The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[kenyan_cheena]

FLORIDA ALLIANCE MEMBERS HAVE
NO REGRETS OVER "MANCHESTER INCIDENT"

Tuesday 2 April 2002

In an interview conducted at noon and to be shown on this evening's edition of SportsCenter, 17 year-old Florida boxer Elmer Ray said that none of the members of the "Florida Alliance" have any regrets about their actions during the brawl in Manchester last Wednesday.

"Wouldn't change a thing, y'all," Ray said, speaking from Bally's in Atlantic City. "What, y'all sayin' we should o' jus' 'turn the other cheek'? Someone throw down on us, we gonna throw back, man. Ain't no messin' with that, see? Bunch o' y'all spreadin' some real nonsense rumours, man, sayin' this brawl gonna break up the Florida Alliance. Anyone sayin' that, I tell y'all right now, they ain't got no interest in this 'lliance, man. They tryin' t' be a destroyer, no doubt. We stronger in our bond than ever before, see? Wednesday night, O-Mac gonna take care o' business and we be 11-0 then, man."

Ray was asked about the fines handed out by the HBF.

"Well, Pres' Vincennes tellin' us not to talk on it, y'all," he replied. "Only say how we feel, I guess. Sure, we disappointed to be fined. No doubt 'bout that. I ain't gonna say anythin' 'gainst Mr. Vincennes, though. He been a great leader for the HBF, and he had t' do what he had to do, see? But, like I say earlier, none o' us would do anythin' diff'rent in the same sit. You gonna trade shots with Florida, you gonna know about it."

Following the Wednesday night Atlantic City fight card, the Florida Alliance will return to their home state for the first time since 7 March. The locations of their bouts has led to them travelling, in turn, from Florida to Australia to Philadelphia (via New York) to Manchester and back to New York again.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

"Ain't ever been away from home this long," said Ray. "Been gettin' kinda home sick this pas' week, gotta say. But it's been a lotta fun, so we ain't complainin'."

Indeed, following Wednesday night, the next fight card that involves a member of the Florida Alliance is the 18 April Thailand event, where Terone Haynes will be the headline act for the South-East Asian Boxing League.

"We all discuss it when we comin' back from the UK," Ray said. "Just gonna be O-Mac accompanyin' T on that one, 'cause my next fight jus' eight days after his. We gotta really take this thing serious, see? Gettin' to the real serious stages now, man."

Ray went on to say that he's very interested in Friday week's fight card in Argentina, where another Florida fighter who's not yet connected with the Alliance has a big challenge on his hands. Tony Alongi, who hails from the same town as Oliver McCall (Fort Lauderdale) will clash with the World Championship tournament's 15th seed, Jack Sharkey. Alongi, the 82nd seed, has been impressively victorious in his opening two bouts, both against higher-seeded opposition. Sharkey was famously TKO'd on debut, but put on a strong showing second time out.

"Jus' a great chance for Alongi, man," said Ray. "Been wan'in' to talk to the dude ever since we see him on that Boston card. We be watchin' next week, no doubt, but maybe we try talkin' to him before then."

***

Meanwhile, down in Jacksonville, Florida, Ray Mercer is not happy with the $4,000 fine the HBF leveled against him. Still sporting a plaster strip across the bridge of his nose, the 21st seed in the World Championship tournament made his feelings known, in no uncertain terms.

"Doesn't make much sense to me at all," he said. "My nose gets split open and I have to give them back $4,000? That's just crazy. What's President Vincennes gonna say if this injury has an effect in my next bout, huh? Hell, I'm not even sure if it will be healed by then. I'm just pissed at this whole situation."

Mercer was on the first plane to Jacksonville after the meeting at the federation's Manhattan head office, and he fired back when questioned about the fact that it was one of his own entourage that threw the first punch during the Manchester brawl.

"If those crazy fools hadn't tried to stir up a situation, nothing would have happened," Mercer said. "Sure, they're all sayin' that they weren't gonna throw no punches, but that's just bull, man. Oliver McCall knew exactly what he was doing. He was just looking for trouble, and once it started, the whole bunch of 'em were more than happy to show their true colours. They're just thugs, man. Plain and simple."

