The Boxrec March Madness Tourney Elite 8!

Well using boxrec's less than stellar rankings have not been a total failure! Up untill this rd most of the favorites have held form...perhaps although their rankings are not preferable to many of us, maybe their top 25 has the right guys just in the wrong orders???

Anyway the elite 8 and how they got here:

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Please pick a winner for each fight, and outcome is not necesary but certainly allowed!

 

In the East:

Muhammad Ali after easily dispatching of Sandy Ferguson at times toying with him the first rd. Moved on to totally befuddle outclassed Jim Braddock ending the possibility of any type of cinderella run. In the last Rd he battled Iron Mike, with Tyson taking many of the early rds in a dead heat at the 10th, with Tyson clearly affected by the heat of the sun and losing steam Ali came on to sweep the later rds and leave with a clear decision!

Riddick Bowe the 6 seed has surprised many. In the first rd he gave a scintilating performance in a onesided fight against Jimmy Ellis. Showing he was no fluke or 1 hit wonder he controlled the action against 3 seed Joe Jeanette in another dominant performance. Many thought that his run was done as he squared off against Jack Johnson. A tenative Johnson seemed frustrated by the larger Bowe who was ahead on the cards 12-2 before a late run by Johnson made the cards look respectable, but it was a clear Bowe victory!

Will Ali the overall #1 seed continue to outclass the field, can Bowe continue his magical run? Will Bowe storm the gates like Tyson and take the early rds, before wilting? Will he become the new cinderella man????

 

In the South the 3 seed Joe Frazier has had what may be the hardest road to travel. He gave a scintilating performance against Jimmy young in a crowd pleasing match. Then the Big Fight of the 2nd rd, which some felt was a finals worthy fight both in terms of performance and the ability of the combatants. In a back and forth battle that saw both men taste the canvas Frazier emerged victorious over jack Dempsey much to the chagrin of some of the older patrons. Then in a hotly contested battle Frazier battled Holyfield tooth and nail. at the rd 10 mark it was all knotted up with both guys slugging away, before fraziers endurance saw thwe way to a clear decision over Holyfield.

the 5 seed Rocky Marciano who many felt clearly deserved a higher seeding has steadily gone about his buisiness. He dominated Johnny Risko and in rd 11 finnished him in devestating fashion that some are still talking about. Then the naysayers came out as he squared off agains the Giant Primo Carnera who some felt would be foil to the outsized Marciano. The Rock showed that he felt there was no mountain to high for him to scale controlled the action losing only 2 of the first 12 rds before finishing carnera in another devestating ending. Now the murmers started maybe, just maybe the Rock can go with some of the larger opponents left on the horizon and emerge??? In the 3rd rd he battled Sam Langford, and came out of the gate much quicker than excpected. langford may have won 2 rds if you were generous on your cards, but Rocky frustrated Langford all night long in moving on!

Frazier vs Marciano a classic battle. Will Joe have anything left after the wars with Dempsey and Holyfield, can Rocky continue to amaze??? Who will prove to be the aggressor, who will have the greater stamina, heart chin???

 

In the North:

2 seed Larry Holmes still angry that he was not listed above Ali and given the 1 seed he felt he deserved marched through the early 2 rds of the tourney. he totally outclassed Valentino and Miske in the first 2 rds, and while not scoring a KD or KO in either bout, he probably did not come close to losing even a rd in either encounter. This brought on the much anticipated fight between Lennox and Larry...in what was almost a rd for rd see saw battle Lewis had a 2 rd lead on the cards entering the championship rds. larry swept those rds on the cards of the judges anyway. In the most hottly disputed fight of the tourney Lerry emerged with a majority decision to move on. Many fans are outraged over the decision and some have said they will never watch or pay for a boxing event again. The cards were split among the reporters and the fans...but Holmes moves on!

5 seed Sonny Liston faced a chiseled version of Frank bruno and met him head on! liston staggered him early and dominated him before a late KO. After an altercation which nearly led to Liston's arrest, Don King provided an alibi for Liston and he was released. An angry Liston wasted no time in dispatching Jimmy Bivens. Still smoldering Liston put on a clinical display of skill and power in winning every rd on the cards against the game but overmatched Harry Wills.

Who will emerge in this battle of what some are calling the best jabs of the tourney? Can the smooth skill and resiliant chin of Holmes see him through? Will the power and reach of Sonny be to much for him to overcome??? Will Sonny be able to keep himself focused against an opponent who likely will not allow himself to be bullied>??

