The International Boxing League

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

The card I'm looking forward to the most in this weigthclass by far. Good Luck SAL may you not get you brains beaten to mush by Foster.

You ain't wrong about that, Romy. Nunn-Fox should be a killer, aswell as Foster-Long. Now for more story stuff...


MOLK THRILLED WITH OPENING WEEK
OF REGIONAL QUALIFIERS

Sunday 1 September 2002

Speaking live from his MGM Grand Casino this afternoon, International Boxing League Chief Director James Molk has told of his delight in regards to the opening week of the organisation's regional qualifiers.

"Thrilled is probably the best word for it," Molk said, smiling. "To think of all the work that has gone into preparing for this, and for it to start in such a way is fantastic. You know, we had a bit of everything: some big knockouts, some slugfests, we saw boxers showing their skills and we had one gigantic upset with Mike McCallum losing. It was a great week."

Molk went on to say that he thinks week two, when the Light-Heavyweights will be in action, could be even better.

"There are some intriguing matchups scheduled," he said. "Fights like Nunn versus Fox and Foster against Long are just going to be crazy, not to mention some of the heavy hitters were gonna see. Tomorrow's card down in Australia should be real explosive 'cause we've got some powerful fighters in that Oceania group. I wouldn't want to miss any of the action."

MCCALLUM GIVEN HARSH GREETING IN JAMAICA

Jamaican gold medallist Mike McCallum had to be rushed through the terminal upon arrival at Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport today, a throng of media and disgruntled fans there to give him an uncomfortable homecoming. One of the favourites to claim the IBL's inaugural World Middleweight Championship, McCallum was shockingly stopped on cuts in round four of his debut bout against Elisha Obed in Atlantic city on Thursday night.

The 24 year-old had not trained properly for the bout, looking relatively out of shape and indifferent at Wednesday's weigh in. His trainers had confirmed that he'd been more interested in women, booze and partying leading into the contest, saying that McCallum was "his own man" and that it was up to him whether he wanted to train or not. One of his trainers Bunnie Greenidge stopped to talk briefly to some of the media, revealing McCallum's attitude towards his upset defeat.

"Mike feels terrible about what has happened," said Greenidge. "It didn't hit him straight away but he's just been in a type of shock since Friday night. He knows that he's let a lot of people down and he'll be doing his best to redeem himself in the months to come."

McCallum's fellow Jamaican, undefeated HBF competitor Trevor Berbick had expressed his disappointment with the Olympic Champion's efforts just yesterday.

"There's nothing worse than a sportsman not takin' pride in their performance," Berbick said. "That's what Mikey has done, not only on Thursday but for all the weeks before the fight when he should have been trainin'. People have said that the guy is a, what do they call it? A pu$$y hound. That he thinks with his you-know-what. Well, he's going to have to change his attitude real quick if he wants to compete in this sport."

Indeed, it will be fascinating to see which Mike McCallum steps in the ring against Mickey Walker on the 3rd of October: the one who won Olympic gold, or the one who was TKO'd by Elisha Obed? If McCallum shows up fit and ready to fight, it could be one of the highlights of the league's regional qualifiers. If not, he could really struggle just to make the World Championship tournament...

[SAL]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

The card I'm looking forward to the most in this weigthclass by far. Good Luck SAL may you not get you brains beaten to mush by Foster.

Thanks for the well wishes Romy. Foster...Damn!!.....man what did I do to draw him right off the start. May not win the decision but I should be standing at the final bell. Well, I guess I can't think of a better way to get my feet wet in this thing. If I manage to keep it close with Foster.......Spinks better look out.

[franklin_1]

All I can say is that I better stop Harold Johnson.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by SAL

Thanks for the well wishes Romy. Foster...Damn!!.....man what did I do to draw him right off the start. May not win the decision but I should be standing at the final bell. Well, I guess I can't think of a better way to get my feet wet in this thing. If I manage to keep it close with Foster.......Spinks better look out.

