The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #1439)

Support Bout

Temperamental Argentinian fighter Cesar Brion had ridden an emotional rollercoaster thorughout the 1st Defense tournament. After struggling while accumulating a 1-1-1 record in his first three bouts he hit a purple patch, running off three consecutive victories including a memorable triumph over top-seeded Cuban Nino Valdes in June. But even though he brought a 4-1-1 record into the evening, he still needed to defeat Carl Morris to secure his passage to stage two. It would be a dificult task for the South American as Morris was on a five-fight winning streak himself, his sole defeat coming on debut back in January. Like Brion he had also scored a victory over Valdes, a win that had insured he would take part in the tournament's second stage. Even so, the Pasadena native had made his intentions clear during the week.

"People who'll say I'll go easy because I've qualified are stupid," he said. "I aim to finish in 1st place and I can't do that by losing. He's gonna have to knock me out cold if he wants to defeat me."

Morris backed up those words with an impressive showing in the opening round. He came out firing early, catching Brion with a hard straight right and a jolting uppercut. The South American held his own for the rest of the round but Morris ended it with another smashing right hand. Brion stepped up his aggression in round two, outworking Morris with volume rather than power. After an exciting start to round three Brion took control once again, a big uppercut a minute in staggering Morris and allowing the Argentine to stay on the front foot for the rest of the round.

And so as the fight entered its bottom half Brion was in a position to realise his ambition of a spot in stage two. But just when he should have been going full to the floor it all went pear-shaped for him. Morris roared back into the contest in round four, rattling Brion with a succession of power shots: a crushing cross early, a hard uppercut shortly after and another flush right cross, all within the opening minute. Brion struggled for the rest of the round and Morris put an exclamation mark on his efforts with a winging right hand as the round drew to a close.

It only got worse for Brion in the fifth as Morris continued to dominate, flooring the Argentinian with a flush uppercut inside of the opening minute. Brion was quickly back to his feet but he wore the expression of a defeated fighter. He tried to rally in the later stages of the round but his attempts did little to stem the roll that Morris was now on. A crushing left hook dropped Brion for a second time thirty seconds into the final round. This time he staggered to his feet at eight and it was only his courage and resoluteness that kept him on his feet for the remainder of the contest.

The two combatants embraced in the centre of the ring afterwards, Brion offering his congratulations. His eyes showed a deep disappointment as he returned to his corner. Morris was awarded a unanimous decision victory, the scorecards reading 58-54, 59-53 and 58-54.

"I told you all I was gonna come to fight," said Morris afterwards. "I'm really happy with the way it turned out, happy that I've finished on top of the group. I was told that I'll be in the second group in stage two which means I'll avoid Marciano until at least the semi-finals. Some folks have said that they'd like to fight the guy sooner rather than later but I ain't afraid to admit that I'm glad to be in the position I'm in. Anything that makes it easier for me to get further in the tournament suits me just fine."

Morris landed 178 of 387 punches (46.0%) while Brion connected with 134 of 294 (45.6%).

"I just could not go with him when he stepped it up in round four," lamented Brion. "He accelerated and I stayed at the same pace."

The 20th seed's chances of staying in the tournament now rested upon the shoulders of Gus Ruhlin. Having beaten the Ohio native last month, Brion was now looking to him for divine assistance. If Ruhlin could defeat Nino Valdes or even hold him to a draw, Brion would finish the stage in 2nd place.

Co-Feature

Tournament 5th seed Nino Valdes had waltzed through the first five months of his professional boxing career with barely a care in the world, accumulating a 4-0 record in almost effortless fashion. But he was given a cold, hard dose of reality when he fell to a majority decision defeat against Cesar Brion in June. Five weeks later and things only got worse when, despite a courageous effort, he lost a razor-thin split decision to Carl Morris. Valdes was now in the unfathomable position of being on the verge of elimination from the tournament. He must have been feeling sick in his stomach midway through the Morris-Brion contest that had just ended but as he climbed through the ropes he knew that his fate rested in his own hands. Defeat Gus Ruhlin and he was thorugh to the second stage. It was as simple as that.

