The Greatest Prize in Sports

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EL UNIVERSAL

Thursday 15 March 2007

ZARAGOZA AND CARRILLO
FALL IN MONTERREY

Story by Miguel Trelles

The top of the International Boxing League's featherweight division suffered a major shake-up last night at Monterrey's Arena Coliseo, with both 3rd-ranked Daniel Zaragoza and #4 Jesus Carrillo falling to upset defeats. Fighting in the main event Zaragoza was bombed out in the 3rd round by compatriot Orlando Salido, after Carrillo had lost a slim majority decision verdict to the impressive young Venezuelan Antonio Esparragoza in the co-feature. The results have put something of a dent in Mexico's stranglehold on the weight class, as it's now quite possible that the next challenger for the world championship could be one of the two top-five ranked Americans, Solly Smith or Keith Harrison. Neither have stepped in the ring yet this week but if both are victorious they'll be squaring off in the June eliminator.

In an action-packed affair Carrillo lost for the second time in three outings, Esparragoza taking a 115-113, 114-114, 115-113 verdict. It was a clash where the momentum swung throughout and a drawn result would have seen no complaints from either camp. Coming off a disappointing loss to Vicente Saldivar, Esparragoza was determined to avoid a second straight defeat to a Mexican opponent and produced the performance of his career to overcome the former WBC junior-featherweight champion. A comparison of the individual scorecards shows that rounds two, four, five and eleven were vital to the outcome as those were the ones where the judges were not in unanimous agreement with each other. Unsurprisingly, those frames were amongst the most exciting of the bout.

Esparragoza landed 296 of 843 punches (35.1%), Carrillo 276 of 997 (27.7%). After the brain explosion that saw him disqualified in the world championship tournament semis Carrillo (27-3-1(17)) took a majority decision verdict over Jet Bally in a December performance that was inferior to his losing effort last night. But sometimes that's how things work out in boxing. More evident last night was the fact that Esparragoza (18-2-1(11)) is going to be a contender for a long time to come. Ranked at #9 going into last night's clash it's going to be interesting to see how far he ends up climbing by the end of the week's action.

3rd-ranked Daniel Zaragoza was coming off a vicious beating at the hands of Salvador Sanchez in the Challenger's tournament final but was expected to account for Salido, who had been 2-2 in his opening quartet of IBL bouts. The wins were against Robert Brown and Barry McGuigan while the defeats had been inflicted by Miguel Bautista and Vicente Saldivar, so there was little to indicate he'd be able to get past Zaragoza. After the opening two rounds that belief held true as the favourite controlled both of them despite Salido's aggressive disposition. But midway through the 3rd Salido staggered his man with a left hook and followed it up with a flurry of blows that drove Zaragoza to the canvas. Up at seven, he appeared bemused and unsteady but was allowed to continue.

Thirty seconds later Zaragoza was down again from a beautiful right cross, the blow snapping his head around and depositing him face first. Surprisingly Zaragoza was up quickly, at four, but with still a minute remaining in the frame he was in deep trouble. Salido came at him hard, landing another cross on the back of a jab and then a thudding left hook. A winging right and a left that caught Zaragoza flush on the forehead prompted referee Jose Cobian to jump in and end the carnage at the 2:51 mark. A dazed Zaragoza was led to his corner as Salido and his corner crew celebrated in the centre of the ring. He enjoyed the majority of crowd support and they cheered his triumph enthusiastically. Salido's record is now 18-4-2(9) while Zaragoza's falls to 21-4-1(14).

[kenyan_cheena]

LOS ANGELES DAILY MAIL

Thursday, 15 March, 2007

Boatwright climbs off canvas,
wins by split decision

Story by Frank Jackson

Fighting outside of the United States for the first time in his career Los Angeles middleweight boxer Fred Boatwright came back from an early trip to the canvas to score a split decision win over Rossville's Eric Regan yesterday in Accra, Ghana. Taking part in his second IBL bout, 62nd-ranked Boatwright produced a fantastic comeback to get over the line after Regan appeared to be in the driver's seat heading into round three. He dropped "Boogie" with a hard right to the ribcage just twenty seconds into round one and while he did little through the rest of the frame Regan then had the better of the 2nd, putting the undefeated Boatwright in a precarious situation.

But after a dressing down from his trainer during the intermission 19 year-old Boatwright came out with renewed aggression in round three, taking it convincingly and never looking back. After an uneventful 4th Boatwright dominated rounds five, six and seven with a relentless attack, seemingly putting the result beyond doubt. Like round four, the 8th was lacking in action but Boatwright did enough to take it on all three cards. Soon after he was declared the winner by verdicts of 77-74, 75-76 and 77-74, Canadian judge Richard DeCarufel somehow coming up with a result favouring Regan. An elated Boatwright celebrated with his team, the win improving his record to 10-0-1(3) and securing what will most likely be a jump of a half-dozen places in the rankings.

Boatwright's punch numbers were impressive. He connected with 219 of 730 blows (30.0%) while Regan landed just 93 of 233 (39.9%). It really is hard to believe that this is the same fighter who, less than a year ago, was one of the most unaggressive boxers I've ever seen in my time covering the sport. During the last six months Boatwright has turned that around, becoming a sharp shooter with a fantastic workrate. He'll be back in action in late April and will be competing for a berth in the 4th ranking tier against an opponent to be determined. Whoever it is, they'll be in for a difficult evening based on Boatwright's recent efforts.

