The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

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THE ALLIANCE GROWS

Sunday 14 July 2002

Story by Maurice Poe for the St. John's County Chronicle

Those of you who read this column regularly will be aware that since the commencement of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament I've been one of Elmer Ray's biggest supporters and, by association, also a fan of the Florida Alliance during its four month existence. I was the first journalist to sit down face-to-face with Elmer and dig under that "firebrand" surface (see post #104, page six) and in my estimation this talented 17 year-old has matured markedly in the mere five or so months since that interview. The way in which he's toned down some of his more outlandish characteristics has been admirable, as has been his leadership of the Alliance after what was a disasterous month of May for them. I can say with absolute confidence that he is growing into a fine young man.

Back on Thursday, Elmer called me and invited me to drop in on him and his extended family in Hastings. Having only been back home for two days following he and cousin Terone's successful three week journey through Japan and Australia, Elmer guaranteed me that he had some news that would "shake things up a little" as far as the HBF is concerned. Curious, I accepted his offer and paid him a visit yesterday afternoon.

When I arrived at the cozy farmhouse I was greeted by the site of Elmer and his cousins Terone and James, out under the blazing midday sun, being mercilessly put through a series of rigorous training reps by their recognised patriarch Marlon Ray: squats, sprints, sit-ups, push-ups, you name it. Unsurprisingly, the two other members of the Florida Alliance, Oliver McCall and "Tampa" Tommy Gomez weren't there. They'd been over in Johannesburg, South Africa last week where Gomez had stretched the Alliance's current winning streak to four with a victory over Miami's Al Jones. The two were now up in New Jersey, having flown there directly to fulfill media commitments for McCall's clash with Amos Johnson this coming Wednesday. Elmer would reveal during our chat that the rest of the group would be joining them there on Monday.

Yes, Gomez and McCall weren't there but two others that I didn't immediately recognise were. The first was Fort Lauderdale's Tony Alongi, the 82nd seed in the federation's World Championship tournament. Currently boasting a 3-2 record, Alongi is scheduled to take on the overachieving Englishman Gary Mason in twelve days from now, a bout where a win will see him jump into the top two in Group Fifteen. The other was the young Cuban fighter who had seriously impressed the HBF at their Miami auditions, Romy Alvarez. Both were right there, down in the trenches pushing themselves to breaking point along with Elmer and the others.

"Fitness!" barked Marlon, pacing back and forth. "Fitness! None o' y'all gonna get where y'all wanna be without it. Believe that. One more time!"

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

I must say I think I already don't like Marlon, homeboy is making us work. Good stuff so far and it's cool to see Tony Alongi made it as well.

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(continuation)

Despite all the hard work that was going on, there was a party atmosphere at the Ray residence. A score of Elmer's siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles were gathered around in the backyard having a barbeque, hip hop music playing constantly from a stereo inside the house. Looking at Marlon, I could see that he was perfectly happy to put his charges through such a punishing session in the midst of all that sweet aroma.

Some thirty minutes after I arrived, the session came to an end and I sat down to talk with Elmer. The young man had weighed in at just 182 pounds for his July 5 bout against Nathan Mann and, if anything, looked lighter than that yesterday.

"We be growin', y'all," said Elmer when I asked him about the presence of Alongi and Alvarez. "Y'all would o' heard 'bout how Romy help out my cuz down in Miami, man. That's the kind o' thang that really impress me, you know? Peeps bein' selfless like that. Before we even get back here from Australia, I told Jimmy to get him up here for our workouts, y'all. The cat arrive' back on Wednesday and he been trainin' his ass off, no doubt. He kinda shy an' reserved, bit like Tommy, y'all. But he cool, man. Loves himself some hip hop but he also into all this heavy metal, hard guitar stuff which is pretty wild to me, y'all. But he play some o' it to me and it's kinda cool, gotta say. Romy's a slick boxer, y'all. All us other fellas, me and T an' O-Mac and Tamps, we all sluggers, see? Romy got some real boxin' skill, better than the rest o' us. Think we can really help each other, y'all. Think he can pass some o' that slickness on to us and we can help him with his aggression and power. You know, he could be fightin' soon as August 13. Think that's when the QL kick off. If he be on that first card, he gonna be ready to go, y'all. Cat's gonna come up to Jersey with us for O-Mac's fight and he really lookin' forward to that."

