Gba

[Ian Lord]

Following the demise of the WBA, WBC, IBF, and other, more spurious boxing organisations, boxing promoter and larger than life character Ian 'Iggy' Lord steps into the void and forms the GBA [Global Boxing Association].

"This is going to be big," he stated, "really big, althought to begin with we're starting of small."

When asked what his plans were, he told the journalists at the press conference that the GBA would start of with the heavyweight division, then slowly build up the other weight classes. At the moment, the fighters contracts were still to be finalised, but it is beleived that the GBA will start with a sixteen man tournament to crown their first heavyweight champion.

Watch this space.

[Ian Lord]

PRESS RELEASE


The contracts are signed, the boxers have been seeded.

Here are the boxers who will take part in the sixteen man tournament to crown the first GBA World Champion.

Boxers in order of seeding.

1. Riddick Bowe
2. Larry Holmes
3. Evander Holyfield
4. Mike Tyson
5. Greg Page
6. James 'Buster' Douglas
7. Pinklon Thomas
8. Tony Tucker
9. Tim Witherspoon
10. Trevor Berbick
11. Michael Dokes
12. Tony Tubbs
13. James 'Bonecrusher' Smith
14. John Tate
15. Mike Weaver
16. Gerrie Coetzee

When asked by Dan Rafael of USA TOday who he thought would win the tournament, Iggy Lord blew his cheeks out and shook his head.

"That's a toughie," he replied. "I think it will be a bit of a four horse race between the top four seeds, but if I have to pick one, I'd go for Holmes. He may not be the most exciting of the four, but I think his sound boxing skills will see him through. I don't know why, but I also fancy Pinklon Thomas as a bit of a dark horse. We'll see."

We definately will see. Iggy Lord and his team are close to finalising the first show, and they've promised us it will be a scorcher.

I will be posting up the tournament lay out soon along with a few rules I will be using.

[Ian Lord]

I will be using boxers from the 80's, 90's and 00's to begin with. These are the years I have been following boxing. Most of the boxers will also have been champions.


The tournament layout is as follows;

1st Round Quarter Finals Semi Final

A. 1 v 16 A. Winner A v Winner H A. Winner A v Winner D
B. 2 v 15 B. Winner B v Winner G B. Winner B v Winner C
C. 3 v 14 C. Winner C v Winner F
D. 4 v 13 D. Winner D v Winner E Final
E.5 v 12
F. 6 v 11 Winner A v Winner B
G. 7 v 10
H. 8 v 9
Boxers eliminated from the tournament may still fight outside of the tournament.

[Ian Lord]

Resting periods


Boxers wins in 10 rounds or less, may fight next month.
Boxers loses on points in 10 rounds or less may also fight the following month.
Boxer loses by KO or stoppage may fight again in two months.
Fight stopped due to clash of heads, boxer suffering injury may fight again in two months, unharmed boxer may fight again the following month.
Boxer wins in 11th or 12th round may fight again in two months.
Boxer loses on points in twelth round, may fight again in two months.
Boxer preparing for a twelve rounder must have two months of preparation.

So, if a boxer goes twelve rounds, he must rest two months. If his next bout is another twelve rounder, he must prepare for two months, making a total of four months between fights.

Hope this all makes sense.

[Ian Lord]

GBA's first fight card announced.


Madison Square Garden
New York, NY
Friday, January 2nd 2004.

Riddick 'Big Daddy' Bowe v Gerrie Coetzee
'Iron' Mike Tyson v James 'Bonecrusher' Smith
Greg Page v Tony 'TNT' Tubbs
James 'Buster' Douglas v Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes
Pinklon Thomas v Trevor Berbick
Tony 'TNT' Tucker v 'Terrible' Tim Witherspoon

[Ian Lord]

New York.


Outside, the chill was bitter, but inside the mecca of boxing, Madison Square Garden, the atmosphere was charged with electricity. The near capacity crowd almost lifted the roof of its rafters, so full of enthusiasm and excitement. The fact that two fellow New Yorker's, Riddick Bowe and Mike Tyson, were fighting, just added to the atmosphere. This show was also screened on PPV.

