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IBL ONLINE

The Official Website of the
International Boxing League

Thursday, May 1, 2008

(Following are selected entries from the website's "Inside the Ropes: Fight Focus" section for the month of April 2008).

(Note: (*WCC*) = World Championship Conference bout, (*IC*) = International Conference bout, (*DL*) = Development League bout).

FRIDAY APRIL 4: MANCHESTER, ENGLAND
(*IC*) (BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION)
CARMELO ALEMAN (UNITED STATES, 9-2-2(6)) D10 JIMMY KRUG (UNITED STATES, 11-2(5))

The spoils were shared in a battle between two young, promising American bantamweights making their International Conference debuts. Both 21 year-olds, Florida native Camelo Aleman and New Jersey's Jimmy Krug brought extended winning streaks into their clash, Krug victorious in four straight going back to last May and Aleman finishing '07 with a 3-0 run. In a very even contest, the first six rounds were action packed and Aleman took a slight advantage into the bottom half of the bout. The pace slowed considerably in the 7th and didn't pick up again until the final frame, which Krug took convincingly to bring about the drawn verdict. One judge favoured him, 96-95, while the other two scorecards showed drawn verdicts at 95-95. Aleman landed 193 of 633 punches (30.5%), Krug 221 of 573 (38.6%). The result is not the end of either man's chances of gaining a berth in the '09 WCC, as victories in their remaining four contests would almost certainly be enough to gain a place in the all-important top six. Even so, it was another frustrating outcome for Aleman, who has now been involved in three draws, all during his time with the IBL.

SATURDAY APRIL 5: PANAMA CITY, PANAMA
(*WCC*) (BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION)
#13 LUIS GALVANI (CUBA, 19-4(10)) KO10 #4 ENRIQUE PINDER (PANAMA, 24-6-2(18))

Fighting for the first time in almost seven months, hometown favourite Enrique Pinder fell to a costly defeat at the hands of Cuba's Luis Galvani in both men's opening WCC contest. Coming off a terrible beating at the hands of Australia's Jeff Fenech in a September elimination semi, Pinder was hoping to get back on track against the much lower ranked but more talented Galvani. Things started badly for Pinder when he apparently injured his right hand a minute into round two. It limited his attacking options through the rest of the bout, but whether that made a huge difference is doubtful as Galvani had built a winning lead by the end of round eight behind frenetic activity. However, rather than being content with sitting on that lead, he went for the kill. A flurry of blows dropped Pinder early in the 9th, and after climbing back to his feet at seven, he stayed out of danger for the rest of the stanza.

The fight came to an abrupt end late in round ten when a thunderous Galvani uppercut floored Pinder, who only started moving at seven and was counted out at the 2:53 mark. Galvani landed 233 of 880 punches (26.5%), Pinder just 150 of 262 (57.3%). Galvani appeared unconcerned by Pinder's offense, willingly absorbing a high percentage of the South American's punches in order to land his own. Pinder now kisses goodbye to his chances of a world title shot, and fell to a disappointing 2-4-2 since joining the IBL in '06. Meanwhile, Galvani has won seven of his last eight bouts, including three in a row, and should make a healthy jump in the rankings when they are released on May 11. However, it will probably take another victory against a top contender for him to enter the title challenge conversation.

MONDAY APRIL 7: MAGDEBURG, GERMANY
(*IC*) (WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION)
MAX RASMUTH (UNITED STATES, 12-3-1(6)) TKO5 WILFRED BENITEZ (PUERTO RICO, 18-2-2(11))

Rochester's Max Rasmuth continued his fantastic start to 2008, following up February's upset unanimous decision win over French veteran Roger Menetrey with a TKO of Puerto Rico's Olympic bronze medallist Wilfred Benitez. The fight was stopped at the 1:17 mark of round five due to a heavy cut on Benitez's forehead, which had been opened midway through round one. Later in the same frame, a Rasmuth uppercut dropped Benitez on the seat of his pants for a four-count. Sensing the danger he was in, Benitez answered strongly with a dominant 2nd but when Rasmuth bounced a right lead off his forehead early in round three, the cut was re-opened. The ringside doctor inspected it and signalled for the fight to continue, and both men landed some telling blows in the bottom of the round.

