US Heavyweight Tournament

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Roland LaStarza made quick work of Eddie Gregg with a first round KO at 1:58.

John Lester Johnson had a poor outing; he lost 6 of the first eight rounds to journeyman Bobby Halpren. It looked to be an upset in the making. In the ninth Johnson landed a body shot that staggered Halpren, followed by a “wild” over hand shot to the head that put Halpren on the mat for a six count. Shortly thereafter Halpren was down again for seven. Johnson closed for the kill and the referee stopped the bout at 1: 49 as Halpren was out on his feet.

Jack Townsend defeats Marty Fox by unanimous decision. Fox dominated the fight until a point was deducted in the 10^th round. Fox was penalized for a low blow. Townsend it appeared was going to need a stoppage to win, but Fox suffered a knock down in the 11^th and took sound beating at the gloves of Townsend in the 12^th. Townsend by UD.

“Two Gunz” Monte Barrett defeats Bill Poland by unanimous decision

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Joe Baksi defeated James J. Woody by knockout in the 9^th round.

Abe Feldman should have had a short fight vs. Morris Grant, so believed the ringside folks from the Boxing Channel. Morris survived 12 rounds in a losing effort with Feldman awarded a unanimous decision, setting up a meeting with Joe Baksi.

Eddie Blunt was the favorite vs. Ralph Ficucello in this match. Ficucello surprised the experts knocking down Blunt in the eight for a nine count. Ficucello suffered a head butt from Blunt in the 10^th almost stopping the fight but Ralph managed to hang on to win the fight.

116-113 / 117-111 / 117-112

Abe “The Ape” Simon squared off with Al Reich for the final fight of the night. The fight was stopped at 2:44 of the third as Reich was taking a horrible pounding from The Ape. Simon will meet Ficucello in the next round.

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Maxie Rosenbloom vs. Jimmy Slade
Rosenbloom was the favorite in the bout, and he had control of the fight though the first half of the fight. Slade held back and picked his spots. He found his opening in the ninth knocking Maxie to the map. Rosenbloom never really recovered and the final result was a split decision in favor of Jimmy Slade.
115-114 Slade / 115-114 Rosenbloom / 115-114 Slade

Tami Mauriello vs. Jeff Merritt
Both fighters had their moment, Merritt dominated round one, Mauriello the second. In the fourth Merritt surprised the favorite with a uppercut solidly on the chin putting Tami down for six. The fight resumed and Mauriello was down again this time for an eight count. Merritt just couldn’t close it down. Merritt won the fifth, but in the sixth Mauriello caught Merritt with an uppercut. Merritt was up quickly, but didn’t have his legs back, Mauriello closed in and knocked Merritt down for the second time. Merritt regained his feet but after Mauriello landed a series of punches, the referee stopped the fight. Tami Mauirello wins by TKO in the sixth and will meet Jimmy Slade in the next round.

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Doug Jones vs. Billy Daniels
Jones and Daniels met in the ring twice in real life, 1963 and again in 64. Jones won on points, Daniels by split decision. (I guess one in the same.) So tonight was the rubber match and it ended in a draw!
In the rematch the fighters went toe to toe the first three rounds, each winning one and one even. It appeared to be more of the same in the fourth, but with a minute left in the round Jones landed a solid cross to the jaw of Daniels ending the match by knockout.

Bob Pastor vs. Coley Wallace
Pastor pretty much controlled the fight, sending Wallace to the mat for a 6 count in the seventh. Wallace tried to stage a comeback but could not land punches in bunches as Pastor cruised to a unanimous decision and a meeting with Doug Jones in the next round.

Roland LaStarza vs. John Lester Johnson
In a lackluster bout LaStarza was winning the fight. Midway through the 3^rd round Johnson opened a cut on LaStarza, ruled an intentional head butt. As the sixth round progressed, the cut was reopened the fight stopped, the ringside physician and referee agreed the cut was to deep to continue the fight. John Lester Johnson advances by TKO.

Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett vs. Jack Townsend
In a mismatch, Two Gunz defeated Townsend by TKO in the 2^nd
Barrett will fight J.L. Johnson in the next round

Joe Baksi vs. Abe Feldman
This went the distance, both fighters cut and eyes swelling, but in the end the judges decided in favor of Joe Baksi. 115-114 / 116-112 / 115-114

Ralph Ficucello vs. Abe “The Ape” Simon
The Ape controlled the fight from beginning to end, knocking Ficucello to the canvas three times, the third time for the KO in the 11^th.
Abe Simon will fight Joe Baksi in the Elite Eight.

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Jimmy Slade vs. Tami Mauriello
It was an even fight, but Jimmy Slade tossed in a low blow in the 6^th and a disqualification. Tami Mauriello advances to the NYC semi-finals.

Doug Jones vs. Bob Pastor
Jones scored two knockdowns in rounds 6and 8 on the way to a majority decision advancing Jones to a bout against Tami Mauriello. Jones tried towards the end of the fight, but Pastor was unable to capitalize.
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Monte Barrett vs. John Lester Johnson
Barrett won 10 of the 12 rounds in a lackluster bout against Johnson to advance to the next round.
Joe Baksi vs. Abe “The Ape” Simon
Fight one ends in a draw!
Bout two came to an abrupt end as a punch for Joe Baksi broke the jaw of the Ape in the 6th. Joe Baksi will advance and meet Monte Barrett.

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Tami Mauriello vs. Doug Jones

The fight went 9 rounds before the stoppage. Both fighters were pretty even until Tami opened a nasty gash over Jones eye and the referee stopped the fight. Mauriello by TKO in 9.

Joe Baksi vs. Monte Barrett

In a very close fight Monte Barrent won by majority decision, 115-112, 115-112 and 114-114.

NYC Golden Glover Championship

Tami Mauriello and Monte Barrett squared off in the Garden for the NYC Golden Gloves.
Two relatively even boxers went the distance, with a final result of a unanimous decision in favor of Tami Mauriello. 115-112, 115-111 and 116-110.

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I just noticed Gerry Cooney of Long Island never fought in the Eastern NY tournament...so in a special fight he fought the East champion Melio Bettina and lost by KO in the 7th.

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Joe Mesiand Melio Bettina battled for the NY State Glolden Gloves. Bettina scored 3 knockdowns to one for Mesi. The final round found Bettina the winner in part based on a 12th round knockdown that made the difference on the score cards. Bettina will meet Tami Mauriello for the Empire State Belt.

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Tami “The Bronx Barkeep” Mauriello 4-0-0(3) vs. Melio Bettina 6-0-0 (5)
Mauriello the NYC Golden Gloves champion and Melio Bettina the winner of the state tournament faced off in Madison Square Garden to night. Bettina was the slight favorite at the bell.

Bettina wins the first round, landing a variety of punches as Mauriello hangs backs sizing up his opponent.

Bettina is still landing solid punches and Mauriello seems to be waiting for a big opening as round two ends.

Round three had the fans on their feet as The Bronx Barkeep and Bettina went toe to toe at ring center. The edge to Bettina on our scorecard.

In the fourth it was Mauriello bringing the fight to Bettina. Early in the round Mauriello opened a serious cut under his opponent’s right eye.

Starting the fifth, Bettina’s corner did a good job of dealing with the cut and he dominated the round landing a series of punches at the end of the round.

Round six: Apparently, Mauriello used the previous to catch his breath as he pounded Bettina from bell to bell. Bettina did get a few shots in and according to our scoring ringside Bettina was barely ahead.

The seventh round went to Bettina, with Mauriello starting to show signs of running low on gas.

The eighth round found Mauirello slow to respond to the bell, Bettina met him at ring center and landed a uppercut that staggered The Barkeep followed by a combination that dropped Mauriello to the canvas. Tami made it back to his at the count of five but appeared dazed and confused. The ref gave the signal to resume and Bettina charged in for the finish.

