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World Boxing Federation

Just thought I'd ramble on for a bit about 'my universe'. I would be grateful for any comments.

I have just one 'world champ' per division, no time/date constraints and 5 regional champs per division. At present i am switching a few heavies/lt heavies to the Cruiserweight division, and I am considering closing down the Super Middles and the Jr Feathers.

The 5 'Regional' Divisions

EBU - European Boxing Union
LABA - Latin American Boxing Association
POBF - Pacific Oriental Boxing Federation
NABF - North American Boxing Federation
ABF - African Boxing Federation

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Heavyweight - Jack Johnson
Cruiserweight - Vassily Jirov
Lt Heavyweight - Merqui Sosa
Spr Middleweight - Roy Jones
Middleweight - Carlos Monzon
Jr Middleweight - Mike McCallum
Welterweight - Henry Armstrong
Jr Welterweight - Kosta Tszyu
Lightweight - Benny Leonard
Jr Lightweight - Janos Nagy
Featherweight - Jem Driscoll
Jr Featherweight - Wilfredo Gomez
Bantamweight - Charles LeDoux
Flyweight - Jimmy Wilde

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Wilfredo Gomez 'hammered' Julian Solis to a first round, three knockdowns defeat in the first defence of his title in San Juan. Solis was caught cold and was on the deck within 20 seconds, two more knockdowns followed and the fight was stopped after 1:40.

On the undercard Jeff Fenech and Paulie Ayala fought an entertaining draw over 12 rounds. The fight was a WBF Jr Feather Final Eliminator. The two fighters will be hooking up again in the near future.

Diego Morales hopes to be Gomez next challenger for the world crown after he KO'd Israel Vazquez in 7 Rounds, in the first defence of his LABA title. He would qualify as a Regional Champion and as an overall top 10 WBF rated contender.

However all future plans in this division could be on hold as there still remains a good chance that this weight class could be removed in a further 'streamlining' of World Boxing.

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Henry Armstrong gained a second successive victory through an opponents eye injury in the first defence of his WBF crown. Mills Lane stopped the contest in the seventh much to the disappointment of his opponent Bernard Docusen and the New Jersey crowd. This was not Armstrong at his best, Docusen was even on the scorecards with the champ going into the seventh round, but his right eye was already badly swollen. Halfway through the seventh Docusen was down for a count of seven after walking into a right hook to the body, and moments later the ref had seen enough. Armstrong will have to raise his game in his next defence, especially if he meets a better 'calibre' of opponent than Docusen.

Before the uninspiring performance from Armstrong, Jose Napoles had established himself as 'no. 1 contender' in the division after a one-sided points victory over 12 rounds against Barney Ross. If and when Armstrong and Ross get together, judged on tonights performances we could be witnessing an exchange of belts.

On the undercard Thomas Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard and Sugar Ray Robinson recorded facile victories which moved them up the rankings.

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The Bantamweight division was turned on its head with the surprise points defeat of Manuel Ortiz by Charles LeDoux. The Frenchman was a worthy winner and had Ortiz on the deck in the ninth round for the fights only knockdown. Ortiz seemed to benefit from some 'friendly' judging and only just lost out by a split decision. The American was seen to be one of the 'weaker' champs but this was surprising nonetheless.

The supporting bout included a one sided TKO win for Eder Jofre over Khaosai Galaxy, who was never 'at the races'. This WBF Final Eliminator matchup was a frightening warning to the rest of the divsion. Jofre won in a canter had Galaxy on the deck three times before Cortez called the fights end due to swelling around Zarate's left eye.

In other news 'Joltin' Jeff Chandler outclassed Al Delmont over twelve rounds to win the NABF Title, whilst Carlos Zarate stopped Jose Becerra in the fifth due to swelling around Becerra's right eye to secure the LABA Title

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Vassily Jirov may have been headlining the bill at Caesars Atlantic City but Michael Spinks stole the show. The much awaited WBF Final Eliminator between Spinks and Jack Dempsey was over quicker than 'a granny on ice'. Dempsey had seen the Cruiserweight division as an easier route to a world title, but after walking on to a 'sucker' uppercut from Spinks in the first round he may wish he had stayed in the Heavies. Spinks now may take a warm up fight before he challenges Jirov and word has it that he has promised Dempsey a rematch if he can get his hands on Jirov's belt.

Jirov himself made short work of South African Piet Crous in his first defence of the WBF Title. Crous was down twice in the third round and that was enough for referee Christodoulou. Things are starting to hot up in the Cruisers and judging on Spinks earlier performance it may be wise for Jirov to 'enjoy' his next defence against one of the less dangerous Regional Champions.

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The WBF has confirmed that Jack Johnson will make the first defence of his crown against Mike Weaver at the Polo Grounds NY. The undercard is laced with talent and titles.

