The Greatest Prize in Sports

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Ric915

Awesome

Originally Posted by Infinity

Great stuff as always m8, keep up the good work!

Thx, guys!

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN

Boxing

Updated: May 22, 2007 8.15 PM ET

A bad night in Bologna

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

Italian boxing suffered a demoralising body blow on an IBL fight card held in Bologna today, with five of the six local competitors in action falling to defeat. Amongst them, disasterously, were the nation's two highest world-ranked junior-heavyweights, Angelo Rottoli (#4) and Massimiliano Duran (#9). Appearing in the main event and co-feature bouts respectively, both men lost by split decision and as a result will tumble out of the division's top ranking tier. They'll also say goodbye to their short-term ambitions of challenging for Jeff Lampkin's world championship, as it's going to take them three or even four consecutive wins from this point just to get back the ground they've now lost.

Rottoli fell to 23rd-ranked Frenchman Anaclet Wamba while in a less surprising result Duran was defeated by Algeria's Mohamed Azzaoui (#14). Both Rottoli and Duran have been involved in a number of close, competitive fights during their time in the IBL but have mostly been on the wrong side of the verdict. They actually squared off against each other in March with Rottoli winning by majority decision. It was his first victory in a league bout after his opening two contests were draws (both in the world championship tournament) before he lost his third by a close unanimous decision to Russia's Pavel Melkomian. Remarkably, Duran has now lost four consecutive bouts: two by majority decision and two by split decision.

Duran's last win came in June against Canada's two-time Olympic gold medallist Sam Langford in the quarter-finals of the world championship tournament. It was the first defeat of Langford's professional career but since then Duran has met with constant heartbreak. The former IBF cruiserweight titlist lost to Lampkin in the tournament semis in front of a parochial crowd in Milan and just hasn't been able to get over the line, losing a split decision to Richard Mason in his final outing of '06, which was a world ranking bout. This afternoon's matchup with Azzaoui was a less than thrilling affair, with neither man appearing very willing to press the action. The Algerian had the better of the opening quartet of rounds but Duran came into the contest through the middle stanzas, only to ease off late with victory in sight.

Azzaoui took the slimmest of verdicts: 96-95, 95-96, 96-95. He improved to 26-6(17) while Duran is now 31-8-1(22). The main event was a much more exciting, intriguing affair and some would say that Rottoli (29-5-4(22)) was unlucky not to escape with a win. While Wamba was the busier of the two the Italian outlanded him (250-220) and also had him looking like a beaten man at the end. Wamba (23-5-3(16)) wore some nasty, messy swelling around his right eye and was cut inside his mouth early in the final round, which Rottoli won convincingly. But it wasn't enough and Wamba took the verdict by scores of 96-94, 95-96 and 96-94. A look at the individual scorecards showed how fortunate Wamba was as he was awarded rounds four, five and six by both of the judges who scored him the victor. Each of those frames were close and could very well have gone either way.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[kenyan_cheena]

PENSACOLA
News
Journal

Wednesday 23 May 2007

Jones' troops keep on winning

Story by Jeff Brown

Even though his attention has been focused squarely on Saturday night's IBL "Champions for Charities" event in Las Vegas, Pensacola boxing trainer Roy Jones would no doubt be ecstatic by a pair of results on other fight cards that have taken place during the last couple of days. While his stable's two biggest stars, Terone Haynes and James Ray, will be in action on the weekend a pair of his other charges recorded impressive wins to start the week in fine fashion for the "Florida Alliance". Fighting at the Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho on Monday night junior-heavyweight Elmer Ray demolished the Pennsylvanian Bert Cooper inside of three rounds. Last night promising young welterweight Elford Coles kept his perfect record intact with a convincing unanimous decision win over Cuba's Jose Stable in Argentina.

The two performances could not have been more different, Ray displaying some of the most awesome power punching seen in a good while in contrast to the boxing clinic that Coles staged. For Ray it was his fourth consecutive win and a welcome return to form following an uneven effort in defeating Chisanda Mutti last month. He simply obliterated Cooper with a relentless assault, flooring him three times and landing a remarkable 143 of 303 punches before it was over. Cooper only connected with 26 of 47 blows. After dominating round one Ray drooped his opponent for the first time with a vicious hook to the liver forty seconds into round two. A succession of damaging blows followed and Cooper did well just to survive the round.

Ray was merciless, though, and he sent the Sharon Hill native to the canvas midway through the 3rd with a smashing right cross. Cooper was up at three on wobbly legs but less than a minute later a wild overhand right caught him flush and he was down again. This time he didn't get up and was counted out at the 2:16 mark, Ray improving his mark to 10-2-1(8). As has been the case in most of his wins to date, Elford Coles built his victory over Jose Stable behind an outstanding left jab, the punch setting up some blinding combinations which befuddled and frustrated the Cuban. There are some who already believe, based on the teenager's performances to date, that he might just be the most naturally gifted of the six professional fighters in Jones' camp. It's a scary thought, considering the talent that is there.