[kenyan_cheena]

TheSweetScience.com

FRIDAY 16 MARCH 2007

Brian Jasper's Pugilistic Musings

Featherweight torch to be
passed on Saturday night

You could say it's a case of the planets aligning, I guess. Due to some uncanny scheduling the featherweight division will step forth into a new era on Saturday, with two title bouts taking place on different continents set to determine a future path. Recognised as the official world champion since late '02, Welshman Jim Driscoll defends his crown for the final time against the Argentinian Sergio Palma in his hometown of Cardiff. Win, lose or draw Driscoll has already announced that the fight (in which he'll defend the WBA and WBC belts) will be his last in the division ahead of a move to junior-lightweight. So regardless of the result he'll no longer by the top dog at 126 come Sunday. However, should Palma, a former junior-featherweight titleholder, be able to spring the upset he'll claim the world championship.

If all goes as planned and Driscoll wins, we'll have to look to Mexico City and the much anticipated clash between IBL champion Gilberto Vasquez and his compatriot, the undefeated Athens gold medallist Salvador Sanchez. There are many who believe the bout will simply serve as Sanchez's coronation as the new king, so confident they are in the teenager's prodigious talent. But there are others who are not prepared to write off Vasquez, citing the man's courage to endure the stresses of the Michael Jacobs death threat scandal and his fantastic determination during the league's world championship tournament, which culminated in a 15-round split decision triumph over Solly Smith in December. As they say, experience should never be underestimated and in this matchup Vasquez has a lot more of it than Sanchez.

Speaking earlier this week Driscoll said he couldn't help but feel some sadness ahead of his meeting with Palma, reflecting on the spectacular success his time in the featherweight division has been and knowing that it comes to an end once their bout is over. But he went on to say that what lies beyond Saturday night fills him with the type of excitement anyone feels when they step into something fresh and new. Many observers have drawn some amusement from the fact that, while the fight is going to be a big moment for Driscoll, it's going to be simply another body blow for the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council.

It's almost 100% certain to be the last time that "The Prince of Wales" brings funds into the two sanctioning organisations, as he's made no secret of the fact that his future at junior-lightweight and eventually lightweight will be tied to the IBO. And there's not a single thing that either the WBA or WBC can do about it. Driscoll indicated that he won't miss holding either of the belts, recalling the ridiculous situation from last May when he fought Brian Hampton with only the WBC recognising the fight. Soon after the WBA once again made fools of themselves by demanding he defend their belt by the end of July. Driscoll refused and the WBA eventually backed down, Driscoll stepping back in the ring against Matthew Davidson in late October with both titles on the line.

Goddard's retirement forces
re-scheduling of April bouts

Back on Tuesday veteran Kentucky heavyweight Frankie Goddard announced his reitrement from the sport, effective immediately. A former world title challenger, Goddard's best days were already behind him when he signed up with the IBL last year. Even so, perhaps out of respect the league installed him as the #1 seed in their Challenger's tournament. He was defeated by the young Tongan Simione Paea in his opening bout, fading late to be floored twice and TKO'd in the 6th and final round. Goddard fared no better in his following fights, being knocked out in thirty seconds by Leon Higgins in September and then dropping a unanimous decision to fellow veteran Michael Dokes on new year's eve. In his opening contest of '07 Goddard was once again stopped in round one, England's Gary Mason knocking him out two minutes into the frame.

That loss to Mason was on the 23rd of February and saw Goddard's record fall to 36-11-2(24). Apparently Goddard had told his trainer in the dressing room after the fight that he was done, that he was going to quit the sport. But he'd changed his mind since and had been expected to step in the ring next month as the #22-ranked heavyweight against the New Zealander Sam Leuluai. However, just a couple of days into his preparations the feelings following the Mason fight were returning and Goddard informed the IBL that he would be retiring. As a consequence every fighter ranked at #23 or lower will move up one place in the rankings when they are released on March 26.

This makes the outcomes of next week's heavyweight bouts even more important, as whoever ends up as the top-ranked fighter in Tier 4 will automatically jump into Tier 3 (ranked at #35) and a meeting with 12th-ranked Ray Mercer in mid-April. South Africa's Pierre Coetzer (#36), Germany's Scott Mundt (#37) and Kansas native Fred Fulton (#38) are the leading candidates, making their bouts a great deal more important. Goddard's retirement also changes the schedule for next month's Tier 2 vs Tier 3 matchups. What won't change is the previously confirmed McVey-Hanson and Schmeling-de la Cruz regional title fights. In addition, the official Americas eliminator between Cheetah Brown and Michael Dokes remains in place as it had already been announced by the league. The complete adjusted schedule of matchups is listed below:

#23 SCHMELING (CHAMPION) vs #27 DE LA CRUZ (INTER-CONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP)
#25 MCVEY (CHAMPION) vs #26 HANSON (AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP)

#16 DOKES vs #30 BROWN (OFFICIAL AMERICAS CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATOR)

#12 MERCER vs #35 (to be determined)
#13 MASON vs #34 HIDE
#14 HUNTER vs #33 ALVAREZ
#15 BOTHA vs #32 TIALATA
#17 VIRCHIS vs #31 SIVIVATU
#18 COETZEE vs #29 GODOY
#19 HIGGINS vs #28 DAMIANI
#20 BIGGS vs #24 WEAVER
#21 LEULUAI vs #22 BUGNER

[kenyan_cheena]

THE LONDON TIMES

Friday 16 March 2007

WILLIAMS HOLDS BENN TO
DRAW AT WEMBLEY ARENA

Story by James Simpson

In what could end up being a setback to his short-term quest for a title shot London middleweight and world #5 Nigel Benn was held to a draw by fellow Athens medallist Holman Williams at the Wembley Arena last night. It was a contest in which neither man was able to maintain control for a sustained period and a frustrating night for Benn, who landed his punches at an atrocious rate of 16% against the slick, evasive Williams. Both fighters had suffered defeat at the hands of eventual winner Mickey Walker in the IBL's Challenger's tournament, Williams in the quarters and Benn in the semis. Coincidentally, in Athens they had also fallen to the same foe and the man who claimed the gold medal, Joe Gans.

