More Action from the All-Time Tournament
More all-time greats in action as the All-Time Heavyweight Tournament continues! Be sure to click on the link at the bottom for the full list of first-round fights and results.
Gene Tunney vs. Mike Weaver
In the opening round, Weaver cracked Tunney with a hard right hand that buckled his knees. Unfortunately, for Weaver, his best opportunity of the fight slipped away in the opening frame. Tunney employed a hit and move strategy throughout and while Weaver’s size and power advantage gave him sporadic success… it wasn’t enough to keep the fight competitive on the scorecards. By the 10th, Weaver was missing more and more punches and paying with hard, crisp counters from Gene Tunney. A counter hook wobbled Weaver badly in the 11th. In the 12th, a hard combination dropped Weaver hard and an exhausted “Hercules” wasn’t able to bet Stanley Christodoulou’s count.
Sonny Liston vs. Primo Carnera
No surprises here. Carnera takes a lot of leather and by the 3rd round, there’s noticeable swelling around his right eye. Primo actually had a good round in the 5th, boxing well and moving out of range before Liston could really set down on his punches. It was the only round he won in the fight, but he won it clearly on all three scorecards. Obviously, it was a wake-up call for Liston who pressed Carnera in the 6th, hurt him badly, and stopped him without about 50-seconds left in the round. Although there weren’t any knockdowns scored, referee Stanley Christodoulou stopped the bout at just the right time.
Joe Frazier vs. Gerrie Coetzee
This fight was fun while it lasted. In the opening round, Coetzee did his very best to drop the big “bionic” right hand on Frazier’s head – and did, several times in the opening round. Coetzee clearly took the opening frame. In the 2nd, he continued to land hard clean shots… the only difference being – Frazier was beginning to land a few big shots of his own. By the third round, Joe was “Smokin’” but Coetzee continue to let his hands go. Joe pounded Coetzee throughout the fourth and with about 15-seconds remaining on the clock in the 5th, put him down for the count. Coetzee has nothing to be ashamed about. He made it interesting while it lasted.
Evander Holyfield vs. Sultan Ibragimov
Holyfield comes out quickly and takes the opening two rounds by being the busier fighter. In the 3rd, a combination from Holyfield drops Ibragimov hard. He beats the count at 8 and survives the round. In the fourth, a big right hand from Ibragimov opens a huge gash over Holyfield’s left eye. Chuck Bodak, however, does a great job in between rounds and Holyfield elects to box Ibragimov the rest of the way. By the 7th, Sultan’s right eye is almost swollen shut Holyfield’s repeated jabs and right hands. By the 9th, there are cuts above and beneath the eye. The fight is stopped by the referee with seconds remaining in the 10th when Ibragimov’s eye swells shut and he’s no longer able to adequately defend himself.
James Jeffries vs. Oleg Maskaev
Big Jeff had a little too much “under the hood” for Maskaev and slowly wore the big Russian down with heavy, crunching blows to the head and body. When referee Stanley Christodoulou stepped in with seconds remaining in the 9th round, the only thing holding Maskaev up with the ropes and Jeffries’ punches. The belief that, had Jeffries fought in the modern era, he would have been someone on the level of an Oleg Maskaev has officially been erased.
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To view or download all the current tournament results, please click here.
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