[Crimson]

When I started this Universe, my plan was just to just take 3-5 chips out of the bag and spend a little time on doing a quick one that took maybe a week, 2 at the most. Well.....I'm pretty sure it's now been well over a month!! My main universe has ground to a halt to focus on this one, while exploring other TBCB universes and downloads. If only there were more hours in the day or I didn't have to work!

That bag of chips is now long gone along with several others and a bunch of sodas!

[Crimson]

Odds of winning the 1992 Straw Weight World Championship Tournament:
7-5 Ricardo Lopez
2-1 Hi-Yong Choi
2-1 Phalan Lookimingkwan
3-1 Hideyuki Ohashi
5-1 Tamsanqa Sogcwe
5-1 Fernado Martinez
8-1 Vuyani Nene
10-1 Manny Melchor
20-1 Rocky Lin
25-1 Rafael Torres
25-1 Kermin Guardia
50-1 Danny Porter

Tokyo Metropolitan Gym; Tokyo, Japan
Thursday, June 4th, 1992
Although the Tokyo Metropolitan Arena, seating 9,000+ did not sell out, more than 7,000 Japanese boxing fans turned out in force to witness the 4 Straw Weight title elimination fights, despite only 1 Japanese fighter being on the card. That being Hideyuki Ohashi, who would face off against England’s exciting longshot Danny Porter in the main event.

The night kicked off with Kermin Guardia taking on Fernando Martinez. The 1st round went to Martinez, but after that the rest of the fight mostly went Guardia’s way. Neither fighter was down or cut, but each had some swelling around their eyes. Guardia advances to an opportunity to win the IBF title against Phalan Lookimingkwan.
Kermin Guardia Wu10 Fernando Martinez

The 2nd fight of the night featured the Philippines rising star Manny Melchor 19-1-4 (5) taking on South African Thamsanqa Sogcwe 24-9-1 (9). The first half of the fight was a nip and tuck affair, with plenty of holding and hitting. Melchor did more boxing in the 2nd half of the match and was much more successful. Both fighters left the ring with their left eye half swollen shut, but it was Melchor who went back to the dressing room the unanimous decision victor. Next up for "Cabalay” is the unenviable task of taking on the phenomenal Ricardo Lopez for the WBC title. Melchor will need to step up his game considerably if he hopes to defeat “Finito”.
Manny Melchor Wu10 Thamsanqa Sogcwe

Taiwan’s Rocky Lin emerged from his dressing to louder applause then one might expect, being that he is not from Japan. However, an estimated 2,000 of his fans flew in from Taiwan and the noise they created gave the venue the feel of a home crowd for Lin. The 32-3 (13) Vuyani Nene appeared unfazed by the crowd, however he struggled to make weight and required a 2nd trip to the scale to come in at 104 pounds.
Lin did reasonably well against his much more experienced opponent in the first 2 rounds, but in the 3rd was caught by swift right hand and was on the canvas until the count reached 7. Still hurt when the bell rang to start round 4, Lin did well enough at covering up and countering to maybe steal the round.
In the 5th Nene took a breather and held mostly, but was cut over the right eye toward the rounds conclusion. Television replays were inconclusive on if it was caused by a headbutt or a punch, but the referee ruled that it was the result of an “accidental clash of heads”. After 7 rounds Lin was exhausted. He resorted to holding and moving the rest of the fight. Nene for his part was ineffective at catching him and seemed to content to allow the fight to go to the scorecards.
Nene landed twice as many punches as Lin and this was reflected on the television announcer Joe Koizumi’s scorecard favoring him 99-92. The official cards also favored Nene, who now moves on in the tournament to face the lightly regarded WBO titlist Rafael Torres. Although Torres is undefeated, he has only had 11 fights and all of them have gone the distance.
Vuyani Nene Wu10 Rocky Lin

