The Heavyweight Premier League

[dickiedo]

Dempsey #11 8-7-0 (4) v. Loughran #16 3-9-2 (1)

A surprising start to this one, as Loughran handily won the first four rounds of the bout. Starting in the 5^th, Dempsey was starting to box better, but he still found it hard to deal with Loughran, who was pretty much dancing circles around him. At the half way point, most of those ringside had Loughran down with a pretty decent lead. Dempsey started to assert himself in the 10^th, going on a nice little tear, and closing the gap on Laughran. Going into the final round, you could hear Dempsey’s corner imploring him to knock Loughran out. And he came out and did his best, having his best round of the fight, but all he could manage to accomplish was: Draw15

Dempsey stays #11, Loughran moves to #15

Foreman #18 5-9-1 (3) v. Klitschko #5 8-6-1 (1)

Both men come into the fight in excellent shape, but I think Vitali will be victorious in this one. Well, Foreman came out fast and furious in the first two rounds, and it looked like he was intent on knocking Klitschko out. The side effect of this, of course, was by the 5^th, Foreman looked tired, but he did have the advantage that was the major swelling started under Klitschko’s left eye in the 2^nd. Both men looked pretty much wiped out by the 11^th, yet if Foreman could just dig deep, he had a nice lead, and could win this bout. Well, the 13^th saw him knocked down early on, and once he staggered to his feet, Klitschko followed him around the ring, pummeling him as they went. The ref had no choice: Klitshcko TKO13

George drops to #19, Klitschko up to #3

Tyson #8 8-7-0 (5) v. Louis #1 12-3-0 (9)

Wow. This was one heck of a fight, no, one heck of a brawl. There was no feeling out of each, the bell rang and the two seemed to run up to each other to get the action under way. It looked to many like Louis would have Tyson done early on, as he totally controlled the first two rounds of the bout. However, Tyson rallied nicely and stood toe to toe with Louis, giving as good as he got. At the half way point, cards around the arena either had it down as even, or surprisingly a slight advantage to Tyson. Louis sent him down in the 9^th, but only to the count of three. The knockdown seemed to have an adverse effect on Tyson, and he wasn’t the same after. He muddled through the 10^th and 11^th, before Louis had had enough in the 12^th. He attacked Tyson without mercy, and if the ref had not stepped in, I shudder to think what the outcome would have been: Louis TKO12

Tyson drops to #11, and let’s see, right, Louis stays #1, again

[Lee]

George undone by his stamina again

[dickiedo]

Originally Posted by Lee

George undone by his stamina again

He does seem to have his issues in the ring, but he does make a mean grill. That should count for something.

[dickiedo]

Liston #20 3-8-3 (1) v. Johnson #14 5-7-3

Liston has not had the greatest season so far, and the fact that he looked a little soft around the edges certainly didn’t make it seem like that was going to be changing. The second indicator that this probably wasn’t going to be the best night for Liston was the minor swelling that popped up under his right eye in the 1^st. By the 7^th, the swelling on Liston had turned pretty nasty, and in the 9^th, it caused a stoppage for an inspection by the physician, but the fight was allowed to continue. Directly after the re start, a vicious hook from Jackson sent Liston crashing to the mat. Liston managed to continue, despite the knockdown and the ever increasing swelling. He was sent down again in the 14^th, but struggled to his once again. The bout was dominated by Johnson, but the result seems to have cemented his reputation as the most inept finisher in the league: Johnson UD15

Liston stays #20, Johnson goes to #12

Lewis #6 6-8-1 (4) v. Frazier #8 5-9-1 (3)

A good, old fashioned slug fest here. The two battered each throughout the first half of the bout, with Frazier doing most of the battering. Frazier opened a cut above Lewis’ right eye in the 6^th, that was re opened in the 9^th and 10^th. Mr. Frazier also knocked Lewis down in the 9^th and 10^th. At this point, it was obvious who was in charge of this one. Any doubt was put to rest in the 11^th, when Lewis went crashing down, not once, but twice. It was after the second one that the ever present gash over Lewis’ eye reached the point of no return: Frazier TKO11

Lewis sinks to #9 in the rankings, Frazier moves up two to #6

Jeffries #14 5-7-2 (2) v. Marciano #2 11-4-0 (6)

