The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[Romdawg88]

Hm, I've got a feeling that the HBF is going to find a top quality boxer at that audition in Miami.

[kenyan_cheena]

PERALTA VICTORIOUS IN PERU

Thursday 30 May 2002

Argentina's Gregorio Peralta rebounded from the disappointment of losing in his homeland debut to score a clear cut unanimous decision victory (59-54, 58-55, 59-54) over Cuba's Omelio Agramonte.

The South American Boxing League's #1 seed was in excellent form, dominating the undefeated Agramonte and building an unasailable lead through the first four rounds. Easing off in the fifth, Peralta finished brilliantly, flooring the 4th seed midway through the final round to put an exclamation point on his victory.

Peralta's win sees him move into 2nd place in the Group A standings behind the man who upset him five weeks ago, Colombia's Bernardo Mercado. The 5th seed improved to 4-0(1) with a unanimous decision win over Brett Ranford. It was a victory every bit as convincing as Peralta's, with Mercado all but sweeping the judge's cards for a 60-54, 59-55, 60-54 verdict. With the win, Mercado has not only secured a semi-finals berth, he's also wrapped up 1st place in Group A. Even a loss in his final preliminary bout cannot change that.

In the evening's Co-Feature, Roberto Davila equalled Mercado's achievement, wrapping up 1st place in Group B by holding 2nd seed Jorge Luis Gonzalez to a draw (57-57, 58-56 (Davila), 57-57). Fighting in front of his countrymen, Davila won two of the final three rounds to maintain his undefeated record (3-0-1) and send the audience into raptures of delight when the verdict was revealed. It was an unremarkable contest but the huge crowd at Lima's Acho Stadium didn't seem to care. Their countryman will represent them in the semi-finals, something that would not have been expected going into the tournament.

For Gonzalez, it was a second straight fight without victory following his loss to the Argentinian Barbaressi five weeks ago. However, the Cuban still has a good chance of qualifying for the semi-finals as Barbaressi was surprisingly defeated by Los Angeles native Cleaver Twidell earlier on the card. The Californian took a split decision verdict (58-57, 57-58, 58-57) in a lively contest, leading to Barbaressi plummeting from 2nd to 4th in Group B, Twidell moving to 3rd and Gonzalez claiming 2nd place.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

The evening started with a pair of bouts that had no bearing on the tournament semi-finals, with Cincinnati's Jack Carroll scoring his first victory against the Mexican Ramon Villa. Villa was also winless coming into the bout and the 9th-seeded Carroll took a 59-55, 58-56, 59-55 unanimous decision verdict. This was followed by another debut win as Brooklyn native Jim Stewart TKO'd Philadelphia's Dave Bailey on cuts in round three.

And so, as a result of this evening's contests, two of the semi-final spots have already been stitched up. In Group A, Bernardo Mercado will finish 1st regardless of the result of his bout against Cuba's Omelio Agramonte. However, an Agramonte victory will mean that #1 seed Gregorio Peralta will have to win or draw in his fight against 8th seed Ramon Villa, something that should not be too difficult for him. In Group B, Peru's Roberto Davila has qualified and it's likely he'll be joined by Jorge Luis Gonzalez, who should be too good for Jim Stewart. However, some unexpected results have featured in this league so the outcomes should not be look upon as a given. If Gonzalez was to lose and the 6th-seeded Argentinian Leonardo Barbaressi defeats Davila, Barbaressi would find himself in the semi-finals.


SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
THURSDAY 30 MAY 2002
ACHO STADIUM, LIMA, PERU

THE SOUTH AMERICAN BOXING LEAGUE


OPENING BOUT

(9) Jack Carroll UD6 (8) Ramon Villa

PRELIMINARY 1

(7) Jim Stewart TKO3 (10) Dave Bailey

PRELIMINARY 2

(11) Cleaver Twidell SD6 (6) Leonardo Barbaressi

SUPPORT BOUT

(5) Bernardo Mercado UD6 (12) Brett Ranford

CO-FEATURE

(2) Jorge Luis Gonzalez D6 (3) Roberto Davila

MAIN EVENT

(1) Gregorio Peralta UD6 (4) Omelio Agramonte

[kenyan_cheena]

VINCENNES REVEALS:
"JUNIOR" HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
"WILL DEFINITELY HAPPEN"

Friday 31 May 2002

Speaking live on SportsCenter from the site of tonight's HBF fight card, Indiana's Hammond Civic Center, federation president Michael Vincennes has surprisingly revealed that a Junior-Heavyweight division will, in the long term, "definitely happen".

