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PANTHERS : AUSSIE TRIO LOOKS SHARP Three aces on song to rock the world October 28, 2003
GLENN Wheatley, the 60s rock musician who became one of Australia's leading showbiz promoters backing John Farnham, is now making huge hits with another of his passions.
Wheatley had a massive impact as co-promoter of Kostya Tszyu's world title defence against Jesse James Leija, which drew 28,000 people to Melbourne's Telstra Dome in January and he is knuckling down for a series of fight cards in Sydney and Melbourne.
Yesterday, flanked by three of Australia's bruising best, he took centre stage at Penrith Panthers where he hosts world class boxing on Friday night.
Paul Briggs, the No.1 contender for the WBC light-heavyweight title, will face Juan Eduardo Zabala of Argentina, Shannan Taylor, once the top contender for the WBC welterweight title, will face another Argentine, Oscar Daniel Veliz, and Lovemore Ndou, the No.11 contender for Kostya Tszyu's world junior-welterweight title, will fight Thailand's Kiatchai 13 Coins.
And while the local fighters expect plenty of solid opposition, each is looking beyond Friday night's battles to bigger things on the world scene.
Briggs has a date in January with gangling Croatian Stipe Drews, a 195cm, 79kg stick of misery who is as awkward as a Wallaby selection meeting. That fight is likely to decide the WBC world title and the 180cm Briggs is glad the man he faces on Friday is a whopping 194cm to give him some handy preparation against a tall, rangy opponent.
Taylor, who was on his knees battling cocaine abuse last year, is still on them but now as a regular churchgoer and he's praying for a rematch with Shane Mosley, the three-time world champ who stopped him in Las Vegas.
Taylor says his support team of promoter Tony Caradonna and Roy Alexander and his new trainer Frank John Gatt have helped resurrect him from life's canvas.
And Ndou is still hounding Kostya Tszyu for a world title shot in Australia.
On that score Wheatley may be able to help.
"Once Kostya gets past his next fight in Moscow [against Sharmba Mitchell on February 7] his following fight will probably be in Australia," Wheatley said, "and I'd like to think I have a good shot at promoting it. "If that's the case Lovemore's got my number."
Briggs, who recently signed a promotional deal with Sanyo, says he expects Roy Jones to regain his WBC world light-heavyweight title against Antonio Tarver on November 8 following his successful invasion into the heavyweight ranks.
"Jones should win and I think he'll vacate the championship again to chase more heavyweight fights.
"That means my bout with Stipe Drews will likely be to decide the new WBC champ."
http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1264&storyid=399131
Aussie trio to pack a huge punch
By MIKE GANDON
October 22, 2003 - Illawarra Mercury
THREE of Australia's finest world ranked boxers in Shannan Taylor, Lovemore N'Dou and Paul Briggs will head a triple main event fight card at Penrith Panthers on Friday week.
The "Bulli Blaster", Taylor, boxing sharper than ever under the guidance of trainer Frankie John Gatt, will defend his WBA Fedelatin and PABA junior middleweight titles against Argentine Oscar Daniel Veliz.
Taylor returned to Wollongong on Monday after training with OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) middleweight champion, Sam Soliman, in Perth, and prior to that he sparred with Briggs on the Gold Coast."Sam Soliman said he'd never been hit by a jab so sharp and so hard," Taylor said.
"Sam said my jab was harder and sharper than (World Boxing Association super middleweight champion Anthony) Mundine."
Soliman lost a controversial points decision to Mundine at the Wollongong Entertainment Centre in September, 2001.
Briggs is expected to arrive in Wollongong this weekend to spar with Taylor at Bulli PCYC in the build-up to this boxing extravaganza.The "Black Panther" N'Dou, prepared at St Marys by the experienced and respected Roy Alexander, is a favourite of South Coast boxing aficionados, having fought and trained in the area many times.
The "Panther" returns to Panthers to face former PABA junior welterweight champion, Kaitchai 13 Coins of Thailand.
Ndou is the IBF (International Boxing Federation) Pan Pacific champion with a record of 34 wins, five losses, one draw with 21 knockouts but 13 Coins is sure to test the Panther's credentials.
The Thai fighter, 13 Coins, packs dynamite in both hands with an impressive 16 wins, one loss, 11 knockouts record.
Briggs is one of Australia's hottest boxing prospects and will make his Penrith debut against Leonardo Gonzalez, of Argentina.
Both boxers' records are fairly similar with Briggs having 20 wins and one loss and Gonzalez with 15 wins and three losses.
However, it's the power of Briggs with 16 knockout victims compared to Gonzalez's eight KO wins that the Australian camp hopes will prove the difference.
Gonzalez has previously held the WBO (World Boxing Organisation) Latino light heavyweight title and he aims to make life as difficult as possible for Briggs.
Briggs is ranked No1 by the WBC in the light heavyweight division and has been guaranteed a world title shot at the winner of the Roy Jones Junior - Antonio Tarver bout to be held early next month.
Australian middleweight champion Sakio "Scorpion" Bika will meet Argentina's Ramon Britez in an international contest.
Blaster Promotions and Glenn Wheatley are the promoters with tickets available from Panthers on 4720 5555.
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FAMMO DEBATE RAGES 22oct03
Jon Anderson - HERALD SUN
A DECISION to name John Famechon as Victoria's most successful boxer has re-ignited a debate that has raged for 33 years.
The Australian Boxing Federation named Famechon Victoria's best ever fighter from a field of five world champions also including Lionel Rose, Barry Michael, Lester Ellis and Rocky Mattioli. The debate centres on who would have won if "Fammo" and Rose had met.They did spar once with varying reports of who had the edge, the reality being it was very close. Also close was the decision to pick Famechon under a selection procedure that allotted points for world titles (WBA and WBC, post and pre 1970) Commonwealth, OPBF (Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation) and Australian titles.
Points were also awarded to the fighters for number of wins and losses as well as knockout victories or defeats.
As Famechon was never stopped in a fight he polled particularly well in that area, while Mattioli did well when it came to stopping opponents. Under the system Famechon won narrowly from Michael, with Rose a close third.
Brian Membrey, who is president of the Victorian branch of the ABF, said yesterday any such award was bound to draw criticism.
"Nobody can say for sure that Fammo was better than Lionel," Membrey said.
"What we've done is put some criteria in place and from that he came out on top, with Barry Michael ahead of Lionel, Lester and Rocky. "Barry Michael is definitely the boxer whose record surprises people. He fought some very good opponents all over the world."
Michael was humbled to be rated alongside Famechon and Rose, saying they were the two Australian boxers he really looked up to. "I never got the chance to spar Fammo but did plenty of work with Lionel and maybe that's why I lean towards him," Michael said.
"I've asked Lionel many times who would have won and he always says, 'Baz, I would have beaten the frog'. "Lionel had great hand speed and is the most natural Australian boxer I've seen.
"Those two would have beaten Jeff Fenech easily, then again Frank Ropis at his top would have beaten Fenech, so would have Lester." Mario Magris, who fought Rose three times (for two professional losses and an amateur loss), was the first man to box Famechon. "He was a very, very smart boxer, was Fammo, just beautiful to watch," Magris said.
"At featherweight he would have just beaten Lionel, would have been a little too strong. In the gym he did the same thing over and over again, but did it very well."
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