The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

The gallery awaits

I'm gonna get this thing going again on the weekend. I have to complete the post concerning the selection trials in the IBL first, though.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

I'm gonna get this thing going again on the weekend. I have to complete the post concerning the selection trials in the IBL first, though.

Sweet, good to hear that we'll be getting new stuff in both the HBF and IBF soon.

[kenyan_cheena]

JACKSON PUTS ON A SHOW IN JERSEY

Monday 6 May 2002

Australia's Peter Jackson has scored a convincing unanimous decision victory against South Africa's Johnny DuPlooy at Harrah's in Atlantic City to open the fifteenth week of competition in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments.

Jackson took the verdict by scores of 59-53, 58-54 and 59-53, his third consecutive unanimous decision victory improving his record to 4-0(1).

But the World Championship tournament 6th seed felt that the bout should never have gotten as far as the final bell after he unleashed a brutal assault on his South African opponent in the third round. The extent of Jackson's domination in the round led to each judge awarding it to him 10-8, despite the fact that a knockdown was not scored.

"I really don't know what more I had to do in that round to make the referee stop the fight," Jackson said. "The guy was out on his feet. He wasn't throwing back and he could barely defend himself. Anyone could have seen at that point that his chances of winning were just ... well, zero. I'm just relieved that he's okay, that he isn't badly hurt."

DuPlooy made a positive start to the fight, landing a damaging uppercut thirty seconds into round one and pressuring Jackson throughout the round. Decked out in dark green trunks with gold and white piping, the Australian asserted his will in the second round, stepping up his aggression and hurting DuPlooy with a rapid-fire three punch combo late in the round.

As mentioned earlier, things only got worse for DuPlooy in the third round as Jackson staggered, rocked and stunned him on four separate occasions during the round. With about thrity seconds remaining, Jackson looked to referee Michael Jayco with a confused expression and appeared to be telling him to stop the fight. But DuPlooy was allowed to continue.

In round four, Jackson went easy on his opponent, almost as if he was afraid that another assault like the one in the third would seriously hurt the gutsy South African. However, the 6th seed applied more pressure to the accelerator in the final two rounds, dropping DuPlooy with a body shot moments before the bell to end the fifth round. He peppered DuPlooy with a stiff left jab throughout the final stanza, receiving a warm round of applause from the audience once the bout was over.

Jackson landed 149 of 292 punches (51%) while DuPlooy could only connect with 76 of 238 (31.9%).

"It's nice to have gotten through these opening four bouts with a perfect record," said the Aussie. "But now the really serious stuff starts. We've got Bruce Woodcock in five weeks and that fight's just going to be a complete step up in class from what we've been through so far. From here on, we have to treat each fight like a Championship bout. I'm looking forward to the challenge."

(Coming soon: the Atlantic City undercard)

[CONN CHRIS]

I think (but don't hold me to it) that I have Bruce Wood**** on a DVD of WWII era British fights. I'll have to dig for it to see if I can get anything interesting on him from the announcers.

And that's Bruce Woodc-o-c-k for the asterisk challenged

Keep at it chief.

[kenyan_cheena]

The Atlantic City Undercard

OPENING BOUT

Oklahoma's Tommy Morrison impressive start to his professional boxing career continued with a comfortable unanimous decision win against Australia's Bill Lang.

Morrison had some trouble finding his range in the top half of the bout, but by the time the final bell sounded he had dropped Lang to the canvas twice (once in the 4th, once in the 6th) and was subsequently awarded a 58-54, 58-55, 58-54 victory.

The 30th seed in the HBF's 1st Defense tournament landed some punishing shots, with both knockdowns coming from single punches. He worked the head and the body of the durable Australian, who to his credit put up a game resistance. Lang is now 0-4 but has gone the distance in all of his bouts. Morrison conversed with him for several minutes after the bell, complimenting him on his tenacity.

Speaking to ESPN's Bill Farris, the blonde-haired 20 year-old slugger described his relief at getting through the first four series of the tournament with a perfect record.

"You know, there's been plenty of guys seeded higher than I am, in both tournaments, that have, uh, faltered," said Morrison. "They've lost or had draws. I feel fortunate to have avoided that, becuase there were some times in my earlier bouts that were pretty hairy. I've given myself the best chance of qualifying for the second stage and I couldn't be happier."

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

PRELIMINARY 1

In a continuation of his career form to date, Washington's Ibar Arrington was unimpressive but good enough to claim a unanimous decision victory (57-56, 58-55, 57-56) against Boston's King Solomon.

