World Boxing Tour

[Lee]

Boxing in the 1880's was a helter skelter affair, with many fighters claiming to be champion of this, that and the other. The sport was rife with corruption and inconsistent rules enforcement. There needed to be a single entity that managed the sport and from this morass, the World Boxing Tour was born.

Promoters from around the world devised a series of tournaments that would culminate in a single year end tournament known as the Masters cup, which would showcase the skills of the best fighters from the years tournaments.

After several days of debate the four major tournaments were named. The format would be the same for each. Qualifying would take place the month before and the top 16 after the qualifying round would be seeded in the tournament. Fighters could fight as many times as they liked, or perhaps none at all if their ranking was good enough to grab a top 16 spot. Finally, it was decided this would be the best of the best, with no weight classes.

The Majors
The Australian Open - Qualifying to take place in January, tournament in February.

The European Open - Qualifying to take place in April, tournament in May.

The British Open - Qualifying to take place in July, tournament in August.

The United States Open - Qualifying to take place on October, tournament in November.

The Grandaddy of them all
The Masters Cup - Fought in December with the top 16 fighters as rated at the end of the US open, with the exception that all tournament winners gain an automatic berth, even if they finish outside the top 16 after the US open.

Setup
All fighters have been imported into the game, with 1000 tomato cans added. Fighters who are entering the sport (based on real life debut) will fight in the novice division until they reach prime, at which point they qualify for the world tour, so long as they have a winning record when they hit prime.

Fighters with a losing record when they hit prime are immediately retired. (Deemed unworthy for the tour) Once a fighter reaches the tour, he will follow normal aging guidelines, even if his record drops below .500 at any point. The aging parameters are set so that every fighter who makes the tour will fight between 35-130 fights in their career.

As stated above, this is a pound for pound tournament and includes all fighters from the original 8 weight classes only. Qualifying is done solely through the auto scheduler, so the fights everyone has during qualifying will vary. Tournament seeds will be based on the rankings of the fighters by the tournament being contested, which means an upset can really hurt a top fighter.

New Fighters will be introduced based on the random chaos theory and could come from any year in history beginning in 1886. This will be determined by a random year generator.

[Lee]

Reserved for future use

[Lee]

As the tour is set to start there are a few notable fighter who have already been forced to retire as their records did not merit inclusion on the tour at the time they came into their prime.

To name but a few, along with their final records.

Bill 'The Butcher' Poole 3-6-2 (0)
Pat McGowan 6-7-1 (1)
Professor John Donaldson 6-12-2 (1)
William Sheriff 6-9-2 (0)
Martin Neary 3-12-3 (0)
Morris Grant 6-10-2 (2)
and the ever popular Jack Dangerous 4-15-0 (3)

[Lee]

Seed	Australian Open - 1885	W	L	D	KO
1	John L Sullivan	21	1	1	15
2	John J Dwyer	19	4	2	2
3	Bill Farnan	24	6	0	17
4	Mike Cleary	22	5	1	14
5	George Godfrey	16	2	0	8
6	Yankee Sullivan	22	6	2	2
7	John Morrisey	17	6	0	7
8	John C Heenan	15	3	3	5
9	Sam Collyer	12	5	0	4
10	Billy Parkinson	10	5	1	1
11	Harry Kimberly	12	5	1	3
12	Joe Coburn	14	7	5	2
13	Jake Kilrain	11	6	0	9
14	Ed McGlinchey	9	5	1	0
15	Mike McCoole	14	8	4	3
16	Joe Goss	20	11	3	4
	Notables missing the cut
	George Rooke	10	8	1	5
	Tom Allen	14	10	0	1
	Tom Sayers	12	11	1	1
	Tom Hyer	11	11	2	3

At first glance it looks as though nobody will challenge John L for the first stop of the tour, though the field does include the only man to ever defeat him (7 seed John Morrisey - TKO 2) and the dangerous Bill Farnan. Most agree however that if Sullivan is derailed, the fighter with the best chance may be 'Old Chocolate' George Godfrey.

