The Gold League

[Thomas Hearns]

Stoczniowiec Olivia Arena, Poland, 2012-08-07

Round 2

Jovo Pudar 1-0-0 vs Mariusz Wach 1-0-0
Pudar started the fight clearly outlanded Wach and hurting him with a pair of hooks.
On the second round Wach didn’t find the target for his blows and allowed Pudar to win another round with little effort.
On the third round with a series of quick blows Pudar opened a cut on the right eyelid of Wach and he also easily won another round.
On the fourth round Pudar reopened Wach’s cut with a big cross and the referee decided to stop the fight. Pudar was the winner by TKO4 at the time of the stoppage the scorecards were 30-27 (x3) for Pudar.

Alexander Ustinov 0-1-0 vs Fres Oquendo 1-0-0
Alexander Ustinov edged the first round but received as an answer a fierce beating by Oquendo on the second round.
But Ustinov reacted and won the third round and then he dominated Oquendo and also hurt him a pair of times on the third round.
On the fifth round Oquendo came to life and hurt Ustinov with a hard combination to convincingly won the round.
On the last round Oquendo connected a great uppercut and dropped Ustinov. The Russian got up at eight and managed to stay out of risk until the final bell but the chance of an upset win had gone for him.
My scorecard was 57-56 for Oquendo and the official scorecards were 57-56 (x2) and 59-54 for the winner by unanimous decision Fres Oquendo.

Oldanier Solis 0-0-0 vs Konstantin Airich 0-1-0
Airich edged the first round, the highlight was a great uppercut by Airich that stopped Solis cold. On the second round Airich still was the best by a narrow margin , the best of the round was a great exchnage of uppercuts near the end of the stanza.
On the third round Airich was a hurricane and Solis failed to land a single punch. Airich almost dropped Solis with a great body shot at the middle stages of the round.
Early on the fourth round Solis connected a great cross and dropped Airich for a seven count. After Airich got up Solis had two minutes to end the fight and he connected a straight right and a big uppercut to Airich’s chin but the German refused to fall.
On the fifth round Solis was in total control of the fight the first three rounds of Airich’s domination were a distant memory. Solis hurt Airich with an uppercut and with a great combination to convincingly won the round.
Entering on the sixth round Airich looked tired, spent and with his left eye swollen and Solis was merciless with him and he punished the German for two minutes and thirty seconds until connecting a great cross that made Airich stumble forcing the referee to stop the fight. Solis was the winner by TKO6. At the time of the stoppage the scorecards were 47-47 (x2) and 48-46 for Solis.

Standings

J.Pudar 4
F.Oquendo 4
O.Solis 2
M.Wach 2
A.Ustinov 0
K.Airich 0
J.Banks 0

Next fights –September 2012-

M.Wach Vs F.Oquendo
A.Ustinov Vs K.Airich
O.Solis Vs J.Banks

[Thomas Hearns]

Rudi Sedimayer Halle, Germany, 2012-09-07

Round 3

Alexander Ustinov 0-2-0 vs Konstantin Airich 0-2-0
Two of the winless fighters of this group faced, Alexander Ustinov started better winning the first round clearly. Ustinov was easily dominating the second round when Airich dropped him with a brutal shot under his ribcage. Ustinov got up and survived the rest of the round.
Ustinov reacted well on the following round hurting Airich with a hook to easily win the stanza. Airich dominated the fourth round and he also hurt Ustinov with a great uppercut.
Airich also dominated the first minute of the fifth round but then Ustinov rallied to clearly won the stanza. But on the last round the things changed again and Airich won a back and forth round. Ustinov finished the fight with a cut inside of his right eyebrow. My scorecard was 57-56 for Airich and the official ones were 57-56 (x3) for Airich.

Mariusz Wach 1-1-0 vs Fres Oquendo 2-0-0
Oquendo edged a first round with very poor action, but then Wach won a onesided second round in which he hurt Oquendo with an uppercut.
Oquendo reacted and dropped Wach with a combination of blows to the body and the head near the end of the third round. Oquendo continued his momentum on the following round winning it convincingly but then Wach surprisingly reacted and won the last two stanzas on a convincing way. My scorecard was 57-56 for Oquendo and the official ones were 58-56 57-56 and 58-55 all for the winner by unanimous decision Fres Oquendo.

Oldanier Solis 1-0-0 (1) vs Johnathon Banks 0-1-0
Banks dominated the first half of the initial round but then Solis rallied and with a great combination followed by a violent straight left to the head turn the things to win the stanza.
On the second round Solis deepened his dominance rocking Banks with a pair of beautiful combinations on the middle stages of the round.
Unexpectedly Banks had a great third round hurting Solis with a pair of right hooks and with some great combinations.
But on the fourth round Solis put the things in order winning the stanza on a convincing way.
On the fifth round Solis dropped Banks with a combination first downstairs and then upstairs.
Banks got up but Solis punished him until the referee decided to stop the fight. Solis was the winner by TKO5. At the time of the stoppage the scorecards were 39-37 (x3) for Solis.

Standings

F.Oquendo 6
J.Pudar 4
O.Solis 2
M.Wach 2
K.Airich 2
J.Banks 0
A.Ustinov 0

Next Fights –October 2012-

O. Solis Vs A.Ustinov
J. Pudar Vs J.Banks
M.Wach Vs K.Airich

[Thomas Hearns]

Foxwoods Resort Casino, Ledyard, CT, United States, 2012-10-07

Round 4

Mariusz Wach 1-2-0 vs Konstantin Airich 1-2-0
Konstantin Airich started in total control of the actions on the first round, a slow Wach didn’t find the target for his blows on this round.
The second round had very poor action but Wach connected the best punch of the round, a crushing hook that stunned the German.
Airich regained the control on the third round hurting Wach with a smashing cross at the early stages of the round and again with a straight right seconds before the bell rang.
On the fourth round both fighters connected some good blows but Wach finally edged the round.
Airich totally outlanded Wach on the fifth round to win a one-sided stanza. The last round was an action packed one with Airich edging it with the highlight of a strong uppercut by Airich and a straight right by Wach on a fierce exchange. My socrecard was 58-56 for Airich and the official ones were 57-57 and 58-56 (x2) for the winner by majority decision Konstantin Airich.

