The first round of the Legends of Boxing Heavyweight Tournament went mostly as expected, as the favored fighters won seven of the eight matches. The other saw Evander Holyfield defeat Joe Frazier in a controversial split decision by the judges. Two matches were decided by knockouts, two were by technical knockouts, and four went to the judges for a decision. Next up: the first four elimination matches, followed by the four winners’ bracket second round battles.
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Winners’ Bracket First Round
George Foreman vs. Frank Bruno: Bruno was on his backside before even landing one punch. Foreman hammered Bruno early and a left hook sent him to canvas. Bruno couldn’t answer the 10 count and this was over in a less than a minute. Foreman def. Bruno by knockout, first round, 0:49.
Rocky Marciano vs. Ken Norton: Norton looked good and outpunched Marciano in a majority of the rounds, even bloodying his nose with a shot in the first round. But Marciano knocked down Norton early in the third round and late in the seventh round, then put him down for good early in round eight. Marciano def. Norton by knockout, eighth round, 0:35.
Joe Frazier vs. Evander Holyfield: This match went the entire 12 rounds. The boxers went back and forth, seemingly switching off with the advantage in the early rounds. Frazier had a big fourth round, nearly knocking Holyfield down before the bell rang. But Holyfield came back unfazed with a huge fifth round, not allowing Frazier to land a punch. Frazier opened up a bad cut over Holyfield’s left eye in the sixth round, and that seemed like it would be the beginning of the end. But Holyfield held on, and the late rounds were fairly close. The numbers seemed to be in Frazier’s favor, but the judges stunned everyone when Holyfield’s hand was raised in victory. Judge #3 saw it 117-112 for Frazier, but Judges #1 and #2 gave it narrowly to Holyfield, 114-113 and 115-113, respectively. Holyfield def. Frazier by split decision.
Muhammad Ali vs. Jack Dempsey: Perhaps the most highly anticipated bout of the first round, this one went the distance. Ali’s defense kept Dempsey from landing too many big shots. Dempsey staggered Ali with a blow in the second round, but Ali quickly recovered. Ali got in good shots in the fourth and sixth rounds. However, there were no knockdowns in the match. Going by the punch total, the judges rightfully awarded the match to Ali, two by the score of 117-112, and the other by 115-114. Ali def. Frazier by unanimous decision.
Larry Holmes vs. Wladimir Klitschko: Klitschko kept things close throughout the match and led on all three scorecards through six rounds. But Holmes wore down Klitschko, and although he didn’t land any big strikes, much less a knockdown, he did control the second half of the match and won on all three scorecards, 116-113, 117-114, and 117-113. Holmes def. Klitschko by unanimous decision.
Lennox Lewis vs. James Braddock: Lewis dominated the bout, outpunching Braddock in every round. He bloodied Braddock’s right eye in the second round, and by the seventh round it was nearly closed. A flurry of punches that Lewis connected on late in the eighth round caused the referee to step in and stop the fight. Lewis def. Braddock by technical knockout, eighth round, 2:32.
Mike Tyson vs. Deontay Wilder: Wilder was game, but Tyson landed too many big shots. He didn’t knock Wilder down, but outscored him in most of the rounds before the fight was stopped. Wilder did have at least one big moment. Tyson had stunned Wilder twice in the third round with hard hits, but his over-aggressiveness cost him and Wilder snuck in a punch that knocked Tyson down. Tyson, recovered, however, and won the next couple of rounds. The referee stopped the fight in the eighth round when Wilder didn’t have anything left to defend himself. Tyson def. Wilder by technical knockout, eighth round, 1:55.
Joe Louis vs. Riddick Bowe: After the first two rounds passed quietly, Louis had a huge third round, knocking down Bowe twice in a row. But Bowe came back with a strong fourth round, which included a knockdown in the final seconds. Both fighters stayed on their feet for the rest of the match, but Louis had by far the better of it. The judges saw is 116-109, 116-109 and 117-109 for Louis. Louis def. Bowe by unanimous decision.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 