TBA - Tayra Boxing Association

[Craig Costello]

A fictional boxing universe needs a fictional universe to exist in so my universe is based in a group of 4 islands known as Tayra.

The 4 islands are - Obdaker, Mourassi, Fretlow and Lakanos - details of each island are below.

This link is a map of Tayra.

In the early parts of the universe, each island will host their own boxers, with a view to progressing to Tayra-wide events a couple of years in.

Obdaker

Located in the north-west of Tayra, the island of Obdaker is a hard-working, hard-partying kind of place.

They are at the forefront of the push for a professional boxing association, as the blue-collar population like nothing more than an evening of entertainment at ringside.

The capital of Obdaker is Adocsi, which is located in the north, right at the source of the huge Pearl River. Adocsi's main trade is in shipbuidling, which makes it relatively rich in comparison to the rest of Obdaker because of the demand for boats in the island nations.

The eastern coast of Obdaker is generally considered a more attractive place to live than the west, with the cities of Lincoln, Zarnos and Downvale being functional if not necessarily pretty. The western coast is dominated by huge factories and power plants in the cities of Dall, Prust and Juniper. The one jewel in the crown of the West coast is Nock Bay, right on the southern tip of the island, which has some beautiful understated natural scenery and does a decent trade in tourism.

Mourassi

Mourassi is the largest landmass in the Tayra Islands, but is actually the least populous island. It is dominated by the Mourassi Desert, which sits in the centre of the island stretches almost all the way from the northern to the southern coast. The Jinkins Desert also takes up a lot of land in the northern region of the island.

With not much else to do, some of the boxers they produce may be fairly handy, but finding the hidden gems might prove difficult.

The captial of Mourassi is Climb, which is situated in the far north-east of the island on the banks of the Nero River. Climb benefits from it's position in being the easiest city to get to and from the island of Fretlow, which is just across the sea.

Queen City is also a major centre in Mourassi, as anyone wanting to travel between Climb and any other city on the island have to travel through QC, to avoid the desolation of the desert. It is prevented from being a real power in Tayra by the fact that it is unable to actually physically grow much due to the proximity of the two major deserts.

In the western cities of Mourassi - Kayter, Circus, Nunton - people generally have to conent themselves by being hard-working and happy.

Fretlow

The most cosmopolitan and commercially aware of the islands, with a number of important businsses based in it's large sprawling metropolis-like cities. Unsurprisingly, it is the island with by far the largest population and it is never far behind any of the other islands in any advances, so you can be sure they will be towards the forefront of the boxing revolution.

Unity is the capital of the island. It is situated centrally and is almost equidistant from the sources of the Yellow and Old Rivers. It is a massive financial centre and also a centre for the arts, tourism, technology, education - you name it, Unity has got it.

The northern coastal cities of Hinge, Robelisk and Propton are also commercial behemoths with the far nothern cities of Grace, Frontier and Rentin doing a fair trade in holiday makers from Fretlow and all of the other islands.

The cities of Rydale and Newland on the eastern coast are slightly smaller, but still come out well in comparison with the larger cities of the other islands and perform important roles in the services to the rest of the island, with white-collar workers by the thousands.

Lakanos

Lakanos is known as 'The Beautiful Island' due to the stunning nature of the flora and fauna on show. It and Fretlow are not actually islands, as they are connected by a long, thin stretch of land between the cities of Lensus (Lakanos) and Ulm (Fretlow), but the locals of both 'islands' always refer to them as such.

Added to the natural beauty of Lakanos, is the laid-back, easy-going nature of the natives, which always ensures for a great trade in tourism. Whether you are looking for a relaxing holiday, a sight-seeing holiday or an adventure holiday, Lakanos can deliver and then some.

Don't expect the island to go all out to produce the next boxing champion, but be sure that if one comes along, they will be celebrated heartily.

Grove City is the capital of Lakanos, but it really isn't much bigger than the other major cities of Jilt, Poole, Frisbee, Dragon and Eventon.


EDIT - all of the fighters are heavyweights

[Craig Costello]

Jan 18th 1931

Tayra history was made today as Logan Vance and Pete Sharp faced off at the Fourth Street Centre in Juniper, Obdaker in the first ever professional boxing bout in the history of the islands.

After a cagey start, Sharp took control in the middle rounds, opening a cut by the right eye of Vance in Round 7. Vance was knocked to the canvas by a right cross in the 10th and went down two more times in the 11th, leading to a unanimous decision victory for the younger of the two men.

