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kenyan_cheena · 06-02-2007, 10:37 PM

GONE IN 682 SECONDS:
SCHMELING TKO'D IN 4TH,
ELIMINATED FROM STAGE TWO!

Wednesday 24 July 2002

In a result that will send shockwaves through Germany in particular and Europe in general, 10th seed Max Schmeling was sensationally eliminated from progressing to stage two of the HBF's World Championship tournament when he was TKO'd in round four by Frank Moran today in Japan. Schmeling was Europe's highest seeded fighter in the tournament but with still one series of stage one bouts remaining, he has become the first #1 seed to be mathematically eliminated from progressing. Many thought that dubious honor would go to Boston's Jack Sharkey, who will join Schmeling in being eliminated if he falls to Oscar Bonavena on Friday night.

The nature of Moran's victory was shocking, to say the least. The opening three rounds of the contest had been more or less uneventful but Schmeling was clearly in control. He was keeping Moran at bay with a solid jab and, unable to mount a counter-attack, the Pittsburgh native was showing his frustration, especially following round three when he tagged the German after the bell.

Two of the judges had given Schmeling all three rounds while the other had scored two in his favour. However, it would be a flush straight right early in round four that would signal the beginning of the end. The punch staggered Schmeling and Moran didn't hesitate to follow up. He peppered the German with lefts and rights, keeping him off balance and connecting with another solid right before, at the two minute mark, came the shot that had the Pacifico Yokohama crowd on their feet: a textbook, perfect left hook that took Schmeling's legs out from under him and jolted his head violently around on his shoulders. Somehow, he made it back to his feet at eight and convinced referee Arthur Mercante he could continue. But Moran came charging in and landed four crushing unanswered shots, the last one catching Schmeling right in the face and literally sending him into Mercante's arms. The referee waved his left arm to signal the fight was over while supporting Schmeling with his right.

Moran jumped in the air, pumping his fist as his corner crew flooded the ring to congratulate him. The official time of the stoppage was 2:22 of the fourth round.

"The guy had been knocked down four times in his other fights," said an excited Moran. "So we knew that was something I could work on. He did a good job of keeping me at a distance in those first three rounds but once I caught him with the right, he was gone. I was actually surprised at how quickly it happened. I guess I underestimated my own power."

Schmeling wasn't in any condition to speak to the media afterwards and was taken back to the dressing room within minutes of the fight's conclusion.

The win stretched Moran's perfect record to six and was his first stoppage victory since a 5th round TKO of Floyd Cummings on debut. It also clinched a stage two birth for Moran.

As for Schmeling, he's 4-2 and, incredibly, will now be a big favourite to win the federation's European Championship tournament. That will surely be the furtherest thing from his mind though as he'll have to deal with the disappointment of an entire nation in the coming days. He'll finish his stay in the World Championship tournament with a meaningless contest against Randall Cobb. It's a situation that no one could have conceived of mere weeks ago but it's now a reality, one that Schmeling will surely have a difficult time accepting.

***

Moran will be joined in stage two by Steve Hamas, the New Jersey native also improving to 6-0 with a hard-earned unanimous decision win over a gutsy Randall Cobb. The Texan came in with a 1-4 record but he'd given Moran a challenging time in his last fight and did the same to Hamas.

The final scorecards were close, 57-56, 58-56 and 57-56 to Hamas. After an indifferent opening round, the member of "Jersey Pride" was awarded rounds two, three and four by all three judges, despite the fact that Cobb landed a number of punishing shots in the third and fourth. They were both thrilling rounds as was the fifth, which Cobb took with a late surge that included a crunching three punch salvo and then an uppercut that dropped Hamas to the canvas for the first time in his career as the bell sounded.

Hamas was able to finish strongly and only found out once the cards had been revealed how close he was to defeat, or at the least a draw.

"If I didn't finish it off like that in the sixth, maybe we'd be having a different conversation," he said. "I feel really fortunate to have won the fight because Randall just put in an incredible effort. He caught me with some hard shots and I'm surprised that I only went down once. He deserves a lot of admiration for what he did because at 1-4, it must be difficult to keep that fire burning. He knows he can't progress but he still made the fight a nightmare for me."

With Moran and Hamas both 6-0, all that's left to decide is who will finish on top of the group. Their August 28 clash will achieve that and it should be a thrilling contest.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Moran, when asked about the fight. "I don't know if there's any other group in the tournament like this, where you've got two guys with perfect records who'll fight it out for first place in the final bout. It's going to be an exciting fight."