It's been said today that President Vincennes played diplomat during yesterday's Manhattan meeting, trying to bring Mercer and the Alliance to some sort of reconciliation. If that's true, Mercer's comments would seem to indicate that he was not successful.

Only time will tell if we've heard the last of this "Florida feud", but if I was a gambling man, I know where I'd be putting my money...

***

VINCENNES AND BOWE GO OUT TO THE BALLGAME

Almost forgotten in all the discussion over Mercer, McCall and co. was the appearance last night at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn of HBF President Michael Vincennes and World Championship tournament 5th seed Riddick Bowe.

The two threw opening pitches at the Dodgers home opener against the New Jersey Titans, and were given a warm welcome by the near-capacity crowd.

Bowe showed that he's got a pretty good arm, firing his pitch down the middle but just a bit high out of the strike zone, while Vincennes put his offspeed effort down and inside.

"It's just so great to be here," said Vincennes, decked out in a Dodgers sloppy joe and cap. "After the last week, this is just a really great release, to come out to Ebbets and see the Dodgers in action."

"This team's been a huge part of my life," Bowe said. "You know, they say that Brooklynites, we don't bleed red, man. We bleed blue. That's how I feel about the Dodgers, man. They're my team, and this is my town."

[kenyan_cheena]

TERRIFIC IN TORONTO:
LEWIS WINS IN DOMINANT STYLE

Tuesday 2 April 2002

Spurred on by an enthusiastic Maple Leaf Gardens audience, Canada's Olympic Champion Lennox Lewis improved his professional record to 2-0(1) tonight with another comprehensive victory.

Following on from his debut TKO of Missouri native Joe Cox, Lewis was victorious by unanimous decision (59-54, 59-55, 59-54) against New York's Carmine Vingo.

It was an effort that was almost as impressive as that debut of five weeks ago, with Vingo tasting the canvas midway through the final round.

Lewis took his foot off the pedal somewhat in the fourth, allowing Vingo to win the round (the only one he took in the entire fight).

The #1 seed in the Canadian Boxing League, Lewis has been untroubled in his two professional bouts, something he spoke of in the moments after the verdict was announced.

"You know, thank the Lord that I've had no problems so far," he said. "I'm ambitious in regards to how I want my career to progress and, no disrespect to my opponents, I'm not planning for any defeats in the near future. These early fights are going to be really beneficial down the track."

Indeed, at 6'5", 215 pounds, Lewis appears to have all the tools to go far in the professional ranks. He was asked if he wishes that he was competing in the World Championship tournament.

"In a word, "no"," he replied. "I've studied the schedule for the next few years in the HBF, as I'm sure some of the guys contending in the two tournaments have, aswell. It's going to be mighty tough for the fighters who are ranked in, say, the top 20 once all these tournaments are over. They're going to be tested every time they step foot in the ring. Now, fellas like myself and the other feeder league contenders, we'll have a good couple of years to work our way up from the bottom of the World Rankings. Again, no offense to my future opponents, but that will be an easier route. The experience I gain in the next few years will be invaluable. I really believe that."

UNDERCARD ACTION

* 7th seed Lou Bailey of Illinois scored his second split decision victory when he defeated Canada's Jack Munroe 57-56, 55-58, 57-56.

Munroe made a great start, winning the first and then dropping Bailey in the second. But Bailey mounted a stirring comeback, sweeping the final four rounds on two of the cards to secure an unlikely victory.

While it was Bailey's second split decision victory, it was Munroe's second split decision defeat, and he showed his frustration soon after the verdict was revealed.

* In another tight contest, Montreal's 8th seed Brett Ashby pulled off something of an upset with a split decision victory over the #5 seed Joe Lannon (58-56, 56-58, 58-56).

Ashby is 1-1 while Lannon fell to 0-2.

* 4th-seeded New Brunswick native John Ferguson had little trouble in moving to 2-0 as he cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Missouri's Joe Cox, 59-54, 58-56, 59-55.

* In a fight that was a great example of absolutely blowing a certain victory, Florida's Tim Anderson rallied in the last two rounds to secure an extraordinary draw against Toronto local and league 3rd seed Larry Gains.