[Ian Lord]

BOWE BOMBS COETZEE

Riddick Bowe KO6 Gerrie Coetzee

In the main event, New Yorker Riddick 'Big Daddy' Bowe halted South Africa's Gerrie Coetzee in the sixth round, after looking on the verge of defeat.

Coetzee took the opening two rounds, but Bowe bounced back to win the third. Coetzee then won the fourth round big, and when the bell sounded Bowe staggered back to his corner looking exhausted and beaten. However, he managed to recuperate in the break and came out and edged the fifth. In the sixth, Bowe again looked out on his feet when suddenly Coetzee walked onto a devastating uppercut and went down for a count of eight. He staggered to his feet, but the end was nigh. Bowe, seeing he had is man in trouble, let loose with his big bombs. A final left hook, right cross combination put Coetzee down for the count. The end came at the 2:18 mark.

Cont...

[Ian Lord]

Mike Tyson W10 James 'Bonecrusher' Smith

The chief support provided the fight of the night, when felow New Yorker 'Iron' Mike Tyson went ten rounds with the hard hitting James 'Bonecrusher' Smith. How this one went the distance is anybody's guess.

After three rounds the fight was even, although Smith's right eye had begun to swell shut. The fourth round was 50/50 until Smith caught Tyson with not long to go and wobbled him. Tyson began clinching and managed to hold on to the bell. Tyson came out in the fifth stanza, looking for revenge, and won it big by launching a vicous two fisted assault to the head and body of Smith. Smith returned to his corner looking dazed. Tyson again came out in the sixth looking for the kill, and Smith again looked out on his feet, but Smith caught Tyson with a big uppercut and looked as if he'd finish Tyson before the bell sounded. Round seven was a close, exciting round in which Smith again staggered Tyson.
Tyso came out for the eighth with hatred in his eyes and murder in his heart. He landed some big bombs on Smith but was still unable to put him away. By the ninth round, both men were tired and the action slowed, with Tyson taking the last two rounds to win a decision with scores of 98-92, 97-94, and 95-95.

Both fighters received a standing ovation.

[Ian Lord]

Undercard.


Greg Page beat Tony 'TNT' Tubbs by unanimous decision.

Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes was on the verge of stopping James 'Buster' Douglas when he was disqualified in the fifth round for persistent holding. The decision seemed a bit harsh. Dokes was well ahead on points at the time. After the bout, Dokes was livid.

Pinklon Thomas won an eight round technical decision agains Trevor Berbick after he was unable to continue after a clash of heads. Thomas was ahaead on all scorecards.

In a dull opener, an out of shape Tony 'TNT' Tucker won a split decision against 'Terrible' Tim Witherspoon. Tucker dropped Witherspoon in the fourth.

Cont...

[Ian Lord]

Results

Riddick Bowe KO6 Gerrie Coetzee
Mike Tyson W10 James 'Bonecrusher' Smith
Greg Page W10 Tony 'TNT' Tubbs
James 'Buster' Douglas WDisq5 Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes
Pinklon Thomas TechWin8 Trevor Berbick
Tony 'TNT' Tucker W10 'Terrible' Tim Witherspoon

[Ian Lord]

GBA Rankings for January


Heavyweight

World Champion:
Title Vacant

1. Riddick Bowe 1-0 [1]
2. Greg Page 1-0 [0]
3. Mike Tyson 1-0 [0]
4. Tony Tucker 1-0 [0]
5. Pinklon Thomas 1-0 [0]
6. James 'Buster' Douglas 1-0 [0]
7. Michael Dokes 0-1 [0]
8. Trevor Berbick 0-1 [0]
9. Tim Witherspoon 0-1 [0]
10.James 'Bonecrusher' Smith 0-1 [0]

[Ian Lord]

DYNAMITE EXPLODES

January 3rd, 2004

Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes, still fuming about his disqualification loss, today stormed the office of GBA Commisioner Iggy Lord, demanding a rematch. Things got heated and it ended up by Dokes dangling Lord out of the window of his third floor office, whilst a small crowd gathered below, cheering.

