World Championships

[Crimson]

Friday, July 10th, 1992
Hiram Bithorn Stadium; San Juan, Puerto Rico
John John Molina 26-4-1 (15) Puerto Rico IBF
vs.
Brian Mitchell 48-2-3 (21) South Africa
- The odds were EVEN on this very intriguing fight.
- Molina struggled to land against the defense of Mitchell, who was able to utilize his boxing skills to keep exchanges to a minimum. This helped to get the crowd out of the fight early. After 6 rounds of action Ringside Expet Romy Alvarez had it Even, 57-57.
- Punches landed numbers were 156-60 in favor of Mitchell.
- By round 8, sensing he was losing the fight, Molina began to seek out landing a punch that would dramatically change the fights momentum. Unfortunately for Molina, this strategy played to the strengths of Mitchell, who was now having an easier time avoiding the Molina punches and countering with his own.
- The left eye of Molina (9) was starting to close.
- Early in round 9 Molina finally got through the guard of Mitchell with a tremendous left to the body. Mitchell momentarily dropped his gloves to protect the body and Molina was all over Mitchell. The crowd was on their feet as Molina trapped Mitchell against the ropes and began firing punches without letup. Mitchell attempted to ride out the storm and managed to avoid many of the Molina blows. However, with the crowd now on their feet screaming encouragement and Mitchell not throwing any punches in return and Molina continuing to throw them with out letup, the referee stopped the fight with 3 seconds remaining in the round! Mitchell and his camp howled in protest, while Molina was carried around the ring to the cheers of the crowd.
John John Molina TKO9 Brian Mitchell (defends IBF title)

John Molina vs. Wilson Rodriquez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlwID...C00CB&index=24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNMBq...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPAoR...eature=related

[Crimson]

Saturday, July 11th, 1992
Accra Sports Stadium; Accra, Ghana
Azumah Nelson 33-2-1 (25) Ghana WBC
vs.
Bernard Taylor 46-5-2 (21) North Carolina
- With a seating capacity of 45,000 for soccer matches, the “Accra Sports Stadium” was expected to be very loud and vocal in support of National hero Azumah Nelson. Wanting to be sure that all who wanted to attend the fight could afford to Nelson had demanded that ticket prices be scaled back and had bought up thousands himself to have distributed to those who could not afford to buy one.
- Odds listed Nelson as a 6-1 favorite. Taylor’s best chance at victory was to outbox Nelson, but winning a decision in Ghana, in front of 40,000+ Azumah Nelson fans was going to be a daunting task indeed.
- Taylor attempted to box, but with 45,000+ cheering him on Nelson absolutely refused to be denied. He trapped Taylor on the ropes and the American had no option other than to fight back. Taylor landed a nice hook, but Nelson was unmoved by and replied with a straight right that literally seemed to sizzle through the early evening sky of Ghana before impact on the point of Taylor’s chin. He collapsed in a 130 pound heap and was counted out. It was a clean knockout!
- Next in the Hall of Fame career of Azumah Nelson is a WBC/WBA unification battle vs. the winner of tomorrow afternoons Gabriel Ruelas – Genaro Hernandez battle.
Azumah Nelson KO1 Bernard Taylor (defends WBC title)

[Crimson]

Sunday, July 12th, 1992
Great Western Forum; Inglewood, CA
Genaro Hernandez 25-0 (18) California WBA
vs.
Gabriel Ruelas 27-1 (19) California
- California fight fans were in a frenzy over the Gabriel Ruelas – Genaro Hernandez WBA title fight. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California the quiet charismatic Hernandez had built up a solid fan base with his impressive victories in Southern Californian rings. Fellow Californian, Gabriel Ruelas had built up a solid fan base of his own winning in those same Southern California rings. Now the two Mexican-Americans would do battle before a filled to capacity crowd at the “Great Western Forum” on a late Sunday afternoon, with ABC televising.
- Genaro Hernandez was a 2-1 favorite to retain his WBA title.
- The rumor from insiders in the know was that Ruelas had sustained an undisclosed injury several weeks ago and it had resulted in a less than optimal training camp for him. Sparring had been kept to an absolute minimum. Hernandez, meanwhile came into the ring in perfect shape after a superb training camp under the direction of his brother Rudy Hernandez.
- Both fighters promised that this fight would be a slugfest that would please their Southern California fans and the ABC television audience. Alex Wallau and Dan Dierdorf called the fight.
- The action lived up to the hype, with little to distiguish one as doing better than the other until a thunderous combination floored Ruelas in round 3. Up at the count of 6, a hurt Ruelas did a nice job of snuffing out Hernandez’ attack until the bell rang.
- Ruelas went right back to the attack in round 4 and had the crowd yelling in approval as he backed “Chicanito” up and put him on the defensive. Both fighters forgot about their boxing skills and went toe to toe in a brawl that had Dan Dierdorf screaming at the top of his lungs, “What a fight! What a fight!”
- Ruelas visited the canvas again in round 6 and twice more in round 7, the last time for the full count of Texas referee, Jerry McKenzie.
- The Californian, Genaro Hernandez, will now face off against future Hall of Famer, Azumah Nelson in a WBC/WBA unification match on Sunday, September 20th, 1992 at the “Olympic Auditorium” of Los Angeles.
Genaro Hernandez KO7 Gabriel Ruelas (retains WBA title)

