The Heavyweight Boxing Federation - Page 78

kenyan_cheena · 10-13-2007, 03:04 AM

ELLIS VICTORIOUS AT ESCOBAR STADIUM,
QUALIFIES FOR STAGE TWO

Friday 23 August 2002

Louisville's Jimmy Ellis won a tough Main Event contest tonight at San Juan's Escobar Stadium to qualify for stage two of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament. The 19th seed defeated a courageous Phil Muscato by majority decision (58-56, 57-57, 58-57), improving his record to 6-1(1) and securing himself a place in Group Three of stage two. There were some at ringside who felt that Ellis was lucky to escape with the win as Muscato appeared to inflict more damage on his opponent. Even so, Muscato was the one wearing a nasty cut under his left eye at fight's end.

Ellis had been unable to match Group Fourteen's top seed Ernie Terrell in his last bout and knew that a loss against Muscato would see him crash out of the tournament. Neither man looked willing to seize their opportunity during what were a non-descript opening two rounds, but the action really heated up in the 3rd as Muscato caught Ellis with a succession of chopping blows. Round four saw Muscato retain control before Ellis rallied in its bottom half, coming to life for the first time in the fight and then staying on a roll throughout the 5th. It was a close affair going into the final stanza and while both men had their moments, neither really took it by the throat.

Muscato shook his head after the verdict was announced, going as far as deriding the judges over their decisions. In a close fight it appeared that all the close rounds had gone in Ellis' favour and the Buffalo native was clearly shattered that his time in the tournament had ended in such a fashion. Ellis landed 139 of 361 punches (38.5%), Muscato 159 of 415 (38.3%).

"I'm feeling a lot of relief right now," Ellis said. "It was a hard fight and I'm just relieved I got out of it in one piece. Now I can concentrate on making the most of stage two. I'm not under any illusions as to how hard it will be but if I just take it one fight at a time, who knows what I can achieve?"

The loss sees Muscato fall to 4-3 and into the Continental Americas Championship tournament but he'll certainly be thinking on this defeat for some time. He was only a good round or two from the second stage and in the minds of many deserved that reward based on his performance as it was.

***

Top seed Ernie Terrell was on the receiving end of a poor decision in the evening's Co-Feature, his bout against fellow Chicago native King Levinsky scored a draw (57-57 on all three cards). As a result Terrell's perfect career start came to an abrupt end, his record now 6-0-1.

Levinsky brought a 1-5 mark into the contest and was not expected to trouble Terrell. He started the fight in a positive manner and was probably the more aggressive of the two in round three, but it was a real stretch to say that he did enough to force a draw. Terrell landed 162 of 262 punches (61.8%) while Levinsky found the mark with just 91 of 428 (21.3%).

"I can't explain it," said a perplexed Terrell afterwards. "They either penalised me for not being busy enough or rewarded him for throwing a lot of punches and missing with most of them. What they didn't do was reward me for landing a whole lot more shots than he did and hurting him when he never came close to hurting me. It's disappointing to lose that perfect record like this, but what can I do? It hasn't cost me anything as far as stage two is concerned so I guess that's something. I just have to forget about this and focus on what matters, the rest of the tournament."

The Escobar Stadium Undercard

OPENING BOUT

In a 1st Defense tournament bout, homeland favourite Jose Roman fought out a six round draw with the Englishman Charley Mitchell (57-57, 58-56 (Roman), 57-57). It was a tremendously entertaining fight with the vocal crowd support seemingly driving both men to overachieve. Roman started on fire but Mitchell rallied well in round two before Roman controlled the contest in the 3rd and, to a lesser extent, the 4th. Mitchell produced the best three minutes of the fight in round five as he hurt Roman throughout and almost had him on his backside after a thunderous uppercut late in the piece. Roman swept the cards in the last but somewhat surprisingly his efforts were only good enough to secure the drawn verdict.

Mitchell ended a five fight losing skid and finished his time in the tournament with a 1-5-1 record. For Roman it's been a frustrating campaign, as evidenced by his 1-3-3 record. His previous two draws had come against Ron Lyle and John Lester Johnson, fighters still in contention for stage two.

PRELIMINARY 1

When he scored surprise victories in his first two bouts, it looked possible that Baltimore's Bert Whitehurst might gatecrash stage two of the World Championship tournament, but back-to-back losses against his group's top two seeds Ernie Terrell and Jimmy Ellis ended any chance of that. Even so, Whitehurst has bounced back since then and tonight he ran his undefeated streak to three fights with a convincing unanimous decision win over the Argentine Luis Firpo (59-55, 58-56, 59-55).

Later on in the night Whitehurst would find out that his victory had been good enough to see him finish a very respectable 3rd in front of Phil Muscato in Group Fourteen. With his record now 4-2-1 Whitehurst should be placed quite highly in the Continental Americas tournament. He'll be one of the more interesting fighters to follow during that event.

PRELIMINARY 2

Los Angeles native Marty Monroe scored his first tournament victory in his last attempt, an upset unanimous decision win over Portland's Amos Lincoln (57-56, 58-55, 57-56). Monroe had to summon all his courage and commitment to come from behind to achieve a brave victory. Lincoln was absolutely in control after round two but Monroe won the 3rd and then dropped his opponent with a body shot at the midpoint of round four. It was the first knockdown Monroe had scored during the tournament and, now back in the fight, he swept the final two rounds on two judge's cards.

The scenes in the ring after the verdict was announced would have melted the hardest of hearts as Monroe was held aloft by his cornercrew, tears streaming down his face. Monroe had lost all of his first six fights by unanimous decision but had only been floored once in those eighteen rounds. The comparative enormity of what he had achieved clearly overwhelmed him and Lincoln embraced the Californian, applauding his fighting spirit. It was one of the most extraordinary fights seen so far in the World Championship tournament and the fact that it was Monroe's first victory in what may just be his final federation bout made it all the more unforgettable.

SUPPORT BOUT

New York's John Lester Johnson qualified for stage two of the 1st Defense tournament and at the same time ended any chance that 6th seed Ron Lyle had of progressing, his bout against Jurgen Blin declared a draw (57-57, 58-56 (Blin), 57-57). Johnson only needed to avoid defeat to wrap up his spot in the second stage and despite fading in the final two rounds that's exactly what he did. Johnson's record is now 4-1-2. The best that Lyle can do is finish the first stage with a 4-2-1 mark if he defeats Curtis Sheppard tomorrow night in the Philippines, meaning that he has now officially been eliminated from qualifying.

