The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[Romdawg88]

Unless Bowe gets tired from punching Mercer in the fight all night and falls over Mercer ain't got no chance of winning this fight. It's a ten round bout right? If it is then I'm taking Bowe by TKO in the 8th.

[kenyan_cheena]

MORAN TAKES TOP SPOT AFTER
DRAWN BOUT AGAINST HAMAS

Wednesday 28 August 2002

Competing in the main event of this evening's Heavyweight Boxing Federation fight card at Atlantic City's Trump Taj Mahal, Pittsburgh's Frank Moran and Passaic native Steve Hamas went head-to-head to decide 1st place in Group Ten of the World Championship tournament. Moran and Hamas were both a perfect 6-0 beforehand, making their clash the only one in series seven to feature two fighters with perfect records.

Yes, they both stepped into the ring undefeated. After six hard-fought rounds, they left it with the same status. In a bout that the Pennsylvanian combatant appeared to have in his keeping, a final round knockdown led to a drawn result (56-56, 57-55 (Hamas), 56-56). With both fighters finishing the stage at 6-0-1, 1st place in the group was taken by Moran due to him being a higher seed (Moran #23, Hamas #39). All the other tie-breakers that the HBF has employed in these tournaments (head-to-head, strength of victory (record) and strength of victory (seeding)) cancelled each other out as both fighters had defeated all of the other six competitors in their group.

To a casual observer the fight might not have meant much. After all, Moran and Hamas were both going to be in stage two regardless of the result. But there was a lot riding on it, without a doubt. With only the winner of each group in stage two to take part in the tournament semi-finals, the difference between being a top four seed in one group and a bottom four seed in another will be huge as far as the early matchups are concerned and both men would have been keenly aware of this beforehand.

In the first of what will be back-to-back Atlantic City fight cards (the IBL will be at the Boardwalk Hall tomorrow night) Hamas made his way to the ring accompanied by his fellow Jersey Pride members Joe Jeannette, Mickey Walker and Ike Williams and the applause of a parochial Trump Taj Mahal crowd. Moran followed soon after, the audience giving him a suitably hostile reception.

After a slow start Hamas came on strong in the bottom half of the first, shaking Moran with a damaging combination and a left-right salvo moments later. The Jersey slugger landed more punches in the round but it was Moran who appeared the more active. He confirmed this in the 2nd with a dominant three minutes, working the body early before picking Hamas off throughout the round with a mix of persistent jabs and rapid-fire combinations. Hamas had the better of what was a lacklustre round three, the highlight being a jolting uppercut two minutes in.

As the fight entered its second half it was still an even money bet over who would triumph. Despite having thrown less than half as many punches as his opponent Hamas was level with Moran, each of them landing 68 shots through the first three rounds. But starting in round four the man from the Steel City dominated for a period that lasted through most of the remainder of the contest. Catching Hamas with a stinging right cross early in the 4th he then dropped him on his backside midway through the stanza with a combination of shots: a right rip to the body followed by an uppercut, a left hook and a right hook. Hamas made it to his feet at eight to the relief of the stunned crowd. Another damaging combination had Hamas in trouble soon after but he was able to weather the storm and reach the comparative safety of his stool.

Moran rode his momentum through round five where he punished Hamas with a series of powerful blows: a hard right to the forehead early, a left-right-left flurry not long after, a flush left hook and a short uppercut on the inside later on. Even though Hamas got some of that back with a booming straight right in the closing seconds it wasn't nealry enough to cancel out the impressive work that Moran had put in. Hamas wore a cut under his left eye and looked every bit a beaten man. As the final round progressed it appeared a foregone conclusion: Moran was going to win. He tagged his increasingly desperate opponent with three seperate, effective combos through the first ninety seconds.

