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why you gotta do the weather channel like that?
seriously, though, I don't watch boxing, but I will continue to read boxing if it continues to be this good. what a first day of fights, and a great write-up to boot.
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Awesome write up, highly entertaining! And how about Mike O'Dowd winning by weather default. Ha.
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ProsecutorMilesEdgeworth wrote:
They better have a talk with this Yamori fellow, seems to be an unpopular official.
Yeah, Mario Yamori just became a household name. That's never a good thing for a referee.
ItDoesntMatter wrote:
why you gotta do the weather channel like that?
seriously, though, I don't watch boxing, but I will continue to read boxing if it continues to be this good. what a first day of fights, and a great write-up to boot.
Steelman wrote:
Awesome write up, highly entertaining! And how about Mike O'Dowd winning by weather default. Ha.
I appreciate the kind words guys! I definitely had a lot of fun writing up O'Dowd vs Fullmer, (debatably more than watching the fight itself!)
While Mario Yamori's decision to disqualify Julio Cesar Chavez proved to be enormously unpopular, the controversy surrounding the event certainly gave the All-Time Boxing Classic a tremendous boost in coverage, (and as they say in showbiz, bad attention is better than no attention!). So with that in mind, let's not waste our precious 15 seconds of fame, but instead, jump right into the fight card for ABC 2: McCallum vs Thil! Having learned a lesson about hosting fight cards where one fighter would have a large popularity advantage, the ABC has decided to locate their second event at Caesar's Palace, in Las Vegas, Nevada!
And of course, we can't forget about our famed (and well compensated) boxing analysts, who are back to talk about the upcoming card! And are they ever in the spirit of the event! (Camera pans to the analysts, all wearing togas)
Johnny Armando: Hello again everyone! I think I can speak for all of us when I say that, after the controversy of the last show, it's time to put the past behind us and get excited about the ABC's upcoming fight card! And we've got ourselves quite the interesting main event, where styles will clash as slick sharpshooter, Mike "Bodysnatcher" McCallum takes on the mauler, Marcel Thil! Guys, the question with this one is pretty simple, can Marcel Thil find a way to breakthrough both McCallum's smooth (yet vicious) fight style and his iron chin? Remember, McCallum was never stopped in his entire career.
Chee McGee: Well, he's gonna have too, Johnny. Because if Thil ain't careful, McCallum's gonna clobber his body up with of those vicious hooks and be down for the count in no time! McCallum's body blows were legit (and the reason for his nickname, "Bodysnatcher") and he will always be exceptionally dangerous in any fight he's in. Keep in mind time too, McCallum's record is deceiving, most of his losses were highly controversial at the time, so this man's ranking really should probably be higher!
Johnny: We certainly hope no more of that controversy follows him to the All-Time Boxing Classic! But it's funny Chee, that you find Mike McCallum underrated. Dick seems to feel that it's Marcel Thil that's the underrated fighter in this one, right Dick?..... Dick?
Dick Dingleberry: (Muttering to himself) Why the hell do I have to wear this stupid f....
Johnny: Dick! We're live!
Dick: (Startled) ..fffff-faaaabric..... Yes, Johnny, I absolutely think Marcel Thil is going to surprise a lot of people in this fight. He is without a doubt in my mind, the greatest boxer in France's history! He wasn't pretty to watch (or pretty at all, which didn't help his popularity at the time), he just went in there and tried to suffocate you, maul you, under you were on the floor. And he's also another guy who's record is beyond deceptive. Most of his 20 losses came before he turned 22, having started way too young at 16 years old! Kids today cry about getting their brand new automobile when they turn 16. Well guess what kid, happy birthday! Now go step into the boxing ring with a grown adult that wants to rip your head off! You wanna cry about that car now? After he turned 22 and matured to adult strength, Thil transformed into a beast. We're gonna see Marcel at his best and he won't let McCallum get into a rhythm!
Jebediah McAllister: Well, I never understood the idea of kids getting worked up over a car. Horse drawn buggies work just as well... but I will say I'd have gotten worked up over the idea of the co-main event of the event, Carlos Ortiz vs. Freddie Welsh. Carlos Ortiz is so well rounded, so strong, the man really does not have a weakness! And he's another guy that really never gets enough respect, due to some people saying he wasn't all that dynamic. Maybe he wasn't flashy, but he was a good, solid fighter that fared very well against his fellow weight classmates (5-2 against ABC Lightweights). On the other side of the ring, Freddie Welsh was way ahead of the game in terms of fitness, all while displaying a calm demeanor while he easily evaded his more brutish opponents. He was indeed a wizard of sorts, being so good defensively, that he could easily avoid damage and injury in his fights. He didn't have a ton of knockouts, but you knew you were in a fight when you fought him because you often were the injured one!
Chip N. Daylin: And don't forget, Jeb, that Freddie was also, like, a vegetarian! Goes to show that you don't have to eat meat in order to kick butt!
Jebediah: Yes, he did somewhat live a vegetarian lifestyle too, though he wasn't always faithful to the diet...
Chip: He cheated? That horrible man! Way to disappoint all the vegetarians, Freddie!!! For shame!!
Dick: That's enough out of you, Vegan boy! Who cares if he claimed to be a vegetarian and still occasionally ate meat, he could fight well, that's all we care about as boxing analysts...
Chip: Says you....