Luckily, Lords two sons, Nathan and Evan, were in the office with him at the time, and managed to calm the situation.

Later, when Lord had calmed down, he had this to say.

"Michael Dokes felt he was hard done by when he got disqualified and felt that he was entitled to a rematch. He won't get it, not yet anyway. The result still stands and Douglas advances to the next round, and I shall decide whether to take any further action against Michael. At the moment he is scheduled to fight Trevor Berbick next month, but that depends on whether he has any action taken against him. At the moment, next months fight card looks like this."

Venue: TBA
Date: TBA

Mike Tyson v Greg Page
10 Rounds. Heavyweight elimination tournament [2nd Round]
Riddick Bowe v Tony Tucker
10 Rounds Heavyweight elimination tournament [2nd Round]
Larry Holmes v Mike Weaver
10 Rounds Heavyweight elimination tournament [1st Round]
Evander Holyfield v John Tate
10 Rounds Heavyweight elimination tournament [1st Round]
James 'Bonecrusher' Smith v Tony Tubbs
8 Rounds
Michael Dokes v Trevor Berbick
8 Rounds

[Ian Lord]

VENUE: Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino

DATE: February 14th, 2004

TYSON TOPS PAGE

The main event saw New Yorks 'Iron' Mike Tyson, heading for defeat, KO Louisville, Kentucky's Greg Page in the sixth of a scheduled ten.

There wasn't much in the opening round, with Page just edging it. Page came out and dominated the second, dropping Tyson near the end of the round. Page then showed superior boxing skills in the next two rounds, dominating in the fourth and winning it big. In round five, Tyson started to get back into the fight, although it was to close to call. In between rounds, Tyson's trainer, Kevin Rooney blew his top at his charge, and it obviously worked as Tyson came out for the sixth with vicous intent. The previous good work had obviously took its toll on Page, as he looked exhausted, trying to stay out of the way of Tysons devastating bombs. Tyson finally caught up with Page near the end of the round and caught him with a vicous uppercut that KO'd Page at 2:52 of the round.

In the chief support, Riddick Bowe flattened Tony 'TNT' Tucker in the ninth round, in what had been a close, competetive bout up until that point.
Bowe took the opening round, dropping Tucker with an uppercut for a count of 9. The second round was Bowe's also. The third was even, and the fourth was won by Tucker. Bowe claimed the next two rounds by landing the more telling punches, but started to run out of gas and Tucker came out and took the next two rounds by taking advantage of Bowe's tiredness and outworking him. Tucker looked to be winning the next ninth round as well, and starting to take control of the fight, when he walked onto a wild, overhand right, that put him flat on his back for the count. The end came at1:13 of round nine.
Bowe has looked impressive in both of his fights, put seems to have a worrying stamina problem.

Undercard:

In an upset, Larry Holmes, looking a bit fleshy round the middle, was stopped in the third by Mike 'Hercules' Weaver.
Holmes came out and dominated the first two rounds, dropping Weaver in the second. It must have stung Weaver into action, as he came out for the third all guns blazing, dropping Holmes twice before stopping him with three seconds left in the round.

Evander 'The Real Deal' Holyfield cruised to victory over 'Big' John Tate, dropping him at the end of the second then putting him away for good at the 2:07 mark of round three.

In a clinch filled contest over 8 rounds, Tony 'TNT' Tubbs won a unanimous decision over James 'Bonecrusher' Smith, dropping him in the first.
The scores were 77-74, 76-75 twice.

In an uneventful opening bout, Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes and Trevor Berbick fought a majority draw with scores of 76-76 [twice], and 77-75 for Dokes. Both men felt they won and called each other out for a rematch. Let's hope it's not made. Enough said.

Dokes was also fined an undisclosed ammount for a previous transgression.

