- 6 months ago
Keith Holmes defends the WBC Middleweight Title against No 1. contender Richie Woodhall on Showtime Boxing.
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00:00:00The business at hand as we settle in for the second half of our middleweight championship doubleheader from the Showplace Arena in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
00:00:07It'll be another hometown hero WBC middleweight champ Keith Holmes defending his title against number one rated Richie Woodhull, who's looking to take the belt back to his native England.
00:00:18And let's go backstage into the dressing room of the champion Keith Holmes.
00:00:21While all eyes were on Mike Tyson and Frank Brutto back on March 16th in Las Vegas, Keith Holmes on the undercard raised many eyebrows with his impressive win over Quincy Taylor.
00:00:31It catapulted the relatively unknown Holmes to the championship throne.
00:00:39They were talking about how great a boxer he was, but I was saying to myself, I'm a greater boxer.
00:00:48I'm going to show this guy how to really bother.
00:00:49That was the whole game plan from day one, from the day that we went to camp.
00:00:56Box, just box this guy, put him together.
00:01:04I'm boxing, I'm boxing, I'm jabbing.
00:01:07At the same time, he's trying to get himself together.
00:01:09He's trying to figure me out.
00:01:10Holmes is making him fight his kind of fight, which is a chess game.
00:01:13That's exactly what he wants to do.
00:01:16I was very great.
00:01:18I was surprised on how slick I was.
00:01:26So after a good start here by the challenger, Keith Holmes, Quincy Taylor has taken control of this fight for the WBC middleweight championship.
00:01:35Maybe I'm seeing something, I'm seeing a different fight than a lot of people.
00:01:41This guy was a great puncher.
00:01:45No one is known to be a great puncher.
00:01:47He never hurt me.
00:01:50I always kept focused on the guy.
00:01:52I'm saying to myself, I'm going to get this guy.
00:01:56I'm winning this fight.
00:01:58And I feel it.
00:01:59But I'm saying to myself, go get it better than this.
00:02:03I moved around for about a minute and a half.
00:02:07I boxed him.
00:02:08And then he pulled close.
00:02:11He swung a puncher.
00:02:12I hit him with a right hook.
00:02:14Oh, down goes Taylor!
00:02:15I know what I hit this guy with.
00:02:17And I know how I felt when I hit him.
00:02:20I felt knuckles against cheekbones.
00:02:24It was a great knockdown.
00:02:26He got up too fast.
00:02:28And I looked at him.
00:02:29When the referee was counting, he was backing up.
00:02:31And he wasn't stable.
00:02:34So I said to myself, okay, you got to sneak another good shot in there.
00:02:37So I walked him down with the jab and put combinations together.
00:02:41Even though they wasn't hard, but I'm keeping the brain rattled.
00:02:45You know, keeping the brain rattled with combinations, light combinations.
00:02:49So I think it was a great, I know it was a great stopper.
00:02:52Keith Hall going for the finish.
00:02:53It's over!
00:02:54It's over!
00:02:55I mean, I was just so happy.
00:02:59I couldn't crack.
00:03:01That's a happier world.
00:03:02It was impossible to crack.
00:03:06Well, as with any world champion, there, of course, is an evolution process.
00:03:10Ferney, how about the changes in the career of Keith Hall?
00:03:13Oh, boy, he's had a lot of changes.
00:03:14He started out as a street guy.
00:03:16He had a lot of trouble.
00:03:17He worked his way out of that.
00:03:18He got into the amateurs.
00:03:19Then he started a pretty good professional career.
00:03:21Ran into managerial troubles and ran into injuries.
00:03:24He was off for a long time until he decided how to get his managerial things back together.
00:03:28As you saw, he obviously is with the right people.
00:03:31He's got the championship now.
00:03:32He's happy.
00:03:33He's training properly.
00:03:34He's conditioned properly.
00:03:36But he did have a rough start in life, and he seems to have worked his way out of it.
00:03:39Yeah, no, he's a champ.
00:03:40And then there's undefeated challenger, Richie Woodhull.
00:03:43Does he have better credentials than the opponent in the first bout?
00:03:45Bobby, your feelings?
00:03:46Well, firstly, he's undefeated.
00:03:48Not that that in and of itself matters that much.
00:03:50But he's beaten some tough European fighters.
00:03:52And the scouting report is that he can box pretty well.
00:03:54He's tall, good height and reach, much like the champion Holmes.
00:03:57He's tough and durable, can punch a little bit.
00:04:00And the overall scouting report is that he can fight and will bring a good game here.
00:04:02So this is a real good test for Keith Holmes in his first title defense.
00:04:06Tough to tell about these European fighters.
00:04:08We just don't know the caliber of their opponents because we just don't see them.
00:04:11Well, this is Woodhull's first world title fight, his first fight in the U.S.
00:04:15He's fighting in the champ's backyard.
00:04:16Talk about a tough test, Bobby.
00:04:18Well, I'll tell you, I just stacked against him, and I talked about it.
00:04:20But at the same time, one of two things can happen.
00:04:23He can fold under pressure, or he can realize that he's got nothing to lose.
00:04:26He chose nothing to lose.
00:04:27He's ready.
00:04:28Here he is, Bobby.
00:04:28The challenger, Richie Woodhull, fighting outside of his native England for the first
00:04:32time from the industrial city of Telford, the WBC's number one contender, who tonight
00:04:36makes his first attempt at a world title.
00:04:49Come on.
00:04:50Let us go.
00:04:52Come on.
00:04:53Let us go.
00:04:55Come on.
00:04:55Let us go.
00:04:56Come on.
00:04:57Come on.
00:04:58Let us go.
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00:05:28Richie Woodhull who won the bronze medal as a junior middleweight at the 1988 Summer Olympics
00:05:40in Seoul, Korea.
00:05:41He lost on a tough points decision in the semifinal to current IVF super middleweight champion
00:05:46Roy Jones Jr.
00:05:47As a pro, he's collected the British Commonwealth and European middleweight championship belts
00:05:51and tonight a chance to become a world champion.
00:05:58And here is the champ, Keith Holmes, the people's choice from Washington, D.C., now makes his
00:06:03home in Hyattsville, Maryland, making his first defense to the WBC middleweight crown.
00:06:08The Southpaw in a 22-fight win streak, including 17 by knockout, has not lost since July of
00:06:1490.
00:06:14His only defeat in 29 fights, a six-round decision to a man named Ronald Hammond.
00:06:19Undefeated since, only five of his last 20 opponents have lasted until the final bell.
00:06:24The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:25The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:26The Southpaw in a 24-fighter.
00:06:27The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:28The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:29The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:30The Southpaw in a 24-fighter.
00:06:31The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:32The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:33The Southpaw in a 24-fighter.
00:06:34The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:35The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:36The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:37The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:38The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:39The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:40The Southpaw in a 23-fighter.