We had a little break from our conversation as the whole extended Ray/Haynes family sat down to eat. They invited me to join them and, with all that good eating, how could I refuse?

"Tony's from Lauderdale, man," said Elmer, as we took up our talk again about an hour later. "Jus' like O-Mac. We been watchin' him since when we start this thing, but he bein' train by his pops and ain't wanna offend him. That was cool, but O-Mac call him up 'fore he and Tamps went to Jo'burg, invitin' him to come train with us. Don't know if he gonna "join" us, but he get a lot out o' this week so that's all good, y'all. Jus' hopin' he can get a win 'gainst that English brother 'cause that be huge for him, man."

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

I'm sure Marlon got a kick of torturing us when such good cooking was going down. I can picture him enjoying some of that barbecue in front of us just to rub it in abit. I see that Elmer took to the Heavy Metal cool I might have to start working in some Tom Petty and Johnny Cash on him now. I also see that you worked in that Me/boxer them/sluggers thing into it that was cool. Good stuff as always KC.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

I'm sure Marlon got a kick of torturing us when such good cooking was going down. I can picture him enjoying some of that barbecue in front of us just to rub it in abit. I see that Elmer took to the Heavy Metal cool I might have to start working in some Tom Petty and Johnny Cash on him now. I also see that you worked in that Me/boxer them/sluggers thing into it that was cool. Good stuff as always KC.

Thanks, Romy. I wanted to try and convey the sense of family that runs through the Ray/Haynes family and I thought the barbeque would be a good way of doing that. As you can see, the notes you gave me on your guy are coming in handy for the story.

There's one more part to this article, then I can dive right into the next week of fight cards.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #1183)

"Don't see a time when we'd stop, y'all," said Elmer when I mentioned the size of the Florida Alliance. "It's a thang that's just gettin' started, man. Still green and new an' Romy and Tony, I hope they wanna be part of that. Heck, I know Romy ain't gonna say no 'cause he prove that he want in with us when he help out Jimmy. Ain't no denyin' he feel as strong 'bout this thang as the rest of us, y'all. He our boy, see? I'm lookin' forward t' making that walk to the ring with him, no doubt."

I asked Elmer about his upcoming August 9 bout against Floyd Patterson.

"Mean ev'rythang," he said after a brief moment of contemplation. "Ev'rythang I been workin' for these past six, seven months all gonna come down to that one night. I win that one fight and it saves me maybe a whole year o' climbin' up the rankin's once the tourney is over. Y'all know I'm gunnin' to win it all but I gotta be realistic and look at the positives if'n I don't. One of those be that makin' the second stage will save me a lot of time, not to mention the finances, man. Heard the prize money gonna be four times what it is in stage one, y'all. Make a big difference to my family, jus' winnin' that one fight."

"And the alternative?"

Elmer smiled and laughed.

"Don't wanna con'emplate that, y'all," he said. "Do' wanna think on that at all, man. But let's jus' say it don't work out 'gainst Floyd ... those other fellas in the American tourney gonna wish it had, man. They gonna wish it had."

Since these HBF tournaments started, Elmer Ray has been the most talked about of all the federation's competitors. But as everyone knows, sometimes hype is difficult to live up to. So far, Elmer has lived up to the hype and if he walks out of the ring victorious on August 9, he'll be halfway towards a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship...

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STAYING PUT

Sunday 14 July 2002

This coming week will feature a first for the Heavyweight Boxing Federation: the first time that all four of the week's World Championship/1st Defense tournament fight cards are being staged in the USA.

"It's not something that we'll be making a habit of," said federation president Michael Vincennes. "We've had a couple of weeks before where there were three cards here in the States and one up in Canada, but never one with all four events in the USA. Our sport is an international one and if everyone didn't already know that, you'll see the evidence of it in the coming weeks."

The action kicks off tomorrow night in Tacoma, Washington when Australia's World Championsip tournament 6th seed Peter Jackson takes on the Englishman Jack Gardner at the Emerald Queen Casino. Both men sport 5-0 records and for Jackson a win will confirm a place in stage two. It could do the same for Gardner, depending on other results. Either way, it's a vital clash.

On Wednesday, Joe Jeannette will be fighting in his home state of New Jersey for the second time as he steps in the ring against Johnny Summerlin at the Ritacco Center in Toms River. A win will see the 11th-seeded, undefeated Jeannette qualify for the second stage of the World Championship tournament and, interestingly, he's promised something special for the fans.

