The Welterweights

[grevan]

It's been a while but here goes nothing...

The Premise
As someone who's started (and abandoned) many uni's over the years, I'm hoping "The Welterweights" will be something I can see through to the finish.

This is a uni aimed at crowning an undisputed all-time king of the Welterweight division (but perhaps in a more convoluted way than has previously been attempted).

It features all welterweights in the standard TBCB 2.5 database (713 in total), rated at Prime, fighting for ultimate glory.

[grevan]

Stage 1
To get things underway, all 713 fighters will establish a 21 fight record against a selection of 0-5 rated RFG fighters.

They will fight;
6 times against 0-rated fighters
5 times against 1-rated fighters
4 times against 2-rated fighters
3 times against 3-rated fighters
2 times against 4-rated fighters
and once against a 5-rated fighter

All fights are 10 rounds - fights stopped due to an accidental foul prior to the end of round 3 are ruled a No Contest.
Rules: 10 point must system - mandatory standing 8 - 3 knockdowns ends the fight - only the referee can stop it.

[grevan]

Stage 2
Once fighters have established a record they will be ranked based on number of wins, with KO's, TBCB rating and my own judgement (?!) breaking any deadlocks. For example, if two fighters are 20-1(17) but one is an 8 and the other is a 6 in the database, the 8 gets the higher ranking. The goal is to eventually reduce 713 fighters down to 128, who will then be seeded into four groups of 32 and battle it out for the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles. More on that later.

Fighters ranked 1-33 will be seeded accordingly and proceed straight to Stage 3. Basically, they can put their feet up and take a break.

Those ranked 34-118 however will have to prove they deserve their ranking. They will need to win an 8-man, double elimination tournament to keep their seeding or lose it to the victor. 85 x 8-man tournaments means that all fighters apart from the top 33 are active at this stage. Each fighter ranked 34-118 will be grouped with 7 randomly selected fighters and there will be no favours. All fights are over 10 rounds.

At the completion of the tournaments, in order to get to the magic number of 128, 10 wild cards will be handed out (at my discretion) to those most deserving of one last chance. Everyone else will be eliminated.

[grevan]

Stage 3
The 128 remaining fighters will be seeded into four groups to fight for the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles.

The no. 1 seed will be in the WBA group, 2 in the WBC, 3 in the IBF and 4 in the WBO.

They will then contest four 32-man, double elimination tournaments over 12 round fights, until four regional champions are crowned.

Stage 4
The grand finale. The big dance. The undisputed title. The four champions then face off in a 4-man, double elimination tournament to crown the true and rightful Welterweight king, fought over 15 rounds.

PS. I know you all expect it to be Sugar Ray Robinson (as do I!), but if nothing else, the battle for the regional titles and 2nd place should be entertaining. And just as a taster, I can assure you that having run Stage 1 already, Sugar Ray is NOT the no. 1 seed...

[grevan]

After no less than 14,973 hard fought contests, all welterweights now have a 21-fight record. Shortly I'll unveil the top 33 seeded fighters who will head straight into Stage 3 of this project but first, a look at the fighters who didn't fair so well, those guys who might want to consider another line of work. Fortunately, or really, unfortunately for them, they'll still feature in the upcoming tournaments to consolidate seeds 34-118 but aren't expected to be any more than cannon fodder for their contemporaries.

The Bottom 10
Mick IVES, Australia; 0-21
Enrique ZUZUARREGUI, Philippines; 0-21
John ROBY, USA; 1-20
Young COOGAN, USA; 1-20
Howie BRODT, USA; 1-20(1)
Pedro NAPOLES, Cuba; 1-20(1)
Alejandro JIMENEZ, Mexico; 1-18-2(1)
Billy ELMER, USA; 2-19(1)
Adrien MOURGUIART, France; 2-18-1(1)
Mission BOLO, Philippines; 2-18-1(2)

[Cap]

Hey, Welcome back, mate! Nice to see another of our Commonwealth brethren is still alive and kicking. 'Rock on', eh!

Cap

[grevan]

Seeds 1-33
Here they are, the top 33 based on their records so far, ranked in order of wins and knockouts. In all, 66 fighters remained undefeated through their 21 fights so competition was fierce for a seeding in the top 33. One of the all-time greats takes top spot and there's also a very notable omission.