00:06:41Oh
00:07:11Dramatic heart-pounding music but on the mellow side only have ever heard a fighter come in
00:07:35to such mellow music as Arthur McKinney the great referee checks things out let's see how they stack
00:07:42up on paper as we check the tail of the tape only a year separates the two in age the height almost
00:07:47even both under the the weight limit biggest disparity holes with the four-inch reach advantage
00:07:52out of the WBC rules for this title fight scoring by the 10-point must system three judges will
00:07:58score no standing eight count no three knockdown rule only the referee can stop it a fighter cannot
00:08:03be saved by the bell except in the final round if an accidental foul occurs before the end of
00:08:07the fourth round the fight is ruled a technical draw if it happens after the completion of the
00:08:11fourth they go to the scorecard so as the lovely music continues here at the showplace arena in
00:08:18upper marlboro maryland set for the wb here separates the two in age the height almost even both under
00:08:23the the weight limit biggest disparity holes with the four-inch reach advantage out of the WBC rules
00:08:29for this title fight scoring by the 10-point must system three judges will score no standing eight
00:08:34count no three knockdown rule only the referee can stop it a fighter cannot be saved by the bell except
00:08:39in the final round if an accidental foul occurs before the end of the fourth round the fight is ruled
00:08:44a technical draw if it happens after the completion of the fourth they go to the scorecards
00:08:50so as the lovely music continues here at the showplace arena in upper marlboro maryland set for the
00:08:55wbc middleweight championship the official introductions from our ring announcer the classy jimmy lennon jr
00:09:05will fans as always on showtime championship boxing a donation of five thousand dollars will be made
00:09:11by don king productions and showtime to the united negro college fund the national hispanic
00:09:18scholarship fund and tonight to buoy state university this donation will be made in the name of the
00:09:24the fighter of the night who will be selected by an expert panel of judges at the conclusion of
00:09:31tonight's action
00:09:37ladies and gentlemen we welcome you to the showplace arena here in upper marlboro maryland
00:09:44for the featured attraction of the evening brought to you by don king of productions this bout coming
00:09:50away is sanctioned by the world boxing council the president jose suleiman supervisor at ringside gilbert
00:09:57ware along with the maryland state athletic commission the chairman carl l milligan jr executive
00:10:03director patrick panella secretary of the maryland department of licensing and regulation is eugene a
00:10:10conti jr positions at ringside dr stephen manikin dr frank garman dr douglas frankel timekeeper at the bell
00:10:18also keeping count of the knockdowns we have don risher presenting to you the judges scoring this
00:10:24bout from ringside juan jose guerra angel luis guzman and ken morita all right fans here we go with the
00:10:36main event of the evening and now ladies and gentlemen in attendance and boxing fans joining us around the
00:10:44world it's showtime with the wbc middleweight championship of the world scheduled for 12 rounds
00:10:53of boxing presenting to you first the challenger on my left finding out of the blue corner wearing blue
00:11:01trunks with white trim he hails from telford england he weighed in at 158 pounds he is undefeated in his
00:11:11campaign in the ring with 21 wins no losses with 13 wins coming by way of knockout tonight he is
00:11:21making his american debut in the squared circle please welcome the former european champion and current
00:11:27wbc number one ranked contender introducing richie woodhall
00:11:39and presenting the defending champion on my right fighting out of the red corner making this mandatory
00:11:45defense of his crown he is wearing blue trunks fighting out of and representing his hometown and our
00:11:52nation's capital of washington dc he weighed in at already 157 pounds his record includes 29 wins one
00:12:04defeat with 19 wins coming by way of knockout tonight he is making the first defense of his title
00:12:10introducing the current wbc middleweight champion of the world introducing keith holmes
00:12:22and presenting to you our referee in charge of this bout boxing hall of fame referee working in this
00:12:30this is 125th world title bout arthur mercanty senior
00:12:52good evening keith and richie you both know the rules of the wbc
00:12:58i'll be here to enforce them and you better obey them shake hands now come out boxing at the bell good luck
00:13:12the challenger richie woodhall from england says no problem fighting in the u.s in fact there's less
00:13:17pressure than fighting at home where expectations are are so high and he'll be beating the wbc middleweight
00:13:23champ there he is southpaw keith holmes an engaging personality who says things are so different
00:13:28now that he's trying to defend rather than win the title he says it's scary even his friends look
00:13:33at him funny the illustrious othomer county who has requested not to uh wear a microphone working
00:13:41as the third man of the ring i'm certainly good to see arthur i mean it see it didn't seem natural not
00:13:46to see him around title fights for since a long time he was a fixture in a fight game and he still is wonderful
00:13:51man well the prevailing opinion is woodhall is solid he can take a punch but does he have the skill level
00:13:58to compete with a keith holmes on paper it appears to be a good matchup but in reality it could be a
00:14:03different story overall many field bernard hopkins is the best middleweight holmes and joppy out to prove
00:14:09differently you know this fight could work out to be an incredibly boring chess match if one or the other
00:14:14doesn't take the initiative and be offensive this is a fight where both guys when you use their reach
00:14:19use their height stay outside and counter punch and box a lot and that can work out to be a very
00:14:23boring fight one one thing uh i was told by his british handlers as well as a man from the london
00:14:29times is he doesn't do well with left-handers he's fought only three and he had trouble with all
00:14:33three he said he just didn't look good i said well if he had trouble with three light with uh left-handed
00:14:38before imagine what he's going to have tonight with holmes who's a good left-handed he has an
00:14:42educated effective jab he likes to jab and move he jabs in hopes of setting up a straight left hand he
00:14:49also has a nice right uppercut looks to dictate the tempo use lots of movement out slick and out
00:14:55thick his opponent and keep his range talking about the champion keith holmes they're both wearing blue
00:15:02trunks richie woodhall on the left of your screen keith holmes the champ on the right
00:15:08home's not known as a one punch knockout artist but he essentially dropped quincy taylor for the
00:15:14title with a clean right hook and the knife you know i talked to him about that shot he said you
00:15:19know he said he doesn't look for it because when you start looking for one punch knockouts he said
00:15:23it becomes dangerous and you throw off the rest of your fight game he said if it comes it's great he said
00:15:27that day he just felt it and came nice and he although it wasn't a one punch knockout it was the one
00:15:31punch that ended that fight a subsequent flurry ended it some fell prematurely but quincy taylor didn't
00:15:37complain now he's looking to pick up the pace a little that was the first hard punch and holmes
00:15:44is throwing a miss by about a foot holmes considers himself a well-conditioned boxer with a lot of heart
00:15:50he said he'll outbox woodhull use his movement throw lots of punches but he's trained for the distance
00:15:57woodhull's a boxer not a slugger not a crawler by any means well right now he's not employing any of the
00:16:03things that you have to do to fight a left-hander he's standing straight in front of him and he
00:16:07doesn't seem to know exactly what to do with bobby we've discussed this before left-handers are
00:16:12awkward what's the best thing you try to do as an opponent to a southpaw you know with a southpaw i
00:16:17like you know the jabs right there your jabs meet in mid-air so whoever's going to be a little more
00:16:20effective i like the key off the southpaw's jab but down the middle with the right hand and the left
00:16:25hook to the side that's that's for me has always been the most effective way but the left hand for a southpaw
00:16:30conversely down the pipe works on you are the dog spider so whoever's going to be a little more
00:16:34effective i think you got to get there first to get the win final seconds of the opening round
00:16:40for the wbc middleweight championship
00:16:45stop
00:16:51that was all right you've never hurt your work or a bunch nothing happens but
00:16:56fishing is finding you everything as awkward as you're finding him all right so you've got to make
00:17:02sure that you make him give in first you understand yeah but he's finding you just as awkward as you're
00:17:09trying to do it you've got to try and break him up a little bit you know a little more pressure okay
00:17:23you're moving fine though okay all right can you catch him with a shot and when you're making smith you
00:17:27got a five right all right you got to come right back okay let's go
00:17:44round two we'll see if the chess match continues arthur burkani brings them together
00:17:49holmes told us he noticed through tapes that woodhull after a jab drops his left hand he also has a habit of
00:17:55touching his thigh he'll look to exploit those things and as for fighting a southpaw as we were
