The Heavyweight Boxing Federation

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation of post #1717)

BELL CENTRE UNDERCARD HIGHLIGHTS

* In the evening's opening contest Cleveland native Deutron Shelby proved too aggressive and determined for favoured New Yorker Marco Santino, Shelby winning by unanimous decision (59-56, 58-56, 59-56). It was something of a surprise result as Santino had been the more impressive of the two last month, scoring a 6th round TKO of Leonidas Jaskucionis while Shelby had climbed off the canvas to take a split decision against the Russian Yevgeny Semshov. Shelby had experienced a disrupted preparation for his debut as his mother had been injured in a car accident. There were no such problems leading into tonight's bout, Shelby showing some fantastic skills and potential.

Shelby started strongly in round one, catching Santino with a hard right at the midpoint before the Catskill native fired back in the final minute, a left hook and a three-shot combo backing Shelby up. Some effective body work in the closing seconds swung the frame in Shelby's favour and while most of the 2nd was uneventful Shelby stole it with a bone-rattling uppercut twenty seconds from the bell. Round three proved to be an even affair, Santino finding the mark with a hard right cross about a minute in before Shelby responded with another jolting uppercut and a ripping left-right combo. The Ohio native was more willing to let his hands go, Santino displaying an unexpectedly cautious disposition.

That changed in the 4th, a round that Santino controlled convincingly behind a penetrating jab. But his good work was undone in round five as Shelby regained the upperhand, a flush right hook near the minute mark seeming to affect Santino for the rest of the round and allowing Shelby to win it with ease. The 6th and final round brought an anti-climatic finish to the contest, Santino unable to mount a final flurry while Shelby looked confident that he'd already done enough to win, and therefore did little more. He finished with a punch total of 418, landing 102 of them (.244), Santino connecting with 79 of 286 shots (.276). Shelby was in a jovial mood afterwards, dedicating his win to his mother as he'd done on debut.

"I was just too willin' for the guy, you know?" said Shelby. "In this fight game it come down to who wan' it more, who willin' to go that extra yard. He ain't have that t'night, I ain't know why. But I impose myself on him and he ain't respond, y'all. They was sayin' he'd be too much fo' me to handle. Look like it be the opposite, eh?"

Santino was a shattered man, unable to fathom his inability to match Shelby's performance.

"Don't think I've been this disappointed in a long time," he said. "Something in my mind was holding me back and I couldn't overcome that. Had trouble countering his shots, had trouble being in the right positions to land my own shots ... I really can't explain it, but I'll just have to get over it 'cause I've got five more fights I have to try and win if I want to get a top two finish."

Shelby improved to 2-0 and sits on top of Group Five of the Qualifying League while Santino falls to 1-1(1).

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

* Having scored a 1st round KO of Slovenia's Drago Bencek on debut 20 year-old Virginia native Steve Finley faced a much more daunting challenge for his sophomore outing in the form of Mexico's Luis Gomez. The Arizona resident had been on the unfortunate end of a poor decision in his own debut, his bout against Dwayne Peters ending as a draw despite Gomez appearing to win it quite handily. Gomez was very upset afterwards and had said leading into tonight that he was determined to earn his first victory.

That attitude was evident in the opening round as he caught Finley with a pair of hard shots in the first minute: a flush uppercut and a jolting right cross. Finley's retort was a nice left-right combination but Gomez controlled the round, picking his shorter opponent off with the jab, keeping Finley on the backfoot. Round two proceeded in the same fashion, Finley having his head snapped around by a smashing left hook before finding himself on the canvas for the first time in his career courtesy of a sledgehammer of a right hook almost two minutes in. He was up at four and survived the round, despite eating a trio of blows moments before the bell. One of the punches opened a cut under his right eye and as he returned to his corner the Virginian looked dazed. Gomez was in complete control and throwing too much leather for Finley to handle.

The audience was into the fight in a major way and their excitement was only magnified by what was a thrilling 3rd round. Knowing he was in serious danger of defeat Finley came out firing, finding the mark with a left hook and a pair of jolting uppercuts within a minute of the bell. But Gomez quickly evened the ledger, a punishing three-punch salvo and a stinging right cross causing his man to show more caution. As the round entered its final minute Finley unloaded to the body and then dropped a hard right hand on Gomez, the (reportedly) 40 year-old Mexican initiating a clinch and appearing to tire. When the bell sounded to end the stanza the crowd came to their feet in applause.