After an uneventful opening round Johnson exploded in round two, landing some hard, jolting shots and continuing his assault into round three. The 4th was a more even affair but the signs of Johnson's decline were already evident and he did well to avoid tasting the canvas in a fiery final two rounds. The New Yorker was overjoyed after the verdict, pumping his fist and shouting with delight. Considering the fact that he's the 35th seed in a 64-man tournament, it's quite an achievement. He'll be placed in Group Two in stage two, fighters such as James Jeffries, Tommy Morrison and Herbie Hide also set to reside there...

kenyan_cheena · 10-13-2007, 03:12 AM

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 2002
ESCOBAR STADIUM, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

OPENING BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
6(43) Charley Mitchell D6 7(51) Jose Roman

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
6(83) Bert Whitehurst UD6 7(99) Luis Firpo

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
8(115) Marty Monroe UD6 5(67) Amos Lincoln

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Six
5(35) John Lester Johnson D6 8(59) Jurgen Blin

CO-FEATURE

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
1(14) Ernie Terrell D6 4(51) King Levinsky

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen
2(19) Jimmy Ellis MD6 3(35) Phil Muscato

Romdawg88 · 10-13-2007, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Ain't much chance of them being changed, IMO, although we'll have to wait and see what Vincennes has to say about it.

Good to hear that the fights will be happening as scheduled as I do want to see them as soon as possible, though I must admit that I'm glad that mine and Mike's fight isn't happening till later. I would love to see Vincennes just come out and slap down the writers for being foolish enough to question him. Damn, KC you've been pumping up stories for the HBF today.

kenyan_cheena · 10-13-2007, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Good to hear that the fights will be happening as scheduled as I do want to see them as soon as possible, though I must admit that I'm glad that mine and Mike's fight isn't happening till later. I would love to see Vincennes just come out and slap down the writers for being foolish enough to question him. Damn, KC you've been pumping up stories for the HBF today.

My personal opinion is that if it were to happen in real life, the federation would look pretty foolish changing it. Don't worry, though. Vincennes should have something to say about it in a couple of days.

I have a lot more time to write on the weekend than I do during the week, which is why Saturday and Sunday are the days when I get quite a lot done in the story.

kenyan_cheena · 10-13-2007, 10:21 PM

HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Saturday 24 August 2002

Mr. Michael Vincennes
Heavyweight Boxing Federation President

As fans and followers of the HBF would be aware, stage one of our World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments will reach its conclusion a week from today, on the 31st of August. This will represent a major accomplishment and also signify a completion of the first chapter of our organisation's existence. Competition in these tournaments commenced back in early January and it brings great satisfaction to myself and the federation staff that we have reached this moment. I and the entire HBF team would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this first period of our organisation's life such a tremendous success.

So that our supporters are fully aware of how things will progress from September and beyond, we have provided a detailed schedule that lists in chronological order all the upcoming federation events.

HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS

* Thursday 29 August

Completion of series one of the Qualifying League's initial ranking tournament.

* Saturday 31 August

Completion of stage one of the World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments.

* Tuesday 3 September

Commencement of the Feeder League tournament finals, with the U.S. Atlantic Coast Boxing League final to be held at Madison Square Garden.

* Wednesday 4 September

List of entrants in the Continental Americas, European, Asia/Oceania and African Championship tournaments to be announced.

* Thursday 5 September

List of entrants for the federation's World Ranking tournament to be announced. The complete field will not be finalised until the conclusion of the Feeder League tournament finals.

* Tuesday 17 September

Commencement of series two of the Qualifying League's initial ranking tournament.

* Thursday 26 September

Conclusion of the Feeder League tournament finals, with the African Boxing League final at Surelere Stadium, Nigeria.

* Thursday 3 October

Completion of series two of the Qualifying League's initial ranking tournament.

* Sunday 13 October

Commencement of competition in the European Championship tournament.

* Monday 14 October

Commencement of competition in the Continental Americas Championship tournament.

* Sunday 20 October

Commencement of competition in the African Championship tournament.

* Friday 25 October

Commencement of stage two of the World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments.

* Sunday 27 October

Commencement of competition in the Asia/Oceania Championship tournament.

* Tuesday 29 October

Commencement of series three of the Qualifying League's intitial ranking tournament.

* Sunday 10 November

Commencement of competition in the World Ranking tournament.

Tournament notes:

* Stage two of the World Championship tournament will feature 32 fighters divided into four groups of eight. All stage two bouts will be ten rounds and the fight cards for each series will be held eight weeks apart. Each series will take place over a two week period with the four fight cards to be held on Fridays and Saturdays. Taking series one as an example they will be held like this:

Friday 25 October - Group Four
Saturday 26 October - Group One
Friday 1 November - Group Three
Saturday 2 November - Group Two

* Stage two of the 1st Defense tournament will feature 16 fighters divided into two groups of eight. All stage two bouts will be ten rounds and, like the World Championship tournament, the fight cards will be held eight weeks apart. Each series will take place over a two week period with the four fight cards to be held on Fridays and Saturdays. As was the case in stage one, the 1st Defense tournament bouts will be held on the same fight cards as the World Championship tournament bouts. Taking series one as an example they will be held like this:

Friday 25 October - Group Two
Saturday 26 October - Group Two
Friday 1 November - Group One
Saturday 2 November - Group One

* The Continental Americas Championship tournament will feature 72 fighters divided into twelve groups of six. The tournament will feature two stages with each stage consisting of five series of bouts. Stage one bouts will be eight rounds and stage two bouts will be ten rounds. Stage one bouts will be held six weeks apart and stage two bouts will be held eight weeks apart. The top two in each group at the conclusion of stage one will qualify for stage two, where there will be four groups of six. The winners of each group in stage two will take part in the tournament semi-finals, which will be ten round bouts. The semi-final winners will clash in a twelve round Championship bout. All Continental Americas Championship tournament fight cards will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays and each series will be held over a three week period. Each card will feature two tournament groups. There will be an eight week break before the tournament semi-finals and a ten week break before the Championship bout.

* The European Championship tournament will feature a field of 12 fighters who will contest each opponent once for a total of eleven bouts. At the conclusion of series eleven, the top four fighters will qualify for the tournament semi-finals, with #1 versus #4 and #2 versus #3. The semi-final winners will meet for the Championship. The preliminary bouts will all be eight rounds in length, the semi-finals ten and the Championship bout twelve. All European Championship tournament bouts will be held on Sundays with six weeks between each card, an eight week break before the semi-finals and a ten week break before the final.

* The African and Asia/Oceania Championship tournaments will feature a field of 12 fighters who will contest each opponent once for a total of eleven bouts. At the conclusion of series eleven, the top four fighters will qualify for the tournament semi-finals, with #1 versus #4 and #2 versus #3. The semi-final winners will meet for the Championship. The preliminary bouts will all be six rounds in length, the semi-finals ten and the Championship bout twelve. All African and Asia/Oceania Championship tournament bouts will be held on Sundays with five weeks between each card, an eight week break before the semi-finals and a ten week break before the final.

* The World Ranking tournament will feature 24 fighters divided into two groups of twelve. Fighters will contest each opponent in their group once for a total of eleven bouts. At the conclusion of series eleven the top six fighters in each group will be rewarded with a World Ranking based on their win-loss-draw record during the tournament. All World Ranking tournament bouts will be eight rounds and will be held on Sundays, with six weeks between each card. Each series will be held over a two week period.

