(From left to right, Michael Moorer with Cliff Couser) 09.12.06 – By Wray Edwards: Photos © Wray Edwards ( + Photo Gallery ) — Here we are back at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino for a weigh-in and a night of boxing. The Main Event is a Heavyweight bout between Michael Moorer (47-4-1, 37 KO’s) and Cliff Couser (26-10-2, 14 KO’s). Also Oliver McCall (48-8, 35 KO’s) will face Cuban Yamqui Diaz (13-4, 8 KO’s), Roman Greenberg (22-0, 15 KO’s) will match with Steve Pannell (34-10, 28 KO’s) and, rounding out the Heavyweight action, Michael Marrone (15-0, 12 KO’s) will take on Ronald Bellamy (14-5-4, 9 KO’s.
Michael Marrone, from just up the road in Vero Beach is a real burner who has great focus and heavy hands. The guy is all business in the ring. Roman Greenberg from Tel Aviv, Israel has been building an international career in Europe and the United States. The best moment during the weigh-ins was when Danny Vanstaden, a Lightweight from Key West, Florida did not even remove his sweats while on the scales and even pulled out his cell phone. The undercard boasts a lot of young guys who are coming on line and there is usually at least one good scrap in a lot like this.
Jesus Pabon (8-8, 6 KO’s) from San Juan, Puerto will meet Eli Addison (8-2, 3KO’s) from Winston Salem, NC in a six round Lightweight fight. Danny Vanstaden (3-1, 2 KO’s) fights Jessie Francico (1-2) from Marathon, Florida in a four round attraction…and Timmy Leonard (2-0, 1 KO) also goes four rounds with Luis Ruiz from Marathon, FL in his Jr. Middleweight debut. Some of the boxers were just a smidge over on the scales, but the camps waived off the paltry ounces. One boxer (Pabon) was given two hours to dump (if you’ll pardon the expression) one pound.
The results on the scales were as follows:
Morrer- 250, Couser- 239.5, McCall- 259, Diaz- 246, Greenberg- 243.5, Pannell- 254, Marrone- 226, Bellamy- 255, Pabon- 140, Addison- 138, Vanstaden 138.5, Francisco- 140, Leonard- 155.5, Ruiz- 154.
(From left to right, Steve Pannell and Roman Greenberg)
Moorer, who bested Jirov exactly two years ago was working on his realignment after a UD loss to Eliseo Castillo just five months prior. ESB asked him what he was going to do after his loss to Eliseo at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on July third of ’03. He said, “I’m going to go back to the gym and work things out, but after doing that and beating Jirov, he decided to spend some time training and working corner support for other boxers.
He has a good rep in this area but has obviously heard the siren call of the ring and decided, approaching 40, to give it another shot. We wish him well. McCall, Greenberg and Marrone are all in with challenging opponents. None of them looks as if their bouts will degenerate into the “dance of the fat Alberts” which sometimes occurs at the HD level.
Again this week we have Boxing shooting itself in the foot by dividing its fan base into frustrated choosers having to decide between Little Rock and Hard Rock.
(From left to right, Oliver McCall with Yanqui Diaz)Of the venues that are regular hosts to world class Boxing events, The Seminole Hard Rock and the Mohegan Sun are my total favorites. The most important factors are Boxer hospitality, Boxer management and media access. Don King was on Fox and Friends this week touting his big event here on the sixth of January, 07 when Peter/Toney will take place.
South Florida continues to set its anchor ever more firmly in the boxing scene. It is well on its way to giving Vegas a run for its money. What’s not to like? Warm weather, beautiful people, massive tribal enterprises and an ever increasing compliment of world class boxers who live and train here bode well for prizefightings future in the south. You gotta love it. ESB will be on the apron to cover the action. See you at the fights.