Japan’s Hideyuki Ohashi entered the ring as a 6-1 favorite to defeat England’s Danny Porter, who had never been expected to even qualify for the tournament. However, through toughness and grit, the native of Hitchin, England, had upset Rocky Lin and Tony DeLuca to secure himself a shot at winning the World Straw Weight Championship. The next step would be his most difficult hurdle yet, upsetting the heavily favored Ohashi in his adopted hometown of Tokyo.
Ohashi was on a mission to obtain a rematch with Ricardo Lopez, who had dethroned him of his WBC title in October of 1990. Ohashi hasn’t lost since that disappointing evening vs. Lopez and had absolutely no intention of doing so vs. the English underdog. Porter struggled mightily to make weight, as his natural weight class is at 112 pounds. He came into the ring bone dry and looking weak.
At the bell Porter came right at Ohashi fully intent upon ending the night early with a shocking kayo victory. His initial bomb landed on the arm of Ohashi, but some of the subsequent follow-ups managed to score. Round 1-Porter!
Porter kept to his game plan and came out winging all that he had in the 2nd round. Ohashi was better prepared in the 2nd for Porter’s kamikazee attack and countered with sharp punches of his own. Porter paid no mind to defense and fortunately for him Ohashi is not much of a puncher, as he was clocked full force during several exchanges. Porter got in his own fair share and never took a backward step. The main event was turning to be a far better fight than anticipated.
Ohashi was more determined in the 3rd and finally was stopping the beginning to look tired, Porter attack. With 15 seconds to go in a round he was winning, Ohashi was caught with nice combination and found himself on the canvas! Ohashi lurched to his feet at 8 and was very fortunate there was almost no time left on the clock when the referee motioned for the fighting to continue.
Porter looked exhausted coming out for the 4th round, but Ohashi was in worse condition as his legs were still not steady. Porter led with a hook that landed flush, but didn’t have enough sting on his punches to put Ohashi away. To the admiration of his fans, Ohashi fought back bravely.
Porter was dead tired, but his all out assault was winning him rounds, at least on the scorecard of the legendary Japanese television announcer and writer, Joe Koizumi. As Porter plodded forward throwing far fewer punches than he had earlier in the fight, but with the same bad intentions and Ohashi gamely replied on his still unsteady legs, it appeared that this fight would be won by who wanted it more. With a little over a minute to go in the 4th a short right from Porter dropped Ohashi in his own corner to his knees. Up at the count of 4, Ohashi managed to look disgusted and while also clearly hurt. Porter jumped right back on him with a wild overhand right that put Ohashi on the canvas again, this time for the count of 5. Somehow Ohashi survived to hear the bell.
In Porter’s corner the legendary trainer Darkie Smith implored him to forget about his own tiredness and, “FINISH HIM OFF!” That’s exactly what Porter attempted to do, but the snap was now entirely gone from his punches. Still he pushed them out there often enough to outscore the out on his feet Ohashi.
Ohashi made a fight of it in the 8th, attempting to score a knockout win himself. His efforts were derailed when a left hook sent his mouth piece flying. In the 9th both fighters looked ready to fall, but it was Ohashi who did about 1 minute in when he took a knee. He rose quickly at 3 and took a beating for the remainder of the round. Ohashi showed tremendous heart and refused to hold on or fall. Only Porter’s own tiredness kept him from being knocked out.
Most fighters, knowing they were well ahead on the cards (Joe Koizumi had Porter up 89-80) would have taken a conservative approach in the final round. Danny Porter is not like most fighters! The proud Englishman went all out yet again, in the 10th and final round attempting to score the knockout. To Ohashi’s credit this was also his plan. After touching gloves at ring center the two proud battlers stood in front of one another and let go with what they had left.
Ohashi was hurt repeatedly during the first 2 minutes, but refused to take a backward step. With only 1:10 remaining in the fight Ohashi knocked Porter down with a sizzling straight right! It was the best punch he had thrown all fight. Porter lay on his back as the referees count reached 5…6…he still hadn’t moved!...7…8…and Porter was on one knee…9… and Porter was miraculously on both feet! After dominating and scoring 4 knockdowns against Ohashi all he needed to do was make it to the final bell and the decision would be his.
There was still 1 minute to go in the fight. Porter immediately began to hold Ohashi, who lacked the stamina to push Porter off him. With 5 seconds to go in the fight Ohashi caught him cleanly again, but Porter didn’t fall. At the bell the jello legged Porter walked back to his corner. The trainers of both fighters lifted their man in victory celebration.
Koizumi had it 97-90 Porter. In a certain fight of the year candidate, the official judges all had it for Porter by a wide margin. Porter’s unlikely quest to win the Straw Weight World Championship will continue against Korea’s Hi-Yong Choi for the WBA title.
Danny Porter Wu10 Hideyuki Ohashi

Hideyuki Ohahsi vs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmqi4rxKk4M

Hideyuki Ohashi vs. Jung-Koo Chang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeZAH...eature=related

Hideyuki Ohashi vs. Hi-Yong Choi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xczCo...eature=related

Hideyuki Ohashi vs. Ricardo Lopez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Micpc...eature=related

[Infinity]

Good stuff! Who'd have thunk a 50-1 shot would win against the 3-1 favorite?

[Crimson]

Originally Posted by Infinity

Good stuff! Who'd have thunk a 50-1 shot would win against the 3-1 favorite?

Yeah! I was surprised. Porter was a 6-1 underdog vs. Ohashi and his chances of winning seemed slim to none, so I put his strategy every round as "GO ALL OUT FOR THE KNOCKOUT". As a 50-1 shot to win the entire tournament he has already advanced much further than there was any reason to expect.

Thanks for commenting. I wasn't really sure if anyone was checking this thread out. I think over 90% of the recorded post reads might be my own!

[Crimson]

QUARTER-FINAL TITLE FIGHTS
Chungmu Gymnasium; Chungmu, Korea
Friday, July 3rd, 1992

Vegas odds:
Vuyani Nene 3-1 Rafael Torres
Fahlan Lukmingkwan EVEN $ Kermin Guardia
Ricardo Lopez 7-1 Manny Melchor
Hi-Yong Choi 10-1 Danny Porter

Only about 4,000 of the available 8,000 seats at the Chugmu Gymnasium were sold. Perhaps it was due to the high price, or maybe it was due to only 1 Korean being on the card? With all 4 of the fights being for world titles, tickets were sold at twice the normal price.