I'm really hoping that everyone on the board tunes in when I get to that fight. You're one of the top guys around here Scot and hopefully your IBL debut will be a great one.

Originally Posted by franklin_1

All I can say is that I better stop Harold Johnson.

Nice to hear from you, franklin. That will really be something if your guy can debut with a stoppage win.

[kenyan_cheena]

AUSSIE DUO SLUG IT OUT IN SYDNEY

Monday 2 September 2002

The opening week of action in the IBL's Light-Heavyweight regional qualifiers got underway today with the Sydney Entertainment Centre hosting the first card of the Oceania group. If one had to choose a group least likely to produce the Light-Heavyweight World Champion, it would be this one. With not a single medallist or Olympian it features an assortment of unknowns, mostly from Australia and New Zealand.

However, there are a couple of young men who could make things entertaining and interesting once the World Championship tournament arrives. One of them took part in the evening's Main Event, a 22 year-old Melbournian named Mark Somogyi. Confident, abrupt and extroverted, the local media has written some great and some scathing things about him. Nonetheless, he is being tipped as the favourite to top the group. But against his compatriot Ali Habib, Somogyi got a whole lot more than he bargained for. A 20 year-old of Lebanese descent, Habib is a resident of the western Sydney suburb of Auburn and he enjoyed some particularly vocal support from the SEC audience, amongst them HBF competitor Peter Jackson and Featherweight medallist Jeff Fenech.

Round one went as expected, Somogyi getting off to a fast start and picking his shorter opponent off with precision combinations, something that had been a feature of his selection trial appearance back in June. Those three minutes could not have prepared the crowd for what came in the 2nd, one of the most action-packed rounds seen in either the HBF or IBL. When it was over the two fighters had landed a combined total of 93 punches (Somogyi 54, Habib 39) and the audience were on their feet in a standing ovation. Somogyi maintained his momentum through its opening minute, catching Habib with a jolting three-punch combo and a short but powerful left hook, before the crowd favourite clawed his way into it through the second minute. The workrate was extraordinary, punches flying back and forth before the round's final third took it to a whole new level. Habib came out on the better side of a furious flurry, landing a left and a right at the end of it to back Somogyi up. He marched forward and scored with another volley of shots but Somogyi's retort was a punishing uppercut from in close and then a right hand, to which Habib responded with a flush left hook! For the final fifteen seconds of the round they stood toe-to-toe in some kind of test of manhood, firing off shots at each other until the referee had to separate them with the sound of the bell.

After the intensity of round two one might have expected a lull in the 3rd but they only stacked more drama on top of it, Somogyi tasting the canvas midway through courtesy of a smashing left hook that caught him right on the chin. He was up at two but would have been better served to take more of the count as Habib came in to try to finish the job. He caught the Melbourne native with a strong uppercut, some snapping lefts and rights and then a big right hand seconds from the bell. The crowd were clearly in his corner and they were going ballistic as Habib returned to his stool at the end of the round. The action slowed somewhat in the 4th and 5th, even rounds that, while entertaining, could not live up to the drama of the contest's opening half.

Both men looked fatigued as they came out for the final stanza, touching gloves with the crowd on their feet applauding. What followed were three minutes that almost equalled the 2nd round for excitement and intensity, the two combatants trading hard shots throughout. With a minute left the round was still either man's for the taking and it was the Sydneysider who dug deeper, Habib scoring with some effective shots to the head and body. Even so, Somogyi outlanded him 47-32 in the round, many of his punches coming in the opening half through a series of three, four and five punch combinations. Habib and Somogyi embraced afterwards, the audience once again coming to their feet to applaud a fantastic showing.

When the verdict came, no one could really complain: each judge had scored the contest a 57-57 draw. The crowd's reaction indicated it was a fair decision and both Somogyi and Habib expressed their agreement.