After a less than enthralling opening three rounds the bout came alive in the 4th, Benn dominating most of the frame thanks to a hard left-right salvo, a flush left hook and a jolting uppercut from in close. However, Williams ended the round nicely when he backed Benn up during a furious exchange. He then took round five convincingly but inexplicably eased off in the 6th, allowing Benn to win it with little effort. Rounds seven and eight were close affairs and after Benn controlled the 9th Williams produced his best work of the fight in round ten, taking it with a succession of crisp scoring punches. The 11th was another even stanza, with both combatants aggressive but ultimately missing much more often than not.

Williams finished strongly in the 12th, once again using volume rather than one or two big shots to win the round. Despite the fact that he had landed almost twice as many punches as Benn, Williams would have lost the decision if not for his impressive final round, which he won on all three cards. Two judges had it even at 115-115 while the third favoured the American 116-114. Williams landed 290 of 800 punches (36.3%), Benn 148 of 936 (15.8%). It was the first draw of Benn's career, his record now 16-1-1(13). Williams is 17-2-2(10) and wore a frustrated countenance in the moments after the verdict. The bout had turned out in a fashion similar to his defeat by Walker. He'd also outlanded his opponent by a healthy margin in that contest but had been on the wrong side of a close unanimous decision verdict.

As a result of his victory over Juan Roldan on Tuesday night Joe Gans will, at the very least, supplant Benn as the #5 fighter in the world and could rise higher depending on results from the remainder of this week's tier one matchups. Benn and Williams will most likely find themselves at #6 and #7 respectively when the rankings are released on March 26. To be in the running for a place in the end of year eliminator they'll have to win their June bouts against yet to be determined tier two opponents and also hope that at least one or two of their higher-ranked competitors meet with misfortune. That's not something I'd be putting my money on, so it's likely that the pair will simply have to hang tough for the remainder of '07.

[kenyan_cheena]

The Star-Ledger

SATURDAY 17 MARCH 2007

Carter secures
spot in eliminator

Story by Michael Rossetto

Paterson middleweight Rubin Carter recorded a 9th round knockout of Brockton's Robbie Sims in Atlantic City last night, claiming a berth in June's IBL world championship eliminator. In an impressive performance Carter almost stopped Sims in the opening round but eventually wore him down over the course of the next eight for the win. Sims tasted the canvas courtesy of a sizzling uppercut midway through round eight before hitting the canvas for a full count after taking a barrage of blows two minutes into the 9th. Carter was cruising towards victory, holding a healthy lead of at least six points on all three scorecards entering round nine. He outlanded Sims 256-164 and improved his record to 22-4-1(17) while the Massachusetts native fell to 13-4-2(8).

3rd-ranked Carter was knocked out in round five of his December Challenger's tournament final clash with fellow Jersey slugger Mickey Walker, who takes on Koichi Wajima for the world title today in Japan. Carter will be hoping it's second time lucky for him in June but it figures to be just as imposing a task as trying to defeat Walker turned out as his opponent will most likely be former WBA champion Les Darcy. The Australian will be in action in the co-feature of today's Tokyo card and if he's victorious against the Canadian Donato Paduano he'll retain his #2 ranking and confirm the meeting with Carter. In the unlikely event that Darcy falls to defeat Carter's opponent will be former WBO junior-middleweight titlist, the power punching Ugandan John Mugabi.

Fighting in last night's co-feature Mugabi floored Puerto Rico's Jose Basora three times on the way to a 5th round TKO victory. It was Mugabi's second win in a row following the unexpected defeat he suffered at the hands of Wajima in the world championship tournament semi-finals. Mugabi secured an initial world ranking of #4 with a hard-earned unanimous decision victory over Joe Gans in December but had a much easier time last night, despite Basora's aggressive disposition. It was an exciting stoush while it lasted, with Basora showing no fear and ultimately being perhaps too brave for his own good. Mugabi dropped him with an uppercut at the end of round one, a right hand early in the 5th and another crunching uppercut at its two-minute mark.

Basora was up at three but the referee waved the contest over at the 2:29 mark with the Caribbean fighter helpless in the face of Mugabi's merciless follow-up assault. Mugabi landed 132 of 363 punches (36.4%), Basora 108 of 274 (39.4%). Mugabi is now 33-3-2(30), 10th-ranked Basora 10-4(6). Also on last night's card Tacoma's former IBF champion Freddie Steele continued his undefeated run in the IBL with a 6th round TKO of Jimmy Beau. Steele (37-2-1(32)) came into the evening ranked at #54 and has now won four bouts under the league's banner. The next few months will be of huge importance for him as victories in his late-April and early-June outings will springboard him into the 3rd ranking tier and position him for a run at the upper echeloens of the division by the end of the year.

[kenyan_cheena]

COMING UP DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS...

TITLE BOUTS GALORE!!!