Genaro Hernandez vs. Oscar De LaHoya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Shp0orOCIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSnz-ygJBww

Genaro Hernandez vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzIAe...om=PL&index=68
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEQ2i...om=PL&index=69
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IilzU...om=PL&index=70

[Crimson]

Sunday, September 20th, 1992
Olympic Auditorium; Los Angeles, CA
Genaro Hernandez 26-0 (19) California WBA
vs.
Azumah Nelson 34-2-1 (26) Ghana WBC
- Azumah Nelson entered the ring as a 2-1 betting favorite.
- The fight was close through 6 rounds, and this was reflected on the scorecard of Ringside Expert Jim Trunzo, with Nelson up by 1 point 58-57. Punches landed favored Hernandez 155 to 129. The faces of both were essentially the same as when the fight started.
- In round 7 the fighters accidentally clashed heads and the nose of Genaro Hernandez appeared to possibly be broken as blood came gushing out of it immediately.
- At 2:36 of round 8 Hernandez went down hard from a Nelson right hand-hook combo and although he struggled valiantly to rise, he stood when the referee said “10!” so it was ruled a knockout at 2:46.
Azumah Nelson KO8 Genaro Hernandez (wins WBA and defends WBC title)

[Crimson]

Friday, September 18th, 1992
Rod Laver Arena; Melbourne, Australia
Jeff Fenech 30-1-1 (21) Australia WBO
vs.
John John Molina 27-4-1 (16) Puerto Rico IBF
- Fenech was a 2-1 favorite.
- During training Fenech spent more time than usual watching videotapes of past Molina fights, analyzing the IBF title holder’s style.
- The third man in the ring was Max Parker, from Florida. The 3 judges were from Japan, Mexico, and Finland.
- Jeff Fenech bullied Molina around the ring as he pleased right from the start. Molina seemed puzzle by how to handle the speedy aggressive dynamo in front of him. Midway through round 4 there was noticeable puffiness around the right eye (6) of Molina and redness on his abdomen from the Fenech left hooks. Already was looking tired and dropping his hands to fend off the body assault. With Molina in retreat, Fenech was on full attack mode. Suddenly, Molina uncorked a 3 punch combination, with all 3 shots catching the chin of Fenech. The Australian pitched to his side and lay there unmoving during the entire 10 count of referee Max Parker Jr.! Announcer Ray Connelly delivered the call to a stunned Melbourne audience, “THE WINNER BY KNOCKOUT AT 2:55 OF ROUND 4….JOHN JOHN MOLINA!!!” In a SHOCKER, the 28 year old Jeff Fenech is knocked out! Fenech had swept the first 3 rounds on all 3 judge’s score cards 10-9. Fenech had landed 114 punches compared to 54 for Molina.
John John Molina KO4 Jeff Fenech (wins WBO and defends IBF title)

[Crimson]

Saturday, December 12th, 1992
Coliseo de Puerto Rico; San Juan, Puerto Rico
2# John John Molina 28-4-1 (17) Puerto Rico IBF WBO
vs.
1# Azumah Nelson 35-2-1 (27) Ghana WBC WBA
15 Rounds for the Jr. Light Weight World Championship
- Nelson was established as a 2-1 favorite.
- The best venue in all of Puerto Rico, San Juan’s “Coliseo de Puerto Rico”, had sold all 18,500 available tickets. The fight was televised live on NBC with Ferdie Pacheco and Bob Trumpy calling it from ringside.
- The third man in the ring was Guillermo Perez Pineda of Panama. The 3 judges were from South Korea, Hungary, and Pennsylvania.
- Promoters attempted to put together an “Eliminator” between the 3# and 4# contenders, Jeff Fenech and Brian Mitchell, to determine the new 1# contender and mandatory to challenge for the World Championship in 1993. However, Fenech was not sufficiently recovered from his knockout loss in September and had to decline. Those two have agreed to battle in early 1993, once Fenech has had time to recover from his devastating KO defeat.
- “The Professor” and Molina both entered the ring in perfect condition.

ROUND 1: Nelson stunned Molina early and effectively took the crowd out of the fight. (Nelson 36-6)

ROUND 2: “The Professor” out worked Molina behind a heavy jab and sneaky body assault. (Nelson 42-6)

ROUND 3: Following the instruction of his trainer Lou Duva of, “Box him on the outside. Keep out of his range.” Molina gave his fans a few moments to cheer about during the round. (Molina 24-18)

ROUND 4: Nelson stepped up his attack and rocked back the head of Molina with several straight right hands on the inside. The faces of both fighters showed no signs of damage. The scorecard of Ringside Expert Andreas Raht favored Nelson 39-37. Punches landed numbers were also in Nelson’s favor 138-60. (Nelson 42-24)

ROUND 5: Molina seemed to catch Nelson by surprise with his willingness to fight on the inside. A beautiful right hand from Molina brought a cascade of cheers raining down on the ring and put Nelson’s aggressive assault on standby. (Molina 42-12)