Friday sees a battle between two of the federatrion's slickest contestants as Ernie Terrell and Jimmy Ellis go head-to-head with 1st place in Group Fourteen of the WC tourney to be decided in the fight. That's right. Whoever wins this contest will wrap up a 1st place finish.

Finally, "The Battle for Southern Texas" will take place on Saturday night as "The Galveston Giant" and World Championship tournament 3rd seed Jack Johnson will be shooting for the top spot in his group against Houston's Cleveland Williams. The build-up to this one has made national headlines with Johnson indulging in some spirited trash-talking. No doubt, it promises to be an exciting contest.

The week will also feature the return to action of Canada's Lennox Lewis. Having suffered a shock loss at the hands of John Ferguson last month, the Olympic Champion will be out to get his career back on track against Brett Ashby. There'll also be the fifth and final series of bouts in the African Boxing League from Johannesburg, with the clash of the undefeated between Nigerian Omovo Okocha and New Orleans slugger James Eldren sure to be a highlight.

"Oh, it'll be a great week," said Vincennes. "Don't you worry about that."

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TACOMA TAKEDOWN:
JACKSON DOMINATES GARDNER,
QUALIFIES FOR STAGE TWO

Monday 15 July 2002

All the talk and bold predictions that had come from the camp of England's Jack Gardner during the last few days took on a mighty foolish appearance after he was overwhelmed and embarrassed by Australia's Peter Jackson at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington tonight. The 6th seed in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament, Jackson scored a dominant 60-53, 58-55, 60-53 unanimous decision victory over Gardner to maintain his perfect record (now 6-0) and stitch up a 1st place finish in his tournament group.

Both fighters were 5-0 coming into the contest and Gardner's team had claimed that their man would defy the critics and be too tough for the Caribbean-born Australian. In the opening round, that appeared to be the case as the 27th seed went toe-to-toe with Jackson, showing an aggressive disposition which would have made things interesting if he'd been able to maintain it for the rest of the fight. But it wasn't to be and from the second round onwards, Jackson was in absolute command, gradually wearing Gardner down and, in the words of one ringside observer "taking away his manhood". The Englishman tasted the canvas midway through round five when a rapid-fire left-right-left salvo turned his legs to rubber. He was up at three but wore the expression of a thoroughly defeated and cowed individual.

One simple statistic illustrates the extent of the Englishman's capitulation: in round one, Gardner landed 20 pounches. During the remaining five rounds, he connected with a combined total of 21, with only two each in rounds three and four.

Jackson had entered the ring in a gold silk robe and identical trunks, sporting a freshly-shaven pate and wearing green boots with gold and white laces. His good friend, fellow Australian and International Boxing League competitior Jeff Fenech was a part of his entourage. Not just here in the States to support Jackson, the tough Featherweight slugger will be in attendance at the IBL's MGM Grand Casino "opening night" next Monday.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Jackson landed 171 of 248 punches (69.0%) and expressed some good-natured disappointment afterwards over the ease of his victory.

"You know, they were saying that he would clean the floor with me," he said, smiling. "That he'd be too tough. I'm a bit let down, really. I expected a lot more than what he showed me, to be honest. From the moment I landed the right hand, he didn't want anything to do with me."

The Australian was asked who he thought would join him in stage two out of Gardner and 41st seed Bruce Woodcock. The two Englishmen will clash next month to decide who finishes 2nd behind Jackson in Group SIx.

"Well, just basing it off how he fought against me last month and what he did to Tillis tonight, I think Woodcock's going to win it inside the distance. The guy has some power there and it wouldn't surprise me if he puts Gardner to sleep with it."

Most observers have favoured Woodcock over Gardner to this point of the tournament and the Doncaster slugger was in fine form in tonight's Co-Feature. He disposed of James Tillis with a 3rd round knockout, a left hook-straight right combo dropping the Oklahoma native to the canvas for the first and only time in the fight. Tillis was counted out at the 2:28 mark, the win improving Woodcock's record to 5-1(3).

There had been a lot of speculation over how Jackson would handle his two English adversaries, but his performances against them have dispelled any doubt. He's simply a class above both of them and it will be a pleasure to watch "Action Jackson" during the second stage of the World Championship tournament...

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THE TACOMA UNDERCARD

* In the opener, Jackson's fellow Aussie Bill Lang held Boston's King Solomon to a draw (57-57, 58-57 (Lang), 57-57) in a contest between winless fighters. It was Lang's second consecutive draw and the third for Solomon in his six tournament bouts.