WBF Title - Jack Johnson (ch) V Mike Weaver 15 Rds
NABF Title/WBF Final Eliminator - Ken Norton (ch) V Joe Louis 12 Rds
EBU Title - Vitali Klitschko (ch) V Lennox Lewis 12 Rds
James Braddock V Muhammad Ali 10 Rds
Rocky Marciano V Evander Holyfield 10 Rds
Larry Holmes V Alfredo Evangelista 10 Rds

The EBU have given Klitschko permission to defend his title outside the continent.

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Jimmy Wilde made the first defence of his WBF Flyweight Title against the gallant Mzukisi Sikali at the White City in West London. Wilde started powerfully but was stopped in his tracks by a vicious uppercut from the challenger in the fifth round. Wilde took a 'breather' in the sixth then gradually regained his composure until the twelfth round when he had Sikali down twice with powerful right crosses. Wilde dominated the closing rounds but Sikali managed to 'see out' the fifteen rounds and come away from the fight with great credit.

Wilde will be looking to 'step up' on this effort in his next defence before his projected rematch with Ricardo Lopez. Wilde won his belt with a late KO against the Mexican in a tight fight. Lopez earned the right to meet Wilde by 'out powering' Michael Carbajal in an enthralling and deserved points victory. Lopez simply threw to much leather for the elusive Carbajal, who will now go in pursuit of the NABF Title.

In other Flyweight news there was a sucessful eye stoppage defence of his POBF Title by Yoko Gushiken against Sot Chitalada, and a split decision points verdict for Luis Estaba when capturing the LABA crown against Miguel Canto.

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Hungarian 'banger' Janos Nagy sent shockwaves through the boxing world with an incredible eigth round stoppage win over previously unbeaten Julio Cesar Chavez. The reigning champion looked to be close to stopping his European challenger when Nagy unleashed a barrage of punches which left referee Roberto Ramirez with no choice but to stop the contest. Even though Chavez was helpless on the ropes the decision was met with anger by the Mexican crowd. Chavez will now have to rebuild his career and indications are that he could challenge for the LABA Title.

The main supporting bout was the Final Eliminator for the WBF crown between Alexis Arguello and Rocky Lockridge. The fight started evenly until Arguello became hampered by swelling around his right eye during the third round. Lockridge then built up a small points advantage until the seventh round when he was deducted a point for a low blow. This seemed to galavanise Arguello who took command of the fight and built up a healthy points advantage, although comfortable Arguello was constantly aware of the referees interest in his eye injury. Then unluckily for Arguello the American unleashed a wicked right cross which caused a huge gash over Arguello's left eye. The referee had only one option and paved the way for Lockridge to fight for the title.

Also on the card Joel Casamayor won the LABA Jr Lightweight title with a sixth round eye injury stoppage of holder Acelino Freitas. However there was nothing fortunate about Casamayor's win as he had shown far to much for the disappointing Freitas. Casamayor had put Freitas down in the fourth with a peach of a cross and even before the referee's intervention had looked booked for a win. This excellent result has potentially set up an intriguing fight between Casamayor and Julio Cesar Chavez for the LABA Title.

Azumah Nelson advertised his claims for a shot at the WBF crown with a hard fought split decision points win over the brave Cornelius Boza-Edwards. There were no knockdowns and only domination of the later rounds allowed Nelson to squeeze a points victory.

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Benny Leonard retained his WBF Lightweight title against Lenny Mancini with a straightforward points decision. The fight was no classic as the challenger was basically outgunned. Leonard was rarely troubled and increased his hold on the fight as it progressed, he had Mancini down in both the last two rounds as fatigue set in with the challenger.

The support bout was much more entertaining. Carlos Ortiz produced a superb 'come from behind' performance to win a unanimous points verdict over Jack Blackburn. In doing so Ortiz not only retained his NABF Title but the fight was also recognised as a Final Eliminator for the world crown. The early part of the fight was evenly matched until Blackburn found his rythm and held a marginal lead with all judges going into the tenth. Ortiz then sprang into action and had levelled the bout with good work inside. The scores were even going into the last when Ortiz put the icing on the cake with right cross 'flash knockdown', that was enough to retain his belt.

As Leonard and Ortiz were teeing up a future encounter, the shadow of Roberto Duran was spreading across the division. The Panamanian handed out a brutal points defeat to Art Aragon which included two deducted points for Duran due to low blows. Duran's camp are now rumoured to be in negotiations with the Livingstone Bramble entourage with regard to a possible challenge to the current LABA champion.

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Oscar De La Hoya produced a superb display whilst coasting to a lopsided points verdict over Shane Mosley. De La Hoya made a sucessful first defence of his NABF Title, with the fight having the added significance of a WBF Final Eliminator tag. The 'Golden Boy' came out firing and took the first six rounds of the contest with a scintillating performance from behind his jab, on the flip side Mosley never got going and could only manage to share the second half of the fight.