Solomon is the third to last seed in the 1st Defense tournament but he gave Arrington a tougher night than expected, especially during the opening two rounds. He was so competitive that a knockdown that Arrington scored 2:17 into the fourth round was the absolute difference between Arrington winning and the result being a draw.

A native of the city of Everett, Arrington has, to this point, struggled to show his true ability. But even so, the 1D tournament's 22nd seed finds himself with a record of 3-1 and a reasonable chance of qualifying for the second stage. However, his next bout is against the #3 seed in the tournament, the man known as the "Atomic Bull", Oliver McCall. Arrington will have to produce his best effort if he hopes to overcome the Florida native.

PRELIMINARY 2

In the first World Championship tournament bout of the evening, Oklahoma's James Tillis scored his first professional victory, a fourth round knockout of Bob Baker.

After a reasonable start, the writing was on the wall for Baker late in the third round when Tillis staggered him with a sharp combination. A quartet of solid shots a minute into the fourth dropped him and he was counted out at the 1:15 mark.

In the weeks leading up to the HBF's tournaments, there were some experts who spoke quite highly of Tillis, sighting his quick hands and impressive left jab as his best attributes. Unfortunately, his chances of going any further in the tournament have since been put to rest as a result of his efforts in his first three contests. The 59th seed's record is now 1-1-2(1) and with his remaining bouts against Group Six's undefeated top three seeds, only a foolish man would back him to progress to the second stage.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

I'm gonna be MIA from here for the next three days (up until the weekend). As Chris would know and some of you will appreciate, end of financial year is a b$%#h for payroll/accountant types.

I'll get the Atlantic City card finished off on Saturday.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

I'm gonna be MIA from here for the next three days (up until the weekend). As Chris would know and some of you will appreciate, end of financial year is a b$%#h for payroll/accountant types.

I'll get the Atlantic City card finished off on Saturday.

Just make something up Dan, it worked for Arthur Anderson.


For a while anyway.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #626)

SUPPORT BOUT

Bruce Woodcock will take a perfect record into his June 10 clash with Peter Jackson after he scored a 4th round TKO of Idaho's James Ellis in a lively contest.

The Englishman started slowly, with an aggressive Ellis winning the opening round and looking as if he was fiercely determined to score his first tournament victory. The 123rd seed actually staggered Woodcock late in the round, a straight right bringing a howl of approval from the audience. But Woodcock asserted himself in round two, showing a busier disposition and pressuring Ellis with some impressive combinations.

Round three would turn out to be the best of the bout, with the combatants trading heavy leather at centre ring. Ellis was displaying his best form to date, catching Woodcock with two and three punch combinations. But the beginning of his end came when he was put on the seat of his pants by a jolting right uppercut 2:32 into the round. He beat the count but was as good as finished. He struggled to mount any kind of assault in round four. Woodcock loaded up on the power shots, determined to finish off his wounded opponent. He was landing punishing blows at will and when a pair of crunching uppercuts had the Idaho native seeing stars, the fight was called off three seconds before the bell.

"Bring him on," said Woodcock, when asked about his next opponent, Peter Jackson. "I'm confident I can beat the guy, no doubt about that. I'm gonna go back to the dressing room and watch them both, Gardner and Jackson. I can't see any reason why I can't outfight either of them. My aggression is the key. They won't be able to handle my aggression, or my accuracy for that matter."

CO-FEATURE

Moments after Woodcock and his team had departed the arena, Group Six's other English contender was stepping into the ring.

It would be true to say that 22 year-old Jack Gardner has not been as impressive as Bruce Woodcock through the first three series of bouts in the World Championship tournament. While Woodcock has shown power and aggression, Gardner has been at times hesitant and unsure of himself. Fortunately for him, his ordinary form has still been good enough to see him move to 3-0.

But tonight, the 27th seed left little doubt over his credentials with a comprehensive unanimous decision victory over Germany's Heinz Neuhaus. It was Gardner's fourth consecutive UD victory, with each judge awarding him a 59-54 verdict.

After a lacklustre opening two rounds, Gardner imposed his will over the contest in the third, punishing his German opponent with a pair of crushing right hands. Things only got worse for Neuhaus as the bout progressed and by the end of round five, he had all but submitted to the Englishman's assault. A straight right dropped Neuhaus early in the final round. Surprisingly, he was up at four but did nothing but defend for the remainder of the contest, leading many at ringside to chide the referee as the fight drew to a close.