On this night of last chances Valdes took his, defeating Ruhlin by a comfortable unanimous decision (59-55 on all three cards). The 17 year-old Cuban started aggressively, dominating the opening two rounds. Ruhlin made more of a fight of it during the next three rounds but Valdes was never really troubled and sealed the deal with some impressive work in the final stanza.

Valdes had connected with 137 of 457 punches (30.0%), Ruhlin with 94 of 256 (36.7%).

"I'm feeling very fortunate," the teenager said. "I thought that I had blown my chance last month but, praise God, it's all worked out for me tonight. Even though the scorecards look pretty good, Gus really made me work hard for the win. I feel like I've been given a great opportunity and I plan to make the most of it in the second stage."

Valdes' victory means that Cesar Brion will now be numbered amongst the 72-man field in the federation's Continental Americas Championship tournament. With fighters such as Elmer Ray and Tony Tucker already confirmed starters in it, the addition of Brion makes it an even more anticipated event.

***

Final standings at the top of Group Five in the 1st Defense tournament...

1. 2(12) CARL MORRIS (USA), 6-1-0(1)
2. 1(5) NINO VALDES (CUBA), 5-2-0(1)

3. 3(20) CESAR BRION (ARGENTINA), 4-2-1(1)

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Main Event

Having seen Ray Mercer fall to his second consecutive defeat at the hands of Al Jones earlier in the night, World Championship tournament 12th seed George Chuvalo stepped into the ring against Tommy Gomez knowing that he had qualified for stage two without throwing a single punch. There was quite a bit of talk amongst the crowd at ringside, with some thinking that it would change the way Chuvalo approached the fight. He was asked minutes before his walk to the ring if this would be the case.

"It changes nothing," was the Canadian's simple reply. "I aim to win this fight and nothing that's happened before now will change that."

Gomez entered the ring first, flanked by fellow Florida Alliance members Terone Haynes and Oliver McCall. The remaining members of the group (Elmer Ray, Ariel Reyes, Romy Alvarez and James Ray) were still in Las Vegas following last night's Aladdin fight card and had apparently spoken to Gomez during the day to wish him the best of luck. They'd be tuning in to watch the fight, without a doubt. Gomez pulled back his hood to reveal a freshly shaven pate, determination burning in his eyes. Following soon after Chuvalo looked just as intent and he gave Gomez a brief glance and a nod of respect as he prowled the ring before the opening bell.

*** Following is a round-by-round account of the fight, as detailed by the New York Sun's Peter Roman ***

Back on Friday night the Florida Alliance saw one of two chances for representation in the second stage of the World Championship tournament slip through their fingers when Elmer Ray was convincingly defeated by Floyd Patterson. Tonight, the weight of expectation was on the shoulders of Tommy Gomez. Requiring nothing less than a victory, his task was a daunting one against the tough Canadian George Chuvalo...

1ST ROUND

Chuvalo gets an early jump, catching Gomez with a pair of sharp combinations during the opening minute. The Toronto native looks set for a night of hard work but as the round progresses Gomez steps up his aggression markedly, winging power shots to the head and body, delivering maximum damage.

It looks like Chuvalo is a bit bemused, as if surprised by Gomez's power. The Florida slugger has never shown himself to be more than a heavy hitter and his arsenal consists heavily of hooks and crosses. Gomez steals the round with an impressive bottom half, highlighted by a pair of punishing straight rights that put the Canadian on the back foot. The crowd applauds enthusiastically as the combatants return to their corners.

*

A very promising opening round, to say the least. As noted Chuvalo started nicely but Gomez did more than enough to cancel that out in the bottom half. If he can maintain that standard he might just pull this off.

