has grown close to the two of them, making him like an older brother to them.

Glad you're enjoying it, Romy. There's one more post to come before the IBL tourneys arrive. As I've said earlier I don't want to go into huge details of each fight card in this uni. I'll most likely do an article on each of the world championship tournament cards and will always do one on any card involving a TBCB community fighter, even if it's in the form of a newspaper story from his hometown.

I'll be using the BOXING MONTHLY magazine (the one that has the fight reviews) to post summaries of each of the month's fight card results and the "notes & quotes" from WORLD BOXING REVIEW will also give info on some of the fights. But there's no chance I'll be doing a write-up of every single fight card like in the HBF. Those days are gone.

[Beno999]

thats awesome to think that at some point my names going to be mentioned, your going to get a lot more people coming to this thread than you do now. (which is hard to believe i know) just to check whats been said about there boxer.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Beno999

thats awesome to think that at some point my names going to be mentioned, your going to get a lot more people coming to this thread than you do now. (which is hard to believe i know) just to check whats been said about there boxer.

I was doing the same thing in my previous HBF/IBL uni but my mistake with that one was I went into TOO much detail. It would take me a month to write about a week of action in the uni which, looking back, was bloody ridiculous. The time between fights was considerable so it was difficult for some people to stay interested.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

LOL I knew you'd pick up on that again. That post was very similar to the one in the HBF, which I used as an inspiration. I decided not to have Terone related to the Rays in this uni simply because I thought it would be a bit more realistic. I know that in real life there are stories of talented sporting families but I thought that having just the two cousins being related works better. I wanted to use the idea of Jones discovering Haynes almost by chance in a Miami nightclub rather than him coming across all three of them in one instance. Even so, Terone has grown close to the two of them, making him like an older brother to them.

Glad you're enjoying it, Romy. There's one more post to come before the IBL tourneys arrive. As I've said earlier I don't want to go into huge details of each fight card in this uni. I'll most likely do an article on each of the world championship tournament cards and will always do one on any card involving a TBCB community fighter, even if it's in the form of a newspaper story from his hometown.

I'll be using the BOXING MONTHLY magazine (the one that has the fight reviews) to post summaries of each of the month's fight card results and the "notes & quotes" from WORLD BOXING REVIEW will also give info on some of the fights. But there's no chance I'll be doing a write-up of every single fight card like in the HBF. Those days are gone.

Wait a sec, you mean we're not going to a full page writeup of Tae-Shik Kim/Koji Kobayashi? Everyone's favorite part of the HBF was the Southern Europe Quailifing Group I mean who could forgot those epics fights between uh that guy and that other guy. You're ruining the IBL and I will not allow it to happen, we need our full page writeups of random meaningless fights damitt!

Changing the Haynes/Ray relationship does make things alot more realitsic then one extended family producing three world class boxers all at the same time and all of similar ages. This verison of the Alliance is alot stronger then the previous one with four legit world title threats and Elmer should turn out to be a top 10 level JHW.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Wait a sec, you mean we're not going to a full page writeup of Tae-Shik Kim/Koji Kobayashi? Everyone's favorite part of the HBF was the Southern Europe Quailifing Group I mean who could forgot those epics fights between uh that guy and that other guy. You're ruining the IBL and I will not allow it to happen, we need our full page writeups of random meaningless fights damitt!

Changing the Haynes/Ray relationship does make things alot more realitsic then one extended family producing three world class boxers all at the same time and all of similar ages. This verison of the Alliance is alot stronger then the previous one with four legit world title threats and Elmer should turn out to be a top 10 level JHW.

LOL. I'm really hoping that the Alliance makes some big statements during these initial tournaments. Would be great to see Elmer eventually step in against Sammy Langford and get some revenge for Athens, although I don't fancy his chances much.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

LOL. I'm really hoping that the Alliance makes some big statements during these initial tournaments. Would be great to see Elmer eventually step in against Sammy Langford and get some revenge for Athens, although I don't fancy his chances much.

Ha yeah, I don't like Elmer's chances at getting revenge on Langford either since Langford would hand him his head if they fought. Not that is much shame in that since Sam can do that to alot of the fighters in the game. I don't like Ray's chances of winning the tournament either. I see him getting to the finals but dropping that fight. I think Norris/Elword is going to be the real finals.

[professordp]

I'm starting to get addicted to this uni! It's been pretty interesting thus far. I love all the thought you are putting into this project.