00:18:02discussing before woodhull said he's fought three as ferdy said all wins but they are awkward he just
00:18:08has to try and adjust mickey duff the venerable fight corner man said to him remember he's fighting
00:18:15he's finding you as awkward as you're finding him so you just got to press forward uh well that was
00:18:21pretty good except i don't think that holmes is fighting him too often holmes is okay it's it's
00:18:26what um woodhall that's fighting difficulty and uh solving holmes style you know and in holmes's corner
00:18:32his trainer said you know you're boxing well enough but apply a little more pressure and make him pay
00:18:36when he misses make him pay and that is key man misses you make him pay he stopped throwing punches
00:18:42woodhall tries to outthink outwit his opponents but
00:18:45he's homes a pretty good student of the sweet science himself there's the jab
00:18:53holmes looking to set up the left hand
00:18:58good defense by holmes blocking those punches
00:19:01so far nothing's coming in nothing's hitting holmes hard
00:19:05and while woodhall has thrown several hard punches he missed them by a wide mark and no one's gotten hit
00:19:10hard yet both of the fighters are playing what we call in the gym sometimes a scary fight in and out in and out
00:19:15quick moves and that that fight can sometimes be boring david woodhull's best punch just before a
00:19:20straight left hand and did tag holmes on the side of the face holmes very confident
00:19:29when i asked him what his best punch was he said both hands
00:19:33he trains for the distance tries not to gamble to see how hard his opponent hits
00:19:39again home just clicking that jab
00:19:46woodhall with a wild miss inside of a minute remaining in round two scheduled for 12 for the wbc
00:19:53middleweight championships you know keith holmes is basically a stand-up boxer as is woodall but
00:19:58woodall has a little bit of that perky jerky european stiffness in him he doesn't really slide or glide
00:20:04easily he jumps around hops around take short hops a lot very awkward and unsettling sometimes
00:20:10woodhall started throwing punches when he was six his father lynn in his corner along with mickey duff
00:20:18his first competitive bout at age 11. he's been fighting a long time
00:20:22over in england
00:20:23but again this another one of those cases where a british fighter or european fighter comes over here
00:20:32to the states even though he's undefeated has accomplished a great deal overseas we're just
00:20:37not sure how good he really is because of the caliber of his foes
00:20:40he's homes just continues to measure woodhull out
00:20:54i'm going down a minute better
00:20:56okay settle down a bit i think in it get round
00:21:00patience before you all right
00:21:05nothing else you're telling you're going great
00:21:07i don't forget you can show him one like we were doing so we wanted it with the other now come on
00:21:19now let's you need to do it with cheese you're here to do it son not to make the number up you're here to
00:21:25do it
00:21:47as we enter into round number three it has been uh relatively uneventful up to this point
00:21:54uneventful and even kind of a fight you don't really see the advantage of one man
00:21:58other it wasn't like the joppy fight where they came out in a war and all of a sudden you could see
00:22:02the job he was taking command here you can't see who's taking command both guys are sort of missing
00:22:06and hitting every once in a while it's not the same kind of fight they're still trying to figure out
00:22:11who is going to come take command of this fight again holes clicking the jab looking to set up
00:22:17the left
00:22:18home's the southpaw he's the champion just sticking a pouring jab out
00:22:25now i think it's clear at this pace both fighters they've trained well and they've trained hard
00:22:29should have plenty to go to distance but this pace is not going to get done both fighters have to be
00:22:34more offensive period oh and woodhall looks to dig in with a right uppercut to the body of home
00:22:40woodhall's been working eight months for this fight and he said forget any rumors about injuries
00:22:46or lack of training which didn't crop up
00:22:50the rumors of a hyperextended elbow and his palms fishes with that straight left hand
00:22:54good defense by woodhall with a duck under move
00:23:00now woodhall is pretty quick with his feet as well as his hands he gets out of the way rather well
00:23:04but he just never really stops and plant when he fires he just doesn't plant those feet
00:23:11woodhall now up on his toes those shots are missing holmes just too quick
00:23:15there you see that left jab going down to his thigh as keith holmes talking yes as he predicted
00:23:21he's going to look to take advantage of that if he sees it often enough
00:23:27yeah we just saw it again and again the left hand of woodhall goes down for some reason and touches the
00:23:33thigh i don't know if that's a habit or what in any event holmes alerted us to that fact and he'll try to
00:23:40exploit it let's see if he moves in on woodhall the next time he does that he moved in with a straight
00:23:49left to the stomach there but it didn't do much damage on the challenger woodhall you know once
00:23:55again both of these fighters seem to have defense on the mind they do not seem to be very offensive
00:24:00minded and it's you know obviously here we're in america keith holmes is the champion that lends to be
00:24:06a late round fight a decision fight in his favor but not a good fight it in complete contrast to the
00:24:12first fight we saw champion mcelroy watch those shots to the back and to the kid he says author
00:24:19mccani where he is 125th world title fight yeah the mark of a great referee you hardly ever see him
00:24:24i'm sure on tape at home he's almost never in the picture but even here he is watching from a distance
00:24:29very clearly he knows where to be where to position himself a truly excellent little combination there by
00:24:34woodhall looking to pick up the offense a little bit
00:24:40final seconds of round three
00:24:44woodhall continues to fight mostly a defensive fight lands with a straight right at the bill
00:24:53as this wbc middleweight championship fight continues it is round four
00:24:57the defensive chess match continues although woodhall looked to pick it up a little bit
00:25:04offensively they were more impressed with woodhall's work in his corner between rounds you know the last
00:25:09round might have been an even round or woodall may have even actually won it a little bit only due to
00:25:13the lack of offensive gestures by anyone uh but he's being a little more aggressive being taking a few more
00:25:20chances being a little more offensive minded and keith holmes right now seems to be just biding his time and
00:25:25waiting looking for a spot using his jab but also neither fighter looks like they want to get into
00:25:30any time and now things are picking up just a bit the pace by richie woodhall and keith holmes offensively
00:25:38right upper cut by richie woodhall but not having much impact on the chin of holmes
00:25:45holmes just seems to adapt to just to whoever is in front of him we saw that against princey taylor in las
00:25:51vegas for the championship he got into more of a slugfest after a while eventually winning that fight
00:26:00by ninth round tk over taylor for the title
00:26:04combination by woodhall but missing
00:26:08back comes holmes with the right jab but that's a slapping right hand you see woodall throws he's
00:26:12almost going backwards and just sort of slapping out there not effective if it lands it's not going to
00:26:16hurt anyone and you know he needs to sit down a little bit more bend and drive with his legs
00:26:21which he's not doing woodhall undefeated 21-0 with 13 knockouts holmes 29-1 with 19 ko's holmes with
00:26:30more power and holmes showing some of that power there with a straight left hand that sent woodhall back to
00:26:35the ropes back comes woodhall though but doing no damage
00:26:40but at least the action heating up a little more now after the first three rounds woodhall's a very
00:26:48difficult fighter to really corner and then unload on i think holmes has to work his way in behind the
00:26:53jab in combination this corner strainer keeps telling more combinations and he needs to use that i think
00:26:58holmes is just trying to take this time use this time wisely to figure woodhall out low low warning on
00:27:05keith holmes by author mercanty says that's the first warning
00:27:10view more they deduct the points well i missed that particular punch but uh the referee he knows his
00:27:16business round four continues
00:27:27woodhall really up on his toes
00:27:29he's missing beautiful duck under by keith holmes to uh allude that punch then he came up and
00:27:37through and he also missed very defensive fight
00:27:45final seconds of round four
00:27:50there's a wild miss with a left hook there by keith holmes as the bell sounds
00:27:59so here at the showplace arena in upper marlboro maryland showtime championship boxing bringing you
00:28:05two world middleweight championship fights we've got the fight doctors standing by with a special guest
00:28:12pretty
00:28:15william joppy still the champion here's your hometown fellow champion fighting how do you see this fight
00:28:21right now i see the fight is about even uh keith holmes pretty much in control but uh if richie woodall
00:28:27settles down and hold his ground and back keep up i think keefer have uh have problems but as of right
00:28:32now it's about even and uh keeps pretty much in control do you see anybody taking control of this
00:28:38fight no it's back and forth it's like i said it's about even and uh if richie woodall settle down
00:28:43back keefer up keefer have problem but right now keeps in control all right thank you very much joppy and
