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Celebrating twenty years of boxing Showtime rang in the New Year with an electrified throw down that had its thrills and spills and handful of blame all in one action packed night!
The overlooked underdog Carlos Baldomir 41-9-6 (12) rocked, socked and most certainly shocked Zab Judah 34-2 (25) as well as the boxing world in a twelve round welterweight clash that left an aggravated Judah looking for excuses and throwing F-Bombs out to his promoter Don King. In Judah’s backyard of New York the formally undisputed one started off the show with an un-sportsman like shot to the thigh before the bell, but unfazed by the antics Baldomir stuck to his guns to carry out the upset.
Judah came out utilizing his speed beating Baldomir to the punch landing at will in what would seemingly be a walk in the park unanimous decision for the hometown hero but the unrelenting Argentinean keep his charging pace and in the seventh his stalking style paid off when he landed a flush right hand that sent Judah off balance running and holding on to survive the round.
All was the same in round eight and on as the aggressive challenger continued his assault, blooding Judah’s nose and with sudden bursts Judah would try to land with a flurry but for the most part would get the raw end of the deal with the undying will to win that Baldomir offered up. In the twelfth round Judah would once again get stunned but would make it to the end with Baldomir raising his hands indicating he thought he had won and after the smoke cleared that’s exactly the way the judges saw it. The official scores for the bout of 115-113, 114-113 and 115-112 gave the unanimous nod to the winner and new WBC welterweight champion Carlos Baldomir who stole the show.
Judah who was clearly upset about it went on to say that he had no excuses but in the same breath said his promoter Don King whom he called dirty was “f***ed up” and had him trotting around town trying to sell out the bout and conducting interviews days prior to the match. King, whom Jim Grey gave a chance to defend himself, went on to say that he never messes with the judges and that Judah wasn’t right and wasn’t focused. The newly crowned WBC welterweight champion said NO REMATCH!
As for Zab Judah, he can forget about Floyd Maywheather or Ricky Hatton. All I want to know Zab is in your verbal assault on your promoter what in the heck did you mean when you said, “I got tapes”? Please clarify to the fans and media.
Bell holds on to become the second undisputed cruiserweight champion
Seventeen years in the making but the time has finally come to add another name to the list along with Evander Holyfield of undisputed cruiserweight champions. Jamaican O’Neil Bell 26-1-1 (24) hung on to upset the Frenchman and newly named Jean-Marc ‘The Marksman’ Mormeck 31-3 (21) in a ten round slugfest.
Both fighters came out to make history by starting at a slow pace, but Mormeck picked up the work rate in round two landing some serious leather to the body of Bell and appearing to hurt him with a right uppercut that sent Bell’s mouthpiece flying up and out of the ring and both finishing up the round in a strong heated exchange. The seemingly stronger Mormeck had Bell on the ropes and was in control for most of the early rounds until a vicious left hook shook Mormeck up and almost out in round seven. Bell continued to pour on the pain and finally dropped and stopped Mormeck, who never had been down prior to this bout, in the tenth round with a flurry of shots winning the hellacious war at 2:50 of round number ten.
Mormeck, who missed out on the chance to become a part in history, was asked what happened and in his usual humble manner responded with, “If I had the answer I would be happy to tell you.” In closing statements the rejected Frenchman said that he lost the battle but not the war and that he would be back and would be happy with a rematch. The newly crowned Bell gave his winning formula, “It was a war of attrition.” And he said it was an honor to go down in history with Holyfield. What is next for Bell? It appears that the undefeated Philly slickster Steve Cunningham will finally get his due and face off next with the champion. We shall see.
All and all it was a great night for boxing and a big night for underdogs and upsets!
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: Doghouse Boxing 1998-2006
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By "Big Dog" Benny Henderson Jr. (January 8, 2006)