BTW, would you mind if I stole a few of your ideas and worked them into my unis?

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by professordp

I'm starting to get addicted to this uni! It's been pretty interesting thus far. I love all the thought you are putting into this project.

BTW, would you mind if I stole a few of your ideas and worked them into my unis?

Thanks, professor. I'm happy you're enjoying it.

I don't mind at all if you work some of my ideas into your uni. After all, it was reading your Teo thread that inspired me to pull the plug on my old uni and start this one. So I owe you for that, to say the least.

[kenyan_cheena]

BOXING
MONTHLY

VOLUME 28, ISSUE 5 - MAY 2006

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
TO RETURN TO CUBA IN AUGUST

Story by Michael Gomez

On the 22nd of February 2003, Cuban president Fidel Castro passed away following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. It was a monumental event celebrated in some quarters and mourned in others, Castro's death bringing to an end over 43 years of rule as leader of the Caribbean nation. Cuba and the world had prepared itself for the moment as he'd first been diagnosed with the terminal illness seven months earlier. In late 2002 Castro stepped down from his position as Cuban president, his brother Raul assuming the role. Two months after the Commandante en Jefe's passing Raul Castro announced that Cuba would hold elections for the role of president, declaring a political amnesty and reinstalling a sovereign National Constituent Assembly. Raul acknowledged that he was prepared to put his position on the line in order to let his "people's voices be heard", a statement that was an astonishing but pleasant surprise.

These elections took place in August '03 and saw Castro defeated by Eriel Borrero of the Democratic Social-Revolutionary Party of Cuba, who claimed 54% of the votes. Despite his party's previous criticisms of America's role in Cuba Borrero immediately set about the task of re-establishing relations with the United States and a number of other nations. It was a step that led to the US embargo against Cuba being withdrawn in September 2004. In addition to the political and diplomatic manouverings that Borrero put into action he also announced that all Cuban-based athletes were free to perform on the international, professional sports stage, opening the door for an influx of talent for Major League Baseball in particular.

Borrero stated it was his intention that Cuba become a power in the world of professional boxing and hoped that ex-patriot fighters such as WBC Welterweight Champion Jose Napoles would feel compelled to "return home and proudly represent their country in the squared circle". He made contact with the sport's major sanctioning bodies and arranged for a number of fight cards to be held in Havana and other cities. However, none of these events featured a world title fight, something Borrero was desperate to bring to Cuba. Earlier this month he finally succeeded in realising his goal as it was announced that Napoles had come to an agreement to defend his belt against New York's Marcelo Smith on Saturday the 26th of August at Havana's 55,000-seat Gran Stadium.

Napoles (27-1(23)) was born in Santiago on 13 April 1981, his family defecting to the USA when he was just three. They settled in Miami and stayed there as Napoles grew from a child to a man. He started boxing in his mid-teens and had a fantastic amateur career but never competed in the Olympics because he could not bring himself to represent his adopted homeland at the expense of Cuba. Napoles turned professional in '01 and claimed his welterweight title in March 2003. Following the recent signings by James Molk's International Boxing League he is the only recognised champion in the welterweight division, with the WBA, IBF and WBO belts all vacant as of this writing. Just last week Napoles spoke of his excitement to be defending the welterweight title in Cuba and although he has much love for his country of birth he's adamant that Miami is his home and always will be.

While Napoles is Cuba's only current world champion the nation boasts a number of young, promising fighters who look capable of reaching the sport's pinnacle in the years to come. Some of them have signed with the IBL, including Athens silver medallist Orlando Zulueta (13-0-1(11)) who is scheduled to compete in the league's Lightweight Challenger's tournament. His fellow '04 medal winners Ormari Gonzalez (bronze, super-heavyweight) and Adiel Suarez (gold, welterweight) are yet to make the jump to the professional ranks and are not likely to do so until after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They are definitely names to keep an eye out for in the future. All three of them are members of a new Cuban generation, one that will be the first in almost half a century to unleash their fantastic talents upon the world of professional sports.

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MEXICO GRIPPED BY BOXING FEVER
ON EVE OF IBL TOURNEYS

Story by Javier Martinez

With competition in the International Boxing League's various tournaments scheduled to kick off this coming Monday the 5th of June Mexico is in the grip of what can only be called "boxing fever", with interest in the sport currently at unprecedented levels. Considering the fantastic success the nation has had in the sweet science during the last twenty years and the past decade in particular this is quite a big deal. James Molk's IBL appears to have given boxing an injection of freshness and excitement that it's been missing for some time and with a number of Mexican fighters amongst the contenders in some of the world championship tournaments there's no doubt they'll be keenly followed.