A desperate Benitez only just had the better of the 4th, but the southpaw Rasmuth was able to further worsen his forehead wound with a right hook a minute into round five. The referee halted the action soon after and this time, there was no reprieve for the Puerto Rican. Rasmuth was declared the winner by TKO and a devastated Benitez had fallen to his third career defeat in five outings. Thanks mainly to his efforts in round two, Benitez actually outlanded Rasmuth 129-93, but it meant nothing. The New Yorker celebrated with his corner crew, improving to an unexpected 2-0 in International Conference competition and opening the door for a possible entry into the WCC.

SATURDAY APRIL 12: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
(*WCC*) (FLYWEIGHT DIVISION)
#6 TEKO DAVIDS (SOUTH AFRICA, 29-1-1(21)) UD12 #14 SAMAN SORJATURONG (THAILAND, 23-2-3(15))

Former IBF and IBO flyweight titlist Teko Davids could not have chosen a more difficult opponent for his International Boxing League debut than Saman Sorjaturong. Even though the Thailander came into the WCC ranked at #14, he is regarded as perhaps the most talented young 112-pounder in the world. Davids is in a hurry to position himself for a shot at the world title, and his unanimous decision win over Sorjaturong will certainly help his case. Fighting for the first time in more than twelve months, the South African produced a brilliant performance to take the verdict by scores of 115-112, 116-111 and 115-112. Sorjaturong was dropped by a left hook early in round nine and barely survived the frame, before returning to his corner with some nasty swelling showing under his right eye. Davids landed an outstanding 354 of 662 punches (53.5%), the bamboozled Sorjaturong 197 of 1,163 (16.9%).

SATURDAY APRIL 12: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
(*WCC*) (FLYWEIGHT DIVISION)
#7 JOHN BEKKER (SOUTH AFRICA, 23-2-1(17)) SD12 #9 HIROYUKI EBIHARA (JAPAN, 21-4-2(14))

John Bekker and Hiroyuki Ebihara produced an absolute classic in the co-feature on the Rand Stadium card, the contest going right down to the wire after Bekker climbed off the canvas midway through round eleven. Ebihara, a former Inter-Continental champion, had himself barely beaten the count when Bekker floored him with a right hand two minutes into the 9th. It was an action-packed, back-and-forth stoush in which most of the rounds were won in dominant fashion. Bekker's strong effort to take the 12th proved the difference, as he took the split decision verdict by scores of 114-112, 112-114 and 114-113. Bekker's only two defeats came against compatriot Teko Davids, in November '06 and March '07, and it's doubtful they'll be meeting for a third time in the near future. Bekker will now have to chase a clash with a top contender to further establish his credentials.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 16: LEDYARD, CONNECTICUT, USA
(*IC*) (LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION)
SCOT LONG (USA, 12-4-2(5)) UD10 CLARENCE HINNANT (USA, 8-4-4(3))

Kansas slugger Scot Long continued a positive start to his '08 International Conference campaign, consolidating on his February KO of Charley Berlanger by scoring a convincing unanimous decision win over North Carolina's Clarence Hinnant (98-92, 100-89, 99-90). It was a rematch of a September '06 bout that ended in a draw, and Long produced a vastly superior effort on this occasion. Hinnant was sent to the canvas a minute into round nine, but had already been subdued by that point, Long building a comfortable points lead through the top half of the contest. He outlanded Hinnant, 280-142, and has given himself every chance of finishing near the top of the IC standings with three fights remaining.

