The Greatest Prize in Sports

[Beno999]

Sooo....longg....until next......installment....dying....need.....more... .IBL.....action...!

[kenyan_cheena]

I made some posts in general discussions a few days ago about aging and have decided that I will be tracking it manually for each fighter in the uni. I've worked out their total fights at each stage using a random number generator and the following parameters:

beginner 5-10
pre-prime 10-15
prime 15-30
post-prime 10-15
end 5-10

That gives a range of fights during a career of 45-80 which in a modern setting is pretty realistic, IMO.

I've started inputting the records of the welterweights as at the start of the IBL tourneys and hopefully I'll be able to do a review of the league's debut card from Quezon City in the Philippines by the weekend.

[kenyan_cheena]

Sorry, folks. Life is keeping me away from the PC at the moment. Had to take my daughter to the hospital yesterday due to severe eczema and didn't have a moment of time to spend here. However, I've just run the opening two cards of the IBL and seeing as each involves a forum fictional fighter I'll be writing reviews of them. I'll do these starting tomorrow when I'm at work.

[Jersey-Jim]

Hope your daughter is doing better.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Jersey-Jim

Hope your daughter is doing better.

Thanks, JJ. She has it on her face, neck (all around), collar bones, up and down her arms and on the back of her legs. I won't go into the whole story of it but it's something that has been a problem for some time but it's about as bad as it's been right now. She stayed in the hospital overnight and they're treating her with wet dressings. They put creams and ointments on the affected areas then apply wet cotton dressings and a gauze wrap over the top. She looks pretty much like a mummy. My wife and I will be going there today, hopefully to bring her back home.

[Jersey-Jim]

They have all sorts of immune booster products on the market. Maybe one of them could help if the doctors are clueless. I had some family members spending quite a bit of money with reoccuring problems. Very few doctors, at least in the US, believe in natural cure-type products. Probably because they don't make an money off recommending them. A few do, though. And sometimes the results are fantastic. My mother has spent a fortune on sinus medication and was continuously sick. The doctors were basically useless. She looked into some alternative things and found one that worked. That was after 3 years of suffering the same reoccurring problem.

[Romdawg88]

Man, that sucks to hear KC hopefully she's doing better and home and that y'all can find something to help her out with the eczema. Looking forward to the IBL starting back up when you get the time

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Jersey-Jim

They have all sorts of immune booster products on the market. Maybe one of them could help if the doctors are clueless. I had some family members spending quite a bit of money with reoccuring problems. Very few doctors, at least in the US, believe in natural cure-type products. Probably because they don't make an money off recommending them. A few do, though. And sometimes the results are fantastic. My mother has spent a fortune on sinus medication and was continuously sick. The doctors were basically useless. She looked into some alternative things and found one that worked. That was after 3 years of suffering the same reoccurring problem.

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Man, that sucks to hear KC hopefully she's doing better and home and that y'all can find something to help her out with the eczema. Looking forward to the IBL starting back up when you get the time

Thanks for the concern, guys. It's now 2.20am Monday here in Oz. I got home from the hospital just under four hours ago. Our daughter Nathalie has to stay there for another night. My wife Shirley is staying with her. She doesn't work tomorrow but I have to.

I am happy to say that Nathalie's condition has improved a lot just in the day and a bit she's been in the hospital. They have applied five sets of wet dressings to her since she was admitted and it has really helped. Her face is pretty much cleared up and her neck and arms look much better.

The dermotologist spoke to us Sunday evening and said that, in a nutshell, her condition is caused by dustmites. We don't have any carpet in our house but our lounge suite is fabric and usually covered with sheets or throwovers. In addition, Nathalie is pretty much like any other 12 year-old when it comes to keeping her room clean (ie. not good at it), so that has not helped the situation. They are going to give us some advice and information today about how to best handle her condition once she's back home.

It's been a crazy weekend which led to me spending most of the time since I got home tidying up the house. For some reason I don't feel sleepy so i might try to bang out a dynasty post before hitting the hay...