Unfortunately, the contest would end in an abrupt and unsatisfying fashion when, just thirteen seconds into the 4th, Finley landed a left hook right on the button, the blow opening a sickening two inch cut on Gomez's right eyebrow. It only took a matter of seconds for the ringside doctor to declare that the Mexican could not continue. He protested wildly, proclaiming that he didn't "give a damn" about "a little cut" over his eye. His pleas were ignored and when Finley was announced the victor Gomez fell to his knees and pounded the canvas with his right fist, tears soon streaming down his face. Finley tried to console him but, clearly distraught, Gomez pushed him away and stormed from the ring, screaming obscenities at the referee and the doctor.

Punch totals

Steve Finley: 51/98 (.520)
Luis Gomez: 66/243 (.272)

"It's unfortunate for him," admitted Finley. "But everyone knows it's one of the possible outcomes for any fight. Cutting a guy, sometimes it's more effective than a knockdown. I do feel sorry for him 'cause he got robbed in his debut and he was winning tonight, no doubt."

Indeed, going into the 4th Gomez had a four-point lead on two cards and a two-point cushion on the other. Literally, all he needed to do was stay on his feet or avoid getting cut and he would have won the bout. The start he's made to his career would have to rank as one of the more unlucky ones in the HBF's brief history. As for Finley, he's the only fighter in the Qualifying League to date with two stoppages which is certainly something to be happy about.

* The Slovenian Drago Bencek proved himself to be a tough opponent during his stay in the Southern Europe Boxing League, compiling a 2-3(1) record. But to date his run in the HBF's Qualifying League has been uninspiring, to say the least. Last month he suffered a 1st round KO at the hands of debuting fighter Steve Finley and tonight he was pummelled into submission by the Canadian Dwayne Peters, also in the opening round.

Peters decimated Bencek, catching him with a series of smashing power shots before flooring him with a combination of blows to the body and head two minutes in. Bencek beat the count but Peters went at him mercilessly and when a crunching uppercut buckled the Slovenian's legs referee Jay Nady had seen enough and ended the fight at the 2:35 mark. After his dubious draw against Gomez, Peters remains undefeated at 1-0-1(1). Benceck falls to 2-5(1), the loss his fourth in five fights and the third time during that span that he's been stopped inside of two rounds.

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING FEDERATION FIGHT CARD
TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2002
BELL CENTRE, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA


OPENING BOUT

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Five
7(80) Deutron Shelby UD6 6(68) Marco Santino

PRELIMINARY 1

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Eight
6(65) Steve Finley TKO4 7(77) Luis Gomez

SUPPORT BOUT

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Five
8(92) Yevgeny Senshov UD6 5(56) Leonidas Jaskucionis

CO-FEATURE

HBF Qualifying League - Stage One - Group Eight
8(89) Dwayne Peters TKO1 5(53) Drago Bencek

MAIN EVENT

Canadian Boxing League - Tournament Final
(2) Robert Cleroux UD8 (4) John Ferguson

[Claybor]

6(65) Steve Finley TKO4 7(77) Luis Gomez

Extremely lucky, but it is a win none the less.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Claybor

Extremely lucky, but it is a win none the less.

Perhaps, but there's no doubt your guy has made a fantastic start to his career. Gomez was always going to be the toughest opponent in the group for you so you should really go through the rest of stage one undefeated.

[kenyan_cheena]

Just to add, if Claybor's guy tops his stage one group he should be in with Chris and either Romy or Mike in stage two...

[Romdawg88]

Wow, Chris, Claybor, and Mike that should be a fun group to watch. I have question who would I be potentially facing in stage 2 after I win my stage 1 group.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Wow, Chris, Claybor, and Mike that should be a fun group to watch. I have question who would I be potentially facing in stage 2 after I win my stage 1 group.

If you win the group you'd be in with the 1st placed guys from groups 5 and 9 plus the 2nd placed guys from 4, 8 and 12.

In group 5 it looks like being Shelby and in 9 it should be Cayton. 4 is pretty weak but 8 has Finley and Gomez and 12 has Mundt and Hugh Phillips.

