Gba

[Ian Lord]

12th November, 2005.
Memphis, TN. In the main event of the evening at The Pyramid, high flying heavyweight contender Lennox Lewis of England, took on Michigan's Pinklon 'Pinky' Thomas. Lewis took control of the bout early, winning the first four rounds. Then in the fifth, against the run of things, Thomas dropped Lewis for a nine count when Lewis threw a lazy right hand over the top which Thomas ducked under and detonated a solid cross on the jaw of his foe. Lewis survived the round, but only just.

Lewis showed no ill signs to the knockdown in the sixth as he came out and regained control, stepping up the tempo in the seventh when he dropped Thomas with a cross to the head. Thomas tasted the canvas again in the next round, this time from a bodyshot, and Lewis was now looking awesome. It was only a matter of time before Thomas succumbed to the punishment he was taking, and it happened with two seconds left in the tenth. Lewis had already floored his opponent twice in the tenth, and he was punching Thomas at will when the referee intervened.

After the bout Lewis was pleased with his win, but there was also a subdued air about him. Jim Brady of Boxing News, who spoke to the victor afterwards, claimed it was due to the fact that Lewis keeps on winning, and winning impressively, yet the big fights still aren't coming his way. The heavyweight title picture is tied up at the moment, with world champ Riddick Bowe defending his title next week against Tony 'TNT' Tubbs in Japan, with the victor to face next months winner of the Larry Holmes/Mike Tyson eliminator in April. This effectively keeps Lewis out of the title picture until next August time. One has to wonder whether he will keep his focus, or whether the Lewis express train will be derailed before then.

In the chief support, New York's Iran 'The Blade' Barkley took on fringe contender John David Jackson in a middleweight bout. The first five rounds were close, with Barkley looking to get inside and rough it up while Jackson tried to keep it a distance and use his boxing skills. It all changed in the sixth however, when Barkley came swarming out at the beginning of the round, looking to finish Jackson off. Jackson was caught by surprise and began to take a pummeling. Jackson tasted the canvas when Barkley connected with a wicked uppercut. Jackson staggered backward and went down in a heap, barely beating the count. He just managed to survive the round, but looked in a bad way.

Barkley carried on in the seventh where he'd finished off, and finally put Jackson away at the end of the round with a barrage of punches.

Undercard Action.

The bulls locked horns when 'The Atomic Bull' Oliver McCall met Gary 'The Bull' Winmon. Apart from the fifth, however, Winmon was never in the fight. McCall took the unanimous decision with scores of 79-70 twice, and 78-71. Winmon was down twice in the seventh,m and once in the eighth.

Former contender Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes won a unanimous decision over Anthony Willis with scores of 79-72, 77-74, and 78-73. Dokes looked impressive and showed the fans in attendance what everyone knew he was capable of, dropping Willis in the third and seventh rounds.

"This was the first time in a while I enjoyed it in the ring," Dokes said after the bout. "I know rumours have been going around about me abusing cocaine and I'd just like to let everyone know that they were true, but I'm clean now and looking to win a few more fights then try and break back into the top ten and realise my dream, which is to become world heavyweight champion. I've got my ambition back."

Derk Banks shocked the paying crowd by registering a draw against heavyweight prospect Carlos DeLeon. It was 76-76 on all judges cards, which was a fair result.

In the opener, Michael 'Second To' Nunn totally outclassed 'opponent' Roggerrio Cacciatore before stopping him at 2.52 of the seventh round, after Cacciatore had tasted the canvas.

[meade95]

Ian Lord - First just want to say very good job here - I enjoy keeping up with how your universe is going - Can I ask, are any of your fighters tweaked by you (Ratings tweaked because of watching of actual fight video's, research reading showing the need for a tweak, seeing them fight in person, etc, etc) - Or are they all "as is" ....just as TBCB puts out? -

Just curious and either way - keep up the good work -

[Ian Lord]

Hi Meade, I'm glad you're enjoying it. In answer to your question, I use all the fighters 'as is' except for Michael Nunn. I tweaked his super middleweight ratings so I could use him as a middleweight.
All the best,
Ian.

