The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[kenyan_cheena]

CHUVALO RUNS HOT AND COLD IN MONTREAL

Wednesday 20 February 2002

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA:

In a wildly-uneven performance, Canada's George Chuvalo improved his professional boxing record to 2-0 with a unanimous decision victory over Philadelphia's Al Ettore.

Fighting in his homeland for the first time, the #12 seed in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament made an uneasy start, struggling to find his range in the opening stanza and failing to land a punch of any substance until late in the round. Meanwhile, Ettore had spent the round picking Chuvalo off with volume rather than power, connecting with a number of clean shots to the body and head.

Chuvalo, who entered the ring in a robe of red and white adorned with the Canadian flag, must have been feeling a sickening sense of deja vu when he returned to his corner after the first round. In his debut against England's Brian London last month, Chuvalo had made a similarly uncertain start to the bout. But whereas against London he had been unable to get anything going until round four, against Ettore Chuvalo's fightback started immediately. He came out in the second round and dominated, rocking Ettore with damaging combinations and two separate uppercuts at either end of the round that brought howls of approval from the partisan crowd. The punishment continued into rounds three and four, as Chuvalo showed extended periods of brilliance that had only been glimpsed at in his debut. It was big power punches that were getting the job done for him. The Toronto native unleashed a savage beating upon Ettore in the fourth, to the point where referee Ken Morita appeared to be only moments from stopping the fight when the bell signalled the end of the round.

But then, something strange and, quite frankly, inexplicable happened. Chuvalo allowed Ettore back in the fight. It may have been as a result of his workrate in the previous three rounds. It may have been overconfidence or some kind of belief that his opponent had nothing left. Whatever it was, George Chuvalo gave the fifth round to Al Ettore on a platter, simply by sitting back and cruising. And Ettore won the round quite easily, mostly due to an active opening seventy seconds, during which he landed no less than four separate multi-punch combinations.

So, despite his dominance of the middle rounds (and whether he knew it or not), 19 year-old George Chuvalo was in a position where, going into the final round, he needed to win the round to make sure that he would win the fight. His trainer told him as much during the intermission.

In his HBF debut last month, 18 year-old Ettore had received what many called a lucky break when his bout against the #21 seed Ray Mercer was halted in the third round as a result of a terrible cut Ettore had sustained from his own accidental headbutt. The technical draw result saved Ettore from certain defeat. Tonight, against Chuvalo, he seemed to have been handed another lucky break when Chuvalo had taken his foot off the gas in the fifth round, enabling Ettore to win the round and still be in with a chance to win the bout. Well, Ettore wasn't able to take advantage of this lucky break. In the sixth round, George Chuvalo come out and, from the start, pounded the Philadelphia native into submission. The #12 seed didn't let up, overwhelming Ettore with a display of boxing that was resolute to the extreme. Before Ettore knew it, the round was over, and he was staggering back to his corner.

Five minutes later, the judge's verdicts were announced: winner by unanimous decision, GEORGE CHUVALO! Two of the judges had scored the fight 58-56, while the third had been even more impressed by Chuvalo, giving it to him 59-55.

***

Chuvalo sighed when asked what he felt of his performance.

"I'm not even close to satisfied," he said. "Sure, it was better than last month, but that's saying nothing. Honestly, he was at my mercy at the end of the fourth, so I should have been able to finish it in the fifth round. But not only did I fail to do that, I actually let him back into the fight."

"Still, being 2-0 must make you happy," said ESPN's Bill Farris.

Chuvalo laughed and smiled. "It's expected," he said. "We aren't at a stage yet when I can say "I'm happy." If I'm still undefeated after I fight Ray Mercer, I'll be happy."

"This audience really loves you, don't they?" Farris said, smiling.

This comment brought a loud round of applause from the capacity Bell Centre crowd.

Chuvalo smiled again. "What can I say about these wonderful people?" he said. "They've given me more support than I could have even hoped for. Ever since November when the HBF announced the tournament seeds, they've been behind me one-hundred percent. I couldn't ask for greater fans. Thank you, all of you, so much." Chuvalo pounded his chest lightly as he said these last words. "I just want to say one more thing, to all the Canadians watching tonight. There's another guy in this tournament named Sammy Langford-"

Before Chuvalo could even finish saying Langford's name, the audience had started in with applause. Chuvalo waited for it to die down before continuing.