The first fight of the night featured the relatively unknown WBO title holder Rafael Torres 11-0 (0) from the Domincan Republic against the highly experienced Vuyani Nene of South Africa 33-3 (18). Nene was coming off a unanimous decision win over Rocky Lin from less than a month ago. He was cut over the right eye in that fight and unable to do any sparring in preparation for his title challenge of Torres. The Nene camp believed his experience and extra roadwork would secure Nene the WBO strap and advance him in the Straw Weight World Championship Tournament. Odds makers had Nene installed as a 3-1 favorite.

Nene struggled badly to make weight and spent an hour in the sauna wearing a wet suit in order to lose the required amount. He came into the ring bone dry. Nene's difficulty making weight didn’t seem to matter in the 1st round when a short uppercut dropped Torres for the count of 3. Thinking he had the 25 year old title holding Torres ready to go, and not wanting the fight to go into the later rounds, Nene rushed out in the 2nd looking to end matters quickly. Torres had other plans and knocked Nene to the canvas for a flash knockdown. Nene was up before the referee had counted to 3.

Rounds 3, 4, and 5 all belonged to the WBO title holder, as he peppered Nene with jabs and right hands. Nene returned to his corner with a sizable mouse under his right eye at the end of the 5th. Torres continued to box superbly in the through the 7th, while Nene appeared to be sleepwalking.

Although winning rounds, Torres looked to be very tired at the end of the 8th round. In the 9th, with a little over 2 minutes left in the round, Nene landed the best shot of the night. A sweet hook to Torres body and the Dominican crummbled to the canvas clutching his side. When the referee’s count reached 8 it was clear Torres would be unable to rise! The winner by knockout at 2:08 of the 9th, in a sudden turn of a events, and new WBO Straw Weight World title holder….Vuyani Nene!
Vuyani Nene KO9 Rafael Torres

Though 5 rounds of boxing IBF belt holder Fahlan Lukmingkwan outboxed and outworked Columbia’s Kermin Guardia. The television boxing expert, Joe Koizumi, had if 5 to zip Lukmingkwan. Guardia’s left eye was closing fast and he had yet to find an offensive weapon that was effectice vs. the champ. Even the help of his Miami trainer, Angelo Dundee, wasn't providing Guardia the help he needed to be effective.

Guardia won his first round of the fight in the 7th, when the Thailander took a rest. In the 8th Lukmingwan went back on the offensive and began teeing off on Guardia’s head. The referee, Massimo Barrovecchio of Italy, was taking a very close look at Guardia as the round went on. With his rapidly closing eye, Guardia's ability to see the punches coming at him was greatly compromised.

When Guardia came out for the 11th his left eye was a mere slit and was still bleeding from a cut sustained below it in the 10th. Finally Lukmingkwan landed the coup de grace and put Guardia down for the full count. The Thailand fighter, with the heavy hands, now advances to title unification match against newly crowned WBO boss Vuyani Nene.
Fhalan Lukmingkwan KO11 Kermin Guardia

Mexican WBC title holder Ricardo “Finito” Lopez, entered the ring having made 3 title defenses since winning it in 1990. He was widely regarded as the best in the division with the most legitimate claim to being the true Straw Weight World Champion, based mostly upon his ring superiority over opponents. Lopez was eager to unify the world titles and prove that he was the WORLD CHAMPION.

Manny Melchor entered the ring brimming with his own confidence, having only one loss on his record and his impressive win last month against the world rated Thansaq of South Africa. Melchor showed no signs of being intimidated by the reputation and impressive 33-0 (22) record of Lopez.

In the 1st Lopez jumped right on Melchor bulling him around the ring, while taking the fight to close quarters. It was apparent that Lopez had little to no respect for Melchor’s power and would make it a short night’s work if presented the opportunity. Melchor fought back as best he could, but lacked the fire power to keep Lopez off him.

At the end of the 4th, Melchor was already breathing from his mouth and both eyes were beginning to swell shut. In the 5th Melchor took a steady beating. His hands were now by his sides to protect his body from the vicious assault his ribs were taking. Meanwhile both of his eyes continued to swell, with the left now halfway closed.

Early in the 6th another brutal body shot sent Melchor to the canvas. He attempted to rise at 7 and either was unable to or thought better of it (wisely some might say, if he did), and was counted out. “The winner by KO at 0:34 of the 6th round and STILL…..the WBC Champion…..RICARDO LOPEZ!!!!” shouted the ring announcer in Korean.
Ricardo Lopez KO6 Manny Melchor

Danny Porter entered the ring first, and as had been the case in many of his fights he was a significant underdog. Las Vegas odds makers had installed the WBA belt holder, Hi-Yong Choi, as a 10-1 favorite. As impressive as Porter was in his last fight, while upsetting Japan’s Hideyuki Ohashi, by unanimous decision, on the hostile home venue of his world class opponent, it was a surprise to see him listed as a double digit underdog.

The Englishman appeared to be unfazed by the magnitude of his first ever World Title challenge, and vowed to do same as he does for all of his fights. Reportedly Porter focused on increasing his strength in between fights and also struggled to make the straw weight limit.

Choi appeared focused and ready to fight well in front of his home fans. Porter came out in the 1st winging shots from his heels, looking to catch Choi unawares. Choi came out in the 1st looking to land some hurting punches of his own. The two exchanged blows fairly evenly until Porter seemed to hurt Choi with less than 30 seconds to go in the round.