 

In the West

Joe Louis the only other 1 seed (ranked 3 overall) to make it this far. a focused Louis made a dominant entrance against Ernie Terrell in rd one, sweeping the cards but not content with that ended the fight by a brutal stoppage. In the 2nd rd a game Quarry came out and to the surprise of many took the fight to Louis. Quarry was going toe to toe with the bomber, before a cut opened over his eye. Clearly bothered by the cut, he retreated where Louis took control of the fight before the ref merciafullt stepped in and saved him from further damage. In the last rd Louis was dropped early by big George in the first and 3rd rds, and behind on the cards at the midway pt. When George seemed to gas, and Louis seemed to find his stride at almost the same pt. Louis dropped george in the 14th to pull even on the cards, and sank his teeth in for a big 15th rd and took a decision.

The new cinderella man 11 seed Jim Jeffries, inspite of some reporters calling him a caveman has adopted the John calipari philosophy of refuse to lose! Jeffries came out against Ken Norton and physically took it to Ken from the opening bell. After being staggered and dropped 5 times along the way, Ken could not get back to his feet in time and Jeffries emerged with an 8 rd KO. Moving on the Max Scmelling, who had told reporters he saw a flaw in Jeffries (on film) and although he could not talk about it he would expose it in the ring. Schmelling never got the chance as jeffries battered Schmelling in a bout in which Schmelling could only be awarded a rd or 2 if you were generous. jeffries took max out in the 13th, with a shot that lifted him several feet in the air. Then came speedy Floyd Jeffries full of confidence and excpecting a Nortonesque performance was clearly befuddled at Floyds speed and bobbing and weaving style. Floyd took control out of the gates and although Jeffries stunned him a couple of times and dropped him in the 4th, he held a clear lead on the cards. jeffries stamina of mythological preportions continues to grow as he seemed fresher after 10 rds of action then when he first came out. to the delight of the crowd he began doing push-ups in betweetn rds, and the perplexed patterson soon began to dread the exchanges that were to come. Jeffries swept the championship rds and emerged with a SD that not to many question or complain about!

Can Joe Louis continue to quietly do away with the competition? Can the legacy of jeffries continue to grow??

 

WOW! 4 different rings across the world and 4 exciting match's taking place. Rd 1 is comple in all of the fights and the judges cards are in:

1. Ali vs 6. Bowe- Ali comes out dancing and taunting Bowe, hollering what's my name with each punch. Bowe slips the jab and lands a monster right that would fell nearly any boxer. Ali's legs go to jello, but after a few clinches he gets his legs back under him. He begins methodically dancing around bowe deftly delivering his jab. Bowe clearly landed the harder shots, but Ali's superior footwork and handspeed he lands a higher percentage and more shots by compubox. A very tough rd to score, even more so due to the Ali fans that make up the crowd and cheer anytime he throws a punch. A difficult rd indeed and Ali takes the rd on 2 of the 3 judges cards.

3. Frazier vs 5 Marciano- The action in this one is fast and furious. Often misunderstood both boxers who have been called slow starters have been anything but in this one. Frazier amazingly enough backs Rocky up and goes to work on the body landing several ...gasp right hooks to the body! marciano ever resiliant takes the fight right back to Joe and lands a solid right that backs him to the ropes, and a beatiful combo that stuns him. frazier keeps throwing bombs and forces the action back to middle. Another difficult rd to score and frazier takes the rd on 2 of the 3 judges cards.

2. Holmes vs 5. Liston- Wow, Liston who remains the only boxer not to lose a rd yet in the tourney is snareling and ready go. holmes a mask of indifference does not even acknowledge him. Liston comes out throwing bombs, and cooley Holes seems to slip every jab that liston throws, and is countering beatifully. liston seems confused and frustrated that he can barely land leather on Holmes at all. Holmes lands an incredibale percentage in this rd and takes the rd on all 3 cards. WOW, is Liston resiliant enough to keep focused and comeback after this setback.

1. Louis vs 11 Jeffries- The brown Bomber seems to be quietly focused as usual and is on his game as much as ever. At times jeffries seems to be extremely slow and lumbering as louis lands solidly throughout the round. Louis's bombs seem the stuff to take out most boxers yet jeffries barely looks fazed. Louis continues to land solid blows as jeffries takes them all and keeps coming forward although he has not landed much if at all on joe. Some are heard in the audience that this is begining to look a little like Holme's vs Cobb, but others say wait untill Jeffries turns it up a notch. louis sweeps all 3 cards.

 

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