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When Things Get Queasy

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When Things Get Queasy – When Orlando Salido and Francisco Vargas went toe-to-toe in a back and forth war on June 4, the pulsating action was getting close to the point where someone might have to be saved from himself. Fights like the “Thrilla in Manila,” Pemberton vs. Sheika, Gatti-Ward I, Alvarado vs. Rios, and Bradley vs. Provodnikov resonated and like those, this one was making everyone just a bit uneasy, if not queasy.

However, the fight that really resonated — at least for me — tracked back to January 1995 and involved “Prince” Charles Williams vs. Merqui “El Corombo” Sosa. It was both unique and historic.

Williams had fought three grueling bouts in an 11-month span between July 1994 and June 1995.  A TD (draw) with the rugged and talented Dominican “El Corombo” was book-ended by a malefic KO loss to James Toney and then a dangerous stoppage to Sosa in a rematch where the Prince was stretchered out of the ring. However, it was the remarkable draw that stands out in the memory of boxing fans.

The Fight

The fight was held at Bally’s Park Place Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. At stake was the vacant NABF light heavyweight title. The highly regarded Sosa was 24-4-1 at the time while The Prince was 36-6-3 coming in. Both guys had fought at the top level; both were primed for war. In fact, Sosa, a come-from-behind type, had lost a razor thin SD to James Toney, and had a point not been deducted in the tenth round, he would have prevailed. He also held a UD over rugged Glen Johnson. For his part, Williams had thrilling TKO wins over Bobby Czyz, a prime Frankie Swindell, and James Kinchen, among others. The Prince was seldom in a dull fight.

Referee Ron Lipton could sense that this would be a torrid battle. Looking back, Lipton wrote:

“In the ring I know this is going to be hot, and Sosa meets Charlie in mid ring for the instructions … I tell them the same thing I tell them all, ‘Respect each other, obey my commands, and let’s keep this strictly professional.’ My words are over and Sosa says growling at him, ‘Aqui, Jungle.’ This is going to be a Jungle now.”

What ensued is still being talked about in boxing circles as the two combatants, both old school types, engaged in one of the most savage fights ever—one in which there was no safe quarter as both men were hurt at different times over the course of the seven rounds .The exchanges of body and head shots had the crowd gasping in amazement. First one shot would hit flush and spray sweat and blood all over the ring; then one in return would do the same. There were few clinches for Referee Ron Lipton to worry about as he kept a close eye on the hellacious mayhem being waged. Neither guy was about to quit though Sosa seemed to be getting the ever-so-slight edge.

Finally, after seven rounds of mind numbing punishment, the ringside doctor Frank B. Doggett and referee Lipton had seen enough. To save both fighters for another day; the fight was stopped. Clearly, neither warrior could continue the mutual bloodletting (though Sosa complained bitterly that he was still ready to go). It was a rare “double knockout,” which officially was ruled a technical draw. Sosa, with blood-soaked trunks, suffered a fractured cheekbone while The Prince sustained an ugly orbital eye cut. “I absolutely stand by the doctor’s decision,” Commissioner Larry Hazzard said. “The health and safety of the fighters is first and foremost. I’m not going to overrule the doctor.” Hazzard lived up to his reputation for being a boxer’s official first and foremost.

Here is the ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4RGYdGUu-s

This YouTube delves into Merqui’s psyche and, in its own way, is a bit uncomfortable to watch as well as he discusses his fight against Roy Jones, Jr in 1996: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-tAPDqHByg

Williams was never the same. After his rematch with “El Corombo,” he had one more fight and called it quits.  Merqui Sosa finished with a 34-9-2 slate going 10-5 after the first Williams fight.

As for Vargas and Salido, hopefully they are able to continue at the top level, but time will tell whether they too absorbed too much punishment.

Ted Sares is one of the world’s oldest active power lifters and holds several records. He enjoys writing about boxing.

 

When Things Get Queasy

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

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Skavynskyi and Bustillos Win on a MarvNation Card in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Ca.-A cool autumn night saw welterweights and minimumweights share main events for a MarvNation fight card on Saturday.

