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Heavyweight contenders Jesse Ferguson and Samson Po'uha face off on HBO Boxing After Dark
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00:00...presents Long Shots, the life and times of the ABA.
00:05Premieres Monday, June 9th, only on HBO.
00:09Movie star looks.
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00:14Hard right hand by De La Hoya.
00:17Boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter returns.
00:20De La Hoya with the punishment.
00:23And that's it!
00:24De La Hoya vs. Kamau.
00:26Live, Saturday, June 14th, only on HBO.
00:30That is good boxing after dark.
00:35Movie star on TV.
00:59Video
01:00we go! Video
01:01Video. laufenenci.
01:01Ttttt.
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01:04In our 25th year, the following is a special presentation of HBO Sports.
02:34And he may get it beginning tonight.
02:37A rainy weekend in Atlantic City, but the boardwalk is getting busy for the summer.
02:42And so are we on HBO's Boxing After Dark.
02:45After a month and a half away, this series returns to you for two shows on successive Saturday nights.
02:51Tonight, two highly regarded young fighters taking on boxers who may well have had their best days behind them and
02:57could be considered springboards to future fights.
02:59Jennifer Klarman and Stacey Mara pulling all the little elements into place to get ready for the big show here
03:06at the Trump Taj Mahal.
03:08Tonight, you could see some more unexpected results on the show of shows for boxing upsets, Boxing After Dark.
03:18Hello again, everybody. I'm Jim Lampley.
03:20We welcome you back to this edition of HBO's Boxing After Dark.
03:23Tonight, showcasing Kasta Zhu, the former Russian amateur star now fighting out of Australia,
03:29who's regarded by many as the best 140-pound fighter in the world.
03:33Before we see Zhu against Cool Vince Phillips of the United States, you'll be seeing the Tongan heavyweight,
03:39born in Long Beach, raised in Utah, Samson Pouha, who hopes to poke his way into the picture of young
03:47heavyweights
03:47with aspirations of bigger things in the future.
03:50Working with me, as always, HBO Boxing Analyst Larry Merchant.
03:53Larry Kastazu wears the label coming in here of one of the rising stars in boxing.
03:57But the past history for foreign fighters hoping to make it big in the world's biggest boxing market, the United
04:03States, isn't so good.
04:05Can Zhu, a Russian fighting out of Australia, reverse that precedent?
04:10Jim, very, very few fighters have imbued themselves on our consciousness from outside of North America,
04:19which includes the Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico.
04:22It's very hard to break through U.S. boxing customs, as it were.
04:28But the Russians are coming.
04:31Three Russian fighters from the same amateur team have won professional championship belts.
04:38Zhu is given the best chance of achieving stardom because he's got a great name, Kasta Zhu,
04:45the boy called Zhu, with apologies to Johnny Cash, and he also has a ponytail.
04:51But in boxing circles, he's already recognized as one of the best in the world.
04:57And he's got maybe the toughest opponent of his career later tonight in Vince Phillips.
05:01We'll see when that fight comes up.
05:03First, the giant Tongan heavyweight, Samson Pouha,
05:06against journeyman Jesse Ferguson, who has fought 11 current or former world champions in the division.
05:12Roy Jones, three-time world champion, joins us, as always, on Boxing After Dark.
05:17Mark and Roy Pouha has some potential, but just a year ago, he weighed 330-some-odd pounds.
05:24He's down to 258 tonight, but seems to continually struggle with his weight.
05:28Can he get beyond that and become a contender?
05:30Well, when a guy can't control the fluctuation, it's one thing.
05:33When he's coming from over 300 pounds to under 300, and he's constantly descending, it can be good.
05:39It can be very healthy, and it can be helpful for his career.
05:42I always thought he was a little too big at 300 pounds anyway, so I feel as though if the
05:47guy can control his fluctuation,
05:49bring it down and keep it at a normal basis, somewhere where it's leveling out,
05:53about 10 or 20 pounds at the most for a guy his size, I think his career can be very
05:57promising.
05:58His trainer manager Ron Weathers insists that he's an athlete, as we mentioned in the voiceover before.
06:03He's best known for having been bitten on the shoulder by Andrew Galata before Galata was disqualified twice against Riddick
06:09Bowe.
06:10There's the record for Pauha, 19 wins, two losses, one to Craig Payne when he weighed 298,
06:16and of course the loss to Galata, about in which he had Galata in trouble.
06:2017 KOs, 10 of them in the first round.
06:24And against him, the quintessential journeyman Jesse Ferguson out of Nightdale, North Carolina,
06:29now living here in New Jersey.
06:3023 wins, 16 losses, 15 KOs.
06:34He is a legitimate professional fighter, 10 and 16, largely because of the continuing succession of tough opponents,
06:41as I mentioned in talking with Roy.
06:43Jesse Ferguson has fought 11 current or former heavyweight champions
06:47and beat only one of them, Buster Douglas, 12 years ago.
