Gba

[Ian Lord]

20th January, 2006.
Worcester, MA. In front of a sell-out crowd at the Centrum Centre, world middleweight champion Marvin Hagler made the first defense of his title against Britains Maurice Hope. Hope entered the ring as British, Commonwealth and European champion, but wasn't expected to topple Hagler.
After a close opening round, Hagler came out for the second and exerted his authority before suffering a flash knockdown due to a dig to the ribs at the end of the round. He regained his feet after a one count, shaking his head as if to say it was a slip. Hope looked in a worse condition as his left eye had begun to swell.
The next two rounds were close, with Hagler edging the third and Hope the fourth. Hagler took the next two rounds,suffering a gash under his left eye in the fifth then sending his opponent to the canvas in the sixth for a five count from an uppercut, which had looked dangerous all fight.
Hope won the seventh, but from then on Hagler took the driving seat, winning the next four rounds and decking Hope twice in the tenth, again from an uppercut, then from a shot to the liver. Hope looked a sorry state by now with both eyes swollen and looking exhausted. Hagler took his foot of the pedal in the eleventh, with Hope putting one last effort in, knowing he had to KO Hagler to win. He didn't KO him, but he took the round. However, when he came out for the last stanza he had nothing left, and Hagler tore into him with a two fisted assault for three minutes before the bell sounded ending the fight. The scores were a formality as everyone in attendance knew Hagler had made a succesful first defense. The scores were 117-109, 113-111, 114-110, all for Hagler.
Hagler will now face mandatory contender Gerald McClellan in May, who before this bout had been the only man to take Hagler the distance.

In the chief support, heavyweight contenders Tim Witherspoon and Pinklon Thomas were putting on a pretty uneventful bout going into the seventh round, when Thomas suddenly finished things with a wild overhand right at the 2.05 mark. Witherspoon was ahead on all cards at the time 58-56.

Undercard Action.
With less than a minute left in his fight with James 'Bonecrusher' Smith, Marvin Camel looked to be heading for a narrow points victory before getting cold-cocked by a Smith cross. Camel had tasted the canvas in the third after taking some heavy handed shots to the ehad and body, but for the rest of the bout was outboxing the plodding Smith.

'Hands of Stone' Roberto Duran made short work of Art Frias, knocking him out with a crushing hook at the 1.56 mark after bulling his opponent into the corner and opening up on him before landing the final shot.

Hilmer Kenty won a unanimous decision against Japan's Yasatsune Uehara with scores off 98-92, 99-91, and 98-91. Uehara hit the deck in the second round and was never really in the fight.

Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini and Sean O'Grady went toe to toe for seven rounds before Mancini KO'd his foe at the end of the eighth. Mancini was down at the end of the first, and going into the eighth looked as if he had took a beating, although the bout had been even up to that point with both men throwing plenty of leather. The crowd loved it.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by Ian Lord

Ray 'Boom Boom' Mancini and Sean O'Grady went toe to toe for seven rounds before Mancini KO'd his foe at the end of the eighth. Mancini was down at the end of the first, and going into the eighth looked as if he had took a beating, although the bout had been even up to that point with both men throwing plenty of leather. The crowd loved it.

Youre killing me Ian. One of my childhood heros goes down.

[Ian Lord]

Hi Chris. I noticed you'd listed Sean O'Grady in your top five fighters. He gave a good account of himself in this fight, going into the eighth round even with Mancini looking all busted up. If only he had ducked that last punch.....
All the best,
Ian.

[CONN CHRIS]

When I was a kid, I always thought he was a tough guy. I do recall that many people (my Dad included) did not care for him at all but I do not remember why that was.

Thanks for the post about him, its the first time I have seen him in someone's write ups.

Take care,

Christopher

[Ian Lord]

Results and Rankings for January, 2006.

