Fight Report: Choi Wins Prizefighter On Second Attempt And A New Star is Born
Posted on | October 30, 2011 | No Comments
Report and Photos Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro
Last night at the York Hall in Bethnal Green 40 year old ‘Mongolian Warrior’ Choi Tseveenpurev won the excellent Matchroom Sport promoted Prizefighter tournament on his second attempt, having failed last year in the Super Featherweights.
Choi may have been the ‘big name’ in this the 22nd edition of Prizefighter but the real star of the show was someone half his age, 20 year old ‘Saint’ George Jupp who was unlucky not to be facing Rhys Roberts in the final. I say unlucky but that really is not a the right word as in my opinion, and the majority of the York Hall crowd, Jupp was robbed of a certain final round appearance by some dubious judging. More on that later.
The evening of sumptuous pugilistic fare started with the Prizefighter Prospects featuring Light Heavyweights Andreas Evangelou and Matt Inman.
Whilst not the most thrilling of bouts, Evangelou and Inman both worked their socks in equal measure. There were no highlights as such and I feel that a draw would have been a fair result, but the man that counts, referee Terry O’Connor, see it as 39-37 for Evangelou.
Now onto the tournament itself, which was a real cracker.
The first quarterfinal see Choi up against previously unbeaten Lee Glover. First round was a close fought affair, Glover used his jab to good effect, to slow the hard charging Mongolian, for the early part of the round, however late on Choi caught an off balance Glover with a solid right to send the youngster to the canvas. Glover protested it was a slip, but to no avail and a standing count ensued. As soon as referee Victor Loughlin waved them back in battle Choi went on all out attack until the bell.
The second round started where the first left off, Choi smelled blood and was going in for the kill. Around the one minute round Choi let rip with a big right to send Glover to the canvas for a second time. Glover appeared dazed as he rose to his feet and just wandered off, on unsteady legs, towards his corner which lead to referee Victor Loughlin waving the fight off.
The second quarterfinal see Belvedere’s George Jupp against Liverpudlian Lee Jennings.
Jennings started strong but the South Londoner kept his cool and used his jab to seriously good effect to turn the round his way. With his confidence growing Jupp started digging into his well stocked arsenal and put together a cracking left hook, right uppercut combination that rocked Jennings to the core.
Jupp motored on at the start of the second and was really getting down to business, throwing a variety of heavy right hands, one of which opened a cut in the corner of Jennings’ left eye. Jennings turned up the wick in an attempt to keep Jupp at bay but the cut had worsened and on the one minute fifty five second mark causing the referee stopped the fight.
Next up was Jupp’s TRAD TKO team mate Ian Bailey against future finalist Rhys Roberts.
Bailey, who’s really a Super Bantam, struggled to control the slick Mancunian throughout the bout. Bailey showed heart and determination, as he tried to get himself back into the fight, but to no avail as Roberts confidence had grown to such a level that the Slough man was struggling to land a punch at times and being picked off with ease.
No surprise then that all three judges score cards read a shutout 30-27 in favour of Roberts.
The final quarterfinal pitched Troy James against Barrington Brown.
Nottingham’s Brown was out of the corner like a rocket and looked set to provide the third stoppage of the night, but he didn’t as James is made of sterner stuff. Brown kept up the major assault for a good part of the first round but from then on it was all James, who worked his heart out to overcome his much taller opponent and earn a semifinal place by 30-28 and 29-28 (twice) points margin.
Choi and George Jupp squared up in the first semifinal, and what a cracker it was. Throughout the first round Choi was frustrated by the youngsters mature ringcraft, Jupp kept the charging bull that is Choi at bay with superb crisp jabs. Whenever Choi did manage to bully his way through and land a blow, Jupp responded in kind, landing an equally heavy glove on the Mongolian, before reverting to his jab.
More of the same in the second, even after Choi had wrestled the youngster to the canvas – and following through with a punch to the back of the head when Jupp was down, which should have been punished by a point deduction according to the tournament rules – Jupp remained calm and let his boxing skills do the talking.
Choi, clearly aware that he was two rounds down and needing a stoppage to progress to the final, started the third stanza like a man possessed. The Mongolian threw bomb after bomb but the resilient youngster wasn’t overawed one iota and just returned exocets of his own.
When the final bell rang Jupp’s team celebrated certain in the knowledge their man was through to the final. These celebrations were bought to an abrupt halt though when the judges scorecards were read out – 27-30 and 28-29 (twice) in favour of Choi.
As Choi’s large contingent of fans celebrated the majority of the York Hall crowd showed their disapproval.
George Jupp may have been denied his rightful place in the final, but he sure won a lot of new fans on Saturday so hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot more of this talented youngster in the future.