Romdawg88 · 10-13-2007, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

* Friday 6 September

List of entrants for the federation's World Ranking tournament to be announced. The complete field will not be finalised until the conclusion of the Feeder League tournament finals.

Saturday 7 September: The birthday of the greatest fighter who ever competed in the HBF Romy Alvarez.

* Tuesday 17 September

Commencement of series two of the Qualifying League's initial ranking tournament.

Damn, only a in-uni week away from the end of stage 1 good times. It's been a hell of a long road to get here. I can't wait until the entrants into the various tournaments are announced should be fun to find out who made it in. More importantly, I'm looking forward to the Feeder league finals to since I'll be facing some of the losers in the QL later.

kenyan_cheena · 10-14-2007, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Damn, only a in-uni week away from the end of stage 1 good times. It's been a hell of a long road to get here. I can't wait until the entrants into the various tournaments are announced should be fun to find out who made it in. More importantly, I'm looking forward to the Feeder league finals to since I'll be facing some of the losers in the QL later.

Yep, it gives me a lot of satisfaction to have gotten to this point. Thanks to everyone who has followed along with the story.

By the way,

THREE YEARS OLD!!!

kenyan_cheena · 10-15-2007, 11:36 PM

QUEZON CITY SLUGFEST:
WILLIAMS OUTDUELS SNIPES
TO WIN STAGE TWO BERTH

Saturday 24 August 2002

Houston native Cleveland Williams has emerged victorious after a brutal six round encounter with the New Yorker Renaldo Snipes in the Philippines. Williams was awarded a unanimous decision verdict (58-56, 59-56, 58-56) but the bout was much tougher than those scorecards indicated. The Texan heaped praise upon his opponent afterwards, calling it the toughest fight of his career to date.

"The guy hits harder than Johnson," said Williams, when asked whether he was including his fight against "The Galveston Giant" Jack Johnson in that assessment. "So, yeah, it was tougher. A lot tougher. I knew that this was win or go home as far as the tournament is concerned. Ren was in the same situation and neither of us took a backward step through the whole fight."

The win secured a 2nd place finish for Williams in Group Three of the World Championship tournament, his record improving to 5-1-1(1). Snipes fell to 4-3 and will be one of the 72 competitors in the upcoming Continental Americas Championship tournament.

Williams started the fight brilliantly, controlling a lively opening round and then hurting and dominating Snipes in round two. But the New York native refused to give in and he rallied to assume the upperhand in rounds three and four. Both men were swinging for the fences, leading to some thunderous exchanges that had the audience on their feet with applause on several occasions. The 5th was an even affair up until Williams rocked Snipes with a flush right hand thirty seconds from the bell. He maintained the momentum into the final round, where he put the verdict beyond doubt with a comprehensive finish. Snipes was almost out if it late in the round after a trio of smashing right hands in a period of about fifteen seconds had him wobbling from one side of the ring to the other. But he somehow managed to stay on his feet and the two combatants ended this fantastic struggle locked in a clinch, the crowd giving them a sustained standing ovation.

Punch totals

Williams 166/341 (48.7%)
Snipes 143/374 (38.2%)

(to be continued)

Romdawg88 · 10-16-2007, 01:08 AM

Damn, sounds like it was a hell of a fight. Glad to see Cleveland Williams move on as I was rooting for him out of this group.

kenyan_cheena · 10-16-2007, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Damn, sounds like it was a hell of a fight. Glad to see Cleveland Williams move on as I was rooting for him out of this group.

He definitely earned it the hard way. Snipes threw everything he had at him. I'm happy he made it through, also.

mh2365 · 10-16-2007, 11:53 PM

I remember when Renaldo Snipes beat the crap out of Larry Holmes on ABC and they gave the decision to Holmes. Between that and the Witherspoon fight Holmes had no business being 48-0.

kenyan_cheena · 10-17-2007, 11:14 PM

(continuation of post #1548)

"Left it all in the ring," said an exhausted Snipes afterwards. "I gave it everything I had but Cleveland was just too good for me tonight. I'd like to wish him all the best for stage two 'cause he deserves his spot there."

Snipes was enthusiastic about the Continental Americas tournament.

"I think there's gonna be a bunch of fellas who will challenge for it," he said. "Guys like Elmer Ray and Tony Tucker will give it a real shake, for sure. I'm confident about my chances, no doubt."

Williams spoke of his relief about qualifying for the second stage.

"It feels good knowing that all the work I've put in has paid off," he said. "People'll say that I was supposed to make it 'cause I'm a top two seed, but Max Schmeling was supposed to make it also and look what happened to him. No, I'm proud of this achievement and I'm not afraid to admit that. I know I'm going to have to double my efforts from this point on, though. The thought of that might make some people shrink but it just excites me. I can't wait to get started."

THE ARANETA COLISEUM UNDERCARD

Opening Bout

The night got off to an explosive start with the Argentine Pedro Lovell finally breaking through for his first professional victory when he knocked Pat Valentino out cold two minutes into round three. The first two rounds were action-packed and it was clear that this one wasn't going to go the distance. California native Valentino appeared to be in control going into round three but a single left hook from Lovell had him on his back and unmoving for the ten count, the bout officially ending at the 1:56 mark.

Valentino's three fight undefeated streak came to a shuddering halt and he fell to 2-4-1 while Lovell, who had been stopped on cuts in the opening round of his last bout, improved to 1-5-1. Even so, it's unlikely that this win will be enough to earn him a further stay in the federation.

Preliminary 1

One knockout is good but two are even better and Italy's Franco Cavicchi kept the crowd excited when he stopped "The Angry Engishman" Joe Beckett 29 seconds into round three. After a cautious 1st round Cavicchi opened up in round two, rocking Beckett with a pair of left hooks. The end came on a flush right hook that landed as the Brit was throwing a right of his own. He spun sideways and collapsed to the canvas, failing to beat the count despite two attempts at pushing himself to his feet.

Cavicchi's victory continued what has been a promising period for Italian fighters in the HBF and saw his record improve to 3-3-1(2). He'll be one of the twelve competitors that will contest the federation's European Championship tournament. Beckett will long be remembered for his debut upset of Jack Johnson but since that famous victory he has managed only one more win and finishes his time in the World Championship tournament with a 2-5(1) record.

(to be continued)

kenyan_cheena · 10-18-2007, 04:14 AM

(continuation)

Preliminary 2

With his place in stage two of the 1st Defense tournament already booked, California's Mike Weaver made his way to the ring with a smile on his face prior to his bout against Joe Choynski. Having been vacationing in Australia for the last week, Weaver's fellow USC member Sam McVey had flown to Quezon City to support his good friend and he made the walk to the ring with him, encouraging the crowd to be generous with their applause. McVey's drop dead gorgeous supermodel girlfriend Claudette James was also there. Weaver's opponent was fellow golden state native Joe Choynski, the San Franciscan bringing a four fight undefeated streak into the contest.