06:52Tale of the tape for Samson Pauha and Jesse Ferguson,
06:56and you'll see the 16-year age difference.
06:58Jesse recently turned 40.
07:00Pauha is 24.
07:0323 pounds of weight advantage for Pauha tonight.
07:06He's way down from well over 300 where he was this time a year ago.
07:10A two-inch reach advantage for Jesse Ferguson.
07:14Harold Lederman with the rules of the bout.
07:16The Samson Pauha-Jesse Ferguson fight is scheduled for 10 rounds.
07:20The standing eight count is in effect.
07:23There is no three-knockdown rule.
07:24Only the referee can stop the fight, and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round,
07:29including the 10th and final round.
07:31Jim.
07:31Fighters are in the ring, as you've seen.
07:33Let's go to Michael Buffer for the pre-fight introductions.
07:37Ladies and gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to Donald J. Trump's Taj Mahal of Atlantic City, New Jersey,
07:42where tonight Top Rank Incorporated, along with Gell Promotions and your undisputed, undefeated king of beers, Budweiser,
07:51present an HBO After Dark boxing doubleheader, sanctioned by the New Jersey State Athletic Control Board Boxing Commissioner, Larry Hazard
08:00Sr.
08:00Let's start the action with a 10-round bout in the heavyweight division.
08:05Assigned at ringside, timekeeper Arthur Spell and the three judges scoring the bout on a 10-point must system,
08:11Pierre Benoist, Calvin Claxton, and Larry Layton.
08:16And when the bell rings, the man in charge of the action, your referee, Wayne Hedgepeth.
08:24Introducing first, fighting out of the red corner, wearing gold and black and weighing 235 pounds.
08:31His professional record, 23 victories with 15 knockouts.
08:35He has 16 defeats.
08:37Ladies and gentlemen, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, here is Jesse Bogeyman Ferguson.
08:49And his opponent across the ring, fighting out of the blue corner, wearing blue and white.
08:55His professional record, 19 victories, 17 by knockout, with only two losses.
09:01He comes to us from St. George, Utah, presenting the friendly island kid, Samson Pooha.
09:10Oh.
09:13All right, you fighters have been given your instructions in the dressing room.
09:16Obey my commands at all times and protect yourself at all times.
09:20Touch them up.
09:23Samson Pooha has top five ability, top 25 mentality.
09:30Depending on which one shows up, will determine which one will win or lose.
09:38Jesse Ferguson is an old-style professional opponent.
09:44Says he's been an opponent all his life, but he's a truth machine out there.
09:49If you haven't trained, if you haven't taken care of business, he'll beat you.
09:55He's very crafty, very skillful old guy.
09:58Never tanks a fight.
09:59Shows up and gives you the best he's got, whatever it is.
10:02But Pooha looks to have a lot more punching power than he had at a bigger weight already.
10:09Ten first-round knockouts, obviously against lesser opposition, but that's the testimony so far to Pooha's punching power.
10:17He's a distant cousin of San Diego Charger football player Alfred Pupunu.
10:24Was raised in the Mormon church, but doesn't find the Mormon discipline against violence or restriction against going ahead and
10:31getting business done in the ring.
10:32All right, punch out, punch out.
10:36You'll have to be very careful with the boogeyman here.
10:39The boogeyman is very smart at all of these things they're doing.
10:43Inside, the boogeyman has a very good uppercut.
10:47Left hook to the body is probably Jesse Ferguson's best punch day in and day out, but he will work
10:53the jab.
10:53As he says, there's no mystery to what I do.
10:56I'm a conventional boxer.
10:58I'm going to try to set up the jab and work behind it.
11:00You don't have to scout me.
11:02I bring the usual stuff.
11:03And he'll also hang around until everything gets boring, and then he'll steal a fight.
11:10There was that uppercut that I spoke about.
11:32Most of the fighting at close quarters so far in round one.
11:37This would appear to me to be in Ferguson's favor.
11:40Yeah, I'm wondering why Paua wouldn't want to create some distance to make use of his punching
11:44power.
11:45Yeah, because all the guys usually have a lot of tricks in here, and his legs are not
11:49working as much as they would if he were on the outside.
11:52That was another good uppercut by the boogeyman.
11:55Jesse Ferguson having landed two solid uppercuts as they lean in shoulder to shoulder.
12:02Paua trading punches at close quarters with Ferguson, and so far, Ferguson giving at least
12:08as good as he's getting.
12:13Paua may have felt a little bit of the boogeyman's power just then.
12:20Paua has boxing skills.
12:22He's been in the gym since he's four years old with his father who still trains him, but
12:29he's not using them here.
12:30He's preferring to test his will and strength against the older fighter.
12:34Now he gets some distance.
12:36Now you see that jab.
12:38And it is a thudding jab.
12:43Is this because he's tired, though?
12:46Could be.
12:55Get some moving with your jab, son.
12:57That's all you've got to do.
12:58You find a range for him.
13:00You're fighting his game.