Punch totals

Somogyi: 167/403 (41.4%)
Habib: 161/423 (38.1%)

"A lot of people were saying leading in that I had a mortgage on this group," Somogyi said, smiling. "They were trying to tell me it would be a cakewalk. Well, I think tonight showed it ain't gonna be no cakewalk. No one gave Ali a chance but he fought like a true champion tonight and I'd like to congratulate him on a great effort."

There's no denying the truth of Somogyi's words. This one fight alone has shown that this Oceania group will be a fiercely competitive one and the task of finishing in 1st place will be much more difficult than previously believed.

(Still to come: The SEC Undercard)

[SAL]

I was hoping Mark would pull out the victory but I guess a draw is better than a loss though.

[SAL]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

I'm really hoping that everyone on the board tunes in when I get to that fight. You're one of the top guys around here Scot and hopefully your IBL debut will be a great one.

It's good to hear that I'm one of the guys rated in the top, makes me feel a bit easier about my chances. Foster is the Top of the heap in my book and I'm going to have to use all my know how in our upcoming fight.

[kenyan_cheena]

The Sydney Entertainment Centre Undercard

OPENING BOUT

After a blazing start, Sydney-based Queenslander Jason Wanganeen withstood a furious comeback to defeat the hard-hitting New Zealander Tupuola Mataafa by unanimous decision (57-54, 58-53, 57-54). In an unusual contest, Wanganeen dropped the Kiwi slugger early in rounds one and two before Mataafa swept the next three rounds on two of the scorecards. Wanganeen then secured victory by flooring Mataafa for a third time twenty secodns into the final stanza.

As that description indicates, it was an action-packed opening to the evening. There were some earth-shattering exchanges throughout the contest, in particular during rounds three and four. Wanganeen showed a great ability to absorb whatever Mataafa threw at him and displayed an impressive power punching ability of his own, with each of the three knockdowns he scored coming from single blows. Wanganeen landed 150 of 526 shots (28.5%), Mataafa 108 of 356 (30.3%).

PRELIMINARY 1

New Zealand's Paul Anderson squared the ledger on the evening's trans-Tasman matchups, taking a split decision verdict against Australia's Steve Matthews (59-56, 57-58, 59-56). Anderson outlanded the Aussie by a ratio of more than 2:1 but Matthews' constant work throughout the fight seemed to sway Mexican judge Jose Mayorga. As the punch totals show, Matthews will really need to work on his accuracy if he wants to find success in his upcoming bouts.

Anderson: 167/469 (35.6%)
Matthews: 71/687 (10.3%)

PRELIMINARY 2

In a meeting of boxer versus puncher, Australian southpaw David Chan survived the power of Tonga's Jonah Maka to take a slim unanimous decision victory (58-57 on all three cards). Each judge scored each round in an identical fashion, seeing the 1st as even (10-10) before giving Chan the 2nd, 4th and 5th and Maka the 3rd and 6th. Chan connected with a bunch more punches and it was a case of him winning his rounds in a big way while a series of crunching right hands did the job for Maka.

If he was a bit more skillful, Maka could have won this fight. He found it very difficult to get in close enough to land his shots but when he did it was clear that Chan was uncomfortable. The Tongan is one of a number of big hitters in the group and it's obvious that his power will have to carry him to victory on most nights.

SUPPORT BOUT

The evening's fourth contest was a clash of two of those big hitters just mentioned, the Kiwi pair of David Tupou and Nathan Pritchard. The bout promised fireworks and it delivered with the two combatants exchanging some slegehammer-like blows at various stages of the contest. Pritchard impressed IBL scouts during the June selection trials and was favoured to win the fight but in the end it was only a pair of knockdowns he scored in the 2nd and 6th that allowed him to avoid defeat. The final verdict was a draw (56-56, 57-56 (Tupou), 56-56). Pritchard might have been able to knock his man out if the fight had gone another thirty seconds, as Tupou was in terrible trouble on the ropes when the final bell sounded.