1. Henry ARMSTRONG, USA; 21-0(21)
Homicide Hank was unstoppable, scoring 36 knockdowns and finishing his opponents in an average of 3.7 rounds
2. Ricky HATTON, England; 21-0(21)
Although even with Fernandez on record and KO's, Hatton scored the #2 seed based on knockdowns scored (33-31) and how many times they were both off their feet (1-3)
3. Florentino FERNANDEZ, Cuba; 21-0(21)
4. Thomas HEARNS, USA; 21-0(20)
5. Felix TRINIDAD, Puerto Rico; 21-0(20)
6. Simon BROWN, Jamaica; 21-0(20)
7. John H. STRACEY, England; 21-0(20)
8. Ray LEONARD, USA; 21-0(19)
9. Pipino CUEVAS, Mexico; 21-0(19)
10. Tommy RYAN, USA; 21-0(18)
11. Joe WALCOTT, Barbados; 21-0(18)
12. George COSTNER, USA; 21-0(18)
13. Alvaro GUTIERREZ, Mexico; 21-0(18)
14. Young Peter JACKSON, USA; 21-0(17)
15. Rube FERNS, USA; 21-0(17)
16. Engels PEDROZA, Venezuela; 21-0(17)
17. Joergen HANSEN, Denmark; 21-0(17)
18. Oscar DE LA HOYA, USA; 21-0(16)
19. Ike QUARTEY, Ghana; 21-0(16)
20. Tommy BELL, USA; 21-0(16)
21. James PAGE, USA; 21-0(16)
22. Jim FRANEY, USA; 21-0(16)
23. Carlos PALOMINA, Mexico; 21-0(15)
24. Buddy MCGIRT, USA; 21-0(15)
25. Dave GREEN, England; 21-0(15)
26. Fujio OZAKI, Japan; 21-0(15)
27. Packey MCFARALND, USA; 21-0(13)
28. Johnny BRATTON, USA; 21-0(13)
29. Billy GARDNER, Ireland; 21-0(13)
30. Adrien BRONER, USA; 21-0(13)
31. Milt ARON, USA; 21-0(13)
32. Holman WILLIAMS, USA; 21-0(12)
33. Fritzie ZIVIC, USA; 21-0(12)

Yep, no Sugar Ray (Robinson). See below for his fate.

For the record, the two lowest rated fighters to make it into this group are 3-rated Joergen Hansen (#17) and Dave Green (#25). It will be interesting to see how far they can go.

[grevan]

Originally Posted by Cap

Hey, Welcome back, mate! Nice to see another of our Commonwealth brethren is still alive and kicking. 'Rock on', eh!

Cap

Thanks Cap, been checking in every so often but thought I might try another go at a uni.

[grevan]

Who missed out?
There were a lot of big names who missed the cut for the top 33, but still feature amongst the fighters ranked 34-118. Here are some of the more highly regarded fighters (rated 10 or above) who will need to win an 8-man double elimination tournament to transfer their ranking to a seeding in the next stage.

36. Marlon STARLING, USA; 21-0(11)
38. Jimmy MCLARNIN, Canada; 21-0(10)
45. Emile GRIFFITH, US Virgin Islands; 21-0(6)
47. Cocoa KID, Puerto Rico; 21-0(5)
52. Luis RODRIGUEZ, Cuba; 20-0(16)
53. Young Jack THOMPSON, USA; 20-0(15)
56. Antonio MARGARITA, Mexico; 20-0-1(15)
67. Ray ROBINSON, USA; 20-1(20)
Sugar Ray was cruising, spending less time in the ring than anyone else (3.1 rounds per fight) and well on his way to be the top seed when he ran into a tough 4-rated fighter in his 20th bout. Richard Crawford* (2-0) took Robinson all the way to the 8th round and then referee John O'Brien found a reason to controversially DQ Ray.
68. Mickey WALKER, USA; 20-1(19)
71. Jose NAPOLES, Cuba; 20-1(17)
72. Roberto DURAN, Panama; 20-1(17)
73. Floyd MAYWEATHER Jr, USA: 20-1(16)
74. Aaron DAVIS, USA; 20-1(16)
82. Carmen BASILIO, USA; 20-1(14)
83. Donald CURRY, USA; 20-1(14)
85. Shane MOSLEY, USA; 20-1(13)
86. Ted Kid LEWIS, England; 20-1(13)
91. Jose Luis LOPEZ, Mexico; 20-1(12)
102. Barney ROSS, USA; 20-1(9)
110. Billy GRAHAM, USA; 20-1(7)

[McClearyMauler]

Looks great

[grevan]

Originally Posted by McClearyMauler

Looks great

Thanks, looking forward to getting into it.

