The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

What you can't stop rappers from doing live performances for boxers' entrances. I mean that is one of the main reasons they even exist. I wonder if we'll see a Ray/Reynolds style feud spring from this.

When I came up with the idea for that story, I had thought of having Reynolds being the one whose nose was out of joint, but that kind of went against the change of attitude he went through while in hospital.

Not sure if anything else will come of it. I really looked at it as just an example of something that could realistically happen, with a narky media commentator challenging an apparent contradiction in one's behaviour.

[kenyan_cheena]

OKOCHA MAKES BIG STATEMENT
IN ABL WIN OVER ELDREN

Thursday 18 July 2002

Promising Nigerian fighter Omovo Okocha has scored a convincing unanimous decision victory over New Orleans native James Eldren during tonight's final preliminary African Boxing League fight card at the Rand Stadium in Johannesburg. The victory improved the muscle-bound 20 year-old's record to 5-0(3) and saw him finish on top of Group B in the league.

It was a contest between the two men who have been recognised as the class of the ABL, even moreso than the underwhelming #1-seeded Nigerian Ike Ibeabuchi. Both undefeated at 4-0, Okocha and Eldren stepped into the ring knowing that the loser of their contest would be booking themselves a semi-final clash with Ibeabuchi in five weeks time. The bout was moved up from Support to Co-Feature status to reflect its importance and if not for the protestations of #1 seed Ibeabuchi, might have been moved to the Main Event.

The mild-mannered Okocha had his opponent in all sorts of trouble early on, landing some damaging combinations in the opening round and continuing on with the job for much of the second before Eldren had some success late in the round.

But it was only a brief respite as Okocha went back to work in the third. He was landing some jolting, flush punches and it was a wonder that the tough American managed to stay on his feet. The onslaught continued in round four and as Eldren sat on his stool during the intermission he could only shake his head in awe of his opponent's power. The Louisiana native had landed his share of punches but they were simply ineffective in backing up his bigger, tougher opponent.

Eldren tasted the canvas for the first time in his career two minutes into round five, a rain of head shots almost slamming him into the mat. He was back on his feet at eight but wore that resigned look that comes to every fighter who knows he's facing a lost cause. Another crunching hook moments from the bell sent him back into the ropes but he was able to see out the round. Surprisingly, Okocha was content to cruise through the final round. Not trying for the stoppage victory, he more or less allowed Eldren to take the round behind an effective jab although the Nigerian did wobble his opponent with a big right hook in the bottom half of the stanza.

The scorecards reflected the extent of Okocha's victory: 59-54, 59-55, 59-54. He landed 164 of 437 punches (37.5%) while Eldren connected with 103 of 263 (39.2%).

Okocha spoke at length with Eldren afterwards, apparently wishing him all the best against Ibeabuchi and expressing a hope that the two of them could clash again in the tournament final. That's a hope that Eldren probably doesn't share.

It must be said that Omovo Okocha is the favourite to take out the title of African Boxing League Champion. It wouldn't surprise this reporter in the least if he takes care of Ibeabuchi with ease if the two happen to meet in the tournament final. Okocha has consistently impressed throughout his five bouts and looks like being a real hope for Nigerian boxing in particular and African boxing in general...

(Still to come: all the action from the rest of the Rand Stadium fight card)

NIGERIAN BOXER OMOVO OKOCHA

(that's actually the actor Djimon Hounsou, who is is pretty much who I picture Okocha looking like)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Okocha's fellow Nigerian and league #1 seed Ike Ibeabuchi had already secured a 1st place finish in Group A following last month's Brazzaville fight card. What hadn't been settled was who would join him from that group in the semi-finals. The two candidates were the 9th-seeded New Yorker Stanley Drexxon and the courageous hometown hero Zolilie Letlake.

To finish 2nd, all Drexxon needed to do was defeat the unimpressive, winless 12th seed Roy Harris in the evening's 1st Preliminary. But as with many things that appear simple on the surface it turned into a complicated task and Drexxon wasn't helped by what would turn out to be some questionable judgements. The Texan Harris came out smoking in round one, rocking Drexxon with a series of power shots before the 9th seed had the better of the second. But Harris fired back in round three, finishing the stanza with a damaging flurry and more or less holding his own in round four. To most observers, it would have appeared that Drexxon was the better man in the final two rounds, though not by much. They were both uneventful but Drexxon was the more aggressive combatant. Even so, a look at the final scorecards would reveal that two of the judges awarded both rounds to Harris and ultimately, they also awarded him the fight. In a surprise, Harris won by split decision: 59-55, 56-58, 58-56.

