In the News - May 1999
Selected links and commentary on Boxing news.
De La Hoya-Trinidad appears set for Sept. 18 (May 31, 1999)
With the monetary dispute in the camp of IBF champ Felix Trinidad reportedly resolved, there appears to be nothing standing in the way of a Sept. 18 unification bout with WBC champion Oscar
De La Hoya. Believe it when they actually get in the ring together.
- AP from CBS SportsLine.com
Trinidad scores 4th round KO of Pineda (May 30, 1999)
Felix Trinidad successfully defended his IBF welterweight belt for the 13th time with a fourth round KO of challenger Hugo Pineda. Hopefully, Trinidad's next fight will be a unification bout with Oscar De La Hoya. Both men will argue over money, but boxing fans deserve to see this fight.
- from About.com Boxing Guide
Ledwaba takes vacant IBF jr. featherweight title (May 29, 1999)
Lehlohonolo Ledwaba captured the vacant IBF junior featherweight title with a convincing win (115-113, 117-112, 115-113) over John Michael Johnson. Ledwaba joins the growing ranks of completely unknown world champions.
- AP from CBS SportsLine.com
Hilton stuns Ouellet again (May 28, 1999)
Last November, Dave Hilton knocked out Stephane Ouellet in 12 rounds. This time Hilton needed only three rounds to KO Ouellet and retain the Canadian middleweight boxing title in the richest and possibly best-attended (20,000) Canadian title fight ever.
- AP from ESPN.com
Lewis-Holyfield II set for November (May 28, 1999)
The heavyweight championship unification rematch between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield will be either Nov. 6 or Nov. 13 in Las Vegas. While the fighters, promoters and ranking organizations all wanted this sequel, there has been understandably little outcry among boxing fans to make this fight.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Thai boys protest bill banning child boxers (May 27, 1999)
About 700 young Thai boxers aged from 10 to 15 years staged a noisy protest against the Professional Boxing Bill which intends to ban boxers below the age of 15 from competing in Thailand's national sport.
- Reuters from CBS SportsLine.com
Tyson to return to ring in August? (May 25, 1999)
With Nevada boxing officials indicating they won't do anything to stand in the way of Mike Tyson's return to the ring, the former champ's handlers are busy making plans to rush their man back into action as early as August 21 with Axel Schulz and Brian Nielsen being mentioned as possible opponents. While it's perfectly clear Mike Tyson is a deeply troubled person, it remains equally clear he still doesn't have anybody around him trying to help him deal with his problems.
- AP from ESPN.com
Tyson released from jail (May 24, 1999)
Mike Tyson walked out of a Maryland jail after serving less than a quarter of his one-year sentence for assaulting two motorists after a fender-bender. So consider yourself warned to drive more carefully -- you never know who might be in that car in front of you.
- AP from ESPN.com
King named to University board of trustees (May 24, 1999)
Last year Shaw University gave promoter Don King an honorary doctorate. This year the school appointed him to its board of trustees. It's probably just coincidental, but this same school recently received a $200,000 donation from King. Go figure!
- AP from SportingNews.com
Oscar's injury won't stop 'fight of the century' (May 23, 1999)
Bob Arum is guaranteeing that neither Oscar De La Hoya's injured hand nor a dispute within Felix Trinidad's camp will prevent a De La Hoya-Trinidad bout from taking place on Sept. 18. Be warned however that Arum is basing his confidence in the fight coming off in part on the fact that he "had King's word the fight would happen".
- AP from ESPN.com
De La Hoya wins unimpressively (May 23, 1999)
Oscar de la Hoya did what he had to do against Oba Carr to retain his WBC welterwight title and preserve his Sept. 18 date with Felix Trinidad, but make no mistake -- this was no ordinary tune-up fight. De La Hoya looked unsure of himself at times and caught more punches than he would have liked before scoring a one-punch knockout in the 11th round. Carr is a crafty, hard-working veteran who - fortunately for Oscar - doesn’t pack much of a punch.
- from About.com Boxing Guide
Schenk defends WBO middleweight title (May 22, 1999)
Unbeaten (and unknown) WBO middleweight champion Bert Schenk defended his title with a narrow unanimous decision (115-113, 117-113 and 115-112) over Juan Ramon Medina-Padilla.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Ali's plane makes emergency landing (May 21, 1999)
Mechanical troubles forced a US Airways flight with 73 aboard, including Muhammad Ali, to make an emergency landing at Michiana Regional Airport.