"It's something that I've discussed at length with my associates in the federation," said Vincennes. "And although there are no plans to bring it in immediately, we are looking at some time in the second half of 2004, after our initial tournaments are all complete. There's been this belief that the HBF is not interested in expanding our sport, a belief I've always denied. As you know, our current minimum weight limit is 180 pounds. In the IBL, they've set the maximum Light-Heavyweight limit as 175 pounds, as it is in the amateur ranks. Our plan would be to raise the Heavyweight minimum to 190 and slot a Junior-Heavyweight division in between."

Vincennes was asked if this was something that had been discussed with IBL Chief Director James Molk.

"No, it wasn't," replied Vincennes. "As I said in the past, the only request I put to Mr. Molk and his organisation was that they stay below 180 pounds. Now, they could have made the limit for their Light-Heavyweight division 180 and we would not have complained. But I think they kept it at 175 with the idea in mind that some day they would swallow up the Heavyweight Boxing Federation and make the exact move that I have outlined today. I don't plan on letting that happen any time soon."

The federation president went on to mention that he believes a Junior-Heavyweight division would benefit some of the boxers in the HBF who are at something of a disadvantage when the heavier fighters in the division are taken into account.

"There is definitely a place for this," he said. "Looking at the weight ranges in the lower divisions of the IBL, it makes sense. It's clear that some of our competitor's natural fighting weight is not suited to the Heavyweight division. Some of them are only just weighing in above the minimum and I've been told that in some cases they've had to make concerted efforts to do so."

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

Interesting, so I take it the lighter HWs are going to end up in the Junior HWs along with all the real-life Crusierweights that should be a fun division to watch.

Speaking of weights and such I never mention how big my fighter is. He's 5'11 and about 196 or 197, which is what I should weight if I ever got around to getting into shape. Also, I'm 23 now had a birthday back on the 7th so if you want to update his age.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Interesting, so I take it the lighter HWs are going to end up in the Junior HWs along with all the real-life Crusierweights that should be a fun division to watch.

Speaking of weights and such I never mention how big my fighter is. He's 5'11 and about 196 or 197, which is what I should weight if I ever got around to getting into shape. Also, I'm 23 now had a birthday back on the 7th so if you want to update his age.

Yep. I think it could be a fun division. I'm not entirely sure which of the current guys will join it, as some of them (Langford, for example) might want to stay up and continue challenging the bigger guys.

Cool. Thanks for the extra info. Just one question, Romy. You said you've got long hair. How do you want your guy to wear his hair when he fights?

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Yep. I think it could be a fun division. I'm not entirely sure which of the current guys will join it, as some of them (Langford, for example) might want to stay up and continue challenging the bigger guys.

Cool. Thanks for the extra info. Just one question, Romy. You said you've got long hair. How do you want your guy to wear his hair when he fights?

Cool, I like that some of the better or crazier small guys will keep fighting the Heavyweights, which should help make the JHWs more competitive since if I'm not mistaken aside from Holyfield all the Crusiers are pretty close in ratings.

As for my hair, I have to wear tied up cause lord knows when I'm wearing it down it blinds me contastly so I'd be getting taken out by shots I didn't see all the time. One thing though I've got this gold chain with a Virgin Mary charm that my parents gave me that I wear everywhere as a good luck charm. So I think it would be cool if my character wore it wrapped around his hair tie when he fights for good luck.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Cool, I like that some of the better or crazier small guys will keep fighting the Heavyweights, which should help make the JHWs more competitive since if I'm not mistaken aside from Holyfield all the Crusiers are pretty close in ratings.

As for my hair, I have to wear tied up cause lord knows when I'm wearing it down it blinds me contastly so I'd be getting taken out by shots I didn't see all the time. One thing though I've got this gold chain with a Virgin Mary charm that my parents gave me that I wear everywhere as a good luck charm. So I think it would be cool if my character wore tied up in his hair with the hair tie when he fights for good luck.

Cool. You've given me a lot of info, which will really help to flesh out your character. I'm looking forward to writing about him.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Cool. You've given me a lot of info, which will really help to flesh out your character. I'm looking forward to writing about him.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this cat as well. You're a heck of a writer and you've done some great stuff with the characters and the overall world that the HBF and IBF exist in.