[Lee]

		1st round
Joe Goss defeats John L Sullivan by 8th rd TKO
In a stunning upset Sullivan pounded Goss early and often, finally dropping him in the 6th round. It appeared he was well on his way to victory as the 8th got under way, bouncing a hard right hand off the top of Goss' noggin. As soon as the blow landed Sullivan turned away in pain, a victim of a broken hand as Goss gets the TKO!
John C Heenan defeats Sam Collyer by 12th rd TKO
Collyer was quick and elusive early on, building a slight lead with his dazzling movement. Heenan stalked his pray and eventually wore him down, bludgeoing him to the canvas twice in the 12th round, then pounding away relentlessly to force the stoppage.
George Godfrey defeats Joe Coburn by 15 rd decision 12 rds to 3
It was back and forth over the first 7 rounds as Coburn stood with 'Old Chocolate' and matched him punch for punch for the most part. From the 8th on it was all Godfrey however as Coburn tired and George punctuated his win by dropping Coburn in each of the last 2 rounds.
Mike Cleary defeats Jake Kilrain by 9th rd TKO
This was a brutal slugfest that saw both fighters park at ring center and bounce leather furiously off each others heads. Kilrain went down in the 2nd, but came back to deck Cleary in the 5th. Cleary led 5 rounds to 3 going into the 9th and was able to trap Kilrain on the ropes, where he pummelled him into submission.
Ed McGlinchy defeats Bill Farnan by 7th rd TKO
Yet another upset as Farnan mauled McGlinchy for 6 rounds holding a 4-1-1 edge going into the 7th, but never being able to land a decisive finishing blow. Early in the 7th McGlinchy landed a blsitering hook that split Farnan's eye brow completely open and brought a quick stoppage as the blood flowed like a crimson river.
Yankee Sullivan defeats Harry Kimberly by 5th rd TKO
Sullivan bullied Kimberly and had him hurt early and often in this fight. Through 4 rounds there were few bright spots for Kimberly and Sullivan stepped up the pace in the 5th, smashing Kimberly to the canvas twice and leaving him on dream street as the referee intervened.
John Morrisey defeats Billy Parkinson by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 7
A very controversial battle as the only man to legitimately defeat John L Sullivan had his hands full with the dynamo Parkinson, who boxed circles around at times and even sent Morrisey to the canvas for a 2 count with a sneaky right hand. Morrisey then rallied in the 13th and 14th and it was just enough to get the unpopular vote.
John J Dwyer defeats Mike McCoole by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 7
Another unpopular verdict with the crowd in a bout that had only sparse patches of action as Dwyer often seemed more concerned with protecting a cut over his right eye (opened in rd 4) than he did fighting. Dwyer got the nod throwing just enough to carry rounds 9-13, then holding off a furious rally by McCoole in the final 2 rds.

[PWillisTheMan]

Another interesting idea. Though I'd personally love mixed eras.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by PWillisTheMan

Another interesting idea. Though I'd personally love mixed eras.

I went back and forth on that actually, since I like to mix fighters from different eras. I may do an "eras" tournament later on.

[Lee]

Originally Posted by PWillisTheMan

Another interesting idea. Though I'd personally love mixed eras.

Actually I am going to incoporate this idea as follows. I will make a random year generator table and import newcomers each year based on that, so we can have fighters debuting next year that started their careers anywhere between 1886 and 2008. That will add some nice variety, thanks for the suggestion PWillis

[Lee]