"You may not know, but next month, he's going to be fighting here at home also. I just think it would be so great, if as many of you as possible can make it a priority to get out and support Sammy next month. He's a great guy, and I hope you'll all cheer him on."

Chuvalo's kind words for his compatriot drove the audience into a frenzy of applause and cheers, and as Chuvalo made his way back to the dressing room, they honored him with a standing ovation...

[kenyan_cheena]

THE MONTREAL UNDERCARD

Opening Bout

In his HBF debut last month, California's Carl Morris took his opponent Johnny Riggins much too lightly and, as a result, lost the bout by a close split decision.

Tonight, the 12th seed in the 1st Defense tournament was all business, dominating Philadelphia's Don Warner and flooring him in the fourth round on the way to a comfortable unanimous decision victory. Morris held the upper hand in each round save for the third, with the final verdict reading 59-54, 57-56, 59-54.

Preliminary 1

Cuba's Nino Valdes put on another impressive display following on from his six round shut-out of Don Warner last month.

Tonight, the 17 year-old gave Johnny Riggins a boxing lesson, imposing his will over the Washington native in the first three rounds before knocking him out 37 seconds from the final bell.

Riggins had been expected to give the #5 seed in the 1st Defense tournament some trouble, as he had grafted out a tough split decision victory over #12 seed Carl Morris on debut. Riggins showed some promise in the fourth and fifth rounds, but most watching at ringside agreed that it was more a result of Valdes easing off than any improvement by Riggins himself. The Cuban showed in the final round that he could have probably disposed of Riggins earlier if he had wanted to, a single flush right hand sending Riggins to the canvas for the full count.

Preliminary 2

The night's first World Championship tournament bout featured two fighters from opposite sides of the United States.

19 year-old Tommy Gomez of Tampa, Florida had achieved victory on debut against New York's Tommy Jackson in a tough, bruising contest.

California's Rueben Vargas had performed admirably in his own debut, before losing a split decision to another Florida fighter, the towering Al Jones of Miami.

Tonight, the two men clashed in a very entertaining bout. The 53rd seed in the World Championship tournament, Gomez started fast, overwhelming Vargas and landing a series of hard shots in the final minute of round one.

The second round was a much more even affair ... at least for 2:57 of it. Gomez landed a wicked cross three seconds from the bell that sent Vargas staggering backwards and, eventually, falling in a heap to the canvas. Saved by the bell, the Californian gingerly made his way back to his corner.

As the bell signified the start of round three, many in the audience sensed that the end was near. Gomez was dominant through two minutes, and it did seem that it was more a case of when rather than if. But then, from out of nowhere, Vargas launched a furious fightback. A winging right hand snapped Gomez's head around, and two separate combinations during the final twenty seconds of the round rocked the favourite, setting him back on his heels. Gomez was shaking his head with disappointment as he returned to his corner.

The fourth round followed a similar pattern, with Gomez dominant early before Vargas fought back in the back half of the round. Going into the fifth round, Vargas was still in with a chance, despite the fact that his left eye was badly swollen. His resurgence had led to two of the judges having him trailing by just a single point.

Sadly, the Vargas comeback ended quite abruptly. 1:50 into the fifth, Gomez caught the #85 seed with a crushing right hand that took Vargas's legs away. It was immediately followed by a left hook, a right hook, and a brutal right uppercut that sent Vargas, already out on his feet, crumbling to the canvas. He did not move, and was counted out 2:02 into the fifth round...

Support Bout

Miami's 6'6" giant Al Jones may look like he is capable of being a destructive force in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation, but as the saying goes ... looks can be deceiving.

In his debut last month, Jones had been lucky to earn a split decision victory over the game Rueben Vargas. Tonight, he was even less impressive while being outhustled by the 69th seed in the tournament, New York's Tommy Jackson.

All three judges scored the bout in Jackson's favour, 58-56.

Jones is the 37th seed in the World Championship tournament and has made what could only be described as an underwhelming start to his professional career.