[kenyan_cheena]

Thanks, Romy.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #764)

Vincennes went on to talk in an animated fashion about the start of the fifth series of WC/1D tournament fight cards, speaking of his admiration for the performances of the two Sams, McVey and Langford earlier in the week.

"I was just in awe watching them," said Vincennes. "They were two very different performances but ones that were equally superb. McVey just blitzed Zora Folley. He bombarded the guy. On the other hand, Langford disected Alex Stewart, cut him to pieces with gradual precision. No offense to the defeated fighters, but it was a fascinatingly beautiful thing to watch. This is a section of our tournaments that every boxing fan has looked forward to and McVey and Langford really stepped up to the plate and delivered. Like a lot of people have said, they've taken the standard to a new level."

"This is our most anticipated bout, without a doubt," said Vincennes when asked about his opinion on this evening's Jimmy Young-Elmer Ray clash. "The animosity that was there back in January and February has cooled a bit, but it's still being mentioned and adds to the drama of the matchup. You only have to look at yesterday's weigh-in to see the tension that still exists between the two of them. I think it's going to be a fantastic fight. Definitely a lot more competitive than the Langford and McVey bouts were. If you ask me to tip a winner, that's very difficult. Both guys have shown tremendous form in their last few bouts, so I don't know. It could easily end up being a draw."

As the interview drew to a close, Vincennes was asked about the upcoming HBF auditions.

"I'll be down there in Miami next week," he said. "I'm just so enthusiastic about what we'll uncover during these next four weeks. I've been keeping tabs on the IBL selection trials and they have just discovered some great talent so far. I think we are destined for similar success, so my expectations are high."

Soon after, Vincennes was making his way to ringside. He received a number of friendly greetings from audience members, shaking hands and chatting with them, finally taking his seat as the combatants for the evening's opening bout were being announced...

[kenyan_cheena]

MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR YOUNG AND RAY

Friday 31 May 2002

Ever since that crazy January 11 evening when Elmer Ray stormed the ring at Japan's Yokohama Arena and verbally blasted Jimmy Young, tonight's Main Event contest between the two has been THE most eagerly awaited bout on the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's schedule.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, we'll press the rewind button and fill you in on the genesis of the rivalry.

Philadelphia's Jimmy Young and Elmer Ray of Hastings, Florida were both placed in Group Sixteen of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament. Young was the group's #1 seed (and therefore, the #16 seed in the tournament) while Ray was the #3 seed, and 33rd overall for the tournament.

Group Sixteen's first series of bouts was scheduled to take place at the Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa, Japan on 11 January. Having already developed something of a bad reputation for himself at the federation's October tournament auditions, Ray had bragged that he was going to destroy his bigger opponent Buddy Baer and then caused a sensation at the weigh in when he abused Baer, leading to a wild brawl. When the two stepped into the ring the following night, the 16 year-old Florida native backed up his words and KO'd Baer in the sixth and final round of a competitive bout.

Young was not so successful. Fighting what many observers called a "dumb fight", he was held to a draw by 113th seed Tony Ross. Needless to say, it was not the ideal start to his career and tournament campaign, but Ray really rubbed it in when he returned to the ring and spat a tirade of abuse at the Philadelphian, calling Young a bum and questioning how he was going to beat Ray if he "can't even get past Tony Ross" before leaving the ring. Young did not respond to Ray's outburst and later acknowledged that, based on his disappointing performance, much of what the 33rd seed had said was true.

Five weeks later, things between the two heated up for a second time as Young again struggled, eeking out a split decision victory against Rocky Jones in Anaheim, California. Ray had been impressive in taking a unanimous decision verdict against Tom McMahon and sat ringside for Young's bout. When the 16th seed departed the ring, Ray taunted him, saying "Who know, maybe next time y'all can win by majority decision!" Unlike in Japan, a frustrated Young fired back but before the exchange escalated into something more serious, he was ushered back to the dressing room by his cornermen.

Jimmy Young finally produced a showing worthy of his #1 seed status when the HBF visited his home town of Philadelphia on March 22. Young pitched a shutout against Buddy Baer, landing three times as many punches as his opponent and being awarded by the judges, with each of them giving him a 60-54 victory. Earlier in the evening, Ray was good enough to beat Rocky Jones by unanimous decision. He had drawn the ire of Young's hometown fans with his entrance to the ring and his comments after the bout, saying that he couldn't wait to come back and fight in "the City of Brotherly Love."