The first half of this bout was pretty much dominated by Jeffries. He was a madman in the ring, and this was demonstrated in the 8^th, when he somehow knocked Marciano down twice. Even so, Marciano was still giving it to Jeffries pretty good, and a fight that would probably be lopsided at this point wasn’t. I foresee an interesting conclusion to this one. And going into the 15^th, it was shaping up that way as Marciano had been pounding Jeffries the past few rounds. And the pounding didn’t stop in the 15^th, as Marciano sent Jeffries crashing twice in the round: Marciano UD15 (On a side note, I think there was some judge bias towards Marciano in this one since he may have done enough to win, but not by the margins all three judges had. And I don’t mess with judge bias, so I am not sure what happened here.)

Jeffries stays at #14, Marciano stays #2

[dickiedo]

And so, here we are as the final week of the first year of the HWPL dawns. I must say I have been surprised on more than one occasion by results that seemed to have come out of left field. However, I have enjoyed pretty much every bout from the beginning of the season up to now. Hopefully this week’s bouts will take us out on a high filled with excitement. I do have my fingers crossed, hoping for some good action since both Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali are in action.

[dickiedo]

Louis #1 13-3-0 (10) v. Jeanette #17 5-9-0 (3)

The first half of the bout belonged to Louis. He sent Jeanette down twice in the 3^rd, and further hampered him in the 5^th when a cross started some rather unpleasant swelling under the left eye in the 5^th. Louis went into the last half of the fight with a seemingly nice lead, and if past performance is any indicator, he would see this one through to the end. Going into the 15^th, Louis was pretty much dominating, but Jeanette surely wasn’t going to just roll over and let him take the spoils. We went into the 15^th with Louis holding a good lead, but it seemed that Jeanette may have something up his sleeve to cause him some trouble. But he didn’t, and besides the one judge who needed to go visit an optometrist, Louis did more than enough: Louis MD15

Louis, of course, stays #1, Jeanette stays at #17

Langford #4 9-5-2 (4) v. Holmes #18 7-5-2 (1)

The first five rounds of this one certainly weren’t boring. In the 2^nd, an accidental head butt opened a cut under Holmes’ left eye. In the 3^rd, a cross from Langford sent Holmes crashing to the canvas, and shortly after he regained his feet, a solid combination started minor swelling under both eyes. In the 4^th, it was Langford on the receiving end of a vicious blow that started swelling under his left. Things continued nicely into the 11^th, when Holmes went down yet again. By the end of the 11^th, both men were sporting rather substantial swelling under both eyes. By the 13^th, it seemed that the result of the bout would be determined by the man who could still see anything. However, in the 13^th, Langford, who was fighting well, was unlucky when a shot from Holmes opened a cut on his swollen left eyelid. Not long after the first signs of blood, another shot basically caused the cut to explode, and it was obvious the fight had to stop: Holmes TKO13

Langford slips all the way to 13^th in the rankings, while shoots up to 12^th

Ali #4 10-5-1 (5) v. Liston #20 3-9-3 (1)

Liston came out very impressively at the opening bell, and he continued his very impressive showing through the 8^th. On my card, he had won six of the eight rounds. He also had the added benefit of causing some fairly bad swelling under the right eye of Ali in the 5^th. Ali fared better in the second half of the fight, starting in the 9^th when he very nearly had Liston out on his feet. He also landed a thunderous blow in the 12^th that sent Liston down. However, it was clear to me who the winner was far and away, although not everyone always see things the same way I guess: Liston SD15

Well, Ali plummets all the way to #15, while Liston moves to 14^th.

And so, the first year of the HWPL is in the books!

[dickiedo]

Position	Fighter	Rank	Bouts	Won	Lost	Draw	KO's	Points
1	Louis	1	17	14	3	0	10	42
2	Marciano	2	16	12	4	0	6	36
3	Ali	15	17	10	6	1	5	31
4	Langford	12	17	9	6	2	4	29
5	Klitschko	3	16	9	6	1	2	28
6	Holmes	11	15	8	5	2	2	26
7	McVey	6	16	8	7	1	6	25
8	Dempsey	8	16	8	7	1	4	25
9	Tunney	13	16	8	7	1	1	25
10	Tyson	9	16	8	8	0	5	24
11	Jackson	5	15	8	7	0	3	24
12	Johnson	10	16	6	7	3	0	21
13	Frazier	4	16	6	9	1	4	19
14	Lewis	7	16	6	9	1	4	19
15	Jeanette	19	15	5	10	0	3	18
16	Foreman	20	16	5	10	1	3	18
17	Jeffries	16	15	5	8	2	2	17
18	Stribling	18	16	5	10	1	2	17
19	Liston	14	16	4	9	3	1	15
20	Loughran	17	15	3	9	3	1	12