Johnny: ANYWAY. In addition to those exciting battles, we also have a fun fight between two southpaws with similar out-boxing styles in Pernell Whitaker and Flash Elorde (Out-Boxers rely on maintaining distance and use fast, rangy strikes and also are usually quick on their feet). Who is better Out-Boxing Southpaw? I'm excited to find out!
Chee: And boomers everywhere can rejoice at the prospect of the Joe Gans vs Jack McAuliffe battle, two men who truly were early era fighters! Can Gans' scientific fighting approach (which was way ahead of the game at the time) overcome McAuliffe's excellent reflexes? Keep in mind that McAuliffe never lost a fight in his life, so that's on the line too!
Chip: The Ismael Laguna vs Lew Jenkins fight promises, like, two real powerful strikers. Definitely could be a fun knockout awaiting us there!
Jebediah: Can't forget about Charles "Kid" McCoy, a man who claimed to have invented the "corkscrew" punch from watching a cat bat at a bell vs Fred Apostoli, the legend who was encouraged to box other teens to work out their issues by the nuns at his orphanage, (EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm not kidding. That really was where Apostoli started boxing...). The backstories alone make that fight must watch! Reminds me when I learned a nice back kick from my cow.... didn't want to milked that day I guess...
Johnny: ... And on that note, we conclude this presentative of the ABC 2: McCallum vs Thil prefight show. We hope you all join us to watch what promises to be a night of intrigue!
Dick: Can I get out of this stupid toga now?
Last edited by Stickman (1/28/2022 5:19 pm)
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......Tyson hasn't even gotten in the ring and the stupidity already starts.....
Seriously though, exciting firs event! Amazing writeup, and I'm very disappointed JC lost. He was the only one on the fight card I knew, and I was rooting for him. Hopefully the second event is as exciting, and hopefully is less controversial!
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All-Time Boxing Classic 2
On the night of the second ABC card, the energy at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada was buzzing with excitement. Many of the paying customers had seen the first event and were hoping for an equally memorable (if less controversial) night!
Joe "Old Master" Gans vs Jack "The Napoleon of the Prize Ring" McAuliffe
Two fighters from the early days of boxing would open the show, (McAuliffe having actually fought during the bare knuckle era of boxing for part of his career). For the first half of the fight, it was immediately apparent that Joe Gans had done his homework on Jack McAuliffe. After immediately getting caught with a sharp right hook right in the beginning of Round 1, Gans would land a piercing left hook of his own that took the wind out of McAuliffe early, and later a crushing uppercut that launched Jack's head back backwards. Gans would spend the first six rounds easily outboxing McAuliffe and dodging most of his heavy shots, though was worth noting he wasn't landing any more huge blows of his own, seemingly content to outpoint the Irishman. By the halfway point of the match, Gans had outscored McAuliffe in strikes landed by totals of 26-5 (Round 1), 16-8 (Round 3), 21-1 (Round 5), and 17-9 (Round 6) and had very likely won all six rounds in the judges' eyes. However, while Jack McAuliffe wasn't landing many shots, the ones he was landing were doing damage. Early in Round 6, he threw a right cross that speed like a comet, landed flush on Gans' chin, and badly wobbled him (one announcer commented that he looked like a bobbing jellyfish), though Joe would quickly recover before McAuliffe capitalized. The damage seemed to be taking a toll on "Old Master", because McAuliffe would spend the better part of Rounds 7 through 10 throwing haymakers (particularly at the midsection) and doing a much better job avoid Gans' strikes. Fans and commentators alike began to wonder if McAuliffe was going to be able to pull the comeback off, especially as Gans was getting more unbalanced with each solid punch to the gut and chin. Likely sensing trouble, Gans' corner employed a new gameplan, which Joe would execute to perfection. Instead of outboxing McAuliffe, Gans would outmaneuver him instead, getting on the bicycle and avoiding contact. When McAuliffe got too close, Gans would simply clinch as much as possible, throwing just enough punched to avoid the referee's wrath. While not particularly exciting to watch, it proved effective. McAuliffe simply never got another chance to get that one last heavy punch in. After the final round ended, the judeges tallied their scores, and the results were 116-112, 116-112, and 117-111 for Joe Gans. He had survived many the heavy handed McAuliffe by sticking to his game plans and not getting overwhelmed by the damaging strikes. For McAuliffe, it was a new experience for him, having never lost as a professional before, but he could at least hold his head up high, knowing he never gave up and kept the fight competitive.