The 2nd round was bell to bell action and difficult to pick a winner of. In what had been his best round of the fight, Choi had 1 point taken away by Micky Vann for an intentional headbutt call.

Through 5 rounds Porter had been unable to land any blows of significant hurt on Choi. This changed for the first time in the 6th, when a Porter right hand to the body caused Choi to grimace noticeably. Choi responded in kind and deposited Porter on the canvas for the count of 6. As he has done in previous fights, Porter showed that he is not easy to count out.

Porter tore into Choi in the 7th with a vigor that had been missing since the 4th round. Choi soon found himself on the canvas courtesy of a Porter combination! It was more of the same in the 8th, and Choi again found himself on the canvas!

Choi had perhaps his best round in the 9th, when he sent Porter reeling into the ropes with a two fisted attack of one twos. Porter looked to be dead tired and on his last legs. Before the bell tolled, Porter found himself on the canvas for the 2nd time in the fight. Porter hung onto Choi as best he could to survive the round and was somehow able to do so.

Porter had virtually nothing left in the 10th round after he went down 3 more times referee Micky Vann stopped the fight. Hi-Yong Choi retained his WBA title and earned the right to face Ricardo Lopez in a title unification match.
Hi-Yong Choi TKO10 Danny Porter

[Crimson]

Updated Straw Weight World Championship bracket, with odds from Las Vegas.
Ricardo Lopez 2-1 Hi-Yong Choi
Vuyani Nene 2-1 Phalan Lukmingkwan

These fights will take place at the "Crocodile Farm" in Samut Prakan, Thailand. All 3,760 tickets immediately sold out.

[Crimson]

Semi-Finals Straw Weight World Championship Tournament

Saturday, September 25th, 1992
Crocodile Farm; Samart Prakarn (outside of Bangkok); Thailand

Both fighters appeared to be in excellent condition and supremely confident of beating the other. Choi had a decent first round, while Lopez picked his shots and seemed to be scouting out the best way to lay out Choi in one of the upcoming rounds.

Lopez picked up the pace in the 2nd and by rounds end had hurt Choi, who was now bleeding from a cut on his right eyebrow along with having a slightly swollen left eye. After losing the 3rd, Choi stood his ground and fired back effectively in the 4th, perhaps winning the round on the judges cards. After 4 rounds, the widely respected expert on boxing from Asia, Joe Koizumi had it 38-38.

Lopez had a solid 6th round and the eye of Choi was worsening rapidly. Entering the 8th Choi’s left eye was little more than a slit. Lopez had dished out plenty of leather in the 7th and it appeared that the ending of the fight, with Lopez the victor and Choi on the canvas, was only a matter of time. Lopez let off the gas pedal a bit in the 8th and Choi dug deep with all he had in an attempt to score a KO. With 1:56 remaining in the round Choi landed a devastating left hook to the body of Lopez. The Mexican froze and bent over slightly. Choi seized the moment and went right back with yet another brutal left to the body, and this time Lopez dropped to a knee! The crowd erupted in excitement at the sudden change in fortune for Asian dynamo. Referee Laurence Cole picked up the count at 4 from the timekeeper with Lopez still on one knee and his head facing the canvas. “FIVE!” Lopez didn’t move. “SIX! Lopez stood up with his face grimacing. There was still almost 2:00 minutes remaining in the round. Lopez did a nice job of covering up and holding when necessary and Choi was unable to follow up on his advantage.

After 8 rounds Joe Koizumi had Lopez ahead by only 1 point, 76-75. Both fighters were tired and used the 9th as a round to regroup. In the 10th Nacho Berinstien instructed Lopez to box on the outside and counter Choi. The Korean, perhaps having caught his 2nd wind, came out with his guns blazing in the 10th. Choi’s left hook repeatedly was able to find the rib cage of Lopez, something Choi had been unable to do when he’d lost a 4 round majority decision to Lopez in Sydney, Australia back on March 28th.

Lopez came out aggressively in the 11th round and quickly had Choi backed up on the ropes. A series of right hands and Choi’s eye was once again bleeding. Behind one eye that was little more than a slit and the other covered in blood Choi missed with his punches and Lopez countered those misses with precision. After a thunderous left hook Choi wobbled along the ropes into the corner. Choi was saved by the bell still standing in the corner he had stumbled into a minute earlier in the round.

Lopez came out for the 12th and final round looking to close the show dramatically. Halfway into the round he put Choi on the canvas briefly. With 15 seconds to go in the fight Choi was on the retreat when a long right sent him sprawling on all fours, further clarifying who the better fighter was. Choi rose before 10 was tolled and was able to hear the final bell. Once again Choi was in an outstanding fight, but it was doubtful that he'd pull out the win on the scorecards in this one.

Joe Koizumi had it 115-111 for Lopez. The 3 judges cards were read by ring announcer Plinicam Prukak as a unanimous decision win for the new….WBA Champion and still WBC Champion….. RICARDO LOPEZ!!”
Ricardo Lopez WBC Champ and new WBA Champ Wu12 Hi-Yong Choi

Also known by the last name of Sakareerin, Fahlan Lukmingkwan entered the ring to tremendous applause in the tiny venue called “Crocodile Farm”, a famous tourist attraction where visitors could see thousands of crocodiles of various sizes and staff wrestling with some, while placing their head between the beast’s jaws! Vuyani “Wonderboy” Nene was still struggling with his weight, but came into the ring having worked up a sweat and appeared very ready to give the home country fighter a tussle.