[dickiedo]

This is supposed to be January 6, 2013 Results

Jeffries #16 5-8-2 (2) v. Lewis #7 6-9-1 (4)

A good start to this one, as there was no feeling each other out in the first few rounds. The two stood toe to toe, unleashing blow after blow. There were a couple less than stellar rounds in the first half of the bout, but it seemed pretty clear that Jeffries reached the half way point with a fairly comfortable lead on Lewis. Lewis did try valiantly to mount a charge in the 11^th and 12^th, but did not make much headway. Further, it seemed to sap the rest of his energy, as he was knocked down twice in the 13^th, and once in the 14^th. The landslide goes to: Jeffries UD15

Jeffries moves up to 10^th, Lewis drops to 12^th in the rankings.

Foreman #20 5-10-1 (3) v. Tunney #14 8-7-1 (1)

There were whispers coming into this bout that Tunney may have over trained, but of course, we would have to wait and see. If he did, perhaps he should more often, as he sent Foreman crashing with a big combination in the 1^st. Foreman recovered though, and through the 8^th, the fight was pretty much a dead heat. Going into the 9^th, the only question on most people’s lips was how much did Foreman have left in the tank? Well, the answer to that, as usual, was nothing much. He somehow continued fighting until the 14^th. He was knocked down again and barely beat the count. Once he was on his feet and the bout restarted, Tunney went in for the kill: Tunney TKO 14

Foreman stays #20, and Tunney moves up to the #9 spot.

Marciano #2 12-4-0 (6) v. Jackson #5 8-7-0 (3)

Well, I was hoping that this would be a good one, and for the most part I would say it was. Marciano came out firing on all cylinders in the 1^st, and very nearly had Jackson stopped at the end of the round. He also had the added benefit of causing some pretty fair swelling under Jackson’s right eye. Marciano was not so lucky in the 2^nd and 3^rd, as it was Jackson’s turn to wallop away. He came close to stopping Marciano in the 3^rd. Then the interesting 4^th. The wallop meter swung back to Marciano, as he was destroying Jackson, knocking him down in the second minute. Jackson struggled to his feet, and Marciano pounced. The swelling from the 1^st exploded, and with six seconds to go in the round, the ref seemed to signal the end of the round. However, he simply seems to have had a brain freeze, as he wrapped his arms around Jackson to prevent more serious damage. Controversy averted for once: Marciano TKO4

Marciano stays #2, Jackson only drops down to #6

[dickiedo]

Klitschko #3 9-6-1 (2) v. Loughran #17 3-9-3 (1)

Well, not the most exciting start to a fight, as at the half way point there were no knockdowns, no bruising, swelling or cuts either. However, it was neck and neck, so it should be an interesting run in. Klitschko tried to assert himself, but still, going into the 15^th, it seemed too close to call. And indeed, it seemed the judges agreed: Draw15

Both fighters keep their TBCB rankings

Frazier #4 6-9-1 (4) v. Stribling #18 5-10-1 (2)

Well, half way through this one, and it was another tight encounter. Once again, there were no knockdowns, bruising, swelling or cuts through the 8^th. However, this was a more entertaining bout up to this point, with back and forth action and huge hits. Then in the 9^th, Frazier suffered major swelling under the right eye. Would it be too late to be a factor in the outcome? It seemed that it was going to be as Stribling seemed to aim every punch he threw at that right eye. Klitschko didn’t seem to see the punch that sent him crashing in the 14^th, and going into the final round, it seemed the bout may not reach the final bell. I am honestly amazed that this one wasn’t stopped, as the swelling of Frazier’s right eye became gruesome half way through the 15^th. Unfortunately for Frazier, he just couldn’t see most of Stribling’s punches coming: Stribling UD15

Frazier drops to 10^th, Stribling shoots up to 9^th

Holmes #13 8-5-2 (2) v. Jeanette #19 5-10-0 (3)