Drexxon could only shake his head in disbelief afterwards. He had failed to lock up a semi-final birth and now had to wait and see if Letlake would be able to steal that final spot by pulling off an upset of the top seed Ibeabuchi.

Standing just 5'9", Zolilie Letlake has been one of the highlights of this African Boxing League. He's shown courage and tenacity throughout the tournament. Starting out with his astonishing upset split decision victory over the Egyptian Grantham Abdul-Kafar on debut - a win made possible by a knockdown one second before the final bell - and moving on to gutsy efforts against the Congo's Marien Nguesso and Americans Roy Harris and Stanley Drexxon, the nuggety Johannesburg native has given 100% every time he's stepped into the ring. He was greeted with a hero's welcome as he made his way out onto the field at the Rand Stadium, his fellow South Africans determined to cheer him on to an unlikely upset.

Incredibly, it looked like a possibility. At least, for a little while. Letlake had the crowd in an explosive frame of mind when, just 43 seconds into the bout, he sent Ibeabuchi to the canvas for the first time in his career with a left hook chased by a straight right. The Nigerian was back on his feet at the count of three but wore a perturbed expression. Any thoughts he may have had for having an easy night were out the window as Letlake stalked him around the ring. Ibeabuchi did little but fend his man off with the jab for the rest of the round, Letlake swinging for the fences but failing to connect. Pushed into action, Ibeabuchi came out firing in round two, connecting with some damaging shots and, ironically, showing more enthusiasm than in any of his previous bouts. He was backing up his opponent and floored him with a single straight right nine seconds from the bell. Letlake was up quickly but the standing eight count ensured that there would be no more action during the round.

Round three saw both fighters employing more caution, although Letlake did connect with a pair of big right hands at either end of the round. His aggression won it for him and, going into the bottom half of the fight, he was right in the contest.

But that, unfortunately, would be where the Nigerian took over. Perhaps sick of messing around, Ibeabuchi put his foot down and won the final three rounds quite comfortably, in particular round six where he was able to tag a tiring Letlake at will and opened up a nasty cut under his left eye with a booming right hand. Even so, Letlake's countrymen didn't stop with their applause and when it was all over and clear that their hero had been defeated, they afforded him a standing ovation.

The final verdict went to Ibeabuchi, of course, although only by majority decision (57-55, 56-56, 57-55). In an exciting fight, the winner had landed 165 of 297 punches (55.6%) while Letlake connected with 84 of 244 (34.4%).

And so despite his defeat earlier in the evening, Stanley Drexxon had managed to hold on to 2nd place in Group A, booking himself a semi-final meeting with Omovo Okocha. While Zolilie Letlake failed to make it, there's no doubt that he'll be given a birth in the upcoming HBF Qualifying League. It will be a pleasure to continue watching this young, brave fighter as his career continues.

In other bouts on the card, Jomo Motloung gave his fellow South Africans something to cheer about when he took a 59-56, 55-59, 59-56 split decision victory over Ghana's Charles Mbarga in the opener while Grantham Abdul-Kafar's unhappy tournament concluded in a positive fashion with a unanimous decision win (59-53, 59-52, 58-53) over the Congo's Marien Nguesso. The fight really should have been stopped in round three where Nguesso was badly punished and floored twice, leading to two judges scoring it a 10-6 round. 2nd-seeded Congo fighter Anaclet Wamba will take a three fight winless streak into the QL as, following losses in his last two bouts, he was held to a draw by Delbert Craw (57-57 on all three cards). The native of Mingo County in West Virginia started well and Wamba had to rally in the bottom half of the fight to avoid a third consecutive defeat.

***

Following the fifth and final series of bouts in the ABL tournament, the group standings look like this:

GROUP A

1. (1) IKE IBEABUCHI (NIGERIA), 5-0-0
2. (9) STANLEY DREXXON (USA), 3-2-0

3. (8) ZOLILIE LETLAKE (SOUTH AFRICA), 2-2-1
4. (4) GRANTHAM ABDUL-KAFAR (EGYPT), 2-3-0
5. (12) ROY HARRIS (USA), 1-2-2
6. (5) MARIEN NGUESSO (CONGO), 0-4-1

GROUP B

1. (6) OMOVO OKOCHA (NIGERIA), 5-0-0(3)
2. (3) JAMES ELDREN (USA), 4-1-0(1)

3. (2) ANACLET WAMBA (CONGO), 2-2-1
4. (7) DELBERT CRAW (USA), 2-2-1
5. (10) JOMO MOTLOUNG (SOUTH AFRICA), 1-4-0
6. (11) CHARLES MBARGA (GHANA), 0-5-0

The semi-finals will be held on the 22nd of August, most likely here in South Africa.