- AP from CBS SportsLine.com
Steve Collins retires after brain scan (May 20, 1999)
After collapsing in the ring during a sparring session, former WBO super middleweight champ Steve Collins, 34, retired on the advice of his doctors. Good idea -- if his brain scan didn't look good now, imagine it after a proposed bout with Roy Jones.
- AP from ESPN.com
Mayweather gets a new opponent (May 20, 1999)
Floyd Mayweather will defend his WBC super featherweight title against Justin Juuko (33-2-1, 25 KOs) on the undercard of the Oscar De La Hoya-Oba Carr fight. Scheduled opponent Goyo Vargas pulled out with a sinus infection and gastroenteritis that led to dehydration. An easy defense for Mayweather just got easier.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Sept. 18 for De La Hoya-Trinidad? (May 19, 1999)
Bob Arum and Don King appear close to reaching an agreement to finally get Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad in the ring with each other. De La Hoya should get $12 to $15 million, with Trinidad receiving $10 to $12 million. Believe it when it actually happens.
- AP from ESPN.com
Nevada passes bill to ensure boxer privacy (May 19, 1999)
A bill that ensures the confidentiality of medical information provided by boxers to the Nevada Athletic Commission gained final legislative approval and now goes to Gov. Kenny Guinn for his signature. The bill was needed to prevent future fiascoes like the one in which Mike Tyson's medical records were posted on the Internet.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Holmes to fight 'Bonecrusher' Smith (May 19, 1999)
Larry Holmes, 49, didn't get the fight he wanted with 50-year-old George Foreman, so he's settling for the next best (or worse) thing -- a June 18 bout against 46-year-old James "Bonecrusher" Smith. A Foreman-Holmes bout would have been a tough sell, this one - incredibly enough slated for pay-per-view - should be next to impossible.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Sanctioning bodies accept payoffs (May 18, 1999)
The various sanctioning bodies have denied any improprieties - what a shock - but the Los Angeles Times has unearthed allegations of widespread abuse. Nothing here that will surprise even the most casual fan of the sport, but still good to see some of the corruption exposed. Probably wishful thinking to believe this might be the beginning of the end for the WBA, WBC, IBF, etc..
- By Steve Springer and David Wharton, Los Angeles Times. From SportingNews.com
Open scoring at Sydney Olympics? (May 18, 1999)
The competition manager for boxing at the Sydney Olympics wants the public disclosure of the score after each round. Fortunately it's unlikely to happen. Open scoring is a bad idea for the pros and equally bad for amateur boxing. One change that will be in effect at the 2000 Olympics: Bouts will be fought in five two-minute rounds for the first time.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Soto narrowly decisions champ Espinosa (May 15, 1999)
Underdog Cesar Soto scored a close but unanimous decision over Luisito Espinosa to capture the WBC featherweight belt. Dominador Cepeda, a member of the WBC board of governors, protested the decision, comparing it to the decision in the Lewis-Holyfield fight and demanding - what else - an immediate rematch.
- By John Gregg, BoxingTimes.com
Bailey scores stunning first-round KO (May 15, 1999)
Randall Bailey needed only 41 seconds to knock out WBO junior welterweight champion Carlos Gonzalez and keep his perfect record intact at 19-0 with 19 KOs. Also, heavyweight Henry "The Hugger" Akinwande scored a painfully dull ninth-round TKO over Najee Shaheed to hold on to his laughably absurd ranking as the WBA's number one contender.
- AP from ESPN.com
Williamson wins Golden Gloves (May 15, 1999)
DeVarryl Williamson took the heavyweight title in the finals of the 1999 National Golden Gloves by knocking Michael Bennett down twice in the first round. This is the first of seven national tournaments which give winners automatic berths to the U.S. Olympic team trials next February.
- AP from ESPN.com
Castillejo retains super welterweight title (May 14, 1999)
Javier Castillejo retained his WBC super welterweight title with a fourth round stoppage of challenger Humberto Aranda.
- Reuters from CBS SportsLine.com
Sheika knocks out Jenkins (May 14, 1999)
Super middleweight Omar Sheika scored a second round knockout of Demetrius Jenkins to raise his record to 17-1 with 12 KOs. Sheika can count on being a regular on ESPN2's Friday Night Fight series as long as Bill Cayton is managing his career.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Boxer guilty of involuntary manslaughter (May 14, 1999)
Professional boxer Dezi Ford was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the beating death of his 14-month-old son and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Don't have all the details, but eighty years sounds more appropriate.