Coles took the unanimous decision verdict by the comfortable scores of 78-74, 79-73 and 78-75, outlanding Stable 186-152. He's now 8-0(3). As a consequence of their wins Ray and Coles will both be placed in their respective division's 3rd ranking tier when the updated rankings are released on Monday. Coles has been able to take perfect advantage of a schedule that has seen him progress rapidly from being in the 6th tier at the beginning of the year to the 3rd tier in May. Ranked at #71 after signing with the league in mid-December, successive victories have seen him jump to #61 in January, #56 in March, #43 in April and now into the mid-thirties of tier 3.

For Ray it's been more of a waiting game, as he had to survive a trio of bouts against 4th and 5th tier opponents just to earn this week's opportunity. With the two youngsters taking their chance it should only be a matter of time until they've secured shots at the Americas Championship, which is something they've both acknowledged as a short term goal. If their efforts are a harbinger of what awaits Jones' two superstars this Saturday then the Florida Alliance can look forward to an outstanding evening at the MGM.

[Romdawg88]

Man, has anyone had a unluckier streak then Duran? Dropping four in a row by such close margins that hurts. Great wins for the Alliance boys especially happy to see Elmer being on such a good run.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Man, has anyone had a unluckier streak then Duran? Dropping four in a row by such close margins that hurts. Great wins for the Alliance boys especially happy to see Elmer being on such a good run.

Yep, when the result of his fight came up on the screen I just thought "Not again!!!" Unbelievable that all those losses have come AFTER he beat Langford. It's like a double reversal of fortune.

I'm really happy that Elmer's starting to show what he's capable of. I didn't expect him to lay that kind of beatdown on Cooper but it was great to see.

[kenyan_cheena]

La Gazzetta dello Sport

THURSDAY 24 MAY 2007

Aurino becomes fourth
I-C 200-pound champion

Story by Giovanni Lippi

The International Boxing League's junior-heavyweight Inter-Continental championship continued its vagabond journey last night in the Czech Republic when Italy's Pietro Aurino became the fourth fighter in succession to claim the belt. Aurino scored a convincing unanimous decision victory over local favourite Lubos Suda, who became the third champion to fail in attempting to defend the title. The Torre Annunziata native was surprisingly dominant, taking the verdict by scores of 117-111, 116-113 and 117-112 and outlanding Suda by a healthy margin (348-194). It was the third I-C championship bout for Suda. He had been defeated by Russia's Grigory Drozd in the tournament final on December 6 and Drozd was then dethroned by Ireland's Tom Sharkey in February, before Suda made it second time lucky when he knocked out Sharkey on March 30.

Suda had stepped into the ring last night confident that he'd be able to achieve what Drozd and Sharkey hadn't, and while it was the first of the four championship bouts to go the distance Suda was never really in the contest. Aurino assumed control quickly and by the end of round seven enjoyed a five-point lead on two scorecards and a four-point buffer on the other. The defending champion was more competitive in the bottom half but he couldn't make a dent in Aurino's lead and surrendered the title. Aurino upped his record to 23-4(13) while Suda fell to 23-4-1(15). With his Inter-Continental record now 1-2 it's unlikely that he'll get another shot at the belt, at least not in the short term. Moving on from the title hasn't harmed Drozd, as he recorded his second straight win over a higher-ranked opponent on Tuesday night in Buenos Aires, an upset majority decision win over 5th-ranked Dario Walter Matteoni.

On last night's undercard there were wins for English 200-pounders Carl Thompson and Bruce Scott while Japanese welterweight Jiro Suzuki scored an upset victory over Gustave Eder. Thompson is still undefeated under the IBL banner and has won five in a row since a stage one draw with Richard Mason eliminated him from the Challenger's tournament. Last night he secured a place in the 1st ranking tier by flooring South Africa's Piet Crous five times on the way to a unanimous decision win. Scott was also victorious over a tier one opponent, the Londoner taking a much more dramatic split decision verdict from Russia's Pavel Melokomian. Remarkably, all five of the tier one junior-heavyweights that have fought this week have been defeated, meaning that a big shake up will be in store at the top of the rankings when they're published on Monday.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE GUARDIAN
LAGOS - NIGERIA

Thursday 24 May 2007

AFRICAN WELTERWEIGHTS
FEND OFF AMERICAN CHALLENGE

Story by Sani Yobo

Going against this week's trend of upset IBL results the welterweight trio of Ifeani Adamu, Benedict Khumalo and Ademola Udeze were all victorious in bouts at the Surelere Stadium last night. The three were defending their positions in the division's 1st ranking tier and came through with flying colours, in particular Adamu and Khumalo. Adamu recorded a hard fought majority decision win over the Philadelphian Meldrick Taylor before Khumalo was brilliant in sending Puerto Rico's Wilfred Benitez to his first professional defeat with a 2nd round TKO. In the main event Udeze took a comfortable unanimous decision verdict over Charley Scott. Both Taylor and Benitez brought four-fight winning streaks into the evening and were regarded as favourites by a number of observers, especially with Khumalo and Adamu coming off last start defeats.

