He Coulda Been a Champion - a Greg Page memorial uni

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Go Joe!

I'd thought about skipping the Ali and Frazier comebacks altogether, but learning that Frazier initially planned to fight Masters made me think of all the intriguing possibilities. Since I get to make up reality here, Ali gets proper medical attention after the prescribed poisoning he got before the Holmes fight and the beating he took during it. Will their comebacks be less pitiful if they accept their limitations and work their ways back more slowly? Not that Jumbo Cummings was a world-beater, but he was no Monte Masters, either.

[PWillisTheMan]

Originally Posted by BigBoyBrackey

I'd thought about skipping the Ali and Frazier comebacks altogether, but learning that Frazier initially planned to fight Masters made me think of all the intriguing possibilities. Since I get to make up reality here, Ali gets proper medical attention after the prescribed poisoning he got before the Holmes fight and the beating he took during it. Will their comebacks be less pitiful if they accept their limitations and work their ways back more slowly? Not that Jumbo Cummings was a world-beater, but he was no Monte Masters, either.

Frazier/Ali 4 is a must. Without concerns for their health and with the booze in my veins. I like the prospects of King signing Ali and Frazier and putting their fourth fight against Holmes vs Weaver/Cooney . Not sure why, but the Don wouldn't just lay down. We know this much.

" With the constant personal attacks against my good name and the hordes of pretenders in the current Heavyweight division. I have put together the greatest card in the history of Boxing! Michael Dokes will defend his title against the relentless Alfredo Evangelista while in the main event Muhammad Ali will face Joe Frazier for the fourth time with the winners facing off. Some may say that Larry holmes or Greg Page matter in the world of Boxing, but if they truly want to be considered champions, they will have to talk to me. This card will take place in Rio Dejaniero and be titled.." Only in America"!

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by PWillisTheMan

Frazier/Ali 4 is a must. Without concerns for their health and with the booze in my veins. I like the prospects of King signing Ali and Frazier and putting their fourth fight against Holmes vs Weaver/Cooney . Not sure why, but the Don wouldn't just lay down. We know this much.

" With the constant personal attacks against my good name and the hordes of pretenders in the current Heavyweight division. I have put together the greatest card in the history of Boxing! Michael Dokes will defend his title against the relentless Alfredo Evangelista while in the main event Muhammad Ali will face Joe Frazier for the fourth time with the winners facing off. Some may say that Larry holmes or Greg Page matter in the world of Boxing, but if they truly want to be considered champions, they will have to talk to me. This card will take place in Rio Dejaniero and be titled.." Only in America"!

You might just be on to something. History shows that King usually goes on the offensive when cornered ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

THE STAR-LEDGER


John Tate Hits Funches
With Bunches of Punches

John Tate delivered his most impressive performance since losing his share of the heavyweight championship, demolishing Barry Funches in less than two rounds at the Sands Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City.

Funches was expected to provide the former World Boxing Association champion with his toughest test since losing his title via 15th-round knockout to Mike Weaver in March 1980 and suffering a devastating ninth-round stoppage at the fists of Trevor Berbick less than three months later. Though only 7-3-1 with three knockouts coming in, Funches upset previously unbeaten prospect Marty Capasso in his last outing.

But the 240-pound Tate proved too strong for Funches, who came in 40 pounds lighter, from moments after the opening bell. After landing a pair of sharp jabs, Tate connected with a thumping right uppercut to the ribs and another to the chin, sending his smaller opponent into the ropes.

After being doubled over by a left hook just below the ribcage, Funches grabbed Tate tightly, then spent the rest of the round alternately grabbing and running, while Big John slowly stalked him.

Early in the second, both ends of a left hook-right cross combination landed flush, forcing Funches into another clinch. This time, though, Tate refused to let his arms get tied up, driving home a right uppercut under the chin. After missing with a left hook, a pair of chopping rights from Tate sent Funches to his knee.

Funces struggled to his feet as referee Larry Hazzard's count reached six. Moments later, though, he stumbled into a right uppercut that snapped his head back before he crashed heavily to the canvas, where he remained as he was counted out.