Considering the fact that both men's futures were already decided (Weaver in stage two and Choynski in the American tournament), they produced one entertaining bout. When it was all over Weaver was a winner by split decision (57-56, 56-57, 58-55). He dominated round one and repeated the dose in the 2nd before Choynski had him down on one knee as the bell sounded with a stinging ribshot. Weaver went back to work in a furious round three, both men inflicting serious damage before Weaver's aggression overwhelmed his opponent in the final minute.

Choynski had his first real success of the bout in round four, hurting Weaver with a jolting uppercut early and a flush right hook late. But it was only fleeting as Weaver controlled round five and then stunned Choynski on two separate occasions in the final stanza. The native of Diamond Bar (LA County) produced a tremendous final three minutes, landing 47 punches during the round.

Punch totals

Weaver: 179/326 (54.9%)
Choynski: 127/251 (50.6%)

"That was a fantastic workout," said the sculpted Weaver. "Joe's one tough SOB and he made me work for this win right from the opening bell. That shot he got me with at the end of the 2nd really hurt, I have to say. I caught him with some hard punches but he didn't look like falling until that final round. He'll give guys trouble in the American tourney, I'm sure o' that."

Weaver was quick to deflect any compliments directed his way, insisting that he's taking his career one step at a time.

"It's gonna be a hard run through series two," he said. "I'll have to be prepared for every fight if I want to have any chance of making the semi-finals."

With his record now 6-1(2), the 11th seed finished stage one atop Group Six and as a result will be placed in what is shaping up as a terribly tough Group One in stage two. Choynski's final 1st Defense tournament record was an even 3-3-1.

(to be continued)

(that's Sammy McVey's girlfriend Claudette James pictured below)

kenyan_cheena · 10-19-2007, 12:19 AM

(continuation)

Support Bout

Ever since his arrival in the Philippines last Sunday, World Championship tournament #3 seed Jack Johnson has been treated like a movie star. Despite the fact that he was not headlining the Araneta Coliseum fight card he was looked upon as the biggest attraction for tonight's event. Obviously a big reason for this is his status as a top seed in the tournament but he's also garnered himself some extra attention as a result of the company he's been keeping lately. It was reported last week that Johnson had been spotted partying at a Hollywood Boulevard nightclub with fellow HBF fighter Sam McVey, McVey's girlfriend and an unnamed young Asian lady. That young lady has since been revealed to be Los Angeles-born Filipina Jessica Aguilar, an actress, model and dancer whose main claim to fame has been appearing prominently in several hip hop music videos, aswell as being a feature at a number of motor shows across the United States.

Johnson brought Aguilar to Quezon City with him, seemingly confirming that the two are a couple. Their presence together has set off a frenzy amongst the Filipino media, who have been running front page photos of Johnson and Aguilar together at various promotional appearances. Apparently the exposure has done wonders for Aguilar's career with the beautiful 22 year-old receiving a bunch of job offers during the past week. She might end up being just another one of Johnson's many conquests but that possibility has not seemed to worry her in the least as the two have been more than willing to indulge in public displays of affection.

"They just look like they are absolutely crazy about each other," said Philippine Daily Inquirer gossip columnist Hilario Poe.

After all the flashbulbs and craziness of these past seven days Johnson finally stepped into the ring tonight for his bout against the Mexican Manuel Ramos. His place in stage two of the World Championship tournament had already been confirmed following last month's decimation of Cleveland Williams but what had not been wrapped up was a 1st place finish in Group Three. Johnson had stressed how important that was to him in interviews held during the last couple of days.

"Ain't no way I'll let that slip away," he said, almost incredulously. "I didn't win five fights in a row just to take it easy this time and throw it all away. I don't wanna be in the same group as Sonny Liston in stage two, man. You can print that 'cause any other guy in this tourney'd say the same. I win this fight and I avoid that, see? Pure and simple mathematics."

Johnson made his way to the ring in a robe of white with navy blue, black and sky blue trim, his trunks of a similar design, his boots black. Pumping out of the stadium speakers was the Stevie Wonder classic "Master Blaster (Jammin')", Johnson led to the square circle by Aguilar and two other Filipino beauties all dressed in barely there black swimsuits and high heels. The audience went bananas, as surely as they'll be when they cheer on their own countrymen in the upcoming International Boxing League tournaments.

When the fight got started it was clear that Johnson was all business as he pummelled Ramos in the opening round to the delight of the capacity crowd. "The Galveston Giant" had that jab working to devastating effect from the opening bell, Ramos' head being jolted back with every blow. It was a pattern that would continue throughout the fight and although the Mexican native had some success in rounds two, four and five it was never enough to put the final verdict in any doubt and Johnson was declared a unanimous decision winner (58-56, 60-54, 59-55). Even though he was in command from start to finish Johnson indulged in nonsensical, amusing conversations with those at ringside throughout the bout. His "A" game was clearly in action and it was a pleasure to watch this fantastically talented, charismatic athlete in action.

Johnson found the mark with 205 of 318 punches (64.5%) in recording his third consecutive unanimous decision victory, a streak during which he has landed an average of 187 punches per fight. The courageous but outclassed Ramos connected with 108 of 238 shots (45.4%), the defeat making his record 0-3-1 in his last four contests after going undefeated in his first three tournament bouts. Ramos is now 2-3-2 and will be looking to get his career back on track once the Continental Americas tournament kicks off.

Joined by Aguilar in the ring after the final bell, Johnson was in a jovial, talkative mood.

"People gotta keep on rememberin' what I said back in February," he said. "I'm makin' history every time I step in the ring, man. Six in a row now and it's just gonna keep on growin' throughout stage two. Don't matter who I have to fight 'cause none o' y'all gonna be able to match me. Ain't no doubt in my mind about that, man."

Johnson's comment about who he has to fight was most likely in regards to the fact that because of his 6-1 record he won't be the top seed in his stage two group and, as a result, will not be fighting the lowest seeds in the group to start with. But going on his performance tonight he might just be right about it not mattering. He has been in perhaps the best form of any fighter in the HBF and if he can continue that run through the second stage he'll surely have a good chance of booking himself a semi-final spot.

(to be continued)

(pictured below is Jack Johnson's new girlfriend Jessica Aguilar)

kenyan_cheena · 10-19-2007, 03:26 AM

(continuation)

Co-Feature

His chances of progressing to stage two of the 1st Defense tournament already extinguished, Denver's #6 seed Ron Lyle took his frustration out on Philadelphia native Curtis Sheppard. Thanks largely to an aggressive first four rounds Lyle defeated the Pennsylvanian by comfortable unanimous decision (58-54, 59-53, 58-54). Lyle produced perhaps the three best rounds of his career to date in the 1st, 2nd and 4th as he unloaded some heavy artillery on Sheppard.

Round four was about as one-sided as three minutes of boxing can get and when Lyle dropped his man with a smashing left hook shortly before the bell many thought the fight should have been stopped. The fact that it wasn't led to Lyle taking his foot off the pedal in the final two rounds, content to keep Sheppard at a distance with the jab. Lyle showed a glum disposition afterwards, his failure to qualify for stage two still eating at him.