(6) Omovo Okocha (5-0-0(3)) vs (9) Stanley Drexxon (3-2-0)
(1) Ike Ibeabuchi (5-0-0) vs (3) James Eldren (4-1-0(1))

***

In addition, the completion of tonight's card also brings to an end the preliminary fight cards in the HBF's Feeder Leagues. It's likely that in a few days, the federation will announce the names of the 35 fighters selected from the eight different leagues who will be placed in the field for the Qualifying League tournament, the first event of which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday the 13th of August...

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
THURSDAY 18 JULY 2002
RAND STADIUM, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
THE AFRICAN BOXING LEAGUE


OPENING BOUT

(10) Jomo Motloung SD6 (11) Charles Mbarga

PRELIMINARY 1

(12) Roy Harris SD6 (9) Stanley Drexxon

PRELIMINARY 2

(4) Grantham Abdul-Kafar UD6 (5) Marien Nguesso

SUPPORT BOUT

(2) Anaclet Wamba D6 (7) Delbert Craw

CO-FEATURE

(6) Omovo Okocha UD6 (3) James Eldren

MAIN EVENT

(1) Ike Ibeabuchi MD6 (8) Zolilie Letlake

[kenyan_cheena]

TERRELL FRIES ELLIS IN KENTUCKY,
BOOKS BIRTH IN STAGE TWO

Friday 19 July 2002

Fighting at the Owensboro Sports Center, a parochial hometown crowd was not enough to inspire Jimmy Ellis to victory during tonight's HBF World Championship tournament bout against top seed Ernie Terrell. In a contest that was a lot more action-packed than expected and just plain entertaining, Terrell scored a unanimous decision victory (58-56, 59-55, 58-56) to maintain his perfect record and qualify for the tournament's second stage.

On a perfection-laced collision course since the tournament started, both men had brought 5-0 records into the contest and knew that the winner would not only secure that second stage birth but also wrap up 1st place in Group Fourteen. The Chicago-born Terrell looked in terrific shape. Standing 6'6", the 19 year-old is one of the tallest competitors in the HBF but he appeared to have added some extra muscle to his frame since his last outing.

With both fighters "boxers" in the truest sense of the word, some expected this to be a drawn-out, snore-inducing chess match but what the crowd got was something much, much better. Terrell and Ellis showed an admirable willingness to trade leather on a consistent, heavy basis. Neither man was too interested in standing outside and sniping. They worked in close for long periods, but Terrell would have been a fool to not use his five inch height advantage to the fullest. He peppered his opponent with that potent left jab throughout the contest, landing his shots with accuracy and precision. The result was a swollen, bruised and bloodied Ellis. But even more in Terrell's favour, he displayed an excellent defense, frustrating Ellis time and again with his skills of evasion and parrying.

Round One gave an immediate hint of the great fight that was to come with both combatants scoring with punches both powerful and quick. Following a slow start to round two, which included being tagged with a flush right hook that had the crowd howling in delight, Terrell put his foot down and was connecting with multiple punches, snapping Ellis's head back time and again as the round progressed.

The spirited exchanges continued throughout the contest but by the time round five had rolled around it was obvious that the bigger man was just too powerful, quick and enthusiastic for the hometown favourite. Ellis staged an admirable assault late in the fifth but it did little to stop the Illinois native's momentum and Terrell sealed the deal with a convincing, punishing final round.

When it was all over, they had combined to land a total 330 punches:

Terrell 212/344 (61.6%)
Ellis 118/376 (31.4%)

"I was more ready for this than for anything in my life," said a smiling Terrell afterwards. "I wasn't going to be content just using my reach and picking him off with the jab. I wanted to break him down physically and I think I achieved that."

As mentioned earlier, Terrell has now wrapped up 1st place in his tournament group. In stage two, he'll be placed in Group Two. New Jersey's Joe Jeannette will also be there, having stitched up a birth on Wednesday night and if all goes to plan, it will also include fellow top seeds Sonny Liston and Young Stribling...