Jovo Pudar 2-0-0 (1) vs Johnathon Banks 0-2-0
Pudar won the first two rounds of the fight to take an early lead but then Banks answered winning the third round on a convincing way also hurting Banks with a violent body shot.
But on the fourth round Pudar dropped Banks with a perfect combination. Banks got up at six and Pudar conitnued dominating the round without looking for the definition.
Banks had a great reaction on the fifth round, totally dominating the stanza and putting Pudar in trouble with a hook near the end of the stanza. Pudar didn’t land any clean punches this round.
Banks hurt Pudar again this time with a crushing cross on the following round. Pudar was again too passive an allowed Banks to easily won the round. My scorecard was 57-56 for Pudar and the offical ones were 57-57 and 57-56 (x2) for the winner by majority decision Jovo Pudar.

Oldanier Solis 2-0-0 (2) vs Alexander Ustinov 0-3-0
Oldanier Solis continued his undefeated way on the tournament with a lopsided unanimous decision victory against Alexander Ustinov. Solis won every round of the fight, Ustinov only was competitive on a violent back and forth third round the rest was all for the Cuban.
After winning the previous five rounds of the fight Solis gave a real beating to Ustinov on the last stanza but failed to finish the fight inside the distance. My scorecard was 60-54 and the official ones were 60-54 (x2) and 58-56 for the winner by unanimous decision Oldanier Solis.

Standings

F.Oquendo 6
O.Solis 6
J.Pudar 6
K.Airich 4
M.Wach 2
J.Banks 0
A.Ustinov 0

Next Fights –November 2012-

O.Solis Vs J.Pudar
M.Wach Vs A.Ustinov
F.Oquendo Vs J.Banks

[Thomas Hearns]

Gran Stadium, Havana, Cuba, 2012-11-06

Round 5

Mariusz Wach 1-3-0 vs Alexander Ustinov 0-4-0
Mariusz Wach faced Alxander Ustinov with the obligation to get a win but Ustinov started in control of the fight winning the first two rounds convincingly and also cutting Wach inside his left eyebrow with an uppercut near the end of the second round.
Wach reacted winning a great third round in which he hurt Ustinov several times using hooks and combinations.
Wach continued his momentum winning the following two rounds and he seemed to be in the way of a victory but Ustinov reacted and won a one-sided final round. My scorecard was 57-57 and the offical ones were 58-56 for Ustinov and 57-57 (x2) so the fight was declared a majority draw.

Fres Oquendo 3-0-0 vs Johnathon Banks 0-3-0
Banks started at fast pace clearly outlanded a passive Oquendo and also hurting him with a hook near the end of the first round to clearly won the stanza.
But the things turn on the second round with Oquendo controlling the action with his straight rights and quick combinations until landing a good body shot and dropped Banks.
Johnathon got up quickly but Oquendo connected a hook to his head and made him stumble and the referee decided to stop the fight, Oquendo was the winner by TKO2.

Oldanier Solis 3-0-0 (2) vs Jovo Pudar 3-0-0 (1)
Two of the undefeated boxers of this group faced on this interesting fight.
Solis started commanding the actions on the first round and also hurt Pudar with a big hook as the final bell rang.
Pudar edged the second round but Solis regained the control of the fight winning the following two rounds convincingly.
The fifth round was an even affaire but Solis totally dominated the last round to secure his victory. Pudar finished the fight with his left eye almost closed. My scorecard was 59-56 for Solis and the official ones were 59-56 (x2) and 58-57 for the winner by unanimous decision Oldanier Solis.

Standings

O.Solis 8
F.Oquendo 8
J.Pudar 6
K.Airich 4
M.Wach 3
A. Ustinov 1
J.Banks 0

Next Fights –December 2012-

O.Solis Vs M.Wach
F.Oquendo Vs J.Pudar
K.Airich Vs J.Banks

[Thomas Hearns]

Roberto Clemente Coliseum, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2012-12-06

Round 6

Konstantin Airich 2-2-0 vs Johnathon Banks 0-4-0
Konstantin Airich started controlling the first round knowing that he needed a victory to maintain his chances to pass to the second stage of the tournament.
The second round was very slow and Banks edged it for being the more aggressive of the pair.
On the third round Banks landed a violent hook and hurt Airich to convincingly won the round. Airich reacted on the fourth round hurting Banks with a cross and putting him in trouble again with a straight right. The last two rounds were very even affaires so the result of the fight was a great mistery. My scorecard was 57-57 and the official ones were 58-56 for Banks and 57-57 (x2) so the fight was declared a majority draw.

Fres Oquendo 4-0-0 (1) vs Jovo Pudar 3-1-0 (1)
With the draw of Konstantin Airich, Pudar knew that a victory put him on the second round but in front of him was undefeated veteran Fres Oquendo so the mision was a difficult one.
Oquendo starting in control of the action putting Pudar in trouble with his trademark uppercut and with a quick combination. Pudar edged the second round and convincingly won the third one, in both rounds Oquendo seemed to look for one blow that defined the fight and was outworked by Pudar.
Oquendo won the fourth round with the highligh of a big cross that stopped Banks cold but again he did nothing on the fifth round allowing Pudar to easily win it.
On the last round after almost two minutes without action Oquendo decided to attack and connected some punches to win the stanza. My socrecard was 57-57 and the official ones were 58-56 for Oquendo and 57-57 (x2) so the fight was declared a majority draw.

Oldanier Solis 4-0-0 (2) vs Mariusz Wach 1-3-1
Wach dominated an actionless first round but Solis found his pace on the following stanza winning it on a one-sided form. On the following round Solis was also more aggressive and hurt Wach a pair of times one with a cross to the head , the other with a hook to the midsection.
On the fourth round Wach looked as a beaten man and Solis rocked him with a pair of straight rights to totally dominated the stanza.
Wach tried a reaction on the first two minutes of the fifth round until Solis connected a great uppercut and cut him on the right eyelid, after that Wach seemed to be concerned and took a defensive posture.
On the last round Solis was the total dominator to secure another great win for him. My socrecard was 58-56 for Solis and the official ones were 59-55 58-56 and 59-55 for the winner by unanimous decision Oldanier Solis.