13:01That's all right.
13:03Okay.
13:04Go work with your jab.
13:06And just box this guy.
13:07And the knockout will come instead of trying to low up.
13:11Tell me to put them together.
13:13No problem.
13:14You know?
13:15All right?
13:16How you feel?
13:17Okay.
13:20All right.
13:21All right.
13:22You can blow them out.
13:22You're blowing them out.
13:23Blowing them out.
13:25Blowing them out.
13:26Blowing them out.
13:26Take a deep breath.
13:28Come on.
13:28Take a deep breath.
13:30All right.
13:31Sticking.
13:32Pop his hand.
13:33Second.
13:33Second.
13:36Well, Huar trying to prove his tongue and warriorhood in the
13:40first round.
13:43His manager, Ron Weathers, trying to talk him into using more of his skills as he showed
13:48at the end of that round.
13:49Ron Weathers, the man doing most of the talking in Pauha's corner.
13:53You may remember him as the guy who, as a promoter, launched George Foreman's comeback
13:57career back in 1987.
14:00That career is still ongoing, though now without the involvement of Weathers.
14:04This jab that Pauha is throwing is very effective against an older fighter because the older
14:09fighter wants to get in close so he can land his big punches.
14:12The jab keeps him outside and neutralizes some of his tricks.
14:21If Pauha is going to make a dent in the heavyweight division, he's going to have to do it with
14:25punching power.
14:26Jesse Ferguson was fairly negative about that in our meeting with him yesterday.
14:31He said, listen, I've been in with big punchers.
14:33Punchers are people like Tyson and Bonecrusher Smith and Riddick Bowe.
14:37So, this guy isn't in their league.
14:45Tyson got him in six rounds early in his career.
15:05Another thing about this inside fighting is that
15:07it wears you down, even if you're just pushing.
15:10It wears you down when another guy is constantly pushing on you or you're pushing on him.
15:14This would make a guy get real tired in the late rounds.
15:17And Jesse has the most experience when it comes to the late rounds.
15:21Jesse Ferguson getting a chance to throw his uppercut and to good effect so far.
15:25Landed another one in that flurry.
15:28If Pauha gives Jesse too much confidence, it's going to be a long night for Pauha.
15:33And so far, in round two, Pauha is allowing Jesse Ferguson to set the pace.
15:40In the first round, they threw an equal number of punches.
15:43Pauha landing at just a slightly higher rate.
15:46But now Jesse Ferguson seems to be matching, if not exceeding Pauha's output in round number two.
15:54Whenever they step back to distance, Pauha gets the jab going, and he is the dominant fighter.
16:01When they go shoulder to shoulder, Jesse Ferguson is able to reverse the momentum.
16:16I like the way Pauha keeps the head moving, though.
16:20He's a well-schooled guy.
16:23Yet another fighter trained by his father for a long time.
16:26And it's partially because of the fact that his father is his inspiration and his guide in the sport
16:32that he's sometimes been disinterested.
16:35He says, I have to do it for me, not for my father.
16:38I'm rebellious enough that when he wants it from me, I don't want to give it to him.
16:42And that's a very big factor.
16:44That's one thing that can make a father-son relationship succeed.
16:47Because he knows that when he doesn't want to, he doesn't have to.
16:53In Samson Pauha, you're looking at a fighter who's coming down from 300 pounds.
16:59Tonight, as far down as 258, in an attempt to be more effective.
17:03Earlier this evening, we saw a fighter who is never likely to weigh less than 300.
17:09He entered the ring at 302 tonight.
17:12Seven-foot-two-inch Russian Nikolai Valiouev fighting against Terrell Nelson.
17:18And Valiouev showed punching power, some technical skill, and athletic talent
17:25as he pounded his way to a second-round TKO of Terrell Nelson.
17:31Didn't we see him, Jim, in a James Barnesville?
17:34A reasonable maximile thereof.
17:37What did you think of Valiouev, Roy?
17:38I think Andre the Giant's cousin looked pretty good.
17:40He's pretty interesting.
17:41He could be a distant cousin.
17:55I like this jab that Pauha is throwing.
17:58A very good, quick snapping jab.
18:00Gets a little sharper with each passing round.
18:04Now Pauha following up a double jab with a short left hook inside.
18:08Jesse Ferguson still fighting back, but...
18:13Another thing that I like to see in a good heavyweight, especially a big heavyweight,
18:16is the quick hand speed that Pauha has.
18:22So he's shown you some head movement.
18:24Oh, there's that uppercut.
18:25And now he shows you how to go down after two Jesse Ferguson uppercuts.
18:30There's that uppercut that I told you about.
18:33Can't stay close to the boogie man with that uppercut.
18:35Hey!
18:38Pauha makes it up.
18:39How many fingers I got?
18:40Didn't start to move until the count of seven.
18:43Yep, he's done.
18:44He's done.
18:45He's very...
18:45This is very dangerous.
18:46And Jesse Ferguson, a veteran, knows how to finish.