ROUND 6: Nelson adjusted to Molina’s willingness to engage on the inside and resumed control of the fight. Nelson was the fresher of the two in the stamina department when the round ended. (Nelson 36-12)

ROUND 7: Nelson continued to wage war on the mid-section of Molina and the tiring Puerto Rican lacked the energy to fend off the invasion. (Nelson 36-18)

ROUND 8: Molina caught his second wind and upped his attack, landing several hard punches that sent the perspiration flying from the face of Nelson. The scorecard of television analyst Ferdie Pacheco had Nelson ahead by 2 points, 77-75. On the scorecard of Ringside Expert Andreas Raht the fight was even, 76-76. (Molina 24-12)

ROUND 9: Nelson’s chin was shown to be made of granite, as he walked right through a brutal combination from Molina without any sign of being the least bit bothered by it. The hero of Ghana then blasted Molina with his own guns and the Puerto Rican was soon on the retreat with little in reply. (Nelson 30-12)

ROUND 10: Nelson wasn’t spectacular, but he was steady. He continued to apply pressure to Molina as he had in every previous round, giving the crowd favorite no time to rest. (Nelson 24-12)

ROUND 11: In one of the best rounds of the fight, fierce exchanges took place that brought the crowd to their feet. To their disappointment Molina came out on the short end of those encounters. The right eye of Molina had some slight puffiness (2), Nelson’s face remained unmarked. (Nelson 36-18)

ROUND 12: Nelson’s forward march to the Jr. Light Weight World Championship continued, as ripped left hooks into the sides of Molina. In reply the punches of Molina either missed or bounced harmlessly off Nelson’s arms or gloves. (Nelson 30-12)

ROUND 13: Entering the World Championship rounds it appeared obvious to all that Molina would need a knockout to win. On the scorecard of Ringside Expert Andreas Raht, Nelson led by 4 points, 116-112. On Dr. Ferdie Pacheco’s scorecard, which Bob Trumpy concurred with, Nelson led by 6 points, 117-111. Molina fought to his best ability, but it was proving to be no match for the awesome skills and talent of Azumah Nelson. (Nelson 24-16)

ROUND 14: The swelling around Molina’s left eye (11) continued to worsen and was now ½ closed. Nelson was relentless and methodical. Nothing that Molina tried was able to stop the Nelson attack. (Nelson 47-11)

ROUND 15: “John John, you need a knockout to win! Come on you can do it! You hurt him last round!!” were the instructions of a wishful thinking and optimistic Lou Duva to Molina, going into round 15. To Molina’s credit, he had withstood Nelson’s punches without being knocked down and had never stopped trying to win the fight. With the crowd behind him Molina threw punches in round 15 with every ounce of strength and technique he had left. Molina made it exciting, but he was not effective in his attempts to knockout Nelson. With 14 seconds remaining in the fight, Nelson put an exclamation point on who had been the superior fighter during this World Championship contest, when a combination felled Molina in his own corner until the count reached “3”. (Nelson 48-5)

POST FIGHT: The punches landed were overwhelmingly in Nelson’s favor by an almost 2 to 1 margin, 473 to 242. The left eye of Molina was in bad shape (15). Ferdie Pacheco scored the fight for Nelson 146-138. Ringside Expet Andreas Raht also had it for Nelson, 146-139.
- Details on the financial value of the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP belt being won, in this division and all others, were shared with the public. The belt is made of gold, and worth $10,000. Every time a fighter defends against a 1# contender a diamond worth $3,000 is added to the belt. For every Championship defense against a contender ranked in the top 20# a ruby worth $1,000 is added.

DECISION: The official judges cards were: Hungary 146-139, South Korea 145-140, and Pennsylvania 146-138. All were for the winner by unanimous decision and undisputed Jr. Light Weight World Champion….AZUMAH NELSON!
Azumah Nelson Wu15 John John Molina (declared the Jr. Light World Champion)

Azumah Nelson vs. Wilfredo GomezYouTube - Wilfredo Gomez vs Azumah Nelson - Parte 4

Azumah Nelson vs. Jeff Fenech II
YouTube - Azumah Nelson Jeff Fenech 2

John John Molina vs. Tony Lopez II
http://www.break.com/usercontent/200...ii-756731.html

[Crimson]

Jr.LIGHT WEIGHT WORLD RANKINGS
(as of 12-18-92)

WORLD CHAMPION Azumah Nelson - Ghana WBC WBO WBA IBF
1# John John Molina - Puerto Rico
2# Jeff Fenech - Australia
3# Brian Mitchell - South Africa
4# Genaro Hernandez - California
5# Gabriel Ruelas - California
6# Bernard Taylor - North Carolina
7# Calvin Grove - Pennsylvania
8# Regilio Tuur - Netherlands
9# Victor Paz - Argentina
10# Eugene Speed - Maryland

11# Jacobin Yoma - France
12# Floyd Havard - Wales
13# Tony Pep - Canada
14# Daniel Londas - France
15# Pedro Gutierrez - Mexico
16# Renato Cornett - Australia
17# Jimmy Garcia - Columbia
18# Jimmi Bredahl - Denmark
19# Yuiji Watanabe - Japan
20# Wilson Rodriquez - Dominican Republic