After tonight's results, Group Six are the only group in either tournament where the top three seeds have each made it through four series of bouts with a perfect record. This streak will come to an end in five weeks when Jackson and Woodcock clash in the first of a trio of vitally important fights between the three. It will be followed in another five weeks by Jackson and Gardner and then Gardner and Woodcock. One of these undefeated men is destined to miss out on qualification for the tournament's second stage. Which one will it be?

Stay tuned to find out...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
MONDAY 6 MAY 2002
HARRAH'S ATLANTIC CITY, ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, USA


OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
4(30) Tommy Morrison UD6 7(54) Bill Lang

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
3(22) Ibar Arrington UD6 8(62) King Solomon

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
4(59) James Tillis KO4 7(107) Bob Baker

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
3(43) Bruce Woodcock TKO4 8(123) James Ellis

CO-FEATURE

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
2(27) Jack Gardner UD6 6(91) Heinz Neuhaus

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
1(6) Peter Jackson UD6 5(75) Johnny DuPlooy

[kenyan_cheena]

LEWIS AND CLEROUX CONTINUE
TO ROLL THROUGH CBL

Tuesday 7 May 2002

Olympic gold medallist Lennox Lewis has improved his record to 3-0 with a one-sided fifth round TKO victory over a clearly overmatched Joe Lannon at the Exhibition Gardens in British Columbia, Vancouver.

Lewis was dominant in every round of what was easily his most impressive pro performance. Lannon was sent to the canvas from a single right cross 1:44 into round three and from a three punch combo 0:45 into the fifth. The bout was stopped a minute before the end of the round with Lewis pummeling the Canadian-born Boston resident up against the ropes.

Entering the ring dressed in a robe of white with red trim, Lewis weighed in at an imposing 224 pounds, meaning he enjoyed advantages of 35 pounds and some six inches over his opponent.

A mismatch from the opening bell, it was genuinely surprising that Lewis didn't finish Lannon off earlier. But the Sydney Olympics Super-Heavyweight Champion shrugged off any concern.

"He was a tough opponent," said Lewis. "He can really take a punch. You saw his previous fights, so that should be clear. But I felt confident throughout the fight. I was always in control, but I never let myself get carried away. Maybe that's why it took as long as it did to stop him."

The punch totals for the bout reflect the extent of Lewis's dominance. He landed 171 of 348 punches compared to Lannon's 37 of 148.

As his previous bouts have also illustrated (and a point that Lewis intimated recently), the level of talent in the Canadian Boxing League is clearly not up to the Olympian's standard. However, there is one man who is the exception, and he showed his talents in the evening's Co-Feature...

***

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Montreal's Robert Cleroux continued along the path towards what appears to be an inevitable clash with Lennox Lewis in the CBL tournament final, with the referee stopping his bout against Toronto's Jack Munroe two seconds from the end of the final round.

Cleroux had dominated throughout, sending Munroe to the canvas in the first, fifth and sixth rounds. Considering this, it was strange that referee Ernesto Magana chose to stop the fight when he did. Cleroux was a whirlwind of activity during the bout, throwing 526 punches and landing 191 of them. But he didn't seem to be too concerned about defense, as Munroe was able to score with 73% of his blows (88/120).

"I knew early on that he could not hurt me," said Cleroux. "Once that was established, it didn't matter how often he hit me, because his power is so limited."

Maybe so, but Cleroux's apparent indifference to his opponent's offense could be something to be exploited in his future bouts. Surely, it's an attitude he'll have to adjust before he clashes with Lennox Lewis. He showed a hesitancy to work hard in both the second and fourth rounds, something that made Lewis's performance in the main event that followed a superior one.

UNDERCARD ACTION

Opening Bout

The CBL's 12th seed Joe Cox of St. Louis, Missouri scored his first professional victory when he knocked out Brett Ashby midway through the final round with a single left hook. A Toronto native, Ashby was leading by three points on all three cards going into the sixth, but he was out cold after Cox caught him flush on the jaw. He was counted out 1:34 into the round.