Standings

O.Solis 10
F.Oquendo 9
J.Pudar 7
K.Airich 5
M.Wach 3
J.Banks 1
A.Ustinov 1

Next Fights –January 2013-

O.Solis Vs F.Oquendo**
K.Airich Vs J.Pudar*
J. Banks Vs A.Ustinov

**Oldanier Solis and Fres Oquendo will fight to determine the winner of the group.

* Konstanin Airich and Jovo Pudar will fight to determine the third qualified of the group, Airich needs to win to pass to the second round.

[Thomas Hearns]

Hansehalle, Luebeck, Germany, 2013-01-06

Round 7

Johnathon Banks 0-4-1 vs Alexander Ustinov 0-4-1
Looking for their first win Alex Ustinov and Johnathon Banks faced, they were clearly the two worse fighters of this group.
Banks outworked Ustinov on the first round but the Russian took the command of the actions winning a one-sided second round in which he hurt Banks with a violent hook.
Ustinov continued his momentum winning a competitive third round. The fourth round was an even actionless affaire. Ustinov clearly regained the control of the fight on the fifth round putting Banks in trouble with a straight right and he also won an anticlimathic actionless last round to secure his victory. My scorecard was 59-56 for Ustinov and the official ones were 59-56 (x3).

Konstantin Airich 2-2-1 vs Jovo Pudar 3-1-1 (1)
Konstantin Airich and Jovo Pudar fought to determine the third fighter to pass to the second round on this group.
Airich needed a win and started the fight at an accelerated pace hurting Pudar with a straight right fifteen seconds into the fight. At the middle stages of the round Airich hurt Pudar again with a right cross to the head, Pudar attemped to answer but he was clearly outworked.
Airich continued dominating the fight on the following round, a great uppercut by the German made Pudar stumble backwards to the ropes near the end of the round.
Airich also edged the third round to take a big lead on the cards, but on this round Pudar connected his first ppower blow a right cross to the head that stopped Airich cold.
On the fourth round and with Pudar attemped a warm reaction Airich connected a cross to Jovo’s head and dropped him for a six count. After Pudar got up Airich launched a fierce attack and dropped Pudar again a second before the bell rang with a violent body shot.
On the fifth round Pudar was a spent man and Airich punished him at his own. The final round had poor action with Airich sure of his victory and Pudar totally beaten and without energy to attemp something. My scorecard was 60-52 for Airich and the official ones were 60-52 (x3) for the winner by unaniomus decision Konstantin Airich. Big victory for Konstantin that displayed his best performance on the right moment.

Oldanier Solis 5-0-0 (2) vs Fres Oquendo 4-0-1 (1)
The best to fighters of the group and the only undefeated ones faced to determine the winner of the group.
The first round was very slow, Solis landed a big uppercut that seemed to hurt Oquendo but it was his only significant blow of the round, Oquendo landed a bit more to edge the round.
On the second round Oquendo connected a trademark uppercut and made Solis stumble backwards, but Solis recovered and rocked Oquendo with a great hook. Again Oquendo landed a bit more than Solis.
Solis started the third round commanding the actions but Oquendo rallied on the second half to edge the round. Oquendo ‘s uppercuts were a nightmare to Solis.
On the fourth round Solis was the clear dominator for the first time on the fight, a straight right followed by a solid right hook by the Cuban put Oquendo on trouble on this round.
The fifth round had violent back and forth action with both fighters connecting power blows and being hurt but Solis outlanded Oquendo to win the stanza.
But when the things seemed to go for Solis’ side, Oquendo had a winderfull first two minutes of the last round punishing Solis with his uppecuts and combinations form the inside, Solis put his last effort and attemped to rally on the last minute of the round but it wasn’t enough. My scorecard was 58-56 for Oquendo and the official ones were 58-56 and 57-56 for Oquendo and 57-57 so Fres Oquendo was the winner by majority decision.

Final Standings

F.Oquendo 11 -Record 5-0-1 (1)-
O.Solis 10 -Record 5-1-0 (2)-
K.Airich 7 -Record 3-2-1-
J.Pudar 7 -Record 3-2-1 (1)-
A.Ustinov 3 -Record 1-4-1-
M.Wach 3 -Record 1-4-1-
J.Banks 1 -Record 0-4-1-

Fres Oquendo, Oldanier Solis and Konstantiin Airich pass to the second round of the heavyweight tournament.

[Thomas Hearns]

Veteran Fres Oquendo surprised all people winning the group , he was expected to pass to the second round but he wasn't the favourite to win the group. Oquendo won various fights by narrow margins but he showed that his uppercuts can hurt any heavyweight on the world. he secored a big victory against Oldanier Solis.

Oldanier Solis was the great favourte to win the group, he was undefeated after five fights clearly dominating four of them and having some trouble before knocking Konstantin Airich out. Finally Solis lost to Oquendo by a narrow margin on the last fight of the group to finish second on the standings table.

The great surprise of the group was Kostantin Airich, that was indicated as the worse fighter of this group but performed very well. Airich did strong losing efforts against Solis and Oquendo, then he beat Wach and Ustinov and had a consecratory performance against Jovo Pudar. The only blemish on his performance was a lackluster draw against Johnaton Banks.

At 41 Jovo Pudar was very near of passing to the second round, he started winning his first three fights, then he was beaten by Solis and had a good fight drawing with Oquendo but finally he came vey short on the definitive fight against Airich.

Both Mariusz Wach and Alexander Ustinov were the great deceptions of this group both came into the tournament as promising undefeated prospects but both only could beat Johnaton Banks. Wach was a great candidate to to pass to the second round but he only finished sixth on the standings table.

Johnaton Banks showed that he only had a made-record against poor opposition and he showed really nothing on this tournament.

[Thomas Hearns]

Entries

Marco Huck
Tony Thompson
Jameel McCline
Guillermo Jones
Ondrej Pala
Sam Sexton
Lisandro Diaz

Luna Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2012-07-07

Round 1

Ondrej Pala vs Guillermo Jones
On a very big upset Ondrej Pala scored a dominant unanimous decision win against WBA Cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones.
Pala started the fight easily controlling the first two rounds of the fight. On the third round Jones stayed more active but Pala still outlanded him to win the stanza.
The fourth round was the best of the fight with back and forth action and with Jones edging the round. On the fifth round when Jones was dominating and attemping to put himself again in the contest Pala connected a great hook to Jones’ chin and dropped him. Jones got up at six and the bell saved him. The final round was very even but the victory of Pala was a fact. My scorecard was 59-54 for Pala nad the official ones were 58-55 59-55 and 59-54 for the winner by unanimous decision Ondrej Pala.