THE OWENSBORO UNDERCARD

Opening Bout

After a couple of near misses in his previous bouts, Puerto Rico's Jose Roman finally broke through for his first professional victory tonight, defeating Jurgen Blin by split decision (59-56, 56-59, 58-57). This was not the most inspiring contest, with the action only really heating up in the final two rounds.

The German Blin would have walked into the ring confident of success after scoring a victory over Charley Mitchell last month, but he just never got out of second gear and the scorecards were, if anything, quite misleading as to the closeness of the contest.

Preliminary 1

In another 1st Defense tournament bout, New York's John Lester Johnson kept his hopes of a stage two birth alive with an easy 59-55, 60-54, 60-55 unanimous decision victory over Charley Mitchell. Johnson was never extended against an opponent who never asked any serious questions of him.

Johnson is now 4-1-1 and will find himself positioned in 2nd place in Group Six after tomorrow night's clash between Ron Lyle and Mike Weaver in Houston, no matter what the result.

Preliminary 2

Argentina's Luis Firpo achieved his second victory in three fights, taking a unanimous decision verdict against the winless Californian Marty Monroe (59-54, 60-53, 59-54). Like the bout between Roman and Blin that kicked off the evening, the scorecards didn't really tell the story in this one but, unlike that opener, this was a spirited contest with Monroe really testing Firpo. Unfortunately, he just wasn't quite good enough in most of the rounds, with only two rounds on all three combined cards being scored in his favour.

Firpo put an exclamation point on his performance with a knockdown early in the final round and is now 2-4 while Monroe falls to 0-6.

Support Bout

With both men out of the running for World Championship progression, the bout between 67th seed Amos Lincoln and Baltimore's Bert Whitehurst served the purpose of allowing both men to improve their chances of a higher seeding in the Continental Americas Championship event. As it turned out, neither really succeeded as the bout ended in a draw (58-56, 57-57, 56-58).

It was an exciting tussle with the momentum shifting on more than one occasion but in the final analysis, it was a strong final two rounds from Lincoln that prevented Whitehurst from recording his fourth victory. One of the judges gave both rounds to the Portland native and ended up scoring the fight 57-57, meaning that if he'd followed his fellow judges and split those rounds, Whitehurst would have been a split decision victor.

Co-Feature

With his unanimous decision victory over King Levinsky, Buffalo's Phil Muscato has set up an all or nothing showdown with Jimmy Ellis for next month. The bruising win (59-55 on all three cards) improved Muscato's record to 4-2 meaning that if he can defeat Ellis on August 23, he'll join Terrell in stage two.

Muscato is not one of the bigger or stronger fighters in the HBF. He's weighed in at around 183 or 184 pounds for most of his fights and only stands 5'10". In addition, his punching power is underwhelming at best. But what he does have is toughness, speed, tenacity and a good boxing intellect. Whether these qualities will deliver him to stage two, we'll just have to wait and see.

***

With one series of bouts remaining, there's only one issue that needs to be settled in Group Fourteen, and that is who will join Terrell in stage two. That question will be answered next month when Jimmy Ellis clashes with Phil Muscato, a bout that the HBF might just give Main Event status to, considering its importance...

1st: 1(14) Ernie Terrell 6-0-0
2nd: 2(19) Jimmy Ellis 5-1-0(1)

3rd: 3(35) Phil Muscato 4-2-0

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
FRIDAY 19 JULY 2002
OWENSBORO SPORTS CENTER, OWENSBORO, KENTUCKY, USA


OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
7(51) Jose Roman SD6 8(59) Jurgen Blin

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
5(35) John Lester Johnson UD6 6(43) Charley Mitchell

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
7(99) Luis Firpo UD6 8(115) Marty Monroe

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
5(67) Amos Lincoln D6 6(83) Bert Whitehurst

CO-FEATURE

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
3(35) Phil Muscato UD6 4(51) King Levinsky

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
1(14) Ernie Terrell UD6 2(19) Jimmy Ellis

[kenyan_cheena]

VINCENNES REVEALS ENTRANTS
FOR QUALIFYING LEAGUE

Saturday 20 July 2002

Speaking live from Houston on ESPN in the lead-up to tonight's Reliant Park Pavilion fight card, Heavyweight Boxing Federation President Michael Vincennes has unveiled the 96-man field for the organisation's upcoming Qualifying League tournament. The announcement came as something of a surprise as it was believed that this information would not be made public for another week. The cynics might say that it was a deliberate attempt to steal some of the International Boxing League's thunder on the eve of Monday's MGM Grand "Opening Night" but Vincennes dismissed that possibility.