Preliminary 1

Lou Bailey of Peoria, Illinois moved to 3-0 with his third consecutive split decision victory. He defeated Florida's Tim Anderson in what was the most competitive bout of the night. Bailey established a lead in the second, third and fourth rounds before Anderson finished strongly, to no avail. The scorecards read 58-57, 57-58, 58-57 in Bailey's favour. The 21 year-old barely qualifies as a Heavyweight, having weighed no more than 183 pounds in each of his three bouts. But he's getting it done, and if he can maintain his current standing in Group B of the league, he'll be rewarded with a semi-final matchup against Lennox Lewis.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Preliminary 2

4th seed John Ferguson fell to his first defeat, losing a close unanimous decision verdict (58-56 on all three cards) to Carmine Vingo of the Bronx. In a battle of two big men, the New Yorker came out aggressively, putting Ferguson on the back foot in the first round and doing enough for the remainder of the contest to secure the victory. Both fighters are now 2-1 so by virtue of this victory, the #9 seed Vingo will be above Ferguson (a native of New Brunswick) and in 2nd place in the Group A standings after tonight's event.

Support Bout

Disappointing in his first two bouts, Larry Gains finally picked up a victory, defeating Bobby Halpern by unanimous decision (58-57, 59-56, 60-55). The Toronto native finally put in a consistent effort, although Halpern did enough to sway two of the judges to award him more rounds than he probably deserved. Gains still has a slim chance of qualifying for the tournament semi-finals, but his hopes were dented by Lou Bailey's victory earlier in the night. The 3rd seed will definitely have to win his remaining fights and hope that Bailey faulters in his.


SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
TUESDAY 7 MAY 2002
EXHIBITION GARDENS, VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

THE CANADIAN BOXING LEAGUE


OPENING BOUT

(12) Joe Cox KO6 (8) Brett Ashby

PRELIMINARY 1

(7) Lou Bailey SD6 (11) Tim Anderson

PRELIMINARY 2

(9) Carmine Vingo UD6 (4) John Ferguson

SUPPORT BOUT

(3) Larry Gains UD6 (10) Bobby Halpern

CO-FEATURE

(2) Robert Cleroux TKO6 (6) Jack Munroe

MAIN EVENT

(1) Lennox Lewis TKO5 (5) Joe Lannon

[kenyan_cheena]

JEANNETTE ESCAPES JAPAN
WITH PERFECT RECORD INTACT

Wednesday 8 May 2002

New Jersey's Joe Jeannette has scored a hard-fought, bruising split decision victory over San Francisco's Charles Horn in the main event of today's Heavyweight Boxing Federation Tokyo fight card. The 11th seed in the HBF's World Championship tournament was pushed all the way by an opponent who had shown the same ability in his previous bouts and if not for a solid final round from Jeannette, the fight would have been a draw.

"Probably even more difficult than I expected," Jeannette said afterwards. "The guy just kept coming forward and he really tagged me with some good shots. I feel fortunate to have gotten the victory, really."

After an even opening round, Jeannette looked to have Horn's measure in the second and third, beating him to the punch and hurting him with some damaging combinations. But the Californian showed why he's earned a reputation as a tough competitor, fighting back strongly in rounds four and five and looking better against Jeannette than any of his previous three opponents had.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

"Coach was just telling me, "Stay perfect, J. Gotta stay perfect."," said Jeannette. "Before I went out for that last round, he just told me to kick the guy's ass. Told me that he's good but I should be better than what I was showing. Reminded me of what happened to O-Mac before we came out, and just kept repeating it, "Stay perfect, stay perfect." And it worked. You know, that fear of losing just gave me an extra adrenalin hit. We're still perfect and we're real happy 'bout that."

The scorecards were 58-57, 57-58, 58-57, illustrating the importance of Jeannette's sweep of the final round.

Jeannette threw a total of 372 punches and landed 165 of them (44.4%) while Horn connected on 40.6% of his (108/266).

"Don't think anyone's come close to hitting me that many times," Jeannette said, surprised. "Charlie really gave me a run for my money."

Before leaving the ring, Jeannette praised the Tokyo crowd, thanking them for their enthusiasm and support.

"And I hope that Japan will have a lot of success in the IBL," he said. This brought a roar of appreciation from the audience. "I guess some of you might have family trying out in Osaka, so I hope that goes well for them."

The New Jersey-born slugger made his way back to the dressing room accompanied by a standing ovation. He waved and smiled before disappearing into the bowels of the building...

***

In the evening's Co-Feature, Oliver McCall became the second member of the Florida Alliance during the past week to step into the ring and then leave without claiming a victory.

Following Tommy Gomez's split decision loss to Al Ettore last week in Jacksonville, the #3 seed in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's 1st Defense tournament was held to a draw by Philadelphia's Gus Dorazio.