Sam Sexton vs Jameel McCline
On the first round 43 years old hard hitter Jameel McCline looked as in his best times outlanded Sexton and rocking him with a strong cross near the end of the round.
On the second round Sexton dominated a passive McCline and he continued his momentum winning the third round too. McCline seemed to react edging the fourth round. Each of the last three rounds had very little punches landed.
Sexton edged the fifth round and won the last one to be the surprising winner of the fight.
After a good first round, McCline looks as an inconsistent old man on the remainder five rounds. My score card was 58-56 for Sexton and the official ones were 58-56 (x2) and 59-55 for the winner by unanimous decision Sam Sexton.

Lisandro Diaz vs Tony Thompson
Tony Thompson showed to be too classy for argentine Lisandro Diaz. Thompson punished Diaz for three minutes on the first round and then when Diaz was trying to react on the second stanza Thompson connected a great straight right and dropped Diaz for the ten count. So Tony Thompson was the winner by KO1.

Standings

T.Thompson 2
O.Pala 2
S.Sexton 2
J.McCline 0
G.Jones 0
L.Diaz 0
M.Huck -

Next fights –August 2012-

M.Huck Vs L.Diaz
O.Pala Vs T.Thompson
G.Jones Vs J.McCline

[Thomas Hearns]

Reno Hilton, Reno, NV, United States, 2012-08-07

Round 2

Guillermo Jones 0-1-0 vs Jameel McCline 0-1-0
Both fighters came of upsetting losses and needed a win to recover their chances.
McCline started at his usual accelerated pace and punished a passive Jones with sharp combinations to win a massive first round.
On the second round McCline slowed the pace a lot but still edged the stanza.
Jones turned the things on the following three rounds. He stayed more active and he could dominate a tiring McCline. Jones hurt Mcline with right crosses and uppercuts on those rounds. On a violent back and forth last round McCline outlanded Jones to win the stanza and put the result into doubt. My scorecards 57-57 but the official ones 58-56 and 58-57 for McCline and 57-57 so McCline was the winner by majority decision.

Ondrej Pala 1-0-0 vs Tony Thompson 1-0-0 (1)
The pair split the first four rounds of the fight, Thompson won the first and third rounds and Pala won the second and the fourth ones. All the rounds was winning by each fighter on a convincing way so the fight didn’t have a dominator at that point.
Pala dominated most of the fifth round but Thompson rallied at the end of the stanza connecting a hard hook that stunned Pala.
But finally the last round was all for Pala that put Thompson in trouble with a violent hook that stop him cold. Pala continued dominating the stanza and Thompson finished the fight with some swelling under both eyes. My scorecard was 58-56 for Pala. The official scorecards were 58-56 (x3) for the winner by unanimous decision Ondrej Pala. Second hit for Ondrej Pala on the tournament after defeating McCline on the first round.

Marco Huck 0-0-0 vs Lisandro Diaz 0-1-0
Marco Huck won a onesided first round punishing Diaz at his own. Surprisingly Diaz reacted and won the second round convincingly also hurting Huck with an uppercut form the inside.
Huck regained the control on the third round and hurt Diaz two times, one with a straight right and the other with a smashing cross. The fourth round started with a fierce exchange: great straight right by Huck answered by a big left hook by Diaz. But after that Huck dominated the rest of the round putting Diaz in trouble with a great uppercut.
On the fifth round Huck was the only man on the ring and he used Diaz as a punching bag until connecting a great shot under Diaz’ ribcage and dropping him. Diaz got up at nine but the referee didn’t allow him to continue fighting so Huck won by TKO5. At th time of the stoppage the scorecards were 39-37 (x3) for Huck.

Standings

O.Pala 4
M.Huck 2
S.Sexton 2
J.Mccline 2
T.Thompson 2
G.Jones 0
L.Diaz 0

Next fights –September 2012-

M.Huck Vs S.Sexton
O.Pala Vs L.Diaz
J.McCline Vs T.Thompson

[Thomas Hearns]

White City Stadium, London, United Kingdom, 2012-09-08
Round 3

Ondrej Pala 2-0-0 vs Lisandro Diaz 0-2-0
Diaz started the fight edging the first round and continued his good moment winning the second round convincingly and hurting Pala a pair of times one with an uppercut and the other with a hook near the end of the round.
The third round had back and forth action with Diaz connecting a great hook that shook Pala but with Ondrej outlanded the argentine to win the round by a narrow margin. Surprisingly Diaz regained the control of the fight winning a one-sided fourth round and also edging the fifth one. Pala needed something great on the last round to win the fight and that was exactly what he did when he put Diaz to sleep for the ten count with a strong cross to the chin. Pala won by KO6 when he was losing on all three scorecards by 49-46.

Jameel McCline 1-1-0 vs Tony Thompson 1-1-0 (1)
McCline clearly won the first round hurting Thompson with an uppercut in the way. McCline was also winning the second round when Thompson landed a great uppercut and dropped Jameel for a four count, Mccline got up and the round ended.
McCline recovered on good form and won the following two violent rounds in those both fighters landed power blows but with McCline clearly having the upper hand.
The fourth round was particullary difficult to Thompson.
On the fifth round the pace decreased a lot but McCline still edged the round. On the last round Thompson attemped a reaction but it was too late for him. My scorecard was 58-56 for McCline and the official ones were 57-57 and 58-56 (x2) for the winner by majority decision Jameel McCline. Concern defeat for Thompson and second great victory for McCline after defeating Guillermo Jones.

Marco Huck 1-0-0 (1) vs Sam Sexton 1-0-0
Two of the undefeated fighters of this group faced. Marco Huck started commanding the actions on the first round and also hurt Sexton with hard cross to the head.
Sexton reacted on good form winning the second round on a convincing way but Huck regained the control of the fight winning the third round on a one-sided form. A straight right by Huck almost dropped Sexton and left him with some swelling under his right eye.
Unexpectedly Sexton reacted on the fourth round against a too passive Huck.
Huck won a massive fifth round and seemed to have the fight under control but again Sexton reacted and edged the last round to even the fight. My scorecard was 57-57 and the official ones were 57-57 (x3). The main difference on this fight was that Huck won his rounds by wide margins and Sexton only edged his rounds.