Surely De La Hoya will provide a more examining test for the WBF Champ McCallum, than that provided by Merdhud Takaloo. In McCallum's first defence he disposed of the challenger with a four round TKO after the Brit had been badly cut over the right eye. In all honesty the cut probably did Takaloo a favour as it was already apparent that a mismatch was in progress.

Ayub Kalule produced a magnificent performance with a seventh round KO of the dangerous John 'The Beast' Mugabi. Mugabi was on the wrong end of a 'hiding' as the reigning ABF Champ won all the rounds before dispatching his fellow countryman with a vicious right cross. Kalule now looks like a legitimate challenger for WBF World honours.

Finally, Mo Hope produced a 'solid' points victory over Sandro Mazzinghi fuelling connections hopes of a WBF Elimination bout in the near future.

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Paul Jorgensen must be sick of the sight of Jem Driscoll's left jab. The reigning champ mesmerised a packed crowd at The Royal Albert Hall with a superior boxing display. Jorgensen fought a brave fight but was simply outclassed in Driscoll's first defence of his WBF World Title. The challenger was put down once in the eleventh courtesy of a right cross and again in the thirteenth by a wicked body shot. However it was significant damage to Jorgenesen's left eye which finally prompted referee John Coyle to call an end to proceedings.

Abe Attell looked to be causing something of an upset when putting Willie Pep down in the third round of their NABF/WBF Final Eliminator Featherweight bout. Things were still evenly balanced going into the the last third of the fight when Pep's boxing skills and stamina proved too much for his fellow American. If Driscoll makes a sucessful second defence of his title the match between the Brit and Pep should be a classic.

Salvador Sanchez warmed up for a crack at Vicente Saldivar's LABA Title with one sided points victory against a brave Percy Bassett. Bassett was down early in the first, victim of a vicious body shot and survived two further knockdowns to go the distance against the dangerous Mexican.

Eusebio Pedroza boosted his 'stock' no end with a stunning first round stoppage against Danny Lopez. Lopez was down twice and was pinned on the ropes and deemed by the ref as being unable to defend himself. It is likely that Pedroza will go hunting for a crack at the LABA crown, with a possibility that he may meet the winner of the forthcoming Saldivar/Sanchez fight.

The main supporting bout on the Driscoll/Jorgensen card featured an exciting draw fought out between Naseem Hamed and Marco Antonio Barrera. Hamed put Barrera down with hook in the third and received an identical reply from the Mexican in the eigth. On balance it looked that Hamed had received a more than fair reward from the local judges.

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Duilio Loi turned up the heat on Kosta Tszyu with a fourth round eye injury stoppage of Aaron Pryor. Loi boxed beautifully and had won every round before the referee intervened, Pryor had no answer to the piercing jab of the Italian and it will be interesting to see if Tszyu has the same problems that Pryor was unable to solve. Pryor's connections are hoping to arrange a challenge for Arturo Gatti's NABF Title, it may be wiser for him to line up a couple of 'softer' targets after this demoralising defeat.

Half an hour after Loi's demolition Tszyu stopped Ben Tackie with a third round eye injury TKO. It had been plain sailing for the champ up till that point. A mandatory defence against a 'regional' belt holder will be arranged, and if Tszyu overcomes that hurdle a mouth watering bout against Loi awaits.

The division also witnessed Antonio Cervantes wrestling the LABA title from Nicolino Locche with a unanimous points decision and 'rating boosting' points victories for Johnny Bumphus, Saoul Mamby and Wilfred Benitez.

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The WBF's pending decision as to whether, or not to disband the Super Middleweight class may have been made easier by Roy Jones lacklustre points victory over Egyptian Kabary Salem. There is a genuine lack of firepower in the divsion and unless the likes of Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard go up in the weights the Super Middleweight crown could be with Jones for a long while. The fight itself sparked into life in the eigth round when Salem decked Jones with a right cross, however the champ was able to weather the rest of the round and managed to put down the challenger with a right hook to the body in the thirteenth. Jones then eased his way to a wide margin points victory.

The main supporting bout and WBF Final Eliminator featured an excellent points victory for tough American Murray Sutherland over big hitting Welshman Joe Calzaghe. Sutherland was a deserving although split decision points winner and after an impressive start by Calzaghe he dominated the fight and managed to put the Welshman down with a right cross in the ninth.

Brits Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn both suffered setbacks on the Jones undercard. Eubanks was a wide margined points loser to German Sven Ottke, who showed far greater work rate than the Brit. Eubanks had 'one of his nights' when he spent to much time posturing and not enough time exerting his obvious talents against Ottke. The same criticism could not be levelled against Benn who put up his normal hearty performance against Iran Barkley, however Benn had two points deducted for holding and hitting and this ultimately cost Benn the fight and his chance to move up the ratings. A 'crossroads' bout between Benn and Eubanks is being muted.