CO-FEATURE

Considered the 2nd-best fighter in the group behind Australia's Mark Somogyi, New Zealander Frank Asotasi tasted defeat in his pro debut, being sent to the canvas late in round four before losing a unanimous decision verdict to Somogyi's fellow Melbournian Jason Smith (57-56 on all three cards). Asotasi was the pick of the New Zealand selection trials, a powerful and fit young man. But against Smith he was maddeningly inconsistent, looking fantastic in rounds one and three but struggling for much of the remainder of the contest.

Asotasi looked the better fighter going into round four but he walked into a right cross late in the round and dropped to the canvas like he'd been shot. He was unable to rebound from that and when Smith consolidated his position in round five Asotasi was faced with needing a knockout (or at least a knockdown) in the final three minutes to have any chance. He tried valiantly in a fantastic 6th round but it wasn't enough and Smith held on for a victory that had the Entertainment Centre crowd in raptures of delight.

***

Matchups for series two...

JONAH MAKA (0-1-0) vs NATHAN PRITCHARD (0-0-1)
JASON WANGANEEN (1-0-0) vs PAUL ANDERSON (1-0-0)
DAVID CHAN (1-0-0) vs ALI HABIB (0-0-1)
STEVE MATTHEWS (0-1-0) vs MARK SOMOGYI (0-0-1)
DAVID TUPOU (0-0-1) vs FRANK ASOTASI (0-1-0)
TUPUOLA MATAAFA (0-1-0) vs JASON SMITH (1-0-0)

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
MONDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2002
SYDNEY ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA

IBL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, SERIES ONE
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
REGION: OCEANIA


OPENING BOUT

Jason Wanganeen UD6 Tupuola Mataafa

PRELIMINARY 1

Paul Anderson SD6 Steve Matthews

PRELIMINARY 2

David Chan UD6 Jonah Maka

SUPPORT BOUT

David Tupou D6 Nathan Pritchard

CO-FEATURE

Jason Smith UD6 Frank Asotasi

MAIN EVENT

Ali Habib D6 Mark Somogyi

[kenyan_cheena]

Just a note on that last group...

If you didn't recognise any of the names (besides Gunsmoke), there's a good reason: they're ALL fictional fighters.

Being as that's the case, I'm not going to go into too much detail on the fights in the group during each series (besides Gunsmoke's ones, of course).

[kenyan_cheena]

AGUIRRE ARRIVES HOME TO HERO'S WELCOME

Monday 2 September 2002

International Boxing League Middleweight competitor Javier Aguirre has received a rock star's welcoming upon returning to his hometown of Acuna in Mexico today. Last Wednesday night Aguirre scored an impressive unanimous decision victory against California's Terry Norris at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the win a perfect way for the popular fighter to start his professional career.

"This is all really overwhelming," Aguirre said, in response to the motorcade he was travelling in being swamped by people waiting on the side of the road. "I had tried to prepare myself for this kind of reception but now that it's actually happened, it's hard to believe. I am really happy to know that the people are happy by what I achieved last week, but it's only one win. I've got a lot of tough fights ahead of me and I'll have to be prepared just as well for each one of them as I was for Terry."

Aguirre was required to stay in Vegas due to media-related commitments until Saturday. He recorded an appearance for a Mexican television talk show yesterday before finally arriving in his hometown today. He will step back into the ring on the 2nd of October, when he takes on another Californian in Oakland's Bobby Jones. Most predict an even easier night for Aguirre than he experienced against Norris, but there's no way the man close friends call "Yepe" will be underestimating his opponent.

"He was very unlucky to lose his fight," Aguirre said. "Just one point in it on each card. He's really quick and if I ease up at all I could pay a big price. I'm looking forward to the clash."

[Gunsmoke]

At least I didn't loose, still hopefully I get better from here against what looks like pretty light competition.

[kenyan_cheena]

MINA TAKEN THE DISTANCE
BY BRAVE ARGENTINE IN BUENOS AIRES

Tuesday 3 September 2002

Peruvian Light-Heavyweight gold medallist Mauro Mina has made a victorious start to his professional career, scoring a unanimous decision victory over Argentinian fighter Miguel Angel Cuello at Buenos Aires' Luna Park. The bout was the Main Event of the opening card in the IBL's South American Light-Heavyweight regional qualifiers, Mina finding more resistance than expected from his determined opponent.