Co-Feature

Ray Mercer was bitterly disappointed after his HBF debut against Al Ettore ended as a 3rd round Technical Draw due to an accidental headbutt. Mercer had been dominating Ettore, but instead of a likely victory, he had to settle for a draw and the knowledge that, by the end of the night, he would almost certainly be half-a-win behind the top seed in the group, George Chuvalo.

Tonight, Mercer let out five weeks of pent-up frustration, unleashing a beating upon England's Brian London in the opening two rounds.

To his credit, London rebounded to show a steely resolve in the third and fourth rounds, during which he, at the very least, held his own with Mercer.

That was as good as it got for London, as the 21st-seeded Mercer re-asserted his will in the fifth. He dropped the Englishman with a crushing left hook and finished him off in the final round when a wicked rib shot had London on one knee, struggling to catch his breath as the referee counted him out.

"I was so hungry to show what I'm capable of," Mercer said. "It's been pretty hard waiting for tonight, and I'm more-or-less happy with my performance. I probably came out a bit too aggressive, and that led to me slowing down a little in the middle rounds. But, it's something I can build on as the tournament progresses. I have to give Brian a lot of credit. He's a tough guy."

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
WEDNESDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2002
BELL CENTRE, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA



OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
2(12) Carl Morris UD6 8(60) Don Warner

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
1(5) Nino Valdes KO6 7(52) Johnny Riggins

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
4(53) Tommy Gomez KO5 6(85) Rueben Vargas

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
5(69) Tommy Jackson UD6 3(37) Al Jones

CO-FEATURE

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
2(21) Ray Mercer KO6 8(117) Brian London

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
1(12) George Chuvalo UD6 7(101) Al Ettore

[kenyan_cheena]

OLYMPIC CHAMPION LEWIS ITCHING
TO START PRO CAREER

Thursday 21 February 2002

story by David Gomez for espn.com

Back in early December, Canada's Lennox Lewis announced his intention to compete as a professional boxer under the banner of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation.

Lewis had taken the gold medal in the Super-Heavyweight division at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, defeating Brooklyn's Riddick Bowe in the final by what some called a controversial 2nd round TKO.

When the HBF announced its formation and plans for a World Championship tournament in September 2001, there was almost unanimous consensus that Lewis would compete. However, a serious illness in his family prevented him from making the trip to New York in October to audition for the tournament, and so he was unable to take part.

Once the medical emergency with his family had passed, Lewis contacted the HBF and soon after, declared his status as a professional boxer. The federation conjured up what was called the New York State Championship, which just appeared to be a gimmick to bring Lewis into the pro arena.

But then, on the 17th of January, the HBF announced that the NYS Championship had been scrapped and that they had created a group of seven international feeder leagues, one of which would be located in Canada. This suited Lewis just fine, and it was announced that he would make his pro debut as a competitor in the Canadian Boxing League.

Well, that debut is now just a matter of five days away and, putting it mildly, Lennox Lewis simply can't wait to get in the ring.

"It's been pretty difficult watching all these other guys fighting each week," the 24 year-old Lewis said. "Waiting for my debut has been the hardest thing, even more so than the training itself."

The first fight card of the HBF's Canadian Boxing League will take place on Tuesday night at the Molson Centre in Montreal, Quebec, with Lewis the #1 seed. His opponent will be 22 year-old Missouri native Joe Cox who at 6'5" stands as tall as Lewis.

"I don't really know too much about him, obviously," Lewis said. "But I think that if I perform to my ability, that won't matter."

Born in West Ham, London, Lewis moved to Canada with his family when he was twelve. They settled in Kitchener, Ontario and still reside there.

"Canada has been good to our family, and to me," Lewis said. "I really do feel like this is where we belong."

Another resident of Ontario has been less than complimentary towards Lennox Lewis. Jamaican-born Donovan Ruddock is the 20th seed in the HBF's World Championship tournament. He lives in Weston, to the south-east of Kitchener, and was quite vocal in his objections towards the publicity that Lewis received back in December after he turned professional. Ruddock has since declared that he looks forward to the day when he clashes with Lewis in the professional arena.

Lewis smiled and shrugged when asked about Ruddock's animosity towards him.

"That's easy to explain," Lewis said. "I knocked him out of the qualifying for the Sydney Olympics. I beat him up for three rounds, and I guess he just hasn't come to terms with that yet. He's looking for some retribution. But you know, it's just like with Riddick Bowe. I defeated him aswell, and he has said that he's keen to fight me again. Personally, I'd be happy to fight them both again, but unfortunately, with the HBF tournament set-up, there's no chance of that happening in the immediate future."