Ukraine’s Eduard Skavynskyi (15-0, 7 KOs) experienced a tangled mess against the awkward Alejandro Frias (14-10-2) but won by decision after eight rounds in a welterweight contest at the indoor furnace called the Thunder Studios.

It was hot in there for the more than 600 people inside.

Skavynskyi probably never fought someone like Mexico’s Frias whose style was the opposite of the Ukrainian’s fundamentally sound one-two style. But round after round the rough edges became more familiar.

Neither fighter was ever damaged but all three judges saw Skavynskyi the winner by unanimous decision 79-73 on all three cards. The Ukrainian fighter trains in Ventura.

Bustillo Wins Rematch

Applerose2

In the female main event Las Vegas’ Yadira Bustillos (8-1) stepped into a rematch with Karen Lindenmuth (5-2) and immediately proved the lessons learned from their first encounter.

Bustillos connected solidly with an overhand right and staggered Lindenmuth but never came close to putting the pressure fighter down. Still, Bustillos kept turning the hard rushing Lindenmuth and snapping her head with overhand rights and check left hooks.

Lindenmuth usually overwhelms most opponents with a smothering attack that causes panic. But not against Bustillos who seemed quite comfortable all eight rounds in slipping blows and countering back.

After eight rounds all three judges scored the contest for Bustillos 78-74 and 80-72 twice. Body shots were especially effective for the Las Vegas fighter in the fifth round. Bustillos competes in the same division as IBF/WBO title-holder Yokasta Valle.

Other Bouts

In a middleweight clash, undefeated Victorville’s Andrew Buchanan (3-0-1) used effective combination punching to defeat Mexico’s Fredy Vargas (2-1-1) after six rounds. Two judges scored it 59-55 and a third 60-54 for Buchanan. No knockdowns were scored.

A super lightweight match saw Sergio Aldana win his pro debut by decision after four rounds versus Gerardo Fuentes (2-9-1).

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Tedious Fights and a Controversial Draw Smudge the Matchroom Boxing Card in Orlando

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Matchroom Boxing was at the sprawling Royale Caribe Resort Hotel in Orlando, Florida tonight with a card that aired on DAZN. The main event was a ho-hum affair between super lightweights Richardson Hitchins and Jose Zepeda.

SoCal’s Zepeda has been in some wars in the past, notably his savage tussle with Ivan Baranchyk, but tonight he brought little to the table and was outclassed by the lanky Hitchins who won all 12 rounds on two of the cards and 11 rounds on the other.  There were no knockdowns, but Zepeda suffered a cut on his forehead in round seven that was deemed to be the product of an accidental head butt and another clash in round ten forced a respite in the action although Hitchins suffered no apparent damage.

It was the sort of fight where each round was pretty much a carbon of the round preceding it. Brooklyn’s Hitchins, who improved to 17-0 (7), was content to pepper Zepeda with his jab, and the 34-year-old SoCal southpaw, who brought a 37-3 record, was never able to penetrate his defense and land anything meaningful.

Hitchins signed with Floyd Mayweather Jr’s promotional outfit coming out of the amateur ranks and his style is reminiscent in ways of his former mentor. Like Mayweather, he loses very few rounds. In his precious engagement, he pitched a shutout over previously undefeated John Bauza.

Co-Feature

In the co-feature, Conor Benn returned to the ring after an absence of 17 months and won a unanimous decision over Mexico’s Rodolfo Orozco. It wasn’t a bad showing by Benn who showed decent boxing skills, but more was expected of him after his name had been bandied about so often in the media. Two of the judges had it 99-91 and the other 96-94.

Benn (22-0, 14 KOs) was a late addition to the card although one suspects that promoter Eddie Hearn purposely kept him under wraps until the week of the fight so as not to deflect the spotlight from the other matches on his show. Benn lost a lucrative date with Chris Eubank Jr when he was suspended by the BBBofC when evidence of a banned substance was found in his system and it’s understood that Hearn has designs on re-igniting the match-up with an eye on a date in December. For tonight’s fight, Benn carried a career-high 153 ½ pounds. Mexico’s Orozco, who was making his first appearance in a U.S. ring, declined to 32-4-3.