* Review of Wajima-Walker IBL world middleweight championship bout from Tokyo, plus undercard

* Review of Driscoll-Palma WBA/WBC world featherweight championship bout from Cardiff

* Review of Mexico City card featuring Limon-Bolanos IBL world lightweight championship bout and Vasquez-Sanchez IBL world featherweight championship bout, plus undercard

ALL OF THAT takes place on Saturday 17 March. So, lots to look forward to!

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN

Boxing

Updated: March 17, 2007 11.15 AM ET

Wajima dispatches Walker in three,
retains world championship

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

Japan's Koichi Wajima cemented his status as the premier middleweight in world boxing with a stunning 3rd round TKO of New Jersey's Mickey Walker at the Tokyo Dome today. Fighting in front of thousands of adoring compatriots Wajima retained his IBL world championship in a bout that did not commence until 11pm Tokyo time to cater for viewers in the United States. Having already made an outstanding and unexpected run through the league's world championship tournament - with wins over former alphabet champions James Toney, John Mugabi and Les Darcy - Wajima's dismissal of the dangerous but less experienced Walker was simply icing on the cake. The Elizabeth native was also a surprise winner in his respective IBL event, entering the Challenger's tournament as its 10th seed and riding a quartet of great wins to today's shot at glory.

Decked out in the navy blue, sky blue and white of the New Jersey Titans, Walker looked capable of giving the defending champion a difficult night through the first two frames. While Wajima controlled most of the opener Walker finished it strongly, unleashing a winging right hand and a jolting cross in the space of twenty seconds in its later stages. Walker then dominated the majority of the 2nd, backing Wajima up with another vicious cross before stunning him with a left-right salvo and yet another one of those damaging crosses, this one landing high on Wajima's forehead. In a reverse of round one Wajima had some success late in the stanza, landing hard rips to Walker's body in addition to a series of snapping jabs.

The stage seemed set for a thriller but a Wajima right cross a minute into the 3rd jolted Walker's head around, sent him to the canvas and brought the crowd to their feet. Wajima had connected with a crunching uppercut some thirty seconds earlier and the effect of it was clearly lingering when the knockdown came. Walker barely beat the count but was allowed to continue. Wajima came in for the kill but as the round progressed it appeared Walker would ride out the storm. About forty seconds from its end a stiff jab snapped his head back and when a flush left hook almost dropped him for a second time the end was near. Walker was running on instinct and amazingly had the better of a fierce exchange soon after.

But left hooks to the body and the head staggered the challenger and when Wajima planted a straight right flush on his nose Walker slumped into the ropes, helpless and defenseless. Referee Rafael Ramos jumped in, pushing Wajima away and waving his right arm in the air to signal the end of the contest, just two seconds from the bell. A rubber-legged Walker was assisted back to his corner as the champion, stylish in white with red trim, celebrated with his corner crew and the audience, who were literally going nuts. Throughout his run in the world championship tournament Wajima had presented himself as a laid-back, low-key individual, even though he was achieving something most experts had thought near impossible. He allowed himself to show more excitement in the aftermath of today's crushing victory, shouting jubilantly and smiling as his corner men paraded him around the ring on their shoulders.

Wajima had landed 89 of 228 punches (39.0%) at the time of the stoppage, Walker 71 of 155 (45.8%). With the win the world champion improved to 25-1-2(17) while Walker suffered his first career loss and is now 15-1(11). Clearly, the convincing fashion in which Wajima retained his belt makes a rematch highly unlikely, meaning that Walker will have to earn another shot during bouts in early September and late November. He was a shattered man as he departed the ring, his trainer Jimmy Floyd speaking for him during the post fight interview and praising Wajima's "champion's mentality" but also saying that the experience and the pain of defeat would only make Walker hungrier and more determined to redeem himself in the future.

On last night's undercard the world's #2-ranked middleweight and featherweight both clinched berths in June eliminators with victories of varying difficulty. Appearing in the co-feature Australia's former WBA middleweight king Les Darcy was never troubled on the way to a 7th round TKO of the Canadian Donato Paduano. Determined to earn himself a rematch with Wajima and re-claim his title as the world's best 160-pounder Darcy moved one step closer to making that ambition a reality. He controlled the contest and opened up not one but two cuts on Paduano, the first above the left eyebrow and the second inside the right eyebrow. It was the wound above the left eye that led to the stoppage one minute into the 7th, Darcy improving to 29-2(24) and setting up a June clash with Rubin Carter.

Los Angeles native Solly Smith had a much tougher time in scoring a unanimous decision win over the Irishman Barry McGuigan (116-113, 115-113, 116-112). In an at-times heated affair both combatants were floored once while Smith was cautioned on four seperate occasions for four different offenses. It was an even affair through the opening quartet of rounds before Smith grabbed the upperhand in the 5th and held it through until the end of round six, when McGuigan turned the stoush on its ear by dropping the Californian with a right cross. Smith beat the count and resumed control in the 7th. He more or less kept it for the remainder of the bout, dropping McGuigan with a cross one minute into the 11th.

It ended on something of a sour note with an intentional Smith headbutt midway thorugh the 12th opening a cut above McGuigan's left eyebrow. It didn't stop Smith from taking the frame with ease and securing the win. The punch totals told the story of a bizarre fight and perhaps illustrated the difference in class between the two competitors. Smith landed an impressive 384 of 552 (69.6%) while McGuigan could only connect with 152 of 986 (15.4%). Now 25-2(17), Smith will find out during tonight's Mexico City card who his opponent will be in June's eliminator. With Mexico's Jesus Carrillo and Daniel Zaragoza already falling out of contention it comes down to the Bautista-Bally and Harrison-Saldivar matchups, with the highest-ranked winner in those two fights to rise to #3 in the rankings and into the eliminator.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[Mad Bomber]

Outstanding win for Wajima.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Mad Bomber

Outstanding win for Wajima.