Lewis was complimentary with his words regarding the two men who have the best chance of bringing the inaugural HBF World Championship to Canada, Sam Langford and George Chuvalo.

"They've both started their careers with some good wins," Lewis said. "Langford has just been fantastic, I have to say. And Chuvalo, well he was just dynamic last night. It's really going to be interesting to see how far they go in the tournament. I'm looking forward to competing with them in the future. I think there will really be some competitve pride between the four of us: Langford, Chuvalo, Ruddock and myself over which one of us is the best Canada has to offer. I'm looking forward to that."

An eloquent speaker, Lewis still has a hint of the English accent he took with him to Canada a dozen years ago. Since his triumph at the Olympics last year and, in particular, since announcing his move to the pro ranks, Lewis has become something of an advertiser's dream in Canada. He has signed a number of endorsement deals, and his stock will only rise if his pro career proves to be as successful as his amateur one was.

On Tuesday night, Lennox Lewis will take the first step towards making that dream a reality...

[CONN CHRIS]

Is a date set for Mann v. Ross yet?

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Is a date set for Mann v. Ross yet?

Hey, Chris. With the set-up for my tournament fight cards, each "group" fights once every five weeks. Nathan's group had their last bouts on 15 February, so their next card will take place on 22 March. Still some way off.

I've been pretty slow with this lately, mainly because I've been experiencing some internet problems with my home PC for the past two weeks. That's made it difficult. I actually copied some bout logs to MS Word, saved them and brought them to work and made one of my posts during my lunch break!

[kenyan_cheena]

Note: Lennox Lewis post (#204) edited and completed

[kenyan_cheena]

GERMAN CROWD SHOWS ENTHUSIASM AS
SOUTHERN EUROPE BOXING LEAGUE MAKES DEBUT

Thursday 21 February 2002

A skillful young Russian and a quick-fisted German made impressive starts to their professional boxing careers tonight as action in the HBF's Southern Europe Boxing League started from the Waldbuhne in Berlin, Germany.

21 year-old Genadi Yantchev is the #1 seed in the league, and he didn't disappoint in carving out a six round unanimous decision victory (58-56, 59-55, 58-56) over Slovenia's Drago Bencek in the night's Main Event.

Home town boy Marcus Stober was untroubled on his way to a similar result against a Lithuanian by the name of Leonidas Jaskucionis. Stober was victorious by scores of 58-56, 59-55 and 59-56, to the delight of the Berlin crowd. Stober landed a total of 191 punches at an impressive 57%.

Earlier on in the night, South Africa's #6 seed Shakes Qoboza got things started with a unanimous decision victory over Spain's Pablo Ramirez. Bulgaria's Alexander Dafouska did the same against Italy's Nini Perroni, before another Italian by the name of Vittorio Campolo and Belgium's Jean-Pierre Coopman slugged it out in a highly entertaining drawn bout.

The fourth bout brought what could be called the only upset result of the night, when the #3 seed Hans Birkie left his countrymen disappointed when he dropped a unanimous decision to Croatia's Lovro Alanovic.

The Southern Europe Boxing League is probably the lightest of the HBF's feeder leagues as far as talent goes, but despite this, some boxing experts believe that it has unveiled a future star in the Russian Genadi Yantchev. Quiet and unassuming, this young man may just end up with the unenviable task of carrying the boxing hopes of his entire nation on his shoulders. Only time will tell if he is up to the task.


SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
THURSDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2002
WALDBUHNE, BERLIN, GERMANY

THE SOUTHERN EUROPE BOXING LEAGUE


OPENING BOUT

(6) Shakes Qoboza UD6 (10) Pablo Ramirez

PRELIMINARY 1

(5) Alexander Dafouska UD6 (9) Nini Perroni

PRELIMINARY 2

(4) Vittorio Campollo D6 (8) Jean-Pierre Coopman

SUPPORT BOUT

(7) Lovro Alanovic UD6 (3) Hans Birkie

CO-FEATURE

(2) Markus Stober UD6 (11) Leonidas Jaskucionis

MAIN EVENT

(1) Genadi Yantchev UD6 (12) Drago Benchek

[kenyan_cheena]

BOXING EXPANSION TALK GOES INTO OVERDRIVE

Friday 22 February 2002

In a SportsCenter exclusive, Olympic gold medallists Ray Leonard and Michael Spinks revealed that they have both been contacted within the past two days by individuals claiming to represent the "unnamed businessmen" who met with HBF President Michael Vincennes on the 7th of February to discuss a possible expansion of the federation.