Having pitched a shutout through four rounds, Gains slackened off in the fifth, and that was all the sniff Anderson needed. He took the round and continued to beat a tiring Gains to the punch in the final round before sensationally flooring the hometown favourite twice in the final minute of the fight. As a result, he took the round 10-7, leading to a final verdict of 56-56 on all three cards.

The celebrations in Anderson's corner were akin to winning a World Championship bout. By contrast, Gains wore an expression of absolute torment.

The Toronto native had been upset on debut by Lou Bailey in a disputed split decision verdict, and tonight's result was even more of a body blow to his chances of taking part in the tournament semi-finals.

* Lennox Lewis might be the big favourite to win the Canadian Boxing League's initial tournament, but those who discount Montreal's Robert Cleroux will do so at their own peril.

Cleroux, the league's 2nd seed, improved to 2-0 with a performance every bit as impressive as the one that Lewis put on in the main event, defeating 10th-seeded New Yorker Bobby Halpern by a dominant unanimous decision, 60-53, 59-54, 60-53. He landed 157 punches (100 more than Halpern) and, like Lewis, sent his opponent to the canvas in the final round.

The fact that Cleroux was a late inclusion in the tournament makes his success all the more extraordinary. Having never before boxed competitively, he impressed HBF scouts enough in a single sparring session for them to make him the #2 seed. He's shown in his first two bouts that he'll be capable of giving the Olympic Champion a testing time when the two inevitably meet.

Boxing experts who have previously considered Canada's best hopes for success as being a quartet might have to change that opinion. Canada definitely has a quintet of fighters who will surely make some noise in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation for many years to come...

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
TUESDAY 2 APRIL 2002
MAPLE LEAF GARDENS, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

THE CANADIAN BOXING LEAGUE


OPENING BOUT

(7) Lou Bailey SD6 (6) Jack Munroe

PRELIMINARY 1

(8) Brett Ashby SD6 (5) Joe Lannon

PRELIMINARY 2

(4) John Ferguson UD6 (12) Joe Cox

SUPPORT BOUT

(3) Larry Gains D6 (11) Tim Anderson

CO-FEATURE

(2) Robert Cleroux UD6 (10) Bobby Halpern

MAIN EVENT

(1) Lennox Lewis UD6 (9) Carmine Vingo

[kenyan_cheena]

JEANNETTE AND JOHNSON EXCITED
ABOUT HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

Wednesday 3 April 2002

Story by David Gomez for espn.com

Tonight, Joe Jeannette of North Bergen, New Jersey will feature in the main event of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's Bally's Atlantic City fight card.

The 11th seed in the HBF's World Championship tournament, Jeannette will be fighting in his home state for the first time, something he's been looking forward to ever since the venue was announced four weeks ago.

"It's going to be great," said Jeannette. "Honestly, I would have liked it if they'd put it on closer to home, but I understand why it's happenin' in AC. I just hope I can put on a good show for everybody."

With a record of 2-0(1), Jeannette is sitting in 1st position in Group Eleven of the tournament and will be hoping to consolidate that standing when he clashes with the man who is, surprisingly, behind him in 2nd place, 86th seed Ron Stander of Omaha (1-0-1).

"No offense to Ron, but he has been a bit lucky," Jeannette said. "He got a gift of a decision in his last bout. But still, it don't mean that I'll take him lightly. I'll be ready."

The HBF has pulled off quite an achievement in securing the services of rock legend and New Jersey native Bruce Springsteen. "The Boss" will perform a one hour concert at Bally's prior to the fight card, which only those who have tickets for the boxing can attend.

(to be continued)

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(continuation)

"Yeah, I heard about that," said Jeannette. "That'll be pretty cool for the crowd. I mean, personally, I'm not a huge Springsteen fan, but I know he's a great performer, a great entertainer. It's going to be a special night, no doubt."

For Jeannette, it's not just the thrill of fighting in his home state that will make the night special. It's been a well-documented fact that, before taking his boxing ability seriously, the New Jersey native was on a course that could have led to an untimely and tragically wasteful death. He was a common street thug who had alienated his family and has recently said that if God had not come into his life when He did, he'd be dealing drugs or probably dead by now.