01:42 Melio Bettina misses the lead left, but follows up with a right hook that finds the mark.
01:42 Bettina won't want to let Mauriello off the hook, now that he has him hurt!
01:56 Bettina works his way in and leans on Tami Mauriello.
02:00 Bettina is staying at the center of the ring.
02:05 Bettina dips as if to launch a body shot, then goes upstairs with a quick hook to the head that puts Tami Mauriello back on his heels!
02:05 Mauriello's knee almost touched the canvas...
02:18 Bettina misses with an uppercut from way outside. That's a dangerous punch to throw. You leave yourself wide open for a counter.
02:33 * Tami Mauriello takes a sizzling combination flush to the chin and drops to his hands and knees!!!

A seven count and Mauriello was back on his feet, but there was no defense and Dick Flaherty stepped in and stopped the fight at 2:48

Melio Bettina is the owner of the Empire State Championship belt.

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Sorry, got another uni going. Took a break after Ali finally lost in his 54th bout vs. John Henry Lewis!

Ohio, The Buckeye State

Harry Woodson UD Zack Page
Derek Isaman TKO6 George Linberger
Chris Koval UD Richard Mason
Sailor Jack Carroll TKO6 Johnny Clemons
Dale Crowe KO4 Mac Harrison
Charles Lester KO2 Mike Boswell
Hank Hankinson TKO5 Adam Smith (author of “Wealth of Nations, his next book due out is “Trickle Up Poverty vs. Trickle Down Economics”)
Mike Schreck TKO2 Yank Kenny (Schreck looked a little green before the bout.)
Professor Donaldson UD Art Card
Ted Gullick TKO7 Chad VanSickle
Mervine Thompson TKO4 James Holly

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Winner / Result / Opponent
Ezzard Charles UD Harry Woodson
Tut Jackson Draw Tom Fischer
Ray Austin UD Derek Isaman
Chris Koval D(m) Larry Donald
Earnie Shavers TKO8 Sailor Jack Carroll
Amos Johnson TKO9 Buddy Walker
Jack Geyer UD Battling Gahee
Jack Trammell SD Dale Crowe
Draws
Tut Jackson TKO6 Tom Fischer
Chris Koval KO12 Larry Donald

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Jimmy Bivins UD Mervin Thompson
Patsy Perroni UD Ted Gullick
Mate Tubbs KO11 Michael A. Alexander
Buster Douglas TKO10 Professor John Donaldson
Mike Schreck TKO9 Michael Dokes
Lloyd Marshall TKO4 Hank Hankinson
Gus Ruhlin TKO8 Robert Davis
Joey Maxim SD C. Lester

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Sorrry, just hasn't interested me lately...pardon the basic right ups.

Ezzard CCharles KO9 Tut Jackson
Ray Austin TKO5 Chris Koval
Ernie Shaver TKO8 Sailor Jack Carroll
Jack Trammell KO5 Jack Geyer
Joey Maxim TKO8 Gus Ruhlin
Lloyd Marshall MD Mike Schreck
Buster Douglas KO10 Nate Tubbs
Jimmy Bivins UD Patsy Perroni

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Ezzard Charles (1) UD Ray Austin(9)
Ernie Shavers (4) TKO5 Jack Trammell (5)
Lloyd Marshall (10) UD Joey Maxim
Buster Douglas (3) TKO2 Jimmy Bivins (6)

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Semi Finals

Earnie Shavers (4) SD Ezzard Charles (1)
Buster Douglas (3) TKO9 Lloyd Marshall

So it was Douglas the #3 seed and Shavers the number 4.
It was a fairly even fight through 6 but s=Shavers was begining to tire. Round 9 Shavers was knocked down and took a nine count but managed to survive the round. Round 10 both fighters stayed back taking a breather. The eleventh found more action with Buster dropping Shavers to the canvas twice bu Earnie had a big heart and manged to finish round standing. Douglas could smell the victory and kept his distance from Shavers in the final round to win a unanimous decision.
We go to the ring where Stephanie Stokes is ready with the call...