Another tight one at the half way point, but Jeanette did knock Holmes down in the 6^th, and started some swelling under his left eye in the 8^th. Here’s hoping for an exciting finish to this one. Holmes did launch an offensive in the 9^th, going strongly after Jeanette, and causing some damage in both the 9^th and 10^th. Holmes was looking good, and had seemingly opened a nice little lead on Jeanette, but as the fight was drawing to a close, the action pretty much petered out. Going to the 15^th, it seemed Jeanette would have to come up with something special, but he did have the knockdown in his back pocket. And as it turns out, that may have been enough to secure victory, but Holmes absolutely destroyed him in the final round, swaying opinion just enough: Holmes SD15

Holmes moves to #6, Jeanette stayed #19, as he dropped his 5^th decision in a row

[dickiedo]

Holmes #6 9-5-2 (2) v. Lewis #14 6-10-1 (4)

I was hoping for a good bout here, as the two fighters seemed to be an interesting matchup. Through the first half of the fight, the only excitement came in the way of a blistering combination from Holmes that sent Lewis crashing in the 5^th. I was hoping to see Holmes build some momentum up after the knockdown, but it just was forthcoming. Actually, it seemed that it just spurred Lewis on to fight even better. And then, disaster in the 13^th, as an absolute cracker of an uppercut landed flush on Lewis’ chin. Even as he was crumpling to the canvas, you knew he wouldn’t be getting back up: Holmes KO13

Holmes moves up to #4, Lewis drops to #15

Liston #16 4-9-3 (1) v. Marciano #2 13-4-0 (7)

Going into this one, I figured Marciano would dispatch Liston sooner rather than later. Also, I found it ironic that the bout was taking place at the Joe Louis Arena. Anyway, it seems I should stop making predictions before bouts, as they usually end up being totally wrong. This was an even fight through the first half, with Marciano picking up some pretty bad swelling under the left eye in the 6^th, and Liston doing the same in the 7^th. After the 8^th, Marciano slowly started asserting himself, culminating in a knockdown of Liston in the 12^th as result of a hard uppercut. In the 14^th, the swelling under Marciano’s left was pretty bad, and then a solid shot from Liston caused violent swelling to erupt under his right. Going into the final round, Marciano seemed to have a healthy lead, but with both eyes severely swollen, he was in trouble. As it stood, he made it through the 15^th, and while not his best fight, in my eyes, he seemed to have done more than enough to win the fight. Perhaps I should have lent my glasses to the judges: Liston MD15

Liston amazingly rockets to #3 in what seems to be a wacky TBCB ranking system, while Marciano drops to #4

Johnson #13 6-7-3 v. Stribling #11 6-10-1 (2)

Jack Johnson comes into this bout as the only fighter without a knockout to his name. Is it time? Not much to talk about with this one. The only excitement through the first fourteen rounds was a point deduction from Johnson in the 2^nd due to very persistent low blows. Otherwise, this was pretty much an even Steven bout, although Johnson did seem to have the slimmest of leads going into the 15^th. He managed to improve upon that slimmest of leads in the 15^th, bringing an end to one of the more boring bouts I have ever seen: Johnson UD15

Johnson moves up to 6^th in the rankings, while Stribling goes to #15

[dickiedo]

Tunney #11 9-7-1 (2) v. Louis #1 14-3-0 (10)

Tunney ended up faring better in this one than I thought he would after the first two rounds. In those two rounds, Louis hounded him, knocking him from one side of the ring to the other. But Tunney was able to regroup and give some of it back to Louis. However, he suffered some pretty nasty swelling under the right eye in the 7^th. Despite that swelling, Tunney was putting in an impressive performance after that slow start. That is, until the 10^th, when he was unceremoniously dumped to the canvas by a huge combination. He managed to regain his feet, but probably shouldn’t have. Once the bout restarted, Louis absolutely destroyed Mr. Tunney, and the ref had no choice: Louis TKO10

Tunney slips one to #12, while Louis stays #1 with his 9^th straight win

McVey #7 8-7-1 (6) v. Foreman #20 5-11-1 (3)