The second semifinal see Rhys Roberts grow in stature, against Troy James, from the off the Mancunian took control, Rocking James with a huge left hook early on. James responded in true pit bull style, coming forward and letting rip with flurries of shots. Unfortunately whilst throwing plenty of punches James barely slowed the slick Roberts who seemed to be able to pick him off at will.
Throughout the three action packed rounds Roberts was in full control and cruised into the final by 30-28 and 29-28 (twice) points margin.
Not surprisingly the final started out as quite a cagey affair, with Choi landing the only meaningful punch, a huge left hook that shook Roberts to the core, following a lot of scrappy exchanges.
Roberts confidence took another massive blow in the second, when Choi landed a peach of an overhand right. From then on the Mancunian was on survival mode and relied a little too much on his sharp counter punching to keep the marauding Mongolian at bay. Choi’s savvy at the best of times so it was no surprise that Choi was able to undo Roberts’ game plan, landing further big shots in-between roughing the Mancunian up on the inside.
The final round was a bit of an anti climax, instead of the barnstorming finale the early rounds promised instead there as almost three minutes of nonstop mauling and arm locking interspersed with the occasional flurry of hard action.
Even before the scorecards were read Choi’s corner and fans were celebrating, quite rightly so as Choi had easily won every round by a shutout 30-27 margin.
Once again Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport team have produced another superb night of tournament boxing – Roll on the 23rd Prizefighter edition, if it’s half as good as the 22nd it’ll be brilliant.
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Askren Drops Hieron To Retain Welterweight Title at Bellator 56
Posted on | October 30, 2011 | No Comments
Santos, Prindle Secure Spots in Heavyweight Finals
CHICAGO, Ill. (October 29, 2011) — The action was fast and ferocious inside Memorial Hall as Bellator Welterweight Champion Ben Askren successfully defended his belt against Tournament Champion Jay Hieron and Eric Prindle and Thiago Santos both advanced to the Finals of the Bellator Heavyweight Tournament with first round finishes.
Hieron began the title fight with an impressive opening round, defening against Askren’s takedowns and controlling the pace. Askren got off to a slow start but warmed up as the fight went on, as his takedowns prevailed in the second, third, and fourth rounds. Hieron sensed he was down heading into the fifth and final round, and came out with heavy hands, including a crowd igniting spinning back kick to the chest of a stunned Askren. However, when it came time to raise the winner’s hand, one judge saw the fight in favor of Hieron while the other two sided with Askren, 48-47. Askren now awaits the winner of the Season 5 Welterweight Tournament, which will be decided at Bellator 57 in a Finals fight between Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima.
Neil Grove had a second shot at tournament glory after filling in for the injured Blagoi Ivanov, and was set to square off against “The Big Monster” Thiago Santos. “Big Monster” survived Grove’s first attack and then dropped him with his first punch — an overhand right. Santos then followed him to the ground and took over Grove’s back to submit the former tournament finalist by way of rear naked choke 38 seconds into the first round.
Prindle too would advance to the Finals following a heavy handed punch as he knocked Ron Sparks out cold while countering a leg kick. Sparks delivered an outside leg kick to Prindle early and let his right hand drop below his chin. It was at this point that the former five-time All Army Boxing Champion dropped him with a swift left hook and followed him to the mat for two more punches before a referee stoppage. The win was ruled a knockout for Prindle and took just 40 seconds.
“This is why you can’t blink when our heavyweights are mixing it up,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “Thiago Santos is a world-class jiu-jitsu player and showed his evolution as a mixed martial artist by putting Neil Grove down with a big punch; and Eric Prindle proved he’s an absolute beast by knocking out a heavy-handed heavyweight in Ron Sparks. I cannot wait for this final on November 26 at Caesars in Atlantic City.”
“With Ben and Jay, I thought it was a good fight. I think Ben is being hard on himself and Jay is a world-class welterweight. No one’s going to come in here and outwrestle Ben, and Jay presents a lot of problems for his opponents. I thought they both put on a strong show.”
For more information, visit Bellator.com, follow Bellator on Twitter @BellatorMMA or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Bellator
About Bellator Fighting Championships
Bellator Fighting Championships is a Mixed Martial Arts promotional company headquartered in Chicago. Bellator’s founder/CEO, Bjorn Rebney, is an experienced fighting sports and entertainment professional with a deep commitment to the purity and integrity of the sport of MMA and its athletes. Bellator Fighting Championships’ executive team is comprised of top industry professionals in the areas of live event production, television production, fighter relations, venue procurement, sponsorship creation/development, international licensing, marketing, advertising, publicity and commission relations.