[Ian Lord]

BIGGER THAN GODZILLA

Tokyo, Japan. Big fight fever has erupted here in Japan, when in two days time world heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe makes the second defense of his title against Tony 'TNT' Tubbs. The two fighters came face to face today at the weigh in for the fight, in front of a crowded audience made up of press and onlookers.

Bowe weighed in at a hefty 244, whilst Tubbs scaled at a trim [for him] 229. The two behemoths eyeballed each other, but nothing else kicked off, which is unusual when Bowe is involved. Fight merchandise has been snapped up like hot cakes, with a lot of Bowe t-shirts being sold, although only a few Tubbs t-shirts have been bought. Bowe is expected to retain his title.

The chief support between Tadeshi MIhara and Shinji Takehara is also eagerly anticipated. Both are Japanese and are fighting for the vacant Asian, Oriental, and Japanese middleweight titles. It is a 'pick em' fight.

Reports to follow.

[Ian Lord]

19th November, 2005.
Tokyo, Japan. An enthusiastic crowd packed out the Ryogoku Sumo Arena for an excellent night of boxing. Top of the bill was the world heavyweight title fight between champion Riddick Bowe and chllenger Tony 'TNT' Tubbs. Bowe was making the second defense of his title and was heavily expected to win. Bowe comfortably took the opening round, but then Tubbs started to get into the swing of things and won the next two rounds with some neat boxing.

The fourth round however was a disaster for Tubbs, getting floored twice, both by uppercuts. The second time he only narrowly managed to beat the count. Bowe went in to finish him off, getting warned for a low blow in the process, but Tubbs managed to survive the round, albeit with a badly swollen left eye. Bowe took advantage of a still groggy Tubbs in the next round, but Tubbs got himself back together by the sixth, staying out of Bowe's way and winning the round, mainly with the left jab. Bowe took the seventh comfortably, then Tubbs won the eighth. Bowe won the next two rounds big and looked as though he would cruise to victory, but instead Tubbs took the last two rounds. The bout went to the scorecards and Bowe retained with scores of 115-111, 114-113, and 116-110.

Shinji Takehara and Tadeshi Mihara put on a good scrap while it lasted in the chief support. The first three rounds were very close, with Mihara edging all three, although he sufferd a gash over his left eye in the third. That seemed to spur him into action as he took control in the fourth, and finished procedings in the fifth when he was pummeling Takahara who was offering no resistance and the referee stepped in at the 2.15 mark to award the victory, and the Asian, Oriental, and Japanese titles to Tadeshi Mihara.

Undercard Action.

James 'Buster' Douglas was a class above James 'Bonecrusher' Smith, winning nine out of ten rounds to score a unanimous decision with scores of 99-91 twice, and 98-92. Douglas relied on his slick boxing skills all night, whereas Smith just plodded forward, looking to land the big one.

Mike 'Hercules' Weaver beat up on Jody Ballard for the first five rounds of their eight rounder, before Ballard even began fighting. Weaver had also dropped Ballard in the third and fourth. The sixth was even and Ballard edged the seventh. Going into the last round Weaver looked to have the fight wrapped up when he sufferd a bad gash over his right eye. The doctor was called to ringside, who inspected the cut and signalled to the referee that the fight should be stopped. The referee stopped the bout at the 0.15 mark, despite loud protests from Weavers corner.

Mark Medal won an eight round unanimous decision against 'Irish' Chris Walsh, with scores of 77-75 twice, and 78-74. It was a dull, uneventful fight.

In the show opener, heavyweight prospect Bruce Seldon lost his unbeaten record to the winless Derek Amos. For the first four rounds, Seldon was the only man in it, dropping Amos in the second and third rounds, then in the fifth he got careless and walked onto an uppercut and it was 'good night Irene'. The time was 0.44.