Seemed to be the same old story with this one as far as Foreman goes. He came out throwing a ton of punches, missing with most. When he did connect, the result seemed as though he had bricks in his gloves, as he knocked McVey down in both the 4^th and 5^th. The only problem was, he didn’t pace himself, and by the end of the 6^th, not only did he have to contend with the dramatic swelling that ballooned under his left eye, but it seemed his take was already almost empty. So, there seemed only one thing he could do, and that was to go after McVey with everything he had. And boy, did he. He absolutely obliterated McVey in the 7^th, knocking him from one side of the ring to the other before the ref stepped in: Foreman TKO7

McVey plummets all the way to #18 in the rankings, while George moves up to #17

Klitschko #2 9-6-2 (2) v. Jeffries #12 6-8-2 (2)

Well, not much to report on this one. Klitschko was dominating Jeffries from the very start, no question about that. He even knocked him down in the 6^th. However, an uppercut from Jeffries had opened up a somewhat nasty gash outside of Klitschko’s right eye in the 2^nd. His corner got it closed, and kept it closed. But then a thunderous hook from Jeffries in the 10^th caused the cut to explode: Jeffries TKO10

Klitschko drops to #6, Jeffries slots up to 5^th

So far this season, Klitschko has fought the most rounds with 244, while Jack Dempsey has the least at 170

[dickiedo]

Position	Fighter	Rank	Bouts	Won	Lost	Draw	KO's	Points
1	Louis	1	18	15	3	0	11	45
2	Marciano	3	18	13	5	0	7	39
3	Holmes	4	17	10	5	2	3	32
4	Ali	16	17	10	6	1	5	31
5	Langford	13	17	9	6	2	4	29
6	Klitschko	6	18	9	7	2	2	29
7	Tunney	12	18	9	8	1	2	28
8	McVey	18	17	8	8	1	6	25
9	Dempsey	9	16	8	7	1	4	25
10	Tyson	10	16	8	8	0	5	24
11	Jackson	8	16	8	8	0	3	24
12	Johnson	7	17	7	7	3	0	24
13	Jeffries	5	17	7	8	2	3	23
14	Lewis	15	18	6	11	1	4	19
15	Foreman	17	18	6	11	1	4	19
16	Frazier	11	17	6	10	1	4	19
17	Stribling	14	18	6	11	1	2	19
18	Liston	2	17	5	9	3	1	18
19	Jeanette	20	16	5	11	0	3	15
20	Loughran	19	16	3	9	4	1	13

[dickiedo]

Jackson #8 8-8-0 (2) v. Tyson #10 8-8-0 (5)

A fairly tame bout through the first five, as the two men traded rounds and tremendous blows. Things got a bit more interesting in the 6^th when a vicious cross from Tyson caught Jackson flush, and sent him crashing. Tyson seemed to have taken the advantage in the bout with a strong 7^th round following the 6^th round knockdown. Then, in the 8^th, what had been just another round was turned on its head when another cross, this time from Jackson, sent Tyson to the canvas. At the count of six, Tyson was still struggling to regain his feet. However, he just couldn’t make it: Jackson KO8

Jackson moves to #4 in the rankings, Tyson goes to #13

Ali #16 10-6-1 (5) v. Dempsey #9 8-7-1 (4)

I am not sure how this bout even made in to the 3^rd round. In the 2^nd, Dempsey ruthlessly pounded Ali from start to finish, and it seemed to me he was out on his feet. Perhaps it was to early for a stoppage? And, Ali regrouped somewhat, and starting in the 3^rd tried to take the fight to Dempsey as much as he could. But at the half way point, Dempsey seemed to be on the better end of the result. Going into the final round, Ali did seem to have battled back, but Dempsey still had a decent lead in my book. Neither fighter did much in the 15^th to claim the fight as their own, and although I still had Dempsey as the victor, the judges (as always) had a different idea: MDraw15

Ali stays #16, Dempsey stays #9

Jeanette #20 5-11-0 (3) v. Marciano #3 13-5-0 (7)

Through the first six rounds, Jeanette was more than holding his own. In fact, he had won the majority of the rounds quite easily. The reason for this was that while Marciano was landing some absolute bombs, he was having a very difficult time stringing the devastating blows together. Whether this was luck or skill on Jeanette’s part, I am not sure. However, whichever it was, it abandoned him in the 7^th. First, Marciano knocked him down with a stunning uppercut, this was followed by a huge cross that opened a gash on Jeanette’s right eyebrow, and then Marciano rained what seemed like a never ending stream of solid punches. The ref finally stepped in with fifty seconds left on the clock: Marciano TKO7

Jeanette stays #20, while Marciano moves back to #2 in the rankings.