Thirty seconds into the 1st and Nene was down courtesy of a right hand. Not known as a puncher, Lukmingkwan was unable to finish Nene off. After an ineffective 2nd round of aggression, Lukminkwan went back to his bread and butter boxing skills.

The exchanges were infrequent, but the punches that did land more often than not, seemed to be coming from the gloves of Lukimingkwan. After 6 rounds Joe Koizumi at ringside had Lukmingkwan ahead 58-56.
One round resembled the next as Lukminkwan piled up the points.

Sensing defeat, should the fight reach a decision, Nene began loading up on his punches. This only increased the Thai fighters counterpunching accuracy. After 10 rounds Nene had a good sized egg under his right eye and was behind on the scorecard of ringside analyst Joe Koizumi 98-92. Nene lasted the distance, but lost the unanimous decision by a wide margin on all 3 scorecards.
Fhalan Lukmingkwan retains the IBF belt and wins the WBO belt Wu12 Vuyani Nene

Next up would be a Fhalan Lukmingkwan vs. Ricardo Lopez match for all 4 belts and the STRAW WEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!

[Infinity]

I see Ricardo Lopez holding all the marbles at the end of this one....

[Crimson]

Originally Posted by Infinity

I see Ricardo Lopez holding all the marbles at the end of this one....

(So do I, but one of the great things about boxing, and something TBCB does a fantastic job of mirroring, is you never know! Lopez came out as a
5-2 favorite, which were much closer odds than I had expected. I'm looking forward to the battle and there being an undisputed WORLD STRAW WEIGHT CHAMPION!)


Straw Weight World Championship
Friday, December 18th, 1992
Fronton Mexico; Mexico City, Mexico

15 Rounds of boxing
for the undisputed STRAW WEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!

RICARDO “Finito” LOPEZ
35-0 (23) WBC and WBA Champ
MEXICO
VS.
Fhalan Lukmingkwan
23-1-1 (20) IBF and WBO Champ
THAILAND

Ricardo Lopez finally got to fight in front of his home country fans, and it would be in the biggest fight yet of his young career. Odds makers had installed him as a 5-2 favorite. Some of Lukmingkwan’s Thailand fans had made the trip to Mexico to cheer their hero on, but they could not be heard among the 9,000+ who jammed into the historic and decaying “Fronton Mexico”. Built in 1929, the once beautiful arena had held Jai Lai matches for years and occasionally other sporting or political events.

The knockdown Lopez absorbed in his previous fight against the light punching Hi-Yong Choi, gave underdog betters and Lukmingkwan reason to question the durability of Lopez’ chin against world class competition. For the heavy handed Thai, who had 20 of his 23 wins by KO or TKO, there was reason for hope that he could hurt and take Lopez out.

[Crimson]

Both fighters entered the ring in perfect shape. The opening round was fairly even until a Lukmingkwan brutal left hook spun the head of Lopez. The Mexican took the punch well though and showed no signs of being hurt by Lukmingkwan’s Sunday bomb.

Lopez continued his forward attack in the 2nd, showing no concern for the punching power of Lukmingkwan. The exchanges were fierce, but Lopez appeared to have the upper hand and had the Thai fighter hanging on at one point.

Less action in the 3rd, which seemed to favor Lukmingkwan. Lopez was less aggressive in the 4th and it led to him taking far less punches than he had in the previous rounds. The 5th round seemed to favor Lukmingkwan, but you couldn’t tell by the cheering of the crowd at “Fronton Mexico”, who let out a yell anytime Lopez threw a blow regardless of if it landed or missed. After the completion of 5 rounds, the score card of pay per view analyst Al Bernstein read 48-47 Lopez. Punchstat had it almost dead even for punches landed at 121 for Lopez to 120 for Lukmingkwan.

Lopez took the fight back to the inside in the 6th and 7th and was gradually beginning to wear the Thai fighter down. In the 8th, at the urging of his trainer Nacho Berinstein, Lopez sat down on his punches and was digging heavy blows to the body of Lukmingkwan. Early in the 8th a crushing right hurt Lukmingkwan, which caused him to hold and move for the remainder of the round.

There were plenty of excellent exchanges in the 9th, but Lopez was taking Lukmingkwan’s blows much better than the Thai was taking Lopez’. Lukmingkwan returned to his corner breathing heavily with his mouth open and head down.

Both fighters came out for the 10th having essentially been told by their trainer during the rest period to knock the other guy out because he was exhausted and ready to go. After landing a nice shot, but then being hit by a sharp combination, Lukmingkwan plopped to the canvas!

Referee, Stanley Christodoulou, began the count and at 6 Lukmingkwan lurched to his feet, but then fell again to the canvas! Christodoulou correctly resumed his count at 7. At “9” Lukimingkwan staggered to his feet, but the ending the paying crowd had been looking forward to now only seemed to be moments away. Lopez continued to pound both the head and body of Lukmingkwan, who was now resting on the ropes and not throwing punches in return. To the delight of the crowd, Christodoulou stepped in and stopped the fight!