In the days after the event, the Florida firebrand was happy to say that Young had fought one helluva fight against Baer, admitting that the 16th seed had handled the big Denver native in a more convincing fashion than Ray had in his debut. Ray went on to say that his beef with Young wasn't personal, but was entirely due to the fact that Young was a #1 seed but had not fought like it in his opening bouts. He said that if Young was to defeat him and the group's 2nd seed Floyd Patterson and quaify for the tournament's second stage, he would gladly shake the man's hand.

The next time the two stepped in the ring, back on April 26, it was the first occasion when they had both fired on the same night. Ray was sensational in knocking out Tony Ross in four rounds while Young dominated Tom McMahon, earning another unanimous decision win. Ray climbed into the ring after the Main Event, but this time, there were no words of abuse, only respect.

"Just wanna tell y'all that what gone down 'tween us in the pas', that don't mean nothin'," said Ray. "Won't mean nothin' in five weeks, either. I admit I cause that s%$t, but y'all know some of it was justified, man."

Jimmy Young nodded. "I guess so."

"I know y'all don't care if I respec' you, know y'all don't need my respec'," said Ray. "But y'all got it, see? In five weeks, it's me and you, brother. May the bes' man win, y'all."

He then shook Young's hand and left the ring, setting the scene for tonight's event. Neither man has said much at all in the intervening five weeks, preferring to concentrate on being as ready as they can for the fight.

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

Can't wait to see this one go down should be a heck of a fight. I've got a question though this whole thing was started off due to a bad showing on Young's part right, so why then didn't Elmer jump on Patterson for getting knocked out by Baer a guy both him and Young had handled.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Can't wait to see this one go down should be a heck of a fight. I've got a question though this whole thing was started off due to a bad showing on Young's part right, so why then didn't Elmer jump on Patterson for getting knocked out by Baer a guy both him and Young had handled.

Well, Patterson didn't stink up the joint for six rounds. He was KO'd by a single punch 43 seconds into the fight. I think there was an element of bad luck there, something that Elmer would have recognised.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Well, Patterson didn't stink up the joint for six rounds. He was KO'd by a single punch 43 seconds into the fight. I think there was an element of bad luck there, something that Elmer would have recognised.

Alright, I can believe that. It hit me while I was reading the recap of the feud and it got me wondering but thats good answer.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #772)

"I think it's kinda fitting that there hasn't been any trash talk leading up to tonight," said the New York Sun's Peter Roman from his ringside seat. "That was all taken care of before now, and it was pretty much one-sided with Ray doing the bulk of it. He's just seventeen, but he's got a mature head on those shoulders. He knows he's got a helluva challenge in front of him. You could see how much this means to each guy at the weigh-in yesterday. That staredown was just priceless. They've earned each other's respect but they'll be doing their best to obliterate each other once they climb in that ring. I've never seen Elmer Ray so focused or intense as he was yesterday."

For Ray, tonight's bout holds an extra added significance besides his aspirations for success in the World Championship tournament. His fellow Florida Alliance members Tommy Gomez, Oliver McCall and his cousin Terone Haynes all struggled in their bouts earlier this month, going a combined 1-1-1. Ray will be desperate to end May on a positive note.

"They came into the month looking fantastic," said Roman. "All of them had perfect records but if Ray losses, Terone Haynes will be the only one to make it to June with that status intact."

COMING SOON: A BOUT-BY-BOUT ACCOUNT
OF THE HAMMOND CIVIC CENTER FIGHT CARD

[kenyan_cheena]

THE HAMMOND CIVIC CENTER FIGHT CARD

Back on the 13th of February, the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis hosted what is considered one of the best fight cards staged by the HBF to date. Tonight's event was the federation's first visit to Indiana since then and the audience at the Hammond Civic Center was an enthusiastic one, hoping for an event that would be the equal of that exciting night in February. They knew that they would be live witnesses to the eagerly awaited Jimmy Young-Elmer Ray matchup and the buzz of anticipation was in the air. Speculative chatter filled the arena, which was probably 90% of the way towards having its 8,000 seat capacity filled by the time the first bout started...