"That was the best I've felt since I won the title," Tate said. "The jab was working, and everything else worked off that. I needed a good win like this. I'm ready for anybody now."

[BigBoyBrackey]

NEW YORK POST


A Tale of Two Comebacks
As Halpern Returns Again

Bobby Halpern was one of the hottest heavyweight prospects in the metropolitan area -- in 1958.

John Clohessy won the New York Golden Gloves sub-novice heavyweight title in 1970, an accomplishment that remains the singular achievement of his boxing career.

On Friday night, one of the Bronx natives will revive his faint hopes of fistic glory when they meet in a six-round bout at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum.

Halpern's story is unusual to the verge of being surreal and, not surprisingly, more widely known.

A 48-year-old ex-con whose armed robbery conviction kept him out of the ring for 17 years, Halpern has not fought since being shot outside a Queens clothing store in 1978.

The first chapter of his professional career came at age 25 in late 1958, shortly after he had completed a five-year stint at Elmira State Prison, the first time he was convicted for armed robbery. Halpern -- a 5-foot-10 southpaw known as "The Hebrew Hammer" -- won a pair of fights at St. Nicholas Arena two weeks apart, then dropped a six-round decision to then-prospect and future title challenger Tom McNeeley at Madison Square Garden barely a month after his debut.

That second armed robbery rap -- he insists he was framed -- sent him away until 1976, when he was paroled and knocked out Terry Lee Kidd shortly thereafter. At age 43, he didn't have time to work his way up and took a fight with a novice named Trevor Berbick, who scored a third-round stoppage in just his second pro outing.

But Halpern's age, back story and punching power helped him build a following as he won five of his next six, four by knockout. His saga earned him coverage in publications including a lengthy spread in Sports Illustrated and a crossroads fight against Guy Casale, a 10-round co-feature at the Garden's main arena in May 1978.

It proved a turning point in more ways than one. Halpern was knocked cold in the third round of a wild slugfest. Ten days later, he was shot by two assailants after coming out a Bronx clothing store. Two shotgun blasts and at least five bullets from a .38 pistol, all fired from close range, somehow failed to complete the hitmen's mission.

One of the doctors who operated on Halpern that day told Sports Illustrated's Paul Zimmerman that his years of working out in prison gyms saved his life.

"The pectoral muscle in his chest stopped a .38 slug just one centimeter from his aorta," said Dr. John Sherman, the chief surgical resident at North Central Bronx Hospital. "And his abdominal muscles were so strong that the bullet that hit him in the stomach couldn't get through. I've never seen anything like it."

Two months later, Halpern's ex-fiance -- who had filed assault charges against him but failed to show up in court two weeks before the Casale fight -- was arrested and charged with hiring the two men to kill him.

Halpern said the bullets and shell fragments he absorbed that day are still in his body.

"I was ready to come back six months later, but the right opportunities didn't come along," Halpern says.

Getting charged with arson in January 1979 didn't help, though Halpern was acquitted a year later.

"It was a bum rap," Halpern says. "I know a lot of people, and some of them do bad things. I don't any more."

Clohessy won the New York Golden Gloves sub-novice heavyweight title in 1970, but kept his day job as a city sanitation worker until 1976, two years after his first retirement from the ring.

That was probably a good move. After starting 11-1 as a pro, he was knocked out in the seventh round by Willie Moore, who came in with a 1-1 record.

That loss relegated Clohessy to journeyman status. He was 14-3 when he faced Chuck Wepner in 1972, with the Bayonne Bleeder fouling and mauling his way to a 10-round decision. He dropped a six-round decision to Rodney Bobick the next time out, then was stopped twice more before retiring in 1974.

He came back the first time 16 months ago, dropping a six-round decision to Melvin Epps in June 1980, leaving his record at 14-8 with six knockouts.

Clohessy has been pursuing an acting career in recent years and hopes the publicity surrounding tomorrow's fight will help in that arena.