Roman's scorecard for round one: Gomez 10-9

Punch totals, round one

Chuvalo - 18/39 (46.1%)
Gomez - 22/55 (40.0%)

2ND ROUND

The action intensifies in round two, with Gomez picking up where he left off in the 1st. He lands a solid cross and a jolting uppercut within the first forty seconds but Chuvalo fires off a stinging retort, snapping Gomez's head around with a crunching cross of his own. The exchanges are spirited and willing, bringing constant howls and screams of approval from the crowd.

Chuvalo is having more success with his shots, throwing a surprising number of jabs. They are serving him in keeping Gomez on the outside but "Tamps" now wears a couple of blows in order to get in close, where he punishes Chuvalo with some effective body work.

Gomez crashes a left hook off Chuvalo's head, stunning him. Chuvalo then muscles his way inside and connects with some body shots, turning the tables from only a minute earlier before Gomez backs him off with a winging right hand. My, Gomez is throwing some heavy leather tonight!

As the round draws to a close Chuvalo is able to pepper his man with a succession of scoring shots but then stuns Gomez with a straight right! Gomez is unsteady and grabs for the ropes to saty on his feet! Chuvalo swings for the fences but Gomez evades the big right hand. He would have been in real trouble if it landed. The bell sounds and the crowd are on their feet, loving this exceptional display of power punching.


*

This fight is fast developing into a classic and it's only two rounds old. A very even round there and despite some fantastic work by Gomez, I can't bring myself to give it to him. Chuvalo made just as strong a case and as a result, I'll score it 10-10.

Roman's scorecard for round two: 10-10
(Gomez 20-19 after round two)

Punch totals, round two

Chuvalo - 36/66 (54.5%)
Gomez - 30/73 (41.1%)

Punch totals after round two

Chuvalo - 54/105 (51.4%)
Gomez - 52/128 (40.6%)

3RD ROUND

Tommy Gomez continues his impressive start to this fight early in round three. He catches Chuvalo with a thudding right cross and then appears to have the better of a brief but furious exchange a minute into the round. Chuvalo is having some difficulty landing his shots and when Gomez steps in and unleashes a right uppercut the 12th seed is in trouble! He stumbles backwards but when Gomez follows Chuvalo is able to tie him up.

Chuvalo returns to work behind the jab, the punch continuing to benefit his cause. As the round enters its final minute Chuvalo has some more success, doubling up with the jab and then finding the mark with a short uppercut from inside. Gomez is slowing down somewhat and Chuvalo capitalises, a damaging cross followed by a crisp left-right combo as the round draws to a close.

*

These two men have produced a fantastic opening half to this fight, I have to say. Another very close round there. While Gomez controlled the opening, Chuvalo finished strongly and I'll have to score it for the Canadian.

Roman's scorecard for round three: Chuvalo 10-9
(tied up at 29-29 after round three)

Punch totals, round three

Chuvalo - 32/78 (41.0%)
Gomez - 24/55 (43.6%)

Punch totals after round three

Chuvalo - 86/183 (47.0%)
Gomez - 76/183 (41.5%)

4TH ROUND

Both corner crews have been very animated during the intermission, clearly aware of how balanced the contest is. Chuvalo gets off to a good start in round four, finding the target with at least three shots of a five-punch combo. He's outworking Gomez in the early running but as expected the Florida native picks up the pace as the round progresses, hurting Chuvalo with a wicked hook to the body, a punishing right cross and then another body shot as the round enters its bottom half.

Gomez is now in control, hooking to the body off the back of a rare jab and then firing a right cross over Chuvalo's left hand. Gomez gets the better of some fiery toe-to-toe action but when he misses wildly with a left hook Chuvalo counters with a hard uppercut, forcing Gomez to backpedal.

The timekeeper signals ten seconds to go and Chuvalo steps in and lands a left hook to which Gomez replies with a left of his own. Standing in the centre of the ring they bring the crowd to their feet once again as they go punch for punch to the bell.