[dickiedo]

Loughran #19 3-9-4 (1) v. Johnson #8 7-7-3

Feeling the pressure of being the only fighter left to not record a stoppage, it seems that Johnson totally overdid his training in the lead up to this bout. Well, as of the half way point, it certainly didn’t seem that Johnson had overdone it, as he looked to have a nice lead. This was in part due to the fact that he knocked Loughran down in the 2^nd, albeit only for a three count. Johnson was a little unlucky in the 3^rd when a glancing blow caused a cut to be opened under his right eye. Through the 14^th, Loughran stayed on his feet, and held his own, but Johnson certainly seemed to have done enough to win this one (unless the judges watched another bout, of course), barring a miracle for Loughran in the 15^th. And he didn’t get one, as Johnson held him off well: Johnson UD15

Loughran stays #19, Johnson and his no knockouts moves to #4

Tyson #13 8-9-0 (5) v. Ali #16 10-6-2 (5)

I shouldn’t make predictions about the outcomes of bouts, but I feel that Tyson will come out strong, with Ali allowing him to tire himself out. And then Ali will pounce and send him crashing in the 11^th. Don’t know if I am right, but if this pans out, I will have to get myself a Powerball ticket on the way home tomorrow. Not so sure about that Powerball ticket. Tyson did start much stronger than Ali, causing some major swelling under his right eye in the 4^th. Ali returned the favor in the 8^th, creating quite the mouse under Tyson’s right eye. But as with most predictions I make, the 11^th came and went, and Tyson was still very much in the bout. And going into the 15^th, the result was pretty much up in the air, with both men having done enough to this point to possibly claim the win. However, I think it will take something special from one of them to keep this from being a draw. And to me, Ali did what he had to to win the bout, as Tyson failed to lay a glove on him the entire round. But once again, the fickle judges have proved me wrong: Draw15

Tyson stays #13, while Ali moves up one to #15 in the rankings

Louis #1 15-3-0 (11) v. Jackson #4 9-8-0 (4)

Through the first half of the fight, this one went pretty much back and forth. Two rounds dominated by one fighter, then they would switch. Unfortunately for Louis, the rounds Jackson dominated were much more impressive. There was a flash of excitement in the 4^th when Louis went down from a hard cross, but it was only for a three count. Louis retaliated in the 5^th by causing a mouse under Jackson’s right eye. Louis battled back nicely in the second half of the bout, but he was unlucky to suffer a cut outside the left eye in the 9^th. Jackson seemed to focus on the cut, reopening it in the 10^th, 11^th, and finally in the 12^th. It was at this point that the doc called the fight. Disappointing: Jackson TKO12

Louis drops to #2, while Peter Jackson jumps up to #1 in the rankings

[dickiedo]

Jeffries #7 7-8-2 (3) v. Langford #12 9-6-2 (4)

A nice even slug fest through the 8^th. Even the rounds where one was victorious, the other was not that far behind. Even the wounds were similar, as Langford developed some pretty unpleasant swelling under the left in the 6^th, and Jeffries under the same eye in the 8^th. Even the less than stellar 9^th round, which left much to be desired, was even. Then the 10^th rolled around, and Jeffries just started walloping Langford, who looked defenseless. At the 2:41 mark, Jeffries landed a devastating blow under the ribs, and Langford dropped to the deck. Try as he might, he just could not regain his feet: Jeffries KO10

Jeffries moves to 4^th, Langford sinks to #15

Liston #5 5-9-3 (1) v. McVey #18 8-8-1 (6)

Well, not much to say here, as the bout never really got a chance to get going. Liston came out stronger in the 1^st, but that being said, it wasn’t all that impressive of a round. Then the 2^nd rolled around, and not thirty seconds in, it seemed as though McVey was keen on neutering Liston. Referee O’Brien felt that the low blow was more than blatant and at the just thirty-four seconds in stopped the fight: Liston DQ2

Liston slots into 3^rd, McVey stays #18

Holmes #7 10-5-2 (3) v. Dempsey #9 8-7-2 (4)