Fred "Boxing Bell Hop" Apostoli vs Charles "Kid" McCoy
Experts wondered pre-fight how Apostoli would be able to get inside McCoy's 6" reach advantage without taking too much damage. Apostoli would give them their answer early, dashing towards McCoy and smashing a hard right cross within ninety seconds that immediately sent Charles crashing to the ground! He would be up by the 5 count, but was clearly rocked. Apostoli tried to end the fight quickly by throwing heavy punches the rest of the round, but McCoy was able to avoid further damage. Fred worked even harder in the next two rounds to put this fight away, but was perhaps too focused on finishing and not setting up opportunities. McCoy for his part, handled the early knockdown well and was able to get back on track, out-striking Apostoli easily in Rounds 2 and 3 to even things up. Apostoli's corner was furious with their fighter and let him have it between Rounds 3 and 4, demanding he focus back on the basics and stop trying to rip McCoy's head off with each punch. The message was received well, as Fred settled down, and the fans were treated to a pretty even, back and forth battle between the two Middleweights doing Rounds 4 through 7, (though experts generally agreed Apostoli had probably won all those rounds narrowly). Round 6 started excitingly, as Apostoli nearly knocked McCoy down again with a particular nice right cross to the chin within fifteen seconds. However, as he moved in to get another big shot in, it was McCoy's turn to surprise Apostoli with a beautiful right hook to the body, which nearly brought Fred to his knees (made all the more impressive considering McCoy was doing the chicken legs dance at the time and literally got his leggings back in time to land the punch). In Round 8, "Kid" McCoy's corner was getting concerned about how the judges might be scoring the fight. It was a really competitive contest, but they advised Charles to take an aggressive approach from here on out. This proved an excellent idea, as McCoy caught Apostoli off guard with the new approach, landing shots to the chin and ribs with evil intent. Despite being severely hurt, though, Apostoli somehow was staying on his feet. Perhaps growing frustrated that his shots weren't knocking his opponent out, in Round 10, McCoy threw an absolute bomb towards Apostoli's liver. Unfortunately, he actually smashed Fred's privates and the fight was stopped while the referee laid into McCoy for the low blow, threatening to take a point off (though he didn't). This forced McCoy to fight more timidly to avoid more fouls. This tentative fighting style backfired in Round 11, as Apostoli absolutely leveled a brutal right uppercut that sent McCoy to the mat for a second time, (he'd be up quickly though, after a 1 count). Finally, a competitive (though less eventful) Round 12 brought the fight to a close, and brought the fighters admiration, Apostoli for his chin, and McCoy for his heart and ability to keep getting up after being knocked down. The judges scorecards would read, 116-110, 115-112, and 115-111, all for Fred Apostoli, whose 2 knockdowns won the day for him.
Ismael "El Tigre Colonense" Laguna vs Lew "Sweetwater Swatter" Jenkins
Upon his entry into the ring, the commentators noted the Laguna looked a little lethargic, and wondered if he had perhaps overtrained himself for this fight. After Jenkins outstruck Laguna 14-1 in the first round, it looked as though those fears were validated. In Round 2, however, Laguna landed a picture perfect hook and cross combo that stunned Jenkins and allows "El Tigre" to steal that round, and also managed to cut Jenkin's lip in Round 3 with another slicing right cross. However, by that point, "Sweetwater Swatter" decided to stop swatting and start grabbing as he stuck with an infighting strategy of clinching and short punches to slow Laguna down, and dancing around Ismael when not up close, which worked well to likely get him the win in Rounds 3 and 4 (though it didn't work to engage the audience). From Rounds 5 through 9, Laguna made some adjustments and finally started to get his groove going, as he incorporated more in ring movement and tried to get Jenkins to chase him instead of the other way around. This strategy worked far better for him, as he began to pick Lew apart. However, Jenkins still got some good shots in, rocking Laguna badly in Round 5 after a nasty hook sent "El Tigre" backwards a step or two. Of these mid rounds, Round 7 proved an entertaining one, as Laguna shot a straight right hand that he Jenkins stumbling backwards, though Lew would repay the favor with an awkward swatting punch that landed on Ismael's head and apparently stunned Laguna more than it appeared it should have. By the end of that round, Laguna had a nasty looking bump under his right eye that only swelled worse as the fight went on. In Round 10, Jenkins, knowing he was now down in the fight, focused on trapping Laguna in a corner before he started throwing bombs. After that worked, he throw a speedy combination of punches that all landed (by now, Laguna's right eye swelling was bad enough to be affecting his vision). It was too much for Ismael and he fell to the floor and would get up at the 4 count. The 11th Round went no better, as Jenkins once again floored Laguna with another combination of punches and took till the 6 count this time to get up. Having fully lost his scorecard lead, Laguna went head hunting in the twelfth and final round, landing solid blows to Jenkins' head, but his overtraining finally overtook him as he just didn't have the strength to finish the contest. The results from the judges scorecards were 115-111, 115-111, and 114-112 for Lew Jenkins by unanimous decision. This was a nice back and forth battle, though fans, commentators, and Ismael himself could only wonder what would have happened had he not overtrained himself before the fight. Before the knockdowns, it was shown that Laguna was up on the scorecards after 9 rounds. For his part, Jenkins was happy to steal a win and get a large upset victory.
Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker vs Flash Elorde
Next up was an interesting battle of two very similar minded southpaws. The first two rounds were all Whitaker, as he was just quicker and more efficient with his strikes, out-striking Elorde 16-6 and 12-4. Elorde just couldn't break Whitaker's constant movement. However, in Round 3, Flash stuck with using a jab to keep Whitaker at bay, while trying to use Whitaker's movement against him by leading him to a corner and trapping him there by clinching. This worked far better for him and he made the round very difficult to judge. What exactly happened mentally between these two boxers in Round 4, nobody will ever know. But with only 5 strikes landed between the two of them, (Whitaker kept dancing and Elorde kept trying to trap him and keep him away using a simple jab) the audience and fighters' corners were not happy, (though Elorde's team was probably relieved that he had possibly tied the scorecards by now). Both corners ripped their fighters a new one, Elorde's corner pleading with him to diversify the types of strikes, while Whitaker's corner demanding more aggression. As Round 5 began, it became immediately clear the fight was taking on a new light. Pernell's striking became more frequent as he starting throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Flash, who still insisted he stick with his jab alone for offense, (aside from one nice body hook). Being predictable is dangerous in boxing and Whitaker would make Elorde pay dearly for being so, first with a sudden straight right that stunned Elorde as the other man tried yet another jab, then a hard cross to start making him wobble. As the timer closed in at zero, Pernell threw an eight punch combination, the last of which was a right hook that was thrown with pure fury. The blow landed flush to the chin, stopping Elorde cold and causing him to fall flat on the mat right as the buzzer rang. In the ABC, the bell cannot save a downed fighter. Therefore Elorde would have to get up But as the referee started the count, it was clear that there was no way that the sprawled out Flash beating this count, and indeed by the 10 count, he was still motionless on the floor. Pernell Whitaker had won by a spectacular knockout and the crowd roared their approval while the commentator team wondered aloud if this version of Pernell had just become one of the favorites to win the ABC Lightweight division, so dominant and untouchable he was in that fifth round!