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

TUESDAY, 6 JUNE, 2006

IBL STAGES DEBUT FIGHT CARD
IN THE PHILIPPINES

Story by James Reynolds

It has been branded by many as the organisation that could save the sport and yesterday the International Boxing League finally got down to the business of staging fight cards, holding its first at Quezon City's Araneta Coliseum. The eight bouts that took place were all stage one contests in the league's Inter-Continental Welterweight Championship tournament and an enthusiastic crowd of some 18,000 spectators turned out to enjoy the show. At the end of an action-packed evening the main event sent them home in a good mood as local favourite and #1 seed Roberto Cruz scored a unanimous decision win over the inexperienced but undefeated Australian Liam Maghee (59-56 on all three cards). The 25 year-old is regarded as the best welterweight in Asia and the victory improved his record to 19-4(13).

While Cruz was impressive the highlight of the night came in the co-feature when the promising Englishman Ashley Jackson destroyed Spanish 2nd seed Miguel Velasquez inside of three rounds. After a non-descript opening stanza Jackson erupted in round two, catching Velasquez with a succession of punishing blows, the pick of them coming at the tail of a left-right-left salvo that rattled the Spaniard's cage late in the frame. Velasquez showed a perturbed countenance as he came out for the 3rd and it wasn't long before he was in trouble again, a pair of combinations staggering him through the top half of the round. The end came in brutal, eye-catching fashion, Jackson unleashing a right cross that connected hard and flush. Velasquez crumbled to the canvas but lurched to his feet at six before falling unsteady to one knee. He gazed up at the referee, staring at him blankly as the count reached eight, nine and ten.

Jackson was the winner by KO at 2:23 of round three, his record now 7-0(6) while Velasquez suffered just his second career defeat and fell to 13-2(11). The hard-hitting, handsome 18 year-old was in a celebratory mood afterwards, rubbing up against a quartet of attractive young ladies who had accompanied him to the ring. From all reports Jackson is something of a teen idol in his homeland and last night's suberb win will only enhance his popularity. He'll next face the tough Australian Hector Thompson, the 7th seed booking his place in the quarter-finals after his bout against Nigeria's Seyi Olofinjana ended as a draw. The evening's middle two bouts were over in the blink of an eye with Japan's Akio Kameda and the rugged Australian Justin Rowsell both disposing of their opponents with smashing 1st round knockouts.

While none of the division's biggest stars were on display the card was a fitting start to the IBL's tournaments, one that no doubt would have thrilled the league's president James Molk as he watched from Las Vegas and vice-president Michael Vincennes, who sat ringside and spoke passionately to the crowd both at the beginning and conclusion of the event...

***

(#9) Reinhardt Kohler TKO5 (#8) Michael Watson
(#7) Hector Thompson D6 (#10) Seyi Olofinjana
(#11) Ernie Roderick MD6 (#6) Michael Taylor
(#5) Akio Kameda KO1 (#12) Nino LaRocca
(#4) Justin Rowsell KO1 (#13) Willy Quatuor
(#3) Francois Pavilla MD6 (#14) Danilo Viloria
(#15) Ashley Jackson KO3 (#2) Miguel Velasquez
(#1) Roberto Cruz UD6 (#16) Liam Maghee

Quarter-final matchups

Cruz (19-4(13)) vs Kohler (7-1(4))
Kameda (8-1(5)) vs Rowsell (13-1(8))
Pavilla (13-1(8)) vs Roderick (6-0(3))
Thompson (7-0-1(4)) vs Jackson (7-0(6))

***

[kenyan_cheena]

MILWAUKEE * WISCONSIN
JOURNAL SENTINEL

Wednesday 7 June 2006

BENGTSON FALLS SHORT IN ST. LOUIS

Story by Michael Nixon

Promising Milwaukee slugger Eric Bengtson saw his stay in the International Boxing League's Americas Welterweight Championship tournament come to an end in somewhat controversial circumstances last night. The 19 year-old appeared to be the better man during his contest against Dominican Republic native Pedro Cabrera but it was the caribbean fighter who progressed to the quarter-finals after the bout ended as a draw. One judge actually favoured Bengtson 59-55 but the other two both returned verdicts of 57-57. According to IBL rules Cabrera's higher 7th seeding guaranteed his path to the tournament's second stage. In an entertaining bout Bengtson outlanded his foe 132-96, proving to be especially effective with a potent right cross. Despite that, if not for his strong finish to the fight in sweeping the 5th and 6th rounds he would have suffered his first career defeat.