"I hardly think so," he said, laughing. "What I've revealed tonight doesn't even really compare to what Mr. Molk and his associates will be doing on Monday night. The truth is that, with the exception of our African league, we had already decided on which entrants from our feeder leagues would be competing in the Qualifying League. After the results of Thursday's Johannesburg event, we were able to complete the field so there was no reason to delay this announcement."

Following is a group-by-group breakdown of the Qualifying League entrants. The top two seedings in each group are reserved for the losing semi-finalists and finalists in the feeder league tournaments, which is why they are currently designated as "To Be Determined":

GROUP ONE

1(1) To Be Determined (TBD)
2(24) TBD
3(36) Shakes Qoboza, South Africa
4(48) Delbert Craw, USA
5(60) Romy Alvarez, USA
6(72) Antonio Serioux, Canada
7(84) Mike Hanson, USA
8(96) Sylvain Ribery, France

GROUP TWO

1(2) TBD
2(23) TBD
3(35) Vittorio Campolo, Italy
4(47) Anaclet Wamba, Congo
5(59) Tony Doyle, USA
6(71) Yeti Yates, England
7(83) Mark Jones, USA
8(95) Nathan Williams, USA

GROUP THREE

1(3) TBD
2(22) TBD
3(34) Bran Baggett, Ireland
4(46) Zolilie Letlake, South Africa
5(58) Hans Birkie, Germany
6(70) Chris Creed, Canada
7(82) Mikkel Randeris, Denmark
8(94) Ariel Reyes, Cuba

GROUP FOUR

1(4) TBD
2(21) TBD
3(33) Lou Bailey, USA
4(45) Jim Chang Kai, Taiwan
5(57) Jean-Pierre Coopman, Belgium
6(69) Jerry Quarry, USA
7(81) Carl Williams, USA
8(93) Michael Richardson, England

GROUP FIVE

1(5) TBD
2(20) TBD
3(32) Olaf Heiberg, Norway
4(44) Fred Fulton, USA
5(56) Leonidas Jaskucionis, Lithuania
6(68) Marco Santino, USA
7(80) Deutron Shelby, USA
8(92) Yevgeny Semshov, Russia

GROUP SIX

1(6) TBD
2(19) TBD
3(31) Leonardo Barbaressi, Argentina
4(43) Richard Dunn, England
5(55) Tim Carlisle, USA
6(67) David Kane, USA
7(79) John Tate, USA
8(91) Sergey Pogrebnyak, Russia

GROUP SEVEN

1(7) TBD
2(18) TBD
3(30) Cleaver Twidell, USA
4(42) Brett Ranford, USA
5(54) Roy Harris, USA
6(66) Dre Linton, USA
7(78) Mark Elwood, USA
8(90) Jan Podolski, Germany

GROUP EIGHT

1(8) TBD
2(17) TBD
3(29) Greg Williams, USA
4(41) Omelio Agramonte, Cuba
5(53) Drago Bencek, Slovenia
6(65) Steve Finley, USA
7(77) Luis Gomez, USA
8(89) Dwayne Peters, Canada

GROUP NINE

1(9) TBD
2(16) TBD
3(28) Terry Daniels, USA
4(40) Howard King, USA
5(52) Charles Bradley, England
6(64) Max Cayton, USA
7(76) Aleksandr Bystrov, Russia
8(88) Torsten Hildebrand, Germany

GROUP TEN

1(10) TBD
2(15) TBD
3(27) Clarence Burman, USA
4(39) Bruce Crickett, USA
5(51) Charley Powell, USA
6(63) Orlin Norris, USA
7(75) Nicolas Gallas, France
8(87) Taoufik Belbouli, France

GROUP ELEVEN

1(11) TBD
2(14) TBD
3(26) Carmine Vingo, USA
4(38) Ernie Schaaf, USA
5(50) Grantham Abdul-Kafar, Egypt
6(62) Kent Ares, Ireland
7(74) Sean Hargraves, USA
8(86) Vasily Anyukov, Russia

GROUP TWELVE

1(12) TBD
2(13) TBD
3(25) Rex Layne, USA
4(37) Larry Gains, Canada
5(49) Kalolo Umaga, Samoa
6(61) Scott Mundt, Germany
7(73) Hugh Phillips, USA
8(85) Lee Q. Murray, USA

(to be continued)

[CONN CHRIS]

How many non-stiff fictional heavies have you created for this Dan?