Here’s hoping this goes better than the last fight. Not that I mind a quick result, but certainly not through a disqualification. And this one did last longer, although through the first half, there wasn’t all that much more action. A shot from Dempsey did start some minor swelling under the right eye of Holmes in the 6^th, but other than that, nothing else happened as Dempsey went into the second half of the bout with the slimmest of leads (maybe, since I am not sure what the judges are watching half the time). Holmes was cutting into Dempsey’s (perceived) lead, when in the 11^th he was a bit unlucky to suffer a cut right on the left eyebrow. Hopefully this bad break wouldn’t derail what was shaping up to become an exciting finish. Oh, and how exciting it was going to be. Holmes knocked Dempsey down right before the bell rang in the 12^th, which spurred Dempsey on in the 13^th, as he pounded away at Holmes, searching for that one big blow. Alas, the always difficult to deal with cut located right on an eyebrow was re opened in the 14^th, and as disappointing as it was, the ref really had no choice: Dempsey TKO14

The fighters switch places in the rankings, Holmes #9, Dempsey #7

[Lee]

Jackson with a big upset, that makes things interesting...

[dickiedo]

Originally Posted by Lee

Jackson with a big upset, that makes things interesting...

It does throw a bit of a curve into the league, and while he slipped to #2 in the rankings, for the time being, he is still number one by points. It will be interesting, as his next bout isn't until the end of march. Against some pushover named Marciano.

[dickiedo]

Frazier #10 6-10-1 (4) v. Tunney #11 9-8-1 (2)

The first half of this one was a good old fashioned brawl. The two were evenly matched (surprise), although some felt that Tunney had the slight lead. Looking at him, you would not have thought it though. He developed some unpleasant swelling under the left eye in the 7^th, and in the same round had a cut opened above his right. The cut was re opened in the 8^th. Would he be able to last with these wounds? He did, making it to the 15^th, however, the swelling of his eye was becoming a problem and Frazier was taking advantage. This culminated in a knockdown in the 14^th. This one is too close to call going into the 15^th. In the end, Frazier’s performance in the 15^th easily determined the winner, as he seemed to want to knock Tunney’s head off. He nearly succeeded at the end of the round when he sent Tunney crashing again: Frazier UD15

Frazier moves to #9, Tunney drops to #13

Stribling #12 6-11-1 (2) v. Jeanette #20 5-12-0 (3)

The first four rounds clearly belonged to Jeanette, as he was in total control. However, starting in the 5^th, Stribling started ramping up his attacks leading up to a devastating attack on Jeanette in the 8^th, when he nearly had him out on his feet, and then sent him crashing, only for Jeanette to be saved by the bell. Stribling kept up the assault in the 9^th, sending Jeanette down again. The action leveled off in the 10^th, but Stribling seemed to be doing enough to escape with the win. And in the end, the judges looked quite favorably at the two knockdowns of Jeanette: Stribling UD15

Stribling moves to #11, Jeanette (loser of seven straight) stays at #20

Dempsey #7 9-7-2 (5) v. Klitschko #8 9-7-2 (2)

Great first half to this bout. Both men were wailing away on each other with total abandon. Klitschko was certainly on the receiving end of most of the action, but he was certainly landing some impressive punches. The only problem for him was that by the start of the 9^th, he looked to already be running on fumes. Not saying he wouldn’t see the bout to the end, but it would seem that Dempsey had the clear advantage going into the later stages. And then in the 9^th, Klitschko suffered one of the worst cuts these guys face: as nasty looking slice within the right eyebrow. It never seems to end well for those on the receiving end of these types of cuts. Alas, it almost didn’t even matter, as the 10^th was probably the most fantastic round since the league started. Dempsey knocked Klitschko down for an eight count, again, for a nine count, and again for another eight count. Oh, almost forgot, Klitschko hit the canvas for an amazing fourth time at the end of the round, this time being saved by the bell. Suffice it to say, Dempsey seemed to have a commanding lead at this juncture. In the 11^th, it was more of the same. Dempsey first re opened the cut on Klitschko’s eyebrow, then dropped him with a huge overhand right, with Vitali regaining his feet at the count of nine. I think he was back on his feet for about three seconds before Dempsey hammered him again one last time. There would be no getting back to his feet this time: Dempsey KO 11 (Yikes!)