Ain't wrong there, Greg. Surprised the hell outta me when I simmed the fight. Wajima would have to be the most impressive champion so far in the IBL simply because of the quality of his opposition.

I'm hopeful that some time down the track we see your guy try to dethrone him. That would be something.

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN

Boxing

Updated: March 17, 2007 5.30 PM ET

Controversy in Cardiff:
Palma dominates Driscoll,
but bout scored as a draw

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

Jim Driscoll's time in the featherweight division came to a less than convincing end today with the world champion lucky to escape with a draw against Argentina's former WBA junior-featherweight titlist Sergio Palma at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff. In the second of six world title bouts taking place globally today (involving all four sanctioning organisations) Palma appeared to have done enough to finally dethrone the long-time 126-pound king but when the verdicts were revealed his shoulders slumped in despair. One judge favoured Palma 115-114, another giving Driscoll a 116-114 victory while the third had it all even at 115-115. Driscoll stretched his undefeated streak to 31 fights and will leave the weight class having never suffered a loss in it.

However, he must know in his heart how lucky he was. The aggressive, hard-working Palma made Driscoll look closer to mortality than anyone has during his entire career. The fight featured only four or five rounds that could be considered close, with the remainder dominated by one combatant or the other. It was in those one-sided rounds where Palma really dazzled, as he had Driscoll in all sorts of trouble during the 2nd, 3rd, 6th and 8th frames before controlling a lacklustre final stanza. On the other hand, it could be said that Driscoll was only really in the driver's seat for a pair of rounds, those being the 4th and 9th. Round eleven was the most exciting and evenly fought of the contest, with Driscoll starting it on fire before Palma rallied brilliantly in the final minute.

More often than not the judges favoured Driscoll in the closer rounds and that was what really saved him from defeat. A look at the punch totals would have one thinking it wasn't even close. Driscoll connected with 185 of 428 (43.2%) while Palma found the mark with 315 of 924 (34.1%). Driscoll (36-1-3(28)) was quick to point out that fights aren't won by landing more punches but by winning more rounds and only one of the judges believed that Palma had done that. The South American was pretty worked up afterwards, his sadness quickly morphing into dismay and anger. Before Driscoll had left the ring Palma had already challenged him to a rematch but the Welshman reiterated what he'd already made clear for a number of weeks, that his time in the featherweight division is now over.

It was the first drawn bout of Palma's career, moving his record to 31-2-1(26). While Driscoll's immediate future lies with the junior-lightweight division it's going to be interesting to see what Palma does. Both the WBA and WBC belts will become vacant tomorrow and being a former Association champion he could easily get another shot at the title. But if a rematch with Driscoll is what he really wants he would be better off pursuing a contract with the IBO. That's where Driscoll's going to be within a matter of months as his ambition is to be in the lightweight division and taking on the likes of Brown, Ortiz and Marquez by this time next year. With neither man emerging victorious in Cardiff it means that the winner of tonight's Vasquez-Sanchez showdown in Mexico City will be recognised as the new featherweight world champion.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[Romdawg88]

Wow, that was an impressive performance by Wajima. Due to his run through the UTBA, it's weird to see Walker lose especially like that. Also, damn it looks like Driscoll was quite lucky to escape with his belt there.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Wow, that was an impressive performance by Wajima. Due to his run through the UTBA, it's weird to see Walker lose especially like that. Also, damn it looks like Driscoll was quite lucky to escape with his belt there.

Yep, like I said Koichi has been the most impressive IBL champion to date. Gonna be interesting to see if Darcy can win a return shot at him and if the result ends up being the same if they do meet again.

I was really surprised by that Driscoll result. I expected him to wipe the floor with Palma but, as I indicated in the write-up, when you look at the fight as a whole rather than round-by-round he was outfought. I'm now having doubts about his ability to compete with the bigger boys in the lightweight division.

[kenyan_cheena]

EL UNIVERSAL

Sunday 18 March 2007

VASQUEZ OUTLASTS SANCHEZ,
RETAINS CHAMPIONSHIP!

Story by Miguel Trelles

Gilberto Vasquez defied the experts and gave his supporters another reason to admire him last night by scoring a unanimous decision victory over Olympic gold medallist Salvador Sanchez to retain his International Boxing League featherweight title and earn recognition as the division's official world champion. Against an opponent who many observers had said would be far too good for him Vasquez stayed in the contest through the opening ten rounds and then pulled away over the final five, getting the better of a tiring Sanchez to take the verdict by scores of 145-140, 144-141 and 145-140. It was only the fourth IBL world title bout to date to go the full fifteen round distance, but Vasquez has been involved in two of them after he won the championship with a split decision victory over Solly Smith in December.

A crowd of some 73,000 packed into Mexico City's Azteca Stadium for the event, which also saw Enrique Bolanos claim the league's lightweight championship with a 5th round stoppage of Rafael Limon in the co-feature. Vasquez-Sanchez was the headliner, the bout that had held Mexico in the grip of anticipation since it was confirmed twelve weeks ago. So many had been of the opinion that the evening would be the completion of Sanchez's climb to the top of the mountain, that despite his relative inexperience his superior talent would be too much for Vasquez to handle. For a while it appeared that belief would be confirmed as it was a very even tussle through the first ten rounds.