"I figured, 'I'm only 31,'" says Clohessy, who carries 215 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. "I didn't train like I should for the Epps fight, but I'm in the best shape I've been in since I was 21. I think I can win this one and if I do, who knows?"

"This guy ain't no bum," says Halpern, who weighs 194. "He hasn't fought in a while, but I've been away even longer."

Halpern, who is 8-4 with five knockouts, said he hopes a win will revive the buzz he generated during his first comeback and help him earn the shot at a contender he thought was around the corner before the Casale fight and its violent aftermath.

"Hey, I see where Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier are coming back, too, and George Chuvalo's fighting the same night as me," he says. "I ain't that much older than those guys. And I've lost fewer fights than any of them."

Sports Illustrated story on Halpern's comeback from 1977

Follow-up on the loss to Casale and shooting

John Clohessey's story

[CONN CHRIS]

Wow, Bobby Halpern. There's a name that you don't see often, great SI article - thanks for posting it.

[BigBoyBrackey]

I'd never heard of Halpern until I found him while mucking around in the zeroes in TB 2.5 a while back. That's one of my favorite parts of the game -- learning about hte diversely bizarre stories of the participants. Found Clohessy while looking for a stiff for Halpern to start his comeback against and thought his story -- and lack of ability -- made for an intriguing match ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

TORONTO STAR


Chuvalo Launches Comeback at 45

He has not fought in three years and weighs 40 pounds more than he did at his peak. Still, George Chuvalo insists his comeback, which begins Friday night, is more than a very dangerous mid-life crisis.

Chuvalo, who is scheduled to face American journeyman Jimmy Cross in a scheduled 10-round bout at the North York Centennial Centre, said he's a middle-aged man on a mission.



Though he mixed it up with the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Floyd Patterson, Jimmy Ellis and Cleveland Williams without ever being knocked off his feet, he never faced another world-class foe after his second decision loss to Ali, a 12-rounder in 1972. He carried on for six more years, scoring seven knockouts against non-entities with a collective record of 78-70-5.

"I feel like my career just sort of drifted off for the last few years I was fighting," he said. "I want to put an exclamation point on it one way or another."



Not that anyone will mistake Cross, a 29-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee, for a top-10 contender. He brings a record of 24-19-1 over the border. He has won 15 fights by knockout, but has been stopped the same number of times.

"One step at a time," said Chuvalo, who weighed in at 256 pounds for his first outing since stopping George Jerome on Dec. 11, 1978 in defense of the Canadian heavyweight championship. "He can hit, so he'll be a good test for me. I've felt great in training -- I'm heavier, but most men get thicker as they get older -- and can't wait to hear that bell ring for real."

[BigBoyBrackey]

TORONTO SUN


Plenty of Blood, Little Skill
in Chuvalo's Ring Return

He bled -- a lot -- but even at 256 pounds, 45-year-old George Chuvalo was too much for professional opponent Jimmy Cross.

Chuvalo, making his return after three years in retirement, dropped the Memphis, Tenn. native with an overhand right late in a wild, bloody first round and controlled most of the action thereafter, winning by technical knockout at 1:37 of the sixth round, due to the severity of a cut over Cross' right eye.

Both men were cut during a back-and-forth first round. Their respective cut men kept busy between rounds, with Chuvalo's wound reopening twice, to three times for the gash that did Cross in.

Other than the freely flowing blood and his unmistakable visage, Chuvalo bore little resemblance to the fighter who was one of the world's top contenders in the 1960s and early '70s, facing future, present and past champions Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson and George Foreman. Never the most graceful craftsman, his plodding pursuit of Cross -- whose record fell to 24-20, with 15 wins by knockout -- offered little hint that he is still equipped to face the heavyweight elite. His defence, never a strong point, either, was non-existent. Cross, no great physical specimen himself, did not throw a lot of punches, but rarely missed when he did.

"It's going to take a few fights to get where I need to be," Chuvalo said. "I had to get hit for real, to remind myself what that feels like. Even his best shots didn't hurt me."

He said the early cut did not concern him.

