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Anything
important happen while we were away?
It seems everyone wants Stuart Duncan around. Well, almost
everyone. Some of the boxers from Argentina and Uruguay
he has brought in to face hard-hitting Aussies might disagree.
Promoter Dan Goossen rates Sam Soliman’s manager
as one of the best there is. Not a bad reputation to have
in the cut-throat business of big time boxing in the USA.
The plan worked. By fighting regularly and making defences
of his IBF regional title, Sam Soliman became the IBF
No.1 contender to the winner of Bernard Hopkins vs. Oscar
De La Hoya. It doesn’t get any better than that…
While d-Rush Promotions copped plenty of flak for not
having the Briggs-Drews fight televised locally, they
should be applauded just for getting the show to Australia.
An official WBC world title eliminator is not cheap to
put on (Jeff Fenech’s winning purse bid for Green
vs. Kessler was US$611,000). I wonder what the result
and scoring would have been like if Briggs had faced Drews
in Germany?
You think the venue is not important? Just ask Danny Green
and Markus Beyer. The roar at ringside was as good as
any heard of late when Briggs walked to the arena through
the haze of smoke and fireworks. Many people didn’t
see the “Hurricane” coming. Neither did Drews…Australia
has five No.1 world title contenders now in Briggs, Vic
Darchinyan, Sam Soliman, Robbie Peden and Nedal Hussein.
Throw in Green, Anthony Mundine and Kali Meehan’s
WBO title shot next weekend and we are not fairing too
bad.
A couple more world champions and boxing will be part
of the mainstream sporting scene again. We’re doing
better than local soccer and how many assaults, sex scandals
and bad public behaviour incidents leading to arrests
have boxers been involved in lately? Boxing is looking
like choirboys compared to the NRL and AFL …
Is Craig Waller the best up and coming referee in the
country? He does a pretty good job with the ANBF website
too…
The “Black Panther” Lovemore Ndou turned 33
two weeks ago and I sent a text message to the ‘Old
Man’. “Maybe I am old, but I punch like a
teen,” he replied. Sharmba Mitchell and Miguel Cotto
already know this. Are Vivian Harris and Ricky Hatton
unwilling to join the club?…
I saw Joe Bugner recently at Panthers World of Entertainment
and on the Gold Coast. He has dropped some kilos and looks
in great condition. Ready to take on George Foreman…or
Russell Crowe…
Yeah, the scoring for amateur boxing in the Olympics sucks.
Why don’t they just award extra points for a knockdown?…
While his opponent was drained from making the weight,
Kostya Tszyu’s Russian protégé Anton
Solopov continues to look impressive with another 1st
round KO on the Briggs-Drews undercard. Solopov, Jason
Arena and Daniel Rowsell are heading to the Australian
Institute of Sport in Canberra on Monday with Tszyu for
two weeks of training, three sessions a day, every day.
If they can handle that and keep up with Kostya, winning
world titles should be a breeze. The undisputed champion
has a devilish smile on his face when he talks about what
he has in store for them…
“King” Soliman is having a dinner at Panthers
World of Entertainment next Friday night, September 3.
The MC might need a hooter to shut Sam up. Have you ever
seen a happier guy who gets punched in the face for a
living?…
Is the Mundine vs. Green debate becoming boxing’s
own Ford vs. Holden rivalry. It seems boxing fans are
either behind one or the other. Is there anyone out there
who likes both fighters?…
Vic Darchinyan, Fenech and Green are in Los Angeles this
weekend and will travel on Sunday to Miami for next Friday’s
big IBF battle. The “Raging Bull’s”
shot at IBF flyweight champion Irene Pacheco could be
one of the unknown ‘fights of the year’. By
the way he has been going in sparring, don’t expect
Vic to leave the decision to the judges…It’s
a boxing bonanza both locally and overseas for September,
October and November. Don’t ring me. I’m busy
trying to keep up with all the shows myself. I need a
Boxing TV guide to keep track of it all…Now there’s
a good idea…
I caught a taxi from the Team Fenech gymnasium in Marrickville
last week to the city. The driver from Ghana was telling
me all the reasons why Azumah Nelson really did win the
first fight in June 1991 with Jeff Fenech. “Azumah’s
defence was the difference,” he explained. Anyone
give the “Professor” more than three rounds?
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