[Ian Lord]

Results


Mike Tyson KO6 Greg Page
Riddick Bowe KO9 Tony Tucker
Mike Weaver TKO3 Larry Holmes
Evander Holyfield KO3 John Tate
Tony Tubbs W8 James 'Bonecrusher' Smith
Michael Dokes D8 Trevor Berbick

GBA Rankings for end of February

World Champion:
Title Vacant

1. Riddick Bowe 2-0 [2]
2. Mike Tyson 2-0 [1]
3. Mike Weaver 1-0 [1]
4. Evander Holyfield 1-0 [1]
5. Pinklon Thomas 1-0 [1]
6. James 'Buster' Douglas 1-0 [0]
7. Greg Page 1-1 [0]
8. Tony Tucker 1-1 [0]
9. Tony Tubbs 1-1 [0]
10.Michael Dokes 0-1-1 [0]

[Ian Lord]

Fight card for March announced.


Venue: TBA
Date: TBA

Riddick Bowe v James 'Bonecrusher' Smith [10 x 3]

Mike Tyson v Tim Witherspoon [10 x 3]

Evander Holyfield v James 'Buster' Douglas [10 x 3] Heavyweight elimination tournament, 2nd round.

Mike Weaver v Pinklon Thomas [10 x 3] Heavyweight elimination tournament 2nd round

Tony Tubbs v Gerrie Coetzee [8 x 3]

Michael Dokes v Trevor Berbick [8 x 3]

Bowe and Tyson both take tune-up bouts before there upcoming semi-final match between each other.
Holyfield meets Douglas and Weaver boxes Thomas in the 2nd round of the heavyweight elimination tournament.
Tubbs tries to make it two on the trot when he takes on the winless Coetzee and Dokes and Berbick get the rematch nobody wants.

[Ian Lord]

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York.

Date: March 13th, 2004.

BOWE BEATS SMITH

Riddick Bowe KO10 James 'Bonecrusher' Smith.

Riddick Bowe, in his last bout before he takes on fellow New Yorker Mike Tyson in the semi-final of the heavyweight elimination tournament, scored an impressive win over North Carolina's James 'Bonecrusher' Smith.

Smith started the bout well, taking the first stanza. Bowe took the second by landing the more telling shots, then Smith squeezed the clinch filled third. The fourth round was even then Smith outworked Bowe in the fifth to win the round and be leading on points at the halfway stage.

Bowe won the sixth, dropping Smith with a punishing bodyshot, which he had been landing all night. Smith must have still felt the effects in the following round as he tried to hold onto Bowe as Bowe was landing killer punches to win the round big. The eigth was even, then Smith took the ninth. Going into the last round, the fight was to close to call, but Bowe took the decision out of the judges hands, by landing a series of punishing bodyshots and sending Smith to the canvas for the ten count. The time was 2:19.

Bowe was in an ecstatic mood following the fight. "I'm not just the Big Daddy of New York," he proclaimed, "I'm the Big Daddy of the world. Tyson, you're next." Confident words.

Mike Tyson fought in the co-feature, and was in immpressive form. He took on Philadelphia's Tim Witherspoon, and it was all over in four rounds.

Tyson came steaming out of his corner from the opening bell, and dropped Witherspoon with a vicous right cross. Witherspoon regained his feet but was shaky for the rest of the round. Witherspoon was down again in the second, this time from a crushing bodyblow. He again survived the round and surprisingly won the third by keeping the rabid Tyson at bay with his longer reach. Witherspoon again tried to keep Tyson at bay with his stiff jab in the fourth, and it worked for a while. Tyson, however, eventually caught up with him, dropping Witherspoon with an uppercut. Witherspoon struggled to his feet and referee Richard Steele let the fight continue. Tyson swarmed all over his hapless victim and trapped him in the corner, landing damaging punches at will. Steele decided he had seen enough and called the fight of at the 2:29 mark.

Undercard action.

Evander Holyfield advanced to the semi-finals with a dominant display against Jame 'Buster' Douglas.Holyfield dropped Douglas in the first and fourth rounds before stopping Douglas in the ninth after putting his foe down for a count of nine. Douglas was allowed to continue but could no longer defend himself and referee Frank Cappacino stopped the bout at the 1:53 mark.