Carlos Ortiz vs Freddie "The Welsh Wizard" Welsh
This was a story of three tales. The first was over the course of the first five rounds. Welsh, known for his highly defensive movements and footwork, had success dancing around Ortiz, who kept the fight plenty competitive with simple jabs and crosses, but rarely could hit the big shots. For Welsh's part, he didn't try particularly hard to land anything major unless the opportunity presented itself. Round 4 provided such an opportunity, so he landed a blistering hook after Ortiz whiffed on what would have been a big punch of his own. Welsh's right hook forced Ortiz to stumble away (nearly tripping over his feet at least twice). While Welsh failed to truly capitalize, he outscored Ortiz on strikes 23-4 and it could have been worse had he been more aggressive. By the end of the fifth round, Ortiz was fuming in frustration, not even bothering to sit down to rest between rounds, but rather paced back and forth while his corner gave him instructions for the next round. And indeed, Round 6 was where the tide started to turn, as Carlos focused all of his energy on trying to make "The Welsh Wizard" go poof via annihilation. He managed to land a wicked right hand that left Welsh with an ugly cut above his right eye. Not slowing down for an moment, Ortiz continued to apply the pressure, worsening the cut. This newfound aggression would be applied from Rounds 6 through 9, only be slowed when Ortiz would take an occasional breather by trapping Welsh in a corner and clinching with him. In the ninth round, Ortiz would land one of the most picture perfect uppercuts one could ever see. The shot landed so brutally that it was a wonder that Welsh's head didn't get launched off to outer space! However, as though someone had waved a magic wand and chanted a magic spell at the right time, "The Welsh Wizard" didn't just survive the punch, but somehow managed to turn the tide yet again by figuring out mid-round how to evade Ortiz's aggression. Thus, Welsh was starting to again have success with dancing around and peppering Ortiz with punches in bunches. He needed to evade well too, as his cut was worsening so badly that his corner's cut man was struggling to keep the wound from bleeding in between rounds. The fight's third tale would begin in Round 10, Ortiz, again frustrated by the dancing and his inability to get any real offense going, launched himself to get close to Welsh, who instinctively threw his arm out and seeming tried to push him away. Somehow, Welsh's hand hit just the right spot and it was now Ortiz who had a bad cut over his right eye! It was bad enough for the referee to call the doctor in to take a look at the cut, though it wasn't deemed quite bad enough to warrant a stoppage. Luckily for Ortiz, the round ended very shortly after, so he didn't take any more shots before his corner could work on him. In Round 11, after Ortiz goaded him into fighting in the center of the ring by placing his arms to his sides, Welsh went in the kill. However, Ortiz got a slick right cross in that once again reopened up Welsh cut. Once again, the referee stopped the action to have the doctor look at the wound. To everyone's relief, once again the doctor seemed to find the cut non-threatening... for now. Welsh, sensing the danger of losing via a cut stoppage, abandoned all strategy and engaged in a slobber knocker with Carlos. He landed huge left hand that again stumbled Ortiz. Ortiz returned with a stiff cross that buckled Welsh to the point his knee nearly hit the mat. While Freddie did survive the round, his corner let him have it for taking unnecessary risks in a fight that he was now clearly winning and told him to get back to the dancing and evading strategy. Freddie would barely have any time to execute that plan though. The twelfth round had barely started (sixteen seconds to be exact) when Ortiz again caught Welsh coming in close again with a quick right hook, yet again worsening an already horrible cut. For a third time, the referee stopped the contest for the doctor to take a look. The crowd waited with baited breath..... and let out a cry of dismay as the referee, upon request by the doctor, waved his arms to signal the end of the fight! Welsh and his corner yelled out protests, but the broadcasting team admitted that they agreed with the call, as blood was clearly starting to get into Welsh's eye, which is very dangerous in a fight when you can't see anymore. Thus, Carlos Ortiz managed to win on a cut stoppage while being down on the scorecards, (though he was keeping all of the rounds close). For boxing fans, it would be a moment that'd be debated for weeks to come as to whether the fight should have been stopped when it did, or whether Welsh should have been allowed to fight out the final round, (which had most of its time left over still).