[Bam Bam]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

(continuation of post #1717)

BELL CENTRE UNDERCARD HIGHLIGHTS

* In the evening's opening contest Cleveland native Deutron Shelby proved too aggressive and determined for favoured New Yorker Marco Santino, Shelby winning by unanimous decision (59-56, 58-56, 59-56). It was something of a surprise result as Santino had been the more impressive of the two last month, scoring a 6th round TKO of Leonidas Jaskucionis while Shelby had climbed off the canvas to take a split decision against the Russian Yevgeny Semshov. Shelby had experienced a disrupted preparation for his debut as his mother had been injured in a car accident. There were no such problems leading into tonight's bout, Shelby showing some fantastic skills and potential.

Shelby started strongly in round one, catching Santino with a hard right at the midpoint before the Catskill native fired back in the final minute, a left hook and a three-shot combo backing Shelby up. Some effective body work in the closing seconds swung the frame in Shelby's favour and while most of the 2nd was uneventful Shelby stole it with a bone-rattling uppercut twenty seconds from the bell. Round three proved to be an even affair, Santino finding the mark with a hard right cross about a minute in before Shelby responded with another jolting uppercut and a ripping left-right combo. The Ohio native was more willing to let his hands go, Santino displaying an unexpectedly cautious disposition.

That changed in the 4th, a round that Santino controlled convincingly behind a penetrating jab. But his good work was undone in round five as Shelby regained the upperhand, a flush right hook near the minute mark seeming to affect Santino for the rest of the round and allowing Shelby to win it with ease. The 6th and final round brought an anti-climatic finish to the contest, Santino unable to mount a final flurry while Shelby looked confident that he'd already done enough to win, and therefore did little more. He finished with a punch total of 418, landing 102 of them (.244), Santino connecting with 79 of 286 shots (.276). Shelby was in a jovial mood afterwards, dedicating his win to his mother as he'd done on debut.

"I was just too willin' for the guy, you know?" said Shelby. "In this fight game it come down to who wan' it more, who willin' to go that extra yard. He ain't have that t'night, I ain't know why. But I impose myself on him and he ain't respond, y'all. They was sayin' he'd be too much fo' me to handle. Look like it be the opposite, eh?"

Santino was a shattered man, unable to fathom his inability to match Shelby's performance.

"Don't think I've been this disappointed in a long time," he said. "Something in my mind was holding me back and I couldn't overcome that. Had trouble countering his shots, had trouble being in the right positions to land my own shots ... I really can't explain it, but I'll just have to get over it 'cause I've got five more fights I have to try and win if I want to get a top two finish."

Shelby improved to 2-0 and sits on top of Group Five of the Qualifying League while Santino falls to 1-1(1).

(to be continued)

Ouch!. Santino no!!!!

[kenyan_cheena]

"I THINK WE'VE JUST SEEN THE
FUTURE OF HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING"

Wednesday 25 September 2002

Story by James Reynolds for the New York Age

As its followers would be aware, the Heavyweight Boxing Federation is currently in the middle of a period that's not quite a hiatus but nowhere near full-steam ahead status, with the World Championship and 1st Defense tournaments having completed their first stages and not due to be back in action for the start of stage two for another month. Fans of the organisation are currently left to be satisfied with the conclusion of the feeder league tournaments and continuation of the newly-formed Qualifying League. Entertaining, yes, but barely able to hold a candle next to the excitement that the WC and 1D tourneys provided during the last eight months.

The competitors who were talented and skilled enough to progress to stage two of the federation's flagship events have continued their training, readying themselves for what will be even more challenging bouts than they've already been through. One such individual is 27 year-old North Bergen native Joe Jeannette, the 11th seed in the World Championship tournament who made his way through stage one with a perfect 7-0(2) record and who is the founder of what is known as "Jersey Pride", a collective of New Jersey-born fighters in both the federation and International Boxing League working together to give themselves the greatest chance possible of success in this, the most toughest of all sports. I visited with Jeannette yesterday at the Lincoln Street Gym in North Bergen, eager to learn more about him, his life and his plans for the future.