18:49Yeah, he should stop this.
18:50He's going to get hurt if he doesn't...
18:52He doesn't know where he is right now.
18:54Everybody remembers Jesse upsetting Ray Mercer.
18:58And Mercer had a million-dollar purse ahead.
19:01He is a quintessential journeyman professional,
19:05always in shape, always trying,
19:07and he's got this young fighter really in trouble.
19:10The one that's not going to get a chance
19:12to try to bribe his way out of this one.
19:13He goes down for the second time in the round.
19:16That's that right uppercut that I warned you about
19:18in the first round when I said he was too close to Jesse.
19:21You can't fight that close to these veteran fighters.
19:24Continue.
19:25Huh?
19:26You're getting ready.
19:26He said, fuck, he complained about something about his leg.
19:31He said, he hit my leg.
19:32No free knockdown rule in effect.
19:34So in theory, Poula could go down for a third time,
19:37and the fight would still be going on.
19:39Oh, that was a good right hand by Poula.
19:41He's fighting back, though.
19:43And another good short right hand inside by Poula.
19:46He's getting...
19:47Oh, that'll do it.
19:48And a roundhouse left lands.
19:51Again, no free knockdown rule in effect.
19:54Poula can continue
19:55if the referee sees fit to allow him to do it.
19:58Seven!
20:00And Ferguson fails to go to a neutral corner.
20:03That gives a couple of extra seconds to Poula to recover.
20:06Now let's see if he can make it out of the round.
20:09The other thing was that Poula looked fresher
20:11getting up from the third knockdown
20:13than he did from the first.
20:14He sure did.
20:16That third one might have woken him up.
20:18Ferguson may punch himself out here.
20:22Poula is getting back strong again.
20:24This guy is really regaining his conscience.
20:26If Poula can land two or three more punches,
20:29he's going to make it out of the round.
20:30I can see Ferguson no longer throwing,
20:33arm-weary from the assault.
20:35I don't think Poula has to worry about getting out of the round.
20:38I think he'll make it out of the round.
20:40Well, he has sure shown us that this...
20:43that he has some courage.
20:45Early bell.
20:46You can't be saved by the bell.
20:48So if Poula had gone down again,
20:50there would have been a full count.
20:51But he gets out of round number two...
20:54or number three...
20:56despite three knockdowns
20:58at the hands of Jesse Ferguson.
21:00Listen to me.
21:01I want you to box a move.
21:04You're alive, man.
21:06Jesse.
21:10Suck it up.
21:12You're going to be all right.
21:12How are we going all the way?
21:13Yeah, he's all right.
21:14I'm all right.
21:14I'm all right.
21:16You hear me?
21:17All right, let's take a look at these knockdowns.
21:19You'll see them staying at close quarters.
21:23Roy Jones had told us about that uppercut.
21:26Ferguson had been looking to land it.
21:28Now we'll see the second knockdown
21:31when Poula is really out of...
21:35completely out of it.
21:37The third knockdown...
21:38Now, this is one of the oddest things
21:40I can recall in a while
21:42in which the third knockdown seemed to wake him up.
21:47Ferguson goes charging across the ring
21:49to start round four.
21:51Referee steps in to help Poula get up off of his stool.
21:55This is Wayne Hedgepeth working the bout
21:57as the third man in the ring.
21:59Now, the 40-year-old Ferguson
22:01throwed a lot of punches that round.
22:02Let's not forget that.
22:03But that may take a lot out of him for the long haul.
22:06I don't know why Poula's getting right back close to Ferguson.
22:09This is where he got hurt at.
22:10He should stay outside and use the jab.
22:12There's another uppercut.
22:13If he stays inside,
22:14he's going to eat more uppercuts,
22:16and that'll be the end of that.
22:17Yeah, but those knockdowns and those punches,
22:20Roy may have taken his legs away from him.
22:25Well, he's shown us a real good jab.
22:29He's shown us a big heart.
22:31The question now is,
22:32can he show us enough to come back
22:36from that battering?
22:37A tremendous heart, though.
22:47Poula's still wobbling slightly
22:49as he makes his way around the ring.
22:51But Jesse Ferguson,
22:53not with a lot of gas in the tank
22:54as he comes out for the fourth round.
23:0116-year age difference.
23:03Ferguson, 40 years old.
23:04Poula, 24.
23:05Of course, a few weeks ago on HBO,
23:08we watched George Foreman
23:10facing a 16-year age difference
23:12against Lou Savarese.
23:15Outwork and wear down Savarese
23:18in the closing stages of the fight
23:19to win on superior conditioning.
23:21Yes, but the boogeyman does not want
23:23to win on superior conditioning.
23:24The boogeyman wants a knockout.
23:27He's not looking to outpoint anyone.
23:29He wants to knock the guy out.
23:30But he used up a lot of fuel from his tank
23:34trying to finish the youngster in that round.