Azumah Nelson career highlights put to music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBvadnXm68E

Azumah Nelson vs. Lupe Suarez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm0up...eature=related

Azumah Nelson vs. Pat Cowdell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgXJg...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KknIY...eature=related

Azumah Nelson vs. Salvador Sanchez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EKt_...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXfNn...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQmIv...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSfDL...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X_Oz...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m945O...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgMQ5...eature=related

Azumah Nelson Interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7jLrzuH2PI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ivr-8...eature=related

[Crimson]

WORLD CHAMPIONS as of January 1st, 1993

STRAW Ricardo Lopez 40-0 (26) Mexico
LIGHT FLY Michael Carbajal 34-0-1 (19) Arizona
FLY Yun-Un Chin 30-1-2 (19) Korea
Jr. BANTAM Sung-Kil Moon 21-1 (16) Korea
BANTAM Junior Jones 34-0-2 (21) New York
Jr. FEATHER Jemal Hinton 28-2-2 (20) Maryland
FEATHER Paul Hodkinson 26-2-3 (22) England
Jr. LIGHT Azumah Nelson 39-2-1 (28) Ghana

The remaining division WORLD CHAMPIONS are still to be determined.
LIGHT
Jr. WELTER
WELTER
Jr. MIDDLE
MIDDLE
SUPER MIDDLE
LIGHT HEAVY
CRUISER
HEAVY

(The records have been adjusted to include fights that occured [for real] in 1992 and had previously not been included.)

[Crimson]

Odds of winning the 1992 Light Weight World Championship Tournament
3-1 Miguel Gonzales WBC
4-1 Joey Gamache WBA
5-1 Tony Lopez
6-1 Fred Pendleton IBF
7-1 Jorge Paez
8-1 Tracy Spann
8-1 Sharmba Mitchell
8-1 Darryl Tyson
10-1 Rafael Ruelas
12-1 Sergei Artemiev
15-1 Todd Foster
15-1 Giovanni Parisi WBO
Since Pernell Whitaker’s last defense of the Light Weight World Championship against Jorge Paez in October of 1991, the light weights have been scrambling unsuccessfully to replace him as the best in the division. So far no one has emerged as head and shoulders above the rest, hence all 12 fighters in the tournament being at odds of 15-1 or less to win it all, with nine of those at odds at or better than 10-1.
With Pernell Whitaker having recently vacated the the WBC, IBF, and WBA belts, all of them are still vacant. However, the top contender in each of those sanctioning body rankings has been given a BYE in the tournament’s first round, the same as if they were recognized by that organization as the Champion. Those 4 are Giovanni Parisi WBO, Miguel Gonzalez WBC, Fred Pendleton IBF, and Joey Gamache WBA.

[Crimson]

Saturday, May30th, 1992
Washington DC Convention Center; Washington, DC
Sharmba Mitchell 29-0 (14) Washington, DC
vs.
Jorge Paez 39-6-6 (26) Mexico
AND
Darryl Tyson 36-4 (18) Washington, DC
vs.
Sergei Artemiev 16-1-1 (11) Russia
- Sergei Artemiev was a slight 3-2 favorite.
- Both fighters entered the ring in top condition. Artemiev spent extra time studying tapes of past Tyson fights and developing a plan of defeating him.
- Artemiev had little trouble with defeating Darryl Tyson. The highlight of the fight for Tyson was his 4th round mocking of Artemiev him with a shimmy and shake after taking a hard right hand. Tyson then retaliated with some of the best punches landed by either fighter.
- Artemiev resumed control in round 5 and never relinquished it from that point forward.
- Tyson was dropped in round 9 and then again in round 10, but got up to gamely fight on both times. By the fights conclusion, Tyson’s face looked like it had been hit with a baseball bat. His left eye (15) was almost completely closed and his right eye brow had a cut that had been bleeding off and on since round 2. Ringside Expert Tom Trunzo had it 98 to 90 for Atemiev. Punches landed numbers also were in Artemeiv’s favor: 341 to 179.
- The official judges all had it for Artemiev 96-91, 97-90, and 97-91.
Sergei Artemiev Wu10 Darryl Tyson

- The odds were EVEN on who would win the Jorge Paez vs. Sharmba Mitchell crossroads encounter. The best days of Jorge Paez seemed to be well in his past, while the future of the undefeated Sharmba Mitchell appeared limitless
- Mitchell was too fast, too, strong, too big, too young, and just too good for the 28 year old Jorge Paez.
- Paez made 4 trips to the canvas and got up on unsteady legs every time. The veteran fighter from Mexico’s tenacity and heart kept him in the fight and did lead to a few solid exchanges, but he finished the fight far behind on the judges scorecards.
Sharmba Mitchell Wu10 Jorge Paez

Sergei Artemiev vs. Roland Commings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1frBhzGCLs0
Sergei Artemiev vs. Kenny Baysmore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ47GOGqIzU&feature=related
Sharmba Mitchell vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKoUM09MRig&feature=PlayList&p=88172009834A8D3D&index=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpw6UAgnLI8&feature=PlayList&p=88172009834A8D3D&index=2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrLOZvczOm4&feature=PlayList&p=88172009834A8D3D&index=3
Jorge Paez vs. Pernell Whitaker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW5GwCgT7CY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZLD7JG2UzY&feature=related
Jorge Paez vs. Oscar De La Hoya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0UaK14XDOM&feature=related
Jorge Paez vs. Lupe Gutierrez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51dC9q8ZbkY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JnBaH7_Rok
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNysikwx7y4&feature=related
Jorge Paez vs. Tony Lopez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAnYO7BLR-A&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeJj-lgeQMc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Cic5PBlnU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1paR0BqYMlY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1mNsQ2a60k&NR=1

[hamed2]

Sharmba is 29-0 in your uni Crimson? Impressive! He's now 10-1 @ WW in my uni & my IBO champ - taking a decision win over Cotto in June.