In Spanish the ring announcer shouted to the world, “Your winner by TKO at 2:53 of the 10th round, still undefeated and now the recognized UNDISPUTED STRAW WEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD…….RICARDO 'El Finito' LOPEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!

[Crimson]

STRAW WEIGHT DIVISION WORLD RANKINGS
As of 1-1-93

WORLD CHAMPION
Ricardo "Finito" Lopez 40-0 (26) WBC WBA IBF WBO Mexico City, MEX
1# Hi-Yong Choi 19-6-3 (8) Pusan, Korea
2# Ratanapol Sor Vorapin 12-2-1 (8) Ratchasima, Thailand
3# Fahlan Lukmingkwan 24-3-1 (11) Bangkok, Thailand
4# Vuyani Nene 37-4 (20) South Africa
5#Danny Porter 15-10-2 (9) Hitchin, England
6#Hideyuki Ohashi 19-5 (12) Tokyo, Japan
7#Carlos Murillo 20-0 (17) San Miguelito, Panama
8#Kermin Guardia 21-4 (11) Miami, FL
9#Thamsanqa Sogcwe 26-11-2 (11) Queenstown, South Africa
10# Ala Villamor 24-0-1 (21) Cebu, Philippines

11#Andy Tabanas 22-1 (13) Cebu City, Philippines
12#Chana Porpaoin 26-0 (12) Petchaboon, Thailand 13# Raul Rios 26-5-2 (14) Culiacan, Mexico
14# Alejandro Montiel 23-1 (15) Los Mochis, Mexico
15# Carlos Rodriguez 16-10-2 (13) Bolivar, Venezuela
16#Rocky Lin 14-3 (3) Kaohsiung, Taiwan
17# Rafael Torres 12-2 (0) Santiago, Dominican Republic
18# Kwang-Soo Oh 6-0 (3) Chunramadaho, Korea
19#Toto “Singha” Pongswang 16-2 (11) Bangkok, Thailand
20# Felix “Cucusa” Naranjo 13-1-2 (7) Sincelejo, Columbia


(All fights that occurred during 1992 are now included in that fighters record. This is regardless of if that fight took place at or near the same date as one held in the universe. Up until now those fights usually had not been included when I listed the fighter's record.)


Ricardo Lopez highlight tribute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQfc58XeQXQ

Ricardo Lopez vs. Saman Sorjaturong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuymSM64vEA

Ricardo Lopez vs. Toto Ponsowang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPoxU...eature=related

Ricardo Lopez vs. Rosendo Alvarez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38bm5...eature=related

Ricardo Lopez vs. Ala Villamor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppXov...eature=related

[Crimson]

Odds of winning the Light Fly Weight World Championship Tournament
2-1 Michael Carbajal
3-1 Myung-Woo Yuh
5-1 Humberto Gonzalez
8-1 Hiroka Ioka
10-1 Jacob Matlala
15-1 Ala Villamor
15-1 Roland Pascua
25-1 Robinson Cuesta
25-1 Danny Nunez
25-1 Melchor Cob Castro
50-1 Jose DeJesus
50-1 Josue Camacho

[Crimson]

Sunday, May 31st, 1992
Figali Convention Center; Panama City, Panama
South African, “Baby Jake” Matlala 38-13-1 (19) had little difficulty defeating Robinson Cuesta 23-3-2 (14), who was fighting in his home country of Panama, at Panama City’s “Figali Convention Center”.
The 8,000+ fans who showed up to cheer on Cuesta were mostly quiet during the contest, as Matlala took the fight to Cuesta in round one and never let up. Each round was similar to the previous with Matala coming forward and Cuesta attempting unsuccessfully to fire back and keep Matlala off him. In the 7th and 8th rounds Cuesta hit the canvas. When he went down again in the 10th and final round there was no need to count as the prone Panamanian was clearly not going to be able to rise.
Jacob Matlala KO10 Robinson Cuesta
“Baby Jake” will now travel to Japan to face the WBA title holder Hiroka Ioka 19-5-1 (9).

Robinson Cuesta vs. Michael Carbajal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frgn7kKokGI

[Crimson]

Light Fly World Championship Tournament bracket

[Crimson]

Below are the guidelines I'm following for aging in this universe.

Less than 10 fights = Beginning

Less than 17 fights = Pre-Prime

17 fights or more = Prime

Fighter remains prime until:

x2 byKO = Post-Prime

x4 byTKO (including due to a cut) = Post-Prime

x1 byKO and x2 byTKO = Post-Prime

x3 byKO = End

x6 byTKO = End

On a case by case basis when a fighter reaches the ages of 31, 35, 38, 40 and every subsequent year after a judgement call is made on if the fighter's career stage should be advanced to Post-Prime, or End. This is done regardless of losses by KO or TKO.