Other Bouts of Note

The welterweight title fight between WBA/WBC title-holder Jessica McCaskill (15-3-1) and WBO title-holder Sandy Ryan (6-1-1) ended in a draw and the ladies’ retain their respective titles. Ryan worked the body effectively and the general feeling was that she got a raw deal, a sentiment shared by the crowd which booed the decision. There was a switch of favorites in the betting with the late money seemingly all on the Englishwoman who at age 30 was the younger boxer by nine years.

The judges had it 96-94 Ryan, 96-95, and a vilified 97-93 for Chicago’s McCaskill.

In the opener of the main DAZN stream, Houston middleweight Austin “Ammo” Williams, 27, improved to 15-0 (10) with a 10-round unanimous decision over 39-year-old Toronto veteran Steve Rolls (22-3). All three judges had it 97-93. Rolls has been stopped only once, that by Gennady Golovkin.

Photo credit: Ed Mulholland / Matchroom Boxing

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Zhilei Zhang KOs Joe Joyce; Calls Out Tyson Fury

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Joe Joyce activated his rematch clause after being stopped in the sixth frame by Zhilei Zhang in their first meeting. In hindsight, he may wish that he hadn’t. Tonight at London’s Wembley Stadium, Zhang stopped him again and far more conclusively than in their first encounter.

In the first meeting, Zhang, a southpaw, found a steady home for his stiff left jab. Targeting Joyce’s right eye, he eventually damaged the optic to where the ring doctor wouldn’t let Joyce continue. At the end, the fight was close on the cards and Joyce was confident that he would have pulled away if not for the issue with his eye.

In the rematch tonight, Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) closed the curtain with his right hand. A thunderous right hook on the heels of a straight left pitched Joyce to the canvas where he landed face first. He appeared to beat the count by a whisker, but was seriously dazed and referee Steve Gray properly waived it off. The official time was 3:07 of round three.

Zhang, who lived up to his nickname, “Big Bang,” was credited with landing 29 power punches compared with only six for Joyce (15-2) who came in 25 pounds heavier than in their first meeting while still looking properly conditioned. One would be inclined to say that age finally caught with the “Juggernaut” who turned 38 since their last encounter, but Zhang, 40, is actually the older man. In his post-fight interview in the ring, the New Jersey resident, a two-time Olympian for China, when asked who he wanted to fight next, turned to the audience and said, “Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”

He meant it as a rhetorical question.

Semi-Windup

Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde was matched soft against late sub Jorge Silva, a 40-year-old Portuguese journeyman, and barely broke a sweat while scoring a second-round stoppage. Yarde backed Silva against a corner post and put him on the deck with a short right hand. Silva’s body language indicated that he had no interest in continuing and the referee accommodated him. The official time was 2:07 of round two.

A 30-year-old Londoner, Yarde (24-3, 23 KOs) was making his first start since being stopped in eight rounds by Artur Beterbiev in a bout that Yarde was winning on two of the scorecards. Silva, a late replacement for 19-3-1 Ricky Summers, falls to 22-9.

Also

Former leading super middleweight contender Zach Parker (23-1, 17 KOs) returned to the ring in a “shake-off-the-rust” fight against 40-year-old Frenchman Khalid Graidia and performed as expected. Graidia’s corner pulled him out after seven one-sided rounds.

In his previous fight, Parker was matched against John Ryder who he was favored to beat. The carrot for the winner was a lucrative date with Canelo Alvarez. Unfortunately for Parker, he suffered a broken hand and was unable to continue after four frames. Tonight, he carried 174 pounds, a hint that he plans to compete as a light heavyweight going forward. Indeed, he has expressed an interest in fighting Anthony Yarde. Graidia declined to 10-13-4.

The Zhang-Joyce and Yarde-Silva fights were live-streamed in the U.S. on ESPN+.

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