00:28:48back to steve albert all right uh birdie joppy says people don't know how to fight keith holmes
00:28:54like quincy taylor you got to jump on him and rough him up he says i'd beat him those are the
00:28:59words of william joppy they've got a real rivalry going they used to spar together about three years
00:29:05ago when uh holmes was a lot smaller about 147 and joppy clearly dominated there's a right hook by
00:29:11richie woodhall but right off the shoulder of holmes you know the fight is very close even and whichever
00:29:17way you score score some of these close rounds can make an awfully big difference because there is not
00:29:21a lot of definitive action here round number five
00:29:29now both fighters looking for a signature punch or a signature
00:29:34flurry but so far nothing doing well as uh joppy uh joppy said this is a very sort of going back and
00:29:43forth fight very even i'm trying to score it from back there where i sat with where joppy and let me
00:29:48tell you from back there and from up here it's the same thing neither man is taking control
00:29:55both jockeying for position
00:29:59there's a straight left by paul but again
00:30:03it's kind of slipping off the face of woodhall no marks on anybody
00:30:08woodhall's face very crisp and clean thus far
00:30:16woodhall's never been down the same for holmes and holmes doesn't have a history of cuts
00:30:22and he won't get cut at this rate because
00:30:25woodhall continues to miss just like that because of the quick defense of keith holmes
00:30:29he's missing with that left hook it was blocked and now woodhall with a swing and a miss
00:30:37you know it's that one got him that's sweeping right hand is not effective once in a while scores
00:30:42a point but it can't hurt keith holmes and even woodhall said i don't think it'll be a knockout if i win
00:30:47it's going to be decision it's a late fight either way it's going to be very tough to get a decision here
00:30:52you know he is an awkward fighter uh i don't see those punches seem to be like you say stick-like
00:30:58almost they don't hurt when they hit but they are making points and they just tripped over each
00:31:03other's foot as they always do in left-handed and woodhall's punch is more of a slapping variety
00:31:12holmes chrisper again the defense by both fighters
00:31:22you know right now believe it or not woodhall is actually getting the better of
00:31:25keith holmes a little bit by tapping him and running and he's sitting on his punches just a
00:31:29little too long he's working behind that jab and unload a few more combinations
00:31:33throw in with the combinations and shoulder feints and dig up from another direction to confuse woodall
00:31:38but right now he's uh still a little perplexed and trying to figure it out what woodall is doing
00:31:43what the corner told him a little while ago two punches at a time not one punch and that second
00:31:48punch is landing often now uh much more than uh say at the opening of the fight because he's punching
00:31:54two punches three punches
00:32:02all right let's go to work man okay you're catching with some good body shots now let's make those
00:32:26body shots count by going upside his head after catching to the body man okay when you make a
00:32:30miss you got to make a play for man not just one single shot two and three okay okay and don't
00:32:33put too much in that left hand without coming back with the right hook okay you got it but you can't
00:32:40and that means backing him up backing him up backing him up back him up you gotta back him up
00:32:53well the intensity level of trainer claude bozier in the corner of keith holmes
00:32:57raising event there between rounds five and six round six for the wbc middleweight championship
00:33:04scheduled for 12. richie woodhall on the left of your screen 21-0 13 knockouts former olympic bronze
00:33:11medalist at the 88 games in seoul korea keith holmes 29 and 1 19 knockouts he's the wbc middleweight
00:33:19champion born in washington dc lives in nearby high school maryland he's the hometown guy woodhall from
00:33:26england at the first time anything approaching blow by blow punch by punch uh shootout that we had
00:33:34and it didn't last very long sporadic gunfire not much of a sustained attack at all by either of these
00:33:42two men you know one or two in a round that they would all may have actually pulled out or pulled
00:33:47even by sneaking grabbing a few punches running moving stepping around holmes landed a few more
00:33:52solid blows but not as many so this is such a close fight difficult to score homes was being urged on to
00:33:59dick to the body by claude bozier and he's doing just that now well that's how you'll get woodwall
00:34:03stop running bang that body you kill it in the hidden rest of the diet and he continues to do it then
00:34:08he goes upstairs also as suggested by claude bozier look out now hitting on the break was keith holmes
00:34:18that's another warning from arthur mercanty
00:34:23you're not going to get away with too much with arthur mercanty he has seen it all
00:34:27and he is very fair and impartial that's the most impartial that's the only guy i know i'm boxing
00:34:31that nobody objects to when they make him the referee
00:34:41a couple of good right hands there by woodhull but again he's slapping he's just arm thrown he's
00:34:45not driving with him and i think that keith holmes realizes woodhull can't hurt him he's going to
00:34:50start really coming to him woodhull a tough kid obviously it looks like he can handle himself in
00:34:57the ring but as we mentioned at the outset just wonder if he has the same overall skill level as
00:35:04a keith holmes well this may be a fight based on conditioning more than anything else and he certainly
00:35:09looks superbly conditioned i can't say anything about holmes but but i i do remark this guy's
00:35:16bouncing up and down like a rubber ball now we're we're in the sixth round he's bouncing up and down like
00:35:20if he had the tennis balls on his shoes woodhull said he's trained eight months for this fight he
00:35:25trains for distance holmes trains for 25 rounds so yes they both are in exquisite physical condition
00:35:33there is a such thing as too much training yes you can attest well this guy's got legs i'll tell you
00:35:40that boy to be able to do what he's been doing final 10 seconds of round six the midway point of the fight
00:35:59so we're here at the showplace arena our second co-feature the wbc middleweight championship basically
00:36:05this is an equestrian arena and lately they've been using it for other events like prize fighting it's
00:36:12located right next door to a thoroughbred racetrack known as marlboro racetrack a very uh
00:36:18quaint little arena that seats 5 025 they say they've got about 4 000 i'm not quite sure about that
00:36:27as we get ready for round seven of this championship fight but it's an enthusiastic
00:36:31crowd cheering on their hometown favorites first william joppy and now keith holmes
00:36:37it's your team to be positive right you're getting the number now you're getting the number
00:36:42now come on you want it come on stay upstairs see the guy hey keith when the guy goes to the rope
00:36:55so we had around seven how about the unofficial scorecards
00:36:59well i'll tell you i think i keep home is a slight edge but it's it's really a very close fight
00:37:03there are a couple of rounds there that were so lackluster so non-dominated one way or the other
00:37:08you know i hate to call rounds even but it's like three one two three two and one keith with a slight
00:37:13edge but ever so slight i agree with bobby i i have an even round i don't i hate even rounds it was one
00:37:19that nothing happened and so uh yeah i think the last based on the last two rounds keith is beginning to
00:37:26find combinations and coming on and i think he's hedging ahead but very slight well the judges the
00:37:32real judges are from all over the place jose juan gara from monterey mexico angel guzman from san juan
00:37:38puerto rico and ken burrito from tokyo japan they are ringside watching closely
00:37:46nice bit of business there from woodhull who seems to be getting more and more brave as the fight
00:37:54goes on nice little furry there by richie woodhull all the way from england oh a beautiful right
00:38:01uppercut by keith holmes the best punch of the night certainly the best punch of the night it's
00:38:04ignited a little bit of a fire under him he's looking to come in and do more damage but once
00:38:08again woodhull starts bopping around and he almost hypnotizes holmes who stops coming in
00:38:14that was the punch of the night but it didn't have a big effect on richie woodhull who just goes right
00:38:20back to his attack i must say the corner told him you've got his number now go ahead and start
00:38:25doing your work and he is doing his work
00:38:30so keith holmes not following it up
00:38:33that's the midway point of round seven and he lets woodhull off the hook
00:38:39and lets woodhull take command of the action he's the one that's punching he's the one that's doing
00:38:44initiating the action i don't know why after such a great punch he wouldn't come after him but he did
00:38:49blood coming from the nose of woodhull from that uppercut that was a beauty you know i just don't
00:38:55understand why keith doesn't apply a little more body pressure just close the gap and make woodall
00:39:00pay that's what he's supposed to do that's what he can do when he does on the attack here he's pushing
00:39:05woodhull back into the rough woodhole bounces right off and into the body of hole woodall seems to know
00:39:11how to tie him up and then as soon as he ties him up he comes back on the attack the first smart box
00:39:15yeah very smart box well he says he goes into out with the bloody face of richie woodhull
00:39:25keith holmes just seems to be puzzled somewhat by the englishman yeah instead of the other
