08.01.06 – Travis Marks @ ringside: Cruiserweight contender Steve Cunningham continued his winning ways by stopping Lloyd “Jabba” Bryan at 1:40 of the fifth round. Cunningham who was the mandatory for O’Neil Bell’s IBF title was scheduled to fight for the championship in December. In a strategic move, Cunningham stepped aside to let Bell fight for the unification bout against Jean Mark-Mormeck. Cunningham’s win sets up a showdown for the Undisputed Cruiserweight title later on this year. With his victory Cunningham now raises his record to 19-0 (10 KO’s) and Bryan falls to 21-12 (9 KO’s)..
William Joppy is back is being recycled by Don King. The former two-time WBA Middleweight champion looked a little rusty against rugged competitor Erik “The Hurricane” Howard in a bout fought at Super middleweight. Joppy however came on as the fight progressed and stopped Howard at 2:12 of the fifth round. Joppy improves his record to 35-4-1 (26 KO’s) and Howard falls to 11-10-1 (6 KO’s). One wonders how much Joppy has left.
Heavyweight Owen “What the Heck” Beck is another fighter that Don King has dusted off and put back into action. Beck fought an unknown knockout artist named Darnell “Ding-A-Ling Man” Wilson. This was an action back bout that saw Beck being awarded a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight 78-74 in favor of Beck. Beck ups his record to 25-2 (18 KO’s) and Wilson falls to 18-3-3 (15 KO’s). Beck looked very soft in the belly and though there was a lot of action in the bout, it was sloppily fought. At the post-fight press conference Beck called out reigning WBA Heavyweight champion Nicolay Valuev. While Valuev might not be the best fighter out there, Beck did nothing to lay claim to a title shot.
Heavyweight prospect Bermane “B. Ware” Stiverne had an impressive outing by stopping journeyman John Turlington at 2:23 of the very first round. Although he was not fighting anyone competitive he did show some pretty good skills. Stiverne harnessed his power with short, sharp punches and kept his elbows in. He looks really well schooled and should be a good professional. He needs to work a little more on tightening his body and when he does that he will be a forced to be reckoned with.
IBF Junior Flyweight champion Will “Steel” Grigsby was upset by the number one IBF contender Ulises “Archie” Solis in a unanimous decision loss. The scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 all in favor of Solis. Grigsby started the bout off by trying to establish his dominance in the ring but found that he was in for a tough night against Solis. Solis was quicker to the punch, stronger and more durable throughout the fight. Every time Grigsby mounted an attack his attempts were thwarted by the very determined Solis. It’s now back to the drawing board for Grigsby as he falls to 18-3-1 (7 KO’s) and Solis improves his record to 20-1-1 (15 KO’s).
In featherweight action up and coming young prospect Elio “The Kid” Rojas dismantled journeyman Tiger Smalls. The end of the bout came at 2:05 of the very first round after Smalls went down for the second time in the fight. The first knock down came after a patient Rojas hit Smalls with a perfectly time right hand. Smalls staggered to his feet but soon thereafter was knocked out. Rojas improved his record to 15-0 (11 KO’s) and Smalls fell to 17-10 (6 KO’s).
Mark “Poison” Suarez fought undefeated James “Spider” Webb in an IBF Welterweight elimination bout. The bout was controversially stopped at 44 seconds in the first round. Webb went down from a hard body shot but was not really given an opportunity to continue the bout. The referee in charge (Willis Rosato) did not give the undefeated Webb the mandatory eight count. Suarez improves to 24-2 (13 KO’s) and Webb suffers the first blemish to his record as he falls to 18-1 (15 KO’s).
Super middleweight and younger brother of Zab Judah, Josiah “Gorilla” Judah fought a four rounder against journeyman Franklin Armstrong. This bout was lackluster as the younger Judah, sleepwalked his way to a unanimous decision win. The scores were 40-36 (Twice) and 39-37. Judah spent much of the bout throwing punches off balance and trying to fix his hair with his gloves. Judah needs to focus if he ever wants to be taken seriously.