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Welcome to the 2nd HouseofBoxing.com Online Newsletter
of the year.
In this 6-Round February
Edition you'll read about the March 3rd rematch between
Evander Holyfield and John Ruiz, the latest on the anticipated
Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson matchup (including exclusive comments
from Iron Mike), Oscar De La Hoya's court battle with HBO,
results from this past weekend's fights, and a preview of next
weekend's Roy Jones Jr.-Derrick Harmon
fight.
Rd. 1 - A Preview of 'The Final
Word'
Rd. 2 -
Holyfield-Ruiz II: An Analysis
Rd. 3 - Tyson: Let's Fight Now; Lennox: Let's
Not
Rd. 4 - De La Hoya wins
1st round with HBO in court
Rd. 5 - Espadas-Morales / Page-Lewis
results
Rd. 6 - Weekend preview
- Jones vs Harmon
WHO WILL HAVE 'THE FINAL
WORD'? by Doug Fischer
Over the course of his hall-of-fame career, former
three-time heavyweight champion and current World Boxing
Association (WBA) titlist Evander Holyfield has been called
many things. Overachiever. Warrior. Undisputed cruiserweight
champion. Undisputed heavyweight champion. Paper champion.
Stubborn old man. Legend.
Whatever you call Holyfield, 38, in praise or critique,
you can't call him a liar. And you damn sure can't call him a
quitter.
So when Holyfield, 37-4-1 with 25 KOs, promises a
better fight in his March 3rd rematch with John Ruiz, you have
to take his word for it. Their first meeting, last August, was
an entertaining and closely contested 12-round battle that
many observers and a significant section of the ringside press
believe Ruiz won.
"Ruiz proved to people that he can last the distance
with me," Holyfield admitted during a recent tele-conference.
"He thought he won the last fight, and people thought he was
robbed. This time I'm going to put the pressure on him and
stop him early."
Ruiz, 36-4 with 27 KOs, also promises a better
fight.
"Holyfield took me lightly the first time we fought,
and he will this time, too," said a bolder and louder 'Quiet
Man'. "He feels I was just like a pebble he tripped on. Last
time, I expected so much more from him. I thought he'd come
out throwing punches and being aggressive, but this time I
think he's going to meet those expectations. That's why I
trained even harder than I did the first time."
What we have here is as good a scrap as the weak
heavyweight division can offer, and though betting odds favor
Holyfield 2 to 1, some believe this could be the 'Holy
Warrior's' last stand.
Which is why boxing fans can be sure Holyfield will
make a fight of it. The 'Real Deal' is at his best when he has
something to prove, as former champions Riddick Bowe and Mike
Tyson can attest.
The undercard promises to bring more action to the
card, which will be shown, pay-per-view, on Showtime Event
Television (SET).
Undefeated International Boxing Federation (IBF)
bantamweight champ Tim Austin, 21-0-1, with 19 KOs, will
defend his title against mandatory challenger Jesus Perez,
also undefeated, 20-0-2, with 11 KOs, of Colombia. Austin, who
is trained by former junior welterweight champ Aaron Pryor, is
an overlooked boxer-puncher from Cincinnati, Ohio who could
become a pound-for-pound level fighter if given the chance to
prove himself.
Former World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweight champion
Miguel Angel Gonzalez will take on Manuel Gomez in a 10-round
welterweight attraction. Gonzalez, 44-2-1 with 34 KOs, made 10
defenses of his lightweight title and went 12 competitive
rounds with Oscar De La Hoya for the junior welterweight crown
back in '97. Gomez, 17-10 with 15 KOs, is a hard-nosed
journeyman slugger who went 11 hard rounds with Shane Mosley
for the lightweight title in '97.
Rounding out the undercard, is perhaps the most
accomplished female fighter in the world, Christy Martin,
41-2-2 with 31 KOs, who will take on dangerous Jeanne
Martinez, 13-4-2 with 4 KOs.