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Mixed Martial Arts Links (10-30-11)
Posted on | October 30, 2011 | No Comments
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Mitrione carries MMA torch for Indy into tonight’s UFC event Indianapolis Star (blog) Robert Scheer / The Star Unbeaten heavyweight Matt Mitrione embraces the idea of being the next great mixed martial arts fighter from Indianapolis. He’s being trained by recently retired Chris Lytle, the Indianapolis firefighter and welterweight fan … See all stories on this topic »
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New facility in Mount Kisco offers MMA and more The Journal News | LoHud.com Instructor Brandon Durham works with Elyse Alpart of Armonk during the cardio kickboxing class at Westchester Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness. / Tania Savayan/The Journal News For more information on Westchester Mixed Martial Arts and Fitness, … See all stories on this topic »
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Viacom Purchases Bellator and MMA as a Whole Benefits Awful Announcing Having a lot of implications for MMA and MMA on television as a whole, we were lucky enough to pick the brain of Sean Malone, editor of Inside The Cage MMA, for his input on how the move will change MMA and sports media. 2011 may very well go down in … See all stories on this topic »
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Crane kick starts Burbank’s first MMA event – Glendale News-Press As the first North American to earn a Gracie Barra Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt before subsequently opening up Gracie Barra studios in Burbank, Pasadena and … articles.glendalenewspress. |
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Brandon Gonzales emerges victorious in exciting ShoBox main event
Posted on | October 29, 2011 | No Comments
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Boxing Links (10-29-11)
Posted on | October 29, 2011 | No Comments
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What Do Olympic Boxing and Badminton Have in Common? Skirts Yahoo! Sports But that hasn’t stopped the the Amateur International Boxing Association, or AIBA from suggesting that women wear skirts to compete in London 2012. Women’s boxing in Montevideo, Uruguay – Nemus vs. Rojo Here’s the back story on the Badminton World … See all stories on this topic »
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Family sues Tulsa church over death following boxing match Tulsa World died George Clinkscale: The former TU football player died following a boxing match at Guts Church. By JARREL WADE World Staff Writer The family of a former University of Tulsa football player who died following an unsanctioned boxing match at a local … See all stories on this topic »
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Star Power, Indeed…Mayweather-Ortiz Sells 1.25 Million The Boxing Tribune For the record, Mayweather now holds the distinction of having participated in the three highest revenue non-heavyweight PPV events in boxing history (vs. Oscar De la Hoya, vs. Ortiz, and vs. Shane Mosley). The 1.25 million number falls shy of Golden … See all stories on this topic »
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Connecticut Boxing Hall Of Fame Inductees Hartford Courant A dinner for the 2011 inductees into the Connecticut Boxing Hall of Fame will be held Saturday night at the Uncas Ballroom at Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville. The inductees are: •Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Paz: Among the five world titles captured by … See all stories on this topic » |
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Boxing Ticket Phishing Scam Making The Rounds – The Consumerist By Phil Villarreal In a press release, the Better Business Bureau says phishing scammers have sent out emails pretending to be from StubHub, claiming that you’ve bought two tickets for a Las Vegas boxing match from a guy in Los Angeles, with the order … The Consumerist |
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Million-dollar bad decision? Boxing federation asks female boxers to … By sskinner@sfgate.com (Scott Skinner) At least that’s what Dr. Ching-Kuo Wu, President of the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said when announcing that the organization is asking female boxers to wear skirts in the ring. “I’ve heard many times, people say, ‘We can’t tell the … Hot Topics |
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Wrestling Links (10-29-11)
Posted on | October 29, 2011 | No Comments
Chris Masters Talks WWE Release, Drugs In Wrestling & More Wrestling Inc. By Raj Giri | October 29, 2011 | Comments This month former WWE Superstar Chris Masters speaks to The Wrestling Press about his recent release, the reasons behind his first departure with WWE and his experience of drugs in wrestling, plus various other … See all stories on this topic »
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Taxpayers finance three Rapids wrestlers‘ defense attorneys Wisconsin Rapids Tribune 14, three of the four Lincoln High School wrestlers charged in connection with alleged misconduct in the school’s locker room will have attorneys paid for by tax dollars. Because the court system treats 17-year-olds as adults — three of the four were … See all stories on this topic »
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Wrestling event to stay in Albany Albany Times Union The Times Union Center will host the state high school wrestling tournament until at least 2016. The Times Union Center hosted the event in 2005, 2007 and 2009-2011 and will do so again on Feb. 24-25 of next year. The tournament was the second-largest … See all stories on this topic »