Both of those fights had been held in the USA on March 3, in Ohio on the undercard of Jeff Lampkin's successful junior-heavyweight title defense against Taoufik Belbouli. South African-born Khumalo had been stopped in nine by Udeze while Adamu was taken out in eight rounds by the 3rd-ranked Colombian Hugo Pineda. Both were determined to retain their place in the top tier and they did just that, though in very different styles. Adamu was always going to be in for a hard night against Taylor (26-4(17)) and the American did not disappoint. In a stoush that was close and competitive all the way through it was Adamu's superior finish, which included a knockdown from a brutal left-right salvo late in the 8th, which won him the day. Adamu (24-4-1(16)) took the verdict by scores of 97-93, 95-95 and 96-94.

The Khumalo-Benitez clash was expected to be a thriller. No one was predicting the 2nd round blowout that occured. After a tight opening frame Benitez found himself on the canvas a minute into round two courtesy of a lightning left-right-left salvo. Up at seven, he wore a bemused expression and it was clear that he hadn't fully recovered when a flush left hook floored him early in the final minute. He rose at six but appeared out on his feet. Despite that, referee Stanley Christodoulou allowed Benitez (16-1-2(10)) to continue. Moments later it was over as a chopping left-right combo sent the Puerto Rican into the ropes. He was on his way to the floor when Christodoulou jumped in and waved it over at the 2:21 mark. Khumalo is now 15-2-1(9), the win ending a three-fight winless streak for him.

Udeze's win over the overmatched Charley Scott came as no surprise as the Philadelphia native is numbered amongst a group of IBL fighters who have been "in over their head" since the start of league competiton. A win over Fausto Rodriguez last month ended a four-fight losing streak for Scott and he never looked like threatening Udeze. The hometown favourite was victorious by scores of 99-93, 99-92 and 99-93. Udeze improved to 25-3-1(18) while Scott dropped to an unflattering 14-8-1(8). The win has secured for 4th-ranked Udeze a place in August's welterweight elimination semi-finals, meaning he is now just two further victories from a shot at the world championship.

[kenyan_cheena]

THE LONDON TIMES

Friday 25 May 2007

A VICTORIOUS HOMECOMING

Story by James Simpson

Last night, in his first bout on English soil since April '06, London welterweight Ashley Jackson made a successful opening defense of his IBL Inter-Continental championship with an 8th round knockout of the Italian Sandro Lopopolo. The fight was held at the London Arena in front of a capacity crowd eager to see one of Britain's most exciting and popular fighters in action. During his time with the IBL Jackson has fought in the Philippines, France, Japan and, in his last three outings, Germany, before finally stepping into a home squared circle last night. He was seeded at #15 in the league's I-C championship tournament and so had to travel for those early bouts as the IBL favoured higher seeds when allocating host venues. Jackson reached the final, where he lost to Germany's Reinhardt Kohler in Berlin.

After earning a rematch with a February win over the Australian Hector Thompson, Jackson claimed the championship with a dominant 6th round KO of Kohler on March 31. It must be said that Jackson did not produce one of his better efforts last night, Lopopolo still right in the contest as it entered round eight. The Italian had the better of the 2nd, 3rd and 7th frames, in particular landing a number of hard, damaging shots in round two. Jackson enjoyed some sustained success in rounds four, five and six, coming out all guns blazing in the 4th to have Lopopolo in serious trouble. But after round seven it was still a very even fight. While he might not have been so convincing to that point, Jackson's finish was brilliant.

The 8th had been uneventful through its first two minutes but when the champion caught Lopopolo with a left-right salvo the Italian's legs wobbled. A follow-up barrage of six flush blows sent Lopopolo crashing to the canvas, where he was counted out at the 2:09 mark, the bout suddenly over. An ecstatic Jackson mounted each of the four cornerposts, right gloved fist held high and a smile on his face from ear to ear. His parents and at least a dozen other family members, aswell as a score of friends, were at ringside and they joined the crowd in a standing ovation. While he was the aggressor Jackson's radar was off target for most of the fight, as he connected with only 136 of 589 punches (23.1%). Lopopolo landed 156 of 421 blows (37.1%). Jackson is now 12-1(10), Lopopolo falling to 15-5(8).

Earlier in the evening Ireland's former junior-heavyweight Inter-Continental champion Tom Sharkey was victorious in his first outing since losing the belt to Lubos Suda. Sharkey recorded a tougher-than-it-looked unanimous decision win over David Haye (79-72 on all three cards). Sharkey dropped the Englishman with a sizzling combination late in round five but only outlanded him 239-184 in an action-packed stoush. Haye was valiant in defeat, giving almost as good as he received in an amazing 1st round and actually having Sharkey on the verge of defeat in the 3rd. He was unlucky not to snare a competitive round four and was very much in the 5th before being sent to the canvas. Sharkey is now 18-2-1(15) while Haye fell to 14-3(6).