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

How many non-stiff fictional heavies have you created for this Dan?

The ones who will be in the QL haven't been created yet. There were some fictional guys who were in the feeder leagues who will also be participating in the QL (Grantham Abdul-Kafar and Zolilie Letlake to name two). They would probably qualify as stiffs.

All the guys who signed up from our community will be very capable fighters (rated 10+), 'cause I don't see the fun of making you all rated 6 or 7. I want all of you to have a realisitic chance of success in the league.

When I get to the stage where the first of the fight cards are set to take place, I'll be spending a few hours creating all the fictional fighters. In the HBF there's maybe 25 I have to create.

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

It's been said that many of the fighters the federation discovered during their recent auditions are of superior talent to those who participated in the feeder leagues. Nonetheless, Vincennes and his team have chosen to seed the feeder league competitors above the newcomers.

"We believe that they're deserving of that status," said Vincennes. "It's true that we were greatly impressed by those who attended our auditions, but none of them have fought professionally yet. They'll have to prove that they belong in the HBF during the coming year, which is something I'm looking forward to."

As has been publicised in the past, the goal of the Qualifying League tournament is to determine the initial rankings within the league. The tournament will consist of two stages. The fighters who finish in the top two of each of the twelve stage one groups listed above will have secured a top 24 ranking, but how they perform in stage two against each other will determine exactly where they are ranked and if they earn a shot at a World Ranking.

The first fight card to feature Qualifying League contests will be held on Tuesday 13 August in Las Vegas. Following is the complete schedule for the first series of QL bouts:

TUESDAY 13 AUGUST 2002

(Card will be headlined by the Semi-Finals of the US Pacific Coast Boxing League tournament)

Group Twelve bouts

3(25) Rex Layne vs 4(37) Larry Gains
5(49) Kalolo Umaga vs 6(61) Scott Mundt
7(73) Hugh Phillips vs 8(85) Lee Q. Murray

Group One bouts

3(36) Shakes Qoboza vs 4(48) Delbert Craw
5(60) Romy Alvarez vs 6(72) Antonio Serioux
7(84) Mike Hanson vs 8(96) Sylvain Ribery

THURSDAY 15 AUGUST 2002

(Card will be headlined by the Semi-Finals of the Southern Europe Boxing League tournament)

Group Nine bouts

3(28) Terry Daniels vs 4(40) Howard King
5(52) Charles Bradley vs 6(64) Max Cayton
7(76) Aleksandr Bystrov vs 8(88) Torsten Hildebrand

Group Four bouts

3(33) Lou Bailey vs 4(45) Jim Chang Kai
5(57) Jean-Pierre Coopman vs 6(69) Jerry Quarry
7(81) Carl Williams vs 8(93) Michael Richardson

TUESDAY 20 AUGUST 2002

(Card will be headlined by the Semi-Finals of the Canadian Boxing League tournament)

Group Eight bouts

3(29) Greg Williams vs 4(41) Omelio Agramonte
5(53) Drago Bencek vs 6(65) Steve Finley
7(77) Luis Gomez vs 8(89) Dwayne Peters

Group Five bouts

3(32) Olaf Heiberg vs 4(44) Fred Fulton
5(56) Leonidas Jaskucionis vs 6(68) Marco Santino
7(80) Deutron Shelby vs 8(92) Yevgeny Semshov

THURSDAY 22 AUGUST 2002

(Card will be headlined by the Semi-Finals of the African Boxing League tournament)

Group Eleven bouts

3(26) Carmine Vingo vs 4(38) Ernie Schaaf
5(50) Grantham Abdul-Kafar vs 6(62) Kent Ares
7(74) Sean Hargraves vs 8(86) Vasily Anyukov

Group Two bouts

3(35) Vittorio Campolo vs 4(47) Anaclet Wamba
5(59) Tony Doyle vs 6(71) Yeti Yates
7(83) Mark Jones vs 8(95) Nathan Williams

TUESDAY 27 AUGUST 2002

Group Ten bouts

3(27) Clarence Burman vs 4(39) Bruce Crickett
5(51) Charley Powell vs 6(63) Orlin Norris
7(75) Nicolas Gallas vs 8(87) Taoufik Belbouli

Group Three bouts

3(34) Bran Baggett vs 4(46) Zolilie Letlake
5(58) Hans Birkie vs 6(70) Chris Creed
7(82) Mikkel Randeris vs 8(94) Ariel Reyes