23:37Yeah, I said that at the beginning of this round
23:39that he would have shown that he was kind of weary
23:41from that last round.
23:42Yeah.
23:43He threw a lot of big punches that last round.
23:45Poula's head snaps back from a Ferguson jab.
23:48And now, here goes Jesse on the attack again.
23:50Corners Poula.
23:52Poula's not hurt yet, though.
23:55Ferguson will try to land the uppercut
23:56if he can get in close.
23:59If Poula can remember to snap the jab,
24:01he might reestablish himself in the fight.
24:03He lands the jab more or less at will.
24:07Poula hasn't had these long rounds of experience
24:10like Ferguson has.
24:11The longer the fight goes,
24:13the worse it has to be for Poula.
24:17Hard right hand over the top by Ferguson,
24:19partially blocked.
24:20But Poula seemed affected by it nevertheless.
24:24He's still walking right down the pipe
24:25for that right uppercut.
24:27When he comes in with both hands on the side of his head,
24:29the middle is wide open for a right uppercut.
24:33And Jesse tries the uppercut again.
24:35Lands a left hook instead.
24:41No knockdowns in round number four.
24:45Ferguson may be wearing a little.
24:52Don't wait too long.
24:53Don't let him get himself back together again, right?
24:56Give me the water.
24:57Give me the water over here.
25:02You hear me now?
25:03How do you feel, son?
25:04Okay.
25:05Here, give me some grease.
25:07You feel all right?
25:08Yeah.
25:09Sammy's been taking a lot of head shots.
25:11You were down three times in the other round.
25:13You didn't show too much defensive offensive in this way.
25:16Yeah, pop the jab.
25:17Okay?
25:17All right, wear my hands off.
25:18Wear my gloves off.
25:19Wear my gloves off.
25:21Shit.
25:22I want to keep them dry.
25:24Okay?
25:25Once you pop the jab on him, Jesse,
25:27stick it in, let's go to work.
25:28Okay?
25:29All right?
25:29All right?
25:30Don't let him back in the fight.
25:32Okay?
25:33Stay busy this round now, right?
25:35Let's go with him.
25:36Let's go home with him.
25:38The ring physician apparently giving the referee instructions to watch, to make sure he doesn't
25:46take too much punishment.
25:51As round five begins, Puha blocking a Jesse Ferguson right hand with his arms.
25:56Harold Letterman, how do you have it scored so far?
25:58Jim, 38-36, two rounds apiece.
26:01Favorite Jesse Ferguson.
26:03To tell you the truth, I thought Samson Poole was doing well in the first two rounds.
26:06I thought he won the first two rounds with that left jab.
26:08And, of course, Jesse, a big 10 seventh round in the third, and he certainly won the fourth.
26:12Interestingly enough, the doctor is Dr. Charles Wilson, a real veteran doctor.
26:15And one other thing.
26:16This is definitely living proof why there should never be a three-knockdown rule.
26:20I mean, this guy went down, what, four times and the referee let it go.
26:23It's up to a good referee to stop the fight, not a three-knockdown rule.
26:29Three knockdowns in the third round.
26:33Three knockdowns in the fourth.
26:34And now Puha seems more or less to have collected himself as they go into the fifth.
26:39Very well said, Harold.
26:42So you agree there should never be a three-knockdown rule?
26:44No way.
26:45I think the man standing is the winner.
26:47If you go down eight times, if you can get back up and keep fighting, you still have a chance.
27:01Oh, there it comes.
27:02Uppercut doing damage again.
27:04That was a game.
27:05Oh, I stunned by the right-hand uppercut off the hands of Jesse Ferguson.
27:25Oh, I in trouble again as Ferguson lands up and under.
27:30It seems like Puha's corner would make him, would ask him to go to the body some.
27:35He's fighting an older fighter.
27:36You need to wear the older fighter some.
27:38You can't let him just stay fresh like Jesse is.
27:42Jesse is fighting at Jesse's pace.
27:43You will not beat a guy like this fighting his pace.
27:46He'll stay dangerous the whole night.
27:59Oh, that was a good body shot by Jesse Ferguson.
28:02Pounding away at Puha.
28:06Puha missing a right hand.
28:09Might have reversed some of the damage.
28:10Now he misses another right hand.
28:13But taking shots better here in the fifth than he did in the third.
28:16Much better.
28:20Now Puha lands a right and a left and backs Ferguson up.
28:24And another right hand inside.
28:27Best landed punches for Puha since the second round.
28:30He's looking for this one big knockout if he can get it.
28:34Ferguson is saying, it's not getting me, it's not getting me.
28:37But if he takes too many of those, they'll get him.
28:42And some of the snaps disappearing from Jesse Ferguson's punches
28:46after Puha finally begins to land again.
28:55You got him out, guys.
29:00Just don't give him the inside.
29:01When you move into him, push him back and piggyback him.
29:03First half of a doubleheader here on HBO's Boxing After Dark.
29:07Coming up in the next of our two main events.