Other winners on the night included Germany's Markus Bott, the American Andre Prophet and another London-born favourite, Terry Dunstan. Bott was far too classy for Nevada's Kelvin Davis, who fell to his second straight defeat following a five-fight winning streak. Bott won by unanimous decision (79-72, 78-73, 79-72), retaining his place in the 3rd ranking tier. Andre Prophet is fast becoming a fighter to keep an eye on as he scored his sixth consecutive victory since joining the IBL in October. He upped his record to 10-1-1(4) with a split decision win over the veteran German Alexander Petkovick (78-76, 76-78, 78-76). Prophet maintained a high workrate throughout the fight, throwing an average of 94 punches per round. Petkovick was one of the competitors in the league's world championship tournament but with the loss he fell to 34-7-5(26) and out of the 3rd tier, saying afterwards that he might retire. He's had a frustrating time in the IBL, with just a single win in six bouts along with three draws and now, back-to-back defeats.

In a somewhat surprising result, Terry Dunstan knocked out the Nebraskan Mark Elwood in the 5th round of their bout. It was a close and intriguing affair through the first four frames with Dunstan connecting with a greater volume of punches and Elwood landing the harder, highlight reel shots. Dunstan's work had brought some nasty swelling to the area around Elwood's right eye by the end of the 4th. Early in round five he jolted Elwood's head back with an uppercut which, in hindsight, signalled the beginning of the end. Dunstan followed it up with a succession of scoring blows which had the American dazed and staggered. With fifteen seconds remaining Dunstan (20-6-1(12)) unloaded a right cross which caught Elwood on the temple, sending him backwards and to the canvas. Despite an honest effort to do so, Elwood couldn't beat the count, the fight over at the 2:57 mark.

In the early months of his career, Elwood (14-4(10)) was being seriously spoken of as a future world championship contender. He enjoyed a mildly successful amateur career and was victorious in his first ten professional bouts before joining the IBL. But since then he's been hot and cold in equal measures. After looking fantastic in his league debut, a 4th round knockout of Julian Letterlough, Elwood lost his next three fights, the first of which came against Guyana's Wayne Braithwaite, who went on to win and then lose the junior-heavyweight Americas championship. Elwood appeared to right his ship with a trio of victories to start '07, the wins coming in January, March and April and setting up last night's shot at a place in the 3rd tier. However, now it's back to the drawing board for him.

[kenyan_cheena]

ESPN

Boxing

Updated: May 25, 2007 11.30 AM ET

DeLeon secures
rubber match with Lampkin

By Larry Holman
ESPN.com
Archive

Long recognised as the best 200-pounder in the world, Puerto Rico's Carlos DeLeon clinched a shot at reclaiming the official crown on Thursday night with an abrupt one-punch 2nd round knockout of Germany's Torsten May. Fighting in front of a parochial home crowd at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, DeLeon secured the #1 ranking in the IBL's junior-heavyweight division with the win in an official elimination bout. He'll now challenge Jeff Lampkin for the world championship on August 18 in what will be the third meeting between the two men. DeLeon was victorious by unanimous decision in their first stoush, a July '04 bout with the IBF cruiserweight belt on the line. Lampkin then famously won the IBL's inaugural championship this past December with a 5th round knockout.

Desperate to win back his world championship status, DeLeon didn't allow May to get comfortable last night as, after a tight opening round, the German was knocked out cold by a jolting right cross just 22 seconds into round two. He didn't move for the duration of the count, the fight over at the 0:33 mark. The knockdown brought an explosive roar from the crowd and DeLeon was standing in a neutral corner holding his right fist aloft triumphantly before the count was over. DeLeon improved to 33-2-1(23) while May suffered his fifth career defeat and fell to 33-5-1(24). DeLeon had recorded a 9th round TKO of South Africa's Piet Crous in March to confirm his place in the eliminator. On that night he'd been in big trouble and was trailing on all three cards before rallying and stopping Crous. Last night he experienced no such drama.

DeLeon took a playful shot at Lampkin during the post fight interview, citing his Saturday night Las Vegas showdown with Terone Haynes and saying that he hoped the Youngstown native would be healthy enough for their rubber match in the aftermath of it. It was a good night for Puerto Rican boxing as welterweight Carmelo Barea made the jump into the 1st ranking tier with a majority decision win over Jason Morris in the co-feature (99-93, 96-96, 97-95). It was Barea's fifth consecutive win, one that was more comprehensive than the scorecards indicated. Barea dominated most of the fight and outlanded Morris 328-131, also throwing almost twice as many punches as the Los Angeles native. Barea acheived what his compatriot 147-pounder Wilfred Benitez was unable to on Wednesday in Nigeria, although in fariness Benitez was up against a much tougher opponent in Benedict Khumalo.