Did you build him up to that record?

[Crimson]

Originally Posted by hamed2

Sharmba is 29-0 in your uni Crimson? Impressive! He's now 10-1 @ WW in my uni & my IBO champ - taking a decision win over Cotto in June.

Did you build him up to that record?

No. I didn't. This was his first fight in my universe. I've been using what the fighters record was in 1992. From what I've read in other universes it is very difficult, even with the best of fighters, to build up an undefeated record past 20 wins.

So far in this universe the top 3 records are:
Ricardo Lopez 8-0 (3)
Junior Jones 8-0-2 (3)
Michael Carbajal 7-0-1 (3)

Each of them won the tournament to determine thier divisions World Champion. This universe has been taking far more time than anticipated when I started it. But.....I am having lots of fun with it, so it's all good.

A universe that I've been planning on tryng is managing one fighter (Mickey Rourke) from 4 rounders on and seeing how far he can go with very selective managing.

[Crimson]

Sunday, May 31st, 1992
Four Seasons Arena; Great Falls, MT
Todd Foster 22-1 (19) Montana
vs.
Rafael Ruelas 31-4-1 (25) California
- Todd Foster was a slight 3-2 favorite.
- Foster blitzed Ruelas in round 1, almost putting him down for the full count. To the pro-Foster crowd’s disappointment Ruelas staggered to his feet at 9 just before the bell rang. Foster surprisingly took his foot of the gas in round 2 and allowed Ruelas back into the fight.
- Foster reapplied himself in round 4 and after 2 knockdowns of Ruelas the referee mercifully stopped the fight.
- Next up for the 1988 USA Olympian, after his most impressive performance so far in his career as a professional, is a challenge of Italy’s Giovanni Parisi for the WBO belt.
Todd Foster TKO4 Rafael Ruelas

Todd Foster vs. Grahame Cheney; Chun-Chin Chul 1992 Olympics
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NncaTaWZcAA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Ww2_0DkbY&NR=1
Rafael Ruelas vs. Rocky Balboa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd68yT1wZLc
Rafael Ruelas vs. Kostya Tszyu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfw0Eu7G2ts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD_o77IBM9k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clvyp5HXJAM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5VaVQrXwpE&feature=related
Rafael Ruelas vs. Oscar De La Hoya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLziYmanNmU

[Crimson]

Sunday, May 31st, 1992
Arco Arena; Sacramento, CA
Tony Lopez 43-3-1 (27) California
vs.
Tracy Spann 27-1 (17) New Jersey

- Tracy Spann and his trainer, Johnny Persol, expressed confidence that they could win by decision should the fight go the full 10 rounds.
- Tony Lopez was favored to win at 3-1 odds.
- Spann got off to a fast start in round 1, but by the midway point of round 2 Tony Lopez had taken over the fight. He systematically wore Tracy Spann down with a vicious body assault, which resulted in Spann taking a knee in rounds 8 and 9. The judge’s decision was a forgone conclusion: 99-90, 96-93, and 99-89….all for Tony Lopez.
Tony Lopez Wu10 Tracy Spann

Tony Lopez Highlights with “Eye of the Tiger” playing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgtxcgDg5bc

Tony Lopez vs. Tyrone Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMpD5P9uE-0&feature=related

Tony Lopez vs. Rocky Lockridge I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJjmInj6IHg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7PR7C2I3Lw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWmYo-8HEc0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzD1YCRjOZQ&feature=related

Tracy Spann vs. Freddie Pendleton I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICQum2yN_WU

Tracy Span vs. Freddie Pendleton II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OmCu-bD_Mk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3bjwFSmilQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq_GI13WCFQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4gU-Aq00Mg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXqMfcaU4zo&feature=related

[Crimson]

Sunday, July 5th, 1992
Lewiston Raceway; Lewiston, ME
Joey Gamache 29-0 (18) Maine WBA
vs.
Sergei Artemiev 17-1-1 (11) Russia
- The Russian, Sergei Artemiev was a 2-1 favorite to take the WBA title from Joey Gamache in front of the Maine fighter's hometown fans.

- This fight was televised on CBS, with Gil Clancy providing the commentary.

- Held at the Lewiston Raceway, which seated 5,000, there was a very disappointing crowd of less than 2,000 present. The poor turnout was possibly due to a combination of factors. One, the fight being televised live on CBS and not blocked out locally. Two, the weather forcast was for a off and on again driving rain.