Bengtson (6-0-2(3)) was visibly shattered afterwards and will now have to take part in a trio of bouts during the next six months that will determine his initial IBL world ranking once the tournaments are completed. In the evening's main event local favourite Virgil Akins overcame a cut above the right eyebrow in the opening round to send the Scottrade Center crowd home satisfied as he defeated the Canadian Maxie Berger by unanimous decision (57-56, 60-53, 58-55). In only his fourth professional bout Berger is the most inexperienced fighter in the league and was always going to have trouble against Akins, who improved to 10-0-1(7) with the win. Berger tasted the canvas a minute into round two, Akins dominating the 3rd and 4th before easing off in the 5th.

The co-feature was an all-Mexican affair with Bernabe Carbajal turning back a determined start from his younger opponent Kid Azteca to win by unanimous decision. Other victors on the night included 3rd seed Carlos Alou, Cuban 4th seed Jose Stable and California's James Page, who sent New York native Max Rasmuth to his first professional defeat with a 5th round KO. The fight had been even through the opening four rounds but Rasmuth was floored twice in the 5th and counted out two minutes into it. Based on last night's card (which was televised live on ESPN) there does not appear to be a clear-cut favourite for this tournament, something that will certainly add some intrigue to the quarter-finals.

[Jeff1787]

KC: I'm following along as usual, but more importantly I hope you daughter is doing better!!

[bear]

Dan
Hope your daughter is doing ok.

bear

[Mad Bomber]

Dan, I'm on holidays. so I'm reading this for the first time, and I also hope your daughter is doing much better. Your family is far more important than any game. Take Care.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Jeff1787

KC: I'm following along as usual, but more importantly I hope you daughter is doing better!!

Originally Posted by bear

Dan
Hope your daughter is doing ok.

bear

Originally Posted by Mad Bomber

Dan, I'm on holidays. so I'm reading this for the first time, and I also hope your daughter is doing much better. Your family is far more important than any game. Take Care.

Thanks, guys. She is doing much better although she has to stay in the hospital until Wednesday. The treatment has really helped. The eczema is most severe on her arms and while they are still quite dry they have really improved compared to how they were on Saturday before she was admitted.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Bengtson (6-0-2(3)) was visibly shattered afterwards and will now have to take part in a trio of bouts during the next six months that will determine his initial IBL world ranking once the tournaments are completed.

Don't know why this really didn't occur to me before but the price of losing out early in these tourneys is pretty steep. Bengtson has gone from being a contender for a title to having to dig deep, apply himself and make sure he takes care of business for the rest of the year. Even after all that he'll have a pretty low world ranking with no shot at a title in sight for some time.

It's similar to the feeder league tourneys I had going in the HBF where if you didn't win the final it could set you back a whole year.

[kenyan_cheena]

I won't be unable to do any write-ups of the fight cards until this weekend so what I'm doing at the moment is composing a post that will appear in the story's timeline towards the end of June. Better than sitting here doing nothing during my lunchbreak.

[kenyan_cheena]

I was able to run all the remaining six fightcards from the opening week of action in the IBL today but had some family matters and housework and so didn't have time to get any writing done.

The good news is that there should be a number of new posts in the thread during the coming week where I'm planning to review four of those six fight cards. Still, I'm frustrated I couldn't get any of them done today. This has been a busy couple of weeks for my family and I.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE FREMONT TRIBUNE

FRIDAY 9 JUNE 2006

ELWOOD FANTASTIC IN OKC

Story by Richard Lee

He's been spoken of as a future world champion and last night local junior-heavyweight boxer Mark Elwood justified the hype, making a breathtaking start to his time in the International Boxing League with a 4th round knockout of Pennsylvania's Julian Letterlough in Oklahoma City. Competing in the league's Americas Championship tournament 7th-seeded Elwood sent Letterlough to the canvas four times, the final knockdown coming moments before the bell and leading to a count out after the round had ended. The destructive punching power that has marked Elwood's career to date was in devastating evidence as Letterlough was pummeled and floored at the end of round one. He returned to his corner wearing a stunned expression and after a less eventful 2nd round the Reading native found himself on his backside again thirty seconds from the end of the 3rd, a single jolting right cross doing the damage. It came perhaps ten seconds after Elwood had actually looked in trouble from a stinging body shot and was a stunning retort that had the crowd on their feet.