Most observers have said that the IBL overrated Morris before their initial tournaments, placing him in the Challenger's tournament where he made the quarter-finals and as a consequence claimed a place in the top ranking tier. Since then it's been a struggle for the Californian as he has gone winless in fights against Hugo Pineda, Aaron Lister Brown, Ifeani Adamu and former WBO champion Enrique Diaz prior to Thursday night. His matchup with Barea was Morris' last chance to stay in the 1st tier and with the loss he is now 13-6-2(8) and 1-4-1 under the IBL banner. Barea improved to 30-3-1(20) and must be a good chance of climbing further up the rankings in his final two contests of '07. In other bouts on the card there were wins for Juan Villegas, Eric Bengtson, Max Rasmuth and Michael Watson.

Larry Holman is ESPN.com's boxing writer.

[kenyan_cheena]

EL UNIVERSAL

Saturday 26 May 2007

DIAZ CLINCHES
WORLD TITLE SHOT

Story by Miguel Trelles

Last night Guadalajara welterweight Enrique Diaz recorded a convincing 9th round TKO of Colombia's Hugo Pineda in an official IBL world title eliminator at the Arena Mexico. The former WBO titlist dominated a willing but outclassed Pineda throughout the contest, building a healthy lead and inflicting some fierce damage during the opening eight rounds before flooring him twice in round nine. The bout was stopped soon after the second knockdown, at the 2:48 mark. As a consequence of the win, Diaz will assume the #1 welterweight world ranking on Monday and will challenge Emile Griffith for the world championship on the 18th of August in New York City. It will be a rematch of their inaugural league title fight, which was held in December and which Griffith won when Diaz was disqualified for rabbit punching in round ten while in a position to triumph.

Diaz (32-2(24)) was in a merciless mood last night, landing an outstanding 343 of 814 punches compared to Pineda's 129 of 334. The 28 year-old booked his place in the eliminator with an 11th round knockout of the Californian Jason Morris while Pineda defeated Nigeria's Ifeani Adamu. Both of those fights took place in early March. Pineda (23-4-1(15)) had spoken with confidence that he wouldn't let this second chance at claiming a world title shot slip through his fingers after he was a surprise loser to Shoji Ohashi in December's Challenger's tournament finale. He was inconsolable after last night's defeat and will now have to dig deep and get back to work through the rest of the year.

Pineda will still be ranked at #3 on Monday but faces what will be a tough elimination semi-final with Nigeria's #4-ranked Ademola Udeze in August. Having already fallen short against Ohashi and now Diaz he'll be desperate to overcome Udeze and earn another chance. As for Diaz, he is now in a position he's been striving for during his entire career: on the verge of being recognised as the best in the world at his weight class. He held the WBO championship for almost two years, making five defenses of it from June '04 until relinquishing it in April '06 to join the IBL. Diaz played second fiddle to both Griffith (WBA champ) and Jose Napoles (WBC) during his title reign but if he can overcome the Virgin Islands-born New Yorker in August he will have finally reached the top of the mountain.

[kenyan_cheena]

There's another card which features a quartet of top-ten ranked JHWs and WWs that takes place on the Friday but I think I'll just write-up those results in the May issue of Boxing Monthly.

Therefore, the next post will be the review of the MGM Grand "Champions for Charities" event!!!

[Romdawg88]

Originally Posted by kenyan_cheena

Therefore, the next post will be the review of the MGM Grand "Champions for Charities" event!!!

Can't wait, been looking forward to this card since you announced it.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

Can't wait, been looking forward to this card since you announced it.

Should be posted within the next 48 hours.

[Rasmuth]

very cool.

[kenyan_cheena]

The New York Age

SUNDAY, 27 MAY, 2007

HAYNES AND GRIFFITH VICTORIOUS ON
IBL'S "CHAMPIONS FOR CHARITIES" CARD

Story by James Reynolds

The International Boxing League's much anticipated "Champions for Charities" card was held last night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and, for both the right and wrong reasons, it lived up to expectations. Fighting in the main event Miami's world heavyweight champion Terone Haynes destroyed Ohio-born 200-pound world champion Jeff Lampkin in the 1st round of their "superfight", Haynes mercilessly pummeling a helpless Lampkin until referee Tony Gibson ended the carnage at the 2:56 mark. Somehow Lampkin stayed on his feet throughout the ordeal but when it was over he had absorbed a total of 45 punches and landed just six of his 21 punches, all of which were ineffective, pawing jabs thrown against a charging bull. Haynes threw 71 punches, so he landed his shots at a rate of 64%.

While the main event was, unfortunately, the absolute mismatch many experts had predicted it would be, it was preceded by a great night of boxing and a co-feature that could very well end up being the fight of the year. World welterweight champion Emile Griffith produced the best performance of what has already been a fantastic career when he rallied from an ordinary start to record a unanimous decision win over Japan's world middleweight champion Koichi Wajima (114-113, 115-112, 114-113). Griffith had to overcome a deficit that saw him lose the first four rounds on two scorecards, his fightback then hitting a snag when he was deducted a point late in the 9th round for using his shoulders illegally. Griffith had dominated the frame to that point.