Cuello surprised many with an effective showing in the opening round but when Mina sent him to the canvas with a smashing left hook two minutes into the 2nd the fight looked to be over. But Cuello made it to his feet at the six count, survived the round and continued to hold his own through the next two. The action was fast and furious, the parochial crowd applauding each time Cuello landed a telling blow.

After the excitement of those first four rounds the 5th and 6th were something of a let down, Cuello's seemingly out of gas and Mina strangely resistant to the idea of finishing him off. The Argentine could not have thrown more than twenty punches in those last two rounds. Mina took the verdict by scores of 59-54 (twice) and 58-55 and was quick to acknowledge Cuello's courageous showing.

"He came to fight," said Mina. "I guess the crowd really helped him, which is understandable. But even so, he gave me a much tougher time than I thought he would."

Punch totals

Mauro Mina: 160/352 (45.5%)
Miguel Angel Cuello: 97/201 (48.3%)

The 24 year-old Mina is numbered amongst South America's most legitimate hopes for World Championship glory in the IBL. Many observers in the USA almost prefer to ignore the fact that he dominated Bob Foster in the gold medal match in Sydney. Perhaps it's because they won't have to worry about him until the World Championship tournament rolls around. Until then, we'll have to be content to watch him make his way through the regional qualifiers...

(Still to come: The Luna Park Undercard)

[kenyan_cheena]

THE LUNA PARK UNDERCARD

Opening Bout

Venezuela's Vicente Rondon started the evening by scoring a unanimous decision victory over Brazilian fighter Roberto Venancio (58-56, 59-55, 58-56). Rondon peppered his opponent with 48 punches in the 1st round but Venancio's reply was a positive one in rounds two and three. However, Rondon controlled the bottom half of the fight to seal the victory, landing some 180 punches during the bout.

Preliminary 1

In a fiercely-competitive contest, Argentina's Ramon Avenamar Peralta was victorious by majority decision against Uruguay's Mario Alberto Sosa (58-56, 57-57, 58-56). Sosa appeared to be the better fighter through the first four rounds but Peralta swept the last two on all three cards, those efforts good enough to secure the win.

Some at ringside thought that Sosa was unlucky to not get at least a draw and a look at the scorecards shows that round three was a crucial one. Sosa was the busier, more aggressive and more accurate fighter in the round but two of the judges awarded it to Peralta, that one action swinging this exciting fight in his favour. Peralta landed 147 of 479 punches (30.7%), Sosa 159 of 451 (35.3%).

Preliminary 2

Mauro Mina's fellow Peruvian Francisco Avelino made a successful start to his IBL campaign, defeating Argentina's Jorge Ahumada by unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 58-56). Ahumada was right in the contest through the first two rounds, displaying an aggressive disposition that was giving Avelino a deal of trouble. But after controlling the 3rd Avelino dropped the Argentine with a smashing combination a minute into round four. From that point on the outcome was never in doubt.

Support Bout

The second Argentina-Uruguay matchup of the night went the same way as the first, with Victor Galindez too good for Uruguay's Dogomar Martinez. The Argentine won by unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55, 58-56) in what was an at-times underwhelming contest. Round two was clearly the pick of the bunch, Galindez pulverising his man for the first two minutes before Martinez fired back late.

Co-Feature

In the only upset of the night, highly-regarded Venezuelan fighter Fulgencio Obelmejias was stopped on cuts late in round five by Brazil's Jose Cacciatore. Opened late in round three, the cut was under the Venezuelan's left eye and Cacciatore had some success targeting it during the 5th, to the extent where the fight was called over at the 2:26 mark, much to Obelmejias' disgust and dispair.