"The blood wasn't getting in my eye, so it really wasn't a problem," Chuvalo said. "He couldn't see any longer, so the referee made the right move to stop it."

Cross disagreed.

"I could see he was getting tired, and my plan all along was to get him into the late rounds," he siad. "I could have kept going, but I should have expected them to call it for him first chance they got, him being a national hero and all."

Chuvalo, the former Canadian heavyweight champion, improved to 74-18-2 with 65 knockouts.

"I'd like to get a shot at my old belt -- I'll be ready for Trevor Berbick after another fight or two," said Chuvalo, who was inspired to return by Berbick's lacksadaisical showing in a 15-round decision over Conroy Nelson in July.

Berbick, who is slated to face the unbeaten Greg Page on the undercard of the Mike Weaver-Gerry Cooney World Boxing Association title fight later this month, has done little more than laugh when asked about the prospect of facing Chuvalo.

[BigBoyBrackey]

NEW YORK POST


Halpern Hammers Out Win

Since the last time Bobby Halpern entered a boxing ring in front of paying customers, two still-unidentified hitmen emptied a shotgun and .38 pistol into his torso and prosecutors slapped him with arson charges that could have put him in prison well into his old age.

Dubbed "The Hebrew Hammer" when he began his pugilistic oddysey way back in 1958, Halpern survived all of that. Against John Clohessy at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum, the Bronx southpaw hardly looked the worse for wear. Nor did he look much like a 48-year-old man who had not fought in more than three years.

After a slow, mauling first round, Halpern began finding a home for his right hook in the general vicinity of Clohessy's belt line (to be fair, the former New York sanitation worker's rather wobbly midsection made for a moving target), Enough of his wild left hands landed on his opponent's forehead, neck and shoulders to keep Clohessy on the defensive through much of the eight-rounder One third-round left opened a sizable cut over Clohessy's right eye, though his corner was able to keep the bleeding under control.

In the sixth, another overhand left connected squarely with his fellow Bronx native's chin, sending Clohessy sprawling to the floor, where he took a count of six.

Halpern -- known as much for his two armed robbery convictions, the second of which interrupted his career for 17 years before his 1976 parole -- was unable to finish things up, though, and appeared to expend most of his remaining energy in the effort.

Clohessy, though almost equally exhausted, mustered enough of an attack over the last three rounds to make things interesting. He repeatedly landed clean head punches in the seventh and eighth, but lacked the power to seriously hurt Halpern.

While Clohessy's last surge made things interesting, it was not enough to overcome Halpern's early advantage. All three cards read 4-3-1 for Halpern, improving his career record to 9-4 with five knockouts.

"I'm ready to go again next week, if we can find somebody man enough to get in there with me," said Halpern, who carried a rock-solid 194 pounds on his 5-foot-10 frame. "I got no time to waste."

Clohessy, a former Golden Gloves sub-novice champion fighting for only the second time in seven years, fell to 14-9 with six knockouts.

"He tagged me pretty good a few times and when I got to him, nothing seemed to hurt him," Clohessy said. "Guess it's time to concentrate on my acting."

[CONN CHRIS]

I love all these comebacks. If they keep up, George Foreman might get some ideas.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

I love all these comebacks. If they keep up, George Foreman might get some ideas.

Don't want to give anything away, but in October 1981, George Foreman was 32 years old, beginning a three-year stretch in which he was married and divorced three times and trying to establish his recently opened, but sparsely attended, church. Seems like that might be a real good time for God to order him back into the ring ...

If that should happen, I wonder what an appropriate rating might be. I haven't looked at '70s versus '90s Georges yet, but somewhere in between would make sense.

Would he be more aggressive than the middle-aged version, but more conscious of pacing and defense than his younger self? Or would he instead combine the worst of both editions -- easily winded and discouraged, with reduced power? Hmmm ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

YORKSHIRE EVENING POST


Malpass Batters Mintus,
Wins Central Crown

Big Neil Malpass of South Elmsall used his size and superior two-fisted power to earn a clear-cut, but hard-fought victory over Terry Mintus in front of the latter's hometown fans at the Irish Centre in Leeds.