Standings

O.Pala 6
J.McCline 4
M.Huck 3
S.Sexton 3
T.Thompson 2
G.Jones 0
L.Diaz 0

Next Fights –October 2012-

M.Huck Vs O.Pala
G.Jones Vs S.Sexton
J.McCline Vs L.Diaz

[Thomas Hearns]

VFR-Platz, Mannheim, Germany, 2012-10-07

Round 4

Jameel McCline 2-1-0 vs Lisandro Diaz 0-3-0
McCline won the first round attemping to atack against an elusive Diaz. The second round was actionless but with Diaz edging it for staying more active.
On the third round McCline regained the control of the fight and the fourth was a very even affaire. The fifth round had great action with both fighters connecting good blows and with McCline winning the round by a narrow margin.
On the sixth round McCline connected a great cross and dropped Diaz. The argentine got up at five but a minute later McCline dropped him again with a combination first to the body and then to the head. Brave Diaz got up again but finally McCline dropped him for good with a wild overhand right. So McCline was the winner by KO6. At the time of the stoppage the scorecards were 49-47 and 48-48 (x2). Third consecutive win for McCline.

Guillermo Jones 0-2-0 vs Sam Sexton 1-0-1
Sexton won the first round by a narrow margin, a crushing right cross by Sexton seconds before the final of the round was the highlight of the stanza
The second round had great and even action but finally Sexton landed a great hook near the end of the round to edge the stanza.
On the third round Jones took the control of the fight totally outlanding Sexton. The englishman finished the round with some swelling under his right eye.
Sexton started the fourth round in control but Jones rallied on a great form on the last minute of the round to win the stanza convincingly.
Early on the fifth round Jones connected a great hook and dropped Sexton for a six count. Sexton got up but Jones dropped him again with a solid combination. Sexton got up again on unsteady legs. Jones attacked and dropped him for the third time with a beautiful straight right to the chin. Sexton got up again but the referee didn’t allow him to continue fighting. At the time of the stoppage the scorecard were 39-38 and 39-37 for Jones and 38-38.

Marco Huck 1-0-1(1) vs Ondrej Pala 3-0-0 (1)
The great favourite to win the group, Marco Huck faced the big surprise of the group Ondrej Pala. Huck easily dominated the first two rounds outlanding Pala and hurting him with a strong uppercut on the first round. Pala seemed to react a bit on the third round putting Huck in troudle with a straight left to win the round by a narrow margin.
Huck regained the control on the fourth round edging it but Pala had his best round on the fifth one in which he was the clear dominator for the first time in the fight.
Finally Huck won the last round for being more active than Pala to secure his win. My scorecard was 58-56 for Huck and the official ones were 58-56 (x2) and 59-55 for the winner by unanimous decision Marco Huck.

Standings

O.Pala 6
J.MCCline 6
M.Huck 5
S.Sexton 3
G.Jones 2
T.Thompson 2
L.Diaz 0

Next Fights –November-2012-

M.Huck Vs G.Jones
J.McCline Vs O. Pala
T.Thompson Vs S.Sexton

[Thomas Hearns]

Municipal Gymnasium, Colon, Panama, 2012-11-08

Round 5

Tony Thompson 1-2-0 (1) vs Sam Sexton 1-1-1
Great fight by Tony Thompson after back to back losses and second consecutive loss for Sexton. Thompson won the first five rounds taking a huge lead on the scorecards. Sexton reacted a bit winning the last round but it was too little for him to challenge for the victory.
Thompson clearly win the first round and then he did exactly the neccessary to win each one of the following four stanzas. My scorecard was 59-55 for Thompson and the official ones were 59-55 (x2) and 58-56 for the winner by unanimous decision Tony Thompson.

Jameel McCline 3-1-0 (1) vs Ondrej Pala 3-1-0 (1)
As usually Mccline started the fight at accelerated pace clearly winning the first stanza and hurting Pala with a three punches combo near the end of the round.
On the second round Pala attacked more and he connected an uppercut that hurt McCline and attemped to force the inside but McCline connected a great shot under Pala’s ribcage and dropped him for an eight count. Unexpectedly Pala reacted on the third round outlanded McCline that started to feel tired. The fourth round had great back an forth action with McCline having the best part until missing with a winging left an allowed Pala to connect a killer uppercut that made him retreat for the rest of the round. With this punch Pala won the round.
On the fifth round McCline hardly connected a punch and Pala clearly outlanded him. At this time the fight was very even. Finally McCline edged the last round with the highlight of a great uppercut that shocked Pala. My scorecard like the three official ones were 57-56 for the winner by unanimous decision Jameel Mcline.

Marco Huck 2-0-1 (1) vs Guillermo Jones 1-2-0 (1)
Two of the previous cruiserweight champions faced on this great fight. Jones won the first round for being the only active man on the ring. Huck came to life on the second round clearly outworking Huck. The round had great action Jones hurt Huch with a right hook and Huck did some nice bodywork on this round. The things changed on the third round and this time it was Jones who clearly outworked Huck. A brutal exchange of hooks was the best part of a nice round.
But on the fourth round the things turned again and Huck was the clear dominator hurting Jones with a devastaing uppercut early on the round and dropping him with a great cross a second before the bell rang.
On the fifth round a jab by Huck opened a cut on his left eyebrow, but the taste of his blood angered Jones that reacted an won the round on great form
On the sixth round and when nothing was happening Huck connected a great hook to Jones’ chin from nowhere and dropped Jones for the ten count. So Huck was the winner by KO6 at the time of the stoppage the scorecard were 48-46 for Huck and 47-47 (x2).