But then, as if someone somewhere had flicked a switch, the fight turned. Backed up into a neutral corner, Hamas unleashed a crunching right hand. The punch stunned Moran and he initiated a clinch. The crowd did not give up, continuing to voice their support for Hamas in enthusiastic tones. The fight had entered its final minute and as they were circling at centre ring Hamas caught Moran with a crippling rib shot, the right hand sending the Pittsburgh native to his knees. Up at seven Moran was wincing in pain and Hamas moved in for the kill, trying to pull off a shock late victory. He caught Moran with a right hook and a left-right combo but it wasn't enough to finish the job.

When the verdict was announced there was little dispute, from the audience or the competitors. Hamas freely admitted that he didn't deserve to win the fight.

"No, not at all," he said. "I just didn't work hard enough. Frank was all over me for most of it. I just couldn't match his efforts and if not for that knockdown there I'd have lost. That was the only thing that kept me undefeated but one punch, that doesn't make a whole fight. Frank was the better fighter, for sure."

Punch totals

Moran: 143/395 (36.2%)
Hamas: 115/181 (63.5%)

"Well, he might not have thrown as much as me," said Moran. "But what he did throw was real effective. Steve caught me with some good hard shots and there were a few times when I thought I was gonna find myself on the canvas. Ain't afraid to say that body shot at the end hurt like hell."

In stage two, Moran will be placed in Group Three as one of the top four seeds while Hamas will be in Group Two as a bottom four seed. It means that he'll have to face his good friend Joe Jeannette, who will also be in Group Two.

"Ain't looking forward to it, of course," said Hamas, when asked how he felt about it. "That was one of the things we were hoping to avoid by winning tonight but what can you do? All we can do is treat it like any other fight and try our best."

(Still to come: The Atlantic City Undercard)

[kenyan_cheena]

The Atlantic City Undercard

OPENING BOUT

Chicago's Floyd Cummings ended his stay in the World Championship tournament with a well-earned 58-57, 57-58, 58-57 split decision victory against Portland's Thad Spencer. It was an even fight the whole way through, all three judges having it tied up going into the final round. Two of them gave it to Cummings, who finished strongly in the final minute to secure his second victory. He's now 2-5(1) while Spencer fell to 1-5-1.

PRELIMINARY 1

In an underwhelming contest Italian-born Philadelphian Joe Grim recorded his third consecutive victory, taking a split decision verdict from George Johnson of Oklahaoma City (59-56, 57-58, 59-56). As a spectacle this fight was lacking big time and, truth be told, neither man really deserved to be a winner. Nevertheless, Grim improved his record to 4-3, guaranteeing that he should be seeded somewhere in the top one-third of the Continental Americas tournament. Grim should be used to these close fights by now, as two of his other victories were also by split decision.

PRELIMINARY 2

Having already secured a place in stage two, 1st Defense tournament 7th seed Doug Jones found himself stepping into the ring earlier than he usually does for his bout against the Swede Olle Tandberg. Perhaps Jones was thinking ahead to stage two or maybe he just had a bad night, but whatever the reason he was not the same fighter who had made his way to 6-0 in such a confident manner. He struggled through the first four rounds and it was only a dominant 5th and 6th that enabled him to avoid an embarrassing defeat.

As it was, the final verdict was a draw, continuing the evening's theme of close contests. All three judges scored it 57-57 and they each awarded Tandberg the 1st, 2nd and 4th and Jones the 3rd, 5th and 6th. Considering the inconsequential nature of the bout it was a terribly entertaining tussle, Tandberg throwing down the gauntlet early with some damaging blows before Jones' late desperation fightback squared the ledger.

The 26th-seeded Swede has been involved in some extraordinary fights in the last couple of months. After somehow managing to go winless through the tournament's first four series (in bouts which were all against lower seeds), he has been able to avoid defeat against Group Seven's top three seeds. In June he fought back from a seemingly hopeless position to draw his bout against the then 4-0 Natie Brown and last month he gave the Englishman Don Cockell (who had been 4-1 coming into the fight) a boxing lesson on the way to an easy unanimous decision victory. If only he had been able to produce those types of efforts in his earlier bouts, his record would not be only 1-3-3.