29:12Kastazu from Syroff, Russia, and now from Australia.
29:16Unbeaten.
29:1718 wins, no losses.
29:19One technical draw.
29:20And a man of immense personal confidence
29:23as he tries to continue polishing his credentials
29:26as one of the rising stars of boxing tonight against Vince Phillips.
29:31140 pounds for Zou and Phillips.
29:33Let's go with it.
29:34There's Samson Puha.
29:36Let's go with it.
29:37Weighed in, or Jesse Ferguson, I should say,
29:38weighed in yesterday at a little over 230.
29:41Puha weighed in at 258.
29:44The 290 or 300 pound Puha would have been done by now.
29:48Let's see if this dedication that is bringing his weight down
29:52pays off in the second half of this fight.
29:55Ferguson landing a straight and left hand upstairs.
29:59Ferguson has a mouse on his left eye, I think, now.
30:05If Puha can jab and stay outside now,
30:07I think he can win this fight with his jab.
30:13It would be a strong statement on Puha's resiliency
30:16if he could survive that third round with three knockdowns
30:19and come back to win the fight.
30:21Yes, but he can do it if he stays outside
30:22and fights like he's fighting now.
30:24Outwork the older guy.
30:26Use your jab, fight a safe fight,
30:27a smart tactical fight, and win it.
30:29Go home with the win.
30:31When you go close to Jesse,
30:32you allow him the opportunity
30:33to be able to pick knockout shots.
30:37Oh, trying to tie Jesse Ferguson's left hand up inside.
30:41Ferguson just stepping away,
30:42and now he'll look for a chance to throw the uppercut.
30:45Inside here, Jesse is the one who does the most work.
30:47That's why Puha should stay on the outside.
30:52Oh, see there?
30:54The veteran is going to be the smarter of the 2-0 inside.
30:57He doesn't have to give these type shots up
30:59if he just stays outside.
31:02Veteran trick by Jesse Ferguson
31:04just flicking the shoulder
31:05to throw Puha off into punching position
31:07and pounding with the right hand.
31:09Well said.
31:19Triple jab by Puha.
31:23Rapidly regaining his senses
31:25after having been totally out of it
31:27in round number three.
31:31Jesse actually is trying to set Puha up
31:33with the right hand over the top of his jab.
31:44Watch your head.
31:45Oh, headbutt.
31:47Get on it, man.
31:49Come on.
31:50Soft headbutt.
31:51No immediate damage,
31:52but Ferguson certainly wary about it.
31:55That hook lands for Jesse.
31:59Jesse's mouth is almost wide open, boy.
32:03Does that indicate
32:03that he's really having a stamina problem here?
32:06No, I don't think he's having a stamina problem.
32:08That's just a habit of his.
32:09Just a habit.
32:10One of his gimmicks
32:11to make the other guys think he's tired.
32:14Make the guy relax a little bit
32:16and let the defense go
32:17so he can land a big shot.
32:20You mentioned the 11 current
32:22or former heavyweight champions
32:23with whom Jesse Ferguson
32:25has been in the ring.
32:26The list includes Buster Douglas,
32:28Mike Tyson,
32:29James Bonecrusher-Smith,
32:31Orlin Norris,
32:32Oliver McCall,
32:32Bruce Seldon,
32:33Michael Dotes,
32:34Tony Tubbs,
32:35Riddick Bowe,
32:36Frank Bruno,
32:37Larry Holmes.
32:38He's also fought against contenders
32:40like Jeremy Williams,
32:41Alex Stewart,
32:42Ray Mercer.
32:43There may not be another heavyweight
32:44with a stronger list of opponents
32:46than Jesse Ferguson.
32:47He's like a tollgate
32:48you have to go through
32:49to be a heavyweight.
32:51To be a heavyweight.
32:52Let's get some things
32:53and let me know.
32:54Let me know.
32:56Come on.
32:57I'm trying to swell up here, Jesse.
33:00Come on, Jesse.
33:01You ain't getting busy enough.
33:03Now, let's get busy.
33:05Let's get busy.
33:06I got it.
33:06Don't worry about it, right?
33:08Let's get busy.
33:09Okay?
33:10Let's get busy now, right?
33:12Stay on it.
33:13You know?
33:14I'm not.
33:15You know how you work hard in the gym.
33:16I'm not.
33:18I'm not.
33:21I'm not.
33:22My hook is on.
33:25He's there for you.
33:26All you got to do is outwork him.
33:28You can catch him coming.
33:29He's winning.
33:29He's coming to you
33:30and step back and throw an uppercut
33:31and finish with a jab.
33:32He can't do anything.
33:35Let's go.
33:38Ferguson landed one good punch
33:40in that round.
33:41He's on.
33:43Sistine.
33:46Rai Pua.
33:48Round seven of a scheduled ten.
33:50He might have to win all the rest of the rounds
33:52unless he does something dramatic.
33:54If he just keeps using his jab,
33:56he can win the rounds
33:57and something dramatic just may happen
34:00in the process.