00:39:29and the other way around is the young man who doesn't know what to do with left-handers that's
00:39:33the other way around it's richard who doesn't know what he's going to do
00:39:36i think what i think what i think it really clearly comes down to is it i tell you what you
00:39:42cannot get the rhythm down of woodhull
00:39:48vital seconds of round seven
00:39:54oh woodhull follows up with two left hooks at the bell and those are the kind that take carry around
00:40:00that's close i didn't think the round was close i thought woodhull took it but if it was close
00:40:04those two solid shots would take it
00:40:22let's look at keith holmes brief moment of glory and that's a beautiful
00:40:26love cut keep your eyes on the gloves oh look at that all the way from outside through his guard
00:40:31and right on the button i think that's you know at the end of the round woodhull is still he's in
00:40:36there punch he's doing what he has to do he comes in right into the body and it's your left hook and
00:40:40like another kind of semi jab shove left hook he's being fairly effective i gave that round to holmes
00:40:46i thought he was much more effective for the for the majority of the round early on inflicted the damage
00:40:51but there is no sustained tough action as we get ready for round eight round eight scheduled for 12
00:41:00for the wbc middleweight championship
00:41:05taking again is the challenger richie woodhull he finished the last round with a flurry of left hooks
00:41:22looking to pick up from that last round those are the counters that homers corner and strand we're
00:41:30talking about he comes in makes him make a miss but make him pay
00:41:36woodhull fighting with a lot more confidence now and this coming after he got that uppercut to the
00:41:42jaw and i think holmes is getting a fedex in his corner as well i better get started this thing's
00:41:47slipping away i mean he's fighting a little bit harder than he has before he's coming on as well
00:41:52this may yet heat up into a good battle you know when the fight's over after 12 rounds if you have
00:42:00a tremendous amount of energy you cheated yourself throughout that fight you shouldn't have a lot
00:42:03left and at this pace i think he's going to have too much left over after 12. but woodhull from england
00:42:10fighting the champion in the champion's hometown his backyard he's going to have to do a lot more than
00:42:16this to get a decision in the maryland area but of course the judges are not from maryland or anywhere
00:42:22around here so that shouldn't have really anything to do with it although they might be influenced by
00:42:29the crowd human nature who knows that was almost a low blow by richie woodhull all right okay
00:42:46homes boring in but nothing to it just pulling away with that right jab it was woodhull who came
00:42:55for it nice right hand to the body and here you see woodhull will jump in like with a one two or one two
00:43:00three holmes will block it but not really all for too much up and then it'll start this chase again
00:43:05the same thing will happen and that's how woodhull stole in a couple rounds they were close just grabbing a
00:43:10couple extra points
00:43:16woodhull dancing around a little bit he's been very frisky
00:43:21close in with that left jab but not effective there frisky is that a boxing turn it is now
00:43:27well we're good combination to the body by woodhull
00:43:30woodhull just picking his spots
00:43:56there's oh yeah oh yeah that was pretty clean that was a curtain raiser i mean the whole back
00:44:05end of his trousers went out yeah round number nine scheduled for 12 this for the wbc middleweight
00:44:14championship keith holmes left of your screen won the title last march ninth round tk over quincy taylor
00:44:23and for richie woodhull the number one contender he's been the number one contender for a long
00:44:27time he's undefeated 21 and 0 his first world title shot a little bit of change here as woodhull
00:44:32comes out as the aggressor and holmes stepping back to box where he just unloaded good straight left
00:44:37hand to woodhull's body but maybe maybe a little change in momentum here shotgun jab by keith holmes sending
00:44:44woodhull back a bit let's see if woodhull comes forward again now inches forward on his toes
00:44:54while holmes bobbing and weaving jockeying waits for the opening looking for the body missing
00:45:00both fighters in excellent condition that one just bounced off the shoulders and grazed the head of
00:45:12holmes by woodhull the right hook
00:45:13it's going to be the second third fourth and fifth shots that hit either fighter
00:45:21and they got to start throwing combinations with numbers and the only one that throws three and four
00:45:25shots is richie woodhull i mean as soon as holmes gets in close throws one shot maybe two he grabs
00:45:32him i mean it's not it's like he doesn't throw in punches anymore and bunches anymore
00:45:39well this is definitely not the same aggressive keith holmes we saw against quincy taylor in march
00:45:45and he didn't tell us before the fight that it's very different very emotional defending the title
00:45:51rather than fighting for the title this might have a bearing on him mentally you know he called it scary
00:45:55and it may be putting too much pressure on him because it's just it's a fight it's another day at the off
00:46:00he's just got to put all of that out of his mind and go after his opponent as he is doing here
00:46:07and the crowd getting into it but the defense of woodhull trying to stave off the attack of holmes
00:46:15but at least he's attacking he's the champion he has got to attack
00:46:19a welt forming under the right eye of the challenger woodhull
00:46:22but it's under the eye not not as bad as would be if it was above the eye or if it was a cut
00:46:31and opened up holmes has been fighting this round as he should have been fighting the last three or
00:46:36four rounds a nice left hook by woodhull who you know once again is trying but he doesn't have any real
00:46:42pop on his punches he doesn't punch like a bernard hopkins or quincy taylor or william joppy he's not
00:46:48going to hurt you i think what keith holmes should do is gamble a little more take a shot
00:46:59as we approach the final 10 seconds of round nine
00:47:08again just a lot of posing as holmes lands with a right hook at the bill
00:47:13well the crowd here at the show face arena on showtime championship boxing our second co-feature
00:47:21in the first co-feature william joppy defended his wba middleweight championship with a sixth round tko
00:47:29over ray charles mcelroy joppy has a score to settle with keith holmes he hopes in 1997
00:47:36in a unification title bout he wants to do just that good time in here man you don't waste any time
00:47:44it's time let's go
00:47:53it's time let's go
00:47:55it's time let's go
00:47:57well we hit double figures some moisture in the ring off of a caddy holding things up waiting
00:48:16for the wbc official to get out of the way was doing some housekeeping and here we go round 10
00:48:27the face of richie woodhall beginning to look a little puffy now all of a sudden
00:48:34we notice the welt under the right eye but the whole face seems to be
00:48:40swelling now holmes is coming alive he seems to sense that this could slip away if he didn't start
00:48:47holmes coming forward his corner is hurting him on but the counter-punching combination by
00:48:53richie woodhall sends holmes back a bit lazy left hook there by holmes he needs more pop on those
00:48:59punches but at least he's punching he at least he's through six punches i mean before he's been
00:49:04throwing one and two it's as if his corner said listen you don't want this championship go out
00:49:08there and keep fighting like that you're going to lose it see it's also late in the fight now through
00:49:13the bigger puncher which is home right now at least it appears that way those punches are going to do
00:49:17the damage those parts are going to deplete the opponent that's what's going to start to really
00:49:20count but richie woodhall the challenger from england has to win this fight decisively
00:49:27if he has any ideas of taking the championship back to jolly old england here's a straight left
00:49:34to the solar plexus by keith hall and then a left hook by richie woodhall out of nowhere
00:49:40woodhall beginning to open it up just a little
00:49:43but he's got to follow it up it's one and done for both fighters
00:49:53we just haven't seen much of a sustained attack by each no flurries maybe just one or two throughout
00:50:00the entire nine plus rounds you know it hasn't been a vicious pace i'm i'm still at a little bit
00:50:06of a loss of why keith doesn't just push the pressure push the fight make it be a little
00:50:10more physical the crowd bobby and ferdy try to urge holmes on by chanting keith keith
00:50:17but that doesn't do it well they just came off the excitement of the joppy fight which was
00:50:22non-stop action and you step into this thing which is a thinking man's fight and the crowd gets a little
00:50:28discipline seen him there keith got a good jab and snapped the head back of woodhall and then just
00:50:33settled in and let him hold and it just doesn't make sense it doesn't make good sense does not go
00:50:38in for the finish or at least a follow-up constantly letting his opponent off the hook
00:50:46keith home simply is not fighting as good a fight as keith homes can fight he's a much better fighter
00:50:52than what we're looking at tonight it could be because his opponent's so awkward but he's not the
00:50:56keith homes we saw before or perhaps the pressure as we said of being the title holder rather than
00:51:03going for it and we talked about it too the style the matchup the height the reach the fact that