That meeting was sensationally documented in an article penned by James Reynolds in the 13 February edition of the New York Age. The Reynolds article set off a storm of speculation and rumour and, in addition, did not please Vincennes one bit. Although not denying that the meeting took place, Vincennes stated that the HBF had no immediate plans to expand, and the fact that Reynolds did not contact him before writing the story angered him.

In the nine days since the story was published, Vincennes has spoken some heated words on the subject on at least two occasions, the last time being during an interview on SportsCenter this past Wednesday. For his part, Reynolds has maintained his innocence in the matter, believing that Vincennes has overreacted in his opposition to the article.

Well, on tonight's edition of SportsCenter, Olympic Champions Ray Leonard of Maryland (Light-Welterweight) and Michael Spinks of St. Louis (Middleweight) both stated that they had spoken to individuals said to be representing the "unnamed businessmen" that sparked off the whole controversy by meeting with Vincennes.

"There's not a lot I can reveal about the conversation," Leonard said. "I guess you could say that these people are quite secretive. They didn't allow James Reynolds to disclose their identities, and they asked the same of myself. They didn't want me to make public the details of what they told me. All I can say is that what they have planned is, without a doubt, very impressive. If you think the sport of boxing is popular now, just wait and see what happens. The vision that these people have for the sport is just going to make it explode."

Spinks confirmed that he was told pretty much the same thing.

"These people are ambitious," said Spinks. "But I could tell when I spoke to them that they aren't just businessmen looking to make a buck. They seem to have a genuine love and passion for the sport. Just talking to them got me excited about the future, I tell you."

Without a doubt, the revelations of Leonard and Spinks will surely be back page news tomorrow, and might give HBF President Michael Vincennes some reason for concern as he continues to guide the Heavyweight Boxing Federation through its first year of existence...

[kenyan_cheena]

ATLANTIC CITY ANNIHILATION!
NORTON FLOORS FERGUSON WITH A SINGLE PUNCH FOR 2ND ROUND KNOCKOUT!

Friday 22 February 2002

24 year-old Californian Ken Norton made a seismic-sized statement tonight at the Caesars Atlantic City Hotel-Casino when he knocked out Philadelphia's Jesse Ferguson with a single, crushing uppercut midway through the second round.

In the months since the federation's tournament auditions, the San Diego native has garnered more attention for his impressive, chiselled physique than for his boxing skills, despite the fact that he is the 13th seed in the HBF's World Championship tournament. His debut bout against Tom McNeeley last month didn't do that much to change this attitude. But tonight, Norton put on a display that will surely make the majority of boxing commentators and observers stand up and take notice.

Norton had weighed in for the bout at a trim, ready 210 pounds. Standing 6'3", the former marine entered the ring in a robe and trunks of powder blue, white and gold, a tribute to the throwback unforms of his favourite sporting team, the San Diego Chargers.

From the opening bell, Norton was all over his uncertain, hesitant opponent. Ferguson, who had done little on debut against Donovan Ruddock, showed a defensive mindset in the first stanza, weary of the power in Norton's fists. The Philadelphia native clinched at every opportunity. Despite this, Norton caught the 100th seed with at least half-a-dozen damaging blows in the round. Norton returned to his corner confident and happy with his performance and the audience showed that they too were suitably impressed.

Norton's intentions seemed clear as the second round got under way. He abandoned the jab and was looking to finish his man off, loading up with heavy punches. To his credit, Ferguson did quite a good job of evading most of Norton's thunder, and even landed a few punches of his own. He was putting up a much better showing than he had in the first round ... at least for the first 71 seconds.