But as sometimes happens the day's events took an unexpected but compelling turn, only minutes after my stepping through the gym doors and introducing myself to Jeannette. As we sat down for the interview Joe's attention gravitated towards a young African-American boy who had come into the gym and, keeping to himself, watched with curiosity as boxers such as the Middleweight Mickey Walker and Heavyweight Steve Hamas went through their paces, sparring and working on the heavy bag, respectively. The young boy could not have been older than fourteen or fifteen but he was solidly built, standing about 5'6". Dressed in nothing more than basketball shoes, baggy shorts and a Mets T-shirt he soon moved over towards an unused punching bag in the corner and within moments was ripping into it bare-fisted with a ferocity that brought a fascinated, awed expression to Jeannette's face and caught the attention of a number of others in the gym. Joe politely excused himself and quickly made his way over towards the young boy. I followed a couple of footsteps behind. Joe motioned for the youngster to stop and he did, breathing heavily as he regarded Joe with a determined gaze, the sweat bubbling on his forehead and in his shortly shaven hair.

"You got a helluva left hook there, little brother," Joe said to him, smiling.

The boy simply nodded, but said nothing. He averted his eyes briefly, perhaps a little intimidated by Joe's presence.

"What's your name, kid?" asked Joe.

"Name's Abram, sir. Abram Sin."

"Well, Abram, it's nice meetin' you. That's a pretty unique name you got, there. I'm Joe Jeannette."

"I know, sir. I seen your fights on the TV, sir. I was outside the Ritacco Center when y'all beat Johnny Summerlin's, seein' as I too young to get inside."

"How old are you, little man?" Joe asked.

"Just turn fifteen las' week, sir."

"I take it from your bein' here, you're interested in boxin'?"

Abram Sin nodded. Once again, he looked away shyly.

"You ever boxed before?"

"Uh, not really. Jus' at school if I get in a fight. I was hopin' ... jus' maybe, you'd be able to give me some trainin', sir. Some advice."

Jeannette smiled, placed a hand on Abram's shoulder.

"Find it hard to believe you ain't done this before, little brother, but it'd be my pleasure to help you train. I just have to discuss something with Mr. Reynolds here for a couple of minutes, okay? He's a reporter from the New York Age, came here to talk to me. Just take a seat and I'll be right back."

Joe walked me over to where we had been seated, looking me square in the eye.

"Mr. Reynolds," he started. "I know you came here to talk to me about Jersey Pride and the World Championship and Father Ciccone, but I think you'd agree with me when I say that a better story just walked in through that door ... You see the way he attacked that bag?"

I nodded.

"You seen anyone with that much pop before?"

I pondered the question for a moment before replying.

"Not at fifteen years old, I haven't," was my reply.

Joe nodded.

"Me, neither."

We both regarded Abram Sin for a few moments.

"How about this?" said Joe. "I'll get an idea of what this kid's made of for the next thirty minutes. You take a seat and take notes on everything you see. Sound good?"

I nodded once more and we both walked back over to Abram who, while we'd been talking, had been watching Walker's sparring session with an intent in his eyes that sent a shiver down my spine. He appeared to be taking everything in, studying every move.

"Abram?" said Joe. "I was thinking we might put some gloves on you and let you go to work on the heavy bag for a while. What y'all think o' that?"

"Sound good, sir," Abram replied.

"You are one polite brother," said Joe, smiling. "Callin' me "sir" all the time. Where you from, Abram?"

"Was born down in Hoboken, sir. Live on Garden Street, near Church Square."

I did as Joe had said, sitting back, watching and note-taking as he took the young man through a thirty minute workout. Before they were done everyone in the gym was watching, too, and Joe had an expression on his face like he'd just witnessed the second coming. Abram Sin abused the heavy bag with sledgehammer-like lefts and rights, shots thrown with seemingly-evil intent that had Jeannette hanging onto the bag for dear life. There was something in Abram's eyes, a resoluteness driving him on as he pounded away. When Joe had him work on the speedball it was like he'd been using the apparatus for years, his rhythm and timing on it impeccable. Next up was ten minutes of jumprope. Again, he got through it with ease, his speed something to behold. Push-ups and sit-ups followed, Abram completing fifty and a hundred of each respectively. By this time he was covered in sweat from head to toe but he appeared to be loving it.