(Coming up: The Yokohama Undercard)

06-02-2007, 10:37 PM	#1240
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	GONE IN 682 SECONDS: SCHMELING TKO'D IN 4TH, ELIMINATED FROM STAGE TWO! Wednesday 24 July 2002 In a result that will send shockwaves through Germany in particular and Europe in general, 10th seed Max Schmeling was sensationally eliminated from progressing to stage two of the HBF's World Championship tournament when he was TKO'd in round four by Frank Moran today in Japan. Schmeling was Europe's highest seeded fighter in the tournament but with still one series of stage one bouts remaining, he has become the first #1 seed to be mathematically eliminated from progressing. Many thought that dubious honor would go to Boston's Jack Sharkey, who will join Schmeling in being eliminated if he falls to Oscar Bonavena on Friday night. The nature of Moran's victory was shocking, to say the least. The opening three rounds of the contest had been more or less uneventful but Schmeling was clearly in control. He was keeping Moran at bay with a solid jab and, unable to mount a counter-attack, the Pittsburgh native was showing his frustration, especially following round three when he tagged the German after the bell. Two of the judges had given Schmeling all three rounds while the other had scored two in his favour. However, it would be a flush straight right early in round four that would signal the beginning of the end. The punch staggered Schmeling and Moran didn't hesitate to follow up. He peppered the German with lefts and rights, keeping him off balance and connecting with another solid right before, at the two minute mark, came the shot that had the Pacifico Yokohama crowd on their feet: a textbook, perfect left hook that took Schmeling's legs out from under him and jolted his head violently around on his shoulders. Somehow, he made it back to his feet at eight and convinced referee Arthur Mercante he could continue. But Moran came charging in and landed four crushing unanswered shots, the last one catching Schmeling right in the face and literally sending him into Mercante's arms. The referee waved his left arm to signal the fight was over while supporting Schmeling with his right. Moran jumped in the air, pumping his fist as his corner crew flooded the ring to congratulate him. The official time of the stoppage was 2:22 of the fourth round. "The guy had been knocked down four times in his other fights," said an excited Moran. "So we knew that was something I could work on. He did a good job of keeping me at a distance in those first three rounds but once I caught him with the right, he was gone. I was actually surprised at how quickly it happened. I guess I underestimated my own power." Schmeling wasn't in any condition to speak to the media afterwards and was taken back to the dressing room within minutes of the fight's conclusion. The win stretched Moran's perfect record to six and was his first stoppage victory since a 5th round TKO of Floyd Cummings on debut. It also clinched a stage two birth for Moran. As for Schmeling, he's 4-2 and, incredibly, will now be a big favourite to win the federation's European Championship tournament. That will surely be the furtherest thing from his mind though as he'll have to deal with the disappointment of an entire nation in the coming days. He'll finish his stay in the World Championship tournament with a meaningless contest against Randall Cobb. It's a situation that no one could have conceived of mere weeks ago but it's now a reality, one that Schmeling will surely have a difficult time accepting. * Moran will be joined in stage two by Steve Hamas, the New Jersey native also improving to 6-0 with a hard-earned unanimous decision win over a gutsy Randall Cobb. The Texan came in with a 1-4 record but he'd given Moran a challenging time in his last fight and did the same to Hamas. The final scorecards were close, 57-56, 58-56 and 57-56 to Hamas. After an indifferent opening round, the member of "Jersey Pride" was awarded rounds two, three and four by all three judges, despite the fact that Cobb landed a number of punishing shots in the third and fourth. They were both thrilling rounds as was the fifth, which Cobb took with a late surge that included a crunching three punch salvo and then an uppercut that dropped Hamas to the canvas for the first time in his career as the bell sounded. Hamas was able to finish strongly and only found out once the cards had been revealed how close he was to defeat, or at the least a draw. "If I didn't finish it off like that in the sixth, maybe we'd be having a different conversation," he said. "I feel really fortunate to have won the fight because Randall just put in an incredible effort. He caught me with some hard shots and I'm surprised that I only went down once. He deserves a lot of admiration for what he did because at 1-4, it must be difficult to keep that fire burning. He knows he can't progress but he still made the fight a nightmare for me." With Moran and Hamas both 6-0, all that's left to decide is who will finish on top of the group. Their August 28 clash will achieve that and it should be a thrilling contest. "I'm looking forward to it," said Moran, when asked about the fight. "I don't know if there's any other group in the tournament like this, where you've got two guys with perfect records who'll fight it out for first place in the final bout. It's going to be an exciting fight." (Coming up: The Yokohama Undercard)** Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 10-15-2007 at 10:55 PM.