"I'll just have to make sure I don't make the same mistakes in the American tournament," he said. "It'll take a while for me to come to terms with the fact that I'm out of the tournament, you know? I was the 6th seed and I should have made it through pretty easily but it ain't happened and that's that. I'll learn from this and the disappointment of it'll make me stronger for the future."

Lyle landed 179 of 365 punches (49.0%), Sheppard 102 of 290 (35.2%).

The final standings at the top of Group Six in the 1st Defense tournament look like this:

1. 2(11) MIKE WEAVER (USA), 6-1-0(2)
2. 5(35) JOHN LESTER JOHNSON (USA), 4-1-2

3. 1(6) RON LYLE (USA), 4-2-1(1)
4. 3(19) JOE CHOYNSKI (USA), 3-3-1

kenyan_cheena · 10-19-2007, 03:32 AM

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
SATURDAY 24 AUGUST 2002
ARANETA COLISEUM, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES

OPENING BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Three
6(94) Pedro Lovell KO

10-13-2007, 03:04 AM	#1541 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	ELLIS VICTORIOUS AT ESCOBAR STADIUM, QUALIFIES FOR STAGE TWO Friday 23 August 2002 Louisville's Jimmy Ellis won a tough Main Event contest tonight at San Juan's Escobar Stadium to qualify for stage two of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament. The 19th seed defeated a courageous Phil Muscato by majority decision (58-56, 57-57, 58-57), improving his record to 6-1(1) and securing himself a place in Group Three of stage two. There were some at ringside who felt that Ellis was lucky to escape with the win as Muscato appeared to inflict more damage on his opponent. Even so, Muscato was the one wearing a nasty cut under his left eye at fight's end. Ellis had been unable to match Group Fourteen's top seed Ernie Terrell in his last bout and knew that a loss against Muscato would see him crash out of the tournament. Neither man looked willing to seize their opportunity during what were a non-descript opening two rounds, but the action really heated up in the 3rd as Muscato caught Ellis with a succession of chopping blows. Round four saw Muscato retain control before Ellis rallied in its bottom half, coming to life for the first time in the fight and then staying on a roll throughout the 5th. It was a close affair going into the final stanza and while both men had their moments, neither really took it by the throat. Muscato shook his head after the verdict was announced, going as far as deriding the judges over their decisions. In a close fight it appeared that all the close rounds had gone in Ellis' favour and the Buffalo native was clearly shattered that his time in the tournament had ended in such a fashion. Ellis landed 139 of 361 punches (38.5%), Muscato 159 of 415 (38.3%). "I'm feeling a lot of relief right now," Ellis said. "It was a hard fight and I'm just relieved I got out of it in one piece. Now I can concentrate on making the most of stage two. I'm not under any illusions as to how hard it will be but if I just take it one fight at a time, who knows what I can achieve?" The loss sees Muscato fall to 4-3 and into the Continental Americas Championship tournament but he'll certainly be thinking on this defeat for some time. He was only a good round or two from the second stage and in the minds of many deserved that reward based on his performance as it was. * Top seed Ernie Terrell was on the receiving end of a poor decision in the evening's Co-Feature, his bout against fellow Chicago native King Levinsky scored a draw (57-57 on all three cards). As a result Terrell's perfect career start came to an abrupt end, his record now 6-0-1. Levinsky brought a 1-5 mark into the contest and was not expected to trouble Terrell. He started the fight in a positive manner and was probably the more aggressive of the two in round three, but it was a real stretch to say that he did enough to force a draw. Terrell landed 162 of 262 punches (61.8%) while Levinsky found the mark with just 91 of 428 (21.3%). "I can't explain it," said a perplexed Terrell afterwards. "They either penalised me for not being busy enough or rewarded him for throwing a lot of punches and missing with most of them. What they didn't do was reward me for landing a whole lot more shots than he did and hurting him when he never came close to hurting me. It's disappointing to lose that perfect record like this, but what can I do? It hasn't cost me anything as far as stage two is concerned so I guess that's something. I just have to forget about this and focus on what matters, the rest of the tournament." The Escobar Stadium Undercard OPENING BOUT In a 1st Defense tournament bout, homeland favourite Jose Roman fought out a six round draw with the Englishman Charley Mitchell (57-57, 58-56 (Roman), 57-57). It was a tremendously entertaining fight with the vocal crowd support seemingly driving both men to overachieve. Roman started on fire but Mitchell rallied well in round two before Roman controlled the contest in the 3rd and, to a lesser extent, the 4th. Mitchell produced the best three minutes of the fight in round five as he hurt Roman throughout and almost had him on his backside after a thunderous uppercut late in the piece. Roman swept the cards in the last but somewhat surprisingly his efforts were only good enough to secure the drawn verdict. Mitchell ended a five fight losing skid and finished his time in the tournament with a 1-5-1 record. For Roman it's been a frustrating campaign, as evidenced by his 1-3-3 record. His previous two draws had come against Ron Lyle and John Lester Johnson, fighters still in contention for stage two. PRELIMINARY 1 When he scored surprise victories in his first two bouts, it looked possible that Baltimore's Bert Whitehurst might gatecrash stage two of the World Championship tournament, but back-to-back losses against his group's top two seeds Ernie Terrell and Jimmy Ellis ended any chance of that. Even so, Whitehurst has bounced back since then and tonight he ran his undefeated streak to three fights with a convincing unanimous decision win over the Argentine Luis Firpo (59-55, 58-56, 59-55). Later on in the night Whitehurst would find out that his victory had been good enough to see him finish a very respectable 3rd in front of Phil Muscato in Group Fourteen. With his record now 4-2-1 Whitehurst should be placed quite highly in the Continental Americas tournament. He'll be one of the more interesting fighters to follow during that event. PRELIMINARY 2 Los Angeles native Marty Monroe scored his first tournament victory in his last attempt, an upset unanimous decision win over Portland's Amos Lincoln (57-56, 58-55, 57-56). Monroe had to summon all his courage and commitment to come from behind to achieve a brave victory. Lincoln was absolutely in control after round two but Monroe won the 3rd and then dropped his opponent with a body shot at the midpoint of round four. It was the first knockdown Monroe had scored during the tournament and, now back in the fight, he swept the final two rounds on two judge's cards. The scenes in the ring after the verdict was announced would have melted the hardest of hearts as Monroe was held aloft by his cornercrew, tears streaming down his face. Monroe had lost all of his first six fights by unanimous decision but had only been floored once in those eighteen rounds. The comparative enormity of what he had achieved clearly overwhelmed him and Lincoln embraced the Californian, applauding his fighting spirit. It was one of the most extraordinary fights seen so far in the World Championship tournament and the fact that it was Monroe's first victory in what may just be his final federation bout made it all the more unforgettable. SUPPORT BOUT New York's John Lester Johnson qualified for stage two of the 1st Defense tournament and at the same time ended any chance that 6th seed Ron Lyle had of progressing, his bout against Jurgen Blin declared a draw (57-57, 58-56 (Blin), 57-57). Johnson only needed to avoid defeat to wrap up his spot in the second stage and despite fading in the final two rounds that's exactly what he did. Johnson's record is now 4-1-2. The best that Lyle can do is finish the first stage with a 4-2-1 mark if he defeats Curtis Sheppard tomorrow night in the Philippines, meaning that he has now officially been eliminated from qualifying. After an uneventful opening round Johnson exploded in round two, landing some hard, jolting shots and continuing his assault into round three. The 4th was a more even affair but the signs of Johnson's decline were already evident and he did well to avoid tasting the canvas in a fiery final two rounds. The New Yorker was overjoyed after the verdict, pumping his fist and shouting with delight. Considering the fact that he's the 35th seed in a 64-man tournament, it's quite an achievement. He'll be placed in Group Two in stage two, fighters such as James Jeffries, Tommy Morrison and Herbie Hide also set to reside there... __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports**