34:02Pauha using his jab to begin round seven.
34:05You see that Harold Lederman
34:06saw round six in favor of Jesse Ferguson
34:09and Ferguson continues to lead
34:11on Harold's card as we reach the seven.
34:15But it's not out of reach for Pauha
34:16on that card yet
34:18and you have to assume
34:19that the other school cards
34:20may look fairly similar.
34:41getting in close where ferguson has done so much damage
34:51jesse is pretty tired now i think if fauha can work jesse's body it'll be very beneficial for him
34:59if he just keeps sticking the jab jesse doesn't fire back from distance
35:06that's the safest thing for fauha to do and the smartest why he's still fighting right there
35:10i don't know maybe he thinks that his heavier weight is wearing ferguson down inside
35:16maybe he likes to lean on it did he read that list you just read off
35:30oh
35:36oh backing ferguson up with a left and then firing four consecutive left hooks
35:41all of them partially blocked by jesse but jesse not firing back
35:52see jesse plays possum right here he acts like he's hurting he's tired
35:55and all of a sudden wham wham here comes two big punches
36:00but by now pula is so wary of ferguson inside that he tends not to throw when he gets in
36:06close he
36:06doesn't throw and he relaxes a little too much
36:12short right hand landing for samson fauha
36:14that was a good left hook by jesse oh there's that uppercut that i'm talking about out of the possum
36:19sleep
36:45that was one of who has been around
36:52get both hands in play you got the best straight right hand in the world you're not using it
36:57okay you're there he is so tired this guy here he's got you you hear me this guy is trying
37:04harrow through seven rounds how do you have it larry i got it very close one point for jesse
37:09ferguson 66 65 but in rounds four to three for samson pahua but it's the points that count on a
37:1610-point much system i think that in that seventh round samson pahua just outworked him with that
37:21double left jab and jesse ferguson and they're starting to look very tired if samson will stay
37:26outside the jib keep using that double the double left jab and a double left hook he's going to beat
37:30jesse ferguson this is close let's pick it up a little bit all right let's pick it up a little
37:37bit
37:41samson pooha able to throw 73 punches in the seventh round and gradually in overall punch stat
37:49numbers pooha is catching up to ferguson in total punch output ferguson still landing more he's landed
37:55178 blows through seven rounds to only 125 for samson pooha but nevertheless if pooha can continue
38:03to pump the jab keep the activity rate up he's got a chance to come back and dominate these closing
38:09rounds maybe even win the fight yeah but to be a legitimate heavyweight contender he's going to have
38:15to learn to work the body a little more he's too big and too good of a puncher to not
38:20work the body i'm not
38:22sure he's done anything tonight to indicate that he can yet be a legitimate heavyweight oh there he
38:26is he's hurt again well ferguson was right when he said that he wasn't impressed with to
38:36poohua's power at least against him because poohua has not just been able to move him enough even
38:43though he's landed a lot of good clean hard-seeming shots and one problem is because he hasn't worked the
38:48body you have to work the body to weaken a guy with a strong chin such as jesse ferguson yeah
38:53particularly when a guy's 40 years old you would assume you'd want to go in there and try to work
38:57the body from the beginning that's right and if he knows that george foreman is toting jeeps around
39:02ferguson may be at least pulling a volkswagen you never know
39:06or a small mail truck
39:21uppercut lands again for ferguson
39:27see how the boogeyman shift their head from left to right that's how you find shots that's the
39:30difference in a real professional fighter and a young guy who doesn't have much experience he
39:35never leaves his head in the same place so he can be caught see how poohua just lets his head
39:40sit in
39:40one spot you can't do this and be a heavyweight contender the guys punch too hard you're gonna get
39:46knocked down and he's gonna possibly get knocked out if it's a mike tyson type of punch and if a
39:52journeyman like ferguson can rake you on the inside the way he has tonight against samson poohua you know
39:58that the evander holyfields of the world will wear you out yes they will
40:14see even ferguson is working poohua's body and that's one of the reasons he's been able to drop
40:19poohua and hurt poohua so much he's working his body he's making sure that he wears poohua down
40:24poohua should know how this feels and should do the same thing to his opponent this is a lesson in
40:30professionalism being delivered by the old pro jesse ferguson to young sacks and poohua
40:35there he is and he probably won't make it back after too much because he's hurt from the body so
40:40much the fight is the way hedge pep has decided to stop the fight in the eighth round
40:47so it's a knockout victory for jesse ferguson his career continues to rise
40:54ferguson who once lost six fights in a row and seven out of eight and who was tarnished by the
41:00allegations against his opponent ray mercer in the supposed bribe fight madison square garden a few
41:05years ago jesse has now won four fights in a row against young fighters and is looking pretty good i
41:13told you i believe he may be told in the volkswagen
41:23samson poohua fading again against the body shots of jesse ferguson in the eighth round
41:29and i think you're right roy i think it was ferguson's decision to begin attacking the body again
41:34that took whatever was left from poohua yeah that's how you work big big punches you have to go to