In the other quarter final bout, Pinklon Thomas KO'd Mike 'Hercules' Weaver in the eigth round from a perfectly timed cross after putting him down moments before from a left hook. He also dropped Weaver in the previous round.

Tony 'TNT' Tubbs won a unanimous decision against Gerrie Coetzee with scores of 77-76, 80-72, and 79-73.

In the opening bout, Trevor Berbick won his rematch with Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes when he won a unanimous decision with scores of 79-73 [twice], and 80-72.

Results.

Riddick Bowe KO10 James 'Bonecrusher' Smith
Mike Tyson TKO 4 Tim Witherspoon
Evander Holyfield TKO9 James 'Buster' Douglas
Pinklon Thomas KO8 Mike 'Hercules' Weaver
Tony 'TNT' Tubbs W8 Gerrie Coetzee
Trevor Berbick W8 Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes

GBA Rankings for the end of March

World Champion:
Title Vacant

1. Riddick Bowe 3-0 [3]
2. Mike Tyson 3-0 [2]
3. Evander Holyfield 2-0 [2]
4. Pinklon Thomas 2-0 [1]
5. Greg Page 1-1 [0]
6. Tony Tubbs 2-1 [0]
7. Mike Weaver 1-1 [1]
8. Trevor Berbick 1-1-1 [0]
9. Tony Tucker 1-1 [1]
10.James 'Buster' Douglas 1-1 [0]

[Ian Lord]

Diary


Date: April 17th, 2004.
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York.

Riddick Bowe v Mike Tyson [10 x 3]
Semi-final. Heavyweight elimination tournament.

Evander Holyfield [10 x 3]
Semi-final. Heavyweight elimination tournament.

Greg Page v Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes [10 x 3]

Tony 'TNT' Tucker v Trevor Berbick [10 x 3]

Tony 'TNT' Tubbs v John Tate [8 x 3]

Larry Holmes v Gerrie Coetzee [8 x 3]

[Ian Lord]

PRESS CONFERENCE MAYHEM

Date: April 10th, 2004.

Boxing scribes and the mainstream media attended a press conference today to promote next Saturdays fight card, most notably the fight between New York rivals Riddick 'Big Daddy' Bowe and 'Iron' Mike Tyson.

Bowe, who arrived with his manager Rock Newman, shown up in a belligerent mood, and the press conference soon turned nasty.

"Faget and little fairy boy" were two of the insults he hurled at next weeks opponent. He then put his face right in front of Tysons.

"Get out of my face," Tyson told him. "Make me," came the reply, so Tyson complied. He gave Bowe a two handed shove. Bowe staggered backwards and Tyson went for him with his fist cocked. Security immediately jumped in between the two rivals, thus saving the fight for the following week, in the ring where it should be. A brief melee ensued in which Rock Newman took a right hand from Tysons trainer Kevin Rooney. Eventually it all calmed down.

A bemused Evander Holyfield, who was there to promote his fight with Pinklon Thomas, was asked his views. "Crazy guys," he answered, shaking his head. "They ought to save there energy for the ring." When asked how he thought he'd do against Thomas, the depply religious Holyfield replied. "I beleive it's my destiny to become heavyweight champion of the world. I know I'll win next week." He was then asked who he thought would win the Tyson-Bowe fight. "Too close to call, but whoever it is, I know I'll beat them in the final. To be the best, you've got to beat the best." Confident talk, but he's got to get past Pinklon Thomas first.

************************************************** ********

It wasn't all bad publicity for GBA boxers this week, as former soldiers Mike 'Hercules' Weaver and James 'Bonecrusher' Smith went over to war torn Iraq to box an exhibition match in front of American and British troops as a morale booster. Well done guys.

[Ian Lord]

Date: April 17th

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York

Riddick Bowe v Mike Tyson

The main event of the evening saw bitter rivals Riddick Bowe and Mike Tyson square of for the chance to fight for the vacant GBA World heavyweight title. There was bad blood between these two that had been brewing and finally exploded at last weeks press conference.

