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kenyan_cheena · 11-10-2007, 09:51 PM

THE LOMBARDIA UNDERCARD

Opening Bout

The evening got underway with a matchup of two French fighters, 23 year-old Sallanches native Laurent Boudouani defeating Tunisian-born slugger Gratien Tonna by split decision (58-56, 56-57, 57-56). Overall, Tonna actually had the better of the contest but a knockdown that Boudouani scored midway through the opening round would prove to be vital to the final outcome.

Tonna landed 118 of 340 punches (34.7%), Boudouani 98 of 382 (25.7%). Tonna had been in control of round one before he was felled by a wicked right cross. Round two was an even, entertaining affair before Tonna did enough to convince two of the judges to award him the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds. If he'd been able to continue his good work into the final stanza he would have emerged a victor but Boudouani was able to produce a solid three minutes just when it mattered and all three judges scored the round in his favour.

Although they're not considered a threat to the top of the standings both men showed enough to indicate that they'll at least test the group's favoured competitors.

Preliminary 1

One of a quartet of English fighters in the group, Alan Minter made a victorious start to his campaign with a 6th round KO of the Spaniard Luis Folledo. In an absolute barnstormer of a contest Minter floored Folledo for the first and only time fifty seconds into the final round with a hard left hook and he was counted out, the fight ending at the 1:00 mark.

Like so many other fighters in the IBL, Minter has gone about his preparations for the tournament almost anonymously but his efforts against Folledo gave a clear indication that he'll be tough to beat. With the exception of round two (where Folledo hurt the Englishman and had him in real trouble) Minter held the upperhand throughout the bout, showing some impressive boxing skills during the stretch from round three through to the 5th. He outworked Folledo by an almost 2:1 ratio, illustrating that his fitness will be one of his main attributes.

Punch totals

Minter - 153/407 (37.6%)
Folledo - 112/208 (53.8%)

"He landed more shots than I would have liked," said Minter afterwards. "So my defense wasn't as good as I was hoping. Still, we can work on that. It's really incredible to think that the tournament's finally started and I can't wait to get back into the ring."

Preliminary 2

Aggressive and hard-hitting, Maurice Hope made it 2 for 2 on the night for the English brigade when he took a well-earned unanimous decision verdict against the German Leo Starosch (58-56, 57-56, 58-56). It was an arm-wrestle through four rounds, with the scorecards identically alternating from one fighter to the other: Hope dominated rounds one and three but Starosch produced enough to take the 2nd and 4th. Both men were going foot to the floor, letting their hands go at will and unafraid to eat a couple of shots in order to land one.

Hope stepped up big time in round five, hurting Starosch early in the piece and piling on the pressure until he put the German on his backside with a smashing left hook shortly before the bell. Starosch bounced back to his feet with the count at two and there was not enough time for Hope to follow up. Round six was anti-climatic, Starosch exhausted and Hope content to keep him at bay with the jab. The bout certainly deserved a more exciting conclusion but no one could dispute that Hope had been the better fighter. He landed 135 of 459 punches (29.4%), Starosch 116 of 426 (27.2%).

"Real tough one first up," said an excited Hope afterwards. "I think that'll really help me as the tournament progresses 'cause there's a bunch of guys here who are gonna be a real handful for me. I'm gonna have to approach each fight like it's my last, like it's a war. I think it's a very open group, you know? All of these guys are capable of winning on any night so I'll have to come ready to fight every night."

***

Following the evening's main event, the schedule for series two was revealed. One Olympic-sized matchup in particular had the crowd talking...

Series Two matchups
Middleweight division,
European region

GRATIEN TONNA (0-1-0) vs TOM BOGS (0-1-0)
LAURENT BOUDOUANI (1-0-0) vs RANDY TURPIN (0-1-0)
LUIS FOLLEDO (0-1-0) vs NIGEL BENN (1-0-0(1))
NINO BENVENUTI (1-0-0) vs MARCEL CERDAN (1-0-0(1))
LEO STAROSCH (0-1-0) vs ALAN MINTER (1-0-0(1))
MAURICE HOPE (1-0-0) vs ODDONE PIAZZA (0-1-0)