Last night's spectacle had its origin in a remark made by Lampkin during an interview on ESPN's SportsCenter eight weeks ago, on April 2. In response to Haynes' expressed frustration over the IBL's scheduling policy, which would make it impossible for him to defend his world title until September at the earliest, Lampkin more or less called Haynes out, saying he would "relish the opportunity" to fight him. From there things moved quickly. Seven days later Haynes had accepted the challenge and on the 11th of April the league confirmed that the twelve-round non-title bout had been officially scheduled. To give the occasion more substance and meaning, Haynes and Lampkin agreed that all proceeds from the fight would be donated to various charities.

IBL president James Molk added that the league would be making an additional contribution of $5million, with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America amongst the chairities that would benefit. The Wajima-Griffith bout was arranged soon after on Griffith's initiative, with the fight to be held at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds and with both men following the lead of Haynes and Lampkin in stepping between the ropes for charity. The IBL heavily promoted the evening, leading to a sold-out crowd in attendance of just over 17,000 at the MGM Grand. The league scheduled an attractive undercard which featured two Americas Championship title fights, Haynes' fellow Florida stablemate, the welterweight James Ray and former WBA light-heavyweight champion Maurice Holmes competing in the opening bout.

13th-ranked Holmes kicked off the evening by scoring a hard-earned split decision victory over the Russian Vadim Tokarev (97-95, 95-97, 98-94). Even before they had stepped into the ring both fighters knew that whichever one of them was victorious would make a big jump up the rankings: 10th-ranked Tokarev to #5 and Holmes to 6th. This was because six of the other seven junior-heavyweights ranked from #4 to #11 had been defeated earlier in the week, with only 8th-ranked Cincinnati native Richard Mason surviving the flood of upsets. After losing two of his first three IBL bouts, Holmes had steadied his ship with victories over Robert Daniels and Johny Jensen to open 2007, both in his hometown of Brooklyn. He stretched his winning streak to three with last night's win and is now in a position to make a run at the world championship if he can retain his place in the top ranking tier through the rest of the year.

It was certainly an exciting, action-packed bout. Tokarev was the aggressor throughout but Holmes was much more effective and accurate with his punches, as the totals show. Holmes connected with 281 of 663 blows (42.4%), Tokarev 204 of 962 (21.2%). The stretch of rounds from the 2nd through the 4th were the best of the fight, with both men landing some punishing shots. Round eight was also a big highlight as Holmes dominated early before Tokarev rallied brilliantly in the final minute. 35 year-old Holmes is now 42-5-1(35) while Tokarev fell to 28-6-3(21). Despite some spirited performances the Russian is on a five-fight winless streak, his only victory in the league coming in the first stage of the Challenger's tournament against Yoan Pablo Hernandez almost twelve months ago.

In another competitive fight St. Louis native Virgil Akins held onto the welterweight Americas Championship by the skin of his teeth, taking a split decision verdict over Charlie Shipes in his first title defense. It was a contest which featured a number of close rounds and this was reflected in the scoring of it, with the judges in agreement for only seven of the twelve frames. In the sequence of rounds from the 6th through to the 8th judge Paul Artisst favoured Akins while Panama's Omar Quijada scored all three to Shipes (14-3-1(9)). The quick-fisted Californian had earned the title shot with a trio of victories over Emmanuel Torres, Ike Quartey and Carlos Alou and made it clear against Akins that he's a fighter to keep an eye on. Akins (15-1-1(10)) took the verdict by scores of 114-113, 112-115 and 115-112. He achieved a crucial knockdown with an uppercut early in round ten and maintained a high workrate for the duration, although Shipes actually outlanded him 300-195.

Oklahoma's Eric Fields became the first fighter to successfully defend one the league's regional 200-pound titles in the third bout on the card. Fields recorded a unanimous decision win over Salt Lake City's Gary Gomez to retain the Americas Championship. It was a rematch of their meeting from February, which Fields had also won to set up a challenge for the belt against Guyana's Wayne Braithwaite. Compared to the evening's opening two fights, Fields had something of an easier time as the scorecards showed verdicts of 115-112, 114-113 and 116-111. He floored Gomez with a jolting right cross midway through the 9th and outlanded him by a healthy margin, 342-235. Fields is now 24-5-1(14) while Gomez fell to 17-5-2(11). Fields' next opponent could very well be Florida slugger Robert Daniels, who recorded a stunning 1st round TKO of 6th-ranked Lee Roy Murphy on Friday night in front of Murphy's hometown fans in Chicago.

The young man who many experts believe is one of the two most legitimate challengers (the other being Enrique Diaz) to Emile Griffiths' reign as world welterweight champion was next on the card, and boy did he make another great impression. Terone Haynes' fellow stablemate and Olympic silver medallist James Ray defended his #5 world ranking in style, knocking out the Filipino Emmanuel Torres at the end of round two. It was Ray's second stoppage victory under the IBL banner, the other coming in his debut last June. After taking the opening round convincingly, Ray cut Torres above the right eyebrow early in the 2nd. Referee Mike England immediately halted the action and led Torres to the ringside doctor, who allowed the action to resume. Early in the final minute of the frame England intervened again, and once more the doctor stated that Torres was okay to continue.