[Ian Lord]

Results and Rankings for November, 2005.

Heavyweight

Riddick Bowe W12 Tony Tubbs
[retains world title]
Lennox Lewis TKO10 Pinklon Thomas
James 'Buster' Douglas W10 James 'Bonecrusher' Smith
Oliver McCall W8 Gary Winmon
Jody Ballard TKO8 Mike Weaver
Michael Dokes W8 Anthony Willis
Derk Banks D8 Carlos DeLeon
Derk Amos KO5 Bruce Seldon

Middleweight

Iran Barkley KO7 John David Jackson
Tadeshi Mihara TKO5 Shinji Takehara
[wins vacant Asian, Oriental, and Japanese titles]
Mark Medal W8 Chris Walsh
Michael Nunn KO7 Roggerrio Cacciatore

Heavyweight

World Champion:
Riddick Bowe 8-1 [4]

1. Larry Holmes 10-1 [7] North American champ.
2. Mike Tyson 10-1 [9]
3. Lennox Lewis 13-1 [9] Commonwealth champ.
4. Tony Tubbs 8-5-1 [2]
5. James 'Buster' Douglas 6-4-1 [1]
6. Greg Page 8-5 [5]
7. Tim Witherspoon 6-6 [4]
8. John Tate 7-6 [5]
9. Tony Tucker 4-6 [1]
10.Pinklon Thomas 7-7 [5]

Middleweight

World Champion:
Marvin Hagler 5-0 [4]

1. Gerald McClellan 8-1 [7]
2. Mike McCallum 3-1 [2]
3. James Toney 4-1 [1] North American champ.
4. Maurice Hope 3-1 [1] British, Commonwealth, and European champ.
5. Bernard Hopkins 3-2 [2]
6. Allan Minter 2-2 [0]
7. Frank Tate 6-2-1 [1]
8. Vito Antuofermo 2-3 [2]
9. Iran Barkley 7-3 [5]
10.Davey Moore 1-3-1 [1]

[Ian Lord]

Diary.

December 10th, 2005.
London Arena, London, England.

HW: Lennox Lewis v Tony Tucker [10 x 3]

COMMONWEALTH MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR
Alan Minter v Ayub Kalule [10 x 3]

COMMONWEALTH HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR
Trevor Berbick v Gerrie Coetzee [10 x 3]

MW: Vito Antuofermo v Mark Medal [10 x 3]
MW: Sambu Kalambay v Chris Walsh [8 x 3]
HW: Oliver McCall v Marvin Camel [8 x 3]

December 17th, 2005.
MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

NORTH AMERICAN HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR
Larry Holmes [champ] v Mike Tyson [12 x 3]

WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR
Gerald McClellan v Mike McCallum [10 x 3]

NORTH AMERICAN MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR
Bernard Hopkins v Frank Tate [10 x 3]

HW: Greg Page v Tim Witherspoon [10 x 3]
MW: Keith Holmes v Juan Carlos Barretto [8 x 3]
HW: Carlos DeLeon v Anthony Willis [8 x 3]
Followed by announcement for World Lightweight Title

[Brooks TVB]

Doing great Ian. Looking forward to this month.

[Ian Lord]

Thanks Brooks.There's some good fights this month.

[Ian Lord]

December 10th, 2005.
London, England. In front of a near capacity crowd at the London Arena, Britains Lennox Lewis took on former world title challenger Tony 'TNT' Tucker.

Lewis stamped his authority in the opening round, although Tucker came back in the second and narrowly won the round. After that however, it was all Lewis, who dominated Tucker for the rest of the bout, cutting up both his eyes, and taking a unanimous decision with scores of 99-92, 99-92, and 97-95. It was an excellent, dominant display form Lewis, with none of his shaky moments which his fans have come to hate.