00:51:08they're both counter punches like the box from the outside nobody wants to get in a sprawling slurping
00:51:12match trade punches needlessly that does make for a boring place sometimes it is also
00:51:17approaching one o'clock in the morning on the east coast and you wonder if that could be a factor
00:51:26a two-round fight all right all right richie they're the most important two rounds of your
00:51:35life yeah now listen listen to me what i'm going to say to you this is more important than the last
00:51:41round the 11th round because if you get in front he's going to catch you up you've got to win this
00:51:47round you hear me whatever happens in because the last round you'll do it again all right give him a
00:51:53quick gargle you drink this one if you win this one you'll win the last you got to let them bango
00:52:06you ready come on you ready for me let me see this let me see you give me the best round you had in
00:52:11this fight well both quarters mirror images of one another here we go into the championship round
00:52:23round 11 for the wbc middleweight title now right now i don't think richie woodall can win this fight
00:52:30by decision i think he's a little too far behind he's led a little too much in the post rounds
00:52:35slipped away he's absorbed more with the bigger punches and keith holmes on top of all that is the
00:52:39champion from the united states in his hometown so he has to really for a course to win take a show
00:52:45the odds are really stacked heavily against woodhull he's not a knockout artist 13 knockouts 21 and 0
00:52:52and that is probably what he needs to win this fight well i don't think he needs to knock out
00:52:56i think he needs these two rounds i think it's a very close fight bobby and i both have given two
00:53:01even rounds that's so unusual uh i'm sure the referees i mean the judges and i'm sorry
00:53:07uh and the judges are not from here and they may just like the british style of fighting after all
00:53:12that's a continental style of fighting he's doing he's doing it very well i would be very very surprised
00:53:17if that were the case yeah well we have been surprised in 10 years of showtime but no question
00:53:23particularly in lovely las vegas this isn't las vegas but anything can happen
00:53:26all right woodhull now looking to pour it on but the good defects by a hole deluding those punches
00:53:37all right right
00:53:39off the mercanty the third man of the ring
00:53:45there's a lunging right hand by woodhull but it was blocked by holmes
00:53:49holmes digging in with the straight left combination by woodhull he landed with the right to the head of
00:53:55hole and then a straight right by a hold back comes woodhull you see when you're heating up
00:54:00counter to counter he don't came in through a punch slipped the neck here comes home bobby
00:54:06again and then the counter top combination by woodhull we're always fighting his heart out i'll
00:54:13say that he got clocked and he came right back they told him to go out and get this round and he's trying
00:54:20like that inside of it at round 11. good combination by woodhull what a really coming
00:54:27on here well he dove into a right hand here and caught keith home square in the chin
00:54:31woodhull feeling the blood trickling from his right nostril
00:54:36he's trying not to work him he's trying to get more punches in than uh is the champion but the
00:54:42champion seems to be waiting for one big punch rather than working with him we knew coming in that
00:54:46woodhull was a tough guy and he is proving it here less than 30 seconds at round 11. the left jab by
00:54:56woodhull looking to set up the right hand but he doesn't come forth with the extra punch there he
00:55:00does straight to the chest of holmes holmes missed with that overhand left we thought early on this is
00:55:09probably a distance fight with the style match up and again the styles match up this way just they just do
00:55:17as we head for the bell good action
00:55:22and a question now who took that route
00:55:27hold it hold it head back head back
00:55:30hold it hold it
00:55:42are you crazy last round okay arthur thank you arthur you hear me it's the last round for king of country
00:55:49all right let's take a look at at woodhall at that kind of grip that he's got he gets punched hard
00:56:00and it looks like he's going back to the rope hurt but then all of a sudden he says come on there's
00:56:05more here and he really came back and showed a lot of guts to work now later in the round woodall you
00:56:11know again he's trying he's trying to throw the punches a left hook there again he's fading backwards
00:56:15so he's not going to hurt anybody with that shot diving in the right hand scoring some points but
00:56:19not the big points woodhull's corner saying do it for king and country as they touch gloves for the
00:56:2612th and final round for the wbc middleweight championship i thought there was a queen over there
00:56:32you'll do it for somebody
00:56:37well we're all looking uh impressive towards the end of the 11th round let's see if he picks up where he left
00:56:45he's all he picked up here in the later rounds
00:57:13well offensively a wealth under the right eye of woodhall woodhall with a bloody nose but that's been
00:57:20the extent of the physical damage holmes has been clean combination by holmes to the face of woodhall
00:57:28woodhall comes barreling back oh to toe to toe he just got clocked good by holmes but he's
00:57:34what is a lot of sand in this guy now blood streaky from the left nostril of woodhall now woodhall's a tough
00:57:40character he's got a reputation for being pretty durable and he's got a lot of grit he'll fight
00:57:44back he just doesn't have the guns to keep keith off he doesn't have the power to hurt him now woodhall
00:57:51and this is what might win the fight for keith i don't i don't have it that absolutely for keith i
00:57:56have a very very slim but a round like this will win and we'll keep him the title it will be interesting
00:58:02to see how the judges from all over the world see this one under a minute 20. round 12. the judges
00:58:10from mexico puerto rico and japan oh look out down he goes woodhall down for the first time in his career
00:58:17out of nowhere here on the 12. he walked he ducked right into an uppercut he was hurt
00:58:23key followed it up it was great less than a minute remaining in the 12th and final round
00:58:29can woodhall make it to the final bell holmes comes back in on him looking to finish him off
00:58:36woodhall staggering into the ropes for caddy watching closely
00:58:41oh i'm looking to pour it on the caddy right there
00:58:48the flurry by home the caddy stops the phone
00:58:51great finish for keith home retains the title on a great finish you know i'd be interested to see
00:59:00what the scores were going up i still feel that keith was definitely landing more powerful blows
00:59:05more effective aggressor just an awkward fighting style for both men to face
00:59:12just a very very difficult fight to score all the way around after all that it will not end up in the
00:59:16hands of the judges but it will be interesting to get their scores we hope to get just that before
00:59:24we go off the air so keith home has done it on officially 232 here on the 12th round
00:59:31home retains his wbc middleweight championship and he hands richie woodhall his first defeat in the 22
00:59:45fights home goes to 29 and one with 20 knockouts there's richie console
00:59:53he'll go back to england without the belt this man retains the belt in his first title defense keith home
00:59:59a maryland product he has now won 23 fights in a row going all the way back to 1990
01:00:09meantime richie woodhall his first fight on american soil slides to 21 and one
01:00:15the belt stays right here in the united states of america around the waist of
01:00:19washington dc native keith holds he now makes his home and here by hyattsville maryland we're here in
01:00:27upper marlboro maryland
01:00:31keith holmes who gets to share his joy tonight with his hometown fans and family
01:00:42here we're going to look at it again we're going to see a replay first part of the replay
01:00:46is where it gets widow in trouble keith holmes he works in and i think he walks right into an uppercut
01:00:52you see it up underneath there's an uppercut coming up in here somewhere where he just gets caught
01:00:57this might be after the uppercut even here you'll see him again woodall keeps coming in
01:01:06now we got the knockdown after he was hurt woodall was not really in the fight anymore he was tired
01:01:12and he just got pummeled he got he walked in the combination after combination once again keith
01:01:16holmes finally turned it up countered the counter followed that counter and made him pay when he
01:01:22missed uh woodall in the beginning of the end very quick
01:01:27here's the finish for arthur mccanthe and he's right in the outskirts is watching very closely
01:01:31and very carefully there you see arthur as he comes in the picture
01:01:34no more legs under woodall he's really out of it just trying to survive hold on clear his head
01:01:38keith holmes a little wild here misses a few shots which allows the fight to go on a little bit
01:01:43longer arthur mccanthe you'll see comes in almost stops it right away backs off for a second but then
01:01:49comes in there you see he almost stopped it right there he watches two or three more good shots
01:01:54and keith just started to apply the pressure and this fight's really over he's a good stoppage
01:01:58venturing into the 12th round for only the third time in his career he retains his wbc middleweight
01:02:06championship we are just about set for the official reading of the time we go to our
01:02:15ring announcer jimmy leonard jr for that
01:02:21ladies and gentlemen we have the time of two minutes 32 seconds of round at number 12.