After the 4th round Obelmejias led by two points on one card and four on another, with one judge seeing it all level. He made a concerted effort to bomb the Brazilian out of the fight in round four, rocking him with a number of power shots. But Cacciatore survived the onslaught and found himself a fortunate victor in round five. Obelmejias had landed twice as many punches as his opponent at the time of the stoppage (121 to 60) and along with his corner crew argued vehemently with the ring doctor and referee for some time afterwards.

Series Two matchups...

JOSE CACCIATORE (1-0-0(1)) vs VICTOR GALINDEZ (1-0-0)
JORGE AHUMADA (0-1-0) vs FULGENCIO OBELMEJIAS (0-1-0)
DOGOMAR MARTINEZ (0-1-0) vs FRANCISCO AVELINO (1-0-0)
MAURO MINA (1-0-0) vs MARIO ALBERTO SOSA (0-1-0)
ROBERTO VENANCIO (0-1-0) vs MIGUEL ANGEL CUELLO (0-1-0)
RAMON AVENAMAR PERALTA (1-0-0) vs VICENTE RONDON (1-0-0)

[kenyan_cheena]

SUMMARY OF RESULTS
INTERNATIONAL BOXING LEAGUE FIGHT CARD
TUESDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2002
LUNA PARK, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

IBL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
REGIONAL QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT, SERIES ONE
LIGHT-HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
REGION: SOUTH AMERICA


OPENING BOUT

Vicente Rondon UD6 Roberto Venancio

PRELIMINARY 1

Ramon Avenamar Peralta MD6 Mario Alberto Sosa

PRELIMINARY 2

Francisco Avelino UD6 Jorge Ahumada

SUPPORT BOUT

Victor Galindez UD6 Dogomar Martinez

CO-FEATURE

Jose Cacciatore TKO5 Fulgencio Obelmejias

MAIN EVENT

Mauro Mina UD6 Miguel Angel Cuello

[kenyan_cheena]

A FATHER'S SON

Wednesday 4 September 2002

Story by David Gomez for espn.com

He was a gold medallist in Sydney and is regarded as the favourite to take out the International Boxing League's inaugural Welterweight World Championship, but during these past five months North Carolina-born Marylander Ray Leonard has often reflected on how different things could have been.

"I wanted to go to college," he says, speaking to me at his training headquarters in Palmer Park, Maryland. "You know, I won the gold in Sydney and that was a great experience but I'd been in the sport for almost six years by then. I needed a break from it and even if I hadn't, at the time there was nothing to follow up the Olympics with - no professional organisation to fight under. I was going to study sports psychology at UM but then my father started to get sick and my priorities changed."

It's been just on six months now since Ray's father fell ill with tuberculosis. He's currently a patient at the Hospice of the Chesapeake in Landover, Maryland. It seems like destiny that at the time the Leonard family's hospital bills started piling up, IBL Chief Director James Molk came a-calling.

"I was prepared to put college to one side, get a job and provide for my family," said Leonard. "It's what I've been doing part-time since my father entered the hospital. But a big part of my reasons for signing on with the IBL is to get my father the best treatment possible. They've actually helped out a little bit with that, which my family is really grateful for. But once I start fighting, it'll make things a lot easier. The prize money in the regionals is $20K for a win and $10K for a loss, so I'll be trying to make every post a winner."

The news of the troubles that have plagued the Leonard family in these past months will surely add extra focus to Ray's professional debut against Florida Aliiance member James Ray a week from tomorrow, a bout that Leonard has said will be the toughest of his life.

"I fought some 300 fights as an amateur," he said. "But none of those will be anything like this. It's the big time, it's the professional ranks and I'm up against a guy who they're saying could be right there at the end when the tournament reaches the business stage of things. It's gonna be tough and I've trained accordingly."

Back in April when he was there with Molk to introduce the IBL to the world Leonard sported an afro straight out of the '70s, but it's now gone, replaced by a cleanly-shaven pate. The intensity in those eyes remains, though.

"It was just hair," said Ray, smiling. "Some folk acted funny when I first got rid of it but it felt strangely liberating, like I was starting a new chapter. I don't know."