There were three other fights on this historic night, with the sell-out crowd of 800 Obdakans treated to 36 more rounds of pugilism.

[Craig Costello]

Mar 24th 1931

It didn't take long for controversy to find the newly formed Lakanos Boxing Association.

In only their third ever night of boxing, referee Pete Podgorski made the decision to disqualify Vincent Moore in his first ever contest against fellow rookie Denny Floyd.

Moore was warned constantly through the contest for a series of misdemeanours and Podgorski finally lost his patience in the 11th round, having already issued 2 official warnings.

The bout was fairly even up to that point. Moore had even knocked down Floyd in the early rounds.

[Craig Costello]

Jul 1st 1931

The announcement of a bout between Jon Crow and Curt Miller caused great excitement amongst fight fans in Lightning, Obdaker.

The bout itself did not disappoint as both men punched themselves to a standstill in an effort to continue the perfect starts to their careers.

Miller seemed to have the bout well in control but Crow shook him with big punches in the 10th and 11th and all 3 judges scored the bout as a draw.

At the very least, both men's knockout streak (4 for Crow, 3 for Miller) has come to an end. We certainly look forward to the next time these two fighters meet.

[Craig Costello]

Dec 18th 1931

"I've had a blast" said William Parker as he announced his retirement during an interview with a journalist from the Hinge Gazzette.

Boxing fans who had watched Parker in action in the first 12 months of the Fretlow Boxing Association might have agreed with him, but not one of them would have wanted to have been in his place.

Parker squeezed in 9 professional bouts in 10 months of action, losing all 9 pretty comfortably, only twice lasting the full 12 rounds. The closest he came to erasing the goose egg on the winning side of his ledger was a unanimous decision loss to Nick Webb in which he knocked Webb to the ground in the 4th round and was only one round behind on two of the judges scorecards at the end of the fight.

He didn't express any regret at his FBA career though, stating that his late fater would have given anything to have had the opportunity to try to make a living from the sweet science.

[Craig Costello]

Mar 4th 1932

Officials in Lincoln, Obdaker held a press conference today to announce a 'Supercard' of fights in July featuring fighters from the city.

Top of the bill will be the Thompson brothers, Rob and Maurice, who will face as yet un-named opponents. Young hopeful Steve Davis will also be on show in his home town and Ken Wolfe and Norris Mullen will kick off the action in a potential slugfest.

The night of entertainment is to take place in the newly built Lincoln Palace and city officials are extremely hopeful of a quick sellout.

[Craig Costello]

Jul 24th 1932

Around The Associations

In the 18 months since the first ever professional fight there have been nearly 1500 bouts in Tayra. There are a total of 16 men who are currently unbeaten in at least 4 fights. Ralph Ames from Hinge, Fretlow is the only one of the unbeaten's to have fought 10 fights - maybe he will be challening for titles in the near future.

Obdaker 'Supercard' Preview

Opener: Ken Wolfe 6-4-0 (5) v Norris Mullen 5-4-0 (5)

The organiser of the event have been really clever by scheduling a bout that is almost certain to a barnburning slugfest.

Only one of Wolfe's 10 fights has gone the full 12 rounds and even the 4 bouts he has lost have seen his opponent hit the deck a combined 8 times.

Mullen has been in some similarly absorbing contests, although the experts will tell you he is more of a boxer than a slugger. He would appear to be in the better form of the two combatants, with his last bout being a first round knockout of Bernard Wooten.

Support: Steve Davis 2-0-0 (1) v Glenn Page 1-6-0 (1)

Page has lost 6 bouts in a row after a promising debut, but 3 of his last 4 fights have gone to the last round, so he should provide a decent opponent for youngster Davis.

Feature: Maurice Thompson 7-0-0 (7) v King Ford 2-3-0

The older of the Thompson brothers has shown impressive power in the early stages of his career and will be hoping to extend his knockout streak against the mediocre Ford.

Main: Rob Thompson 10-1-0 (6) v Dan Williams 4-1-1 (1)

No doubt the best contest on the card, with the younger Thompson taking on another young talent in Williams. A first round knockout in his 3rd bout aside, Williams has put up some good showings so far.

Thompson seems to be gaining power as his career progresses, with 9 knockouts in his last 3 fights.