10-13-2007, 03:12 AM	#1542 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	SUMMARY OF RESULTS HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD FRIDAY 23 AUGUST 2002 ESCOBAR STADIUM, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO OPENING BOUT HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Six 6(43) Charley Mitchell D6 7(51) Jose Roman PRELIMINARY 1 HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen 6(83) Bert Whitehurst UD6 7(99) Luis Firpo PRELIMINARY 2 HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen 8(115) Marty Monroe UD6 5(67) Amos Lincoln SUPPORT BOUT HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Six 5(35) John Lester Johnson D6 8(59) Jurgen Blin CO-FEATURE HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen 1(14) Ernie Terrell D6 4(51) King Levinsky MAIN EVENT HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Fourteen 2(19) Jimmy Ellis MD6 3(35) Phil Muscato __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports

10-13-2007, 10:21 PM	#1545 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE Saturday 24 August 2002 Mr. Michael Vincennes Heavyweight Boxing Federation President As fans and followers of the HBF would be aware, stage one of our World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments will reach its conclusion a week from today, on the 31st of August. This will represent a major accomplishment and also signify a completion of the first chapter of our organisation's existence. Competition in these tournaments commenced back in early January and it brings great satisfaction to myself and the federation staff that we have reached this moment. I and the entire HBF team would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this first period of our organisation's life such a tremendous success. So that our supporters are fully aware of how things will progress from September and beyond, we have provided a detailed schedule that lists in chronological order all the upcoming federation events. HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING EVENTS * Thursday 29 August Completion of series one of the Qualifying League's initial ranking tournament. * Saturday 31 August Completion of stage one of the World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments. * Tuesday 3 September Commencement of the Feeder League tournament finals, with the U.S. Atlantic Coast Boxing League final to be held at Madison Square Garden. * Wednesday 4 September List of entrants in the Continental Americas, European, Asia/Oceania and African Championship tournaments to be announced. * Thursday 5 September List of entrants for the federation's World Ranking tournament to be announced. The complete field will not be finalised until the conclusion of the Feeder League tournament finals. * Tuesday 17 September Commencement of series two of the Qualifying League's initial ranking tournament. * Thursday 26 September Conclusion of the Feeder League tournament finals, with the African Boxing League final at Surelere Stadium, Nigeria. * Thursday 3 October Completion of series two of the Qualifying League's initial ranking tournament. * Sunday 13 October Commencement of competition in the European Championship tournament. * Monday 14 October Commencement of competition in the Continental Americas Championship tournament. * Sunday 20 October Commencement of competition in the African Championship tournament. * Friday 25 October Commencement of stage two of the World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments. * Sunday 27 October Commencement of competition in the Asia/Oceania Championship tournament. * Tuesday 29 October Commencement of series three of the Qualifying League's intitial ranking tournament. * Sunday 10 November Commencement of competition in the World Ranking tournament. Tournament notes: * Stage two of the World Championship tournament will feature 32 fighters divided into four groups of eight. All stage two bouts will be ten rounds and the fight cards for each series will be held eight weeks apart. Each series will take place over a two week period with the four fight cards to be held on Fridays and Saturdays. Taking series one as an example they will be held like this: Friday 25 October - Group Four Saturday 26 October - Group One Friday 1 November - Group Three Saturday 2 November - Group Two * Stage two of the 1st Defense tournament will feature 16 fighters divided into two groups of eight. All stage two bouts will be ten rounds and, like the World Championship tournament, the fight cards will be held eight weeks apart. Each series will take place over a two week period with the four fight cards to be held on Fridays and Saturdays. As was the case in stage one, the 1st Defense tournament bouts will be held on the same fight cards as the World Championship tournament bouts. Taking series one as an example they will be held like this: Friday 25 October - Group Two Saturday 26 October - Group Two Friday 1 November - Group One Saturday 2 November - Group One * The Continental Americas Championship tournament will feature 72 fighters divided into twelve groups of six. The tournament will feature two stages with each stage consisting of five series of bouts. Stage one bouts will be eight rounds and stage two bouts will be ten rounds. Stage one bouts will be held six weeks apart and stage two bouts will be held eight weeks apart. The top two in each group at the conclusion of stage one will qualify for stage two, where there will be four groups of six. The winners of each group in stage two will take part in the tournament semi-finals, which will be ten round bouts. The semi-final winners will clash in a twelve round Championship bout. All Continental Americas Championship tournament fight cards will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays and each series will be held over a three week period. Each card will feature two tournament groups. There will be an eight week break before the tournament semi-finals and a ten week break before the Championship bout. * The European Championship tournament will feature a field of 12 fighters who will contest each opponent once for a total of eleven bouts. At the conclusion of series eleven, the top four fighters will qualify for the tournament semi-finals, with #1 versus #4 and #2 versus #3. The semi-final winners will meet for the Championship. The preliminary bouts will all be eight rounds in length, the semi-finals ten and the Championship bout twelve. All European Championship tournament bouts will be held on Sundays with six weeks between each card, an eight week break before the semi-finals and a ten week break before the final. * The African and Asia/Oceania Championship tournaments will feature a field of 12 fighters who will contest each opponent once for a total of eleven bouts. At the conclusion of series eleven, the top four fighters will qualify for the tournament semi-finals, with #1 versus #4 and #2 versus #3. The semi-final winners will meet for the Championship. The preliminary bouts will all be six rounds in length, the semi-finals ten and the Championship bout twelve. All African and Asia/Oceania Championship tournament bouts will be held on Sundays with five weeks between each card, an eight week break before the semi-finals and a ten week break before the final. * The World Ranking tournament will feature 24 fighters divided into two groups of twelve. Fighters will contest each opponent in their group once for a total of eleven bouts. At the conclusion of series eleven the top six fighters in each group will be rewarded with a World Ranking based on their win-loss-draw record during the tournament. All World Ranking tournament bouts will be eight rounds and will be held on Sundays, with six weeks between each card. Each series will be held over a two week period. __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 01-08-2008 at 08:24 PM.