The 10-round decision, which avenged a disqualification defeat in 1979, gave Malpass the British Boxing Board of Control's Central Area heavyweight title.

The 6-foot-4, 221-pound Malpass outweighed Mintus, who had been stopped by former European champion Alfredo Evangelista in five rounds just five weeks earlier, by 20 pounds.

He parlayed his edges in reach and strength to control most of the action, forcing Mintus to dodge punches along the ropes. Mintus had a few solid moments, causing Malpass' left eye to swell with sseveral clean rights in the seventh round.

Referee and sole arbiter Jim Brimmel saw it all Malpass' way, however, scoring the fight 99-91. Whiel few would dispute the decision, most ringside observers thought the margin much closer.

With the victory, Malpass, who improved to 23-11-1 with 16 knockouts, moved a step closer to a possible shot at British champion Gordon Ferris. Ferris defended his title with a dramatic 15th-round stoppage of Neville Meade last week.

[BigBoyBrackey]

THE RING

Will Boxing Disintegrate Along
With Heavyweight Championship?
By Bert Randolph Sugar

No good has ever come of it when the title of heavyweight champion is decided by fat, old men in bad suits instead of fit, young warriors in boxing trunks.

In the 1960s, Muhammad Ali, though still unbeaten in the squared circle, was dethroned not once, but twice.

First, the World Boxing Association was so outraged by Ali's decision to choose his own name that it tried to convince the world that Ernie Terell and Eddie Machen were somehow more deserving of its title belt.

A couple years later, after The Greatest refused induction into the U.S. Army, every boxing organization cowered. The WBA threw eight mediocrities into a tournament, hoping one of them would make the world forget the real champion.

It didn't.

Meanwhile, Madison Square Garden put a heavyweight who at least belonged in the same sentence as Ali, Joe Frazier, in with Buster Mathis, who richly deserved a berth at a fat farm. Eventually, Frazier wiped out the survivor of the WBA tournament, Jimmy Ellis, and topped Ali to erase any doubt about the identity of the one true champ.

A decade later, after Ali had reclaimed his title from George Foreman and lost it to Leon Spinks, the World Boxing Council got in the act, deciding he didn't deserve a chance to win it back.

Not only has the resulting split championship not been rectified in the intervening three years, the comedy has turned tragic.

Larry Holmes, clearly the best heavyweight in the world, is no longer its champion. So sayeth Don King, the promoter who not-so-surreptitiously runs the WBC these days.

Instead, the WBC, having stolen its belt back from Holmes, has fabricated a "championship fight" pitting Michael Dokes, who is a promising young heavyweight, against Scott Frank, who is not. Meanwhile, fighters far more deserving than the unbeaten New Jersey native, whose main qualification seems to be his lack of skin pigment, like unbeaten sensation Greg Page, sit and wait their turn.

Frank gets his undeserved opportunity on Oct. 28 in a place called Richfield, Ohio, in an arena expected to hold even fewer ticket-buyers than traditionally patronize nearby Cleveland's feeble basketball franchise.

The date is itself a sign of King's shamelessness -- two days before the intriguing WBA title fight between champion Mike Weaver and challenger Gerry Cooney, so that King can try to delude the public into thinking Frank could become the first white heavyweight "champion" since Ingemar Johansson more than 30 years ago, a distinction that apparently still matters to some.

Such cheap gimmicks threaten to knock boxing from its lofty spot in the sports world. Little more than three years ago, Ali-Spinks II headlined the second-most-watched event in network television history, trailing only the final episode of the landmark miniseries Roots. Holmes' title defenses have been reliable prime-time ratings winners, but King has not been able to find a home for Dokes-Frank, even in the shoddy, low-rent neighborhood of cable television.

The Weaver-Cooney fight -- an event being sold in theaters and other venues wired for closed-circuit television and in selected homes via a new concept called pay-per-view -- is at least deserving of hype it has received. Based on the matchup, that is, rather than the meaningless belt the winner will claim.