*

I really didn't think that Tommy Gomez would show as much as he has during this fight. I won't hesitate to score that round in his favour as he controlled most of it and had Chuvalo in trouble on more than one occasion. With four rounds gone Chuvalo has won only one on my card.

Roman's scorecard for round four: Gomez 10-9
(Gomez leads 39-38 after round four)

Punch totals, round four

Chuvalo - 21/48 (43.7%)
Gomez - 29/56 (51.8%)

Punch totals after round four

Chuvalo - 107/231 (46.3%)
Gomez - 105/239 (43.9%)

5TH ROUND

George Chuvalo is able to tag Gomez with a number of jabs early in the round, flicking the punch out at him though causing little damage. As if to show his disdain Gomez finds the mark with a crushing right hand, staggering Chuvalo! He looks in bad shape and when Gomez lands another right Chuvalo wraps him up in a clinch, desperate for some time to recover.

It looks like Chuvalo is struggling and Gomez is trying to make the most of it, unloading with powerful lefts and rights, working the body from inside. Chuvalo is letting this round slip away because Gomez is on fire right now, a left hook snapping the 12th seed's head around. Even though most of his punches are missing, Gomez is winning this round simply on the back of a far superior workrate. Chuvalo is able to land some effective body shots moments before the bell but when it sounds it's Gomez's fans who are up on their feet applauding.

*

Could it be that Tommy Gomez is going to pull off the upset? Could it be that the Florida Alliance will have a presence in stage two of the World Championship tournament? There's one round left and according to my scorecard, "Tampa" Tommy is ahead by two points.

Roman's scorecard for round five: Gomez 10-9
(Gomez leads 49-47 after round five)

Punch totals, round five

Chuvalo - 13/22 (59.1%)
Gomez - 15/52 (28.8%)

Punch totals after round five

Chuvalo - 120/253 (47.4%)
Gomez - 120/291 (41.2%)

6TH ROUND

The two combatants touch gloves to start the sixth and final round, the crowd cheering what has been a magnificent effort from both of them. Chuvalo's corner crew were decidedly unhappy with him during the intermission and he looks determined to make these final three minutes his best of the fight.

Alarmingly, Gomez appears tired in the early moments of the round and Chuvalo jumps on him, a left hook finding the mark before, with his man trapped in a neutral corner, Chuvalo unloads with a quartet of shots, three of them catching Gomez flush. My, oh, my, Gomez had better start throwing some punches or he could be in trouble here.

Chuvalo nails Gomez with a right cross and then when a hard uppercut snaps Gomez's head back, the Florida Alliance member has a vacant look in his eyes. His corner crew are shouting at him to "Work!" and he tries to do just that, tagging Chuvalo with a left hook. Chuvalo is picking Gomez off with that jab, using an accumulation of punches to tire the Tampa native out.

There's just a minute left in the fight now and after Gomez misses with a left hook Chuvalo lands another one of those crunching uppercuts, Gomez wrapping up the Canadian. My Lord, Gomez is spent. The referee has to seperate the two fighters and warns Gomez but it seems a strange warning so close to the end of the fight. Gomez launches a right hand and it lands, though Chuvalo turned his head to lessen the impact.

Ten seconds to go now and the crowd rise as one, OH! Chuvalo landed a smashing right hand a second before the bell! How did Gomez stay on his feet after that? I don't know bu the fight is over and, in my opinion, Tommy Gomez has won it, but only just.

*

What an incredible finish from George Chuvalo. Those final three minutes were a perfect illustration of why he's the tournament's 12th seed. Seemingly out of it after the 5th he all but knocked out Gomez in that final round. I'm wondering if any of the judges will score that a 10-8 round, despite the fact that there was no knockdown. We'll just have to wait and see...