[Crimson]

Sunday, May 31st, 1992
Rizal Memorial Sports Complex; Manila, Philippines
Ala Villamor 22-0-1 (19) entered the ring a 2-1 favorite vs. compatriot, Rolando Pascua 30-6 (11) in their battle for the Philippines Title and the right to advance to a world title challenge of Michael Carbajal for his IBF belt. The outdoor Rizal Sports Complex seating 33,000 was completely filled, despite the slight off and on drizzle of rain. The undefeated Villamor already had several impressive wins on his ledger (KO2 Nico Thomas, TKO8 Sugar Ray Mike, and W10 Yuichi Hosono.) and had aspirations to become WORLD CHAMPION.

Rolando Pascua had been in with several world class Light Fly’s during his career, which began 6 years ago in 1986. Usually though, Pascua came out on the losing end against the upper echelon fighters (L10 Jum-Hwan Choi, L10 Rey Paciones, L10 Napa Kiatwanchai, byTKO10 Melchor Cob Castro). His biggest career win by far was his 1990 6th round KO of then undefeated WBC titlist Humberto Gonzalez. Since that win Pascua has gone 5-1 (2), with the loss costing him the WBC belt. The 26 year old Pascua was looking forward to the opportunity of regaining a world title and maybe even challenging for the LIGHT FLY WEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP.

The crowd was lively and sounded like it was evenly split in who it wanted to see win. Pacua looked to be in less than ideal shape, as a there was no cut to his body. Villamor by comparison was ripped and tore into Pascua on route to winning the first 2 rounds. In the 3rd Pascua showed his ring experience and turned the tables on Pascua with swift counterpunching.
Pascua continued to box effectively in the 4th and Villamor returned to his corner with a swollen left eye. The 6th was a slam bam affair that had the crowd roaring. Villamor’s eye continued to swell, but Pascua was starting to look weary and dropping his arms in the process.

Pascua caught his 2nd wind in the 6th and once again managed to outbox Villamor. After 6 rounds the scorecard of ringside analyst Joe Kozumi was 57 all. With Villamor’s right eye now ½ shut, Pascua’s right hands seemingly couldn’t miss. The crowd, sensing an upset by Pascua began cheering for him more.

Both fighters came out for the 9th looking to score a decisive KO blow. Villamor’s landed first and Pascua was on the canvas and unable to rise! The Philippine Champion and still undefeated Ala Villamor will next face undefeated IBF World Title holder Michael Carbajal.
Ala Villamor KO9 Rolando Pascua

Rolando Pascua vs. Humberto Gonzalez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWd-gKlbOj0

[Crimson]

Sunday, May 31st, 1992
Seoul Intercontinental Hotel; Seoul, Korea
This would be the first fight for Jose DeJesus 26-4-1 (19) since November 1990, when he stopped Abdi Pohan in round 7 while defending his WBO Light Fly title. DeJesus was the first fighter to receive a WBO title strap, he also would ironically be the first stripped of one, due to his failure to defend it. For his first fight back in 1 ½ years it would be harder to locate a more difficult challenge than fighting Myung-Woo Yuh 37-1 (14) in his homeland of Korea.

Yuh, however, had not fought since losing his long held WBA Light Weight Title last December to Hiroki Ioka by split 12 round decision. After having made 17 successful defenses of that title, no one knew how the no longer unbeaten 28 year old Yuh would respond in his first fight back.

All 3,700 seat in the Seoul Intercontinental Hotel had sold, and odds are 99% were sold to Myung-Woo Yuh fans. Yuh was a 2-1 betting favorite to win. With his fans cheering every punch he threw, Yuh bullied the rusty DeJesus around the ring and opened a horrid gash inside of his right eyelid. In between rounds, the cutman of DeJesus worked feverously to close the wound.

The cut of DeJesus remained closed, but so too did the DeJesus offense. Yuh continued to apply pressure, peppering his opponent’s body with soft hooks and right hands. 15 seconds into the 4th round the DeJesus cut was reopened and clearly impairing his vision, as his eye was full of gore. After consulting with the ringside physician the fight was stopped.

Much to the crowds disappointment, the referee had ruled the cut was induced by an accidental head butt in the 1st round! This fight is ruled a Technical Draw, because less than 4 rounds have been completed!
Myung-Woo Yuh Dtd4 Jose DeJesus

As determined by a 5 member team of boxing experts (Nigel Collins, Bert Sugar, Joe Koizumi, Reg Gutteridge, and Ray Mitchell), Myung-Woo Yuh was voted the more deserving of the 2 fighters to advance in the Light Fly Weight World Championship tournament. It is also doubtful that the cut of DeJesus would have healed in time for him to challenge Jose Camacho for the WBO title. That opportunity now belongs to Myung-Woo Yuh.

[Crimson]

Friday, July 3rd, 1992
Chungmu Gymnasium; Chungmu, Korea
Josue Camacho 11-2 (4) Puerto Rico
vs. (for the vacant WBO Light Fly title)
Myung-Woo Yuh 37-1-1 (14) Korea

Camacho entered the ring as a decided underdog vs. one of the greatest Light Fly weight fighters of all time, Myung-Woo Yuh. There was some questioning by the media of how Camacho had qualified for the tournament, a 1st round bye, and a crack at one of the 4 world titles. The most significant win on his record was a 12 round decision over a 5-0-1 Eduardo Nazario, in defense of the Puerto Rican Fly Weight Title. This was to be Camacho’s first fight outside of Puerto Rico and he was out to prove that he was deserving of his tournament placement. Odds makers had it surprisingly close at only 7-1 for Yuh.