[Craig Costello]

Jul 25th 1932

Lincoln Arena, Lincoln, Obdaker
4000 fans (sellout)

Opener: Ken Wolfe 6-4-0 (5) v Norris Mullen 5-4-0 (5)

The organisers got what they planned as both men came piling out of their corners in the opening round to a deafining roar from 4000 Obdakens. Wolfe's opening salvo was relentless and after only 20 seconds, Mullen found himself on his backside, which made the roars even louder.

However, this knockdown appeared to make both fighters a little on the cautious side and the 2nd and 3rd rounds were quiet.

In the 4th, Wolfe found his confidence again and some great combinations led to Mullen going down in the last minute of the round. He just about beat the count, but Wolfe was not about to miss his opportunity and another crushing right ended the contest.

Ken Wolfe wins by KO at 2:59 of the 4th


Support: Steve Davis 2-0-0 (1) v Glenn Page 1-6-0 (1)

Davis started far from impressively, but but still looked too good for his opponent. He was docked a point in the 5th for a low blow and this seemed to galvanise him into action, with his best rounds coming immediately after.

Just as Page started to get noticeable swelling and cuts which might affect the outcome, Davis found himself on the floor after a right hand counter in the 10th. He was up quickly though and boxed well enough in the final rounds to score a comfortable unanimous victory.

Steve Davis wins by unanimous decision (117-112, 117-111, 117-110)


Feature: Maurice Thompson 7-0-0 (7) v King Ford 2-3-0

Just the sort of fight that the hometown wanted. They got to watch one of their heroes basically throw punch after punch against an obviously overmatched opponent. Ford hit the canvas in the first 30 seconds and did well to remain standing until late in the 5th round. Another knockdown came in the 7th before referee Gerald Scott finally called the fight off.

Maurice Thompson wins by TKO at 2:14 of the 7th


Main: Rob Thompson 10-1-0 (6) v Dan Williams 4-1-1 (1)

Powered on by the adrenalin in the building after the warm-up fights, both fighters simply stood in the centre of the ring a flailed away in the early rounds. It was Thompson who finally asserted a semblance of control and his superior boxing him skills opened up some great angles for big shots.

Williams went to the floor late in both the 7th and 8th rounds and basically survived by smothering any space Thompson might want in the final stanza. The judges scored the fight a lot closer than the ringside experts did.

Rob Thompson wins by unanimous decision (115-113, 115-114, 115-113)

[Craig Costello]

Aug 3rd 1932

Following the success of Obdaker's 'Supercard', the Fretlow Boxing Association have announced their own version is to take place in October this year.

They have been successful in signing up Ralph Ames to top the bill, whose 10-0-0 record has many people (especially those in his hometwon of Hinge) proclaiming him as the best boxer in Tayra.

Also on the bill at Victoria Palace in Ulm will be knockout machine Henry Brown and an intriguing matchup between Dave Saunders and Kurt Bowman.

[Craig Costello]

Oct 24th 1932

Around The Associations

Obdaker

Rob Thompson suffered the second loss of his career in Adocsi, when he was stopped by Logan Vance. His older brother continues to impress though with 10 straight stoppage wins on his record.

Fretlow

Maurice Thompson's stoppage streak is bettered by one by Peter Alford, who has gone past the 7th round only once in his 11 fights.

Mourassi

Only 2 men are unbeaten in the MBA, which in indicative of very even competition across the island.

Lakanos

Boxing has been slower to take off on in the holiday island. Gunner West has entertained many crowds though, with none of his 10 fights going past the tenth round. Unfortunately, he has been knocked out twice himself to take some of the shine off of his record.


Fretlow Fight Night Preview

Opener: Brock Taylor 1-6-0 (1) v Anthony Cain 3-5-0 (1)

At first glance the bout betwen two local men would appear to be nothing more than a warm up for things to come, but the two fighters have come to an agreement to make it a little bit more interesting. Both men have agreed to retire from boxing should they lose, so a lot is riding on the contest.

Cain's record would suggest he is the better fighter, but one of his wins was a very close majority decision and another was thanks to a disqualification.

Support: Henry Brown 9-2-0 (8) v Jeff Browning 3-6-1 (3)

Local man Brown has lost two of his last 4 fights, but he should have too much for Browning, who is mediocre at best.

Feature: Dave Saunders 8-4-0 (5) v Kurt Bowman 6-4-0 (6)

An intriguing contest that should be a crowd pleaser. Saunders will have the home crowd behind him and has won his last 4 fights, so should be favourite.