The crowd let there feelings be known when the scores were read out in the chief support between local lad Alan Minter and Uganda's Ayub Kalule. It was an extremely close, hard fought ten rounds, with most in attendance believing both men had fought to a draw. [Myself included]. The crowd were not happy when the scores were read out, giving Ayub Kalule a majority decision with scores of 96-94, 96-94, and 95-95.

This was an eliminator for the Commonwealth middleweight title, currently held by Maurice Hope. Minter called Kalule out for a rematch, but he'll probably ignore Minter's requests and fight for the title.

Undercard Action.

The last time Trevor Berbick and Gerrie Coetzee met, Berbick dominated for a unanimous points win. This time Berbick put in a lacklustre performance, whereas Coetzee came to fight, winning the bout with scores of 98-95, 96-94, and 99-93. Coetzee now gets a shot at Lewis' Commonwealth strap.

Undefeated middleweight prospect Mark Medal stepped up in class when he took on Italian hardman Vito Antuofermo, and found himself out of his depth. Apart from the second, Medal was never in the fight. He was down in the third, and barely survived the tenth, being floored twice. Antuofermo won with scores of 99-89 twice, and 97-90.

Sumbu Kalambay totally outclassed 'Irish' Chris Walsh, before putting him away in the seventh with an uppercut that threatened to take Walsh' head of his shoulders. The time was 2.05 and thankfully Walsh showed no ill effects after the bout.

Oliver McCall was unlucky to lose his unbeaten record to trial-horse Marvin Camel. The scores were 76-75 twice to Camel, and 76-75 to McCall. McCall was deducted a point in the second for a butt he never committed. Camel was decked in the sixth round.

McCall just shrugged his shoulders after the bout and said these things happen, but it won't stop him becoming heavyweight champion of the world.

[Ian Lord]

December 17th, 2005.
Las Vegas, NV. In the main event at the MGM Grand, Larry Holmes squared off against former world champion Mike Tyson. Holmes was making the first defense of his North American heavyweight title, but there was so much more at stake here. The winner would earn a shot at Riddick Bowe for the world heavyweight title.

The sell-out crowd waiting anxiously for the opening bell, at when it came they saw Tyson come steaming out of his corner, looking to end procedings in the opening stanza. Tyson caught Holmes with some wicked shots early on, and Holmes was in trouble. Holmes tried to smother the rampaging Tyson, while Tyson just tried to shake his foe off and land his power shots. Homes' legs turned to jelly and he looked ready to go, when the bell rang, thus saving him. He walked groggily back to his corner.

The bell for the second round started, and again Tyson came hurtling out of his corner, looking to finish Holmes off. The second round was a carbon copy of the first, with the bell again saving Holmes. Holmes managed to regain his composure by the time the third started, and began to utilise his left jab, in what was a tight, even round. By the fourth Holmes had settled in and began to dish out some serious punishment to Tyson, who had no answer.

Tysons trainer Kevin Rooney, could be heard trying to fire his man up between rounds, and it worked, as Tyson came out strong in the fifth and dropped Holmes with a right cross. Holmes staggered to his feet at the count of eight, and looked there for the taking. Tyson went in to finish Holmes of, and again Holmes was saved by the bell. As was the pattern with this fight, Homes came out and took the sixth comfortably. Tyson edged the seventh, then took the eighth big. At the end of the eighth however, Tyson walked dejectedly back to his corner, probably wondering what he had to do to put Holmes away. He also looked as though he was tired.

Holmes, seeing the fight drifting away from him, and sensing that Tyson was tired, came out for the ninth looking to finish Tyson off. He was punching Tyson mercilessly when Tyson went down from an uppercut. Tyson managed to drag himself to his feet at the nine count, but looked finished. The bell sounded, saving him from any further punishment. Tyson had nothing left in the tank, and Holmes took the next two rounds, himself looking fatigued. There wasn't much action in the final round as both men had given there all, with the round fairly even. The final bell sounded, ending this great fight between two warriors who gave their all.