Heavyweight

Pinklon Thomas KO7 Tim Witherspoon
Oliver McCall KO7 Mike Weaver
James Smith KO8 Marvin Camel
Evander Holyfield KO2 Trevor Berbick

Middleweight

Marvin Hagler W12 Maurice Hope
[Retains World Title]
Sumbu Kalambay TKO6 Mark Medal
Ayub Kalule D10 Frank Tate
Alan Minter W10 Vito Antuofermo
Michael Nunn KO7 Anthony Bartinelli
Carlos Santos W4 Larry Banks

Lightweight

Roberto Duran KO1 Art Frias
Edwin Rosario TKO7 Charlie Brown
Hilmer Kenty W10 Yasatsune Uehara
Sammy Serrano W10 Claude Noel
Cornelius Boza-Edwards D10 Ernesto Espana
Livingstone Bramble W10 Harry Arroyo
Bazooka Limon KO8 Jim Watt
Ray Mancini KO8 Sean O'Grady

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. Pinklon Thomas 7-6 [6]
8. Tim Witherspoon 6-8 [4]
9. John Tate 7-6 [5]
10.Tony Tucker 4-7 [1]

Middleweight

World Champion:
Marvin Hagler 6-0 [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 3-2 [1] British, Commonwealth, and European champ.
5. Bernard Hopkins 4-2 [2]
6. Sumbu Kalambay 8-0 [4] African champ.
7. Ayub Kalule 4-3-1 [2]
8. Alan Minter 3-3 [0]
9. Frank Tate 6-3-2 [1]
10.Vito Antuofermo 3-4 [2]

Lightweight

World Champion:
Title Vacant

1. Roberto Duran 1-0 [1]
2. Edwin Rosario 1-0 [1]
3. Bazooka Limon 1-0 [1]
4. Ray Mancini 1-0 [1]
5. Livingstone Bramble 1-0 [0]
6. Hilmer Kenty 1-0 [0]
7. Sammy Serrano 1-0 [0]
8. Cornelius Boza-Edwards 0-0-1 [0]
9. Ernesto Espana 0-0-1 [0]
10.Claude Noel 0-1 [0]

[Ian Lord]

Diary

London Arena, London, England
4th February, 2006.

COMMONWEALTH HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
Lennox Lewis [champ.] v Gerrie Coetzee [12 x 3]

MW: Alan Minter v Mike McCallum [10 x 3]

LIGHTWEIGHT ELIMINATION TOURNAMENT 1ST ROUND REMATCH
Cornelius Boza-Edwards v Ernesto Espana [10 x 3]

MW: Sumbu Kalambay v Frank Tate [10 x 3]

MW: Vito Antuofermo v Iran Barkley [10 x 3]

HW: Carlos DeLeon v Colin Wilson [8 x 3]

Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA.
February 11th, 2006.

HW: Evander Holyfield v Michael Dokes [10 x 3]

MW: Davey Moore v Shinji Takahara [8 x 3]

HW: Bruce Seldon v Jody Ballard [8 x 3]

MW: John David Jackson v Leonard Townsend [8 x 3]

MW:Takeshi Mihara v Larry Banks [8 x 3]

MW: Carlos Santos v Juan Carlos Barretto [6 x 3]

Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, NJ.
18th February, 2006.

NORTH AMERICAN MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE
James Toney [champ.] v Bernard Hopkins [12 x 3]

HW: Greg Page v James 'Bonecrusher' Smith [10 x 3]

HW: Tony Tucker v Oliver McCall [10 x 3]

MW: Keith Holmes v Roggerrio Cacciatore [8 x 3]

MW: Michael Nunn v Chris Walsh [8 x 3]

LW: Harry Arroyo v Claude Noel [8 x 3]

[Ian Lord]

London Arena, London, England.
4th February, 2006.

Top rated heavyweight, Lennox Lewis, made the first defense of his Commonwealth title against South Africa's Gerrie Coetzee in the main event. After six dull, uneventful rounds, Lewis came roaring out for the seventh looking to finish matters, which he did with a brutal display which sent out a message to the rest of the division. Coetzee was dropped for a count of six from a pulverising punch which would have put most men away. However, when Coetzee shakily regained his feet, the end was nigh. Lewis went in for the finish and dropped Coetzee again with a cross for a count of eight. Coetzee had nothing left and was soon on the canvas again, this time from a crippling bodyshot, and he was counted out at the 2.13 mark.