Of the nine divisions in the IBL none is more favourably equipped to deliver Mexico an inaugural world championship than featherweight. The top three seeds in the eight-man tournament all hail from Mexico with the pair of Jesus Carrillo and Juan Meza both relinquishing junior-featherweight alphabet titles in order to sign with the IBL. The third member of the trio, Gilberto Vasquez, was caught up in an ugly legal squabble with the International Boxing Federation but has put all that behind him and is looking forward to challenging for the IBL's championship. The nation also has a great chance of claiming a championship in the bantamweight and flyweight divisions, with the undefeated former WBO champion Candido Tellez the #1 seed and one of four Mexicans in the World Flyweight Championship tourney. Meanwhile in the bantamweight event Carlos Zarate is at the top of the tree with Gilberto Roman and the veteran Romeo Anaya also in with a good chance.

When one remembers that WBA/WBC Lightweight Champion Patricio Marquez won't even be involved in the IBL tournaments the excitement in Mexico represents even more evidence of how the league has captured the public's imagination. Marquez declared after his unification bout victory over Francisco Ortiz in March that his loyalty was with the WBC, words he has stayed true to. One can only wonder what the situation would be if he'd followed other top flight competitors to Molk's organisation.

Despite his absence there is plenty to be excited about and that's even without considering the likely quarter-final matchup between Athens gold medallists and sworn enemies Salvador Sanchez and Vicente Saldivar in the Featherweight Challenger's tournament. Mexico will host four IBL cards during the league's opening series of bouts, something no other nation save for the USA can boast of.

Three-division champion Israel Martinez has been a great promoter of the IBL and in the eyes of many is the main reason why the league has gained so many fans in such a short period of time. Unsurprisingly the self-effacing legend prefers to give the credit to the current batch of professional fighters.

"This is a golden age for boxing in Mexico," he said back on May 13 in Las Vegas. "Of the 21 world champions that came over to the IBL, eight were from Mexico. That's just incredible. I think that if I was fighting in this era I would not have been nearly as successful as I was. There are some fantastic boxers lacing up the gloves in 2006 and I don't envy any of them the challenges they'll face, expecially these IBL guys."

Without a doubt, watching how the Mexican contingent fares will be one of the highlights of these upcoming International Boxing League tournaments...

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(following are selected entries from the magazine's
"Fight Review" section)

6 May: Cardiff, Wales
Jim Driscoll (34-1-2(27)) UD12 Brian Hampton (26-3-1(17))
(featherweight division, WBC title fight)

In a farcical situation the WBA refused to acknowledge Hampton as a suitable challenger for their title, so if Driscoll had lost the bout he still would have been their champion. As it turned out he had no such trouble, giving the Englishman a boxing lesson on the way to a dominant win. One week later the WBA announced that Driscoll would have to defend their version of the belt before the end of July, a situation that would seem highly unlikely. Considering the problems that the emergence of James Molk's IBL has brought them this is not an issue that the sport's oldest sanctioning body should be making for itself but Vielma and his associates have made a habit of shooting themselves in the foot before so it really comes as no surprise. Driscoll has since threatened to relinquish the title if he's not given at least a four month break before his next title fight.

9 May: Miami, Florida, USA
Carmelo Aleman (3-0(3)) TKO2 Louie Redmond (5-3-1(3))
(bantamweight division)

19 year-old Palm Springs native Carmelo Aleman produced another eye-opening performance, showing for the fourth month in a row that he'll be a fighter to watch in the future. This young man has aggression to burn and it would be true to say that Redmond didn't know what hit him as he was pummelled mercilessly before the referee stopped the contest a minute into the 2nd round. Aleman is the type of fighter who gets down to business immediately but despite his seemingly reckless style he possesses a solid defense and great accuracy with his punches, something each of his opponents have found out the hard way. The day after his victory Aleman became one of the last fighters to sign with the International Boxing League and has been slotted in as the 14th seed in the Americas Bantamweight Championship tournament. It will be interesting to see if this exciting prospect can pull off an upset or two.