When all was said and done, a poor opening half of the bout would come back to haunt the Fort Lauderdale native. Surprisingly, Dorazio was able to outhustle McCall, getting off some quick, damaging combinations and generally bullying his bigger opponent.

This was the first fight since the coming together of the Florida Alliance where one of its members fought a bout without any of the other three members at ringside. Whether that had some kind of adverse affect on McCall can only be speculated at, but the normally hot-headed slugger was much more subdued tonight, to the point where Dorazio directed a number of cutting words at him as the two men returned to their corners after round three.

McCall showed some improvement in his efforts during the bottom half of the contest, especially in round five, which was his best of the fight. But even so, many watching at ringside felt he was fortunate to escape with just a draw. The final scorecards read 57-57, 58-56 (McCall), 57-57.

"Don't really know what went wrong, man," said McCall. "I had a nice preparation for tonight, you know? Spent a few weeks back home, away from any stress. Trained real effectively. But I just couldn't get going tonight, you know?"

This was the second consecutive draw for Dorazio after having held out the tournament's 14th seed five weeks ago in Atlantic City. As was the case on that occasion, Dorazio felt he had been hard done by tonight.

"I don't know what I gotta do to catch a break," he said. "I've shown in these last two fights that I can compete with these guys, but how does two draws help me? Tell me that? I fought my backside off, but I'm no closer to moving on in this tournament. I ain't happy. Ain't happy."

The tough 38th-seeded Philadelpian's record is now 1-1-2, with his only loss coming on debut against the man who now sits all by himself at the top of the Group Three standings, Tommy Morrison.

McCall must now prepare himself for a vital contest against Washington's Ibar Arrington, who is currently tied with him in 2nd place. A loss in that bout will seriously damage the Florida Alliance member's chances of qualifying for stage two of the tournament...

(Coming soon: The Tokyo Undercard)

[kenyan_cheena]

The Tokyo Undercard

OPENING BOUT

The 1st Defense tournament campaign of Ohio's Amos Johnson reached new levels of frustration in the evening's first contest when he lost a split decision to 46th seed Randy Stephens. After being held to draws in his last two bouts, you would think things could not get worse for the tournament's 14th seed. But they did, and the nature of Johnson's loss just about sums up his professional boxing career to date.

He came out on fire, staggering Stephens early and then putting him on his backside 2:12 into round one with a textbook right cross. The Dallas, Texas native lurched to his feet at seven and through some sort of minor miracle, managed to survive the rest of the round, despite Johnson's intentions. Stephens made it back to his stool, but it appeared obvious that it would just be a matter of time before Johnson finished the job. He nodded his head at the crowd and pumped his chest as he returned to his corner.

However, the 0-3 record that Stephens took into the contest was quite a deceiving one. He had been competitive in all three losses, being in the boxseat early during his debut loss to Ibar Arrington and even closer to victory before being TKO'd by Tommy Morrison in his second bout. He had shown stubborn resistance against Oliver McCall five weeks ago, so why would he not do the same tonight?

The crowd cheered for Johnson to come out and win the bout in round two, but as it progressed, it looked unlikely. Johnson was unsuccessful as he loaded up on power shots, trying to take Stephens out with one thunderous blow. It wasn't working and as the round moved into it's bottom half, it was the Texan who went on the attack, staggering Johnson with a sweetly timed uppercut. Johnson spat abuse at his opponent as the round came to an end, bringing an enthusiastic cheer from the crowd.

Stephens continued his comeback in round three, controlling the opening half of the round before Johnson mounted a counter assault in the final minute, one that was impressive enough to sway all three judges to award him the round.

Despite the fact that he seemed to be in command of the contest, the confidence Johnson had displayed after that opening round had all but vanished and, after round four, it was completely shattered. The top half of the round was non-eventful, but as it continued, the Texan simply outworked Johnson. And he scored some impressive shots, too. When the bell sounded, the 14th seed returned to his corner shaking his head.

From there, it just got worse for him. Full of confidence, Stephens repeated the dose in the fifth and sixth rounds, finishing the bout strongly as the rapidly-tiring Ohio native had little left to offer. By the time the final bell sounded, Johnson's right eye was swollen and his lip was cut at the corner. He wore the gaze of a defeated man.

When the verdict was announced, Stephens' corner errupted. He was the winner, 57-56, 55-58, 57-56, and Johnson's chances of qualifying for the tournament's second stage were all but over...