Jones did not seem too bothered by the result. He'd already wrapped up 1st place so it had no effect on his seeding in stage two. Even so, if he mails in that type of performance in any of his upcoming bouts the consequences will not be so harmless.

SUPPORT BOUT

Germany's fallen hero Max Schmeling made his final appearance in the World Championship tournament a lot tougher than it should have been, something that has been a recurring theme for him for much of the event. Coming off back-to-back losses that saw the 10th seed shockingly eliminated from stage two contention he scored a 6th round TKO victory over the durable but limited Texan Randall Cobb. To see the effect those defeats at the hands of Steve Hamas and Frank Moran have had on Europe's once shining light, he received only modest applause as he made his way to the ring, a despondent gaze showing on his face.

As expected Schmeling dominated throughout the fight. He controlled the opening round with ease and was doing the same in the 2nd before Cobb caught him with a jolting right cross a fraction of a second before the bell sounded to end the round. The shot dropped the German on his back, making it the SIXTH time he'd been knocked down in his seven bouts. To put that in perspective, of the World Championship tournament's other top sixteen seeds only Jack Johnson (once), Sam McVey (twice) and Ken Norton (twice) have tasted the canvas (for a combined total of FIVE knockdowns).

Schmeling shook it off and went back to work in round three, Cobb akin to a mobile punching bag as the German tagged him almost at will. The pattern continued in the 4th and 5th and, if anything, the damage Schmeling was inflicting became more severe. Going into the final round Cobb had a cut at the left side of his mouth and another one at the corner of his right eye. He was showing some serious swelling around both eyes but for some inexplicable reason the fight had not yet been stopped. It all came to a head in round six as Schmeling floored him three times during the bout's last ninety seconds, the first coming from a wicked cross to the head. An uppercut dropped him at the 2:17 mark and when he fell to his knees after a right to the body the fight was declared over via the three knockdown rule, a mere eight seconds from the final bell.

It was an ugly, meaningless, almost embarrassing victory for the German. The fact that he could not finish off an opponent who Floyd Cummings had knocked out cold inside of two rounds back in May surely speaks volumes. Schmeling will take a 5-2(3) record into the World Ranking tournament, the 19 year-old reaffirming afterwards that he would not be changing his mind in regards to the European Championship. Cobb's final World Championship tournament mark is 1-6, the Texan finishing his time in the event with four consecutive defeats.

CO-FEATURE

After starting 4-0, the 1st Defense tournament campaign of DC native Natie Brown had come off the rails in his last couple of bouts. In June he was held to a draw against Olle Tandberg in a bout he had been dominating and last month top seed Doug Jones handled him with ease on the way to a one-sided unanimous decision win. Brown was now in a position where, to secure a stage two berth, he needed to avoid defeat against England's Don Cockell. In a contest where the momentum shifted from one round to the next Brown was able to do that. But only just.

After six tough rounds of boxing the scorecards read 58-56 (Cockell), 58-56 (Brown), 57-57. The drawn result was enough for Brown to hang onto 2nd place in Group Seven, his 4-1-2 record trumping Cockell's mark of 4-2-1(1). Cockell had also started the tournament with four consecutive victories but after going winless in his last three fights his next stop will be the European Championship tournament.

Cockell took round one with a flurry of activity in its final minute before Brown edged him out in the 2nd. In round three the Englishman scored with a damaging combination early and rode that momentum through the rest of the round. Brown was back in control in the 4th, though, a round where Cockell was all but absent. He showed a lot more aggression in the 5th but couldn't keep it up in the final round, Brown starting it well and staying in command until the bell.

Brown may have qualified for stage two but he'l take a three-fight winless streak into it with him, something he'll be keen to put an end to as soon as possible...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
WEDNESDAY 28 AUGUST 2002
TRUMP TAJ MAHAL HOTEL & CASINO, ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, USA


OPENING BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Ten
7(103) Floyd Cummings SD6 6(87) Thad Spencer

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Ten
5(71) Joe Grim SD6 8(119) George Johnson

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Seven
1(7) Doug Jones D6 4(26) Olle Tandberg

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Ten
1(10) Max Schmeling TKO6 4(55) Randall Cobb

CO-FEATURE

HBF 1st Defense Tournament - Stage One - Group Seven
2(10) Natie Brown D6 3(18) Don Cockell

MAIN EVENT

HBF World Championship Tournament - Stage One - Group Ten
2(23) Frank Moran D6 3(39) Steve Hamas

[canadiancreed]

Ownage. Gotta love it.