Standings

J.McCline 8
M.Huck 7
O.Pala 6
S.Sexton 5
T.Thompson 4
G.Jones 2
L.Diaz 0

Next Fights –November 2012-

M Huck vs J.McCline
T.Thompson Vs G.Jones
L.Diaz Vs S. Sexton

[Thomas Hearns]

Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi, MS, United States, 2012-12-07

Round 6

Lisandro Diaz 0-4-0 vs Sam Sexton 1-2-1
The fight were very competitive for the first four rounds with the pair alternating on the dominance, Sexton won rounds one and three and Diaz the second and fourth ones.
On the fifth round a great hook to the head by Sexton dropped Diaz. The Argentine barely beat the count getting up at nine and finally managed to survive the round.
On the last round Sexton dropped Diaz again with a great uppercut, Diaz got up and then Sexton launched the final attack attemping to finish the fight inside the distance but failed and Diaz survived. My scorecard was 58-54 for Sexton and the official ones were 58-54 (x2) and 57-55 for the winner by unanimous decision Sam Sexton. With this victory Sexton still had chances of passing to the second stage of the tournament.

Tony Thompson 2-2-0 (1) vs Guillermo Jones 1-3-0 (1)
Thompson edged a studying first round but after that Jones took the control of the fight winning the second round on a great form hurting Thompson with a hook to the head on the way.
On the second round a solid uppercut by Jones dropped Thompson for a six count. After Thompson got up Jones connected another snapping head uppercut but Thompson refused to fall again.
Jones clearly dominated the fourth round showing that the fight was totally under his control.
On the fifth round the pace decreased and the action was poor and even.
On the last round Jones was again the owner of the fight hurting Thompson with a cross followed by a pair of uppercuts at the middle stages of the round. My scorecard was 59-55 for Jones and the offcial ones were 59-56 59-55 and 60-54 for the winner by unanimous decision Guillermo Jones. With this result both fighters are virtually elimanated of the tournament.

Marco Huck 3-0-1 (2) vs Jameel McCline 4-1-0 (1)
The first two on the standings table Marco Huck and Jameel McCline faced, both were qualified for the second stage but they had to determinate the winner of the group.
Jameel McCline started the fight on great form edging the first round and winning the second one convincingly putting Huck on trouble a pair of times.
The third round had very poor action but Huck edged it and from this point the fight started to change. Huck easily outlanded McCline on the fourth round also hurting him with a strong uppercut to the chin.
On the fifth round Huck dropped McCline with a great body shot and after McCline got up Huck dropped him again less than a minute later with a quick barrage of punches to the head.
Mccline got up and survived the remainder thirty seconds of the round.
On the last round the pair went punch per punch with Mccline putting his last effort and with Huck clearly having the best part of the exchange also hurting McCline with a right cross to the head.
My scorecard was 58-54 for Huck and the official ones were 58-54 (x2) and 59-53 for the winner by unanimous decision Marco Huck. With this result Huck is the winner of the Group.

Standings

M.Huck 9
J.McCline 8
O.Pala 6
S.Sexton 5
G.Jones 4
T.Thompson 4
L.Diaz 0

Next Fights –January 2013-

M.Huck Vs T.Thompson
L.Diaz Vs G.Jones
S.Sexton Vs O.Pala*

*This fight will determine the fifth qualified of the group Sexton needed a win to pass to the second round.

[Thomas Hearns]

Sparta Praga Stadium, Praga, Czech Republic, 2013-01-07

Round 7

Lisandro Diaz 0-5-0 vs Guillermo Jones 2-3-0 (1)
Diaz surprised Jones dominating the first two rounds of the fight, Jones recovered winning rounds third and fourth on a very convincing way. On the fifth round Jones punished Diaz until connecting a great cross to his head and dropping him. Diaz got up quickly and the round came to its end. Surprisingly on the final round Diaz was the dominator and he almost dropped Jones with a devastating uppercut to the chin seconds before the final bell.
My scorecard was 57-56 for Jones and the three offical scorecards were 57-56 (x3) for the winner by unanimous decision Guillermo Jones.

Marco Huck 4-0-1 (2) vs Tony Thompson 2-3-0 (1)
Before the begining of the group this fight was expected to be the stellar one but Tony Thompson perfromed below expectations and he was already eliminated from the tournament at this stage.
Huck edged an actionless first round, then he convincingly won the second stanza and after that he deepened his dominance, totally controlling the third round in which he hurt Thompson with a cross. The fourth round was one-sided for Huck, Thompson failed to land a single clean punch this round.
But from this point Huck relaxed and allowed Thompson to edge the fifth round and to attemp a final challenge on the last round in which he dominated Huck and also dropped him with a great straight right seconds before the final bell. My scorecard was 57-56 for Huck and the offcial ones were 58-55 and 57-56 for Huck and 57-57 so the winner by majority decision was marco Huck.

Sam Sexton 2-2-1 vs Ondrej Pala 3-2-0 (1)
This was the only fight of this round in which there was something at stake, Sam Sexton needed a win to pass to the second round with a draw Ondrej Pala is the one who passed to it.
Pala clearly won the first round also hurting Sexton with a hook to the head. Sexton reacted edging the second round and winning an actionless third one.
Pala regained the control of the fight on the fourth stanza and he was clearly dominating the first stages of the fifth round when Sexton landed a big counterpunch combination and dropped him. Pala got up at seven visible hurt and attmeped to cover up and survive taking a lot of punishment until the end of the round.
On the last round Sexton was still in control and won it convincingly to secure his victory and his pass to the second round. My scorecard was 58-55 for Sexton and the official ones were 59-54 (2) and 57-56 for the winner by unanimous decision Sam Sexton.

Standings

M.Huck 11 -Record 5-0-1 (2)-
J.McCline 8 -Record 4-2-0 (1)-
S.Sexton 7 -Record 3-2-1-
O.Pala 6 -Record 3-3-0 (1)-
G.Jones 6 -Record 3-3-0 (1)-
T.Thompson -Record 2-4-0 (1)-
L.Diaz 0 -Record 0-6-0-

Huck, McCline and Sexton pass to the second stage of the tournament.

[Thomas Hearns]

Marco Huck was the great favourite of this group and he performed at the level of their background, he beat his better three rivals (Thompson, McCline and Jones) and only fought to a draw against the surprising Sam Sexton.
Huck seemed to be one of the biggest contenders for the Klitschko's brothers on this tournament.

At 43 Jameel McCline looked a bit washed up on his first fight against Sam Sexton but then he recovered winning four consecutive fights to finally being defeat by Marco Huck on the last fight (but only after gave the german some trouble on the first two rounds). His fast starts of fight seemed to be very effective.