Mike "Bodysnatcher" McCallum vs. Marcel Thil
The main question going into this, the main event of the evening, was whether Marcel Thil's old school, mauling and clinching style, could overcome the smooth sharpshooting McCallum. Within the first round, it became very obvious. No. No, he could not. It only took McCallum exactly eleven seconds to put Thil in a world of hurt with a right hand down the pipe that immediately stunned the Frenchman. It would be far from the last time McCallum hurt Thil, as he would consistently land solid blows that kept Marcel off rhythm and kept him on defense. Round 3 proved to be a rare exception, as Thil kept on his bicycle and managed to surprise McCallum with a nice uppercut that briefly stunned him. But even then, it was likely Mike had won the round on points. Perhaps angry with that surprise punch, McCallum came out in a fit of rage in Round 4, landing vicious blows to the head and especially the body, (McCallum got his nickname from his absolutely devasting body blows). By the end of the round, the announcers were shocked Thil was even still in the fight, let alone knocked down yet. The pummeling would only continue in Round 5 and by then it was clear the damage was getting to Thil, as he'd miss a body shot by hitting below the belt and earning him a scolding from the referee. In Round 6, McCallum managed to open up a slicing wound above Thil right eye that started to bleed badly. Before Round 7, Thil's corner tried a dramatic, emotional pep talk, even invoking Thil's beloved country of France, to try and get him to rise above it all and win for his countrymen. While that seemed to do the trick early in the round as Thil managed to clinch it up with McCallum and landed another nice uppercut, McCallum once again took over with body strikes as the round moved on. Thil simply did not have an answer for those vicious body shots, one in which near the very end of Round 8 in particular was so brutal (McCallum clearly nailed his liver with a bullseye) that he nearly crumpled to the ground. In Round 9, McCallum, smelling blood, went all out, throwing every sort of haymaker he could, hooks, crosses, to the head and body, everything he could to finish the fight once and for all. Through it all, Thil would not fall, even as it was clear every single strike McCallum was throwing was hurting him badly. By the end of the round, Thil was literally just absorbing every punch and wasn't really defending anymore, which was when the referee finally stepped in to stop the onslaught. Mike McCallum would prove to be a legitimate contender in the ABC Middleweight division, as he barely took any damage at all while he looked like an absolute killer. He had been massively ahead on all three judges scorecards (indeed, two of the judges only gave Thil one round, the third had given McCallum every round), and had outscored Marcel in strikes by totals of 21-10 (Round 1), 24-1 (Round 4), 18-5 (Round 5), 18-6 (Round 6), and 29-0 (Round 9) For Thil, while he was thoroughly outclassed, he would earn every fans' respect for his courage for refusing to quit and admiration for never getting knocked down, when most fighters would have easily been knocked out by some of the blows he was taking.
Hoped everyone enjoyed the show, we'll see you next time to talk about the next event!
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It is now time to present, All-Time Boxing Classic 3: Burley vs. Walker, to take place at the FTX Arena (more commonly called the American Airlines Arena) in Miami, Florida!
And presenting our pre-show analysis, our five boxing experts discuss this fight card.
Johnny Armando: Hello again, everyone! After another eventful night at Caesar's Palace, we had to the sunny city of Miami, Florida, for All-Time Boxing Classic 3: Burley vs. Walker! In this main event between Charley Burley and Mickey "Toy Bulldog" Walker, you could make a case (that 41 other Middleweights might disagree with) that these two might just be the greatest fighters of the division, or are at least in the discussion for being the two most respected boxers in the division anyway. What you guys think are the key factors in this fight?
Chee McGee: Probably the immediately thing that comes to mind is Burley's unorthodox style. He's very difficult to hit, yet he can hit you from a variety of angles! Just a insanely tough matchup for anyone. Keep in mind too, he's got an 8 inch reach advantage, which is humongous! Charley could have a field day keeping the smaller Walker at bay. How does Walker get inside that reach? I'm not sure he's going to have a lot of luck doing so!
Jebediah McAllister: Yes, but keep in mind, Mickey Walker made an entire career fighting much bigger fighters than him, even routinely fighting Heavyweights, and you know some of those guys had large reach advantages on him! Walker absolutely has to get inside to stand much of a chance in this fight, but getting inside and landing heavy shots once there, that's exactly his bread and butter.... mmm, freshly churned butter...... (dozes off)
Chee: True, this kind of size mismatch is exactly the way Mickey would want to have it. But even if he can occasionally get inside, Charley Burley never got knocked out in his career. Walker might have to hit him with a tank in order to get him down!
Johnny: Meanwhile, we've certainly got other exciting bouts for fight fans, including the co-main event between Alexis Arguello and Marco Antonio Barrera! Dick, what do you think makes this fight worthy of watching?
Dick Dingleberry: While a lot of these younger fans might just like to watch some flashy knockouts, there's some good lessons that these two guys could teach you. While Arguello certainly had real power in his hands, it's his dedication to the fundamentals that made him a legend. Every single strike this man threw was with care and precision, he's quite possibly the most efficient puncher the history of boxing and it's exactly why he's a huge threat in every fight! Meanwhile, you've got Marco Antonio Barrera, who came into the sport trying to be the next Julio Cesar Chavez and emulate his exciting fight style. Well, that didn't quite work out for him and he lost some key fights and then everyone gave up on him. Did that stop him? No! He went back to the drawing board, reinvented his fight style to fit what worked for him, and became much more successful. He wasn't as flashy or exciting as he once was, but he wasn't trying to get featured on some highlight show on AltSPN, he was trying to become a world champion. That determination and willingness to adjust to more effective (If less exciting) strategies got him there. So kids, you wanna be a champion? Fundamentals and dedication are where the real glory is, not this Tik Tak look-at-me nonesense!
Chip N. Daylin: You mean Tik Tok, right?
Dick: Whatever, I don't mess with that stuff anyway!
Jebediah: (now woken up from his daydream) You know another interesting fight to me is the Sid Terris/Wesley Ramey fight. A lot of people might disregard these two because neither them ever became world champions nor did either have a lot of knockouts in their careers. But don't be deceived! Both have excellent footwork and they fought some very tough competition in their careers!