41:39the
41:40body to weaken them if he went to jesse's body maybe jesse wouldn't have had that much power left
41:44to be able to punish him like he was but he never invested any body shots invested in his body
41:49shots
41:49early in the fight so it allowed ferguson to stay strong all ferguson needed was to take a couple of
41:54rounds off to rest and then he comes back strong again
42:02new jersey doctors examining samson poohua
42:08be sure he'll be okay leaving the ring
42:13and the crowd on this side of the ring rising in support of jesse ferguson as he seeks a little
42:18adulation incidentally we'll take another look at the end of the fight roy jesse was working the body
42:26so well here and it was just wearing poohua down and that's why i said something about it there was
42:30one of those uppercuts from the inside again not as not nearly as hard as the earlier uppercuts were
42:34but it's the body work that paid off these body shots weakened fighters down the line wham there's the
42:40upper cover he can't take anymore he's worn down not from that one head shot but from the body shots
42:46a lesson in professionalism delivered by ferguson to poohua and incidentally on the three official
42:52scorecards at ringside ferguson was going into the next round with a 78 72 77 73 77 72 lead so
43:02he had
43:03won the fight to all intents and purposes on the scorecards
43:12originally from nightdale north carolina now from willingborough new jersey
43:17jesse ferguson has another victory let's go up to michael buffer for the official
43:21particulars ladies and gentlemen referee wayne hedgepeth has seen enough and he calls a
43:28halt to the bout at two minutes 53 seconds of round number eight the winner the heavyweight
43:34veteran from philadelphia pennsylvania jesse boogeyman ferguson
43:48the real puncher i know you saw that tonight i'm the real puncher i just had to get i just
43:54had to
43:54warm up a little bit that's all all right this is there still seems to be some giddy up in
43:59the old
43:59war horse there's a lot of giddy up you know 258 pounds and i'm weighing 235 it's not easy to
44:06carry
44:06around for eight rounds and constantly throw punches now i heard you talking about your wife having
44:10seen something on the tapes about him was that what you were saying she's on the tape she said you
44:14can hit this guy with uppercut and you can you can get him that's what she told me is she
44:18your
44:18boxing scout and assistant trainer no she's like looking at who i'm gonna fight
44:21uh-huh and uh you know she's you make her own uh uh you know analysis yeah analysis well well
44:29wait what's
44:30what's next jesse who's next who who next are you going to test i can name i can name four
44:35or five guys
44:36david to a lot of them as long as i wear a big cup
44:42i see kirk johnson he checking me out tell us quickly the story about why you went for the
44:47first time in your life to be a sparring partner with mike tyson last year and what you discovered
44:54there i discovered that i still can uh fight you know mike is one of the greatest fighters of uh
45:00all time and uh he punches real well and i was able to uh stand up on him he didn't
45:05have me down
45:06maybe had a nosebleed that's it you know but i hung in there with him and it showed me that
45:10i still
45:11can do this so i told my trainer i'm i'm putting 100 percent into this from now on i'm not
45:16staying out of
45:17gym for no reason at all even if i don't have a fight and all these young guys who are
45:20trying to
45:20use my name hey i might not never be in the hall of fame and i might not never be
45:24considered a
45:25great fighter but ain't nobody never gave me nothing i have to earn it thank you very much jesse
45:29and you are in the hall of fame for us jim final punch that numbers for jesse the boogeyman
45:37ferguson and you can see that he out landed samson pouha by 75 punches out through him by 72 punches
45:46landed at a much higher percentage and generally controlled the fight throughout with professional
45:53technique he understood what to do when pouha leaned inside against him and did most of his damage in
45:58those situations so samson pouha misses the chance to try to move up to that rung of the heavyweight
46:05division occupied by the andrew galatas and david tuas and obed sullivan's of the world and ferguson
46:12stamps himself as an outstanding potential opponent for some of those young fighters yeah when a guy can
46:17keep himself as well conditioned as ferguson has george foreman has encouraged a lot of people to go
46:22back look at yourself you may still have something left ferguson has been consistent out throughout his
46:27whole professional career he's never took a long long lay off and now at his older age he has to
46:32stay
46:32more consistent which he just said he would so that'll help him stay in shape enough to where he
46:36can beat a lot of the young fighters they're not as conditioned as he is or maybe we can match
46:40him
46:40against george foreman because among all of those heavyweight champions he's fought he never fought
46:44george yeah but you got to remember george still toting that jeep around it's a little bit different
46:48when you're fighting george what do you think happens to jesse ferguson next well he's going to make
46:53some money and that's the best news you know at the base of boxing you need you need people like
46:58jesse
46:59ferguson you wouldn't have a sport without fighters like him um and i would say affectionately people
47:07used to call fighters like this a bum affectionately he's a great bum yeah he's as good a bum as
47:13you're
47:13ever possibly going to get exactly if you were the main events people
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