Ladies and Gentlemen, the judges have tallied their scorecards and here is your decision...

Derek Milham, Australia scores the bout 116 to 109

Hisatoshi Miyazaki, Japan scores the bout 115 to 110

Jeffrey Belton, New Zealand scores the bout 114 to 111

And your winner by unanimous decision Buster Douglas!!!

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The Sooner State Championship...
There are 10 fighters from the Sooner state, with the #1 seed Eric Fields.

Fight in:
Lorenzo Boyd wins by point over Ron Ackerson
Cowboy Owens KO6 Tim Morrison

Quarter Finals
Eric Fields TKO11 Lorenzo Boyd, Fields scored 4 knock downs.
Ross Puirty UD James "Quick" Tillis
Alvin Hunt UD George Johnson
Brad Simmons UD Cowboy Qwens, Owens and Simmons fought three time in real life, Owens won once by KO and Simmons won twice on points.

Semi- Finals
Brad Simmons UD Alvin Hunt

Eric Fields UD Ross Purity

Championship the Sooner Belt
Eric Field 116-115, 115-114 Alvin Hunt 116-114
Eric Field advances to the National Championships.

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Oregon has no offical nickname, really? The best I could find was the Beaver State.

5 fighters represent Oregon


Fight-in: Joe Kahut defeats Terry Hinke by UD
Semi-Finals Winner / Result / Opponent
Thad Spencer / UD /Joe Kahut
Amos Lincoln / KO2 / Denver Ed Martin

Championship Match:
Amos Lincoln was a man in a hurry, must of had a hot date somewhere...after his 2nd round KO in the semi-final he knocked down Thad Spencer in the 2nd an Spencer barely beat the count. Later in the sixth Spencer hit the canvas 3 times with the third being the charm as Amos Lincoln movers on to the 50 State Challenge.

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Fight-In:
Winner / Result / Opponent
Johnny Gause / TKO5 / Billy Freeman
Dave Bailey / KO1 / Tommy Sheehan
Bert Cooper / TKO6 / Bearcat Jones
Bill Kail / TKO3 / Red Bruce
Gary Winmon / UD / Sam McGill
Jack Finnegan / UD / Woody Goss
Jerry Tomasetti / KO6 Orion Sistrunk
Mike Montgomery / MD / Mike Boden
Roger Russell / UD / Don Warner

Draws:
Lee Batts v. Garvin Sawyer
George Cotton v. Walter Johnson

Sawyer / KO8 / Batts
Cotton / KO6 / Johnson

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Round of 64 part one:
Winner / Result / Opponnent
Joe Frazier (1) / KO3 / Johnny Gause (65)
Morris Harris (33) / TKO9 / Al Ettore (32)
Willie Reddish (16) / MD / Terrence Lewis
George Godfrey (17) / KO7 / Nick Fiorentino (48)
Eddie Chambers (8) / UD / Dave Bailey (72)
Charley Stevenson (40) / TKO9 / Jesse Ferguson (25)
Micheal Moorer (9) / KO1 / Johnny Allen (56)
Gus Dorazio (24) / UD / Marvin Stinson (41)

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Winner / Result / Opponent
Larry Holmes (1) / TKO1 / Jack Finnegan (63)
Derek Bryant (31) / KO9 / Frank Herald (34)
Curtis Sheppard (15) / KO7 / Jimmy Clark (50)
Jack Gross (18) / UD / Chubby Wright (47)
Jimmy Young (7) / UD / Garvin Sawyer (71)
Tom McMahon (26) / Dm / Sandy Seifert (39)
Harry Bobo (23) / KO7 / Marty Capasso (42)
Rematch
Tom McMahon (26) / TKO6 / Sandy Seifert (39)