And funny that you mention my guy as a former Argo, it's whose on tv tommorrow

[kenyan_cheena]

FORWARD THINKING ALLIANCE

Thursday 29 August 2002

Back on Tuesday night Cuba's Ariel Reyes made a victorious start to his Heavyweight Boxing Federation career, KOing Denmark's Mikkel Randeris in the 4th round of their Qualifying League bout. Today Reyes and his fellow Florida Alliance members Elmer Ray and Romy Alvarez boarded a plane for Japan where, in a week's time, another of their entourage Terone Haynes will be competing in the final of the South-East Asian Boxing League tournament. At home in Hastings, Florida, Haynes was also due to fly to Japan today along with two of the other Alliance members, Oliver McCall and Tommy Gomez.

While it has been a busy August for the group it has also been a disappointing one. It started nicely when on the first day of the month Haynes defeated the Australian Jack Beckerman via 4th round TKO to qualify for the South-East Asian tournament final. But then the group's leader Elmer Ray was comprehensively defeated by Floyd Patterson on the 9th with a place in stage two of the World Championship tournament up for grabs. What made the loss even more difficult to take was that it occured in front of his fellow Florida natives at Miami's American Airlines Arena. The following week saw Romy Alvarez win his debut Qualifying League bout before, one night later, Tommy Gomez came heartbreakingly close to prolonging his stay in the World Championship tournament when his bout against George Chuvalo was declared a draw. Gomez needed a win and as a result he missed out, Jacksonville's Ray Mercer taking 2nd place. If they hadn't already had enough disappointment during the month Oliver McCall tasted defeat for the first time on the 21st, surprisingly defeated by Tommy Morrison in a bout that determined 1st place in Group Three of the 1st Defense tournament.

So including Reyes' win on Tuesday, the Alliance went 3-2-1(2) for the month. When asked at Heathrow Airport about the underwhelming mark, Elmer Ray was more interested in focusing on the future.

"Y'all, jus' a huge fight for T nex' week," he said. "All he have to do is 'void losin' and he be in the World Rankin' tourney. By the time it all over he be up to sixty in the world, no doubt. Won't take too long 'fo' he knockin' on the top ten af'er that, see? Week after that is the bigges' of 'em all, my cuz Jimmy steppin' in 'gains' Leonard, y'all. Jimmy been back home trainin' his ass off, man. Religious-like, y'all. Think he could fight tomorrow and give the guy all he can handle. Romy gon' be back in the ring, too, and we confident he be 2-0 once that done."

Ray was also questioned about his failure to qualify for stage two of the World Championship tournament.

"Ain't thought much on it, bein' hones'," he said, frowning. "Been puttin' all my en'gy into pumpin' up m' brothers, see? The Florida Alliance ain't jus' Elmer Ray, man. Y'all should be knowin' that. We all strivin' fo' success and I be tryin' my hardes' to make sure we keep pushin' t'ward that."

While Haynes, Alvarez and James Ray are all in action during the next three weeks, Elmer Ray, McCall and Gomez have to wait until October before they lace up the gloves again. Ray and Gomez will both be competing in the Continental Americas Championship tournament while McCall continues his quest for a shot at the HBF World Championship in stage two of the 1st Defense tournament, which kicks off October 27...

[kenyan_cheena]

RAISING KANE:
ORLANDO NATIVE MAKES
STUNNING HBF DEBUT IN ARGENTINA

Thursday 29 August 2002

The first series of the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's Qualifying League reached its conclusion tonight with the Luna Park in Buenos Aires, Argentina hosting what was a fascinating fight card. Without a doubt, the highlight was the performance of a 19 year-old from Orlando, Florida named David Kane. In his professional boxing debut Kane stopped New York's Tim Carlisle in the 2nd round, showing that he'll certainly be one to keep an eye on as the QL tournament progresses.