THURSDAY 29 AUGUST 2002

Group Seven bouts

3(30) Cleaver Twidell vs 4(42) Brett Ranford
5(54) Roy Harris vs 6(66) Dre Linton
7(78) Mark Elwood vs 8(90) Jan Podolski

Group Six bouts

3(31) Leonardo Barbaressi vs 4(43) Richard Dunn
5(55) Tim Carlisle vs 6(67) David Kane
7(79) John Tate vs 8(91) Sergey Pogrebnyak

[kenyan_cheena]

There you go, guys. Everyone who has created a fictional fighter to compete in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation now knows exactly when and against who their fighter will make their debut. I'm happy to finally arrive at this point where your competitive involvement in the HBF is within sight.

[Romdawg88]

WOOO, I'm pumped that our fights are almost here. I think we'll be seeing alot of 5 and lower seeds winning their groups in this League. I'm looking forward to my clash with Hanson should be a war. I'm also interested in seeing how my fellow Miami auditioners Kane and Reyes do in their groups though Reyes as a tall order for his first match.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

WOOO, I'm pumped that our fights are almost here. I think we'll be seeing alot of 5 and lower seeds winning their groups in this League. I'm looking forward to my clash with Hanson should be a war. I'm also interested in seeing how my fellow Miami auditioners Kane and Reyes do in their groups though Reyes as a tall order for his first match.

I'm scared of what David Kane is going to do to Mr. Carlisle. Might be handy for an ambulance to be on hand for that one.

[Romdawg88]

Ha, now I'm really looking forward to Kane's match. I got a question what is Kane's HP? Also, would it be possible to get a bit of a scouting report on my opponent Antonio Serioux.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Ha, now I'm really looking forward to Kane's match. I got a question what is Kane's HP? Also, would it be possible to get a bit of a scouting report on my opponent Antonio Serioux.

I'd say those sledgehammers will end up getting at least a 12. As for Serioux, I wouldn't be too worried about him...

[Romdawg88]

Damn, Kane will be laying some fools out if he connects. Poor Carlisle, I do feel bad for him but he did take out Sonny Banks and draw with Harry Wills so maybe he can pull it off the upset. I hope not since I want to fight Kane so we both need to advance so it can happen as soon as possible. As for Serioux, I'll be sweating him until the match happens. I'll be worried about everyone since you never know when someone will pull off the fight of their lives.

[kenyan_cheena]

Just realised that I made a mistake in a previous post when I said the next fight involving a Florida Alliance member is Elmer Ray's bout against Patterson. Terone Haynes fights before that on August 1. I'll edit post #1194 to reflect this.

[Ian Lord]

Excellent stuff as always KC. Interesting to see how Yeti Yates gets on.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Ian Lord

Excellent stuff as always KC. Interesting to see how Yeti Yates gets on.

Thanks, Ian. I'm really hoping that Yates ends up being one of the most feared, dangerous fighters in the HBF. I'm certain that the intrigue surrounding his past aswell as his general appearance and fighting style will bring him a big fan base. He's on a good fight card for his debut, with the semis of the ABL headlining it.

[kenyan_cheena]

...AND THE KING OF TEXAS IS...?

Saturday 20 July 2002

Weeks of one-sided trash talking, heated radio debate and anticipation came to an end tonight as Texas rivals Jack Johnson and Cleveland Williams finally went toe-to-toe against each other in a boxing ring. The Reliant Park Pavilion in Houston was the venue for a contest that had been dubbed "The Battle for Southern Texas" and would decide who was the best Heavyweight in the Lone Star state...

Opening Bout

The evening kicked off with a 1st Defense tournament bout where San Francisco native Joe Choynski was gunning for four consecutive wins. Having lost his first two tournament bouts, he had rolled off victories against Jose Roman and Jurgen Blin before upsetting the tournament's 6th seed Ron Lyle in a convincing, comprehensive fashion.

Coming into tonight Choynski still had an outside chance of progressing to stage two but that feint flickering fire was extinguished as he was held to a draw by Philadelphia's Curtis Sheppard. It was a competitive, lively contest in which the result was a fair one. If anything, one could have made a case for Sheppard being the victor as, although the second stanza was a tight affair, he looked to be the better of the two through each of the first three rounds.