01:02:28a referee in charge arthur mercante senior stops the contest he's a winner by way of technical knockout
01:02:35and still wbc middleweight champion of the world so the words of keith
01:02:49retaining his title after one o'clock in the morning on sunday october the 20th 1996.
01:02:59a very outgoing engaging personality of keith holmes which i'm sure you will get to witness
01:03:06in just a couple of moments with the fight dr ferdy pacheco prior to that taylor fight he he was funny
01:03:12he said he was so anxious to get it on every time he walked by something he'd tap on it let's go to the
01:03:16fight dr ferdy pacheco with the champ thank you here we go here we go all right congratulations what a finish
01:03:24we're going to show you some of that finish on our monitor in a moment but words from you as to how
01:03:28you pulled out with a big big finish well first of all i was uh he was a little awkward uh facing
01:03:35the guy as tall as i am he's very determined like they say the english men's are stubborn
01:03:40so i realized it when everybody kept holding at me you know i got to pull this fight out look he's
01:03:44stubborn i got to put him down and put him away and i did it well you did it with a series of punches
01:03:50that were like your old self i've seen you in other fights up to this point the fire wasn't
01:03:54there what happened how come that fire just took so long to get started well first of all this is my
01:03:58first title defense of all the titles i've won in my life and i was it was fearful it was fearful
01:04:05but i wasn't afraid because i had god with me but i pulled it off he was with me he gave me the
01:04:11stream of the power and the 12th ramp that with it i couldn't get it no earlier he wanted it in 12
01:04:17so i bought it in the 12th let's go to the monitor and you you you tell me when you first get in
01:04:22trouble give me give me well i kept with a good left left hand and then the right hook the right hook is
01:04:28coming to the body to the head see you got to keep your tv still there it is there it is there it is there
01:04:37go now here comes let's try to for the knockdown all right come on i work my jab work my jab to get
01:04:47inside the straight left hand boom straight left hand land boom boom that's right that's right
01:04:59it all came so fast i ain't know what i hit him with that was enough i know i hit him
01:05:03when he got up did you think that he was going to be able to continue well he was it was a good
01:05:10shot it was a good shot here we go the end of the fight the way he went down i knew if i threw a lot
01:05:14of punches and landed it real good he was going to either cut up real bad or go back down
01:05:20i was very game i was determined i was determined determined look at me look at me oh look at me
01:05:29guess what i did it like i did it in good fashion like marvelous marvin her on haggler
01:05:33and tom is the hitman her and that is the end of the fight and justly so i mean i don't think
01:05:38there's anybody here that thinks that shouldn't be i wasn't gonna stop i'm letting you know i
01:05:43wasn't gonna stop richie another man from washington no richie that went back to address you another
01:05:48man from washington fought a brilliant fight to start tonight uh william joppy all right joppy how
01:05:54about getting it on with his tall man yeah anytime right i'm looking forward for a matchup with uh
01:05:59keith holmes he looked good tonight he was just like you said he was determined he just knocked
01:06:02down 12 rounds he was in good condition man he'll be a good fight i'm looking forward with in the
01:06:07future all right how about you i'm looking forward to it too but you know i'm gonna let first things
01:06:11first and let it come on his own i'm not gonna force it job he looked good tonight i look good
01:06:17but miles was mine just ended a little later this is a match made in heaven if don king wants to make
01:06:21it all right exactly two good champions from washington dc two good middleweights and back
01:06:27to steve albert at ringside all right uh ferdy looking forward to someday perhaps in early 97 to
01:06:35a unification title bout between holmes and joppy and just as promised let's just give you quickly
01:06:41the scoring jose juan guerra had a 107-103 for holmes after 11 rounds angel lewis guzma 107-102 for
01:06:48holmes after 11 and ken marita 108-102 for holmes so uh holmes was well on his way to a unanimous
01:06:55decision prior to that stoppage in round number 12. so once again we remind you that in just about
01:07:00three weeks mike tyson is back in the ring again just two months and two days after his 109 second
01:07:05knockout of bruce sheldon many fight fans still angry and insulted over sheldon's performance or lack
01:07:11of will former undisputed heavyweight champion evander holyfield famous for his courage provide a stiffer
01:07:17test or at least offer some measure of competition holyfield has made a career of surprising his
01:07:22credits we'll soon find out as tyson meets holy finally
01:07:28peter mcneely tried to rush him
01:07:34buster mathis jr tried to smother him
01:07:36and who knows what bruce sheldon tries to do i can't believe he's down
01:07:54but finally an opponent who will stand up to mike tyson two-time world champion evander holyfield i'm a
01:08:01winner i come to win and there's no doubt about it and i look forward to being the heavyweight champ of
01:08:08the world and the only thing that's stopping me being the champ is this time see you know them tonight
01:08:14got nothing nothing coming i'm gonna like this i'm gonna have a good time this fight
01:08:25so
01:08:31so
01:08:37so
01:08:39so
01:08:41so
01:08:43so
01:08:45so
01:08:47so
01:08:51so
01:08:53so
01:09:11Legitimate bad blood between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield.
01:09:15Yes, it is, Steve. You know, this is a fight that was seven, eight years in the making.
01:09:20The public was awaiting to see who truly was the best heavyweight in the world.
01:09:24And during that period, as you know, Mike Tyson had his problems.
01:09:28And during the problems, bad blood just became a commonplace between the two guys
01:09:34with remarks made by Holyfield during the time of Mike's trial and travail.
01:09:41And so they don't like each other.
01:09:43Mike Tyson is looking forward to this fight with great anticipation.
01:09:47Holyfield, likewise, is doing the same thing.
01:09:50And as you can see how he's articulating that he will be the champion on that day.
01:09:54These two guys is going to be a collision in the desert.
01:09:57It's going to be finally the public will get all the unanswered questions as to who is truly the best heavyweight in the world.
01:10:06They will find out what this sibling rivalry that has come to maturity now between Tyson and Holyfield
01:10:13will take place at the MGM Grand Arena here on November the 9th.
01:10:18And so it's going to be an exciting affair.
01:10:20But all the way down, the problems that came that make this fight, the fight that it's going to be,
01:10:25because this is a, believe it or not, Ripley fight, each one is going to dig deep down inside
01:10:30to bring out the best in their ability and their skills and their talent to try to knock out the other guy.
01:10:37So you're going to see a great fight between Tyson and Holyfield, finally.
01:10:42And that's what it is.
01:10:43Finally, all the accusations that's been leveled, all of the different stories that's been talked about,
01:10:49all the unanswered questions will finally be answered on November the 9th,
01:10:53when Mike Tyson defends his crown against Evander Holyfield, and he's taking two belts into the ring.
01:11:00One, symbolically, the WBC belt that he has by decree had to relinquish.
01:11:05The other, officially, the WBA belt that he takes into the ring to defend against Evander Holyfield.
01:11:12John, tell us about the undercard.
01:11:16It's going to be a super undercard, Steve.
01:11:19It's going to be historical.
01:11:20It's going to be another first for SEC King Vision.
01:11:23I don't think it could be duplicated because circumstances and events would prevent this,
01:11:29because here you have Michael Moore, who is the current defending IBF champion fighting Francois Botha,
01:11:37who is undefeated, the white buffalo from South Africa, who was the former IBF champion,
01:11:43who also lost his title by decree by a judge.