- The morning of the fight, a makeshift canopy was placed above the ring and between rounds a group of maintenance workers mopped and swept away the rain drops as best they could. Still, the excessively large ring was wet and slippery for both fighters.

- With Gamache’s style of using his flashy footwork to dash in and out, and then explode with quick combinations, he was more adversely affected by the weather than the straight ahead brawling approach of Artemiev.

- What little crowd there was, vocally supported Gamache with all the energy they had. Both fighters entered the ring appearing to be in great condition.

- After struggling with his footwork early in the fight, due to the wet and slippery canvas, Gamache shifted tactics in round 3 to fighting on the inside. Artemiev welcomed the change and no longer having to track the fleet footed Maine fighter down.

- The rugged Russian wore Gamache down with his body attack and an occasional elbow or shoulder. By the start of round 8 Gamache was dead tired and breathing through his mouth. Artemiev looked about as fresh as he had when the fight started.

- Over the final 4 rounds Gamache held and grabbed, turning what had been a fairly entertaining fight up until that point into an ugly one. However, his strategy was effective at negating the Artemiev attack and made it difficult to determine who won the final 4 rounds.

- The scorecard of Ringside Expert Lee A. Crooks favored Artemiev by 6 points, 118-112. The final punches landed numbers favored Artemiev 331-200. The faces of both fighters came out of the fight relatively unmarked, except for some puffiness around the right eye (5) of Gamache.

- The Australian judge had it 118-112 …Artemiev, the South African judge had it 114-114 EVEN, and the Texan judge had it 118-112 for ….THE NEW WBA title holder SERGEI ARTEMIEV!!!

- The judges verdict was well received by the fans who were still present, but might have been to wet and cold to complain if they'd wanted to, as the rain turned to a hailstorm of driving pellets shortly before the official decision was announced. Joey Gamache and his camp accepted the verdict well, “Artemiev should be given credit for how he fought. He had to fight in large ring, in front of a hostile crowd, and under adverse weather conditions. The judges did a good job, other than the rain, there is nothing to complain about.“

- Artemiev now awaits the winner of Tuesday night’s battle between Freddie Pendleton and Sharmba Mitchell.
Sergei Atemiev Wm12 Joey Gamache (wins WBA title)

Joey Gamache vs. Julio Cesar Chavez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu6pLnJiQ6c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWN_8DYkcp4&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mWhY-U_YmQ&feature=related
Joey Gamache vs. Arturo Gatti
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2gxn4_arturo-gatti-vs-joey-gamache-februa_sport

[Crimson]

Tuesday, July 7th, 1992
James L. Knight Center; Miami, FL
Freddie Pendleton 31-17-3 (21) Florida IBF
vs.
Sharmba Mitchell 30-0 (14) DC
- The undefeated and young Sharmba Mitchell was a 2-1 favorite to remove the IBF belt from Freddie Pendleton.

- The self managed Freddie Pendleton had plenty to say about Sharmba Mitchell before the fight, “He’s irrelevant. The guy just wants to run around. He shouldn’t be in a ring, he should be tap-dancing somewhere. Can you believe he fought Rocky Lockridge? Rocky Lockridge, a guy who should have retired 20 years ago.”

- “There are two kinds of Champions today: guys who look for easy fights, and guys who lose in their first or second defense. They win the title and -bang- they are out of there. I’m not going to be one of those champions defending against Frito-Lay and Cap’n Crunch challengers. Those are the opponents who crumble like a corn chip when they get a big fight. They get stepped on and you hear a snap, like someone’s stepping on a bunch of Can’n Crunch.”

- Pendleton didn’t sound at all surprised that Joey Gamache had lost earlier in the week to Sergei Artemiev. And had this to say about Joey Gamache, the former WBA title holder, “No heart for boxing. He shouldn’t have been a champion. He shouldn’t have even been allowed to look at a title belt. This guy should be out looking for a real job.”

[Pendleton really did say the above quotes! I found them in a May 1993 Ring Magazine article. Only in real life will you find quotes so original they include references to cereal brands. LOL If there are any other Pendleton fans out there, I highly recommend reading that article, “HE’S FINALLY EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE COCKY” by Jeff Ryan. In my opinion Ryan has been one of the best boxing writers out there over the past 20+ years.]

- Although he came into the ring with 17 losses, “Fearless” Freddie had lost only 2 times in his last 20 fights.

- Mitchell struggled with making the 135 pound limit. Reports out of the Pendleton training camp were that trainers Tommy Brooks and Al Bonanni did a fantastic job of getting “Fearless” Freddie in shape.

- Miami’s “James L. Knight Center” was filled to it’s 4,686 seating capacity, for what was expected to be an interesting battle.

- After seeming to lose the first 3 rounds in the opinion of most ringside observers, Freddie Pendleton followed the instructions of Tommy Brooks in round 4 and became more aggressive. He then started to land punches that before had been missing and opened up a cut over Mitchell’s right eye. The wound was gushing blood when Mitchell returned to his corner for the rest period.

- Sharmba Mitchell's trainer Marvin Simms worked feverishly attempting to close the cut. The cut was still bleeding when Mitchell came out for round 6, but with much less of a blood flow. Sensing that the fight could be stopped, Mitchell was very focused during the round and a terrific uppercut stunned Pendleton. Using the ropes for support, Pendleton was able to remain upright and avoid losing the round 10-8 on the scorecards.