Discovered at the federation's Miami auditions Kane was looked upon as a young man with a bunch of potential, although very underdeveloped. Described as lacking maturity, hot-headed and emotional, Kane had everyone's attention when he broke the jaws of two fellow auditioners early in the week but was also shown up by Florida Alliance member Romy Alvarez when the two went at each other. Even so, the federation could see they had a possible superstar on their hands and knew that with the right assistance Kane could develop into a fierce competitor.

Against Carlisle he came out wearing a black Orlando Magic basketball jersey and cap, a thick gold chain like the kind that old school hip hoppers Run-DMC used to wear hanging from his neck. His trunks and boots were solid black. Kane stands just 5'9" but he's a broad-shouldered ball of highly-charged muscle and what he did at the start of the bout was as good an introduction as he could have possibly made for himself. Stalking Carlisle from the bell he offered a couple of probing jabs before, just nineteen seconds into the fight, unleashing a wicked right hook to the body. The shot had Carlisle down on one knee and although he was up quickly he wore a pained expression. Kane spent the rest of the round hunting the New Yorker down, a left-right salvo rattling him soon after the knockdown before a smashing left hook at the midpoint and another hard hook to the body had Carlisle on the backfoot. Kane was like a man possessed, throwing a number of wild punches in his all-out attempt to destroy his opponent.

The onslaught continued in round two, a pair of flush right hooks staggering Carlisle within a minute of the bell, before a vicious uppercut put him on his back near the two minute mark. The New York native beat the count but looked completely petrified as he distanced himself from Kane. They exchanged a flurry of shots, Carlisle's punches coming out of absolute fear, a pair of them landing. Kane unloaded with a crushing right uppercut, snapping Carlisle's head back, rubberising his legs and prompting referee Elmo Adolph to step in and call an end to the slaughter. Kane was declared the winner at the 2:32 mark.

The audience was in awe of his efforts and they applauded in appreciation, Kane snatching his chain from his cornerman, putting it around his neck and mounting each cornerpost, showing a ferocious, furious countenance. He pounded his chest and flexed his biceps, shaved head covered in sweat. He made the throat-slitting gesture on three seperate occasions, some at ringside later confirming that he'd shouted "Alvarez!" before each one.

Punch totals

David Kane: 65/208 (31.3%)
Tim Carlisle: 6/23 (26.1%)

"I'm out after all of 'em, y'all!" exclaimed Kane, spitting into the interviewer's microphone in rapid fire speak. "Ain't nobody gonna tame me, man. Ain't no one gonna be able t' handle this," pointing to his right bicep. "That motherf^*%er Alvarez jus' first on my mind, y'all! He be wishin' he ain't stepped up to Kane once we get it on fo' real, no doubt see. 'Ventually they all gonna fall, all them mofos just be linin' up to feel the pain, to feel the Kane!"

Kane then literally grabbed the microphone and slammed it down on the canvas before departing the ring, throwing both his cap and jersey into the crowd, letting loose a bellow as he made his way backstage, fists clenched near his crotch. He moved up the ramp with wide-legged strides, moving from one side to the other, shaking the hands of some audience members. It was one of the more extraordinary debuts the HBF has seen and if this is just the beginning of what we can expect from David Kane, it's going to be a wild ride...

(Still to come: the rest of the Luna Park card)

[Romdawg88]

Two stories and two mentions good times. Elmer has got the right idea keeping his eye on the future. The Alliance has had tough times before and we've bounced back this time will be no different. I didn't realize that I would be back in the ring so soon good times. Me and Tyrone will take care of business no doubt now if James can pull the big upset that would be a huge boost.