SATURDAY APRIL 19: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA
(*WCC*) (MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION)
#9 MONTELL JACKSON (USA, 20-0(13)) KO10 #10 FREDDIE STEELE (USA, 40-2-2(34))

In a major upset, "The Tacoma Assassin" Freddie Steele fell to his first defeat since losing the IBF championship to Bert Lytell in July '06. He had been undefeated in eight bouts under the IBL banner, but faced his first real test in the young, talented Chicago native Montell Jackson. Unfortunately for Steele, it was a test he failed. Jackson showed that he could very well be a future world champion with an impressive performance, putting an eye-opening exclamation point on his efforts with a one-punch knockout late in round ten. 29 year-old Steele was as competitive as expected through the first four rounds, but when Jackson dominated the 5th, the contest turned permanently in his favour. Steele showed determination and stubborness in the 6th, 8th and 9th frames, but he didn't appear to see the left hook that put him to sleep and led to him being counted out at the 2:50 mark of round ten.

At the time of the stoppage, Jackson had connected with an outstanding 302 of 924 punches (32.7%), while Steele landed 189 of 446 (42.4%). Those totals illustrate the extent of Jackson's domination, but also his superior workrate. Like many of the fighters who were briefly aligned with the now-defunct IBO, Jackson had been out of action since March '07, when he recorded an upset win over David Hernandez in the one and only IBO middleweight title fight. This month's victory over Steele will certainly raise his stocks and move him closer to a world title challenge at some point during 2009, although another win over a highly-regarded opponent will be required to push him into the upper echelon of the World Championship Conference.

SATURDAY APRIL 19: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA
(*WCC*) (JUNIOR-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION)
#7 MICHAEL VAUGHAN (USA, 22-3(12)) KO12 #15 PIET CROUS (SOUTH AFRICA, 22-5-2(14))

Former IBF and IBO cruiserweight champion Michael Vaughan had a tougher time than expected in his IBL debut. He may have dropped South Africa's Piet Crous four times, but he was also sent to the canvas himself midway through round two and it took until after the final bell for him to dispatch Crous. A sizzling uppercut floored Crous with just five seconds left in the bout. The South African had earlier suffered knockdowns in rounds three and five, and also with a minute remaining in the 12th. Vaughan's hometown fans gave him great support in the Chicago Stadium main event, but could not help but applaud Crous's bravery and determination at the fight's conclusion.

Going into round twelve, Vaughan held leads of five points from two judges and three points with the other, and when it was all over he had outlanded Crous, 304-193. As a former IBO champion, Vaughan has been something of an anomaly during the last twelve months as he fought twice following the demise of the IBO, the most recent of those bouts being in October. It would be quite an achievement if he is able to add the IBL world championship to his IBF and IBO titles, although it's certainly going to take more than his win over Crous to put him in the world title picture. As for Crous, he can't fall any further as he is ranked at the bottom of the WCC and can only go up from here. In order to make a significant leap, he'll need an outstanding victory in his next outing.

SATURDAY APRIL 19: BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND
(*WCC*) (BANTAMWEIGHT DIVISION)
#3 OWEN MORAN (ENGLAND, 26-2(16)) MD12 #10 MANUEL ARMENTEROS (CUBA, 17-4-2(8))

England's Owen Moran was given a stern test by Cuba's Manuel Armenteros in both men's WCC debut. The Birmingham native avoided a possible drawn verdict when he dropped Armenteros at the midpoint of the final round, bringing about a majority decision victory (115-113, 114-114, 116-113). It was an exciting clash, with Moran starting strongly before Armenteros rallied superbly to take the upper-hand into round seven. The bottom half of the bout remained competitive and in the end only a handful of landed punches separated the two of them (Moran 276, Armenteros 271). The Cuban had an outstanding 2007, putting behind a forgettable start to his IBL campaign to go 6-0-1 and unexpectedly gain a WCC berth. Based on his efforts against Moran, he could cause some trouble through the rest of 2008. Moran's only career losses have been in an eliminator to former world champion Gilberto Roman (September '06) and an elimination semi to Ernesto Mirando in September '07. The win over Armenteros won't put him in a position to challenge for the world championship, but it won't do any harm, either.