* Philadelphia's Gus Dorazio improved to 2-1-3(1) with a 4th round TKO of the Texan Randy Stephens. Dorazio started slowly but showed some good signs in round three and then opened up a cut over Stephens' right eye with a big left hook early in the fourth. It led to the contest being stopped a minute into the round.

Dorazio had already been eliminated from the 1st Defense tournament progression race after series five but if he can win his series seven bout, it should lead to a higher than expected seeding in the upcoming Continental Americas Championship tournament.

* Idaho native James Ellis scored his second consecutive victory, taking a majority decision verdict against the winless Bob Baker. It appeared that Baker had done enough to at least secure a draw but the knockdown that Ellis scored in round five turned out to be the difference. The scorecards read 58-56, 57-57, 57-56.

Ellis is now 2-3-1 while Baker is an unfortunate 0-6.

* Like Ellis, the South African Johnny DuPlooy achieved his second win in a row, also improving to 2-3-1. He defeated Germany's Heinz Neuhaus by a dominant unanimous decision (60-52, 59-53, 60-52), flooring his opponent late in round two and early in round three.

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SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
MONDAY 15 JULY 2002
EMERALD QUEEN CASINO, TACOMA, WASHINGTON, USA


OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
7(54) Bill Lang D6 8(62) King Solomon

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
5(38) Gus Dorazio TKO4 6(46) Randy Stephens

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
8(123) James Ellis MD6 7(107) Bob Baker

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
5(75) Johnny DuPlooy UD6 6(91) Heinz Neuhaus

CO-FEATURE

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
3(43) Bruce Woodcock KO3 4(59) James Tillis

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
1(6) Peter Jackson UD6 2(27) Jack Gardner

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LEWIS AND CLEROUX SCORE KO WINS,
WILL MEET IN TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINALS

Tuesday 16 July 2002

The chances of either Lennox Lewis or Robert Cleroux failing to finish at the top of their respective Canadian Boxing League tournament groups would have been miniscule back in February but that scenario became a reality tonight at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. Anyone who had bet on this outcome before the tournament started would be a rich man today.

Going into the event, New Brunswick's John Ferguson sat on top of Group A by virtue of his shock upset victory over Lewis last month. He only needed to defeat Joe Lannon in the evening's third bout to stay there and that's exactly what he did, cruising to a 59-55 (x3) unanimous decision victory. Earlier, Carmine Vingo of the Bronx had scored a hard-fought 58-56, 57-57, 58-57 majority decison win over Joe Cox in the 1st Preliminary, making his record 3-1-1 and incredibly (following Ferguson's victory), making Lewis's main event contest against Brett Ashby a must win for the Olympic Champion.

In the evening's Co-Feature Cleroux scored an abrupt one-punch knockout of Lou Bailey, a crushing uppercut inside of the opening minute turning the Illinois native's lights out and knocking him out semi-final contention in spectacular fashion. Bailey was counted out just 59 seconds into the first round. Having already secured top spot in Group B following series four, Cleroux improved his record to 4-0-1(2).

And so Lennox Lewis made his way to the ring for the main event knowing that he needed a win just to make the semi-finals and that, once there, his opponent would be the tournament's #2 seed Robert Cleroux. He had little trouble disposing of Ashby, pummeling him in rounds one and two before a left hook floored the 8th seed in round three. He was counted out at the 2:24 mark.

"Well, one of us was always going to lose the tournament anyway," said Lewis philosophically afterwards, in regards to his semi-final clash with Cleroux. "I guess it really makes no difference whether we fight in the semis or in the final. I'm confident that one of us will win the whole thing and I'll be trying my hardest to make sure it's me."

10th-seeded New Yorker Bobby Halpern forced his way into the semi-finals with a unanimous decision victory against Tim Anderson in the opening bout of the night (59-55, 58-56, 59-58). The win drew him level with Lou Bailey for 2nd in Group B but Halpern's TKO victory of the 7th seed last month meant he clinched the semi-final birth.

Having held Robert Cleroux to a draw last month, Larry Gains ended his stint in the CBL with a unanimous decision win over Jack Munroe. Gains was in control from the outset and took the verdict by scores of 59-55, 60-54 and 59-55.