I see that Kane's debut was everything I thought it would be but he's fooling himself if he thinks he's got a shot at me. I clowned him once and I would do it again. That cat needs to watch Tunney/Shavers to see what happens when a crude slugger makes it personal with a superior boxer. I'm a real popular guy nowadays, Hanson wants a piece of me and now Kane seems like everyone is out to get me. Speaking of Mike, one fight I would really love to see is Mike/Kane what a slugfest that would be.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Two stories and two mentions good times. Elmer has got the right idea keeping his eye on the future. The Alliance has had tough times before and we've bounced back this time will be no different. I didn't realize that I would be back in the ring so soon good times. Me and Tyrone will take care of business no doubt now if James can pull the big upset that would be a huge boost.

I see that Kane's debut was everything I thought it would be but he's fooling himself if he thinks he's got a shot at me. I clowned him once and I would do it again. That cat needs to watch Tunney/Shavers to see what happens when a crude slugger makes it personal with a superior boxer. I'm a real popular guy nowadays, Hanson wants a piece of me and now Kane seems like everyone is out to get me. Speaking of Mike, one fight I would really love to see is Mike/Kane what a slugfest that would be.

I don't think I can overstate how important these feeder league tournament finals are. The winners go straight into the World Ranking tourament and if they finish high up there they should be ranked somewhere around the 60s and 70s. The losers end up in the QL, something they would like to avoid after having already fought through seven bouts. So in this case the difference between success and failure is huge, which is why it's so vital that Terone triumphs.

It's also important that your guy and Reyes have a good run through the QL and get yourselves a World Ranking as soon as you're able to. Your next fight is on the 17th of September, just under three universe weeks away. As for James, it'll be a huge boost for the Alliance if he can overcome Leonard. I'm really hoping he can pull that off.

I'm glad you enjoyed Kane's debut. I'm picturing him as having a physique very similar to Tyson and a personality to match. It'll be great if he can smash his way through the QL, although we might have to wait until the tourney is over befre we see Kane v Hanson or Kane v Alvarez because I don't think he's seeded to be in either of your groups in stage two.

[Romdawg88]

Damn, that is a huge difference between winning your Feeder group and losing in the finals. You know it's even worse when you think about the fact that the final losers also stand a decent chance of not advancing in the QL due to the present of the forum fighters. Thats a huge swing there and would be a huge set back for a guy's career.

I like Reyes chances of advancing in the QL. He should be able to grab a top 2 spot in Group three. As for me, well it will come down to that week 7 matchup with Hanson.

I'm loving what I've seen from Kane. He has been one of the guys I'm most interested in in the whole QL. Well, even if we don't run into each other in the QL hopefully that Kane/myself, as well as Hanson/Kane, happen down the road.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE LUNA PARK FIGHT CARD

Opening Bout

The event started with an absolutely fantastic bout, debutants John Tate of Arkansas and Russia's Sergey Pogrebnyak going toe-to-toe like their lives depended on it in a real slugfest. After Tate had the better of an explosive 1st Pogrebnyak came into the contest in rounds two and three, the combatants exchanging numerous haymakers. At the start of the 2nd Tate built on his good work from round one but by the time the frame was over the Russian had shown more than enough to confirm he was capable of winning. He found the mark with a series of wild looping lefts and rights, doing the same in round three before Tate finished it with a flurry of activity.

Defense was put on the backburner, especially in the Russian's case. Both men were determined to overpower the other and that resolute attitude was leading to an incredible fight, the crowd on their feet. It was amazing that two "rookies" were able to produce such a display. The end came in round four, Tate dominating the stanza to the point where Pogrebnyak was exhausted and stunned. A single smashing left hook floored him late in the round and he couldn't beat the count, the fight over at the 2:48 mark. Tate reacted by taking a knee and pointing to the heavens, relief blanketing his face.

Punch totals

Tate: 162/192 (84.4%)
Pogrebnyak: 89/181 (49.2%)

"Didn't bargain for this at all, man," said a euphoric, excited Tate afterwards. "Who the hell thinks their debut will be a war, y'all? Can't believe it. Can't believe I won it, either."