In the chief support, England's Alan 'Boom Boom' Minter took on Jamaica's Mike 'The Bodysnatcher' McCallum in a middleweight contest. Minter threw a Hail Mary right at the beginning of the round which sent McCallum to the canvas, albeit briefly. McCallum survived the round on shaky legs.
The next couple of rounds were close, with McCallum edging them. Minter hit the canvas in the fourth from a strong combination of hurtful punches. McCallum took the fifth easily, then Minter bounced back in the sixth.
The seventh round was one of the best rounds ever, with McCallum dominating Minter for the first minute and a half, opening a gash over his left eye in the process, before Minter came roaring back with some heavy leather for the second half of the round to pull it even.
Minter carried on where he had left off in the eighth round, before McCallum took the last couple of rounds and win the fight by unanimous decision with scores of 96-93 twice, and 95-94.

Undercard Action.

Cornelius Boza-Edwards and Ernesto Espana put on a terrific scrap in their first bout, and the crowd at the London Arena were hoping that this one would match it, or even exceed it. It didn't, but it came close. In the first match, both fighters went toe to toe, but this time Boza-Edwards decided to rely on his boxing skills rather than punch it out with Espana. By the end of the fifth, Espana's right eye was badly swollen, and he was down twice in the sixth. The fight was stopped in the ninth when Boza-Edwards opened up a nasty looking gash above the right eye of Espana, and the ringside doctor ruled it too serious to continue.

Sumbu Kalambay displayed excellent boxing skills aginst Frank Tate, boxing on the retreat for much of the fight before knocking his opponent out with a pulverising hook to the head at the end of the eighth round.
Kalambay, the reigning African champion, has recently gained Italian citizenship and now wants to win the European strap, currently held by Maurice Hope, before challenging for the world title.

Iran 'The Blade' Barkley won a split decision over ten rounds against Vito Antuofermo, with scores off 96-94, 96-94, and 95-96. Not much action in this one, with more clinching than punching, although Antuofermo hit the deck in the fifth.

Carlos DeLeon improved to 4-0-1 with a unanimous points victory over eight rounds against Colin 'Kid' Wilson. The scores were 79-72 twice, and 80-71. Wilson went down in the fourth.

[Ian Lord]

HOLYFIELD IN RETIREMENT SHOCKER

At the press conference for the upcoming bout between Evander Holyfield and Michael Dokes, Holyfield shocked those present by stating that he might retire after the fight.

"If I lose - I retire," were his exact words.

When asked to elaborate, 'The Real Deal' said the following:

"I have made it my goal to become heavyweight champion of the world, and I feel it is my destiny to do so. With all due respect to Michael Dokes, he's not world championship material, and if I can't beat him this time, then I'll have to be honest with myself and realise that I'm in the wrong game, and you won't see me in the ring again."

Those in attendance were shocked at this, not just the fact that Holyfield may retire, but also that he would run an opponent down before the bout, claiming that he isn't world class, when that man holds a ko victory over him. In their previous encounter, Holyfield, ahead on points, was stopped in the fifth after being down twice. It was a brutal stoppage, and it remains to be seen whether it has left any psychological damage to Holyfield.

Dokes, when asked his views, said that the last time it took him five rounds, this time it will take him three.

It looks to be turning into quite a grudge match, with the tickets already selling like hot cakes.

[Ian Lord]

I apologise for the lack of posts recently. I'm currently in the process of moving house, but hopefully I'll be posting up regular again soon.

[CONN CHRIS]

Originally Posted by Ian Lord

I apologise for the lack of posts recently. I'm currently in the process of moving house, but hopefully I'll be posting up regular again soon.

I went through that nightmare two years ago. I will die in the house that I currently live in, not so much because I love it but because I never ever wish to go through that again.

You have my deepest sympathies Ian.

[Ian Lord]

HOLYFIELD SMOKES DOKES

Atlanta, GA. Before his second bout since returning from injury, Evander 'The Real Deal' Holyfield announced that if he lost to old foe Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes he would quit the ring for good. Dokes had won in their previous encounter when he stopped Holyfield in the fifth round after putting him down twice. Holyfield was ahead on points at the time and was expected to win. Holyfield was fighting in front of his hometown fans, expectations were high, and he didn't fail to deliver.

Holyfield came out and comfortably took the opening round, with Dokes appearing a little nervous and failing to get his shots off properly. The second was even, with Dokes appearing more settled. However, Holyfield came out for the third intent on finishing matters, which he did at the 2.53 mark. Dokes was put to the canvas for a count of nine from a crippling bodyshot, and looked ripe for the taking, which Holyfield capitalised on, forcing the referee to make the stoppage when Dokes appeared unwilling to continue.