Following the fifth and final series of bouts in the Canadian Boxing League, the standings look like this:

GROUP A

1. (4) JOHN FERGUSON (CANADA), 4-1-0
2. (1) LENNOX LEWIS (CANADA), 4-1-0(3)

3. (9) CARMINE VINGO (USA), 3-1-1
4. (8) BRETT ASHBY (CANADA), 1-3-1
5. (5) JOE LANNON (CANADA), 1-4-0
6. (12) JOE COX (USA), 1-4-0(1)

GROUP B

1. (2) ROBERT CLEROUX (CANADA), 4-0-1(2)
2. (10) BOBBY HALPERN (USA), 3-2-0(1)

3. (7) LOU BAILEY (USA), 3-2-0
4. (3) LARRY GAINS (CANADA), 2-1-2
5. (6) JACK MUNROE (CANADA), 1-4-0
6. (11) TIM ANDERSON (USA), 0-4-1

The semi-finals will be held on the 20th of August:

(4) John Ferguson (4-1-0) vs (10) Bobby Halpern (3-2-0(1))
(2) Robert Cleroux (4-0-1(2)) vs (1) Lennox Lewis (4-1-0(3))


SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
TUESDAY 16 JULY 2002
MAPLE LEAF GARDENS, TORONTO, CANADA

THE CANADIAN BOXING LEAGUE


OPENING BOUT

(10) Bobby Halpern UD6 (11) Tim Anderson

PRELIMINARY 1

(9) Carmine Vingo MD6 (12) Joe Cox

PRELIMINARY 2

(4) John Ferguson UD6 (5) Joe Lannon

SUPPORT BOUT

(3) Larry Gains UD6 (6) Jack Munroe

CO-FEATURE

(2) Robert Cleroux KO1 (7) Lou Bailey

MAIN EVENT

(1) Lennox Lewis KO3 (8) Brett Ashby

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JERSEY PRIDE

Wednesday 17 July 2002

Upstaging the Florida Alliance is not an easy thing to do. Led by Elmer Ray, this talented group of fighters have been responsible for some of the most entertaining and imaginative ring entrances during the short history of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation and have also created a good deal of controversy. With that in mind, outdoing them and stealing their limelight would be considered quite a feat. But as you'll see, with the help of some friends New Jersey's Joe Jeannette managed to do just that during this evening's Ritacco Center event...

***

* The perfect career start of Oklahoma's Tommy Morrison was brought to a halt in the night's opening bout, the 1st Defense tournament's 30th seed losing by split decision to Ibar Arrington of Everett, Washington. The blonde-haired 20 year-old slugger had impressed many with his charge towards the tournament's second stage but tonight he just wasn't quite good enough to overcome a more determined, enthusiastic opponent.

Arrington had fallen to his second defeat at the hands of top seed Oliver McCall in his last contest and needed a win against Morrison to keep any chance of progressing to the tournament's second stage alive. While it wasn't a great fight, it did feature some moments of drama. Morrison appeared to be on course for a sixth win after the first two rounds. He won both of them on all three cards but Arrington turned the tide in round three as Morrison tasted the canvas for the first time in his career, absorbing a tremendous shot to the ribs and falling to his knees.

Morrison struggled for the remainder of the fight and although he showed great resilience and courage in round five, his efforts weren't enough to sway all three judges. Two of them gave Arrington the win by scores of 58-55 while the other favoured the Oklahoma native, 57-56.

"I'm really disappointed in myself," said a dejected Morrison afterwards. "I felt I was controlling the fight in those first two rounds but he really just wrestled that away from me with the knockdown. I guess it affected my confidence a bit, 'cause I just couldn't get it going again after that."

Arrington, who outlanded Morrison 108-83, was ecstatic about the result.

"I'm still alive in the tournament and it's fantastic," he said. "I didn't let that slow start get to me. I just kept on working and it was good enough to get the win. I think the knockdown was a real turning point, no doubt. He was a different fighter from that point on and I was able to capitalise on that change."

For Morrison, it could really be a case of falling at the last hurdle. A win in this bout would have secured his passage to the second stage. Instead, he'll almost certainly need to defeat Oliver McCall in series seven as the chances of Arrington winning against the disappointing Amos Johnson and overtaking him will be pretty good.

* The evening continued with a contest between two of the federation's strugglers, New Yorker Mike DeJohn (0-5) and San Francisco's Al Kaufmann (1-4). That one win for Kaufmann had been an upset of World Championship tournament 22nd seed Johnny Summerlin back in February but tonight, DeJohn extended the Californian's misery to four consecutive defeats as he scored a majority decision victory (58-54, 56-56, 58-55).