"How much you weigh, Abram?" Joe asked.

"Um, ain't sure on that, sir. Maybe 140. Don't know."

Joe retrieved a set of bathroom scales and Abram stepped onto them. 152 pounds, putting him in the Middleweight range.

"How do you feel about sparrin' with Mr. Walker?" Joe suggested.

Abram's eyes lit up.

"I'd love that, sir."

Standing off to the side, Mickey Walker smiled.

"Glad to be of service," he directed Jeannette's way.

"You go easy on him, Mickey," Joe warned jokingly.

What happened next exceeded everything that had passed during the previous half-hour as in the space of just three minutes Abram Sin made the highly-regarded Mickey Walker look like an amateur. It wasn't just the fact that he dropped him on his backside twice (once with a flush left hook and then again thirty seconds later with a neck-snapping uppercut). Neither was it the speed of his jab, snaking out and tagging Walker like a cobra. It wasn't the apparent defensive awareness either, the head and foot movement that made it near impossible for Walker to land a punch on him. It was all of these things, but above all it was the ease with which he did it. When the three minutes ended everyone in the gym continued staring in a shocked silence, for what seemed like a long time but must have only been a matter of seconds. Joe Jeannette simply regarded Abram Sin with something greater than amazement. Walker finally broke the silence and extracted a few laughs with what he said.

"Hell, I might aswell quit after that."

Walker removed his head gear, spat out his mouthpiece and left the ring, heading straight for the showers, shaking his head along the way. All the while Abram Sin stood in a corner breathing lightly, unsure of what to do or say. Jeannette took him to one side, away from the others and spoke to him, allowing me to listen in.

"Abram, I'm gonna tell you the honest truth," said Joe. "You've got a talent that I've never seen before in someone as young as you. It's a special gift, my brother. Now, you tell me right here and now how serious you are about this. How serious are you about boxing?"

Abram smiled, really for the first time since he entered the gym, his countenance showing embarrassment over Joe's compliments.

"If I could make something of myself from boxin', it'd be everything to me, sir," he finally replied.

Joe nodded.

"I wasn't expecting anything remarkable from my day, Abram," he said. "But you walked in that door an hour ago and I have to say, you've made my day remarkable. You sure this is what you want? 'Cause if it is, you gotta be prepared to put everything you got inside yourself into it."

Abram nodded yes.

"I understand that, sir," he said.

A tear trickled from the corner of Abram's left eye and while Joe noticed it he didn't address it.

"What I want you to do is go home and have a rest," Joe said. "Let your body get over what you just been through. You come back here tomorrow morning at nine and we'll start trainin', okay?"

"Okay, sir."

Abram Sin left the gym soon after, every single set of eyes in there following him out the door. Joe Jeannette stood stroking his chin in contemplation. He ran a hand over his bald pate before sitting down next to me.

"That kid is incredible," I said. "It's hard to believe he just walked in here off the street, that he's never fought before."

Joe shook his head and then nodded, the first disbelief and the second agreement. He stared out the front window of the gym, held his gaze as he spoke.

"Mr. Reynolds, I think we've just seen the future of Heavyweight boxing."

[kenyan_cheena]

Sorry about the inactivity these last few days. I should be back into it tonight or tomorrow.

[kenyan_cheena]

IBEABUCHI OVERCOMES COURAGEOUS OKOCHA,
TAKES FINAL WORLD RANKING SPOT

Thursday 26 September 2002

Fighting in front of an excited, capacity crowd at the Surelere Stadium in Lagos, Nigerian combatants Ike Ibeabuchi and Omovo Okocha brought the curtain down on the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's feeder league tournaments in style, Ibeabuchi winning a thrilling eight round contest by unanimous decision (79-73, 76-75, 77-74) to claim the title of African Boxing League Champion. In what was perhaps the most anticipated of the eight tournament finals Ibeabuchi was able to turn back a determined challenge from Okocha, dropping him with a body shot midway through the 5th and proving just a little bit too classy for the 20 year-old.