Opening Bout

Minnesota's Lee Savold had fought with determination and courage during his first four professional bouts. Each of them had been against fighters seeded higher than him in the 1st Defense tournament and he finished that quartet with a 1-1-2 record. With a little bit of luck, he could have gone 4-0 as his single loss was by split decision. He had been spoken of with admiration as a fighter who won't take a backward step, a gutsy competitor who always tests his opponent.

Tonight, the 41st seed was up against Joe Erskine of Wales, a fighter who had experienced a similarly eventful career start. He had been KO'd twice within two rounds but had also recorded a pair of upset victories. The 57th seed's 2-2 record had him sitting in 4th place in Group Eight coming into the evening and holding a slim chance of progressing to the tournament's second stage.

As it would turn out neither man really furthered their chances as, in a bout that was for the main uneventful, Savold and Erskine had to settle for a draw. The scorecards showed 57-57, 58-57, 57-58 and it was probably a reasonable result. With the exception of rounds three and six there was little to excite. The Welshman rocked Savold with a series of powerful shots late in the third and in the final round they both finished strongly, but overall, it was a contest of an unremarkable nature.

Savold is now 1-1-3 and will surely be shaking his head in regards to the brief distance between success and failure that has defined the start of his career. Erskine is 2-2-1 and will be watching with great interest tomorrow when his fellow Britons (and the fighters sitting above him in the group) Herbie Hide, Billy Walker and Bob Devere take to the ring in Japan.

Preliminary 1

In a battle of 1-3 fighters, South Africa's Kallie Knoetze defeated New Jersey's Keene Simmons by split decision.

It was one of those fights that really could have gone either way with Simmons starting like a house on fire before Knoetze struck back in round two. Rounds three and four would turn out to be the difference between victory and defeat as Knoetze was able to take them both on two of the judge's cards. They were both quiet rounds, with neither man doing much to impress.

After Knoetze picked up the pace in round five, Simmons almost KO'd him in the final round. A late rally had the South African hanging on for dear life but when the verdict was announced, he was happy to fall to the canvas. He had been awarded a 58-57, 57-58, 58-57 victory.

Preliminary 2

Having scored a shocking 1st round knockout of Floyd Patterson in his last bout, Denver's Buddy Baer came back down to earth this evening as he was held to a draw by Philadelphia's Tony Ross in a controversial bout that featured a dramatic finish.

Ross was sent to the canvas by a crushing four punch combo just seven seconds from the final bell. However, under the rules of the HBF a fighter can be saved by the bell in any round, so the World Championship tournament's 113th seed did not have to beat the count.

The knockdown actually saved Baer from defeat as the scorecards read 57-57, 57-58, 57-56. But upon further investigation it was revealed that judge Fred Ucci had scored the final round 10-9, despite the knockdown. If he had scored the round correctly, the verdict would have still been a draw, but Baer was unimpressed afterwards.

"That's just really careless," he said. "I don't understand how a judge could make such a simple mistake and I don't know what I would have done if it had ended up costing me the fight."

Baer came back strongly in the bottom half of the bout after Ross had held the upperhand (and a two point lead on two of the cards) after three rounds. That final round knockdown came at the end of an impressive offensive assault, but Baer was left to rue the lateness of it.

"Just a few seconds earlier," he said, shaking his head. "If I had put him down just a few seconds earlier, I would have won. He wasnt't gonna come close to beating that count."

By failing to consolidate on his upset victory over Patterson, Baer (2-2-1(1)) has pretty much kissed goodbye to his chances of qualifying for the tournament's second stage, something that he was acutely aware of afterwards.

"You know, after the night is over, there's gonna be at least two guys above me with one defeat," he said. "If I had won this fight, I'd still be in striking distance."

It must be said that Tony Ross has overachieved to this point in the tournament. His record of 1-2-2 is second only to Canada's Arthur Pelkey (2-2) amongst the World Championship tournament's 8th seeds.

"I haven't given up on making the Continental Americas tournament," he said. "If I can win my last two bouts, I think I should be able to sneak in."

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

I log on to the site and see that you've made a new post. So I'm all happy and expect some Young/Ray goodness and what here the undercard, that hurts man that hurts.

Tough break for Buddy there hopefully he can sneak into the Continental Tournment. Also, I'm hoping that Patterson gets a rematch with him down the road so he can get some payback for that knockout lose.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)