The whole arena waited with baited breath as the judges scores were read out. The first judge saw it even at 113-113. The second judge gave it to Holmes at 114-112. It all hinged on the last score, which was also for Holmes at 113-112. Holmes' arm was raised in the air as victor, as he let out a loud yell before dropping to his knees in happiness and releif. A dejected Tyson congratulated his opponent before hastily leaving the ring. Holmes will now face Riddick Bowe in April.
------------------------------------
In the chief support, Gerald McClellan met Mike McCallum for the right to challenge for the world middlweight title. A lot of heavy leather was thrown in the opening round, with McCallum getting the better of the exchanges. McClellan came out in the second landing some hurtful shots and winning big. McCallum repaid him in kind in the third, doing the same. From then on, it was a close fight, with a lot of exchanges and punches thrown. The fourth was even, McCallum took the fifth. The sixth was also even, but went to McClellan as McCallum was docked a point for butting. It was a bad call and could cost him the fight if it was close.

McCallum won the seventh, but then tapered off as McClellan finished strong, dropping McCallum in the ninth with an overhand right. It went to the scorecards and McClellan won the bout with a unanimous decision, all judges scoring 96-93 in his favour. McClellan will now face the winner of nextmonths world title fight between Marvin Hagler and Maurice Hope in May.

Undercard Action.

Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins outboxed and outfoxed opponent Frank Tate over ten rounds, to win comfortably with scores of 98-91 twice, and 100-89. Tate went down in the fifth from a hurtful shot to the liver. Hopkins will now be the mandatory challenger for James Toney's North American middleweight title, who was sat ringside. After the result was announced, Hopkins went over to the corner that Toney was sitting in and climbed onto the ringpost and crossed his arms in the shape of an X [for executioner] in the direction of his former conqueror and bitter foe. Toney leapt from his seat and tried to get into the ring to get at Hopkins, but was stopped in his tracks by ringside security.

In an entertaining heavyweight contest, Greg Page defeated 'Terrible' Tim Witherspoon by majority decision with scores of 95-93 twice, and 94-94. There was no knockdowns, but plenty of exchanges.

Keith Holmes scored a unanimous decision over trial horse Juan Carlos Barretto in an extrwmely close, tight bout. The scores were 77-75 on all cards.

In the opener, Carlos DeLeon scored a split decision over Anthony Willis with scores of 77-74, and 76-76 to DeLeon. 76-75 to Willis. DeLeon was decked in the second.

[Ian Lord]

Las Vegas card continued.

After the card had finished, the boxers for the upcoming lightweight tournament, to decide the first GBA World lightweight champion, were announced.

The sixteen fighters are as follows, [in order of seedings].

1. Roberto Duran...Panama
2. Edwin Rosario...Puerto Rico
3. Hilmer Kenty...US
4. Sammy Serrano...Puerto Rico
5. Cornelius Boza-Edwards...Uganda
6. Livingstone Bramble...Virgin Isles [UK]
7. Rafael 'Bazooka' Limon...Mexico
8. Ray Mancini...US
9. Sean O'Grady...US
10.Jim Watt...Scotland
11.Harry Arroyo...US
12.Ernesto Espana...Venezuela
13.Claude Noel...Trinidad and Tobago
14.Yasutsune Uehara...Japan
15.Charlie 'Choo Choo' Brown...US
16.Art Frias...US

Although the fighters listed won't mean much to the boxing public at the moment, boxing insiders and gym rats are predicting Panama's Roberto Duran to tear through the opposition and become the first lightweight champion.

Any predictions are welcome.

[Ian Lord]

Results and Rankings for December, 2005.

Heavyweight

Larry Holmes W12 Mike Tyson
[retains North American title]
Lennox Lewis W10 Tony Tucker
Greg Page W10 Tim Witherspoon
Gerrie Coetzee W10 Trevor Berbick
Marvin Camel W8 Oliver McCall
Carlos DeLeon W8 Anthony Willis

Middlweight

Gerald McClellan W10 Mike McCallum
Bernard Hopkins W10 Frank Tate
Ayub Kalule W10 Alan Minter
Vito Antuofermo W10 Mark Medal
Sumbu Kalambay KO7 Chris Walsh
Keith Holmes W8 Juan Carlos Barretto

Only one knockout this month.