Main: Ralph Ames 10-0-0 (5) v Glenn Bedwell 7-2-0 (5)

Ames is the main draw for the FBA and they are hoping that he can draw in fans from all around the country to see him in action. Bedwell is a dangerous puncher who has only been stopped once. The first few rounds might prove tricky for the favourite.

[Craig Costello]

Oct 28th 1932

Victoria Hall, Ulm, Fretlow
4365 fans

Opener: Brock Taylor 1-6-0 (1) v Anthony Cain 3-5-0 (1)

Brock Taylor looked in the form of his life over the opening rounds. He surprisingly hit the floor in the fourth from a short right-hander, but he was up quickly and he kept up the momentum through the middle rounds. Late in the 10th, Cain summoned up some energy from out of nowehere, threw a couple of nice combinations, then landed a clean, powerful uppercut to steal the fight.

Anthony Cain wins by KO at 2:34 of the 10th


Support: Henry Brown 9-2-0 (8) v Jeff Browning 3-6-1 (3)

Brown started with some crisp punches, but it was actually Browning who had the better of the opening rounds, fighting with more energy and enterprise. All that changed in the 5th, when Brown landed a vicous cross that dropped Browning like a stone. He valiantly struggled to his feet, but was not the same the rest of the way. He hit the floor again in the 7th and just beat the count, only for Brown to land a shot clean on his temple that stopped the fight.

Henry Brown wins by KO at 2:54 of the 7th


Feature: Dave Saunders 8-4-0 (5) v Kurt Bowman 6-4-0 (6)

After a nervy opening round Saunders got to work smartly and proved far too skilled for Bowman. Bowman did have his moments, landing a number of clean shots in the 6th, but eventually the volume of punches he was forced to eat sent him to the canvas for good in the 8th.

Dave Saunders wins by KO at 0:43 of the 8th


Main: Ralph Ames 10-0-0 (5) v Glenn Bedwell 7-2-0 (5)

After a quiet opening three rounds, which Bedwell edged, Ames kicked into gear in the 4th with a great round of action. Bedwell hit back in the 5th with some hard shots of his own and the next three rounds were full of huge punches from both fighters. The action slowed a little towards the end with neither fighter having the strength to finish off the other. Ames might feel hard done to with his first loss, but he didn't really do enough to win it either.

Glenn Bedwell wins by split decision (115-114, 114-115, 115-114)

[Craig Costello]

Dec 16th 1932

"There certainly won't be any card-fillers" promised MBA president Hector Tiente as he announced Mourassi's own main event fight night.

According to Tiente, the events held previously in Lincoln, Obdaker and Ulm, Fretlow were excellent at making the general public aware of the sport of boxing, but didn't contain any real true quality contests.

"We promise to bring eight of the best fighters on the island together for a night of boxing excellence."

The event will also bring professional boxing to the city of Fairfax for the first time, with the newly built Burton Hall playing host.

[Chadness]

I'm totally down for a game that doesn't have the same fighters but you need to introduce us to who is who better. I just can't get behind anyone here as they all are basically the same guy with different records. It would be nice to know a few top 5, top 10 lists or something of the top talents.

[Craig Costello]

I certainly will be doing that in the near future, but as of yet they are pretty much all the same fighter with different records.

Once the association gets a bit more history, you will hopefully be able to relate more to a few of the fighters involved.

[jcstuntman]

Nice job Craig, I'm a massive fan of the fictional universe. (I'm currently still setting mine up), I have also scraped the world as we know it in favour of a fictional planet comprised of 4 regions each with 5 countries for an overall total of 20 countries in my uni.

I like what you've done with the description of the Islands which really helps set the tone.
Like Chad suggested you almost need to do the same thing with maybe the top 5 or even top 10 fighters from each island just so the guys on the board can start tracking the progress of some of the better, more entertaining fighters in your uni. If you haven't seen it already check out Gunsmokes "Randomly generated universe" to see how he's introduced some of his key fighters.

Sorry if I missed it listed in one of your posts (I'm a little tied) but what weight class/es are you using?

If your curious here are two pictures of my regions.

Keep up the good work as I'm going to be following your uni closely.

Cheers
Gary

[bear]

Welcome, Craig, to our little basement comunity.

bear

[gocubsgo]

Very nice job Craig.

[Craig Costello]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

I'm finding it useful for getting the creative juices flowing at the very least.

[Craig Costello]

Jan 24th 1933

Around The Associations

Obdaker

Maurice Thompson has won another bout by stoppage, taking only 5 rounds to dispatch of Duncan Patterson. He isn't the top of the unbeaten fight streak though, as Ed Simmons now stands at 12-0-0.