- Using a quick and pesky jab, Pendleton specifically targeted the Mitchell eye in round 7. It didn’t take long for the blood to once again begin flowing into it. With Mitchell obviously struggling to see the referee stopped the fight and awarded it to Pendleton on a TKO.

- Ringside Expert Rocco Del Sesto had Mitchell ahead at the time of the stoppage, 58-56. The punches landed numbers favored Mitchell 158 to 102. On the official scorecards Mitchell was ahead 58-56 on two cards and EVEN on the third, 57-57.
Freddie Pendleton TKO7 Sharmba Mitchell (defends IBF title)

Freddie Pendleton vs. Tony Lopez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p2ppa7N-6k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGvZmnNcZaM&feature=related

Freddie Pendleton vs. Terron Millett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlkVkcSy3Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl8LylWgRd8&feature=related

Freddie Pendleton vs. Roger Mayweather
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIbS19sPIjQ&feature=related

Freddie Pendleton vs. Pernell Whitaker
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=el-SmR6Vh9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYotsL-H3-s&feature=related

Freddie Pendleton vs. Ricky Hatton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJh3EgMgIZg

[Crimson]

Friday, July 10th, 1992
Forum di Assago; Milan, Italy
Giovanni Parisi 21-1 (16) Italy
vs. (12 rounds for the vacant WBO title)
Todd Foster 23-1 (20) Montana
- This battle of 1988 Olympians attracted much attention, particularly in Italy, where Parisi is a National hero. Boxing as a feather weight Parisi brought home a gold medal to Italy, while Foster boxed as a light weight and was defeated before reaching the medal round.

- Foster’s slugging style has always been viewed as one that will suit him better in the professional ranks.

- Todd Foster was listed as a 2-1 favorite.

- Foster didn’t make weight on his first attempt and had to spend time in the sauna in order to drop the 1 ½ pounds he was over!

- During training sessions with Jesse Reid, Foster focused on slipping and catching punches with his gloves.

- The fight itself lived up to expectations with each fighter hitting the canvas at least one time, for a grand total of 3 knockdowns.

- Foster shocked Parisi and the 11,200 fans in attendance at the Forum di Assago when he dropped the fast moving Italian with a short hook in round 1. Following the instructions of his trainer Jesse Reid, Foster jumped right on Parisi in round 2 looking to end the night early. Parisi battled back on even terms and the crowd roared in approval as the exchanges took place.

- Early in round 5 Parisi evened up the knockdown total, when he floored Foster for the count of 5, after countering a wild Foster right hand.

- After 4 rounds of slugging Ringside Expert Max A. Davis had Foster ahead by 2 points, 38-36. Calling the fight for “Italia 1”, Nino Benevuti had Parisi ahead by 1 point, 38-37. Punches landed numbers favored Parisi 113-104. Puffines around the left eye (3) of Foster could now be seen. His legs were showing signs of being dead from the time spent losing weight in the sauna.

- Foster was throwing punches with very bad intentions in round 5 and a violent straight right hurt the Italian bad. A follow up barrage of lefts and rights caused Parisi to slip to the canvas. After seeming to weather the storm for most of the round, Foster dug a brutal hook into the midsection of Parisi that folded him like the closing of a book. After Parisi rose, Foster fired a series of punches in rapid fire succession and the referee stopped the fight! Parisi and his corner complained bitterly to the Brazilan referee that he could still continue, while the crowd showered the ring with boos and catcalls. The majority of press row and covering the fight on television expressed that the stoppage was justified.

- Amidst the celebrating after the fight, Foster’s camp expressed concern that this may have been his last fight as a light weight due to his struggle to make the 135 pound limit. He is scheduled to fight again in September in a WBO/WBC unification fight against whomever wins Saturday nights Miguel Angel Gonzalez/Tony Lopez match.
Todd Foster TKO5 Giovanni Parisi (wins WBO title)

Giovanni Parisi Dedication and Tribute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-BSgr-WHIo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1nMAFxzXTw&feature=related


Giovanni Parisi vs. Daniel Santos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpKFNPbUhjY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUD7izqDoi4&feature=related


Giovanni Parisi vs. Sammy Fuentes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo42ssp-b5A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwmqS32sqgA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHHRqBdlevU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DcBUxmTUdA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ2TgtZsbXU&feature=related


Giovanni Parisi vs. Julio Cesar Chavez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWp9loKwSME&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTTCqijTJAY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ71MykEHXw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OupnsnSWqYg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLAVyjSjCNU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw1PQ-MY7_Q&feature=related

[hamed2]

Originally Posted by Crimson

No. I didn't. This was his first fight in my universe. I've been using what the fighters record was in 1992. From what I've read in other universes it is very difficult, even with the best of fighters, to build up an undefeated record past 20 wins.

So far in this universe the top 3 records are:
Ricardo Lopez 8-0 (3)
Junior Jones 8-0-2 (3)
Michael Carbajal 7-0-1 (3)

Each of them won the tournament to determine thier divisions World Champion. This universe has been taking far more time than anticipated when I started it. But.....I am having lots of fun with it, so it's all good.