As one of three American gold medallists to be competing in the IBL, Leonard knows that the pressure for himself and his fellow Champions Michael Spinks and Pernell Whitaker to succeed will be huge.

"That's what expectations are all about," he said. "You succeed on one level and people expect it to happen on the next, aswell. No offense to Michael and Pernell, but they haven't done themselves any favours with some of the things they've said. Sure, it'll be fantastic if they can achieve their goals but people are gonna ask some tough questions if they fail."

While an admirable one, Ray Leonard's task of providing for his family is no different from what millions of others are trying to achieve around the world on a daily basis. It's something he's aware of and he's quick to downplay any sort of admiration that may come his way.

"Of course, that's correct. I'm no different than the guy working in an office or on a construction site or on a fishing boat. I'm just trying my best to provide for my family. Only thing is I'll be doing it in a boxing ring."

Unlike certain other competitors in the sport, Ray Leonard appears to be a modest young man with a level head on his shoulders. Following his progression through these next twelve months will no doubt be one of the highlights of the International Boxing League's regional qualifiers...

[kenyan_cheena]

STEP ONE

Wednesday 4 September 2002

Olympic Middleweight gold medallist Michael Spinks made a successful start to his professional boxing career tonight, scoring a convincing unanimous decision victory over local favourite Tommy Harrison at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Producing a busy, impressive performance, Spinks took the verdict by scores of 59-56, 60-55 and 59-56.

Spinks has not been shy about voicing his intentions for his boxing career, stating on more than one occasion that his goal is to become the sport's first three-division Champion (Light-Heavyweight, Junior-Heavyweight and Heavyweight). He'd said in the last couple of days that his debut would simply be "step one", the Missouri native supremely confident that he'd be victorious. Entering the ring wearing a robe of red and a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap, Spinks was accompanied by his younger brother Leon and a number of others, later to be confirmed as either friends or cousins of the Olympic Champion.

Spinks may have thought victory was assured but Tommy Harrison is no pushover and after round one it appeared that he might be capable of giving his opponent a tough night. Harrison found the mark with a pair of solid left hooks, although he couldn't come close to matching Spinks' workrate or aggression. However, by the end of round three the writing was on the wall. In trunks and boots of red Spinks was putting on a clinic, dominating Harrison and wearing him down. It only got worse in the 4th and, in particular, the 5th, Spinks punishing Harrison and asking the referee to step in and end it. Despite the beating he was taking Harrison stayed on his feet, although there were some moments where he should have found himself on the canvas. Spinks was a punching machine, averaging over 120 punches thrown per round (more than triple that of Harrison). He landed some devastating right hands, shots that sent the sweat spraying from Harrison's bald head. The Californian surprisingly held his own in the final round, although more because Spinks had parked the car for the night. Spinks connected with 133 of 631 punches (.211), Harrison 85 of 207 (.411).

"Pretty happy with it," said Spinks, shrugging. "I really think the ref should o' stopped it in the 5th there, 'cause the guy wasn't showing any resistance. Can't complain, though. We got the win and that's all that matters."

Spinks was asked how he'll feel if his next opponent is one of the other favourites in the group, such as Bob Foster or Jack Fox.

"Don't matter who it is," he said, shaking his head. "I'm gonna have to fight them all eventually so whether it's in series two or series eleven makes no difference whatsoever."

***

(to be continued)

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Spinks was asked how he'll feel if his next opponent is one of the other favourites in the group, such as Bob Foster or Jack Fox.

Hmm, this that a little hint that things didn't go to well for the bossman in his fight with Foster.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Hmm, this that a little hint that things didn't go to well for the bossman in his fight with Foster.

No, but even if Sal was to beat him Foster is still one of the favourites.

[kenyan_cheena]

Just to let you all know the next post WILL feature Sal's fight against Foster. I'm working on it now and can't promise that it'll be ready today, but certainly by this time tomorrow.