As the final seconds of the round ticked away Ray had his opponent cornered and unloaded a left hook that caught Torres flush on the jaw and sent him crumpling to the canvas in a heap, out cold. Ray was already celebrating before the count had concluded, his trainer Roy Jones and the rest of the corner crew flooding the ring to join him once the bout was officially over. Jones has said for some time that Ray's path to a shot at Griffith would take four victories throughout 2007. Ray (17-1(11)) is now at the midpoint of that journey and his next opponent will be the only man who has defeated him as a professional, Japan's Shoji Ohashi. When the IBL releases their updated rankings on Monday Ohashi will be #2 and Ray #5, meaning they'll meet in the elimination semi-finals. Not only will Ray be able to move one step closer to a world title shot but he'll also get a chance at revenge. Their bout will take place in mid-August, most likely in Japan.

(to be continued)

[kenyan_cheena]

(continuation)

Once Ray, Jones and the entire Florida entourage had departed the ring the stage was set for the evening's first superbout. Middleweight champion Wajima was only ten weeks removed from a sensational 3rd round TKO of New Jersey's Mickey Walker in his first title defense while Griffith had stopped Wajima's compatriot Shoji Ohashi on cuts in seven rounds two weeks earlier at Madison Square Garden. Wajima tipped the scales right on the 160-pound limit on Friday afternoon, Griffith weighing in at 155. The reserved Japanese champion entered the ring in a robe of red with white trim, his trunks of a similar design. Griffith was decked out in solid black, flag patches of both the USA and Virgin Islands adorning the left breast of his robe.

Wajima's strength and size advantage was a major factor early in the fight and he took the first four rounds with ease, in particular the 3rd and 4th. While possessing the quicker fists Griffith appeared hesitant to engage for fear of eating one of those hard Wajima right hands. But the tide turned in round five, Griffith connecting with a series of combinations early in the frame and then coming out the better after a spirited exchange at its midpoint. He worked the body with great effect during the final minute. Wajima's retort was impressive as he claimed the 6th, the highlights of his work being two separate uppercuts as the stanza entered its bottom half and then again thirty seconds before the bell.

Round seven was the best of the fight as Wajima opened it up brilliantly by rocking Griffith with a pair of right crosses only for the New Yorker to rally superbly and steal it. He wobbled Wajima with a late head-snapping uppercut that had the crowd on their feet. Griffith maintained the momentum through round eight and all of a sudden it looked as if he was in with a chance. Wajima was visibly tiring and his workrate was dropping, allowing Griffith to land his shots at a much greater volume. Griffith's roll continued through the 9th, a round he was dominating until it came unstuck when he was deducted a point for using his shoulders illegally less than ten seconds from the bell. But the world welterweight champion was unflappable and he took a back-and-forth round ten with a late flurry of activity before doing the same in the 11th, which had been close until Griffith put his foot down in the final minute.

The crowd gave the two combatants a standing ovation as they came out for the 12th and final round, another close affair which Wajima appeared to claim with a crushing right cross that staggered Griffith seconds from the end. There was an unusually long wait for the scorecards but when they were finally revealed Griffith shouted triumphantly at the unanimous decision verdict. The two men embraced and exchanged complimentary words, Griffith expressing his admiration for Wajima and his disbelief that he'd been able to overcome him. He'd said in recent weeks that he was considering a move to middleweight before the end of '08 and that this fight would help him to decide on the viability of such a course. One would think he'll now feel very confident about it.

Griffith landed 286 of 961 punches (29.8%), Wajima 224 of 727 (30.8%). Griffith is now 32-1-1(23) while Wajima suffered just his second career defeat and fell to 25-2-2(17). The middleweight champion said that he looked forward to a possible rematch with Griffith down the road when both of them are fighting at 160. That's certainly something to anticipate but before then both men's immediate futures contain big challenges. Coming into the evening Griffith already knew that he would be defending his world championship against Mexico's Enrique Diaz on the 18th of August in a rematch of their inaugural IBL championship bout. Wajima will have to wait until June 9 to find out who his next opponent is. Australia's former WBA champion Les Darcy squares off against New Jersey's Rubin Carter in an official eliminator at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on that date.

After the excitement of the Wajima-Griffith clash there was still a buzz amongst the crowd when Jeff Lampkin and Terone Haynes made their way to the ring for the evening's hugely anticipated main event. First to make the walk, Lampkin wore the expression of a man who had been lying to himself for a duration of time and, upon finally accepting the truth, realised what a dangerous situation he'd gotten himself into. Brow beaded with sweat, his countenance was anxious and apprehensive. Haynes wore a confident and intimidating gaze, the audio assault of Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome" pounding its way out of the MGM speaker system. He was flanked by his trainer Roy Jones, the rest of the corner crew and his fellow stablemates following.