The great surprise of the group was Sam Sexton, an average english fighter that beat mccline and tied with Huck on his first too fights. Then he lost a pair of fights but finally he recovered with back to back wins to pass to the second round of the tournament. Nobody expected that this englishman could do it.

Ondrej Pala was near of the great hit. He won his first three fights but then he came short agianst Huck,McCline and specially on the defining fight against Sexton.


One of the deceptions of the group was WBA cruiserweight champion Guillermo Jones, that started the tournament with two consecutive losses (Pala and Mccline) then he recovered a bit but lost all his chances losing a thrilling fight against Marco HucK. Yet eliminated he won a good fight against Tony Thompson.

The greatest deception was Tony Thompson that was expected to be Huck worse rival and finally he only won two fights of six to finish on a dark sixth position on the standings.

Limited argentine Lisandro Diaz lost all his six bouts as it was expected but he did some good partial outings against Pala, Jones and Sexton.

[Thomas Hearns]

Entry List

Arthur Abraham
Mikkel Kessler
Hugo Garay
Marco A. Rubio
Joachim Alcine
Omar Sheika
Will Rosinski

Centro de Usos Multiples, Mexico, 2012-07-08

Round 1

Marco Antonio Rubio vs Joachim Alcine
Rubio started the fight in his usual aggressive style but forty five seconds into the fight Joachim Alcine connected a great cross to Rubio’s head and dropped him for a six count.
After getting up Rubio retreated and covered up to survive the rest of the round.
On the second round Alcine connected a great body shot and dropped Rubio again, after the Mexican got up Alcine connected a great combination to his head and sent him to the canvas for the third time on the fight. Brave Rubio got up one more time but a minute later Alcine dropped him again with a strong hook to the head, Rubio got up again but the referee didn’t allow him to continue fighting so Alcine was the winner by TKO2.

Omar Sheika vs Hugo Garay
As it was expected Garay easily dominated the first round of the fight outlaned Sheika, but after this round Sheika surprisingly took the control of the fight for good.
Sheika won the following five rounds on a very convincing way an he also rocked Garay more than one time. Garay finished the fight with a cut over his right eye. My scorecard was the same as the three official ones : 59-55 for the winner by unanimous decision Omar Sheika.

Will Rosinsky vs Mikkel Kessler
Kessler began the fight at accelerated pace, outlanded Rosinsky and hurting him with a hook to the midsecction seconds before the ending of the first round.
But unexpectedly Rosinsky edged the following two rounds. Kessler returned to life winning the fourth round convincingly and punishing Rosinsky on the fifth round hurting him with a hard hook followed by strong uppercut. The last round was an even affaire.
My scorecard was 58-57 for Kessler and the official ones were 58-56 58-57 and 59-56 for the winner by unanimous decision Mikkel Kessler.

Standings

J.Alcine 2
M.Kessler 2
O.Sheika 2
W.Rosinsky 0
H.Garay 0
M.A.Rubio 0
A.Abraham –

Next Fights –August 2012-

A.Abraham Vs W.Rosisnski
J.Alcine Vs M.Kessler
M.A.Rubio vs H.Garay

[Thomas Hearns]

Gimnasio Municipal, Argentina, 2012-08-08

Round 2

Marco Antonio Rubio 0-1-0 vs Hugo Garay 0-1-0
Both Rubio and Garay came of upsetting losses and needed a victory to redirect their campaigns. The first round was a very even one until Rubio connected an uppercut to Garay’s chin and dropped him five seconds before the bell rang.
Rubio continued dominating on the following round hurting Garay several times and outworking him. Near the end of the round Garay connected his best punch on the fight a strong uppercut that stopped Rubio cold but it was too little for him.
The third round had less action than the others but Rubio still edged it. Rubio also edged the fourth round and it was the last on which Garay put some resistance. Rubio easily won the last two rounds of the fight to score a big shutout win. My scorecard and the three judges ones were the same 60-53 for the winner by unanimous decision Marco Antonio Rubio.

Joachim Alcine 1-0-0 (1) vs Mikkel Kessler 1-0-0
Kessler easily won the first round but then Alcine had an outstanding second stanza in which he punished Kessler across the three minutes. But after that all was for Kessler that convincingly won the four remainder rounds of the fight on a row with the highlight of a one-sided fourth round. My scorecard was 59-55 for Kessler and the official ones were 59-55 (x2) and 58-56 for the winner by unanimous decision Mikkel Kessler.

Arthur Abraham 0-0-0 vs Will Rosinsky 0-1-0
Outstanding job by Arthur Abraham that put Rosinsky in all sort of trouble for the first two minutes and forty five seconds of the first round to finally connect a stong hook to Rosinsky’s head and put him to sleep for the ten count, so Abraham was the winner by KO1.

Standings

M. Kessler 4
A. Abraham 2
J. Alcine 2
O.Sheika 2
M.A. Rubio 2
H.Garay 0
W. Rosinski 0

Next Fights –September 2012-

A.Abraham Vs O. Sheika
J.Alcine Vs W.Rosinski
H.Garay Vs M.Kessler

[Thomas Hearns]

Cirkusbygningen Arena, København V, Denmark, 2012-09-08


Round 3

Joachim Alcine 1-1-0 (1) vs Will Rosinsky 0-2-0
Rosinsky dominated the first round of the fight, Alcine connected the strongest punches but Rosinsky landed a lot more.
Alcine edged the second round but then Rosinsky clearly dominated the following two rounds outworking Alcine.
Alcine reacted on the fifth round winning it on a one sided form. The referee also deducted a point from Rosinsky by holding and hitting on this round so it was a great round for Alcine.
The last round was definitive to the fight and Rosisnky easily dominated most of it, Alcine had his only chance when he connected from nowhere a big uppercut that stopped Rosisnky cold but the American survived to win the fight. My scorecard was 57-56 for Rosisnky and the official ones were 57-56 for Alcine and 57-56 (x2) for Rosinsky so Will Rosinsky was the winner by split decision.