Holyfield-Ruiz II:
ANALYSIS
Coming
into the their first bout, the media's questions focused on
John Ruiz. What did he do to deserve this shot at a world
title? Could a man who was dismantled by David Tua in 19
seconds go the distance with one of the best heavyweights of
all time? Who had he beat?
After 12 back-and-forth rounds, Ruiz answered all of
the questions. Did he deserve a title shot? Well, he showed
better skills and heart than Tua did when he challenged for
the universally recognized world heavyweight title held by
Lennox Lewis last November. Could he go the distance? Yep. All
12 rounds. Who had Ruiz beat? Many felt he whipped Holyfield
that night.
Now the questions are aimed at Holyfield. At 38, and a veteran of many grueling ring wars, many respected members of
the press question if he should continue fighting.
Holyfield is the modern-day dragon slayer who defeated
George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer and
Mike Tyson. But no one beats Father Time in boxing. And
Holyfield has been given the signals that his grand career man
be over.
It happened to his soon-to-be hall-of-fame peers Joe
Louis and Muhammad Ali. After nearly four years in World War
II and 23 defenses, Louis, at age 33, was all but finished as
a champion. He was dropped twice and out-boxed by Jersey Joe
Walcott, but was given a disputed split decision. Louis was
lucky to catch the old man in the rematch and retired. But
when he tried to comeback at 36, he lost to Ezzard Charles.
Louis was finally put out to pasture when at 37 Rocky Marciano
brutally knocked him out in eight tragic rounds.
After defying all odds by winning the title back
against the young Foreman at age 32, and then stringing
together 10 defenses, a 36-year-old Ali struggled with Leon
Spinks, a fighter with only eight pro fights. He was lucky to
win the rematch, and retired. But the lure of the ring was too
strong, and Ali went on to absorb damaging and humiliating
beatings from Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick in '80 and
'81.
When he barely beat the unheralded Ruiz last year,
Holyfield, 1-1-1 in his last three fights, was served the same
warning that Louis got with the first Wallcott fight and Ali
received with the first Spinks fight.
Ruiz, 36-4 with 27 KOs, has the perfect style a busy
left, good straight right and decent leg movement to trouble
Holyfield, never particularly good at chasing down opponents.
Holyfield staggered Ruiz in the third and final round their
first fight, but lacked the power and follow-up attack to
finish his wobbled opponent.
Holyfield, 37-4-1 with 25 KOs, is not the quick-handed offensive assassin he was as the unified cruiserweight champ
in the 1980s. As a heavyweight, Holyfield has counted on the
naturally bigger men to come to him, and on the strength of
his anvil-like chin and great heart, he developed into a
excellent counter puncher.
But Holyfield's legs are starting to go. And Ruiz'
29-year-old legs can trouble the champ if he decides to use
them in conjunction with a constant jab. If Ruiz works in and
out, and is able to avoid the champ's counter punches,
Holyfield is in for another long night.
However, Ruiz says he wants a KO, which may play right
into Holyfield's ring-worn hands.
Over the past 13 years, Holyfield came back better in
rematches against Dwight Muhammad Qawi, Riddick Bowe, Alex
Stewart, Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer. He can probably
improve his last performance against Ruiz, the same way he did
in his loss to Lennox Lewis. But can he beat both Ruiz and
Father Time?
Tyson: Let's Fight Now; Lennox: Let's Not - So Who Is Ducking Like a Quack?
Mike Tyson pulled a punch or two tonight, until he
hears why Lennox Lewis rejected an offer for the biggest fight
in history to take place in May or June. Tyson told the House,
"I'm trying to be kind and respectful, but once I find out
that he really is ducking me, no one can be as crass as Mike
Tyson when he wants to be crass."
Read the KatzScan column on this card by Michael
Katz
DE LA HOYA WINS COURT BATTLE WITH
HBO
by Steve Kim/Doug Fischer
The calendar graphic HBO displayed after this past
Saturday's card showing its upcoming boxing programming said
it all: March 24th, Wladimir Klitschko vs. Derrick
Jefferson.