Heavyweight

World Champion:
Riddick Bowe 8-1 [4]

1. Larry Holmes 11-1 [7] North American champ.
2. Lennox Lewis 14-1 [9] Commonwealth champ.
3. Mike Tyson 10-2 [9]
4. Tony Tubbs 8-5-1 [2]
5. James 'Buster' Douglas 6-4-1 [1]
6. Greg Page 9-5 [5]
7. Tim Witherspoon 6-7 [4]
8. John Tate 7-6 [5]
9. Tony Tucker 4-7 [1]
10.Pinklon Thomas 7-7 [5]

Middlweight

World Champion:
Marvin Hagler 5-0 [4]

1. Gerald McClellan 9-1 [7]
2. Mike McCallum 3-2 [2]
3. James Toney 4-1 [1] North American champ.
4. Maurice Hope 3-1 [1] British, Commonwealth, and European champ.
5. Bernard Hopkins 4-2 [2]
6. Sumbu Kalambay 7-0 [3] African champ.
7. Ayub Kalule 4-3 [2]
8. Alan Minter 2-3 [0]
9. Frank Tate 6-3-1 [1]
10.Vito Antuofermo 3-3 [2]

[Brooks TVB]

Holmes pulled it off. He should get by Bowe too. Good work.

[Ian Lord]

2005 Awards

Fighter of the year: Marvin Hagler
Hagler tore through the middleweight division, en route to winning the world crown, taking some impressive scalps along the way. Beat the likes of Gerald McClellan [W10], Bernard Hokons [KO1], and Mike McCallum [KO5], looking impressive doing so. Will take some stopping in 2006.
Last years winner: Mike Tyson

Fight of the year: Larry Holmes v Mike Tyson
Eagerly anticipated fight that lived up to expectations. Tyson started of strong, with Holmes out on his feet and hitting the canvas, before winning last half of fight and dropping Tyson in the process. Riddick Bowe v Mike Tyson was a close second, which goes to show that when Tyson's around, sparks will fly.
Last years winner: Riddick Bowe v Mike Tyson 1

Prospect of the year: Sumbu Kalambay
Finished of the year by getting a top ten ranking, and winning the African title along the way, beating the useful Ayub Kalule. Says that once he gets Itallian citizenship, will go after the European title, followed by the world. Will probably be one of the top tier middlweights by the end of 2006.

[Ian Lord]

Champions [and mandatory contenders] at end of 2005

Heavyweight

World: Riddick Bowe
Mandatory: Larry Holmes

North American: Larry Holmes
Mandatory: Winner of Tony Tubbs v James 'Buster' Douglas [to be fought May, 2006]

Commonwealth: Lennox Lewis
Mandatory: Gerrie Coetzee

Middleweight

World: Marvin Hagler
Mandatory: Gerald McClellan

North American: James Toney
Mandatory: Bernard Hopkins

European: Maurice Hope
Mandatory: Winner of Alan Minter v Vito Antuofermo to be fought January, 2006

Commonwealth: Maurice Hope
Mandatory: Ayub Kalule

African: Sumbu Kalambay
Mandatory: Ayub Kalule

Asian: Tadeshi Mihara
Mandatory: Shinji Takehara

Oriental: Tadeshi MIhara
Mandatory: Shinji Takehara

British: Maurice Hope
Mandatory: Alan Minter

Japanese: Tadeshi Mihara
Mandatory: Shinji Takehara

[Ian Lord]

News

James Toney will make the first defense of his North American middleweight title in February against bitter foe and mandatory challenger Bernard 'The Executioner' Hopkins.