11-10-2007, 09:51 PM	#299
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 9,037	THE LOMBARDIA UNDERCARD *Opening Bout* The evening got underway with a matchup of two French fighters, 23 year-old Sallanches native Laurent Boudouani defeating Tunisian-born slugger Gratien Tonna by split decision (58-56, 56-57, 57-56). Overall, Tonna actually had the better of the contest but a knockdown that Boudouani scored midway through the opening round would prove to be vital to the final outcome. Tonna landed 118 of 340 punches (34.7%), Boudouani 98 of 382 (25.7%). Tonna had been in control of round one before he was felled by a wicked right cross. Round two was an even, entertaining affair before Tonna did enough to convince two of the judges to award him the 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds. If he'd been able to continue his good work into the final stanza he would have emerged a victor but Boudouani was able to produce a solid three minutes just when it mattered and all three judges scored the round in his favour. Although they're not considered a threat to the top of the standings both men showed enough to indicate that they'll at least test the group's favoured competitors. *Preliminary 1* One of a quartet of English fighters in the group, Alan Minter made a victorious start to his campaign with a 6th round KO of the Spaniard Luis Folledo. In an absolute barnstormer of a contest Minter floored Folledo for the first and only time fifty seconds into the final round with a hard left hook and he was counted out, the fight ending at the 1:00 mark. Like so many other fighters in the IBL, Minter has gone about his preparations for the tournament almost anonymously but his efforts against Folledo gave a clear indication that he'll be tough to beat. With the exception of round two (where Folledo hurt the Englishman and had him in real trouble) Minter held the upperhand throughout the bout, showing some impressive boxing skills during the stretch from round three through to the 5th. He outworked Folledo by an almost 2:1 ratio, illustrating that his fitness will be one of his main attributes. Punch totals Minter - 153/407 (37.6%) Folledo - 112/208 (53.8%) "He landed more shots than I would have liked," said Minter afterwards. "So my defense wasn't as good as I was hoping. Still, we can work on that. It's really incredible to think that the tournament's finally started and I can't wait to get back into the ring." *Preliminary 2* Aggressive and hard-hitting, Maurice Hope made it 2 for 2 on the night for the English brigade when he took a well-earned unanimous decision verdict against the German Leo Starosch (58-56, 57-56, 58-56). It was an arm-wrestle through four rounds, with the scorecards identically alternating from one fighter to the other: Hope dominated rounds one and three but Starosch produced enough to take the 2nd and 4th. Both men were going foot to the floor, letting their hands go at will and unafraid to eat a couple of shots in order to land one. Hope stepped up big time in round five, hurting Starosch early in the piece and piling on the pressure until he put the German on his backside with a smashing left hook shortly before the bell. Starosch bounced back to his feet with the count at two and there was not enough time for Hope to follow up. Round six was anti-climatic, Starosch exhausted and Hope content to keep him at bay with the jab. The bout certainly deserved a more exciting conclusion but no one could dispute that Hope had been the better fighter. He landed 135 of 459 punches (29.4%), Starosch 116 of 426 (27.2%). "Real tough one first up," said an excited Hope afterwards. "I think that'll really help me as the tournament progresses 'cause there's a bunch of guys here who are gonna be a real handful for me. I'm gonna have to approach each fight like it's my last, like it's a war. I think it's a very open group, you know? All of these guys are capable of winning on any night so I'll have to come ready to fight every night." * Following the evening's main event, the schedule for series two was revealed. One Olympic-sized matchup in particular had the crowd talking... Series Two matchups** Middleweight division, European region GRATIEN TONNA (0-1-0) vs TOM BOGS (0-1-0) LAURENT BOUDOUANI (1-0-0) vs RANDY TURPIN (0-1-0) LUIS FOLLEDO (0-1-0) vs NIGEL BENN (1-0-0(1)) NINO BENVENUTI (1-0-0) vs MARCEL CERDAN (1-0-0(1)) LEO STAROSCH (0-1-0) vs ALAN MINTER (1-0-0(1)) MAURICE HOPE (1-0-0) vs ODDONE PIAZZA (0-1-0) Last edited by kenyan_cheena; 11-10-2007 at 09:56 PM.