With that, it seems the Oscar De La Hoya-Arturo Gatti
welterweight fight (also scheduled March 24th) is gone but not
forgotten by the cable giant since their request for an
injunction on the fight was dismissed by New York-based
federal judge Victor Marrero last Thursday.
The network, which has about 21 million subscribers,
sought to the stop the fight from happening unless it was
televised by HBO.
As inconceivable as it may sound, De La Hoya will make
his return to the ring without HBO or TVKO televising
it.
The network also filed for a declaratory judgment
February 2nd to force De La Hoya to live up to the remaining
four fights on his current deal a judgment that has yet to be
made. There is question if that multi-fight contract is still
valid since it involved De La Hoya's former promoter Bob Arum.
De La Hoya's contract with Arum was recently declared "void
and unenforceable" by a federal judge in Los Angeles, and the
popular fighter is now promoted by Jerry Perenchio, head of
the international Spanish-language network
Univision.
But for now, De La Hoya and HBO are no longer a couple.
It was one of the most successful boxer-network marriages in
boxing throughout the 90s. Riding the HBO hype machine, Oscar
became a household name and in turn, De La Hoya became the
biggest pay-per-view franchise below the heavyweight
division.
It is not known which television network will show the De La Hoya-Gatti fight, or if it will be televised at
all.
MORALES SCRAPES BY ESPADAS; LEWIS
STOPS PAGE
Mexico's Erik Morales won the World Boxing Council
(WBC) featherweight title Saturday night, narrowly outpointing
countryman Guty Espadas Jr. in a unanimous decision. Judges
Jerry Roth and Dave Harris scored it 116-112 and Dick Flaherty
had it 115-113. HouseofBoxing's Michael Katz also scored the
bout 116-112 for Morales, who improved his record to
40-0.
Espadas, who fell to 33-3, was the aggressor through
most of the early rounds at the MGM Grand Hotel, but Morales
came on strong, boxing behind a strong jab and looping right
hands that found their mark but failed to hurt the champion,
from the sixth through 10th rounds. In the 12th, Espadas hurt
Morales with an uppercut and had him on the ropes in the last
40 seconds.
In the cofeature, Andrew "Six-Heads" Lewis stopped
James Page at 1:13 of the seventh round to take the vacant
World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title.
Lewis, of New York by way of Guyana, knocked Page down in the second round. Lewis won every round on each of the
three judges scorecards.
"Bring on Shane Mosley, bring on Oscar De La Hoya,"
said Lewis, who improved to 20-0-1 with his 19th knockout. "I
want to fight them."
Page, the former WBA welterweight champion who had his title stripped on Aug. 12 for refusing to defend his title
against Lewis, dropped to 25-4.
Read
the KatzScan column on this card by Michael
Katz
JONES RETURNS; GAINER DEFENDS WBA
FEATHERWEIGHT TITLE by Doug
Fischer
In a 12-round championship bout televised on HBO,
universally recognized light heavyweight champion Roy Jones
returns to the ring this Saturday against Derrick Harmon, a
once-beaten southpaw currently rated in the top 10 of rankings
of the WBA, WBC and IBF.
Harmon, the former North American (NABF) champion, is
given almost zero chance of upsetting Jones, who tops every
boxing publication's pound-for-pound list and is the conqueror
of 11 current or former world champions Reggie Johnson, Otis
Grant, Lou Del Valle, Virgil Hill, Montell Griffin, Mike
McCallum, Vinny Pazienza, James Toney, Bernard Hopkins, Jorge
Castro, and Jorge Vaca.
In the televised co-feature, World Boxing Association
(WBA) featherweight champ Derrick "Smoke" Gainer will attempt
to defend his belt for the first time against #1 WBA contender
Victor Polo.
Gainer, the former U.S. (USBA) jr. lightweight and NABF featherweight champion, has defeated former world champions
Fred Norwood, Manuel Medina, and Kevin Kelley. Polo has
delivered impressive performances against Medina and in Angel
Vazquez, who he beat in his last fight, a WBA title
eliminator.
Read
Thomas Gerbasi's column on Roy Jones
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