Lennox Lewis will make a mandatory defense of his Commonwealth belt against Gerrie Coetzee, also in February.

[Ian Lord]

Diary.
Please note, all lightweight fights this month will be first round matches in the World championship tournament.

Date: January 6th, 2006.
Venue: Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA.

HW: Evander Holyfield v Trevor Berbick [8 x 3]
MW: Sumbu Kalambay v Mark Medal [10 x 3]
HW: Oliver McCall v Mike Weaver [8 x 3]
LW: Edwin Rosario v Charlie 'Choo Choo' Brown [10 x 3]
LW: Sammy Serrano v Claude Noel [10 x 3]
MW: Carlos Santos v Larry Banks [4 x 3]

Date: January 13th, 2006.
Venue: London Arena, London, England.

European Middleweight Title Eliminator
Alan Minter v Vito Antuofermo [10 x 3]

MW: Ayub Kalule v Frank Tate [10 x 3]
MW: Michael Nunn v Anthony Bartinelli [8 x 3]
LW: Cornelius Boza-Edwards v Ernesto Espana [10 x 3]
LW: Livingstone Bramble v Harry Arroyo [10 x 3]
LW: 'Bazooka' Limon v Jim Watt [10 x 3]

Date: January 20th, 2006.
Venue: Centrum Center, Worcester, MA.

World Middleweight Title
Marvin Hagler [champ] v Maurice Hope [12 x 3]

HW: Tim Witherspoon v Pinklon Thomas [10 x 3]
HW: James 'Bonecrusher' Smith v Marvin Camel [8 x 3]
LW: Roberto Duran v Art Frias [10 x 3]
LW: Hilmer Kenty v Yasutsune Uehara [10 x 3]
LW: Ray Mancini v Sean O'Grady [10 x 3]

[Ian Lord]

THE 'REAL DEAL' RETURNS

January 6th, 2006.
Atlanta, GA. After six months out of action, Evander 'The Real Deal' Holyfield made his return to the ring in front of his hometown fans at the Philips Arena.
Holyfield made an impressive start in the GBA, going 4-1 [4], and being tipped as a future world champion. Then something happened. He lost his next three bouts and looked mediocre doing so. In his last fight, against Tony Tucker, he broke his right hand, and was forced to be out of the ring for six months. It done him good.
Standing across the ring from him in his comeback fight was the tough but limited Trevor Berbick. The bell sounded and it was time to see whether the time out of the ring had done Holyfield good, or whether the early hopes for him were overstated.
Holyfield took the opening round. At first his shots were just missing the mark as he struggled to find his range, due to his inactivity. However, once he did settle down, there was no loooking back. He came out for the second and dropped Berbick for a count of three with a smashing hook to the jaw. Berbick got up, but looked groggy. Holyfield sensed this and went in for the finish, mercilessly beating Berbick with a two fisted assault before putting Berbick away at the 2.28 mark with a crippling bodyshot. Berbick dropped to his knees, but there was no way he was getting back up.
A jubilant Holyfield said after the bout that he was glad to be back and would be looking at another tune-up fight, hopefully getting a few more rounds under his belt, before meeting a top ten fighter.
"I don't want to mess around padding my record out," he stated. "I want just one more fight against a guy outside the rankings, then I'll be looking to move into title contention pretty quickly."
When asked who his next opponent might be, Holyfield smiled and replied Michael Dokes. "It would be good to set the record straight."

Sumbu Kalambay totally outclassed opponent Mark Medal before stopping him in the sixth round at the 2.49 mark. Kalambay had won every round, and caused both of Medal's eyes to swell shut, going into the sixth. Medal, not being able to see too good, was pummeled in the sixth, taking a five count from a combination of punches, before being saved from any further punishment by the referee. Kalambay looks to be going places, whereas former prospect Medal has now lost two on the bounce.

Undercard Action.