Roman's scorecard for round six: Chuvalo 10-9
(Gomez wins 58-57)

Punch totals, round six

Chuvalo - 54/96 (56.2%)
Gomez - 12/42 (28.6%)

Punch totals after round six

Chuvalo - 174/349 (49.9%)
Gomez - 130/333 (39.0%)

(to be continued)

[Ric915]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

(to be continued)

ahhh man are you kidding me...lol

[Romdawg88]

Your killing me KC killing me. Can't wait to find out the official decision. LETS GO TOMMY!

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #1442)

Ten minutes after the final bell had sounded, ring announcer Jimmy Lennon, Jr. was ready to reveal the judge's verdict. Gomez and Chuvalo had spoken at length, with each other and their trainers, a period of mutual congratulations and admiration. The feeling at ringside seemed to be that, despite that final disasterous round, Gomez had done just enough to secure a fantastic victory. The tension in the air was so thick you could have cut it with a knife as Lennon stepped forward, microphone in hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the judges have tallied their scorecards and here is their decision," he began. "Judge Harry Elesperu from the USA has scored the contest 59-56 ... to George Chuvalo."

This brought howls of protest from the audience. ESPN's cameras were focused on Gomez at the time and he could be seen to mouth the words "What the f^#k?" Lennon waited for the crowd tro calm down before continuing.

"Judge Phakamile Jacobs of South Africa has scored the fight 58-57 in favour of Tommy Gomez."

As expected, the crowd greeted this result with applause, most of them clearly believing a Gomez victory would be the just result. The whole arena was on the edge of their seats as Lennon revealed the final scorecard.

"Swedish judge Mikael Hook has scored the bout 57- ... 57, a draw. Ladies and gentlemen, the result of tonight's main event is a draw!"

The audience erupted angrily, a chorus of boos resonating around the arena. They all knew the scenario, all knew that a drawn result did nothing for Gomez. The Tampa native's shoulders slumped and after shaking Chuvalo's hand he walked slowly back to his corner, head bowed. The Canadian looked almost as upset, as if disappointed by the fact that Gomez's fine effort had gone for naught. Gomez's fellow Florida Alliance members Terone Haynes and Oliver McCall consoled him as he sat on his stool, head covered by a towel, the crowd continuing to voice their displeasure.

"I feel pretty empty right now, to be honest," said Chuvalo, speaking to ESPN's Jay Marlow soon after. "I said before that I aimed to win this fight and I meant that. But Tommy doesn't deserve this, you know? He doesn't deserve to have his time in the tournament end like this, after such a great effort. I'm feeling for him right now, I really am."

"Really thought I had him," said Gomez, smiling sadly. "I just couldn't keep it going in that final round there and I've paid a big price for that, no doubt. You know, it was a tough fight and I gave it everything I had, so I have to be satisfied with that even if the result didn't go my way."

There was a commotion amongst the audience and moments later Ray Mercer had stepped into the ring, sipping from a bottle of water. His presence was not taken kindly by the Florida Alliance members, with Oliver McCall getting in his face within seconds and asking him if he'd "Come to gloat some more?"

Mercer raised his hands in a peaceful manner as the four or five security personnel inside the ring swarmed around the two men. Mercer stepped away from McCall and after shaking Chuvalo's hand and congratulating him, walked over to Gomez and spoke to him for a time. McCall was kept at a distance by security, although Terone Haynes was allowed to stay at Gomez's side. The Jacksonville native departed the ring within a couple of minutes of entering and Marlow made a bee-line for Gomez, asking him about their exchange.

"Kind of surprised me a little," said a more animated Gomez. "Didn't expect that from Ray, based on how he's related to us in the past. But he told me that he admired my performance and that he felt bad about makin' stage two at my expense. Said he feels like he don't deserve it 'cause he's backed his way in with those two losses. But, you know, he does deserve it 'cause he beat me when we fought. Simple as that. Those the rules and he deserves to make it through. That's what I told him."

Marlow mentioned how close the Florida Alliance have come to stage two of the World Championship tournament and asked Gomez if the adversity of those near misses will drive both he and Elmer Ray during the Continental Americas Championship tournament.