Mourassi

Seven different fighters won their debut bout this month, which bodes well for the future of MBA action.


Mourassi Star Attraction Preview

Opener: Gilberto Hernandez 11-2-0 (9) v Miguel Saucedo 6-2-0 (5)

Hernandez is a stylish boxer who has never been stopped. He has also won 6 fights in a row, with only one of them going past the 6th round.

Saucedo has a win against the impressive Jorge Hernandez on his record, but lost surprisingly in August to somewhat tarnish his reputation.

Support: Antonio Moreno 11-2-0 (7) v Mario Colomo 9-3-0 (1)

Some questions of Moreno's chin have been expressed with both of his defeats coming by knockout, but their can be no doubt that he is a heavy puncher himself and also an accomplished boxer.

Colomo is a light hitter, but a pretty fighter. His only loss in his last 9 fights was a questionable disqualification for a headbutt when he was well in front againt Cris Hernandez.

Feature: Esteban Rodriguez 8-1-0 (2) v Manuel Romero 7-2-0 (6)

This is a rematch of a bout last May, which Rodriguez won by split decision.

Rodriguez would be unbeaten if he had not walked onto a stiff right from Jesus Sanchez in the 12th round of his fight in August. He is very nice to watch and the match up with Romero should be a great one.

Romero will be one of the heaviest punchers on display, but make no mistake he is an accomplished boxer as well.

Main: Ivan Acosta 8-0-0 (5) v Claudio Guerrero 9-1-1 (2)

Acosta has the best unbeaten record in the MBA and has been impressive thus far. His fights have been getting longer and longer, but all of them have been comfortable wins.

Guerrero's only loss came in December 1931, when he knocked out in the 5th by Carlos Feliciano. He is not a heavy puncher, but should provide a interesting opponent for Acosta.

[Craig Costello]

Feb 25th 1933

Burton Arena, Fairfax, Mourassi
5071 fans

Opener: Gilberto Hernandez 11-2-0 (9) v Miguel Saucedo 6-2-0 (5)

The first 4 rounds of the night in front of a Tayre record fight crowd were a boxing masterclass from Saucedo, who moved beautifully and kept Hernandez off balance with a wide variety of punches.

Hernandez had his best round of the fight in the 5th when he caught his opponent flush on more than one occassion, but Saucedo withstood the punches and produce more good work in the following rounds.

The action slowed toward the end, with neither man looking in the best of shape. Saucedo proved to be a comfortable enough winner, although one of the judges disagreed.

Miguel Saucedo won by split decision (116-114, 113-116, 116-113)


Support: Antonio Moreno 11-2-0 (7) v Mario Colomo 9-3-0 (1)

Right from the opening bell, Moreno really didn't look like he was interested in putting on a show. He clinched and held for most of the fight and drew plenty of boos from crowd.

To be fair, Colomo wasn't a great deal better although at least he did try to be positive in patches.

Having shown nothing all night, Moreno suddenly decided in the final round to swing for the fences and he landed a crushing combination that floored Colomo. Colomo just beat the count and wobbled his way through the last 30 seconds to take it to the judges scorecards.

Majority Draw (115-113 Moreno, 114-114, 114-114)


Feature: Esteban Rodriguez 8-1-0 (2) v Manuel Romero 7-2-0 (6)

Just as the crowd were getting restless following a lacklustre finish to the opener and a poor second bout, they were brought back to life by this one.

Keen to avenge his split decision loss to Rodriguez last year, Romero came out firing and rocked his opponent with some big punches. Rodriguez soon figured out that he had an opportunity to counter if he could pick the right moment. He swayed to evade a wild punch and connected sweetly with a left hook that unsteadied Romero. He followed with a stinging combination that finished with a straight right to the temple that knocked Romero out on contact.

Rodriguez won by KO at 1:59 of the 1st


Main: Ivan Acosta 8-0-0 (5) v Claudio Guerrero 9-1-1 (2)

The opening rounds of this one were a real purists dream. Both boxers worked the angles and altered their tactics from round to round trying to find the advantage over their opponent.

Acosta's lack of conditioning (he came into the fight heavily overweight) proved to be his downfall as he became laboured in the later rounds and was often off balance. He was knocked down in both the 10th and 11th by punches that would not normally have troubled him.

Claudio Guerrero won by unanimous decision (114-112, 115-111, 114-112)