Hemmed into a neutral corner, Ferguson fired away with a left hook, which Norton evaded and countered with a right uppercut that was a brutal, sickening thing of beauty. Ferguson's head snapped back and sideways and he slumped, as if shot, into the ropes and crumbled to the canvas. The blow brought an awe-struck howl from the audience, and many of them leapt from their seats and applauded as Norton nonchalantly made his way to the opposite corner, his expression akin to that of an assassin with ice running through his veins.

It appeared obvious that a count was not necessary, as Ferguson was out cold. Nonetheless, referee Vincent Rainone stood over the motionless fighter and counted him out, 1:23 into the second round...

[kenyan_cheena]

"Maybe this will make some of you guys take me seriously," Norton said soon after. "You know, the federation made me the thirteenth seed in this tournament, but some of you media guys have just been looking at me like I'm a body, a physique, and nothing else. I really believe that I've got the skills to give this tournament a shake."

ESPN's Jay Marlow nodded. "I'd have to agree with you 100%, Ken. That right uppercut that knocked out Jesse Ferguson ... I don't think I've seen a more devastating single punch knockout so far in these tournaments."

"Well, thank you for that, man. I want everyone to know that I'm deadly serious about this. Some of these fellas that you're all in love with ... Bowe, Tunney, Liston ... don't get too caught up with them, man. You might miss out on something."

With that, Norton left the ring. Many at ringside stayed after he had left, commenting on the change in the Californian slugger's personality during his post-fight interview. He had presented a much more reserved disposition following his debut last month. The Norton on display tonight was extroverted, talkative, as if he was going out of his way to sell himself.

The reaction amongst those discussing Norton was almost unanimously favourable. The 13th seed showed with his words, almost as much as with his fists, that he will indeed be a player in this fascinating Heavyweight Boxing Federation World Championship tournament...

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

... copied some bout logs to MS Word, saved them and brought them to work and made one of my posts during my lunch break!

I apologize for the aside, but have you found a way to get around the coding issues (or whatever the problem is) with cutting and pasting from MS Word?

Thanks again for the enjoyable write-ups!

[kenyan_cheena]

Sorry, Chris. I haven't. What I meant was that I opened the bout log, highlighted and copied it and then pasted it into Word. I did this for each bout log that was featured on the fight card I was going to write about in my next thread post. I saved the Word file on disk and took it to work with me.

During my lunch break, I opened up Notepad, the Word file and my HBF thread.
I wrote up the post using Notepad, accessing the thread and the Word file for the information I needed. When I finished the post, I returned to the thread and posted it, copying and pasting from Notepad as I usually do.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

Thanks again for the enjoyable write-ups!

Thanks for showing so much interest. It makes me happy that you and others are enjoying this thread. I am in it for the long haul, because I'm enjoying it so much myself.

[Brooks TVB]

Keep up the good work Kenyan. Your write ups are first class.

[GForce]

I like your willingness to play with the fighters' personalities. I've meant to in the Federal Boxing Alliance, just feel like I'm going to misrepresent somebody. But it definitely adds to the tale.

GH

[kenyan_cheena]

THE ATLANTIC CITY UNDERCARD

OPENING BOUT

In their HBF debuts last month, Connecticut's Bernie Reynolds had grinded out a majority decision victory over Spain's Alfredo Evangelista while Norway's Steffen Tangstad had been unlucky to lose a split decision to New York's Wayne Bethea.

Tonight, the two men contested what was for the main, a one-sided bout. The Norwegian fighter dominated Reynolds for much of the fight, coming up big in the first, second, fourth and fifth rounds and taking the verdict by unanimous decision, 59-55 on all three judge's cards. Reynolds finished the bout cut, bloodied and bruised, with Tangstad throwing almost 300 more punches and landing almost twice as many (161 at 34% to 85 at 47%).

As a result, both Reynolds (29th seed in the 1st Defense tournament) and Tangstad (45th seed) are 1-1.

PRELIMINARY 1

As Steffen Tangstad had done in the night's opening bout, Alfredo Evangelista of Spain scored a victory over a higher-seeded opponent. Evangelista won a hard-fought majority decision over the 21st seed in the 1st Defense tournament, Wayne Bethea of New York.

Looking at the punch totals, one could say that it would be hard to find a more closer, evenly-contested fight. Bethea landed 143 punches while Evangelista landed 141. Both fighters missed exactly 192 punches. It was a bout that d