"Well, I'm sure it will," said Gomez in a less than convincing manner. It was obvious that the disappointment was getting the better of him and he was quick to deflect the attention away from himself. "But you know our man O-Mac here, he's got a big opportunity next week," said Gomez. "We're all gonna be there supportin' him. It'll be great to see him finish on top of his group and all of us is confident that he can go real far in stage two."

The ring had been cleared some fifteen minutes later as had much of the arena. A couple of fights that had broken out between supporters of the main event's two combatants had spilt out into the street, leading to a handful of arrests.

It must be said that Ray Mercer should consider himself a terribly lucky man. Despite losing back-to-back bouts to conclude stage one, he has qualfied for stage two. Even so, he might be wishing that Gomez had won tonight. Mercer faces a tough time as he'll be competing in what will no doubt be referred to as "The Group of Death" a number of times in the future, Group Four. All but one of the places in the group are now confirmed and Mercer faces the daunting prospect of bouts against Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Sam Langford, Jimmy Young, Earnie Shavers and Zora Folley.

It's a cruel situation that both of the Florida Alliance's World Championship tournament competitors have missed out on stage two in the fashion they have. It must be remembered that Elmer Ray was defeated by Jimmy Young by the slimmest of margins back in May. Reverse that result and he'd have himself a place in stage two today. Tommy Gomez was likewise just one more good round away from stage two.

As it stands now, Gomez and Ray will very likely both be amongst the top five or six seeds in the American tournament and both sluggers would be considered to have a great chance of success in it...

Final standings at the top of Group Twelve of the World Championship tournament:

1. 1(12) GEORGE CHUVALO (CANADA), 5-1-1
2. 2(21) RAY MERCER (USA), 4-2-1(1)

3. 4(53) TOMMY GOMEZ (USA), 4-2-1(1)

[Romdawg88]

BOOOOO, what fight was Harry Elesperu watching 59-56 Chuvalo was a horrible score. Thats a crappy way to miss on advancing being so close to the win yet not getting it. I'm sure both Ray and Tommy will rebound with great showings in the CA tournament.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

BOOOOO, what fight was Harry Elesperu watching 59-56 Chuvalo was a horrible score. Thats a crappy way to miss on advancing being so close to the win yet not getting it. I'm sure both Ray and Tommy will rebound with great showings in the CA tournament.

Your guy's debut aside, it's been a terrible week for the Alliance, with Ray getting killed on Friday and now Tommy just missing out. I'm really hoping that McCall can dominate Morrison next week, just to bring some good news into the camp.

[mh2365]

o....verra....ted o.....verra ....ted

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
WEDNESDAY 14 AUGUST 2002
CAESARS ATLANTIC CITY, ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, USA


OPENING BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
6(85) Reuben Vargas D6 7(101) Al Ettore

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
8(117) Brian London TKO2 5(69) Tommy Jackson

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
3(37) Al Jones UD6 2(21) Ray Mercer

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
2(12) Carl Morris UD6 3(20) Cesar Brion

CO-FEATURE

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Five
1(5) Nino Valdes UD6 4(28) Gus Ruhlin

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Twelve
1(12) George Chuvalo D6 4(53) Tommy Gomez

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Your guy's debut aside, it's been a terrible week for the Alliance, with Ray getting killed on Friday and now Tommy just missing out. I'm really hoping that McCall can dominate Morrison next week, just to bring some good news into the camp.

Yeah, it's been rough for the Alliance. I think this lost hurts more then Ray's cause with Ray it was just him getting whipped by a better fighter while Tommy was robbed of his win. I have no doubt that McCall will step up and score a big win for us against Morrison.

[kenyan_cheena]

CHUVALO-GOMEZ SCORECARDS DISPUTED

Thursday 15 August 2002

Fans of Heavyweight Boxing Federation competitor "Tampa" Tommy Gomez are today calling into question the validity of the result in last night's Caesars Atlantic City bout between Gomez and Canada's George Chuvalo after the individual scorecards for the bout showed "inconsistencies".