[grevan]

The Lurking Dangers
So where are some of the other big names that haven't managed to secure a place in the top 118? They're out there, just waiting to be randomly slotted into an 8-man tournament where they can shatter the dreams of a ranked opponent. Here are seven highly rated fighters who could show up in any place at any time.

Kid GAVILAN, Cuba; 19-1-1(3)
Pernell WHITAKER, USA; 19-1(8)
Jack BRITTON, USA; 19-2(6)
Marty SERVO, USA; 19-1-1(2)
Gaspar ORTEGA, Mexico; 19-2(15)
Juan Manuel MARQUEZ, Mexico; 18-1-2(10)
Wilfred BENITEZ, Puerto Rico; 18-3(7)

[grevan]

And so we get to the start of Stage 2. 85 x 8-man tournaments, each headed by a ranked fighter attempting to justify his position by winning his group and progressing to Stage 3.

First up is #34 ranked Charley FUSARI, USA; 21-0(12). Fusari was very unlucky to miss the cut on a decision by the committee (me), given he holds an identical record to #33 Fritzie Zivic. He'll be eager to prove he was hard done by.

[grevan]

Seed 34
8-rated Charley Fusari (#34) entered the tournament as favourite with Isaac Hlatshwayo (7) and Kirkland Laing (6) seen as his biggest threats, but it was 5-rated Honey Mellody who surprised all.

Note: All fighters outside the top ranked 118 have one extra fight prior to entering one of the seeding tournaments. I use the auto scheduler to pick 7 fighters for a one off fight and after that they fight in the next tournament.

Results
RED signifies an eliminated fighter

Round 1
Honey MELLODY 19-2-2(5) UD10 Allie GRONIK 13-9-1(7): 100-90, 98-93, 96-94
Kirkland LAING 20-3(8) UD10 Rodney TRUSEL 15-6-2(4): 99-91, 99-92 x 2
Isaac HLATSHWAYO 19-3-1(1) SD10 Charley FUSARI 21-1(12): 98-92, 96-94, 93-97; Hlatshwayo down in round 1
Jose Miguel COTTO 11-10-1(6) SD 10 Joey GAMACHE 19-4(3): 96-93, 95-94, 94-95

Round 2
Honey MELLODY 20-2-2(5) UD10 Kirkland LAING 20-4(8): 98-93, 97-94, 96-95
Isaac HLATSHWAYO 20-3-1(1) MD10 Jose Miguel COTTO 11-11-1(6): 97-93 x 2, 95-95

Elimination Round 1
Allie GRONIK 14-9-1(7) SD10 Rodney TRUSEL 15-7-2(4): 96-95 x 2, 95-96
Charley FUSARI 22-1(12) UD10 Joey GAMACHE 19-5(3): 97-90 x 2, 96-91; Fusari down in round 1, Gamache down in rounds 4 and 8

Round 3
Honey MELLODY 21-2-2(6) TKO7 Isaac HLATSHWAYO 20-4-1(1): Cut eye stoppage at 2:01 of round 7

Elimination Round 2
Allie GRONIK 15-9-1(7) SD10 Jose Miguel COTTO 11-12-1(6): 97-94 x 2, 95-96
Kirkland LAING 21-4(8) MD10 Charley FUSARI 22-2(12): 96-93, 96-94, 95-95

Elimination Round 3
Kirkland LAING 22-4(8) UD10 Allie GRONIK 15-10-1(7): 99-93, 98-92, 97-93

Elimination Round 4
Isaac HLATSHWAYO 21-4-1(1) SD10 Kirkland LAING 22-5(8): 97-95, 96-95, 95-96

Elimination Round 5
Isaac HLATSHWAYO 22-4-1(1) UD10 Honey MELLODY 21-3-2(6): 97-92, 96-94, 95-94; Mellody down in round 4

FINAL
Honey MELLODY 22-3-2(6) UD10 Isaac HLATSHWAYO 22-5-1(1): 98-92 x 2, 96-94

Honey Mellody wins an enthralling trilogy with Isaac Hlatshwayo to book his spot in the next stage as the #34 seed. Charley Fusari's campaign is over unless he can secure a wildcard.