Chip N. Daylin: For me, I've got a lot of interest in the Bobo Olson vs Laszlo Papp fight. A lot of people say Bobo wasn't, like, the most skilled boxer ever, but he was strong and had, like, really good stamina and was a pretty popular personality! I think it's interesting that his first opponent is Laszlo Papp because he's, like, way different. He won 3 Olympic Gold Medals in 3 different events, that's like amazing! I don't know what he was like as a person, but he, liked got really screwed over in his career! His Hungarian government was, like, Communist and didn't allow boxing, so he had to travel to train and fight. Then, right before he was finally gonna get a big title fight, his government wouldn't allow him to travel outside the country to fight again! That's, like, really crappy! Plus, he was a short lefty, so I'm rooting for him big time to get his chance to shine as a true, underdog!
Johnny: Indeed, as one of the few undefeated fighters in the ABC, he's got both a great opportunity that he never got before and a big bullseye on his head with that perfect record! Beyond that, we also have fights between classic fighters in Dave Shade vs Jeff Smith, and Jimmy Carter vs. George "Kid" Lavigne! We hope you're as excited as we are! See you all later!
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Hey everyone! Thanks for the patience in waiting for this event to be posted. Gonna ask you all now if you want me to keep making these posts as long as they are or if you feel the story would flow better with shorter, simpler recaps. Please feel free to leave any C + C!
All-Time Boxing Classic 3
The third ABC event was held at FTX Arena (formerly known as American Airlines Arena) at Miami, Florida. While the weather outside was in the mid 70s, (cold for them, but for this writer in Michigan during a current blizzard, it'd be wonderful...) inside the arena was scorching. Once the fights began, the heat would become boiling as the boxers waged war on their battlefields.
Jimmy Carter vs "The Saginaw Kid" George (Kid) Lavigne
The first battle could be best summarized as a battle of bullets instead of bombs, as both men came with the "Punches in Bunches" approach. Throughout the fight, the strike scores included 14-11 (Round 1), 12-10 (Round 4), 17-12 (Round 6) and 14-9 (Round 9). Neither Carter nor Lavigne ever really had the other fighter truly hurt, but Carter did land a good right cross that did some damage to Lavigne's right eye. The swelling would cause Lavigne issues with vision the rest of the fight. The other way to describe this fight was that, while both fighters got a lot of shots in and most of the rounds were close, it was clear that Jimmy Carter having just a bit more success each round. Through eight rounds, it seemed likely that Carter had possibly won all of them, if narrowly. In Round 9, a desparate Lavigne would try to go all out and clearly out-struck Carter, but the effort would wear him out. This unfortunately resulted in him being forced to try to slow things down with a lot of grabbling. The judges scores were 117-112, 116-112, and 115-113, all for Jimmy Carter, who had won a pretty even matchup.
Sid Terris vs Wesley Ramey
Rounds 1 and 4 couldn't have went too much better for Terris, who employed excellent footwork and timing. He managed to avoid getting hit even once in both of those rounds to become the first boxer to not get hit in multiple rounds and also rocked Ramey with a beautiful straight right hand in the first frame! For Ramey, he would display one of the most maddeningly frustrating performances the ABC had seen yet. In between getting shut out of Rounds 1 and 4, he could only get close to matching Terris on strike difference in Rounds 2 and 3. His first successful round would be the fifth, which not-coincidently was the first of many rounds where he got a groin shot in. Indeed, the low blows seemed to be Ramey's best punches on this night and he'd land another in Round 6 (and get scolded for it again) while only getting one legal punch in. After getting rocked in Round 7 by a solid combination (the last of which was a rare heavy shot by Terris- a right hook- that snapped Ramey's head back and cut the inside of his mouth pretty good), Ramey finally caught Terris in a corner and got a good minute of solid boxing in, easily winning that round. This began a good run of rounds for him, as in Rounds 8 and 9, he'd catch Terris with powerful blows that stunned the bigger man. Just when it seemed that Ramey could pull off a comeback, Sid would land another technical masterpiece of a combination in Round 10 to put paid to the notion. In Round 11, he buried the idea of a comeback with a third shutout, out-striking Ramey 16-0. No doubt angry and embarrassed with his performance, Wesley would land yet another low blow that would cost him a point, (though it possibly made him feel better). The judges' decision would be 115-112, 115-112, and 116-111. For Terris, he would leave the arena more respected for his masterclass of defensive striking, having went three rounds without getting hit and surviving a fourth only getting hit once. While he proved he was no knockout threat (he never came close to finishing Ramey), he clearly will be a tough matchup for anyone. For Ramey, it had proven a night he'd have to try to forget.