Chuvalo and Gomez slugged it out for a fantastic six rounds of action and despite the belief by most that Gomez had done just enough to win, the bout was declared a draw. This meant that Gomez had failed in his bid to win a spot in stage two of the World Championship tournament. The point of contention centres on the fight's final round, which Chuvalo won in a clearly comprehensive fashion. However, while judges Phakamile Jacobs of South Africa and Harry Elesperu of the USA scored the round 10-9 in Chuvalo's favour, judge Mikael Hook of Sweden scored it 10-8, even though no knockdown was recorded in the round. This made his final scorecard a 57-57 draw, meaning that if he had scored the final round 10-9 like his fellow judges, his card would have shown Gomez as a 58-57 victor and the bout would have been awarded to him by a split decision. If this had happened, it would have been the Florida Alliance member and not Jacksonville's Ray Mercer finishing in 2nd place in Group Twelve and, therefore, qualifying for stage two.

"This is an absolute scandal," said Maurice Poe of the St. John's County Courier. "Tommy Gomez has been robbed of a place in the second stage purely on the basis of one judge's incompetence. I don't know how he's going to feel when he hears this news, but if I was him it would turn my stomach. To have put in all the hard work and training he's been through and to miss out because of something like this is a disgrace. That Elesperu fella, he should never be allowed to sit in judgement of a fight again. For him to award Tommy just a single round, it just boggles the mind."

Poe is one of the Florida Alliance's biggest supporters, so his attitude towards the incident is painted with a pretty large brush of bias. Even so, there have been a number of other commentators who are not so emotionally involved who have agreed with him. Federation president Michael Vincennes defended the performances of his judges this morning, saying the he thought the decision was a fair one.

"I was right there at ringside and it was a terribly close fight," said Vincennes. "There's always a chance in these types of contests that the judges won't agree. However, I have to say that the final round was not even in the ballpark of being close. George Chuvalo clearly dominated it and he landed 53 punches, which is just a huge amount especially in the final round of a fight. I was actually surprised that the other judges didn't score it 10-8, also. They are told to judge the fight as they see it and the fact that Mr. Hook scored that final round 10-8 just indicated that he felt Chuvalo had done enough to warrant it, even though he did not record a knockdown."

Vincennes also confirmed that there was "absolutely no chance" that the result of the contest would be reversed.

"It's a tough way to bow out of the contest, I know that," said Vincennes. "But the fact is that the bout was a draw. And that's how it will stay."

Gomez's failure to qualify for stage two ends what has been a tough last week for the Florida Alliance, coming on the back of Elmer Ray's comprehensive defeat at the hands of Floyd Patterson last Friday night. Ray was also in a position to progress to stage two with a win. The two results mean that the Alliance have gone 0-2 in their efforts to have a representative in the World Championship tournament's second stage.

"Well, I'm sure that they'll both bounce back," said Vincennes. "You know, we're not running the NBA here, where you can get in the playoffs with a losing record. We've constructed our tournaments so that those who make the second stages will have really earned it. Elmer Ray went 5-2 in the World Championship tournament and while that's an impressive record, it wasn't good enough for him to finish in the top two in his group. That's the way it is, but I am really looking forward to seeing how he performs in our American tournament, as I'm sure many others are."

Ray and Gomez's fellow Alliance member Oliver McCall of Fort Lauderdale has a great opportunity to bring the group some redemption when he steps into the ring against Oklahoma's Tommy Morrison next Wednesday. The winner of the bout will finish on top of Group Three in the 1st Defense tournament...

[mh2365]

Just like the Alliance to cry foul when they lose .. bottom line is if Gomez shows up for the last round he wins .. can we change his nickname to Winky? Come to fight the full fight and maybe you won't have these problems.