13 May: Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
Joe Brown (32-2-1(23)) KO10 Oscar Jimenez (22-1(18))
(lightweight division, IBF title fight)

Fighting on the same night that the International Boxing League staged a lavish dinner in Las Vegas Joe Brown retained his IBF lightweight belt with a 10th round KO of the talented Mexican Oscar Jimenez at the Trump Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino. It was the Louisiana native's fourth successful defense of the title and afterwards he claimed he was willing and able to take on WBC/WBA Champion Patricio Marquez in a bout that would crown an undisputed world lightweight champion. "Ain't nothin' holdin' it back, man," Brown said. "Type o' fight the sport need, y'all. Type o' fight that should happen mo' often. My people talk to his people and, you know, let's get it done. No excuses, no nonsense."

13 May: Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
Pernell Whitaker (11-0(7)) TKO3 Freddie Claymore (14-6-1(9))
(lightweight division)

Fighting on the undercard of Brown's world title defense young Viriginian Pernell Whitaker was untroubled against a seriously overmatched Freddie Claymore. The Athens gold medallist's blinding hand speed had Claymore helpless to defend himself and the referee called an end to the fight late in the 3rd. The win was simply another step on Whitaker's journey to what could be a clash with the New Orleans slugger down the road.

20 May: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Felix Trinidad (2-0(2)) KO4 Noah Villegas (4-2(2))
(junior-welterweight division)

This outstanding young Puerto Rican fighter enjoyed a brilliant but brief amateur career before turning professional in February. At just 17 years of age many are already predicting Trinidad will become a multi-division world champion some day but for now he is content to develop his skills under the direction of his father, Felix Sr. He was approached by the IBL to take part in their upcoming tournaments but both he and his father agreed that being involved in a high-pressure elimination-style event is not what his career needs at this stage.

27 May: Berlin, Germany
Marko Friedrich (27-0-1(22)) MD12 Igor Berezutskiy (24-0(19))
(heavyweight division, IBF title fight)

Almost six months since the fight's originally scheduled date had passed Marko Friedrich finally defended his IBF heavyweight title against the Russian Igor Berezutskiy. In a clash that was more entertaining than some expected the German retained the title by a slim majority decision verdict (115-113, 114-114, 115-113), despite a parochial home crowd cheering him all the way. Berezutskiy was regarded as being unproven and undeserving but he did enough to have some talking of a rematch. Considering the nonsense and drama that took place just to get this fight staged a rematch could be a long time coming.

[Romdawg88]

Man, if only things had gone down like that in real life for Cuba that would of been fantastic.

I have to say that I like that there are great fighters like Trinidad that didn't end up in the tournaments. To me it makes it more realistic that not every top level young fighter is involved in the tournys. Also, was did my post in your questions thread any help?

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Man, if only things had gone down like that in real life for Cuba that would of been fantastic.

I have to say that I like that there are great fighters like Trinidad that didn't end up in the tournaments. To me it makes it more realistic that not every top level young fighter is involved in the tournys. Also, was did my post in your questions thread any help?

I'm really not too sure how possible my take on the Cuba situation would be in reality but I needed to come up with a valid reason to have young Cubans who have grown up there under Castro fighting professionally. Having Castro die in '03 and a new party come to power solved that problem.

I knew when I started this uni that I wouldn't be able to have all the best fighters in the IBL. That would have been unrealistic to how things would work in real life. With Trinidad it was also a matter of timing. He's just turned pro and doesn't need the pressure of a sudden-death tournament to contend with. I have a long term vision for how things progress with the different alphabet organisations. It'll play out over a considerable period of time and all I'll say for now is that some of the guys who aren't in the IBL now will end up there eventually.

I only now just saw your answer to my question. Don't know how I missed it before. Thanks for the reply. I'll have to open up the game in the morning and check it out but I'll be pretty short on time 'cause we have to finish all our packing tomorrow. Less than 48 hours now until we fly out to the Philippines.

[kenyan_cheena]

Hello, everyone. I had no time at all yesterday to get on here. It's now 2am Oz time, seven hours 'til we make our way to the the airport. Unfortunately this will be my last post on the forum for the next five weeks. I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy new year.

I'll see you back here sometime around January 28.

k_c

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Hello, everyone. I had no time at all yesterday to get on here. It's now 2am Oz time, seven hours 'til we make our way to the the airport. Unfortunately this will be my last post on the forum for the next five weeks. I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe, happy new year.

I'll see you back here sometime around January 28.

k_c

I hope you enjoy your vacation and have a Merry Christmas and happy new year as well man.