Bobo Olson vs Laszlo "Laci" Papp
There was quite a bit of media narrative surrounding this fight, as analysts played up the angle of this fight being between Olson, who in growing up in a free America, got to enjoy the many opportunities it brought as he worked to become a champion and popular figure outside the ring, versus multi-time Olympic champion Papp, who grew up in communist Hungary and had his career ended by his own country when they refused to let him fight outside of the country right before he could get a chance to touch championship gold in professional boxing. For Olson, he was likely angered by the narrative that he wasn't as skilled as Papp, and was ready to shut his critics up. Papp, meanwhile, was ready to prove his worth now finally getting a real opportunity against the best fighters. The first two rounds were exciting, as both men came out strong, with Laszlo getting the better of the exchanges by landing the heavier shots against the bigger man. By Round 4 though, Papp's barrage of bombs would start to get the Bobo, as his left eye was swelling badly. At the end of Round 5, Papp would throw a nice body shot. Unfortunately, referee Mario Yamori would misread the punch and called for a low blow, stunning everyone, including Olson, with how awful the call was. Olson would have success in the third and sixth rounds when slowing Papp's production, but those rounds were few and far between. Halfway into the next round, perhaps due to the frustration of the blown referee call and losing a couple of rounds to Bobo, (and on his way to losing Round 7) Papp threw strategy out the window and threw a nuke of a left hook that crunched Olson's jaw and sent him straight to the ground! So heavy was the punch that nobody could believe it when Olson got up at the 5 count, including a stunned Papp. While Bobo did survive the rest of the round, the end was near. After a one-sided whooping in Round 8, Olson was getting desperate. His normally limitless gas tank was on empty (many of Papp's punches were smashing his body, which is a good way to take steam out of any fighter) and he needed to turn things around. He came out aggressive and tried to end the fight with some heavy shots of his own. However, they missed badly and Papp would launch a left hook missile that obliterated what was left of Bobo's chin. He fell to the mat and never came close to getting up in time. Papp would get a high-light reel of a knockout that would be talked about for weeks to come!
Dave Shade vs Jeff "The Bayonne Globetrotter" Smith
Next up was Dave Shade vs Jeff Smith in a conflict between two respected tacticians. Smith had a good first round, but Shade would stun him with a straight right in the second. Dave Shade was employing solid footwork and dodging ability that kept "The Bayonne Globetrotter" frustrated early on, looking to have won most of the early rounds. Round 5 was much better for Jeff, as he did well to focus on defensive striking and sticking with counterpunching. Unfortunately, near the end of the round, he was seen shaking his right hand, appearing to have injured it. That didn't stop Smith from throwing a nice three punch combination that cut Shade in Round 7, but that seemed to have aggravated the injury more, forcing him to fight much more conservatively. He would also start using dirtier tactics, such as a clear intentional headbutt in Round 8 that rocked his opponent. Shade would never truly recover as he seemed to struggle keeping his distance for the rest of the fight as Smith kept clinching with him, (he'd also keep getting yelled at by the referee for fighting dirty, though no points ultimately got taken away). Round 9 would be the most boring, as it consisted of nearly nothing but clinching. It appeared Shade had gotten out struck by Smith 8-4 and also had his inside of mouth cut reopened, leading to a gross scene of blood dripping out from inside his mouth. Finally, on the advice of his corner that he absolutely had to win the last two rounds, Smith went all out on offense, landing heavy blows he hadn't tried nearly all fight (and wincing every single time he landed with his right hand), shocking Shade with a particularly nasty right cross that nearly felled him and left Shade's right eye badly swollen. Perhaps due to the hand injury, Smith couldn't knock Shade down, but did out strike him 17-6 and 25-0 in the final two rounds, having completely eliminated Shade's offense and appeared to have done just enough (legal and illegal) to have kept this really close. Fans waited with baited breath and many speculated that they may have just watched the first tie in ABC history. The judges sent out the score and it was indeed close. They were.... 115-113 for Dave Shade, 114-114 even, and 115-113....... for Shade, who had nearly blown an early 5-2 round lead. The analysts were surprised, saying that they thought it should have be ruled a draw, but that perhaps it was karma due to Smith cheating a fair bit in this one.
Alexis "El Faco Explosivo" Arguello vs Marco "Baby Faced Assassin" Antonio Barrera
Arguello set the tone to this fight very early on with a vicious rib shot at 1:06 in the first round that crumpled Barrera immediately to the mat. He'd get up by the 4 count, but he never really recovered in this one, as Arguello would completely dominate this fight with massive shot after massive shot. The strike counts for the first half of this fight included 23-3 (Round 1), 18-4 (Round 2), 18-7 (Round 3), 23-6 (Round 6). Barrera landed a couple of nice punches in Round 4 and had some success with counter-striking in Round 5, but those would be the lone bright spots to his night. By Round 7, Arguello's heavy blows were clearly impacting Barrera, who's timing was all sorts of wrong by now, getting out struck 21-0. In Round 8, Barrera's face had swollen enough to force the referee to have the doctor look at him. Despite getting blown out horribly by this point, Barrera still had enough fighting spirit to argue loudly about the stoppage, though luckily (or unluckily?) for him, the doctor somehow said he looked fine to fight. Nearly everyone else in the stadium disagreed, seeing that Arguello was destroying Barrera. They would be right to question the fight continuing as Arguello, seeing the blood in the water, went on a rampage to try and finish the brave Barrera off. Near the end of the round, he'd get his wish granted as the referee finally waved off the fight after Barrera wasn't intelligently defending himself anymore (and was getting out-struck by an astonishing 31-0 that round). The commentators, seeing "El Faco Explosivo" look incredible in the ring, noted that he may have just become the new favorite to win the Lightweight portion of the All-Time Boxing Classic.