"Every day, I thank Father Ciccone and the Lord for saving me," said Jeannette. "When we were over in the Philippines for the last fight, it felt strange not going to St. Brigid's every day. But the Filipinos are a really religious people, and they brought me to a church where I could go each day and pray. But, you know, what brings me the most happiness is that boxing led me back to my family. Boxing put me on the right path and gave me the strength to reconcile with my mother and my brothers and sisters. They're all gonna be here tonight, along with Father Ciccone."

Jeannette smiled. "I can't wait to see their faces at ringside."

***
Meanwhile, some 1,400 miles away in Houston, Texas, Galveston's #3 seed Jack Johnson has been staging a public relations campaign to win over those in his homestate who look at him as nothing more than a bigshot with a big mouth and an even bigger ego.

Johnson will be fighting in the main event on Saturday night at Houston's Reliant Park Pavilion, and it would not be a stretch to say that a significant number of Texans might be wishing him the worst.

Johnson's troubles with his fellow Texans all started in the weeks following the announcement of the seeds for the HBF's World Championship tournament back in late November. Soon after, the handsome, extroverted young man had become a celebrity with a liking for the nightlife, something that those in his homestate frowned upon. They felt, as most of the nation did, that he wasn't taking the tournament seriously. The fact that Johnson was dividing most of his time between New York and Los Angeles didn't help, either. When he was sensationally defeated by 126th seed Joe Beckett on debut, it was simply a confirmation that "The Galveston Giant" had spent too much time partying and not nearly enough time training.

Unsurprisingly, after his shock defeat, invitations to all those opening nights and nightclubs dried up pretty quickly. It was a reality check for Johnson, something that brought him back down to earth. But people in Texas don't suffer fools lightly and are slow to forgive, and despite the fact that Johnson appeared a changed man in the lead up to his second bout, their opinion of him had not really changed. His unconvincing third round knockout of San Francisco's Pat Valentino did nothing to alter that stance.

And so, for the past two weeks, Jack Johnson has done all he can to enamour himself to the people of Texas.

"I really don't blame them for being a little cold towards me," Johnson said during a small celebration marking his 22nd birthday on Sunday. "I know that in those crazy weeks I was pretty foolish. Lot o' people here got their feathers ruffled over that. Hopefully, from this point on, I can just make them proud. No braggin', but I'm so ready for this fight, it's scary."

Jack Johnson isn't the only Texan fighting on Saturday. World Championship 30th seed Cleveland Williams is a native of Houston, and with a perfect record of 2-0, he is all by himself at the top of the Group Three standings. His is a disposition of a more reserved nature than Johnson's, which doesn't seem to have hurt him at all. He is without a doubt, more liked by his fellow Texans than Johnson is, at least at the moment.

Group Three of the World Championship tournament has already presented boxing fans with much drama and excitement, and there's no reason to think it'll be any different on Saturday night...

[GForce]

Nice work with the dialogue, KC. Always a fun read.

GH

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by GForce

Nice work with the dialogue, KC. Always a fun read.

GH

Thanks, GForce.

[kenyan_cheena]

ATLANTIC CITY HEATWAVE:
JEANNETTE BLITZES STANDER IN FOUR!

Wednesday 3 April 2002

Joe Jeannette's much awaited home state debut turned out to be a complete triumph, as he overwhelmed Omaha's Ron Stander before the bout was stopped on cuts early in the fourth round.

Already in a celebratory mood following the free Bruce Springsteen concert they'd been treated to before the fight card, the audience at Bally's Atlantic City gave Jeannette an almighty ovation when he made his way to the ring. The North Bergen native wore a stylish robe of black with white and sky blue piping, his trunks in a similar pattern. The sweat of nervous anticipation bubbled on his bald head.

The 11th seed in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament was in fine form, going on the offensive from the opening bell. Stander was completely outclassed by an opponent who was determined to put on a dynamite display in front of his people. Jeannette cut the 86th seed under the right eye in a sensational opening round, where the pumped-up 11th seed imposed his will on Stander, hunting him down, intent on scoring another opening round knockout.

That didn't happen, but as he sat on his stool between rounds Stander's expression was one of pure astonishment. Any confidence that being second in the Group Standings might have given him had vanished. Jeannette, in contrast, had bounced to his corner, right hand pounding his chest, shouting at the crowd to drive him on. They did just that, applauding his passionate, aggressive start to the contest.