Both men came into the contest with perfect 6-0 records, Ibeabuchi having decimated James Eldren in the semis while Okocha recovered from a 3rd round knockdown to defeat Stanley Drexxon by split decision. The hype surrounding the fight had been huge throughout Nigeria, with most favouring Okocha and his more humble attitude over Ibeabuchi's perceived arrogance. This was clear as the two made their separate walks to the ring, the applause for Okocha much warmer than that for Ibeabuchi. The fact that Okocha was accompanied to the ring by fellow Nigerian boxers Celestine Amakochi (Light-Heavyweight), Tebiro Diaw (Middleweight) and Samuel Peter (Heavyweight) didn't do any harm either, all three of whom did their best to pump up the crowd. Both men were decked out in the Nigerian national colours of green and white, Ibeabuchi's trunks green with white trim and Okocha's white with thin green piping.

Ibeabuchi made his intentions known early as he caught Okocha with a smashing right cross seconds into the 1st round, following up with a wild right hand that slightly buckled his opponent's legs. Okocha came into the round with some solid work during the middle minute, continuing it into the bottom third before Ibeabuchi looked to seal it with a pair of snapping uppercuts late, the second of these causing Okocha to backpedal. The crowd applauded heartily, chants of "I-ke-ke!" and "O-ko-cha!" resonating around the stadium. Ibeabuchi retained control in round two, a jolting right cross and a flush left hook doing some damage early on and another one of those crunching uppercuts finding the mark midway through the stanza. Okocha appeared to hurt Ibeabuchi with a straight right shortly before the bell and while it brought howls of excitement from his supporters it wasn't enough to compensate for his lack of activity through most of the round.

In the 3rd Ibeabuchi really stepped up his aggression. He was once again dictating the pace through the top half but when Okocha looked to be getting into the round with some effective body work the #1 seed simply put it beyond doubt, peppering Okocha with a series of stiff jabs before clocking him with a smashing left hook moments before the bell. Okocha recovered well during the intermission and started the 4th nicely, outboxing Ibeabuchi through the first half of the round before he got careless and ate a hard left hook. His response was impressive, though, a right hook that bounced off Ibeabuchi's head and stunned him. But once again Ibeabuchi was able to finish strongly, a pair of combinations and a left hook in the final twenty seconds enough to sway two judges to award him the round.

Seconds into round five Okocha's fans were on their feet as he caught Ibeabuchi with a beautiful left hook flush on the chin. Ibeabuchi stumbled back into the ropes and Okocha followed, pounding away at his man and connecting with a winging right. But Ibeabuchi countered brilliantly, a right hook backing Okocha off, enough to allow him some space. Moments later Ibeabuchi unleashed a right hook to the body and Okocha dropped to one knee, clutching at his side and shaking his head. Many in the crowd fell into a suddenly stunned silence, the air sucked out of them just as certainly as it had been taken from Okocha. He was up at six but wore a despondent expression. The remainder of the round was non-eventful, Ibeabuchi content to jab and move in the knowledge that he'd be awarded the round 10-8. Once again Okocha showed promise to start the 6th but a crunching Ibeabuchi uppercut about a minute in turned it in his favour. He followed it up with some hard left hooks and a straight right that sent the sweat flying from Okocha's bald head. Okocha tagged his man with a hard left hook as the bell was sounding but once again, it was too little, too late. He was merely competitive and on this night that wasn't going to be enough.

The action slowed somewhat in the final two rounds and although the crowd didn't exactly get a grandstand finish, they did get some impressive work from Okocha. He won both rounds on two scorecards but to be honest it was more than likely that Ibeabuchi allowed it. He took his foot off the gas in the 7th and didn't re-apply it in the 8th, appearing confident that he had a big enough lead to cruise to the finish. The scorecards confirmed that he was correct in that assessment and while the verdict was not a popular one the audience grudgingly acknowledged Ibeabuchi's brilliant performance. He exchanged words of mutual admiration with Okocha but spoke of his relief at, as he put it, "dodging a bullet".

"It's a great place for me to be in," Ibeabuchi said. "It's a real relief to know I'll be competing in the World Ranking tournament. I have some sympathy for Omovo because he's a great fighter, he had a great tournament and he really deserves to be there, also. I'd like to wish him all the best as he moves forward with his career."