Tyson made his way to the ring first, in his traditional black trunks and boots. Then Bowe made his ring entrance to the strains of Michael Jackson's 'Beat It'. Bowe danced around the ring whilst the announcements were being made, getting dangerously close to Tysons corner and goading him. Tyson said something to Bowe and neither man looked happy. Finally, the match got under way.

Both men came out, looking to land the big punches. Tyson worked his way inside, landing telling punches to body and head. Bowe was trying to keep the smaller man of, but failing, and Tyson took the opening two rounds. Bowe won the third by keeping Tyson at a distance using his longer reach, where Tyson was inneffective. The fourth was even. The fifth round was a real humdinger, with both men landing big bombs, with Bowe's the more effective, and he took the round.Bowe also won the sixth by landing the more punishing punches. The pace slowed down in the seventh, as both men were obviously tired, with Tyson just edging it. Bowe took the eigth, Tyson the ninth. Going into the last round, it was too close to call, and both men were tired, but Tyson obviously had more in the tank, as in the last minute he started landing damaging blows at will. Bowe was staggering around, unable to defend himself, and referee Mills Lane decided he had seen enough and stopped the fight with two seconds left. After the fight Bowe was livid, saying he should have been allowed to hear the final bell, and that he would have won on points. He wouldn't have. It was close, but Tyson would have just edged.

"I want a rematch," Bowe hollered.

Tyson said later in his dressing room that he'd give Bowe a rematch, but he'll concentrate on his World title fight first.

In the co-feature, Evander Holyfield put on a dominant display, and stopped Pinklon Thomas in the eigth. The first round was even, but after that it was all Holyfield, except the fourth, which Thomas took by jabbing and moving. The end came in the eighth when Holyfield dropped Thomas with a strong barrage of punches. Thomas only just beat the count and Holyfield swarmed in, leaving referee Richard Steele no option but to halt the bout at the 2:18 mark.

Undercard Action.

Greg Page beat Michael 'Dynamite' Dokes by unanimous decision, with scores of 97-92 [twice], and 98-92. Page dropped Dokes in the eigth round and Dokes also finished the fight with his right eye swollen shut.

Tony 'TNT' Tucker won a split decision against Trevor Berbick with scores of 96-92, 95-92, and 95-93 for Berbick. The scoring was closer than most people in attendance thought, with Tucker droppingBerbick in the second, third, and ninth rounds and Berbick not doing much in the other rounds to warrant such a close score.

Tony 'TNT' Tubbs beat 'Big' John Tate with scores of 77-75 twice and 76-76. Apart from Tate staggering Tubbs in the third round, there were not many highlights.

In the opening bout, Larry Holmes came back from his KO defeat to Weaver with a vengeance. He swarmed all over Gerrie Coetzee, with the referee stopping the fight at the 2:46 mark. Holmes dropped Coetzee with a left hook. Coetzee regained his feet and Holmes dropped him again with a barrage of punches. Coetzee staggered groggily to his feet and Holmes waded in, forcing referee Jay Nady to stop the bout at 2:46 of the opening round.

[Ian Lord]

Results


Mike Tyson TKO10 Riddick Bowe
Evander Holyfield TKO8 Pinklon Thomas
Greg Page W10 Michael Dokes
Tony Tucker W10 Trevor Berbick
Tony Tubbs W8 John Tate
Larry Holmes TKO1 Gerrie Coetzee

GBA Rankings for end of April

World Champion:
Title Vacant

1. Mike Tyson 4-0 [3]
2. Evander Holyfield 3-0 [3]
3. Riddick Bowe 3-1 [3]
4. Greg Page 2-1 [0]
5. Tony Tubbs 3-1 [0]
6. Tony Tucker 2-1 [0]
7. Pinklon Thomas 2-1 [1]
8. Mike Weaver 1-1 [1]
9. Trevor Berbick 1-2-1 [0]
10.James 'Buster' Douglas 1-1 [0]