[grevan]

Seed 35
Russian Andrei Pestriaev (rated 7) entered the tournament as the provisional #35 ranked fighter with a 21-0(12) record but he also drew tough opponents in Luis Federico Thompson (9), Daniel Santos (8) and surprise packet, Albert Badoud (6).

Results
RED signifies an eliminated fighter

Round 1
Albert BADOUD 21-2(14) TKO9 Luis Federico THOMPSON 20-3(11): Stopped by the ref at 2:15 of round 9; Thompson down in round 3
Daniel SANTOS 21-1(15) TKO9 Philippe BAFOUNTA 14-8-1(4): Stopped by the ref at 2:58 of round 9; Bafounta down twice in round 7
Andrei PESTRIAEV 22-0(13) KO10 Miguel Angel PENA 5-17: Pena counted out at 1:44 of round 10
Sonny HAMPTON 13-10(2) KO5 King TUT 18-5(10): Tut counted out at 2:32 of round 5

Round 2
Daniel SANTOS 22-1(16) KO6 Albert BADOUD 21-3(14): Badoud counted out at the end of round 6; Badoud down earlier in the same round
Andrei PESTRIAEV 23-0(14) TKO9 Sonny HAMPTON 13-11(2): Stopped by the ref at 2:25 of round 9; Hampton down three times in the round

Elimination Round 1
Luis Federico THOMPSON 21-3(11) UD10 Philippe BAFOUNTA 14-9-1(4): 100-90 x 2, 99-92
King TUT 19-5(10) UD10 Miguel Angel PENA 5-18: 99-91 x 2, 98-92; Pena down in round 9

Round 3
Daniel SANTOS 23-1(16) UD10 Andrei PESTRIAEV 23-1(14): 99-89 x 2, 98-90; Pestriaev down in rounds 1 and 9

Elimination Round 2
Luis Federico THOMPSON 22-3(11) UD10 Sonny HAMPTON 13-12(2): 100-91, 98-93, 97-94; Hampton down in round 1
Albert BADOUD 22-3(14) UD10 King TUT 19-6(10): 96-94 x 2, 97-93

Elimination Round 3
Albert BADOUD 23-3(14) WDQ Luis Federico THOMPSON 22-4(11): Thompson diqualified for low blows at 2:45 of round 9

Elimination Round 4
Andrei PESTRIAEV 24-1(14) UD10 Albert BADOUD 23-3(14): 96-93 x 2, 96-94

FINAL
Daniel SANTOS 24-1(17) TKO8 Andrei PESTRIAEV 24-2(14): Stopped by the ref at 2:51 of round 8; Pestriaev down twice in round 8

Santos dominates, going undefeated and beating Pestriaev twice to earn the #35 seed.

[grevan]

Seed 36
11-rated Marlon Starling was the clear favourite heading into this tournament, with 8's Jimmy Gardner and Don Jordan the fighters expected to challenge him.

Results
RED signifies an eliminated fighter

Round 1
Jimmy GARDNER 20-3(8) UD10 Canada LEE 7-13-3(5): 99-94, 98-93, 97-94
Marlon STARLING 22-0(11) UD10 Don JORDAN 20-2-1(5): 98-92 x 2, 97-93; Jordan down in round 10
Frankie GAVIN 21-0-2(7) KO3 Ramon FUENTES 15-6-2: Fuentes counted out at 2:25 of round 3
Ariel Gabriel CHAVES 19-3(4) TKO5 Efran LEGOSPINO 3-20(2): Stopped by the ref at 2:51 of round 5

Round 2
Marlon STARLING 23-0(11) UD10 Jimmy GARDNER 20-4(8): 97-90, 95-93, 94-93; Gardner down twice in round 10
Great fight, the big last round from Starling was the difference
Ariel Gabriel CHAVES 20-3(4) SD10 Frankie GAVIN 21-1-2(7): 96-93, 95-94, 93-97

Elimination Round 1
Don JORDAN 21-2-1(6) TKO2 Canada LEE 7-14-3(5): Cut eye stoppage at 2:34 of round 2
Efran LEGOSPINO 4-20(3) TKO5 Ramon FUENTES 15-7-2: Stopped by the ref at 0:56 of round 5 due to a shoulder injury to Fuentes!