		Quarter-Finals
John C Heenan defeats Joe Goss by 10th rd KO
A competitive fight saw Goss land the greater volume of blows and Heenan packing the greater clout. Goss' rapier like jab busted Heenan's mouth open in the 7th and a Heenan right puffed up Joe's right eye in the 8th. Heenan held a narrow edge into the 10th when Goss got careless and ran into a left hook that put him out at 1:39.
Mike Cleary defeats George Godfrey by 15 rd decision 7 rds to 6 (2 even)
One of the fights of the tournament to date, that was fought with savagery as both men were swollen about the eyes by fights end. McCleary shocked Godfrey, dropping him in the 2nd, but Godfrey staged a furious comback in the late rounds, dropping Cleary in the 13th rd. The 14th rd went to Cleary, though most did not agree.
Yankee Sullivan defeats Ed McGlinchey by 15 rd decision 7 rds to 5 (3 even)
A slow paced fight that saw Sullivan chase McGlinchey over the first 12 rounds throwing slow ponderous punches and McGlinchey throwing scattered jabs as he retreated. McGlinchey made the final tally closer than it was be finally sitting down and engaging Sullivan to take 2 of the final 3 rounds.
John Morrisey defeats John J Dwyer by 15 rd decision 7 rds to 6 (2 even)
When Dwyer chose to stay on the outside and use his superior boxing skills the plodding Morrisey was no match for him. However, to his detriment and Morrisey's (and the crowds) benefit, Dwyer spent far too much time fighting inside and that proved the difference in an exciting encounter that was even going into round 15.
		Semi-Finals
Mike Cleary defeats John C Heenan by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 5 (2 even)
If this has been a 10 round fight John C Heenan would be fighting for the Australian Open Title next week as he held a 3 round lead heading into the 10th, despite being dropped in the 6th. From their however the fresher Cleary won the final 6 rounds, cut Heenan and sent him to the deck 3 more times to run away with the verdict.
Yankee Sullivan defeats John Morrisey by 15 rd decision 7 rds to 5 (3 even)
In lackluster bout, Suillivan used clutch and grab tactics to assume a large lead over the first 7 rounds, while doing little to excite the crowd. Morrisey finally began to find room in the second half of the fight, bloodying Sullivan around the mouth and above right eye in the 10th and 11th rounds, but was unable to pull it out in the end.
		Finals
Yankee Sullivan defeats Mike Cleary by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 7
Yankee Sullivan does not boast the most crowd pleasing of styles, but it proved effective here. After dropping the first 2 rounds, he resumed his favored tactic of winging several blows, then grabbing. Cleary rallied to drop Sullivan in the 9th round and had drawn even through 14, but Sullivan was given a very close 15th to win it.
1885 Australian Open Winner:				1885 Australian Open Runner up:
Yankee Sullivan				Mike Cleary

An interesting tournament that ended with the wrong Sullivan in the finals and barring any upsets in the qualifying stages he should head into the European Open as the #1 seed in May. Of further interest will be how well John L Sullivan has recovered from his injury with just over 8 weeks to heal.

[Lee]

	Seed	European Open - 1885	W	L	D	KO
	1	Yankee Sullivan	26	6	2	3
	2	John L Sullivan	22	3	1	16
	3	Mike Cleary	25	6	1	15
	4	John J Dwyer	20	5	2	2
	5	George Godfrey	18	3	0	8
	6	John Morrisey	19	7	0	7
	7	John C Heenan	17	4	3	7
	8	Bill Farnan	24	8	0	17
	9	Sam Collyer	14	7	0	5
	10	Billy Parkinson	11	6	1	1
	11	Ed McGlinchey	10	6	1	1
	12	Harry Kimberly	12	6	1	3
	13	Joe Goss	21	12	3	5
	14	Jake Kilrain	11	7	0	9
	15	Mike McCoole	14	9	4	3
	16	Joe Coburn	14	9	5	2
		Notables missing the cut
		George Rooke	10	8	2	5
		Tom Allen	14	10	1	1
		Tom Sayers	13	12	1	1
		Tom Hyer	14	13	2	4
		Professor Charles Hadley	13	12	2	3

Pretty much the same field as the Aussie Open as Yankee Sullivan played it safe and chose not to fight, which is the same approach George Rooke took, when 2 wins would have gotten him into the field. Tom Hyer was very busy fighting 5 times during qualifying, but barely breaking even in the process, leaving him on the outside again. Bill Farnan took a big tumble and will now have a much tougher draw, while Joe Goss managed to avoid another first round matchup with John L Sullivan, who will undoubtedly fight like an angry Bear in this go round.

[Lee]

Just a quick change to seeding rules. I have each of the 5 default boxing organizations changed to one of the tournments and in reviewing them their rankings all differ, so I will use the rankings of the tournament being contested to determine seeds, which will shake things up quite a bit.

[PWillisTheMan]

Originally Posted by Lee

Actually I am going to incoporate this idea as follows. I will make a random year generator table and import newcomers each year based on that, so we can have fighters debuting next year that started their careers anywhere between 1886 and 2008. That will add some nice variety, thanks for the suggestion PWillis

I find it keeps me more interested with a random variable from a running standpoint. You never know what is coming next and it keeps you from looking at how far away so and so fighter is from joining the uni.