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Gene Tunney is no longer the undefeated WBF Lt Heavyweight Champion. A twelfth round TKO stoppage due to swelling around Tunney's right eye means that unheralded Merqui Sosa wears the belt. The Dominican can now return home a hero after this upset defeat, although behind on two cards and level on the third with three rounds to go Sosa had fought an impressive and tenacious fight. Tunney put the challenger down twice in the fourth round, first with a beautiful combination and then with a follow up right hook. Sosa dealt with the setback and didn't stop coming forward, and surprisingly although looking likely to win, Tunney found Sosa a difficult opponent. Tunney now has to rebuild his career whilst Sosa can look forward to a lucrative defence against a top twenty ranked opponent.

Sosa should pick his next challenger or two with care as Mauro Mina awaits. The Peruvian was awesome in his TKO stoppage of Tommy Loughran. The referee called an end to proceedings at the start of the last round as a dissapointed Loughran was deemed unable to defend himself adequately due to an eye injury. Mina was ahead on all scorecards and just showed too much power for the American. Mina will now have to be patient after this final eliminator victory and a pre title fight warm up is now being planned.

The EBU Light Heavyweight Title fight between Len Harvey and John Conteh was one for the purists, both boxed technically well and Harvey retained his title with a unanimous points decision.

[meade95]

Originally Posted by Tosti

The supporting bout included a one sided TKO win for Eder Jofre over Khaosai Galaxy, who was never 'at the races'. This WBF Final Eliminator matchup was a frightening warning to the rest of the divsion. Jofre won in a canter had Galaxy on the deck three times before Cortez called the fights end due to swelling around Zarate's left eye.

A very surprising result - But what do you have Khaosai Galaxy's ratings at? Have you tweaked them at all? (TBCB is the best boxing sim by far...but they have some problems with the lower weight guys and their ratings) -

Galaxy's ratings definitely need a tweak up from the version that comes with the game - While anything is possible in a given fight.....I'd bet the farm on Galaxy beating Jofre in a real fight - .

Keep up the good work. Nice to read.

[meade95]

Originally Posted by Tosti

On the undercard Jeff Fenech and Paulie Ayala fought an entertaining draw over 12 rounds. The fight was a WBF Jr Feather Final Eliminator. The two fighters will be hooking up again in the near future.

Good match-up ...I have never had these two fight (because Fenech is in the FW and or JLW div in my world) - But again, surprised that Ayala could handle Fenech at that weight for a full 12 rds.

I would have guessed Fenech with a late TKO or commanding Dec.

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Hi Meade

I agree with you about some of the ratings in the lower divisions, and I think Galaxy is underrated. I'm trying to read up more on the 'smaller guys' but re-rating is difficult, mind you there is a lot of boxing knowledge on this site. It would be nice if we could uncover an Asian boxing expert!

[meade95]

Originally Posted by Tosti

Hi Meade

I agree with you about some of the ratings in the lower divisions, and I think Galaxy is underrated. I'm trying to read up more on the 'smaller guys' but re-rating is difficult, mind you there is a lot of boxing knowledge on this site. It would be nice if we could uncover an Asian boxing expert!

I have 10 Galaxy fights on tape - And trust me he is well under-rated in TBCB. I also have many other asian fighters on tape....and from there I can help with weighting adjustments.

Sung Kil Moon was also a very solid champion at JBW around the same time as Galaxy.....he is a step below Galaxy...but he definitely would have held a title today at the JBW division.

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Carlos Monzon made his first title defence against Britains Jock McAvoy. The challenger put Monzon down for a 'flash' knockdown in the third round, and although McAvoy demonstrated his undoubted punching power Monzon was simply too good. Referee Arthur Mercante stopped the fight half way through the seventh round due to severe swelling around both eyes, at the time of the stoppage Monzon was three points to the good.

Jake LaMotta wrestled the NABF Middleweight title from Mike O'Dowd in a somewhat subdued affair with a split decision points win. O'Dowd started smartly and won the first four rounds, at this point it looked as if O'Dowd would hold on to his crown and would be looking forward to meeting Monzon for a crack at the world title, however he seemed to 'back off' from LaMotta who as ever needed no excuses. LaMotta won the last four rounds and now a big payday in Argentina awaits.

Marcel Cerdan was a twelfth round KO winner against Sumbu Kalambay, a vicious hook to the body from Cerdan gave the Frenchman the belt. It was an allround excellent performance from Cerdan and he is now likely to be lobbying for a crack at Monzon.

In other divisional news, Marvin Hagler 'pummelled' Tiger Flowers to a ten rounds points victory, whilst Jose Basora won a shock points decision against Harry Greb.