Punch totals

Ike Ibeabuchi: 227/447 (.508)
Omovo Okocha: 154/433 (.356)

"He was too good for me," Okocha said, shrugging. "As simple as that. I had chances to control most of the rounds but I couldn't maintain the standard I needed to do that. He's really talented and I wouldn't be surprised if he finishes high up in the WR tournament."

Now 7-0(1), Ibeabuchi is one of only three fighters to make it through the feeder leagues with a perfect record, the others being Florida Alliance member Terone Haynes and the Irishman Artuir Claffey. It will be fascinating to see how far the trio can extend their undefeated runs as they progress through the World Ranking tournament.

(Undercard Highlights to follow)

[Romdawg88]

So it looks like Mike and myself will probably be dealing with Okocha in our group now.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

So it looks like Mike and myself will probably be dealing with Okocha in our group now.

Very likely. There'll be a post outlining the top QL and WR tourney seeds in a couple of universe days.

[kenyan_cheena]

The Surelere Stadium Undercard Highlights

* New York's Mark Jones defied both age and popular belief in scoring a dominant unanimous decision victory over the favoured Englishman Yeti Yates to start off the evening (59-55, 58-56, 59-55). It was thought that Yates' aggressive disposition and punching power would be enough for him to defeat Jones but the 40 year-old put on a boxing display that will surely see his stock rise as far as his chances in the Qualifying League are concerned.

Clearly the experts underestimated Jones' speed, ability and the advantage he'd gain from the five inch height difference (6'3" to 5'10"). He was able to keep Yates on the outside for the majority of the contest, pumping a potent left jab into his face and also scoring with blazing combinations that had the tattoo-covered Coventry native shaking his head in bewilderment. It was only in round three that Yates had any success as he found the mark with three seperate power shots in the stanza: a smashing left hook early, a straight right moments later and a jolting uppercut late. But Jones simply went back to work in the 4th and he swept the bottom half of the bout on two scorecards, finishing magnificently with a final round barrage that came close to stopping his durable opponent.

The punch totals shown below tell the story of Jones' victory:

Mark Jones: 210/453 (.464)
Yeti Yates: 62/188 (.330)

"I can't believe how great this has turned out for me," said an ecstatic Jones. "You know, it was hard watching my buddy Marco lose on Tuesday so this win was as much for him as for me. Don't worry, buddy. We're gonna get there together. I have to say that I took some of the comments made in the press personally, folks saying I had no shot, saying that Yates was going to monster me. Looks like they were a little caught up in the image of him being a tough guy, a convicted criminal and pretty mean. I was so happy with the way my jab was working, you know? It really won me the fight 'cause without it he would have been getting inside and that would have caused me some trouble, no doubt."

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Jones has made a fantastic start to his professional career, outlanding his two opponents to date by an average of 173-56 and connecting at an accuracy rate of 36.7%. Yates left the ring in an agitated frame of mind moments after the verdict was announced, clearly frustrated that he'd been made to look so helpless by the New Yorker. The loss will certainly be a blow to the dangerous aura that had built around him leading into the Qualifying League tournament, but it's something that a number of highly regarded fighters will have to deal with as the event progresses.

* In another clash between two competitors expected to go far in the QL, Californian slugger Sean Hargraves overcame Ireland's Kent Ares via split decision (58-56, 56-58, 58-56). It was a ripper of a contest with both men showing plenty to indicate that they'll be right up there near the top of the standings at the conclusion of stage one. Hargraves had outlasted the Russian Vasily Anyukov on debut while Ares took a tough unanimous decision win over Egypt's Grantham Abdul-Kafar.

Hargraves looked like a world beater through the early stages of the opening round, tagging Ares with a series of combinations, landing a smashing right hand as the stanza entered its final minute. The American-born Irishman was quick to put himself into the fight, producing a strong effort in the bottom half of round two before Hargraves stole the 3rd with an impressive late flurry.

The contest turned back in Ares' favour in round four, his best three minutes of the bout. Controlling the early going he staggered Hargraves with a flush uppercut shortly before the bell. The 5th was the most even round of the fight, the crowd on their feet in applause as the two combatants traded hard leather in the centre of the ring. Round six was mainly uneventful until Ares landed a booming right hand about forty seconds from the bell, the punch colliding violently with Hargraves' left cheek. Ares paraded around the ring confidently but was to have his heart broken soon after when the scorecards were reve