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2-minute drill: SCSU wrestling ranked No. 1 St. Cloud Times The St. Cloud State wrestling team was picked as the top-ranked team in the NSIC preseason coaches poll as well as the preseason Division II Wrestling Coaches Association poll. The Huskies finished second as a team at the D-II national championships … See all stories on this topic »
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OU wrestling scrimmage whets team’s appetite for season Oklahoma Daily But more than that, the event was a last chance for OU’s wrestlers to wrestle for a starting position. It was a wrestle-off to see whom would represent the No. 13 wrestling program in the country, according to Amateur Wrestling News. … See all stories on this topic »
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State champ Paglia to test national field Delmarva Now KAREN PAGLIA PHOTO EASTVILLE — With the beginning of winter sports just weeks away and in this case, namely wrestling, there is excitement in the air. Northampton and Arcadia are coming off of seasons in which both teams had multiple state place … See all stories on this topic » |
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Crocodile Wrestling Show | Thai Photo Blogs by Richard Barrow By Richard Barrow At the Crocodile Farm and Zoo in Samut Prakan, you can enjoy watching the crocodile wrestlingshow. However, it is probably best if you don’t try doing this at home! The wrestler in this picture is sticking his hand down the throat of a crocodile! … Thai Photo Blogs by Richard Barrow |
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Ouachita officials dedicate Hatcher Wrestling Complex « OBU News By Trennis Henderson Ouachita Baptist University officials unveiled the Hatcher Wrestling Complex, the new home of the Ouachita Tiger Wrestling Program, during an Oct. 27 dedication and open house. Tiger Wrestling, which debuted last year as the first collegiate … OBU News |
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NO GI, BJJ & MMA as part of London Intl Opens 2012
Posted on | October 29, 2011 | No Comments
Oct 29th 2011 4:42pm
Hi , The London International Opens will take place at Seni2012, Excel London – The London 2012 Olympic venue Over 5000 competitors will take part across 20+ international tournaments in two days Be part of a truly international event at the worlds leading fighting arts expo! Email info@fightersinc.net for details of tournament categories or log on for more details including hotels & official hostel accomodation. www.TheLondonOpen.com / www.MMAWeekender.com
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Mixed Martial Arts Links (10-29-11)
Posted on | October 29, 2011 | No Comments
MMA Today: Penn prepares to fight Diaz in UFC 137 ScrippsNews “It’s definitely a total love/hate relationship with mixed martial arts and maybe even the UFC at times,” Penn said. “But, I’m not planning on going anywhere soon. But you never know when you get that opportunity to get a title shot or to maybe get a … See all stories on this topic »
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Former NFLer tackling toughest hurdle yet ESPN (blog) Entering his sixth professional mixed martial arts contest since turning pro in 2009, the fast-talker is up against his most difficult opponent yet. “I’ve fought middle to bottom end of the talent — not to rip on the people I’ve fought — and I’ve … See all stories on this topic »
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Ex-MU star Askren has MMA fight tonight Kansas City Star “I’ve said that was my goal from the time I started fighting mixed martial arts. People who get into the sport without that long-term goal in mind are in it for the wrong reasons.” Hieron, 22-4, a savvyMMA veteran, represents the next obstacle in … See all stories on this topic »
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MMA Cage Fight 9 set for Nov. 25 Scranton Times-Tribune BY HERB SMITH (STAFF WRITER) That is Northeast MMA president Chris Coyne’s motto when it comes to his growing business. And Coyne promises Northeast MMA will step up with its largest show to date when Cage Fight 9 kicks off Nov. … See all stories on this topic »
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Video: theScore Fighting Series Wreck MMA Wrap thescore.com By Arda Ocal October 29, 2011 The main attractions at Wreck MMA on October 28 provided a healthy dose of drama and fighting spirit. In the main event, Nathan Gunn outlasted a game Nabil Khatib en route to earning a 49-46 score from the judges and the … See all stories on this topic »
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Is CBS getting back on the MMA bandwagon too? | Fightlinker – UFC … By fightlinker http://www.youtube.com/watch? Fightlinker – UFC, Strikeforce,… |
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MMAterial Facts (10/28/11 … – MMAPayout.com: The Business of MMA By Jose Mendoza October 28, 2011. Welcome to this edition of MMAterial Facts, where we feature articles from around the MMA community. ***. This week’s MMAterial Facts: – UFC Japan Will Be PPV Event; Doubleheader Plans Abandoned (MMA Fighting) … MMAPayout.com: The Business of MMA |
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Bjorn Rebney shepherds Bellator into new era with Viacom | MMA … By Jason Kelly Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney discusses their partnership with Viacom. mmadiehards.com. MMA DIEHARDS |
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Saugerties native Gambino wins Mixed Martial Arts featherweight … Saugerties native Gambino wins Mixed Martial Arts featherweight title … Gambino’s ultimate goal is to sign a contract with UFC, the premier MMA organization in … www.dailyfreeman.com/…/ |
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