The fight only really heated up in rounds four and five with the combatants trading knockdowns. Kaufmann tasted the canvas late in the fourth but returned the favour early in the fifth when he put DeJohn on his backside with a left hook.

DeJohn was famously KO'd by Joe Jeannette in 37 seconds on the same night that Kaufmann defeated Summerlin and the native of Syracuse was in a jubilant mood following his debut victory.

* Kaufmann's fellow 'cisco native Charles Horn had better luck as he triumphed over Omaha's Ron Stander by unanimous decison. Horn improved to 3-3(1) with his second consecutive victory, taking the win by scores of 58-56 (twice) and 59-55.

Stander was right in the contest going into round five but Horn finished strongly, sweeping the final two stanzas to send the Nebraska native to his third loss in four fights.

* New York's Billy Daniels achieved a minor upset, defeating Clarence Henry by majority decision in a tough contest. Daniels started like a house on fire but was brought back down to earth courtesy of a smashing uppercut that had him flat on his back early in round two. He beat the count and went back to work in impressive style, taking the third and then flooring Henry in round four with a body shot.

Los Angeles-born Henry came close to forcing a draw with a dominant effort in the fifth and a spirited showing in the final round, but it wasn't enough. Daniels was awarded the victory by scores of 57-55, 56-56 and 57-55.

The New Yorker is now 3-2-1 and will face top seed Joe Jeannette in series seven. What had been a promising campaign for Henry has now fallen to pieces. He was 3-1 and on a three-fight winning streak after KOing Al Kaufmann back in May. As expected, he was unable to overcome Jeannette last month but he was favoured to defeat Daniels tonight. The LA native is now 3-3(2).

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

* With the evening's first four contests complete, the arrival of the Florida Alliance was only moments away. There was a palpable change amongst the Ritacco Center audience and when the crunching kick/snare beat of Eric B. & Rakim's "Eric B. Is President" assaulted the arena's speakers, the crowd erupted as one. Soon after, Oliver McCall and a bloated Florida Alliance entourage were on their way to the ring. They were decked out in baggy trackpants and oversized supporter's jackets that were predominantly black with touches of red and white, Terone Haynes a symbol of intimidation in dark shades.

Besides the usual suspects of Ray, Haynes and Gomez, also present was the long-haired 22 year-old Romy Alvarez, who had greatly impressed HBF scouts at the federation's Miami auditions and will be competing in the upcoming Qualifying League tournament. It had been reported in last Sunday's St. John's County Chronicle that Alvarez had been training with the Alliance and judging by his appearance with them tonight, was now the newest member of the group.

Bringing a 4-0-1 record into the evening, McCall had seen Tommy Morrison fall to his first loss earlier on the card and knew that a win against Amos Johnson would not only see him return to the top of the standings in Group Three of the 1st Defense tournament, but also secure his birth in stage two. While he was by no means in spectacular form, McCall did enough to secure a majority decision victory over Johnson (59-55, 57-57, 58-56).

As the cards show, it was the kind of bout where it was difficult to say how good McCall really was. No one doubted that he should have won, but amongst those at ringside there was some disagreement over the quality of his performance. Some felt that he looked content to cruise while others believed he'd put on a good show, sighting some impressive work in rounds two, four and six. McCall landed 111 of 318 punches, Johnson 101 of 342 (29.5%).

"I don't feel like I've really shown the world what I'm capable of yet," said the Fort Lauderdale native afterwards. "It's been a little frustratin', really. I just haven't been able to execute for the full six rounds in any of my fights. It hasn't cost me yet, but it's somethin' I gotta work on."

"Feels okay," said McCall when asked how he felt about being the first Alliance member to progress in the HBF's tournaments. "I'm hopin' that E and Tamps can join me there, for sure. But I got a big fight 'gainst Morrison before we think 'bout that. I'm aimin' to finish on top of the group and I gotta beat the dude to do that."

Elmer Ray himself was quite talkative afterwards.

"O-Mac still undefeated, y'all," said Ray. "The brother's takin' care o' business but he ain't gettin' much respec', man. Ain't right, I gotta say. But it's cool, 'cause it all come back and bite all y'all once he on the verge of fightin' for that belt, man. The brother can go all the way in this tourney. Believe that."