[javier_83]

ill be reading this!!

just a question, how do you handle to schedule between the tournaments??

[Lee]

Originally Posted by javier_83

ill be reading this!!

just a question, how do you handle to schedule between the tournaments??

It's all random, I use the autoscheduler and run the number of fights = to the number of active boxers so that each fighter would "average" 2 fights the month before the tournament to try and improve their qualifying position. So basically some fighters could fight 4-5 times before a tournament and some not at all.

[Lee]

			1st round
	Yankee Sullivan defeats Joe Coburn by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 6 (1 even)
	Sullivan appeared to be on for a rocky ride as his quest to win back to back majors began as Joe Coburn jumped to an early lead through 6 rounds beating Sullivan to the punch time and again. Sullivan then won 6 of the next 7 rounds with his punch and grab tactics, before holding off a late Coburn rally.
	Bill Farnan defeats Sam Collyer by 10th rd TKO
	Bill Farnan was not happy with his showing in his home country in the Australian open and he promptly displayed that flooring Sam Collyer early and beating his smaller foe to a pulp before finally putting him to the canvas twice more in the 10th round to advance to the quarterfinals.
	Harry Kimberly defeats George Godfrey by 7th rd TKO
	George Godfrey took control of this fight from the opening round, backing Kimberly up and dropping near the end of the 6th, easily taking 5 of the first 6 rounds. In the end though it was a single punch by Kimberly landed in the 4th that split Godfrey's brow and ultimately decided the fight when Godrey's corner could not close the cut.
	Joe Goss defeats John J Dwyer by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 7
	a superb tactical match that featured more action than most experts predicted with both fighters throwing effective flurries as the fight momentum flowed back and forth. Goss put together a big run on the middle taking rounds 5-9 which carried him to victory despite a horrific gash under his right eye.
	Jake Kilrain defeats Mike Cleary by 6th round TKO
	A pier six brawl from the get go as Kilrain emerged throwing bombs, causing Cleary's left eye to begin swelling in the 1st. Cleary took rounds 2 and 3 backing Kilrain up, but Jake unleashed absolute fury in rounds 4 and 5 as Cleary's eye began to close. In the 6th Kilrain battered Cleary who was defenseless as the fight was halted.
	John Morrisey defeats Ed McGlinchey by 7th rd disqualification (low blows)
	Ed McGlinchey wasted no time earning the referees ire drawing a warning for holding and hitting on round 1. These tactics continued and frustrated Morrisey, who still built a 4 rounds to 2 lead, helped by Ed losing the 6th for a low blow. Morrisey had McGlinchey hurt in the 7th, when the latter went low again getting Disqualified.
	Billy Parkinson defeats John C Heenan by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 6 (1 even)
	After a slow first 2 rounds that saw Parkinson hit and run as expected, the fight took a strange turn, with Parkinson coming right at Heenan and outslugging him, building a huge lead of 8 rounds to 2 through 10. After an even 11th, Heenan staged a desperate rally battering Parkinson over the last 4, but was unalbe to put him down.
	John L Sullivan defeats Mike McCoole by 4th rd TKO
	A barn burner while it lasted as Sullivan landed over 35 punches per round as McCoole looked to stay with him and wear him down. Though he was unable to drop the Deck Hand Champion, Sullivans heavy hands took their toll swelling McCoole's left eye and opening a gash so severe over the right the stoppage was immediate.

Some exciting first round fights, with the upset bug making a couple of appearances, most notably in the Godfrey fight, which George dominated outside the cut.

[javier_83]

Lets go Mr J. Sullivan!!

i have money in you in this tournament!!

[Lee]