WEDNESDAY APRIL 23: THE BRONX, NEW YORK, USA
(*IC*) (LIGHTWEIGHT DIVISION)
RUBEN NAVARRO (MEXICO, 19-6-2(13)) SD10 ASDRUBAL ROSALES (VENEZUELA, 20-0(13))

In a major upset, former WBC champion Asdrubal Rosales suffered the first defeat of his professional career, dropping a razor thin split decision verdict to Mexico's Ruben Navarro in an International Conference bout (97-95, 95-97, 96-95). After only just avoiding a similar result in his IBL debut, Rosales came up just short against Navarro, who has struggled for much of his time with the league and at one point endured a four-fight losing streak. But Navarro was in a determined state of mind for this contest and was surprisingly in the driver's seat entering round six. Although suffering a cut under his right eye, Navarro had inflicted some serious damage upon his Venezuelan opponent and by the end of round three Rosales was already wearing some nasty swelling around his left eye. The favourite rallied in rounds seven, eight and nine, but Navarro took the final frame on all three scorecards to secure a fantastic win, in which he outlanded Rosales by just a single punch (255-254).

SATURDAY APRIL 26: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA
(*WCC*) (WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION)
#5 HUGO PINEDA (COLOMBIA, 23-5-1(15)) KO4 #8 VIRGIL AKINS (USA, 17-1-1(11))

Colombia's Hugo Pineda made an outstanding start to his WCC campaign with a dominant victory over St. Louis native Virgil Akins. 2007 was a year Pineda would prefer to forget, as he ended it with back-to-back stoppage losses to Enrique Diaz (in May) and Ademola Udeze (August). Diaz went on to claim the world title while Udeze was defeated by James Ray in an eliminator. By comparison, Virgil Akins was a perfect 5-0 in '07, his efforts including a brief reign as Americas welterweight champion before the title was abolished. Based on that strong form, he was expected to trouble Pineda but it never happened. The South American was in control from the opening round, sweeping the scorecards in the first three frames and knocking Akins out with a left hook early in the 4th. With all the fighters ranked above him either inactive or victorious in stage one, it's unlikely Pineda will move any higher than his current standing at #5, but the quality of his win cannot be denied.

***

(Following are selected entries from the website's "Inside the Ropes: Results at a Glance" section for the month of April 2008).

(Note: (*WCC*) = World Championship Conference bout, (*IC*) = International Conference bout, (*DL*) = Development League bout).

4/2: OSAKA, JAPAN

(*IC*) (BW) RUBEN OLIVARES (MEXICO, 11-3(11)) KO5 LEO ESPINOSA (PHILIPPINES, 10-3-1(3))
(*IC*) (BW) DANNY O'SULLIVAN (ENGLAND, 23-7-1(18)) KO9 JULIAN SOLIS (PUERTO RICO, 31-4-1(22))

4/5: PANAMA CITY, PANAMA

(*WCC*) (FLY) #13 HILARIO ZAPATA (PANAMA, 20-1-1(10)) UD12 #15 NAM-HOON CHA (SOUTH KOREA, 21-3-2(12))

4/9: TOKYO, JAPAN

(*IC*) (WW) ASHLEY JACKSON (ENGLAND, 14-2(11)) UD10 JAMES PAGE (USA, 11-5-2(6))

4/11: DEL MAR, CALIFORNIA, USA

(*IC*) (WW) ELFORD COLES (USA, 11-0(3)) TKO4 CARLOS ALOU (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, 9-5-4(5))

4/12: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

(*WCC*) (BW) #11 SILENCE MABUZA (SOUTH AFRICA, 16-2-2(11)) TKO2 #15 ROBERTO RUBALDINO (MEXICO, 21-6-1(15))
(*WCC*) (WW) #13 IFEANI ADAMU (NIGERIA, 26-4-1(17)) KO1 #10 BENEDICT KHUMALO (SOUTH AFRICA, 17-2-1(1))
(*WCC*) (LW) #13 OBAFEMI ROTIMI (NIGERIA, 22-4-1(17)) TKO11 #8 BRIAN MITCHELL (SOUTH AFRICA, 34-5-2(23))

4/14: SAINT-NAZAIRE, FRANCE

(*IC*) (LHW) JACK CHASE (USA, 23-4-1(14)) UD10 CHARLEY BELANGER (CANADA, 10-5-1(5))
(*IC*) (LHW) IRAN BARKLEY (USA, 23-3-1(18)) KO10 VICTOR CORDOBA (PANAMA, 8-6-3(5))
(*IC*) (LHW) STEVE LITTLE (USA, 14-6-2(8) DQ3 PETITE FOURIE (FRANCE, 12-4(5))

