World Boxing Council News Dec.5

Mexico City – December 5, 2004. From WBC President Jose Sulaiman: “During the last WBC convention, I proposed a new championship in honor of Africa, because African descendants live all over the world. Some of the greatest that have moved away from their continent are in the United States, Brazil, the Caribbean Islands, many of the Central American countries, and of course, Europe.

“The championship would be called the ‘All African World Championship.’ Any fighter born in Africa, or a descendant of Africans that lives in any country of the world will have the opportunity to fight for the title. We know that there have been many boxing heroes that have come from African descendants in the past, for example, from Jack Johnson in the old times, to Joe Louis, to Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Lennox Lewis. You also have Battling Siki, and many others that were born in Africa.

“We are also planning to create the ‘All Asian World Championship,’ as well as the ‘All Latin American World Championship.’ These champonships would be created with the support and approval of all of the national boxing federations in the corresponding areas.

“There are going to be two purse offers on December 11 at 12:00 noon at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The first purse offer is for the fight for the the winner of upcoming super middleweight fight between world champion Markus Beyer of Germany and Yoshinori Nishizawa of Japan against interim champion Danny Green of Australia for the undisputed WBC championship.

“The other purse offer is scheduled for the same time and place, for the mandatory defense of middleweight world champion Bernard Hopkins of the United States against No. 1 ranked official challenger Howard Eastman of England. There is a big controversy that has been raised by promoter Mick Hennessey, who has a contract with Eastman that ends in the year 2006. However, Eastman is thought to be on the verge of signing with other promoters in the U.S. Eastman has placed several legal documents in relation to this controversy. The WBC expects that this situation will be cleared up by December 11.

“The WBC is postponing “The Night of the Champions,” the WBC ceremony that was scheduled for December 18 in Las Vegas. One of the possible new dates is April 8, 2005. Many people are interested in participating in this event, which is expected to be one of the best ever.”

Upcoming World Championship Fights:
December 11, 2004 – Las Vegas, Nevada – Heavyweight World Championship
Champion Vitali Klitschko (34-2, 33 KOs, Kiev, Ukraine/Los Angeles, California) vs
Danny Williams (WBC No. 7, 32-3, 27 KOs, London, England)

December 18, 2004 – Beyreuth, Germany – Super Middleweight World Championship
Champion Markus Beyer (30-2, 12 KOs, Cologne, Germany) vs
Yoshinori Nishizawa, (WBC No. 19, 26-14-5, 14 KOs, Tokyo, Japan)

December 18, 2004 – Tokyo, Japan – Strawweight World Championship
Champion Eagle Kyowa (13-0, 5 KOs, Tokyo, Japan) vs
Isaac Bustos, (WBC No. 1, 23-6-3, 12 KOs, Mexico City, Mexico)

January 5, 2005 – Tokyo, Japan – Super Flyweight World Championship
Champion Katsushige Kawashima (27-3, 18 KOs, Yokohama, Japan) vs
Jose Navarro (WBC No. 1, 21-0, 9 KOs, Los Angeles, California)

World Championship Results:
December 4, 2004 – Las Vegas, Nevada – Lightweight World Championship
Jose Luis Castillo (51-6-1, 45 KOs, Mexicali, Mex.) W12 Joel Casamayor (31-3, 19 KOs, Guantanamo, Cuba/Miami, Fla.)

Two-time world champion Castillo made his fourth successful defense of the title with a very close and exciting split decision win against former WBA super featherweight champion Casamayor at Mandalay Bay. Casamayor used constant movement and accurate counterpunching to build an early lead, but Castillo relentlessly pressed forward and gradually wore him down. Castillo won the last three rounds on all three scorecards, and won by scores of 116-112, 117-111 Castillo, 115-113 Casamayor.

November 27, 2004 – Las Vegas, Nevada – Super Featherweight World Championship
Marco Antonio Barrera (59-4, 41 KOs, Mexico City, Mex.) W12 Erik Morales (47-2, 34 KOs, Tijuana, Mex.)

The highly-anticipated third battle between Barrera and defending world champion Morales drew an announced attendance of 11,162 at the MGM Grand. Barrera won by majority decision in a sensational fight that was extremely close and intense. Scored 115-114, 115-113, 114-114.

Super Bantamweight World Championship
Oscar Larios (54-3-1, 35 KOs, Guadalajara, Mex.) W12 Nedal Hussein (36-2, 22 KOs, Sydney, Aust.)

Larios, who shared the WBC’s award for “2003 Fighter of the Year” with Roy Jones Jr., made his fifth successful defense of the title with a unanimous decision against No. 1 ranked Hussein. Larios dominated the fight with a busier pace and more accurate punches, and won by scores of 120-108, 119-109, 118-110.

November 20, 2004 – Las Vegas, Nevada – Super Welterweight World Championship
Ronald “Winky” Wright (48-3, 25 KOs, St. Petersburg, Fla.) W12 Shane Mosley (39-4, 35 KOs, Pomona, Cal.)

Wright made his first defense of the title in the rematch against former WBC welterweight and super welteweight world champion Mosley. An announced attendance of 8,103 was at Mandalay Bay, and it was an outstanding fight. Wright won a majority decision by scores of 115-113, 115-113, 114-114.

November 13, 2004 – New York, New York – Heavyweight Elimination Bout
Hasim Rahman (40-5-1, 33 KOs, Baltimore, Md.) TKO4 Kali Meehan (29-3, 23 KOs, New South Wales, Aust.)

WBC No. 3-ranked Rahman gave an impressive performance at Madison Square Garden, and dominated the fight against No. 5-ranked Meehan. Rahman consistently scored with the harder punches, and Meehan’s corner stopped the fight after the fourth round.