For both men, and anyone who truly understands or cares about the sport, know that the real champion will defend his crown a month later, when Holmes faces unbeaten Renaldo Snipes in Atlantic City.

Even if no belt is at stake.

[BigBoyBrackey]

LAS VEGAS SUN


Vegas Fight Week Kicks Off
With Hacienda Doubleheader

A big week of heavyweight boxing in the sport's emerging capital kicks off tomorrow night with a card at the Hacienda Hotel headlined by two intriguing heavyweight bouts.

In the main event, Utah's Jeff Shelburg, who has won two straight at the venue, takes on "Irish Pat" Duncan, while two-time title challenger Alfredo Evangelista faces Greg Sorrentino in the semifinal. Both bouts are scheduled for 10 rounds.

The promotion is a prelude to next week's blockbuster featuring the World Boxing Assocation title fight pitting champion Mike Weaver against unbeaten challenger Gerry Cooney. That card, at Caesar's Palace, also includes red-hot contender Greg Page against rugged Trevor Berbick, as well as unbeaten prospects Tim Witherspoon and Marvis Frazier facing veterans Tom Prater and Terry Krueger, respectively.

Two nights earlier, across the country in Cleveland, Michael Dokes and Scott Frank meet for the World Boxing Council title, which became vacant when WBC officials stripped Larry Holmes of his crown for signing to fight Renaldo Snipes, rather than Dokes.

Tomorrow night at the Hacienda, Shelburg faces a man who was once a mirror image of himself -- a hard-punching prospect from the northwest.

Duncan, an Idaho native, developed a following by way of a series of knockout wins in Washington and Nevada -- including several in Las Vegas -- in the late 1960s and early '70s. A fifth-round knockout loss to Earnie Shavers at the Sahara Tahoe Hotel in Stateline in 1971 slowed his ascent, but an 11-fight winning streak earned him a bout with then-European champion Joe Bugner in 1974. Duncan lost a competitive fight, but was stopped by Mani Vaka and Rodney Bobick later that year.

Stoppage losses to Duane Bobick and Mike Schutte followed and Duncan retired after a 12-round decision defeat against Ibar Arrington in November 1976.

Duncan (44-11-3 with 29 knockouts) returned after a three-year hiatus in 1979 and has won eight straight, four by knockout, against non-descript opposition.

Shelburg, meanwhile, has won four straight by way of knockout, the last three at the Hacienda. After stopping trial horse Roy Wallace in two rounds in April, The Beehive Bomber recorded his most impressive win to date, a fifth-round knockout of rugged veteran Leroy Caldwell.

Shelburg followed up that victory last month with an impressive stoppage of Davis, a former rising prospect, to improve to 24-3 with 21 knockouts.

In the main supporting bout, Evangelista -- who came up short in title challenges against Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes -- returns to the United States for the first time since beging stopped in six rounds by Page in June.

The Uruguayan has since won four straight by knockout, all in his adopted homeland of Spain. In his most recent outing, on Sept. 12, Evangelista (44-6-3, 33 KOs) stopped British journeyman Terry Mintus in five rounds.

Sorrentino, fighting out of Syracuse, N.Y., is returning to heavyweight division after slimming down to fight at cruiserweight for the better part of two years. In his last bout, on Aug. 25, he weighed 176 for a 10-round win over Chris Wells. This morning, he weighed in at 195, while Evangelista weighed 229.

At heavyweight, Sorrentino (18-6-1 with only two knockouts) scored decision wins over Ibar Arrington, Bill Sharkey and James J. Beattie, while getting stopped by Berbick, Dokes and John L. Gardner, while dropping a decision to actor and sometime undefeated prospect Lee Canalito.

[CONN CHRIS]

Go Gerry!

I think Cooney may get his first loss but you never know!

[kenyan_cheena]

You've set up some intriguing storylines, BBB. I especially liked that post from the October '81 issue of The Ring by BRS. I'm looking forward to seeing how all these upcoming contests play themselves out.