[Romdawg88]

That last round killed Tommy if only he had been able to put in a little more work during it then Hook would have likely scored it 10-9 Chuvalo and Tommy would have walked out with the win. Thank God that it was only six rounds cause if it was 8 Chuvalo likely scores the stoppage.

[kenyan_cheena]

I didn't notice the difference in the scoring until I was doing the write-up and it really is incredible that just one single round cost Tommy a spot in stage two.

When I ran the fight I really couldn't believe that Tommy had just missed out, but when I saw those scorecards and realised how it affected the result I thought "Cool, this one anomaly gives me another article to write".

I just love how the game keeps co-operating with me.

[kenyan_cheena]

Current combined record, Florida Alliance members: 21-4-2(9)

* Elmer Ray 5-2-0(2)
* Oliver McCall 5-0-1(1)
* Tommy Gomez 4-2-1(1)
* Terone Haynes 6-0-0(5)
* Romy Alvarez 1-0-0
* Ariel Reyes 0-0-0
* James Ray 0-0-0

[kenyan_cheena]

TOP SEED YANTCHEV ELIMINATED
FROM SOUTHERN EUROPE TOURNEY

Thursday 15 August 2002

Russia's Genadi Yantchev today became the second #1 seed to be defeated in the semi-finals of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's feeder league tournaments. Following Ingemar Johansson's loss to Flemming Ekelund last week in Sweden, Yantchev fell to a 6th round TKO loss against Croatia's Lovro Alanovic at the Palais Des Sports in Cannes, France.

Bringing a 3-0-2 record into the contest, Yantchev was in trouble from the opening round as Alanovic was able to hurt him with some crisp combinations while also having great success in evading the Russian's offensive efforts. Alanovic's defensive skill frustrated Yantchev into making some uncharacteristic errors, which only allowed the 7th-seeded Croatian to connect often and in a punishing fashion on the counter.

A crunching right hand opened a bad cut under Yantchev's left eye late in round four and while his corner did a reasonable job of patching it up Alanovic targeted it in the fifth and then worsened it with with a right hook moments into the final round. The referee then led Yantchev to a neutral corner where the ring doctor indicated that the fight should be stopped. the official time was 0:07 of round six. Going into that final round, Alanovic held a 50-46, 49-47, 50-46 lead and had outlanded the Russian by a ratio greater than 2:1 at the time of the stoppage (141/367 to 65/379).

Yantchev wore a blanket of sorrow on his face afterwards, his chance of competing in the World Ranking tournament wrestled away from him by an opponent who had been smarter, hungrier and stronger. Alanovic paraded around the ring with his national flag drapped across his shoulders, the win improving his record to 4-1-1(1).

***

Alanovic will get the chance to avenge the only loss of his career in next month's final as his fellow Group B competitor and tournament 2nd seed Markus Stober won a controversial split decision against Bulgaria's Alexander Dafouska in the evening's Co-Feature. After dominating the opening round the German struggled during the next four with Dafouska beating him to the punch often and with punishing consequences.

Going into the final round it seemed obvious that the Bulgarian had a healthy lead and even after Stober sent him to the canvas with a three punch combination in the final minute most observers though that Dafouska would take the decision. But they were sadly mistaken and when Stober was announced as a 58-55, 56-58, 57-56 victor the arena erupted in protest, a chorus of boos resonating strongly.

Dafouska could only shake his head, the disappointment showing in his eyes. Stober offered him commiserations and it was obvious that he knew he'd escaped with a gift decision as he sheepishly raised his hand in victory.

Stober landed 111 of 301 punches (36.8%), Dafouska 144 of 389 (37.0%). The Bulgarian vented his frustrations as the bitterness of the situation sunk in further.

"I don't deserve this," he said. "After the effort I put in I don't deserve to go out like this. I was the better man for most of the fight and those judges, they just robbed me. It sucks. It really does."

***

Alanovic (4-1-1(1)) and Stober (5-1-0(1)) will step into the ring against each other for the second time in three months on the 19th September...

(Still to come: The Palais Des Sports Undercard)