But Vasquez has shown in recent times that he possesses tremendous courage and determination and as the bout travelled into its later rounds he rose to the occasion, getting the better of Sanchez for whom the realm of the 12th round and beyond was alien territory. Vasquez actually came out of the gates brilliantly, controlling the opening three rounds and sweeping them on each scorecard. Sanchez may have been suffering from the nerves that such a big occasion can bring but he was quick to get himself into the fight, taking four of the next five frames to level things up as the bout entered round nine. Vasquez issued a fine response in the 9th, winning it convincingly before Sanchez fired back just as effectively to set up a grandstand finish.

However, it didn't quite turn out that way as after Vasquez dominated round eleven Sanchez was unable to produce a retort. The defending champion extended his advantage in the 12th, 13th and 14th, picking off a rapidly tiring Sanchez, who looked every bit a mortal for the first time in his professional career. The final frame was unremarkable and while two of the judges somehow concluded that Sanchez had taken it their decision did not affect the final outcome. Vasquez had won the fight and retained his championship, making him the only fighter in the IBL to have gone the fifteen-round distance twice. The fact that he has won both times is even more outstanding. Vasquez landed 377 of 842 punches (44.8%), Sanchez 218 of 1,291 (16.9%).

As those punch totals show Sanchez had been the aggressor but Vasquez's excellent defense, perhaps underestimated in the lead-in, proved to be a decisive factor. Vasquez (30-2(19)) has certainly earned himself a break from the ring following these last two spirited victories. It would seem highly unlikely that after competing for thirty rounds during the last three months the IBL would once again ask the champ to defend his belt against Sanchez (19-1(15)) in a rematch twelve weeks from now. On the other hand it's quite possible that we see a repeat of the evening's co-feature, which ended in an unsatisfactory fashion in the 5th due to a cut on the outside of Rafael Limon's left eyebrow. Bolanos had been winning the fight to that point, landing more than twice as many punches as Limon.

Of course, we can only speculate as to the path the contest would have taken if not for the stoppage but with Limon being the defending champion he'll almost certainly be given a chance to reclaim the title. The fight featured one of the worst opening rounds this observer has ever seen, title bout or not, with both men being unprepared to engage and doing little but pushing at each other with occasional probing, pitter-patter jabs, testing the crowd's patience. The action picked up considerably in the 2nd, which Bolanos controlled behind a crunching uppercut early and a thunderous three-punch salvo at the midpoint. He opened the cut that would ultimately end the bout with a hard right in the round's final minute.

After a non-descript 3rd, taken by Limon by virtue of some effective body work, Bolanos staged a late rally to steal round four. A sizzling, head-snapping left-right combo highlighted the frame. Limon was struggling to get into the contest and it only got worse early in the 5th when he absorbed a pair of right crosses within thirty seconds of the bell. A head clash soon after worsened Limon's wound and led to an inspection by the ringside official. He allowed the fight to continue and, sensing the danger he was in, Limon cut loose with a flurry of punches, desperate for some success. The crowd applauded but most of the shots missed, after which Bolanos responded in devastating fashion. Another wicked right cross opened the cut on Limon's eye to an even greater extent.

Referee Gelasio Perez Huerta led a clearly distraught Limon to a neutral corner, where his worst fears were realised seconds later. The fight was called off, Bolanos declared the winner by TKO at the 1:31 mark of round five and new IBL world lightweight champion. The victory capped a remarkable rise from relative obscurity for the Durango-born 24 year-old, who was considered a solid fighter but hardly world champion material before the league came into being. As it's 4th seed Bolanos struggled through his opening two Challenger's tournament bouts, which were both draws. But he then showed what he's capable of by upsetting the top two seeds to claim the world title shot, dispatching both the American Greg Haugen and Japan's Jaguar Kakizawa inside the distance.

The ending of last night's bout might have been somewhat underwhelming but it didn't stop Bolanos and his corner crew from celebrating for all it was worth, the new champion carried around the ring on the shoulders of his older brother and cousin, title belt held aloft in his right hand. While Bolanos (24-2-3(18)) is a natural lightweight Limon (31-2(20)) is not, and it could be that the former WBA junior-lightweight champion finally bit off more than he could chew in the 135-pound division. When the bout ended Bolanos had connected with 117 of 433 punches (27.0%), Limon just 48 of 330 (14.5%). If a rematch does take place it's a good bet that Limon will produce a superior performance.

Earlier on last night's card Dominican Republic featherweight Miguel Bautista climbed off the canvas in round one against Jet Bally and, after controlling the next five frames held on against the Filipino's strong finish to take a close unanimous decision verdict (115-113 on all three cards). It was an action-packed matchup and as a result of his win Bautista rose from #6 to #3 in the rankings and into June's world title eliminator, but only after 8th-ranked Vicente Saldivar scored a minor upset by defeating 5th-ranked Texan Keith Harrison in the following bout. Bautista was the #1 seed in the Challenger's tournament, where he was defeated by Sanchez in the semi-finals. Since then he'd dropped a split decision to Harrison in December with the #5 ranking on the line.

The fortunes of both turned last night, with Bautista (28-5(16)) taking advantage of not only Harrison's defeat but also the failures of 3rd- and 4th-ranked Daniel Zaragoza and Jesus Carrillo earlier in the week. Bautista takes on world championship tournament finalist Solly Smith in June, with the winner to earn a shot at Vasquez on the 1st of September. Saldivar is regarded as a future world champion and he continued his impressive career start, which to date includes just a single blemish being his loss to arch rival Sanchez in the Challenger's tournament quarters. Saldivar had to rally from a bad start to take the win, Harrison dominating the opening quartet of rounds and dropping the Athens gold medallist with a left hook early in the 4th.