Round two was less eventful, with Stander effectively tying the crowd favourite up a number of times. But Jeannette was back to his best in the third, ripping shots into Stander's ribs, snapping his head back with crushing uppercuts and cutting him for a second time. This one was under the left eye, and as the two men clinched during the waning seconds of the round, the blood smeared onto Jeannette's shoulder.

Stander's cornermen worked feverishly on the cut during the intermission, and referee Max Parker spoke briefly to them before the start of the fourth. But it wasn't long before he was leading Stander to a neutral corner and the attention of the ring doctor. Early in the fourth, a right hook from Jeannette had worsened the cut, and when Stander started pawing at the side of his face the referee halted the contest. It didn't take long for the ring doctor to decide that Stander could not continue, and the fight was called off, with Jeannette the winner by TKO 0:37 into the fourth round.

After exchanging words with Stander, the New Jersey slugger lifted his left fist into the air and pumped it at the audience, who came to their feet in a standing ovation. Jeannette wore a winning smile, stopping at the side of the ring where his family and parish priest were sitting and talking to them, laughing and clapping before returning to his corner to have his gloves cut off.

"You know, the last week I've been watching all these other top seeds fighting at home, hearing them say how great it is," said Jeannette. "Just watchin' them and waiting for my turn. I gotta say, it was worth the wait!"

The crowd started applauding wildly before he'd finished the sentence, some whistling, some coming to their feet once more.

"I can't describe how much energy you all gave me," Jeannette continued. "I could feel it in my bones, runnin' through my veins. That might sound corny, but that's how it felt, for real. This is one of the greatest nights of my life. Lookin' back on where I was going just eight months ago, and now realisin' that I'm standing here in front of all o' you, I can't believe it."

Jeannette motioned to where his family and Father Ciccone were sitting. The emotion was clear in his voice. "Some of you might not know, how much of an @$$hole I was to my mother, to my brothers and sisters. I hurt them, and I gave them good reasons to hate me. But they've all forgiven me. They've taken me back into their hearts and I can't ... I really can't express how fortunate I feel right now. Father Ciccone, Freddie, I love you like you was my real dad, man. Thank you."

Soon after, Jeannette left the ring, clearly overwhelmed by the evening's proceedings. He greeted his family and Father Ciccone, embracing them and talking with them for a good ten minutes. As he made his way back to the dressing rooms, Joe Jeannette was greeted every step of the way by a congratulatory handshake or a pat on the back. Truly, it must rank as one of the greatest nights of this talented 26 year-old's life...

[kenyan_cheena]

Next up will be the Atlantic City undercard.

Just a question, though.

On your computer, does the font in this thread look half as small today as it did yesterday? I don't know what's happened, whether it's the website or my PC, but overnight, the size of the font on the page has shrunk considerably.

EDIT

It's only happened with the posts where I've changed the font from this default one.

[Gunsmoke]

Not for me, looks the same as normal.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Gunsmoke

Not for me, looks the same as normal.

Yep, I'm at work now and it looks normal. Must be something with my home PC's setup.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE ATLANTIC CITY UNDERCARD

Opening Bout

Amos Johnson of Medina, Ohio and Philadelphia's Gus Dorazio had to settle for a draw in the evening's first bout. Johnson started well, taking the opening two rounds before Dorazio fought back gamely during the middle rounds. Both men had their moments as the fight came to a close, with the scorecards reading 57-57, 58-56 (Dorazio), 57-57.

The 14th seed in the 1st Defense tournament, this result is another setback for Johnson following the action-packed draw he fought with King Solomon five weeks ago. With undefeated 30th seed Tommy Morrison sitting comfortably in the top two and 22nd seed Ibar Arrington (2-1) close behind, there's a real chance that Johnson (1-0-2) could fail to qualify for the tournament's second stage.

38th-seeded Dorazio, who has fought admirably each time he's stepped into the ring, is 1-1-1.

(to be continued)

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(continuation)

Preliminary 1

One week removed from the crazy happenings of Manchester, the Florida Alliance were back in a boxing arena. Unsurprisingly, they made a boisterous entrance to the ring with Elmer Ray leading them out, freestyling over a slow, grinding hip hop beat as Terone Haynes and Tommy Gomez flanked the man of the moment, Oliver McCall.