Oliver McCall and Mike 'Hercules' Weaver put on an exciting slugfest before McCall ended things in the seventh round. McCall tasted the canvas in the sixth round when Weaver connected with a Hail Mary punch, but McCall bought matters to a close in the seventh with an uppercut at the 1.40 mark.

Charlie 'Choo Choo' Brown took the opening round against Edwin Rosario, but Rosario then took the driving seat, winning the next five rounds, albeit closely, before coming out strong in the seventh and giving the referee no option but to stop the bout. The time was 2.57.

Sammy Serrano won a unanimous decision against Claude Noel, with scores of 99-92, 98-93, and a surprisingly close 96-94.

Debutant Carlos Santos won a unanimous decision against Larry Banks, dropping his foe with an uppercut in the third. The scores were 40-35 on all cards.

[Ian Lord]

January 13th, 2006.
London, England. In an eliminator for the European middleweight title, currently held by Britains Maurice Hope, local lad Allan Minter took on Italy's Vito Antuofermo, and he didn't dissapoint in front of his home-town fans.
Minter took the first round comfortably, relying on his boxing skills to keep the rugged Italian at bay. The two men mixed it up on the inside in the second, with Antuofermo getting the better of the exchanges. Minter had a talking to between rounds, and came out and took the third the same way he won the first round, by keeping Antuofermo at a distance.
Minter coasted the rest of the fight, taking every round except the fifth, and dropping his foe in the last with a flurry of punches. Minter suffered a cut in the eighth round, which has become all to common for him, although it wasn't threatening as it was below his right eye.
The scores were 97-93, 98-91, and 96-93, all in Minters favour. This win sets up another interesting domestic scrap with fellow Brit Maurice Hope who currently holds the British, Commonwealth, and European title's at this weight. Minter is the mandatory contender for the British and European title's and Hope must defend them against him by the end of the year, unless he upsets the odds later this month and takes the World crowm from Marvelous Marvin Hagler.

In a bout between two top ten contenders, Uganda's Ayub Kalule met Frank Tate of the USA. It was a boxer v puncher match, with Tate relying on his boxing skills, whereas Kalule wanted to get inside and force the action, with neither man getting the advantage, hence the draw when the scores were announced.
Tate took the opening two rounds, scoring a flash knockdown in the second with a wild overhand right. The third was even, with neither man looking to have the advantage, in fact neither man looked as if thety wanted to throw a punch, and the crowd showed their displeasure. Kalule edged the fourth, then Tate took the next two rounds, albeit closely. After that Kalule took control, landing the heavier shots and swelling both of Tate's eyes up in the process, which looked as though it may force a stoppage. It didn't and the scores were 97-94 Tate, 96-95 Kalule, and 95-95 even.

Undercard Action.

Hot middleweight prospect Michael Nunn totally dominated his opponent Anthony Bartinelli, before putting him out of his misery at the 1.48 mark of round seven with a perfect cross. Bartinelli looked a bloody mess at the end of the fight and was well beaten, also tasting the canvas in the second.

Cornelius Boza-Edwards and Ernesto Espanan put on a terrific scrap over ten rounds, whic ended in a draw. The scores were 94-93 Edwards, 94-93 Espana, and 94-94 even. It really was that close. Edwards won the most rounds, but also tasted the canvas three rounds, going down in the third, fourth, and seventh rounds. These two will now face each other in a rematch next month as this was a lightweight elimination tournament matchup, and here's hoping that the second bout is as good as this one.

Livingstone Bramble won a unanimous decision against Harry Arroyo with scores of 98-94 twice, and 97-95. There were no knockdowns but Arroyo ended the fight badly cut and swollen.

A lot of fans made the long journey south to watch Scotlands Jim Watt meet Rafael 'Bazooka' Limon. Watt put on a brave display but couldn't seem to stand up to 'Bazookas' shots and was counted out in the eighth round, after being down in the opening two rounds. Watt took the third, fourth, and sixth rounds, with the seventh pretty even, but Limons shots finally took their toll after 41 seconds of the eighth.