Harrison appeared to be on his way to a place in the eliminator and his corner crew did not hesitate to remind him of that following the 4th. Perhaps their words made him think too much about it because round five was where Saldivar's comeback commenced. He took the frame and just had the better of a thrilling 6th before continuing to claw back Harrison's lead in the bottom half of the clash. Saldivar swept rounds eight, nine, ten and eleven on all three scorecards, Harrison's competitiveness dropping away in the 10th as he sported a good sized knot under his left eye. Saldivar's corner exploded in celebration with the verdict, which he took by scores of 115-112, 115-113 and 115-112. Harrison's head dropped in despair with the reality that he'd let a golden opportunity slip through his fingers.

In a classic stoush Saldivar landed 276 of 862 punches (32.0%), Harrison 337 of 1,005 (33.5%). With the win Saldivar (19-1(16)) makes a jump of four places in the rankings to #4 and will secure a place in the November eliminator with victories in his next two outings. Now 31-6-1(22) Harrison plummets to #9 and out of the world championship picture unless some equally unexpected results eventuate in June. No doubt this is a defeat the Dallas native will take some time to recover from, especially when one considers what was at stake for him.

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The Guateng Daily Star

TUESDAY 20 MARCH 2007

Matlala stopped on cuts
at the Nasrec

Story by Heino Duminy

Meadowlands flyweight Jake Matlala's short-term chances of competing for the International Boxing League's world championship went up in smoke last night when he was defeated by Thailand's Saman Sorjaturong in the main event of a fight card at the Nasrec Indoor Arena. Ranked at #4 coming into the evening Matlala fell to a TKO loss, the ringside official stopping the bout midway through round seven due to a nasty cut on his left eyelid. It had been an exciting stoush to that point with both men having their moments, although Sorjaturong held a handy lead through the opening six frames due in part to the knockdown he scored with a textbook left-right salvo two minutes into round four. He'd opened the cut on Matlala's eyelid in round two, with the ringside doctor examining it soon after and then again in the 7th.

After an impressive run of performances so far under the IBL's banner this was a deeply disappointing loss for Matlala. He acquitted himself well in the world championship tournament, where he defeated Octavio Gomez in the quarters before being knocked out in the 10th round of a lively semi-final by Yuri Arbachakov. Matlala (37-5-1(28)) rebounded from the defeat to secure the #4 initial world ranking with a unanimous decision win over the Frenchman Brahim Asloum in December. 29 year-old Matlala would have been banking on a victory against the less experienced Thailander to keep him in the picture for a world title shot but the defeat could very well spell the end of those aspirations. Sorjaturong (21-2-2(14)) was coming off a slim split decision defeat to Scotland's Benny Lynch but will now make a healthy leap up the rankings from #9 to at least #6, possibly higher depending on how the rest of this week's matchups pan out.

It was not the greatest night for South African boxing with heavyweight Pierre Coetzer blowing the chance to move into his division's 3rd ranking tier and secure a mid-April matchup with 12th-ranked Ray Mercer when his co-feature against Frank Childs was scored as a draw. Coetzer appeared to be on the way to victory after the 4th round but Childs produced an unexpected, admirable rally in the bottom half of the contest to bring about the tie. One judge felt Coetzer (14-4-2(10)) had been by far the better man, giving him a 79-73 verdict. But the other two had it all locked up at 76-76. Chicago-born Childs (14-7-2(9)) was the 3rd seed in the league's Americas Championship tournament but has struggled under the IBL banner, losing his previous four bouts leading into last night.

There were victories for Johnny Arthur and Nelson Ndungane earlier on the card, Arthur maintaining his undefeated status with a 4th round knockout of Thad Spencer while Ndungane stopped the Samoan Semo Salanoa in round seven. Salanoa was cruising towards a dominant win, sweeping the scorecards through the first six stanzas before Ndungane pulled off a dramatic stoppage, a brutal left-right salvo turning Salanoa's lights out. The American John Fehner was also victorious in his IBL debut. Bringing a perfect 8-0(8) record into the evening he went the distance for the first time in his career, defeating Salanoa's compatriot Kalolo Umaga by unanimous decision (79-74 on all four cards). It's a win that will ensure the Californian a healthy climb up the heavyweight rankings from his current position at #76.

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THE TOKYO TIMES

Wednesday, 21 March, 2007

Once again, Kameda is
one win from title shot

Story by Hiroko Yamamoto

23 year-old Osaka flyweight Koki Kameda secured a berth in a June IBL world title eliminator last night with an impressive 7th round TKO of England's Eric Marsden at the Nihon Budoken Hall. Having made the final of the league's Challenger's tournament last year, where he was stopped on cuts in round nine by Willie Davison, Kameda will once again have the chance to earn a shot at the world championship. The title is currently held by Mexico's Candido Tellez, who will defend it for the first time against Davison in Guadalajara on March 31. The headliner on last night's card was a competitive affair through the opening six rounds, an aggressive Marsden giving Kameda some testing moments and having him in real trouble in round three.