The #3 seed in the 1st Defense tournament had been in a bad mood since Manchester and even more so since the HBF imposed fines on he and the other Alliance members this past Monday. McCall had said this morning that he wouldn't want to be in the shoes of his opponent, Randy Stephens of Dallas.

"Oliver McCall ain't been this mad in a while," he said. "This Randy Stephens dude's gonna know that tonight."

The Florida entourage were all dressed in black, although when he removed his robe McCall revealed that he had adopted the colours of the "Hastings Express". He wore trunks of solid black with white and red trim. ATOMIC was stencilled in red on the front of the waistband, FLORIDA on the back. McCall wore a scornful disposition, glaring across the ring at Stephens with what appeared to be genuine hatred.

When the bout got started, the Fort Lauderdale native unleashed a week's worth of pent-up anger and frustration, aggressively tracking down a backpedalling Stephens. McCall looked fantastic through the first round and even better in the second, landing punishing shots that were thrown with knockout intentions. When he returned to his corner at the end of that dominant second round, he screamed at the audience, thumping his chest and wearing an expression of pure rage.

But even so, despite McCall's best efforts, the Texas native was still standing. Some twenty minutes later, the bell sounded to end the final round, and the game Stephens was still standing then, also. It was a stubborn, resolute display from the 46th seed, one that didn't bring him close to victory but did garner him the respect and applause of the audience and McCall.

In those intervening four rounds, McCall had continued to control the contest, scoring at will, especially during round four, his best of the fight. But all the energy that he was expending emotionally seemed to catch up with him during the final two rounds, where Stephens held his own in stark contrast to the fight's beginning.

The final verdict was a comfortable unanimous decision victory for the Florida slugger, 59-55, 60-54, 59-55. McCall is now 3-0(1) and the Florida Alliance is 11-0(5). Stephens has shown a lot of heart in his opening trio of bouts, but sadly, he's 0-3.

McCall was full of praise for Stephens afterwards.

"Dude is one tough S.O.B.," he said, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel. "Gotta give him all the respect in the world, man. He stood in there agains' a barrage, y'all. A barrage. He withstood it, and then he starts firing back near the end, there. He gave me a great fight."

The #3 seed finished with punch totals of 191/385 (49%), while Stephens landed 122 of 318 (38%).

Preliminary 2

New York's Billy Daniels scored his first victory as a professional with a split decision victory over San Francisco's Al Kaufmann.

The 54th seed in the World Championship tournament, Daniels had started his career in unfortunate fashion. On debut, he was stopped in the fifth by a single Charles Horn ribshot in a fight he was leading at the time. Five weeks later, he was denied what should have been a victory when his bout with Ron Stander was judged a draw.

His opponent tonight had impressed many in his opening two bouts: a spirited effort in a loss to 11th seed Joe Jeannette followed by an upset victory over 22nd seed Johnny Summerlin. If anything, based on those previous performances, the 118th-seeded Kaufmann should have been a slight favourite.

Unfortunately for the Californian, it was the man from Gotham who was declared victorious by scores of 57-56, 57-58 and 57-56. It wasn't the most action-packed fight seen so far on these HBF fight cards, but Daniels had done enough through the first five rounds to negate the effect of the knockdown Kaufmann scored 45 seconds from the final bell.

Daniels is now 1-1-1 while Kaufmann, whose disappointment was a potent presence in the ring after the verdict, fell to 1-2.

Support Bout

38th seed Clarence Henry improved to 2-1(1) with a 4th round KO of a competitive Mike DeJohn.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Henry dropped the crowd favourite 2:10 into the round with a single shot to the ribs, from which the Syracuse, New York native was unable to recover.

Up to that point, DeJohn had shown more fight than in either of his first two bouts. But in the end, as was the case in his last bout against Joe Jeannette, one punch was all it took to finish him off.

Co-Feature

After suffering a shock defeat at the hands of 118th seed Al Kaufmann in his last bout, Detroit's Johnny Summerlin was able to get back on a winning track with a unanimous decision victory against another San Francisco fighter, Charles Horn.

But one would be unwise to look at that result and think that Summerlin had experienced an easy night. On the contrary, he was, in the final examination of events, one bad round from defeat.