[BigBoyBrackey]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

You've set up some intriguing storylines, BBB. I especially liked that post from the October '81 issue of The Ring by BRS. I'm looking forward to seeing how all these upcoming contests play themselves out.

Me, too. It's wound up being a rather roundabout route to the original intent -- to see what would have happened to the heavyweights of the early 1980s, particularly Greg Page, if not for Don King's Machiavellian interference. We'll still get there, but I've found it too rich a period of time to sprint through.

Now that real-life chaos (especially moving) has subsided -- at least for the moment -- the next few months in this little world should prove eventful ...

[BigBoyBrackey]

LAS VEGAS SUN


Shelburg Lands Big Punch,
And An Even Bigger Date

Jeff Shelburg obliterated Irish Pat Duncan with a single left hook Friday night at the Hacienda Hotel, but the biggest moment of the Utah heavyweight's career didn't come until about 10 minutes after his opponent was counted out.

Shelburg's post-fight interview with a Salt Lake City television reporter was interrupted by none other than three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, who announced his comeback earlier this month, but had not announce an opponent. Until right then, at least.

"Shelburg, it's time you got in the ring with a real fighter," Ali shouted at the surprised-looking victor, wagging his right index finger over the shoulder of the equally unsuspecting reporter. "You been knocking out bums like this poor guy, what's his name, Irish Patsy? You should be ashamed. I will give you a boxing lesson, son, that you will never, ever forget."

Shelburg, who stunned Duncan with several right crosses and a vicious right uppercut moments before unloading the left hook that dropped the comebacking veteran for the count two minutes into the opening round, recovered from Ali's verbal assault quickly.

"Mr. Ali, you were one of my heroes growing up," he said. "But that doesn't mean you can talk to me like that. You tell me where and when, and I'll be there."

Ringside reporters, still climbing through the ropes when the encounter began, quickly gathered around the two men.

"Write it down -- I am going to make hamburger out of Shelburg," Ali said, his voice rising as he turned to his real audience. "And I'm going to do it in his home town. I'll show I'm still pretty in Salt Lake City."

Pressed for details, Ali -- who was thoroughly beaten by Larry Holmes in his last fight, a year ago at Caesar's Palace -- directed reporters to his longtime manager, Herbert Muhammad.

"We're looking at December dates in Utah, talking to several promoters," the usually tight-lipped manager said. "You'll get a day and a venue as soon as we have them."

Muhammad nodded when asked if the Shelburg-Duncan fight had been an eliminator to determine the first opponent of Ali's most recent comeback.

The 26-year-old Shelburg's devastation of Duncan, his fourth knockout win at the Hacienda since April, improved his record to 25-3 with 22 knockouts. Duncan, who had to be helped from the ring and did not talk to the press, fell to 44-12-3, 29.

One of Ali's past opponents continued his comeback on the undercard.

Alfredo Evangelista, who dropped a resoundingly dull 15-round decision to the then-champion in 1977, battered the out-sized, over-matched Greg Sorrentino for eight rounds before stopping the Syracuse, N.Y. native in the ninth.

Evangelista (45-6-3, 34 KOs) had Sorrentino in trouble in the first and fifth round before dropping him with a left hook to the body in the seventh.

Sorrentino (18-7-1, two knockouts) managed to get through his feet and survive the round, as well as the next, despite taking a brutal beating.

In the ninth, Evangelista connected with a left-right that dropped Sorrentino on his back midway through the round. Sorrentino barely beat the count, but could do little but stagger around the ring until Evangelista dropped him again, this time with a crushing left hook to the head.

Sorrentino was up at the count of four, but referee Davey Pearl waved the fight off at 2:29 of the ninth.

Evangelista, who scored his fifth straight win via the short route since being kayoed by Greg Page in June during his last U.S. appearance, led 78-73, 77-74, 78-73 at the time of the stoppage.

[Lee]

Wow, even though Ali is past his prime, it will be a huge test for Jeff. I didn't see this one coming, looking forward to Shelburgs shot at a legend.

You're doing my boyhood hero proud Brackey