Tate is the 79th seed in the Qualifying League and while he was one of the finds of the Fort Worth auditions he hasn't been mentioned in the same breath as others, such as Romy Alvarez, Scott Mundt or Mike Hanson. His debut performance might just change that.

Preliminary 1

Known by a number of monikers including "Vistaman" and "Blues Brother", Arkansas-born slugger Mark Elwood had gained the personal approval of HBF boss Michael Vincennes during the organisation's Denver auditions, his aggression and punching power earning him a place in the Qualifying League.

"He's got a really solid offense," Vincennes had said back in June. "Great knockout power and a lot of aggression. The type of opponent who'll be right in front of you the whole time."

Elwood has been a resident of Fremont, Nebraska for the last eight years where he is employed as an editor for a local newspaper. As was revealed back in June the 22 year-old discovered boxing by accident when he accompained a friend to the gym four years ago. He was soon ripping into the punching bags there and his passion and enjoyment of the sport has continued to grow in the time since. Tonight Elwood made his federation debut, defeating the German Jan Podolski by a convincing unanimous decision (59-55, 57-56, 58-55). Elwood secured the victory by virtue of a near-faultless opening four rounds, sweeping them on two of the judge's cards and dropping Podolski with a jolting uppercut 43 seconds into the 4th.

Elwood's aggression is one of his strongpoints but he used it in a controlled manner against Podolski, never allowing himself to get carried away even when he was clearly dominating his opponent. He eased off somewhat in the final two rounds but Podolski was in no shape to threaten by then, the bout ending in uneventful fashion.

"I'll take that any day," said Elwood, smiling and nodding his head, wiping the sweat from his face with a white towel. "I don't think there was one moment in the fight where I felt he could beat me. He wasn't going to be able to outbox me and he couldn't hurt me, either. Even so, he was tough and he never quit, so I kept telling myself to stay calm, not to get too excited. It was tempting to load up and finish him off but in the end I'm happy it went the full six."

Punch totals

Mark Elwood: 158/365 (43.3%)
Jan Podolski: 96/224 (42.9%)

"That'll be a tough fight, no doubt," Elwood said, when asked about his next opponent Dre Linton. "He was one of the best guys to come out of the auditions and I'll be watching him carefully when he fights tonight."

Preliminary 2

Tim Carlisle vs David Kane (see post #1587).

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Support Bout

20 year-old Detroit native Dre Linton stepped into the ring for his HBF debut carrying some heavy expectations on his back. He'd been the pick of the litter at the federation's Van Andel Arena auditions, HBF scout Mal Jackson saying that he had "a right hand like a mule kick". Some had observed an unusual personality as, despite being clearly intelligent and well-spoken, he had displayed something of a dark side that had unsettled both opponents and HBF personnel.

In the time since those June auditions Linton has kept a low profile, training by himself in his hometown and going pretty much unnoticed there. His opponent tonight was Roy Harris of Texas who had recorded his first career victory in his most recent bout, a split decision win against Stanley Drexxon in the African Boxing League tournament. Harris was not expected to test Linton but he defied that belief through the first three rounds as he kept his frustrated opponent at bay. It was not a particularly exciting affair with Harris having a good deal of success in blunting Linton's offense, getting in close and smothering his shots or wrapping him up as often as possible. As a result there were few sustained stretches of action. It was such a close affair that two of the judges both scored rounds one and three 10-10.

Harris caught Linton with a hard combination midway through round four and it appeared that he was starting to get the upperhand. But only moments later Linton unleashed a left hook to the body and the Texan crumbled to the canvas in pain. Up at five, Harris wore a pained expression. The knockdown seemed to rejuvenate Linton, to give him a boost of enthusiasm. He caught his opponent with a smashing right hand and then a jolting uppercut, both shots rattling Harris.