Standing three inches taller and claiming a 23-pound weight advantage, Haynes towered over Lampkin as the two came together in the centre of the ring for the final instructions. The Miami slugger glared down at Lampkin with the coldest of gazes. Exhibition fight, this was not. Jones was heard telling Haynes to get it over with before the end of the round in the moments prior to the opening bell. With its sounding a wave of excitement rushed its way around the arena, but within thirty seconds it was clear that Lampkin would indeed do well just to survive the first three minutes. A left-right salvo jolted Lampkin and had him backpedalling before a left hook stunned him, the Ohio native desperately tying Haynes up and showing a candid look of consternation to the cameras.

Once they were seperated Haynes stalked a retreating Lampkin, the junior-heavyweight champion trying to keep him off with ineffective, flicking jabs. A sweetly-timed uppercut snapped the smaller man's head back but Lampkin was able to avoid Haynes' follow-up, more by good luck than intent. He wrapped Haynes up once again and, with the exception of being tagged by a handful of jabs, managed to stay out of trouble for the next minute. But when the round entered its bottom third the beginning of the end commenced, Haynes wobbling Lampkin with a sledgehammer straight right, the punch chasing a crisp lead left. Haynes ripped off a trio of those killer left-right salvos, finishing the third one with a wild right hook that landed high on Lampkin's forehead.

With less than thirty seconds to go a right cross caught Lampkin flush under the eye and a crippling left to the body had him grimacing in pain, something greater than fear in his eyes. Gasping for air, he wobbled backwards on unsteady legs into a neutral corner and when Haynes unleashed a barrage of lefts and rights Lampkin was on his way to the canvas, referee Tony Gibson jumping in and waving it over. He supported Lampkin's weight as the brave, pounded-senseless warrior slumped to the floor, Haynes walking back to his corner nonchalantly and his trainer Roy Jones stepping between the ropes showing a similar expression. The official time of the stoppage was 2:56, Haynes improving his perfect record to 26-0(22) while Lampkin fell to 37-8-1(30) in his first defeat under the IBL banner.

Medical staff attended to Lampkin while Haynes was announced as the victor, the world champion raising his hand almost sheepishly. He apologised to the crowd while being interviewed soon after, insisting that he was only doing his job and that he hoped they were entertained, despite the brevity of the fight. When asked about Lampkin, Haynes said "Y'all know that phrase 'bout bein' careful what y'all wish for, eh? Well, the brother got what he wish' for. He a tough SOB to stay on his feet, I gotsta say. But I got a ton o' respec' fo' 'im jus' steppin' in the ring, see? He a warrior, no doubt." It was revealed later in the night that Lampkin had been heavily concussed and was, understandably, taken from the arena without speaking to the media.

Jones shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes when asked if the evening had been "worth it" for his charge, only saying that he hoped Haynes had gotten what he called his "fightin' an'ziedy" out of his system and would now be content to sit back and relax until his next scheduled title defense, which will be on the 8th of September against either Ken Norton or Andrew Golota. As for Lampkin, the beating he suffered could very well hinder his preparations for his own August 18 title defense against Carlos DeLeon. It could be some time until he is fit to train, so it's going to be interesting to see how the situation develops and what path the IBL takes if Lampkin is unable to contest the fight.

[kenyan_cheena]

Damn, that's a long article. Feeling kinda relieved to have finished it.

[Romdawg88]

You know maybe Haynes might want to consider letting his opponents last abit longer and get more of a workout so that the downtime between deferences doesn't seem as long. Damn, that man is looking like a wrecking ball right now, I don't envy any of the IBL Heavies that have to match up with him.

[kenyan_cheena]

Originally Posted by Romdawg88

You know maybe Haynes might want to consider letting his opponents last abit longer and get more of a workout so that the downtime between deferences doesn't seem as long. Damn, that man is looking like a wrecking ball right now, I don't envy any of the IBL Heavies that have to match up with him.

It was another clinical performance from him. Funny thing is that he's winning easy but hasn't scored that many KDs. He floored Jackson twice but didn't drop Norton and now Lampkin stayed on his feet, also. Next up is either Norton or Golota and I can't see either of them having much chance.

What's gonna be interesting is the defense that comes after that one, early in '08. If all the June results go as expected we'll have Norton challenging him in August and the elimination semi-finals would be Jackson (#2) vs Anyukov (#5) and Golota (#3) vs Johnson (#4). He's already run through Jackson and Anyukov, and Golota would end up being target practice, IMO. The only threat I can see in his short-term future comes from Jacky Johnson.

[kenyan_cheena]

I've been working on the IBL schedule for June during the last couple of days. It's a packed one, with almost every fighter in every division save for WW and JHW in action. There's a couple of cards to conclude May that I'll be reviewing before moving to the month end Boxing Monthly and World Boxing Review posts. Those reviews will be posted within the next few days.