01:11:46So, therefore, both of these guys, Tyson and Botha, are fighting with titles of symbolism
01:11:55because they didn't lose them in the ring.
01:11:57So, Botha has a chance now to regain that title by beating Michael Moore, who is the current defending champion,
01:12:05and he's set upon his duty to do that.
01:12:07He says he will knock out Michael Moore.
01:12:10The fight will not go six rounds.
01:12:12He is highly motivated.
01:12:14He is training.
01:12:15He is ready.
01:12:16Michael Moore likewise feels that he will shut up the brass young man.
01:12:20But I predict that Francois Botha will become what he's already been, the IBF champion, undefeated on November the 9th,
01:12:30when he goes in the ring against Michael Moore.
01:12:33And then you have Henry Akawande, the WBO champion, who just had a startling knockout in Indio Springs,
01:12:43in Palm Beach, California.
01:12:47And I think it's something that you're going to see a lot of because he knocked out Jeremy Williams on Showtime championship boxing.
01:12:53And so, and he did it in grand style.
01:12:55So, he'll be defending against the Russian champion, Alex Zolkin.
01:13:00So, that's going to be the WBO heavyweight champion.
01:13:03So, in fact, you have all six of the top heavyweights in the world.
01:13:07You've got all the titles there, the WBC by symbolism, by symbol, the WBA officially, the WBO and the IBF.
01:13:17All four titles are on that card that night on the line.
01:13:20So, the fans will get a chance to see a heavyweight explosion that takes place at the MGM Grand on November the 9th.
01:13:29So, call your local cable operator and get it on pay-per-view so you don't miss this great heavyweight extravaganza
01:13:35with Tyson versus Evander Holyfield, finally.
01:13:39And then, plus, in addition to that, we have Moore and Botha, and we have Henry Akawande against Alex Zolkin.
01:13:49And after that fight, see, we're going to, we're planning to have a super sensational homage to country music
01:13:58in the great city of Nashville, which is the center of the world, the music city of the world.
01:14:03And we're going to have all, we're calling upon all the country singers, Garth Brooks, George Strait, you know,
01:14:09Barbara and Arlene Mandrell, who Mike Tyson wants to be with.
01:14:13And he's going to be down there in Nashville.
01:14:16We're going to be able to have an exciting show with Amy Grant, you know, and Waylon Jimmie Dillings,
01:14:22and Steve, Willie Nelson, Charlie Pryde.
01:14:25It's going to be fabulous.
01:14:26And we're going to bring the heritage of America and this culture and the story of Nashville,
01:14:30two to four, to the world to see, hopefully very, very soon.
01:14:34So look out for it.
01:14:35And so now we're going back to the world's heavyweight championship.
01:14:39Finally, in November the 9th at the MGM Grand, you will see the greatest heavyweight show on earth
01:14:46when Mike Tyson goes in to fight the real deal of Vander Holyfield.
01:14:51Thank you very much, Don.
01:14:53We'll see you in Las Vegas, November 9th.
01:14:56And I look forward to seeing you.
01:14:59All right, Ferdy, your thoughts on Tyson versus Holyfield.
01:15:02Well, explosive, dynamic.
01:15:04I don't think that you can expect anything but an explosion for however long it lasts.
01:15:08One thing I can promise you, you won't see any foldos here.
01:15:11You're going to see two guys go at it until one gets the better of the other legitimately.
01:15:15We'll see that.
01:15:16Yep.
01:15:17This is an unprecedented card, no question.
01:15:19Three heavyweight championship, Bobby.
01:15:21Let's get your thoughts.
01:15:22Steve, it's a serious heavyweight showcase.
01:15:24Three world title fights.
01:15:25Everyone vying to be in the Mike Tyson sweepstakes.
01:15:28I myself would love to fight the winner of Moribotha or even the recently dethroned Bruce Seldon.
01:15:32To get in there myself, it's a great fight.
01:15:34Three world championship fights at the heavyweight level on the same night.
01:15:37A heavyweight explosion.
01:15:38I'm looking forward to it.
01:15:39And, of course, the main event, five years overdue.
01:15:42It's got to be a great night.
01:15:43A little self-promoting.
01:15:44Why not?
01:15:45Why not?
01:15:46So we await Tyson versus Holyfield November 9th for the WBA heavyweight title.
01:15:49Let's take one final look at the results of tonight's championship doubleheader.
01:15:53In the opening bout, William Jaffe made his first defense of the WBA middleweight title.
01:15:57And there it is.
01:15:58He knocked off Ray McIlroy by TKO round number six.
01:16:02And in our second co-feature, Keith Holmes making his first defense of the WBC middleweight belt.
01:16:06And he did it by stopping Richie Woodhull in round number 12.
01:16:12And it's time now for our Fighter of the Night Award.
01:16:15A special panel of judges comprised of members of the boxing media covering tonight's action.
01:16:19Votes on Fighter of the Night.
01:16:20Here's your panel.
01:16:21Bill Jackman of the Baltimore Sun.
01:16:22John Scheinman of the Prince George's Journal.
01:16:25And Ken Wright of the Washington Times.
01:16:27And the decision is in.
01:16:28Our esteemed panel of judges has selected split decision William Jaffe as our Fighter of the Night.
01:16:34So congratulations to William.
01:16:36A $5,000 donation will be made in the name of the WBA middleweight champ to each of these organizations.
01:16:42The United Negro College Fund.
01:16:43The National Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
01:16:45And Bowie State University by Showtime Networks and Don King Productions.
01:16:49All right, Doc, how about some final comments on tonight's results?
01:16:57I said going in the most impressive guy to me was William Jaffe.
01:17:00I'm going to tell you now.
01:17:01Going out, as I say goodnight to you, I'm going to tell you.
01:17:03The most impressive guy to me is William Jaffe tonight.
01:17:05I saw something there that I really liked.
01:17:07All right, say goodnight, Bertie.
01:17:08Goodnight, Bertie.
01:17:09How about the state of the middleweight division, Bobby, right now?
01:17:11Well, you know, we have a couple of promising stars here that could could evolve to be superstars.
01:17:15We'll see.
01:17:16They need more talent in the division right now.
01:17:17A little bit of a low in the middleweight division.
01:17:19Not like the 80s with Haglund, Hearns, Duran, and Leonard.
01:17:23It's just not the same.
01:17:24But it can be in a little bit of time.
01:17:26And all we are left to say right now is that'll do it for another edition of Showtime Championship Boxing.
01:17:32We'll see you in three weeks from Las Vegas when Mike Tyson takes on Evander Holyfield for the WBA heavyweight title on pay-per-view.
01:17:39For the Fight Doctor, Bertie Pacheco, Bobby Ches, and our entire crew,
01:17:43this is Steve Albert saying so long from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
01:17:47Let's get it off!
01:17:53Two, one, two, one, go!
01:17:57Round two.
01:17:58W size blow, people get what Gloria John Jeffers challenge.
01:18:03It's a champion together.
01:18:06Get close, keep on call, but nail him, you bet you are going!
01:18:11One, two, one, one, two, one!
01:18:15Oh, the camera just got punched by an arid hook.
01:18:39Good left hand by Norris above us.
01:18:41That is it!
01:18:45The reign of Prince of Thin continues.
01:18:48Preview, review, and analyze the fight card.
01:18:52We'll profile to the first.
01:19:02Frankie Ramirez comes right back.
01:19:08What a great opera.
01:19:11That was a thing of beauty.
01:19:18That was a thing of beauty.
01:19:20The winner by unanimous decision, a new champion.
01:19:29The winner by unanimous decision, a new champion.
01:19:38The winner by unanimous decision, a new champion.
01:19:47The winner by unanimous decision.
01:19:49The winner by unanimous decision.
01:19:50The winner by unanimous decision.
01:19:58The winner by unanimous decision.
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