Although Harris survived the round Linton's good work signalled the beginning of the end as he floored Harris twice in round five. The first came just before the one minute mark, a single right cross putting him on his back. Linton kept his foot on the accelerator, driving a hook into Harris's midsection and then finding the target with another one of those big uppercuts. Harris staggered backwards and Linton followed, dropping him with a left-right-left salvo. Somehow Harris made it to his feet at six but when he stumbled and almost fell referee Harry Krause had seen enough and called an end to the bout 2:27 into round five.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

"It feels fantastic to start with a win like this," said Linton, smiling oddly. "He kept on railroading my efforts in those first three rounds and he should be commended for that. He kept himself in the fight because by doing that he wasn't taking any punishment. It was frustrating but I realised after that third round that all I'd been doing was headhunting. Maybe I was a bit excited or anxious but once I went to the body the whole fight turned. He couldn't handle those ribshots and they really broke him down. Broke the motherf^c%er, down!!!"

ESPN's Julio Marguilles found himself in an unexpected situation for the second time in an hour (following David Kane's antics after the last fight), Linton almost swallowing the microphone before going all crazy eyes straight into the camera. He then turned and walked away without another word, leaving the ring and disappearing back to the dressing room within a minute of his bizarre outburst. Clearly it was a live, on-air example of the type of behaviour that had concerned some at the auditions. HBF President Michael Vincennes might have something to say about both Kane and Linton in the coming days.

Co-Feature

Crowd favourite Leonardo Barbaressi improved his homeland record to 2-0 with a unanimous decision victory over the Englishman Richard Dunn. Barbaressi took the verdict by scores of 58-55 (twice) and 58-56, the Argentinian ending Dunn's brief rally when he dropped him with a body shot a minute into the 5th. Before that moment Dunn had worked his way into the contest with some solid work in rounds three and four after Brbaressi had controlled the first two rounds. The knockdown permanently swayed the fight in Barbaressi's favour and he dominated the final stanza.

Barbaressi missed out on a semi-final spot in the South American Boxing League tournament, despite scoring victories over two of the semi-finalists (Jorge Luis Gonzalez and Roberto Davila). He's looking for greater success in the Qualifying League and with this win against Dunn he's certainly made a good start. Barbaressi's career record is now 4-2 while Dunn fell to 2-3-1, the loss ending a three fight undefeated streak.

Main Event

In perhaps one of the most unlikely main events in the federation's short history, Los Angeles native Cleaver Twidell scored his fourth consecutive victory, defeating Idaho's Brett Ranford by unanimous decision (59-56 on all three cards). The Qualifying League's 30th seed weathered a challenging middle section of the fight before finishing strongly in the final two rounds. Like Barbaressi, both Twidell and Ranford were competitors in the South American Boxing League. They didn't clash during their stay there, although Twidell took a split decision win over Barbaressi back in May that ultimately cost the Argentine a place in the semi-finals.

Those who have been critical of the way the HBF seeded the Qualifying League might point to this fight as an example, with both Twidell and Ranford considered to be amongst its weakest competitors. They'll eventually have to step into the ring against two of tonight's successful debutants, Mark Elwood and Dre Linton. Anyone who knows anything about boxing would be able to see that, even based on tonight's single performances, Linton and Elwood are at least a class or two above Twidell and Ranford. It will be interesting to see if the seedings are proved farcical when those fights take place. For now, though, Twidell is a surprising 4-2 while Ranford is 2-3-1...

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
THURSDAY 29 AUGUST 2002
LUNA PARK, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA


OPENING BOUT

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Six
7(79) John Tate KO4 8(91) Sergey Pogrebnyak

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Seven
7(78) Mark Elwood UD6 8(90) Jan Podolski

PRELIMINARY 2

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Six
6(67) David Kane TKO2 5(55) Tim Carlisle

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Seven
6(66) Dre Linton TKO5 5(54) Roy Harris

CO-FEATURE

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Six
3(31) Leonardo Barbaressi UD6 4(43) Richard Dunn

MAIN EVENT

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Seven
3(30) Cleaver Twidell UD6 4(42) Brett Ranford

[vistaman44]

Elwood wins! Elwood wins!

Should I retire now? ... :')