PRELIMINARY 1

In a contest between two New York state fighters, New York City's Billy Daniels defeated Mike DeJohn of Syracuse via dominant unanimous decision, 59-55 on all three cards.
The win was Daniels' second on the trot and improved the 54th seed in the WC tournament's record to 2-1-1, meaning he still has an outside chance of proceeding past the tournament's first stage.

There were no knockdowns and DeJohn, who is now 0-4, only came to life in the final round, when the contest was long over.

PRELIMINARY 2

In an absolute slugfest, Los Angeles native Clarence Henry improved his record to 3-1(2) and stayed in touch with the top of the group standings with a sensational 5th round, one punch knockout of fellow Californian Al Kaufmann.

Born and raised in San Francisco, Kaufmann came out fast, dominating the opening round and hoping to score an upset similar to the one he achieved against the group's 2nd seed Johnny Summerlin ten weeks earlier. But Henry rallied strongly, coming close to finishing Kaufmann off in round two with some thunderous blows, including a right cross that turned the 118th seed's legs to jelly late in the round.

The action slowed somewhat in the third, although Kaufmann finished strongly. Round four was the most even of the fight as both men landed some punishing shots, bringing the crowd to their feet as they stood toe to toe at centre ring. They were intent on destroying each other, and the crowd absolutely loved it.

When it came, the end was swift and brutal. Henry landed a right cross a minute into the fifth that snapped Kaufmann's head around on his shoulders. He staggered, wobbled and collapsed sideways and was only just attempting to push himself up when he was counted out at the 1:14 mark.

This was Henry's second consecutive KO victory, after having disposed of Mike DeJohn in a similar fashion (though in round four) five weeks ago in Atlantic City. Next up for him is the ultimate litmus test of his young career when he clashes with the tournament's 11th seed, Joe Jeannette.

SUPPORT BOUT

Having just seem Clarence Henry improve his record to 3-1, Detroit's Johnny Summerlin came out and took care of his own business with a comfortable unanimous decision victory against Omaha's Ron Stander. In doing so, Summerlin maintained his hold on 2nd place in the group standings.

Stander had briefly been looked upon as a darkhorse to qualify for the tournament's second stage after defeating 38th seed Clarence Henry and drawing with 54th seed Billy Daniels in his first tow tournament bouts. However, a TKO loss to Joe Jeannette in his last fight and tonight's clear cut loss against Summerlin seem to have put paid to those hopes.

Summerlin was in excellent form throughout, using a stiff left jab to keep Stander off balance in addition to an effective body assault that had the Omaha native out of the contest by the third round. Summerlin took the verdict by scores of 59-55 (twice) and 58-56.

"Now the real serious stuff starts," said the 22nd seed, who had entered the ring decked out in the blue, red and white colours of his beloved Detroit Pistons basketball team. "Ain't no room for mistakes now, with just three fights to go. I think it's gonna come down to me, Joe and that Henry kid. One of us is gonna miss out and I ain't plannin' on it being me."

At 28 years old, Summerlin is one of the older fighters in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation. He dismissed it when asked if it would be an issue as his career progresses.

"In my mind, I'm still eighteen," he said, smiling. "You know, I keep myself in tip top shape: no drinkin', I eat the right foods. I ain't touched a cigarette in my life. And you know, I didn't start boxing seriously 'til I was 24. My body ain't taken much punishment. So I can't see any reason why I won't still be fightin' ten years from now."

As Summerlin said, "now the real serious stuff starts". In five weeks time, the top four seeds in Group Eleven of the World Championship tournament will clash, with Summerlin (3-1) taking on Billy Daniels (2-1-1) and the group's top seed Joe Jeannette (4-0(2)) facing off against Clarence Henry (3-1(2)) in a battle of two heavy hitters. They promise to be a pair of fantastic fights, the first of a trio of matchups between the four which will decide who continues in this World Championship tournament and who will have to settle for a spot in the upcoming Continental Americas Championship tournament...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
WEDNESDAY 8 MAY 2002
RYOGOKU SUMO ARENA, TOKYO, JAPAN


OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
6(46) Randy Stephens SD6 2(14) Amos Johnson

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
4(54) Billy Daniels UD6 7(102) Mike DeJohn

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
3(38) Clarence Henry KO5 8(118) Al Kaufmann

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
2(22) Johnny Summerlin UD6 6(86) Ron Stander

CO-FEATURE

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
1(3) Oliver McCall D6 5(38) Gus Dorazio

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Eleven
1(11) Joe Jeannette SD6 5(70) Charles Horn