Choynski did have some success, though, particularly in the fourth and also the fifth but the Pennsylvanian finished the stronger, leading to scorecards of 57-57, 58-56 (Choynski), 57-57.

The Californian is now 3-2-1 while Sheppard is 2-3-1(1). Both will be placed in the federation's Continental Americas tournament but they still have one more chance to make an impression before then. In their final 1st Defense tournament bouts, Choynski will tackle fellow Californian Mike Weaver while Sheppard goes up against Group Six's top seed Ron Lyle.

Preliminary 1

In another entertaining bout, Choynski's fellow San Franciscan Pat Valentino stretched his undefeated streak to three fights, scoring his second victory with a close unanimous decision win over "The Angry Englishman" Joe Beckett (57-56 on all three cards). After the first two rounds, it looked like the World Championship tournament's 126th seed was on the way to his third victory. Beckett had the upperhand, showing a little bit more aggression in a wild opening round and then winning the second with ease.

But Valentino stole the momentum in round three, flooring Beckett with a flush left hook two minutes into it. Rounds four and five were close, with both combatants having their moments but it would be a solid showing in the sixth and final round that won the contest for Valentino. He hurt Beckett at either end of it and all three judges awarded the round and, as a consequence, the fight to him.

Valentino improved to 2-3-1 while Beckett - who was coming off a 3rd round KO of Pedro Lovell - fell to 2-4(1). Despite the fact that he has been unable to sustain the shock of momentum he received from his upset debut win over Jack Johnson, Beckett has remained a favourite back home in England and for this reason, he'll probably feature in the HBF's European Championship tournament.

Preliminary 2

Those who had headed for the restrooms or concession stands following Valentino's victory over Beckett may have entirely missed the next bout, as it was over within two minutes. In a clash of federation bottom-feeders, Italy's Franco Cavicchi was victorious by 1st round TKO over the Argentinian Pedro Lovell.

A booming right hand opened up a sickening cut over Lovell's left eye midway through the round and the bout was called off at the 1:40 mark, Cavicchi declared the winner. His record improved to 2-3-1(1) while Lovell remained winless at 0-5-1.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Support Bout

New York's Renaldo Snipes rebounded from last month's hiding at the hands of Jack Johnson to score a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over Mexico's Manuel Ramos (58-56, 58-57, 58-56). Adding to what had already been a high-quality evening of boxing, this fight saw both competitors giving their all.

Snipes got off to a promising start and by the end of round four he was clearly in control, coming close to stopping his opponent in that fourth round with some powerful single punches. It was a must-win for Ramos and he rallied in the final two rounds, but it was an effort that came too late to swing the verdict in his favour.

The win improved Snipes' record to 4-2 and kept him in contention for a stage two birth but for Ramos, those hopes are now over. He has failed to build on a promising 2-0-1 tournament start, going 0-2-1 in his last three fights to see his record fall to 2-2-2. It won't get any easier as he'll finish his stay in the tournament with a clash against top seed Jack Johnson.

"I'm just relieved to get the win," said Snipes afterwards. "I needed it to have any chance of staying alive and I give Manuel a lot of credit for giving me such a tough contest. He never gave up and that's been one of his trademarks through the whole tournament. Now I just have to wait and see if Jacky can beat Cleveland."

Some in the crowd greeted this last comment with boos, showing support for their hometown boy Cleveland Williams. But that is the situation in this group. If Williams was to defeat Johnson in the evening's main event, Snipes' only chance of progressing would require the unlikely situation where Johnson also losses next month to Manuel Ramos, in addition to Snipes having to defeat Williams. But if Johnson wins tonight, "The Galveston Giant" will have qualified for stage two and the winner of next month's Williams-Snipes matchup will join him there.

Co-Feature

The newest member of the group known as "USC", Mike Weaver of Diamond Bar in Los Angeles County booked himself a spot in stage two of the 1st Defense tournament with a unanimous decision win over top-seeded Denver native Ron Lyle. In a fight that was closer than the scorecards indicated (60-54 on all three cards), Weaver outworked his opponent for most of the contest and then finished the bout with an impressive final round.

Readers will probably recall what was the birth of USC or "United Southern Californians" back on the 1st of July during the federation's Las Vegas fight card, where the clique's leader Sam McVey defeated Tony Tucker. Weaver hadn't been in Vegas on that night due to an illness in his family but McVey and San Diego's Ken Norton had been present at Weaver's last bout at Madison Square Garden and they accompanied him to the ring tonight along with other members of the growing entourage.

(to be continued)