Afterwards, Dokes called Holyfield out for a rematch, claiming he'd been willing to give Holyfield a second chance and saying the fans deserve to see who really is the best man. Holyfield's camp refused to be drawn on the matter, saying their were another couple of fights in the pipeline and that there man was aiming for the world title.

In the chief support, Davey Moore went toe to toe with Japan's Shinji Takehara, before forcing the referee to save his exhausted foe in the fifth round to save him from any further punishment. Moore was impressive in the opening round, landing some heavy leather and causing Takehara's right eye to begin swelling. He also bloodied Takehara's nose. Again the action was toe to toe in the second, this time with Takehara getting the better of the exchanges. Moore again took control in the third, dropping Takehara for a count of seven with a hook to the head, and also causing his left eye to start swelling. The fourth round had the crowd on their feet, as both men put on a slugfest with Takehara landing the heavier shots, and also landing more often. Unfortunately for him, Takehara punched himself out and Moore came out for the fifth landing at will, and opening up a gash underneath Takehara's right eye. Takehara, with both eyes swollen couldn't see the shots coming and was saved from further punishment at the 2.12 mark.

Undercard Action.

Bruce Seldon took a comfortable eight rounds points decision against Jody Ballard with scores off 80-69 on all cards. Ballard was dropped right at the beginning of the bout, and was decked again in the fourth and sixth rounds.

John David Jackson edged a close unanimous points decision over Leonard Townsend with scores of 77-76 on all cards. All the rounds were close and the fight could have gone to either man.

Tadeshi Mihara won a unanimous decision against Larry Banks with scores of 79-71, 80-71, and 80-70. Banks was never in the fight and was down in the fifth, seventh, and eighth rounds.

In the show opener, Carlos Santos dropped foe Juan Carlos Barretto in the first, then went on to take a comfortable 60-55, 60-55, and 59-55 unanimous verdict.

[Ian Lord]

Originally Posted by CONN CHRIS

I went through that nightmare two years ago. I will die in the house that I currently live in, not so much because I love it but because I never ever wish to go through that again.

You have my deepest sympathies Ian.

Thanks Chris. It's been a nightmare and I would say I would never do it again, but unfortunately I'll have to do it all over again in a few weeks time as I had to move out of my house before the mortgage was ready on my new flat.

All the best,
Ian.

[Brooks TVB]

Wow Holyfield took Dokes out quick. I say lets see a rubber match.

[Ian Lord]

Hi Brooks. Yes it was an impressive win for Holyfield. Dokes' team are desperate for a rubber match but Holyfields lot prefer to move forward. Holyfield wants to reverse his defeats to Tim Witherspoon, Tony Tucker, and then Mike Tyson, before going after the world title. So we'll have to wait and see.

All the best,
Ian.

[Ian Lord]

I apologise for my lack of GBA posts recently. I currently have access to the internet, but my own computer isn't set up yet until I move into my new flat in a couple of weeks, which means I can't play my beloved TBCB at the moment. Once I am up and running, GBA posts will be flying fast and furious.

[kenyan_cheena]

I've had a similar problem during the past week. I had to do a system recovery on my PC, and have been having an inexplicably difficult time getting my internet connection back up again. Fingers crossed that it keeps on working.

[bear]

Had a similar spell myself a few months back. Work, various projects, and system restore on my PC. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Just tuck in your chin and keep the jab working.

Bear

[Ian Lord]

Hi guys, just to let you know I'm back. The reason for the lack of posts recently is due to the fact that I've been off the net for a while. I've been popping in from time to time when I've had access to a computer.

I will now get back on track with the GBA, and also catch up on the rest of the universes.

Ian.

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by Ian Lord

Hi guys, just to let you know I'm back. The reason for the lack of posts recently is due to the fact that I've been off the net for a while. I've been popping in from time to time when I've had access to a computer.

I will now get back on track with the GBA, and also catch up on the rest of the universes.

Ian.

Good to hear that your back. It seems that everyone is starting to show backup here. Good luck with the GBA and once again it's nice to see you back.

[CONN CHRIS]

Hey Ian, welcome back. You are actualy fortunate that you weren't posting since before the middle of July. We had a crash at the end of September and everything back to July 13th or so was lost.

Christopher