10-15-2007, 11:36 PM	#1548 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	QUEZON CITY SLUGFEST: WILLIAMS OUTDUELS SNIPES TO WIN STAGE TWO BERTH Saturday 24 August 2002 Houston native Cleveland Williams has emerged victorious after a brutal six round encounter with the New Yorker Renaldo Snipes in the Philippines. Williams was awarded a unanimous decision verdict (58-56, 59-56, 58-56) but the bout was much tougher than those scorecards indicated. The Texan heaped praise upon his opponent afterwards, calling it the toughest fight of his career to date. "The guy hits harder than Johnson," said Williams, when asked whether he was including his fight against "The Galveston Giant" Jack Johnson in that assessment. "So, yeah, it was tougher. A lot tougher. I knew that this was win or go home as far as the tournament is concerned. Ren was in the same situation and neither of us took a backward step through the whole fight." The win secured a 2nd place finish for Williams in Group Three of the World Championship tournament, his record improving to 5-1-1(1). Snipes fell to 4-3 and will be one of the 72 competitors in the upcoming Continental Americas Championship tournament. Williams started the fight brilliantly, controlling a lively opening round and then hurting and dominating Snipes in round two. But the New York native refused to give in and he rallied to assume the upperhand in rounds three and four. Both men were swinging for the fences, leading to some thunderous exchanges that had the audience on their feet with applause on several occasions. The 5th was an even affair up until Williams rocked Snipes with a flush right hand thirty seconds from the bell. He maintained the momentum into the final round, where he put the verdict beyond doubt with a comprehensive finish. Snipes was almost out if it late in the round after a trio of smashing right hands in a period of about fifteen seconds had him wobbling from one side of the ring to the other. But he somehow managed to stay on his feet and the two combatants ended this fantastic struggle locked in a clinch, the crowd giving them a sustained standing ovation. Punch totals Williams 166/341 (48.7%) Snipes 143/374 (38.2%) (to be continued) __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 10-17-2007 at 10:35 PM.

10-16-2007, 01:08 AM	#1549 (permalink)
Romdawg88 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 3,703	Damn, sounds like it was a hell of a fight. Glad to see Cleveland Williams move on as I was rooting for him out of this group. __________________ Romy "Iceman" Alvarez First TBCB Forum Tournament Champion, 10-6 (5). IBL: 5-0 (3) UTBA-II: Muckboys 1-0, 1st Place, 17-15 (13), 56 points Fighter of the Week 1. Sergei Artemiev 2-0

10-16-2007, 11:53 PM	#1551 (permalink)
mh2365 Banned Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: louisville Posts: 14,963 Warnings: 2	I remember when Renaldo Snipes beat the crap out of Larry Holmes on ABC and they gave the decision to Holmes. Between that and the Witherspoon fight Holmes had no business being 48-0.

10-17-2007, 11:14 PM	#1552 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	(continuation of post #1548) "Left it all in the ring," said an exhausted Snipes afterwards. "I gave it everything I had but Cleveland was just too good for me tonight. I'd like to wish him all the best for stage two 'cause he deserves his spot there." Snipes was enthusiastic about the Continental Americas tournament. "I think there's gonna be a bunch of fellas who will challenge for it," he said. "Guys like Elmer Ray and Tony Tucker will give it a real shake, for sure. I'm confident about my chances, no doubt." Williams spoke of his relief about qualifying for the second stage. "It feels good knowing that all the work I've put in has paid off," he said. "People'll say that I was supposed to make it 'cause I'm a top two seed, but Max Schmeling was supposed to make it also and look what happened to him. No, I'm proud of this achievement and I'm not afraid to admit that. I know I'm going to have to double my efforts from this point on, though. The thought of that might make some people shrink but it just excites me. I can't wait to get started." THE ARANETA COLISEUM UNDERCARD *Opening Bout* The night got off to an explosive start with the Argentine Pedro Lovell finally breaking through for his first professional victory when he knocked Pat Valentino out cold two minutes into round three. The first two rounds were action-packed and it was clear that this one wasn't going to go the distance. California native Valentino appeared to be in control going into round three but a single left hook from Lovell had him on his back and unmoving for the ten count, the bout officially ending at the 1:56 mark. Valentino's three fight undefeated streak came to a shuddering halt and he fell to 2-4-1 while Lovell, who had been stopped on cuts in the opening round of his last bout, improved to 1-5-1. Even so, it's unlikely that this win will be enough to earn him a further stay in the federation. *Preliminary 1* One knockout is good but two are even better and Italy's Franco Cavicchi kept the crowd excited when he stopped "The Angry Engishman" Joe Beckett 29 seconds into round three. After a cautious 1st round Cavicchi opened up in round two, rocking Beckett with a pair of left hooks. The end came on a flush right hook that landed as the Brit was throwing a right of his own. He spun sideways and collapsed to the canvas, failing to beat the count despite two attempts at pushing himself to his feet. Cavicchi's victory continued what has been a promising period for Italian fighters in the HBF and saw his record improve to 3-3-1(2). He'll be one of the twelve competitors that will contest the federation's European Championship tournament. Beckett will long be remembered for his debut upset of Jack Johnson but since that famous victory he has managed only one more win and finishes his time in the World Championship tournament with a 2-5(1) record. (to be continued) __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports

10-18-2007, 04:14 AM	#1553 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	(continuation) *Preliminary 2* With his place in stage two of the 1st Defense tournament already booked, California's Mike Weaver made his way to the ring with a smile on his face prior to his bout against Joe Choynski. Having been vacationing in Australia for the last week, Weaver's fellow USC member Sam McVey had flown to Quezon City to support his good friend and he made the walk to the ring with him, encouraging the crowd to be generous with their applause. McVey's drop dead gorgeous supermodel girlfriend Claudette James was also there. Weaver's opponent was fellow golden state native Joe Choynski, the San Franciscan bringing a four fight undefeated streak into the contest. Considering the fact that both men's futures were already decided (Weaver in stage two and Choynski in the American tournament), they produced one entertaining bout. When it was all over Weaver was a winner by split decision (57-56, 56-57, 58-55). He dominated round one and repeated the dose in the 2nd before Choynski had him down on one knee as the bell sounded with a stinging ribshot. Weaver went back to work in a furious round three, both men inflicting serious damage before Weaver's aggression overwhelmed his opponent in the final minute. Choynski had his first real success of the bout in round four, hurting Weaver with a jolting uppercut early and a flush right hook late. But it was only fleeting as Weaver controlled round five and then stunned Choynski on two separate occasions in the final stanza. The native of Diamond Bar (LA County) produced a tremendous final three minutes, landing 47 punches during the round. Punch totals Weaver: 179/326 (54.9%) Choynski: 127/251 (50.6%) "That was a fantastic workout," said the sculpted Weaver. "Joe's one tough SOB and he made me work for this win right from the opening bell. That shot he got me with at the end of the 2nd really hurt, I have to say. I caught him with some hard punches but he didn't look like falling until that final round. He'll give guys trouble in the American tourney, I'm sure o' that." Weaver was quick to deflect any compliments directed his way, insisting that he's taking his career one step at a time. "It's gonna be a hard run through series two," he said. "I'll have to be prepared for every fight if I want to have any chance of making the semi-finals." With his record now 6-1(2), the 11th seed finished stage one atop Group Six and as a result will be placed in what is shaping up as a terribly tough Group One in stage two. Choynski's final 1st Defense tournament record was an even 3-3-1. (to be continued) (that's Sammy McVey's girlfriend Claudette James pictured below) Attached Images __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports

10-19-2007, 12:19 AM	#1554 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	(continuation) *Support Bout* Ever since his arrival in the Philippines last Sunday, World Championship tournament #3 seed Jack Johnson has been treated like a movie star. Despite the fact that he was not headlining the Araneta Coliseum fight card he was looked upon as the biggest attraction for tonight's event. Obviously a big reason for this is his status as a top seed in the tournament but he's also garnered himself some extra attention as a result of the company he's been keeping lately. It was reported last week that Johnson had been spotted partying at a Hollywood Boulevard nightclub with fellow HBF fighter Sam McVey, McVey's girlfriend and an unnamed young Asian lady. That young lady has since been revealed to be Los Angeles-born Filipina Jessica Aguilar, an actress, model and dancer whose main claim to fame has been appearing prominently in several hip hop music videos, aswell as being a feature at a number of motor shows across the United States. Johnson brought Aguilar to Quezon City with him, seemingly confirming that the two are a couple. Their presence together has set off a frenzy amongst the Filipino media, who have been running front page photos of Johnson and Aguilar together at various promotional appearances. Apparently the exposure has done wonders for Aguilar's career with the beautiful 22 year-old receiving a bunch of job offers during the past week. She might end up being just another one of Johnson's many conquests but that possibility has not seemed to worry her in the least as the two have been more than willing to indulge in public displays of affection. "They just look like they are absolutely crazy about each other," said Philippine Daily Inquirer gossip columnist Hilario Poe. After all the flashbulbs and craziness of these past seven days Johnson finally stepped into the ring tonight for his bout against the Mexican Manuel Ramos. His place in stage two of the World Championship tournament had already been confirmed following last month's decimation of Cleveland Williams but what had not been wrapped up was a 1st place finish in Group Three. Johnson had stressed how important that was to him in interviews held during the last couple of days. "Ain't no way I'll let that slip away," he said, almost incredulously. "I didn't win five fights in a row just to take it easy this time and throw it all away. I don't wanna be in the same group as Sonny Liston in stage two, man. You can print that 'cause any other guy in this tourney'd say the same. I win this fight and I avoid that, see? Pure and simple mathematics." Johnson made his way to the ring in a robe of white with navy blue, black and sky blue trim, his trunks of a similar design, his boots black. Pumping out of the stadium speakers was the Stevie Wonder classic "Master Blaster (Jammin')", Johnson led to the square circle by Aguilar and two other Filipino beauties all dressed in barely there black swimsuits and high heels. The audience went bananas, as surely as they'll be when they cheer on their own countrymen in the upcoming International Boxing League tournaments. When the fight got started it was clear that Johnson was all business as he pummelled Ramos in the opening round to the delight of the capacity crowd. "The Galveston Giant" had that jab working to devastating effect from the opening bell, Ramos' head being jolted back with every blow. It was a pattern that would continue throughout the fight and although the Mexican native had some success in rounds two, four and five it was never enough to put the final verdict in any doubt and Johnson was declared a unanimous decision winner (58-56, 60-54, 59-55). Even though he was in command from start to finish Johnson indulged in nonsensical, amusing conversations with those at ringside throughout the bout. His "A" game was clearly in action and it was a pleasure to watch this fantastically talented, charismatic athlete in action. Johnson found the mark with 205 of 318 punches (64.5%) in recording his third consecutive unanimous decision victory, a streak during which he has landed an average of 187 punches per fight. The courageous but outclassed Ramos connected with 108 of 238 shots (45.4%), the defeat making his record 0-3-1 in his last four contests after going undefeated in his first three tournament bouts. Ramos is now 2-3-2 and will be looking to get his career back on track once the Continental Americas tournament kicks off. Joined by Aguilar in the ring after the final bell, Johnson was in a jovial, talkative mood. "People gotta keep on rememberin' what I said back in February," he said. "I'm makin' history every time I step in the ring, man. Six in a row now and it's just gonna keep on growin' throughout stage two. Don't matter who I have to fight 'cause none o' y'all gonna be able to match me. Ain't no doubt in my mind about that, man." Johnson's comment about who he has to fight was most likely in regards to the fact that because of his 6-1 record he won't be the top seed in his stage two group and, as a result, will not be fighting the lowest seeds in the group to start with. But going on his performance tonight he might just be right about it not mattering. He has been in perhaps the best form of any fighter in the HBF and if he can continue that run through the second stage he'll surely have a good chance of booking himself a semi-final spot. (to be continued) (pictured below is Jack Johnson's new girlfriend Jessica Aguilar) Attached Images __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 10-21-2007 at 11:50 PM.

10-19-2007, 03:26 AM	#1555 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	(continuation) *Co-Feature* His chances of progressing to stage two of the 1st Defense tournament already extinguished, Denver's #6 seed Ron Lyle took his frustration out on Philadelphia native Curtis Sheppard. Thanks largely to an aggressive first four rounds Lyle defeated the Pennsylvanian by comfortable unanimous decision (58-54, 59-53, 58-54). Lyle produced perhaps the three best rounds of his career to date in the 1st, 2nd and 4th as he unloaded some heavy artillery on Sheppard. Round four was about as one-sided as three minutes of boxing can get and when Lyle dropped his man with a smashing left hook shortly before the bell many thought the fight should have been stopped. The fact that it wasn't led to Lyle taking his foot off the pedal in the final two rounds, content to keep Sheppard at a distance with the jab. Lyle showed a glum disposition afterwards, his failure to qualify for stage two still eating at him. "I'll just have to make sure I don't make the same mistakes in the American tournament," he said. "It'll take a while for me to come to terms with the fact that I'm out of the tournament, you know? I was the 6th seed and I should have made it through pretty easily but it ain't happened and that's that. I'll learn from this and the disappointment of it'll make me stronger for the future." Lyle landed 179 of 365 punches (49.0%), Sheppard 102 of 290 (35.2%). The final standings at the top of Group Six in the 1st Defense tournament look like this: 1. 2(11) MIKE WEAVER (USA), 6-1-0(2) 2. 5(35) JOHN LESTER JOHNSON (USA), 4-1-2 3. 1(6) RON LYLE (USA), 4-2-1(1) 4. 3(19) JOE CHOYNSKI (USA), 3-3-1 __________________ MLB: 1958 and Beyond... The Greatest Prize in Sports

10-19-2007, 03:32 AM	#1556 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,618	SUMMARY OF RESULTS HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD SATURDAY 24 AUGUST 2002 ARANETA COLISEUM, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES OPENING BOUT HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Three 6(94) Pedro Lovell KO