4/16: LEDYARD, CONNECTICUT, USA

(*IC*) (LHW) CHARLES WILLIAMS (USA, 14-4(7)) SD10 KLAUS BIERHOFF (GERMANY, 28-7(19))
(*IC*) (LHW) STEVE GAYLE (USA, 24-3-2(16)) UD10 JASON WANGANEEN (AUSTRALIA, 10-6-2(8))
(*IC*) (LHW) EDDIE DAVIS (USA, 11-3-2(8)) UD10 JIMMY SLADE (USA, 31-5(17))

4/19: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA

(*WCC*) (JHW) #9 DALE BROWN (CANADA, 16-3-2(11)) UD12 #12 DARIO WALTER MATTEONI (ARGENTINA, 29-7-3(19))

4/19: BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND

(*WCC*) (MW) #13 RANDY TURPIN (ENGLAND, 16-2(12)) KO4 #14 FRED BOATWRIGHT (USA, 14-0-1(5))

4/21: ACCRA, GHANA

(*IC*) (LW) PERNELL WHITAKER (USA, 20-0(13)) UD10 SAMUEL MENSAH (GHANA, 16-6-3(10))
(*IC*) (LW) ORLANDO ZULUETA (CUBA, 19-1-3(12)) UD10 ANATOLY ALEXANDROV (KAZAKHSTAN, 18-7-4(13))
(*IC*) (LW) AZUMAH NELSON (GHANA, 13-3(9)) KO8 BABY VASQUEZ (MEXICO, 8-7-2(5))

4/23: BRONX, NEW YORK, USA

(*IC*) (LW) RADAMEL RAMOS (COLOMBIA, 23-2-1(15)) UD10 STEVE SULLIVAN (USA, 12-3-2(7))
(*IC*) (LW) ALFREDO PITALUA (COLOMBIA, 10-5-3(5)) KO3 RICHIE PLUNKETT (USA, 16-3(12))

4/25: ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, USA

(*IC*) (LW) RAY MANCINI (USA, 11-5-2(7)) UD10 JUAN CARLOS RAMIREZ (MEXICO, 10-6-1(5))
(*IC*) (LW) SAMMY MANDELL (USA, 8-5-1(2)) UD10 JAVIER LOPEZ (MEXICO, 31-5-1(20))
(*IC*) (LW) IKE WILLIAMS (USA, 12-2(7)) UD10 ISHIMATSU SUZUKI (JAPAN, 8-6-3(3))

4/26: LAGOS, NIGERIA

(*WCC*) (LHW) #12 TARIBO KESHI (NIGERIA, 26-4(19)) KO9 #15 MIGUEL ANGEL CUELLO (ARGENTINA, 32-7-3(22))

4/26: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, USA

(*WCC*) (FLY) #10 ICHIRO OKUBO (JAPAN, 34-4-1(22)) UD12 #11 RATON MOJICA (NICARAGUA, 21-4-4(12))

4/28: LAGOS, NIGERIA

(*IC*) (FW) PATRICK FORD (GUYANA, 10-3-2(4)) MD10 ROBERT BROWN (JAMAICA, 20-5(12))
(*IC*) (FW) MICHAEL SCHNEIDER (GERMANY, 34-5-2(23)) UD10 CARMELO COSTA (USA, 9-5-2(3))
(*IC*) (FW) JULIUS SIASIA (NIGERIA, 30-4-1(20) TechUD10 BRUNO ALVES (PORTUGAL, 13-6(7))

4/30: CAGUAS, PUERTO RICO

(*IC*) (FW) ANTONIO ESPARRAGOZA (VENEZUELA, 20-4-1(13)) UD10 JACK WOLFE (USA, 10-5(4))
(*IC*) (FW) JUAN LAPORTE (PUERTO RICO, 17-4-1(11)) TKO7 JAVIER VIDRIO (MEXICO, 11-1-2(4))