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Boxing Roundup 8/9/04
-It took Jamaican-born Glen Johnson 11 years to become an overnight sensation in boxing.
Johnson and his family moved to Miami when he was 14. He fell in love with the sport working out at Gerrits Leprechaun Gym in Wynwood. At 24 he made his pro debut with a first-round TKO of Yurek Delrio.
Johnson was a rising prospect with 22 knockouts in 31 consecutive wins. After a few tough and sometimes controversial losses, Johnson finally won his first world title at 35. Now he's back on top fighting premium boxers.
On Tuesday, promoters Square Ring and Goossen Tutor Promotions are expected to announce the Sept. 25 IBF light-heavyweight world title fight between challenger Roy Jones Jr. (49-2, 38 KOs) of Pensacola and Johnson (40-9-2, 27 KOs).
Jones, 35, is returning to the ring for the first time since losing to Antonio Tarver on May 15. The card, billed as Fight Night at the Forum, will be at the new FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. HBO will televise.
-CARD PLEASES DUVA
Promoter Dino Duva was pleased with the Showtime and Hollywood-based Warrior's Promotions pro card Thursday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The card was televised on the late-night boxing show Sho-Box: The Next Generation. For those who couldn't stay up to watch the final fight on the five-bout card, unbeaten heavyweight Samuel Peter (20-0, 17 KOs) won a 10-round decision over Jovo Pudar (22-3, 12 KOs). The judges had it 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92. The best fight of the card was between unbeaten welterweights Juan Urango (13-0-1), a Colombian who lives in Miami and is one of more than 30 fighters in the Warrior's Boxing stable, and Mike Arnaoutis (10-0-1) of Greece. They fought to a 12-round draw and hopefully will have a rematch by October. "That was one of the best fights of the year," Duva said. "That made a memorable impact on U.S. television viewers....
Peter Kahn, longtime media and marketing guru in boxing, was named director of boxing for Warrior's and is working on several future deals. Former director of boxing Jessie Robinson moves up to executive director of Warrior's Boxing. ...
The next Warrior's card at the Hard Rock is Sept. 3, an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights card. ...
-Unbeaten Olympic heavyweight silver medalist Sultan Ibragimov (11-0) and unbeaten heavyweight brother Timor Ibragimov (14-0-1) will headline an Aug. 28 local pro show at the Ovation Club in Boynton Beach. Other fighters on the card are Gary Bell (22-3-1), Sam Tillman (10-5-1), Edwin Algarin (8-2), Alejandro Berrio (20-3) and Damian Frias (4-1). Tickets are $25 and $55. Call 561-630-6870. ...
-David Estrada of Miramar won the USBA welterweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Nurham Suleyman. ...
-Davie PAL product Francisco Palacios of Miami is 3-0 as a pro with three knockouts. ...
-Unbeaten Olympic super-heavyweight gold medalist Audley Harrison is headed back to Miami Beach after negotiations for his Oct. 9 fight against British rival Matt Skelton hit an impasse. Harrison is now looking at a Nov. 13 pay-per-view card in the United States....
-Ronald Hearns, the 25-year-old son of Thomas "Hitman" Hearns, won his third consecutive pro fight with a unanimous decision over B.J. Johnson. Hearns is trained by Emanuel Steward.
-The colorful anecdotes disappear with each painful turn of the calendar. Photographs or newspaper and magazine clippings, instead of the fading voices, now mainly provide the descriptions of an era when boxing occupied the sports fans' mind-set.
He might not have won world titles or enjoyed the riches won by the top fighters during his prime, but Moe Weiss, who fought in the 1930s and '40s, provided sufficient stories to fill notebooks. Weiss, a South Florida resident for more than 50 years, died July 29 at Aventura Hospital from complications of a stroke he sustained earlier last month, his son, Harvey, said. Weiss was 80.
''My father was a humble guy, but what he accomplished in life will always remain in our thoughts,'' the younger Weiss said.
Weiss and his twin brother, Harvey, took up boxing while growing up in the Bronx. Eventually, they boxed as amateurs and turned professional in the late 1930s. When they enlisted in the Marines during World War II, the Weiss brothers served in the Pacific but also participated in boxing shows to entertain the troops.
The Weiss' war experiences were chronicled in Red Smith's book Out of the Red.
''They were so identical that in a fight one pretended to be the other and nobody noticed,'' the younger Weiss said.
After the war, the brothers resumed their careers, but Harvey Weiss died after suffering head injuries during a fight in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The tragedy led to Moe Weiss' retirement, but he made a short comeback five years later. Weiss' return fight was in the same venue his brother suffered the injuries, which resulted in his death.
''It took a lot of courage, stepping in the same ring where his brother lost his life,'' Weiss said. ``But his heart really wasn't into boxing anymore.''
According to boxing historian Hank Kaplan, Weiss finished with 65 professional fights and a 56-8-1 record.
After leaving the sport, Weiss was involved in ventures such as car sales and portrait photography. He also was one of the regulars who frequented the famed 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach.
In addition to his son, Weiss is survived by his wife, Diane, and son, Todd.
-To add your voice to our boxing discussion, copy and paste the following URL onto your browser:
http://www.miamifootball365.com/forum/index.php?board=3;action=display;threadid=6;start=50
By The Source
Aug 9, 2004
© Copyright 2004-2005 www.miamifootball365.com
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