Round 3
Marlon STARLING 24-0(12) KO5 Ariel Gabriel CHAVES 20-4(4): Chaves counted out at 1:53 of round 5

Elimination Round 2
Don JORDAN 22-2-2(6) UD10 Frankie GAVIN 21-2-3(7): 96-94 x 3
These two went around twice after their first bout was declared a draw
Jimmy GARDNER 21-4(9) KO5 Efran LEGOSPINO 4-21(3): Legospino counted out at the end of round 5, also down earlier in the round

Elimination Round 3
Jimmy GARDNER 22-4-1(9) UD10 Don JORDAN 22-3-3(6); 97-94 x 3
Jordan was forced to fight another rematch after the first fight with Gardner was declared a draw, but couldn’t get the job done this time.

Elimination Round 4
Jimmy GARDNER 23-4-1(9) SD10 Ariel Gabriel CHAVES 20-5(4): 97-94, 97-95, 95-96

FINAL
Marlon STARLING 25-0(12) UD10 Jimmy GARDNER 23-5-1(9): 98-92, 96-94, 96-95

Starling is the first fighter to defend his seeding and goes into the next stage as the #36 seed. Gardner’s good showing will definitely earn consideration for one of the wild cards.

[grevan]

Seed 37
Philadelphia Tommy Ryan (rated 6) is the provisional #37 seed going in but faces stiff competition in Bernard Docusen (8) and Mysterious Billy Smith (6).

Results
RED signifies an eliminated fighter

Round 1
Gene BURTON 19-3-1(5) UD10 Rolly JOHNS 8-15: 97-93, 96-94, 96-95
Willie NELSON 13-8-2(3) MD10 Bernard DOCUSEN 17-4-2(4): 97-93, 96-94, 95-95
Mysterious Billy SMITH 20-2-1(6) UD10 Motoki SASAKI 13-5-5(8): 97-91, 96-92, 95-93; Sasaki down in rounds 9 and 10
Philadelphia Tommy RYAN 22-0(12) TKO6 Daniel SOSTRE 7-14-2(1): Stopped by the referee at 2:20 of round 6

Round 2
Gene BURTON 20-3-1(5) UD10 Willie NELSON 13-9-2(3): 98-92 x 2, 96-93; Nelson down in round 9
Mysterious Billy SMITH 21-2-1(6) UD10 Philadelphia Tommy RYAN 22-1(12): 95-94 x 2, 98-91; Ryan down in round 10

Elimination Round 1
Bernard DOCUSEN 18-4-2(4) UD10 Rolly JOHNS 8-16: 100-90, 99-91, 98-94
Motoki SASAKI 14-5-5(8) UD10 Daniel SOSTRE 7-15-2(1); 99-91 x 3

Round 3
Mysterious Billy SMITH 22-2-1(7) TKO10 Gene BURTON 20-4-1(5): Cut eye stoppage at 1:36 of round 10, Smith led 87-84 x 3

Elimination Round 2
Philadelphia Tommy RYAN 23-1(12) MD10 Bernard DOCUSEN 18-5-2(4): 97-93, 96-94, 95-95
Willie NELSON 14-9-2(3) SD10 Motoki SASAKI 14-6-5(8): 97-93, 95-94, 95-96

Elimination Round 3
Philadelphia Tommy RYAN 24-1(13) KO9 Willie NELSON 14-10-2(3): Nelson counted out at 2:33 of round 9; Nelson also down earlier in the same round

Elimination Round 4
Philadelphia Tommy RYAN 25-1(13) MD10 Gene BURTON 20-5-1(5): 98-94, 97-94, 96-96

FINAL
Mysterious Billy SMITH 23-2-1(8) TKO4 Philadelphia Tommy RYAN 25-2(13): Cut eye stoppage at 2:10 of round 4

Docusen disappoints and Ryan battles hard but Mysterious Billy Smith is dominant, going 4-0 and besting Ryan twice.