As if sensing the danger Kameda put his foot down early in the 7th, catching Marsden with a left hook, a hard right cross, a trio of jabs, a flush right hand and a crunching uppercut before the round had even reached its midpoint. The assault left Marsden on unsteady legs and in retreat but Kameda was merciless, following up with another damaging cross, a left hook, a left-right salvo and a left hook that almost decapitated the Englishman. When Marsden's left knee brushed the canvas referee John Keane stepped in and ended the fight, shielding the exhausted combatant and waving his right arm in the air. The official stoppage time was 2:05 of the 7th, Kameda at least retaining his #3 world ranking and improving his record to 22-3(14). Marsden fell to 21-5-1(15), the loss his third in five IBL outings.

Earlier in the evening Olympic bronze medallist Yoko Gushiken maintained his undefeated record and extended his winning streak to five since a draw with compatriot Hiroyuki Ebihara resulted in his exit from the Inter-Continental Championship tournament in its opening stage. Gushiken scored his second consecutive unanimous decision win, the 21 year-old dominating Argentina's Carlos Salazar and taking the verdict by scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 79-73. Gushiken (13-0-1(8)) had expressed some impatience in the lead-up to the fight, saying he was frustrated by the IBL's scheduling which has seen him fight in and win a succession of bouts with no real move in the rankings to show for it. Although he understands that he's being "tested" Gushiken believes that he's already deserving of a higher position in the rankings than his current one at #39.

In last night's co-feature Yukito Tamakuma was surprisingly defeated by Colombia's Beibis Mendoza, the South American taking a comfortable unanimous decision verdict (79-72, 79-71, 79-72). Mendoza was cut on the right eyelid in the 3rd but he responded strongly from that adversity, dropping Tamakuma in the 4th with an uppercut and again in the 8th with a flurry of shots, the knockdown coming only moments after the ringside doctor had inspected his wound. Tamakuma's loss will be Gushiken's gain, as he brought a ranking of #36 into the evening and will fall at least a half-dozen places following the defeat.

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We are now at the part of this week where all the big heavyweights are in action, aswell as a number of our lower ranked fictional heavies.

In the coming days we'll find out how guys such as Norton, Johnson, Ibeabuchi, Anyukov, Lewis, Golota, Bowe and Jeannette performed in their outings, and there's also the big world title fight between Haynes and Jackson. Plus, fictional fighters Mundt, Lyons, Vincent and Brooks are all in action.

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Just get to the March monthly boxing reviews already!

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ESPN

Boxing

Updated: March 22, 2007 10.30 AM ET

Norton averts disaster,
stops Paea in 10th

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

With the possibility of a September return shot at Terone Haynes rapidly slipping from his grasp former world heavyweight champion Ken Norton rallied to record a 10th round knockout of the tough Tongan Simione Paea on Wednesday night at the San Diego Coliseum. Back in action for the first time since Haynes dismantled him to claim the IBL and world championship in December, Norton appeared to be on his way to a disasterous defeat as Paea built a winning lead through the opening seven rounds. He was simply more aggressive, determined and enthusiastic than Norton, constantly beating him to the punch and opening up a nasty cut on the Californian's right eyelid in a dominant 3rd.

The bout started with a blaze of power shots, Norton hurting Paea early in round one before the Polynesian slugger answered back strongly in the final minute with a crippling right to the body and a left hook that caught Norton flush on the jaw. The 2nd followed a similar pattern, Norton having the better of its top half only to see Paea rally in the latter stages. When the 11th-ranked Tongan took the 3rd and then the 4th in convincing fashion it was clear to see that the hometown hero was in deep trouble. Things got no better for Norton in rounds five and six, the scorecards showing that two of the judges had given Paea every single round to that point. After a more even 7th Norton finally put his foot through the door in round eight, hurting Paea with a straight right and some stinging body work.

But just as he appeared to be in with a chance his prospects became even more dire when, after finding the mark with an uppercut and a pair of right crosses, Norton was sent to the canvas by a thunderous Paea uppercut a minute from the bell. He made it back to his feet at four but looked every bit a beaten, dispirited fighter. Paea followed up the knockdown with another right cross but couldn't finish the job. His inability to do so would come back to bite him in devastating style in the very next round. Blasted by his trainer during the intermission Norton came out aggressively for the 10th and got immediate results, dropping Paea with a left-right salvo midway through the frame. The crowd errupted like a volcano, their champion right back into the contest.

Paea was up quickly but looked stunned by Norton's sudden fightback. A minute later the fight was sensationally over as Norton smothered a suddenly listless Paea with a barrage of punches. The Tongan fell flat onto his back near the red corner and was counted out at the 2:36 mark, Norton shouting jubilantly as his corner crew and members of his entourage, including Americas Champion Sam McVey, filled the ring to celebrate with him. Though not part of his support team Norton's estranged friend and former middleweight champion James Toney was in the crowd some ten rows back from ringside and he applauded passionately. It was one of the most unlikely fightbacks seen in some time and the fact that it was pulled off by a man for whom defeat is no longer an option made it even more potent. Now 31-3-1(25) Norton maintains his #2 world ranking but will most likely have to wait until the conclusion of Friday's London card to find out who his opponent in the June eliminator will be.

3rd-ranked Briton Lennox Lewis features in the London main event and with a victory he'll secure the other eliminator spot. If he happens to fail 4th-ranked Andrew Golota would claim the berth if he manages to get past Riddick Bowe in their Thursday night rematch in Poland. Paea (16-6-2(13)) will stay at #11, a ranking he'll be defending in his next fight. But he'll certainly be looking at this loss to Norton as one that really got away, as a win would have seen him rise to at least #6. Norton can consider himself extremely lucky to have escaped with his aspirations in tact but this performance will simply reinforce the belief that he's now on the downslope of what has been a great career.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

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