The Florida Firebrand then called Romy Alvarez over to the microphone.

"Wanna introduce our newes' member, y'all," Ray said, arm around Alvarez's shoulders. "This here is my man, our man Romy Alvarez. He be competin' in the QL, y'all. Want all o' y'all to look out for him 'cause he gonna be knockin' on the door o' the top ten in a couple o' years, no doubt. He gonna be adding some polish to this thing we got goin'. We six now, y'all. We six."

Ray also expressed excitement over his next bout against Floyd Patterson on August 9, as he learned today that it will be held in his home state. The fight will mark Ray's Florida debut.

"Jus' give me even mo' incen'ive to succeed, man," said Ray. "I be fightin' in fron' o' my peeps for the first time. Gonna be 'lectric, man."

The Alliance had departed the ring soon after, taking a five fight winning streak with them. Terone Haynes's August 1 clash with Jack Beckerman in the semi-finals of the South-East Asian Boxing League is the next fight involving an Alliance member, that event scheduled to take place in Thailand.

One would have thought that with the Florida boys finished for the night, the show was all but over. In reality, it had only just begun...

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

Not the prettiest win for McCall but we'll take it. Ray/Patterson in Florida should be insane, I'm already looking forward to buildup to it. So lets see what these Jersey boys pulled off that was so impressive.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

* The audience had been genuinely excited about the Florida Alliance but it was their home state hero Joe Jeannette that they had really come out to see. The North Bergen native had said leading into the event that he had something special lined up but had not elaborated at all, making whatever his plans were a complete mystery.

Ten minutes after McCall and co. had cleared the scene, the crowd had worked themselves into a state of excited anticipation. Jeannette's opponent Johnny Summerlin made his way to the ring to little fanfare, the Detroit native showing a focused, steely countenance. He brought a 4-1 record with him, having seen off the determined challenge of Billy Daniels in his last outing. A win against Jeannette would elevate him into 1st place in the Group Eleven standings and he wore an expression that spoke of his absolute awareness of the gravity this contest held for his career.

Shortly after the ring announcer had introduced Summerlin to the crowd, a group of pleasant piano notes sounded over the arena's sound system. Pleasant, yes, but those in the crowd with a keen ear knew exactly what was coming as the piano was joined by sharp synthesiser stabs and a rhythmic bass guitar. A wave of excitement passed over the crowd and large portions of them let out jubilant applause as, to their surprise, Treach and Vin Rock of the award-winning hip hop group Naughty By Nature were suddenly there in the aisle, Treach spitting out the opening rapid-fire verse from their 1992 hit single "Uptown Anthem". The pair made their way down the aisle, a trio of curvaceous young ladies following, dancing and waving to the crowd. The two rappers slid under the bottom ropes and continued the show from inside the ring, a bemused Johnny Summerlin and his corner crew watching on.

Natives of New Jersey, Naughty By Nature had been involved in the promotion and pre-fight entertainment of the HBF's very first fight card at Atlantic City's Trump Plaza back in January. The crowd was going crazy, many of them up on their feet moving to the song's rapid drum beat. Once they'd finished the song they launched right into another, one of their lesser known tracks but one that was entirely apt for the setting, "Sleepin' On Jersey".

The lyrics of the song suggested that such a practice could be bad for one's health and as they tackled the reggae-tinged song, an entourage that was close to twenty-strong appeared in the aisle, the crowd reacting in an excited fashion. Joe Jeannette was right in the middle of the group, fist raised like a champion who had just arrived home triumphant. With the exception of Jeannette's corner crew, everyone in the group were wearing New Jersey Titans baseball caps and oversized Titans jerseys of one kind or another: the white home strip, the grey road getup and the navy blue/sky blue alternate outfit, they were all there to see.

Leading the group to the ring was Jeannette's fellow HBF competitor, Linden native Harold Carter, holding a huge New Jersey state flag on a two metre pole out in front of him. The majority of the crowd were standing and applauding the great display and by the time the entourage had finally arrived at ringside, some of those numbering it had been identified. Amongst the group were two other HBF fighters, undefeated Passaic native Steve Hamas and Bruce Seldon of Atlantic City. The International Boxing League was also represented, with the lanky Trenton Lightweight Ike Williams making a lot of noise while a smiling Mickey Walker brandished a Louisville Slugger across his shoulder blades, the Middleweight loving every moment of it, cap turned backwards.

(to be continued)