A universe that I've been planning on tryng is managing one fighter (Mickey Rourke) from 4 rounders on and seeing how far he can go with very selective managing.

Crimson, you are not kidding about that!

[Crimson]

Saturday, July 11th, 1992
Arco Arena; Sacramento, California
Miguel Angel Gonzales 25-0 (22) Mexico WBC
vs.
Tony Lopez 44-3-1 (27) California
- Boxing fans had many questions they hoped would be answered by the conclusion of the Miguel Angel Gonzalez/Tony Lopez fight. 1) Did Tony Lopez still have enough left in the tank to beat his naturally heavier and younger world class foe? 2) Was Miguel Angel Gonzalez really as good as some were saying? He was already drawing comparisons to a young Julio Cesar Chavez!

- Sacramento’s “Arco Arena” was filled to a capacity of 17,317. The people of Sacramento loved their native son Tony Lopez, and although there was a growing list of doubters regarding his ability to defeat Miguel Angel Gonzalez, they turned out in support of “The Tiger” none the less.

- Calling the fight for NBC, Dr. Ferdie Pacheco pointed out that one would be hard pressed to find a more electrified venue in the USA, or anywhere in the world, that could match “Arco Arena” when Tony Lopez fights there.

- The referee was Laurence Cole of Texas, the 3 judges were from Washington, Japan, and South Africa.

- Reports out of the Lopez camp were good and bad. The good: he was slipping and riding punches defensively better than ever. The bad: he had several days where he showed up late to the gym after an extra long night out on the town with friends.

- Tony Lopez made his ring walk with the music “Eye of the Tiger” resonating off the “Arco Arena” walls and the 17,000+ in attendance singing right along. Any doubt about the abilities of Gonzalez were put to rest when he deposited the hometown hero hard on the canvas twice in round 1, courtesy of Gonzalez left hooks! Tony Lopez needed to summon his own version of “Rocky” if he was to have any hope of winning.

- With some solid advice from his trainer, Will Edgington, Lopez began to use his boxing skills and make himself a moving target. In the process of moving and jabbing Lopez did some damage to the right eye (5) of Gonzalez, possibly with a thumb.

- Gonzalez got rough on the inside in round 5 causing the fighters heads to clash on more than one occasion. When the bell rang a trickle of blood could be seen dripping from a small cut on the forehead of Lopez. Referee, Laurence Cole ruled that it was from a punch.

- After 5 rounds of action, Ringside Expert Dave Rodman had Gonzalez up by 2 points, 48 to 46. Punches landed numbers favored Lopez 114-110.

- In round 6 Lopez started off with a jab that landed right on the increasingly swollen right eye of Gonzalez (13). A flurry of shots to the body from Lopez all landed and Gonzalez seemed bothered by his ½ shut eye, as he continued to paw at it in attempts to keep it open. Lopez took full advantage of the distracted WBC title holder and launched several rocket right hands all of which landed flush! Gonzalez was hurt, but instead of holding on he tried to fire back at Lopez. “The Tiger” side stepped the blows and delivered two hooks in succession. Gonzalez was hurt bad and laid on the ropes refusing to hold on. After about 25 unanswered blows, many of which landed flush the referee stopped the fight and absolute pandemonium broke out at the “Arco Arena”!

- This was a fight of the year candidate and fabulous display of heart, skill, and resilience by Tony Lopez.
Tony Lopez TKO6 Miguel Angel Gonzalez (wins WBC title)

Miguel Angel Gonzalez vs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_82bV-pid7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h5s7DGuW50&feature=related

Miguel Angel Gonzalez vs. Francisco Da Cruz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dpaqAxzdaA&feature=related


Miguel Angel Gonzalez vs. Kostya Tszyu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upXpKIGLh4o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U3MErgyHQM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mH_GVvHM-g&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDTG0dRXmbM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkVslIj59yE&feature=related

Miguel Angel Gonzalez vs. Lamar Murphy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NZ0H4ipmN4&feature=related

[Crimson]

Tuesday, September 22nd, 1992
Trump Plaza; Atlantic City, NJ
Sergei Artemiev 18-1-1 (11) Russia WBA
vs.
Freddie Pendleton 32-17-3 (22) Florida IBF
- The fighters mostly fought head to head Artemiev was a slight 3-2 favorite.
- The referee deducted 1 point from Artemiev in round 2 for rabbit punching.
- A Pendleton uppercut floored Artemiev for the count of 8 in round 4.
- At the start of round 6 Pendleton was looking tired (endurance 8), while Artemiev was still fresh (endurance 21).
- After 5 rounds, Ringside Expert Tom Trunzo had Pendleton ahead by 4 points, 49-45.
on the inside over the first half of the fight.
- Artemiev caught Pendleton flush with a hook and knocked him out cold in round 8. There was no time left on the clock when the referee’s count reached “10!”
- Pendleton had landed more punches during the fight, 210 to 163. The 3 judges all had Pendleton ahead when the fight ended: 66-65, 67-64, and 66-65.
Sergei Artemiev KO8 Freddie Pendleton (wins IBF and defends WBA title)