The 23 year old Camacho proved to be no match for Yuh. Camacho was dropped in the 1st round and badly battered throughout the match. By the 4th round Camacho’s left eye was ½ shut and he appeared to be completely exhausted. Only his strong heart kept him in the match. In the 7th Camacho was floored again. He got up though and fought back. Camacho showed an unbelievable ability to absorb punishment. Finally in the 11th round, after having gone down for the 3rd time in the fight about a minute earlier, the referee stopped the fight. Camacho was proudly and defiantly still on his feet at the time of the stoppage. He recieved a nice round of applause from the Korean fans for his refusal to not give up and continuing to fight back. He was just in way over his head vs. Yuh. Punches landed favored Yuh 395 to 149 for Camacho.
Myung-Woo Yuh TKO11 Josue Camacho

[Crimson]

Friday, July 3rd, 1992
Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum; Phoenix, AZ
Michael “Manitas de Piedra” Carbajal 26-0-1 (14) Arizona IBF
vs.
Ala Villamor 23-0-1 (20) Philippines
Phoenix hometown favorite Michael Carbajal would be defending his IBF Light Fly title at the “Arizona Veteran’s Memorial Colisium”, the same venue where he won the title in 1990. This was to be Carbajal’s 6th defense of his IBF belt and would be against his most formidable opponent since dethroning Muangchai Kittikasem. Villamor was a 5-2 underdog to win the belt in hostile territory.

The 1988 Olympic Gold Medalist was greeted with thunderous applause from the capacity crowd of 14,870. Carbajal attacked the body with blistering combinations in the first that clearly bothered Villamor. Carbajal’s defense was superb and Villamor found it difficult to mount an effective attack through the first 2 rounds.

Villamor finally got through with some decent shots in the 3rd, leading to some reddening of Carbajal’s right eye. Perhaps wary of Villamor’s vaunted power, Carbajal was fighting a surprisingly defensive fight. After 5 rounds the ringside analyst had it 3 rounds to 2 favoring Carbajal 48-47. The fans of “Manitas de Piedra” continued to cheer in support, but were also looking forward to Carbajal displaying some of his own vaunted power.

Carbajal became more offensive in the 6th and had his best round of the fight. In the 7th, Villamor landed the most hurtful punch of the fight by either fighter, when a left hook staggered Carbajal. By the end of the round Carbajal was having difficulty seeing the punches coming at him, as his right eye was now ½ closed.

Villamor’s corner implored him to knock Carbajal out and not leave it up to the judges to decide his fate. Entering the 10th round the ringside analyst had it 87-84 in favor of Carbajal. Michael’s trainer and brother Danny instructed him to continue boxing from the outside and counter the powershot misses of Villamor.

Carbajal came out for the 12th and final round confident that he had the decision wrapped up on the cards. Punchstat supported that belief, favoring him 305 to 199 in punches landed, as did the ringside analyst scorecard at 106-104. After boxing superbly in the 12th round, the decision was announced as unanimous for Carbajal by scores of 117-112, 117-114, and 118-110.

Next up for Michael Carbajal would be a highly anticipated unification match vs. newly crowned WBO boss Myung-Woo Yuh.
Michael Carbajal IBF Wu12 Ala Villamor


Michael Carbajal vs. Humberto Gonzalez I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-hyl...91306F&index=0
YouTube - Carbajal vs Gonzalez pt2
YouTube - Carbajal vs Gonzalez pt3
YouTube - Carbajal vs Gonzalez pt4

[Crimson]

Saturday, July 4th, 1992
Prefectural Gymnasium; Osaka, Japan
Hiroka Ioka 19-5-1 (9) Japan WBA
vs.
Jacob “Baby Jake” Matlala 38-13-1 (19) South Africa

Japan’s Hiroka Ioka had a difficult 1st defense of his WBA title ahead of him in Jacob Matlala. Although the South African had 13 losses on his record, other than a 10th round KO loss to Dave McAuley in 1991 while challenging for the IBF Fly Weight title, all of Matlala’s losses were by decision. Many of those disputed.

Ioka had gone 0-3 in the “Team Championship” matches with 2 of the losses (Lu4 Danny Nunez and Lm4 Robinson Cuesta) against fighters Matlala had beaten by decision. This was expected to be a very difficult title defense for Ioka, even though he would be fighting on home turf at the Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka. It would be Ioka’s 12th fight at the venue where he had upset Myung-Woo Yuh for the WBA title in 1991 and had a record of 9-2 (2). Still, the odds makers had installed Matlala as a 3-2 favorite.

Famous as the home to the “Grand Sumo Tournament”, Osaka’s “Prefectural Gymnasium” was close to sold out with 7,950 paying customers. Ioka was down in the 3rd from a combination to his head and body. In the 5th Ioka hurt his right hand and used it sparingly for the fights remainder. Anthor Matlala combination in the 11th sent Ioka briefly to the canvas. Most of the rounds were close, with the edge going to Matlala. The judges were unanimous in declaring Matlala the victor by scores of 118-107, 118-108, and 119-107.
Jacob Matlala Wu12 Hiroka Ioka (wins WBA Light Fly title)