Charley Burley vs Mickey "Toy Bulldog" Walker
The fans were rightfully excited for this final bout, as two highly respected Middleweights would duke it out. Many questioned whether Walker could get inside of Burley's large 8" reach advantage. Very quickly, it was determined he would have no trouble, as he bulldozed into Burley with every chance he got. Charley would have early success in the early rounds at keeping Walker mostly at bay, but the "Toy Bulldog" was proving very difficult to keep back. After the first four rounds seemed to be split (and very competitive), Walker's successful in-fighting was already taking a toll on Burley, as his right eye was nearly swollen shut already. In Round 5, Walker went for the kill, finishing a strong combination on the body with a thunderous right cross the laid Burley out on his back! Burley got up at 6, but started to lurch forward a bit and nearly got flattened again as Walker tried to finish him off, (though Burley hung in there to survive the round). Round 6 went badly too, as even though Walker couldn't knock Burley down again, he was landing several big shots to the head and wobbling Burley. Burley's corner gave him a hell of a pep talk trying to get him back into the fight before Round 7 started. Walker, getting confident, went forward quickly to try to finish things off... and fell backwards to the floor after Burley took advantage of his opponent's defense dropping by unleashing a fast and furious 3 punch combo! So surprised was Mickey that he took all the shots flush to the chin and only barely beat the count at 9 and looking none too steady. Burley himself was too damaged to took full advantage and wasted his chance to the finish things off. After a back and forth eighth round (and a dull ninth round), Burley would be the next fighter to fall as Walker would knock him down with a bone-breaking right cross to the body (Burley would get up at 7). However, in Round 11, Walker again would knock the bigger man down with another body shot. Burley would once again get up, (at the 8 count) to the ovation of the crowd, who surely were wondering when the next knockdown would occur. They wouldn't have to wait long, as Burley would fall again at the end of the round, after Walker hit an impressive 9 punch combo. Burley would simply refuse to stay down, injured as he might be, once again at the 8 count! The commentators wondered aloud how much more punishment could he take? Sadly, we would not find out, as in the twelfth round, the referee had seen enough and put an end to the contest, to Burley's anger. He had never been stopped before in a fight and certainly felt he deserved to finish the fight off. However, it was clear from the judges scorecards that even if he had finished the fight, Walker would have won in a landslide. For the "Toy Bulldog", it was an impressive showing for him, especially being able to stop the very tough Charley Burley. He had once again proven, as he often had done before, that size wasn't everything in boxing and with the right amount of skill and toughness, Mickey Walker was going to be a problem at Middleweight.
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We will be heading to Berlin, Germany, at the Max Schmeling Halle for All-Time Boxing Classic 4: Gibbons vs. Tiger!
Pre-Fight Show
Johnny Armando: We've got another great show lined up for the viewers with this event! The main event features two top 10 ranked Middleweights in Mike Gibbons vs Dick Tiger! What are your thoughts on this one?
Chee McGee: This is a really interesting style matchup, as Mike Gibbons was an expert defensive fighter with elite level footwork. He was capable of getting knockouts too, though he himself never was. Contrast that with Dick Tiger, who was great at counter-punching and pretty aggressive at it. He was very talented at approach his opponent to get them to punch at him, where he would counter with some pretty heavy shots, especially from his left hook. This really depends on how disciplined Gibbons is, if he can avoid Tiger's trap prevent taking damage. Tiger himself only got knocked out once in his career, to Bob Foster (which is nothing to be ashamed about!) so I think the judges are gonna want to keep a close eye on this one!
Johnny: Definitely! And our co main event is quite an intriguing matchup too!
Dick Dingleberry: For sure! This is a fight between two very clever boxers in Jake LaMotta and Ronald "Winky" Wright (What kind of nickname is Winky?...did this generation run out of good nicknames or something?). LaMotta was a tough, aggressive, fighter that occasionally liked to fake out his opponents by pretending to get hurt by punches to lull them into getting cocky, then surprise them with his attacks. He won't let Wright's strong defense get to him, he'll keep coming forward and try new tactics in this bout. Wright's a southpaw that never got knocked out due to his highly intelligent defense. A very relaxed fighter too, he's not going to get overwhelmed by LaMotta's aggression. And as we know, fighting southpaws is very difficult because everything you learned from Boxing 101 gets reversed!
Jebediah McAllister: And how about the matchup between Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Billy Soose? These are two TOUGH guys who could dish out the pain, yet neither ever got knocked out themselves. You gotta imagine that someone's streak could end here! Hagler is more known as a brawler that could overwhelm his opponents, but that's doing him a misjustice to say that's all there was to him. He really could do everything as a boxer and if Soose isn't careful, he could get caught off-guard if he only prepares for a slugger. But to fair, Soose might be one of boxing's most adaptable fighters ever. He himself began his career being feared for his knockout power. After he split a tendon on his right hand in his middle knuckle, he lost that power and had to change his style from slugger to boxer. So he's plenty versatile as well. Really interesting matchup to me.
Chip N. Daylin: Speaking of having knockout power, we have two, like, really strong knockout artists in Randy Turpin vs Stanley Ketchel. Turpin got a lot of his strength from being ahead of his time with his workout style, which included a weight training regime that most boxers at the time wouldn't try. It helped Randy out big time though, he looked like a Heavyweight in most of his fights despite being multple weight classes below that! Ketchel came from before that time, so he wasn't about any, like, weight training regimes. He was just naturally strong, growing up rough and tough on the streets. I'll turn meat-a-tarian if someone doesn't get knocked out! (Dick: And I'll personally make sure to hold you to that!)
Johnny: We've also got a Lightweight battle (the Lightweight fight in fact, all the other 5 fights are with Middleweights!) between Sammy Angott and Tod Morgan, who wasn't all too pleased with nearly getting left out of the ABC! And we've also got another old timers classic with Les Darcy and William "Gorilla" Jones in yet another matchup between 2 guys who never got knocked out in their careers! (Seems we've got a lot of men on this card that haven't faced knock out losses before!). We hope to see you all there!