The 22nd seed cruised through the opening three rounds. He didn't do anything too spectacular, but it was clear to even the most casual observer that he was in command. The judges agreed, as they all had him ahead 30-27 going into the fourth.

That was when things became a little hairy for him. Horn started to show signs of life, and when the bay area native landed a chopping blow to Summerlin's abdominal region thirty seconds before the bell, the Detroit slugger fell to one knee, gasping for air. Summerlin beat the count and survived the round, and then proceeded to win the fifth quite handily, leading most to believe he was back in the driver's seat.

But Horn put on a great finishing burst, stealing the final round by being more aggressive. Summerlin seemed content to while away the seconds, but Horn's attacking efforts won him the round and, suddenly, observers were wondering if Summerlin had done enough to win the bout.

When the verdict came, it was a sweet relief, indeed. Each judge had scored the bout 57-56 in Summerlin's favour.

This fight may have been a victory for Summerlin, but it failed to answer any of the questions about his credentials that the loss to Kaufmann raised. Regardless of what happens during his next two fights, it would be a brave man that would back Johnny Summerlin to defeat Joe Jeannette when the two men meet three months from now...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
WEDNESDAY 3 APRIL 2002
BALLY'S ATLANTIC CITY, ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, USA

OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
2(14) Amos Johnson D6 5(38) Gus Dorazio

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
1(3) Oliver McCall UD6 6(46) Randy Stephens

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
4(54) Billy Daniels SD6 8(118) Al Kaufmann

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
3(38) Clarence Henry KO4 7(102) Mike DeJohn

CO-FEATURE

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
2(22) Johnny Summerlin UD6 5(70) Charles Horn

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
1(11) Joe Jeannette TKO4 6(86) Ron Stander

[kenyan_cheena]

IBEABUCHI STRUGGLES AGAIN IN JOHANNESBURG

Thursday 4 April 2002

Today, the Carnival City Big Top Arena in Johannesburg once again played host to the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's African Boxing League.

The event did not reach the exciting heights of the league's debut of five weeks ago, but it was nonetheless an entertaining fight card. The capacity audience was treated to a surprise bonus, as World Championship tournament #1 seed Gene Tunney, having arrived in South Africa earlier in the day, took on the role of ring announcer / master of ceremonies.

Tunney, looking dashing in a suit and tie, proved to be an amusing and amiable MC, displaying a side to his personality that has been hidden from the public 'til now. He spoke after the card was completed about his passion for the development of boxing in Africa.

"I would be happy to make the trip back here for every one of the ABL cards," he said. "I think that creating this league is one of the greatest, most admirable things that President Vincennes has done. The prospect of one of these guys competing for the World Championship some day excites me, without a doubt. But what we're also doing is planting a seed for the future. The guys who succeed will inspire the next generation to take up this sport. President Vincennes has a vision to expand the league once this initial tournament is complete. That's going to be a great thing for boxing in Africa."

***

OPENING BOUT

Nigeria's 6th seed Omovo Okocha put on another impressive display, scoring a dominant unanimous decision victory (59-53, 58-54, 59-53) against West Virginia's Delbert Craw.

Okocha showed his knockout power in a scintilating 3rd round TKO of Jomo Motloung on debut, and today he let everyone know that he can also box. He came out all guns blazing in that debut bout, but tonight he went with a more patient disposition. Okocha controlled the first two rounds with a consistent left jab, and Craw's face was already showing the effects of it going into the third.

The 7th seeded American was deposited on the canvas twice during the opening ninety seconds of the round: first from a single body shot and then from a crushing right cross. But Craw survived the round and, like in his debut loss to James Eldren, proved that he is resilient, if nothing else. He went the distance and even managed to win the fifth round. Okocha went for the knockout in the sixth, but Craw weathered the storm, despite being tagged by a number of punishing shots.

It seems that the HBF severely underestimated Omovo Okocha's abilities when they seeded the fighters for this tournament. The fact that they had little time to evaluate the talent available, plus the 6'4" Okocha's apparent foxing during auditions make this understandable, though. He must surely be considered a good chance to make the tournament final. His next bout against #2 seed Anaclet Wamba will prove if that is the case.

PRELIMINARY 1

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