Dempsey goes #5, Klitschko to #10

[dickiedo]

Position	Fighter	Rank	Bouts	Won	Lost	Draw	KO's	Points
1	Louis	2	19	15	4	0	11	45
2	Marciano	4	19	14	5	0	8	42
3	Ali	14	19	10	6	3	5	33
4	Dempsey	5	19	10	7	2	6	32
5	Holmes	9	18	10	6	2	3	32
6	Jackson	1	18	10	8	0	5	30
7	Langford	15	18	9	7	2	4	29
8	Klitschko	10	19	9	8	2	2	29
9	Tunney	13	19	9	9	1	2	28
10	Johnson	7	18	8	7	3	0	27
11	Jeffries	6	18	8	8	2	4	26
12	McVey	18	18	8	9	1	6	25
13	Tyson	12	18	8	9	1	5	25
14	Frazier	8	18	7	10	1	4	22
15	Stribling	11	19	7	11	1	2	22
16	Liston	3	18	6	9	3	1	21
17	Lewis	16	18	6	11	1	4	19
18	Foreman	17	18	6	11	1	4	19
19	Jeanette	20	18	5	13	0	3	15
20	Loughran	19	17	3	10	4	1	13

[dickiedo]

Langford #15 9-7-2 (4) v. Tyson #12 8-9-1 (5)

Not only is this the first time I have seen anything like this, but it is also the fastest stoppage in the league so far: Langford TKO1

0:00 The referee gives Langford and Tyson their instructions, tells them he wants a good, clean fight, and sends them to their corners. Now the bell sounds to start the fight.

0:16 Langford picks off the uppercut by Tyson. 0:0

0:19 Langford pushes Tyson away from him, trying to get some punching room and lands a wicked uppercut in close. 3:0

0:29 There's a lot of excitement surrounding this fight. The fans are really in to it. 3:0

0:37 Sam Langford lands a crushing uppercut! 7:0

0:37 Tyson is badly hurt! 7:0

0:49 Tyson is motioning with his gloves for Langford to bring it on, but Tyson is not being overly aggressive himself right now. 7:0

01:18 Tyson slides into a neutral corner... 7:0

01:23 Langford wants to go downstairs, but can't penetrate Tyson's defense. 7:0

01:32 Langford quickly hitches up his trunks. 7:0

01:47 * Tyson takes a horrific shot to the body and he immediately doubles over. Mike Tyson is holding his side and Morton does not hesitate. He is stopping the fight and Langford is the winner in sudden fashion by TKO! I am sure Tyson must have a broken rib. 7:0

Langford moves to #11, Tyson drops to #16

Jackson #1 10-8-0 (5) v. Holmes #9 10-6-2 (3)

Jackson will definitely be looking to build on his upset of Joe Louis in this one. Through the half way point at least, he wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping the momentum up. This bout was another of the very even variety that are so common with so many good fighters going up against each other every week. Holmes did suffer a cut above the right eye in the 2^nd, which was re opened in the 5^th, but his corner seemed to have it under control. And not much more happened until the 14^th, when a jolting shot from Jackson had Holmes kissing the canvas. It was that blow that seemed to give Jackson an insurmountable lead going into the final round. Jackson then knocked him down in the 15^th, and that pretty much cemented his victory: Jackson UD15

Jackson keeps the #1 ranking, while slips a spot to #10

Liston #3 6-9-3 (1) v. Frazier #8 7-10-1 (4)

Liston came out firing on all cylinders in this one. Through the first three rounds, he was absolutely dominant. However, the rumors that he may have over done his training in the build up to the bout made one wonder if he would be able to see the fantastic start through to the finish. Frazier suffered some swelling under the left eye in the 4^th, while Liston encountered the same issue with the left in the 6^th. A cut was opened outside the right eye of Frazier in the 8^th, but it didn’t seem too bad. As it stood, Liston was certainly building on his impressive start, and held a nice lead at the half way point. By the end of the 9^th, Frazier’s left eye was an absolute mess. Liston’s domination continued into the 10^th, as he sent Frazier crashing twice. Then in the 13^th, holding a very good lead, Liston landed a strong punch that caused Frazier’s cut to blossom into a pretty bad gash, leading to the physician’s decision: Liston TKO13

Liston moves to #3 in the dubious TBCB rankings, while Frazier drops to #10

(Thankfully in this alternate world that allows these gentlemen to fight each other, Tyson's broken rib will be fit as a fiddle long before his next bout in a few weeks)