Hugo Garay 0-2-0 vs Mikkel Kessler 2-0-0
Garay won the first round on a very big form hurting Kessler with a great right cross to the head on the way. Kessler edged an actionless second round but Garay regained the control of the fight on the following two stanzas. Particulary the fourth round had great back and forth action with the highlight of a brutal exchange of right hooks but with Garay clearly landing more.
But when Garay seemed to be on the way of a wonderful victory Kessler reacted winning the fifth round and putting Garay in trouble with a uppercut early on the round and again with a left-right combination. Garay landed a big straight right near the end of the round but he was too passive on this stanza. The last stanza had poor action with the only highlight of a big hook by Kessler that seemed to hurt Garay. My scorecard was 57-57 and the official ones were 58-56 for kessler and 57-57 (x2) so the fight was declared a majority draw.

Arthur Abraham 1-0-0 (1) vs Omar Sheika 1-0-0
Another great performance by the big favourite to win this group Arthur Abraham this time he couldn’t last the fight inside the distance but he was the total dominator of the bout.
The first round had back and forth action but with Abraham taking the stanza behind a explosive left to Sheika’s chin. The second round was an even affaire with Sheika landing more but with Abraham connecting the strongest punches.
Abraham was the clear dominator of the third round Sheika connected a pair of good blows but Abraham landed more than him.
Sheika started the fourth round on good form landing a great uppercut and continued dominating the first half of the round but then Abraham mounted a big rally to win the stanza.
Again on the fifth round after doing nothing on the first half of the stanza Abraham connected a strong left-right combination and a power kook to Sheika’s head to win the round.
On the final round both fighters looked for the KO but with Abraham clearly having the best part to win another round. My scorecard was 60-55 for Abraham and the official ones were 60-55 (x2) and 59-57 for the winner by unanimous decision Arthur Abraham.

Standings

M.Kessler 5
A.Abraham 4
M.A.Rubio 2
W.Rosisnky 2
J.Alcine 2
O.Sheika 2
H.Garay 1

Next Fights –October 2012-

A.Abraham vs J.Alcine
M.A.Rubio Vs O.Sheika
H.Garay Vs W.Rosinsky

[Thomas Hearns]

Sportpalast, Berlin, Germany, 2012-10-08

Round 4

Hugo Garay 0-2-1 vs Will Rosinsky 1-2-0
The pair split the first four rounds, the first and third ones for Garay and the second and fourth rounds for Rosinsky.
On the fifth round Garay landed a good uppercut that stopped Rosinsky cold, it was the only big punch of all the fight. Garay edged this fifth round and he also won an actionless last round. On a very slow fight my scorecard was 58-56 for Garay and the official ones were 58-56 (x3) for the winner by unanimous decision Hugo Garay that scored his first victory on the tournament.

Marco Antonio Rubio 1-1-0 vs Omar Sheika 1-1-0
Omar Sheika easily won the first round of the fight and continued his momentum edging the second one. Rubio reacted on the third round connecting several uppercuts to Sheika’s face to win a massive round.
But on the fourth round Sheika regained the control of the fight and he continued dominating on the last two stanzas winning both by a wide margin. My scorecard was 59-55 for Sheika and the official ones were 59-55 (x2) and 58-56 for the winner by unanimous decision Omar Sheika.

Arthur Abraham 2-0-0 (1) vs Joachim Alcine 1-2-0 (1)
Alcine started the fight landing a great uppercut and hurting Abraham then he continued dominating the round connecting a great straight right that shook Abraham to win a great first round.
Early on the second round Abraham connected a straight right followed by a crushing hook that seemd to hurt Alcine and then he continued dominating the rest of the round.
But surprisingly on the third round Alcine was in control again with an outstanding middle part of the round in which he connected a pair of strong combinations and a devastating cross that put Abraham on great trouble. Abraham seemed to recover at the end of the round connecting a great cross but again Alcine hurt him with an uppercut.
Abraham regained the control of the fight on the fourth round connecting a pair of head snapping straight rights to clearly win the round.
On the fifth round Abraham connected an uppercut that made Alcine retreat and then he connected another one and put Alcine to sleep for the ten count. So Abraham was the winner by KO5 , at the time of the stoppage the scorecard were 39-37 (x2) for Alcine and 38-38. Great Fight!

Standings

A.Abraham 6
M.Kessler 5
O.Shieka 4
H.Garay 3
M.Rubio 2
J.Alcine 2
W.Rosinsky 2

Next Fights –November 2012-

A.Abraham Vs M.Rubio
H.Garay Vs J.Alcine
M.Kessler Vs O.Sheika

[Thomas Hearns]

Exhibition Gardens, Vancouver, Canada, 2012-11-08

Round 5

Mikkel Kessler 2-0-1 vs Omar Sheika 2-1-0
Kessler began the fight winning a one-sided first round in which Sheika failed to land a single punch. A pair of crosses by Kessler opened a cut on the left eyelid of Omar Sheika. The second round was more even but Kessler edged it, reopening Sheika’s cut with a hard jab.
On the third round Sheika dominated the first two minutes but then Kessler landed a terrible cross followed by a leading right and reopened the cut for the third time forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Hugo Garay 1-2-1 vs Joachim Alcine 1-3-0 (1)
On a very important fight to detemine the other two qulified fighters (Abraham and Kessler are virtually on the second stage) Hugo Garay had his best performance on the tournament scoring a lopsided unanimous decision win against Joachim Alcine.
Alcine only won the second round and Garay won the other five rounds on a dominant way. On rounds one, three and four Alcine failed to land a single punch and on the last round Garay gave him a real beating. My scorecard was 59-55 for Garay and the official ones were the same 59-55 (x3) for Hugo Garay.
Arthur Abraham 3-0-0 (2) vs Marco Antonio Rubio 1-2-0
Arthur Abraham easily won the first three rounds of the fight but then Rubio reacted winning the fourth round on a big form. Abraham finished this round with some swelling under his right eye. But Arthur reacted and edged the fifth round and finally he won a big sixth round in which he almost dropped Rubio with an uppercut followed by a cross and a winging right but Rubio finally survived the storm. My scorecard was 59-55 for Abraham and the official ones were 59-55 (x3) for the winner by unanimous decision Arthur Abraham.

Standings

A.Abraham 8
M.Kessler 7
H.Garay 5
O.Sheika 4
M.Rubio 2
J.Alcine 2
W.Rosinsky 2

Next Fights –December 2012-

A.Abraham Vs H.Garay
M.Kessler Vs M.A. Rubio
W.Rosinsky Vs O. Sheika