- AP from CBS SportsLine.com
King, Trinidad looking ahead to Oscar (May 12, 1999)
Felix Trinidad fights Hugo Pineda on May 29, but he and promoter Don King already seem to be focusing on a proposed Sept. 18 bout with Oscar De La Hoya. If they really want De La Hoya, they won't demand equal money -- Trinidad may be Oscar's equal in the ring, but he can't touch the Golden Boy at the box office.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Referee for Ali-Spinks II dies (May 11, 1999)
Lucien "Pay" Joubert Sr., the referee in the 1978 fight in which Muhammad Ali regained his title from Leon Spinks, has died of complications from a stroke at the age of 74.
- AP from CBS SportsLine.com
Danny Romero wins following layoff (May 10, 1999)
Danny Romero, fighting for the first time in more than six months, recorded an unimpressive 10-round unanimous decision over David Vazquez. After losses to Johnny Tapia and Vuyani Bungu, Romero needs to get busy if he's going to get his career back on track.
- AP from ESPN.com
Nunn pummels Guthrie (May 9, 1999)
Michael Nunn knocked William Guthrie down five times on his way to scoring a sixth-round TKO victory. The win keeps Nunn in line for a big money shot at light heavyweight champ Roy Jones.
- AP from CBS SportsLine.com
Virgil Hill wins by unanimous decision (May 9, 1999)
Virgil Hill took a 10-round unanimous decision from Glen Thomas, bringing the former light heavyweight champ closer to his goal of winning a title at cruiserweight. If you can name any of the current cruiserweight champs, take ten points.
- AP from ESPN.com
Ottke defends IBF super middleweight title (May 8, 1999)
Germany's Sven Ottke, one of boxing's many unknown champions, successfully defended his IBF
super middleweight title for the second time with a unanimous over equally unknown Gabriel Hernandez.
- AP from CBS SportsLine.com
Morales makes sixth successful title defense (May 8, 1999)
WBC super batamweight champ Erik Morales knocked down Juan Carlos Ramirez four times in nine rounds, prompting the ref to call a halt to the action. Also, Nestor Garza scored an eighth round knockout of Carlos Barreto in his first defense of the WBA super bantamweight title. Putting these fights on pay-per-view will only delay recognition of Morales as one of the sport's fastest rising young stars.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Carbajal continues comeback (May 8, 1999)
Former three-time champ Michael Carbajal, in his second bout since returning to the ring after an 18-month layoff, won a 10-round unanimous decision over Oscar Andrade. Carbajal, who won his titles at junior flyweight, is now competing at junior bantamweight. Bigger doesn't always mean better.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Diaz, Jantuah triumph on Friday Night Fights (May 8, 1999)
The latest edition of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights was instantly forgettable, but with the dearth of fights on free (or at least basic cable) television these days, boxing fans are basically left with a weekly choice of FNF or nothing. If it weren’t for the consistent strength of HBO’s offerings, the sport would be in far worse shape than it already is.
- from About.com Boxing Guide
Marciano family upset with upcoming film (May 6, 1999)
The family of Rocky Marciano is angered by a film it claims portrays the ex-champ as a mob-connected fighter desperate to leave his hometown of Brockton. Showtime, which premieres the movie on May 15, should thank the family for the promotional value of their protests.
- AP from SportingNews.com
Bugner schedules final fight (May 6, 1999)
Veteran heavyweight and 49-year-old grandfather Joe Bugner says his upcoming bout against Levi Billups will bring his 32-year career to a close. Bugner is rapidly approaching the record for 'last' fights. Expect a few more after this one.
- Reuters from CBS SportsLine.com
Senate approves boxing reform bill (May 5, 1999)
The proposed Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act - intended to protect boxers from exploitation - now goes before the full Senate. The bill establishes contract guidelines and disclosure requirements for promoters and managers, as well as mandating 'objective and consistent written criteria' from the various sanctioning organizations for ranking boxers. Sounds good, but don't expect to see tangible results any time soon.
- AP from CNN/SI.com
N.Y. judges must disclose finances (May 5, 1999)
From now on, boxing judges will have to make financial and personal disclosures - including a credit check, notification of pending litigation and financial ties to the boxers, promoter, venue or television company - for fights in New York. Can you say 'knee-jerk reaction'?
- AP from CNN/SI.com
McCall released from jail (May 1, 1999)
Former heavyweight champ Oliver McCall, 35, was released from jail after serving 6 1/2 months of a one-year jail sentence for resisting arrest and assaulting a law enforcement officer. Don King, once again ignoring the fact that McCall struggles with an addiction to crack cocaine, plans on putting McCall back in the ring this June. Does anyone else remember this man breaking down in tears and refusing to fight back against Lennox Lewis?
- AP from CNN/SI.com