			Quarter-Finals
	Bill Farnan defeated Yankee Sullivan by 15 rd decision 10 rds to 4 (1 even)
	Sullivan came out in his usual style, hitting and grabbing, but Farnan was able to shake stay with him early and eventually began to wear the top seed down with blistering right hands that put Sullivan on his back in the 9th, 13th and 14th rounds and a left hook that left his right eye a swollen bloody mess.
	Joe Goss defeats Harry Kimberly by 15 rd decision 10 rds to 2 (3 even)
	This match was no match at all as Goss gave Kimberly an absolute boxing lesson, keeping him at bay with a stiff jab and moving artfully away from Kimberly's ill-time rushes. Goss really picked it up in the 14th flooring Kimberly with a big left hook and opening a horrific gash over his eye that nearly caused the fight to be stopped.
	Jake Kilrain defeats John Morrisey by 11th rd TKO
	Jake Kilrain is an entirely changed fighter in this tournament, showing an anger that has lead to two savage wins as he jumped on Morrisey from the opening bell, rocking him and forcing Morrisey to hold on. Kilrain had Morrisey down in the 6th and again in the 11th, with the fight being stopped as Kilrain battered John in the corner.
	John L Sullivan defeats Billy Parkinson by 10th rd KO
	Sullivan toyed with Parkinson early, dropping him in the 2nd and 4th and walking through everything he threw. Parkinson was game however and rallied to outslug Sullivan in the 7th and 8th, which proved to be a mistake as Sullivan got serious, dropping Parkinson twice more in the 10th, the second time for the 10 count
			Semi-Finals
	Bill Farnan defeats Joe Goss by 15th rd TKO
	Brains vs braun as the crude brawler from down under took on the masterful Goss and both men had their moments in a very even affair through 10, that saw Goss build a slight lead. From here however he seemed to tire and Farnans blows began to chop him down, finally forcing the stoppage after a knockdown in the last stanza.
	Jake Kilrain defeats John L Sullivan by 15 rd decision 9 rds to 5 (1 even)
	An anticipated brawl saw Sullivan rock Kilrain early as the latter just looked to survive the early rounds and draw Sullivan into deep water. The plan was effective as The Boston Strongboy wore down and his punches began to lose their steam in the latter rounds as Kilrain topped a solid performance with a knockdown in the 11th.
			Finals
	Bill Farnan defeats Jake Kilrain by 15 rd decision 8 rds to 6 (1 even)
	A bout expected to be packed with fireworks started slowly as both men were wary of the others power, before Farnan finally began to push the pace in the middle rounds. Kilrain came on in the 11th and 12th, puffing up Farnan's face, but Farnan would not fade as Sullivan had took the next two rounds to seal the victory.
	1885 European Open Winner:				1885 European Open Runner up:
	Bill Farnan				Jake Kilrain

Kilrain's improbable transformation from also-ran to world class fighter came up just short, but a solid run should build confidence for the future. Many expected a Farnan Sullivan final, but John L continues to struggle with conditioning and Kilrain exposed that by pulling him into the later rounds, where he took over.

Two tournaments and two different champions as we head to the UK for the british open.

Originally Posted by javier_83

Lets go Mr J. Sullivan!!

i have money in you in this tournament!!

Sorry buddy, John L needs to get in better shape

[javier_83]

damn it, must be the water >=/

[Lee]

	Seed	British Open - 1885	W	L	D	KO
	1	Bill Farnan	28	8	0	19
	2	Jake Kilrain	14	8	0	11
	3	Mike Cleary	28	7	1	16
	4	Yankee Sullivan	27	7	2	3
	5	George Godfrey	19	4	0	8
	6	Joe Goss	23	13	3	5
	7	John Morrisey	20	9	0	7
	8	John L Sullivan	24	4	1	18
	9	Tom Hyer	16	13	2	5
	10	John J Dwyer	22	7	3	4
	11	Alf Greenfield	17	15	3	2
	12	Yoshi Ogawa	12	9	3	11
	13	Tom Allen	14	10	1	1
	14	Captain James Dalton	12	12	1	1
	15	John Knifton	15	14	3	4
	16	Professor William Miller	12	17	6	3
		Notables missing the cut
		Joe Coburn	16	11	5	2
		Mike McCoole	17	13	5	4
		John C Heenan	19	8	3	9
		Tom Sayers	13	12	1	1
		Professor Charles Hadley	13	14	2	3

A number of new faces make the cut for this tournment, with Tim Hyer being the highest debut with the #9 seed. Professor William Miller sneaks in with a losing record after upsetting John C Heenan in the qualifying rounds, putting Heenan on the sideline for this tournament. The biggest question still is the ability of John L Sullivan to put an entire tournament together and train properly. That question will be answered quickly with a potential quarterfinal match against reigning European Open winner Bill Farnan.

[javier_83]

lets go Sullivan we need to recover the lost of the last tournament!!