Letterlough was up at eight and survived the round but it only allowed Elwood to inflict more punishment upon him in the 4th. Elwood sustained a cut from a hard straight right early in the frame but it did nothing to slow him down. After connecting with a booming right hand of his own, Elwood then banged a left hook off his opponent's ribcage and snapped his head back with an uppercut. Letterlough was down for the third time in the fight two minutes into the round, a flurry of flush shots sending him to the canvas. Perhaps foolishly he was back on his feet at the count of three, referee Kenny Bayless perhaps even moreso as he allowed the onslaught to continue. Elwood was merciless, blasting away with an uppercut, a left-right-left salvo and then the icing on the cake, a flush left hook that dropped Letterlough for the fourth and final time. There was no coming back from this one and Elwood was the winner by KO at the end of the 4th round.

Originally from Bella Vista, Arkansas, Elwood's family moved to Nebraska when he was in junior high. On the first day at his new school he was bestowed with the nickname "Vistaman" by a fellow student, who is now one of the 22 year-old's closest friends. The nickname has stayed with him, but some of his supporters have taken to calling him "The Blues Brother" in honor of Dan Aykroyd's character from the iconic motion picture. Elwood has had aspirations for a career in journalism since his mid-teens and it's something he plans to pursue once his boxing career is over. But for now the squared circle is his domain and after last night's win his record stands at a perfect 11-0(8). The former amateur standout will face Guyana's 2nd seed Wayne Braithwaite in the quarter-finals. Braithwaite was unimpressive and in the opinion of some lucky to score a majority decision win over Reno's Kelvin Davis in last night's co-feature. It was an unremarkable fight through the first three rounds but it heated up somewhat in the bottom half with Davis tasting the canvas in the 4th and 6th and Braithwaite finding himself on one knee after absorbing a painful ribshot early in the 5th.

In the evening's main event #1 seed and Oklahoma native Eric Fields improved his mark to 20-3-1(12) with a 3rd round stoppage of the overmatched Brazilian Laudelino Jose Barros. After dominating the opening two rounds Fields floored Barros twice in round three, the Brazilian showing some major swelling around his left eye in the aftermath of the contest. It was a great start to the tournament for Fields, who confirmed that the IBL had made the right choice when they made him the top seed. There was controversy earlier in the evening when Athens bronze medallist Elmer Ray was eliminated from the event when his bout against Pennsylvania's Dan Harvison was ruled a draw. Despite being the 12th seed and this being only his sixth pro fight most of the experts expected the Florida native to progress to the quarter-finals. After a competitive six rounds it looked like that would be the case. Ray outlanded Harvison 170-119 and was the aggressor throughout the fight. But one judge favoured Harvison 58-56 and the other two had it even at 57-57.

A temperamental young man, Ray vented his frustrations after the verdict was revealed. He may still be undefeated at 5-0-1(5) but he's now out of the tournament and the reality of that was too much for the 19 year-old to handle. At one point he had to be restrained by his trainer Roy Jones and fellow stable mates Terone Haynes and Romy Alvarez, who had accompanied him to the ring. Despite the disappointing result it must be said that Ray is a young fighter with tremendous promise. He had Harvison in trouble on a number of occasions and it should only be a matter of time until he is ranked amongst the top junior-heavyweights in the league. However, his elimination from the tournament will lengthen that amount of time and Ray was only too aware of that during his emotional outburst.

___

RESULTS

Cooper D6 Flores
Elwood KO4 Letterlough
Norris MD6 Brown
Harvison D6 Ray
Del Valle KO2 Banks
Gomez D6 Pineda
Braithwaite MD6 Davis
Fields KO3 Barros

___

[Romdawg88]

Dammit, Ray got robbed. Man, that is a crappy way to go out of the tournament.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Dammit, Ray got robbed. Man, that is a crappy way to go out of the tournament.

When I was simming the card and the result of that fight came up on the screen I had one of those instantaneous pissed off beyond belief moments. Took me about thirty seconds to calm down enough to sim the rest of the card.

The fight was closer than the punch totals indicated, with every round save the 3rd (which Elmer dominated) being pretty close. But Elmer just didn't have much luck with the judges, especially the one who only gave him two rounds.

One positive way to look at it is it'll allow him to get more experience before he challenges for one of the belts. I am hoping beyond hope that some day he gets high enough in the rankings to take on Sammy Langford and they produce an epic contest.