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Showtime Championship Boxing

June 9, 2007

Connecticut Convention Center-Hartford, Connecticut

1.  WBC Light Heavyweight (175 pounds) 12 Round Championship Match:

Chad Dawson (23-0 (1 NC), 15 KO's, 174 pounds) (c) vs. Jesus Ruiz (19-4, 17 KO's, 174.75 pounds)

Dawson is currently being trained by Floyd Mayweather, Sr.  This is Dawson's first title defense and second match with the trainer of champions, who in their first outing together won this championship.  Dawson is 24-years-old and looking to get a match with a Tarver, should they both win tonight.  Dawson is the only current American holding a major championship at this weight class and is defending it tonight in his hometown for added pressure.  (He's actually from nearby New Haven, Connecticut.)  In Dawson's prematch interview, Jim Grey shows him the press credential issued for the event that has huge pictures of Tarver and Muriqi and a tiny picture of him.  Dawson says it does not bother him, because a lot of the fans are clearly thee to see him.  The way he said it, though showed it bothered him and Dawson said he would be watching the main event.

Al Bernstein's keys to victory for Dawson are: Is that he should work the body against a boxer who may have stamina issues.  Dawson should push Ruiz backwards, Ruiz does not box well going backwards.  He should also throw the left hand, often.  Dawson has started to showcase a left hand in his last match and it is a good one.  Dawson writes and does everything else right handed, but box right-handed.  His father was a left handed boxer, so the younger Dawson chose to copy his father and box as a southpaw.

Ruiz has only fought once since a loss in March 2004.  That was a 1:20 TKO victory, in November 2006.  With the inaction and only being 1-1 in his last two outings the WBC still has him, somehow ranked as the number 15 contender.  Dawson is the first southpaw boxer Ruiz has ever faced in the pro's, even though he turned pro in 1994.

The keys to victory for Ruiz according to Bernstein are for Ruiz to: Land the right hand.  He should stay off the ropes where he boxes poorly. Finally, he should keep throwing the right hand as almost all of his 17 knockout have come via the right hand.  The straight right hand is the most effective punch for a boxer in the orthodox stance against a boxer standing southpaw.

Ruiz grew up in an orphanage in Leon, Mexico, but now lives in Long Beach, California.  He has gone threw 24 different managers, which has to be a record.  Ruiz has boxed at this weight class his entire career, compared to Dawson who began his career at 168 pounds.  That should give him the natural size and power advantage.

Ruiz is nine years older at 33-years-old.  They are equal in height at 6' 1" tall.  Dawson has the reach advantage at 76.5" to 74" in reach.

The unified rules of boxing will be in effect for both of tonight's contests which include: no standing 8 count, no 3 knockdown rule, only the referee can stop the match, a boxer cannot be saved from a knockout by the bell in any round, and in case of a cut caused by an accidental headbutt before the end of round 4 the match will be ruled a no decision, after that it will go to the scorecards.  If the match is topped because of a punch caused by a cut the person bleeding loses by TKO.  If an accidental elbow causes a cut, like was the case of the last Zab Judah contest, it is treated as if it were a headbutt.  The judges are from Monterrey, Mexico; West Hartford, Connecticut; and Montreal, Canada.

Round 1 to Dawson, 10-9.  The bell to end round 1 sounded at 2:52 of round 1.  That is a very odd time to mistakenly ring the bell, because it does not end in a zero.  Dawson wins round 2, 10-9.  Ruiz appears completely over matched.  Ruiz is having extreme problems with his footwork facing the southpaw.  In round 2, the two boxers feet overlapped or touched in some form 11 times according to Showtime.  Round 3 is the best so far for Ruiz, but not good enough to win.  Dawson wins round 3, 10-9.  Dawson has been knocked down in each of his last two matches by right hands, and Ruiz is throwing lots of them.  After three rounds I have Dawson ahead, 30-27.

Round 4 saw Dawson hurt Ruiz badly with some body shots in the last minute of the round.  Dawson wins round 4, 10-9.  Ruiz is going to have a tough time sustaining many more body blows, and Dawson can see Ruiz wince on some of the connected body punches.  Three members of the press row scoring from ringside through 4 rounds all have it for Dawson, 40-36.  My card is the same.  Bernstein has it the same.  With 44 seconds to go in round 5, Dawson lands a low blow and is cautioned by the referee.  Ruiz wanted time some time to recover, but the referee did not grant it, and action resumed immediately after the warning.  Dawson wins round 5, 10-9.  After the round Dawson's corner worked to loosen his left glove, because it was too tight.  Dawson wanted to be able to flex his fingers a little more inside the glove.  The announcers point out that it is very difficult to loosen a glove, legally, once it is already on.  With 2:11 to go in round 6, Dawson throws a very illegal right backhand blow to Ruiz's face and is immediately warned.  Dawson pins Ruiz up against the ropes with 1:13 to go in the round and begins to strategically unload a wide diversity of punches on the unsteady boxer.  At 1:01 of round 6, the referee steps in to end the match with Ruiz never going down to give Dawson the TKO victory and his first career title defense.  Great stoppage by the referee, he moved in at the perfect time.  The referee did an excellent job this an entire match, no controversy Dawson did a great job.

The official decision read by the classy Jimmy Lennon, Jr. is: at 2:00 of round 6 the winner by way of technical knockout, still undefeated and still the WBC Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, "Bad" Chad Dawson.

Dawson still has things to work on, including his defense, but looked good in this performance.  The champions young children were in attendance for this match, and luckily, not traumatized as there is not a mark on their father.  Dawson said he was rushing to get ready backstage and his left glove was tied too tight and it made his hand go numb.  How someone needs to rush to get ready when they are the match with the set start time is a little confusing, though.  He chose to box the majority of the match focusing on his right jab, which Dawson said is the best in the business thanks to Floyd Mayweather, Sr.  Dawson's final comments were that he would look forward to fighting anyone who was next.

Luckily, the blandness of this promo was saved when the microphone was given to Mayweather, Sr., who said that now is the perfect time for a Tarver match.  Mayweather, Sr. said that with him Dawson was a student and learning more then ever before.  Dawson was becoming a complete boxer and this match showed he (Dawson) was now a finisher.  That no one is going to want to face Dawson in the future.  That family needs to teach classes in how to cut promos, as Senior managed to run down every previous trainer Dawson had and call out Tarver.

The official judges scorecards through 5 rounds were: 50-44, 50-44, and 50-45, all in favor of Dawson.  Two of the judges awarded Dawson a 10-8 round, which was probably round 4, because of how badly the body punches had Ruiz hurt.   The three members of the press scoring at ringside, Bernstein and I all had it for Dawson, 50-45.

Before the start of the main event, as this is the first Showtime Championship Boxing event since the tragic loss of 29-year-old Diego "Chico" Corrales, a video package is played in homage of the beloved boxer.  The crowd is then asked to rise and remain silent for the traditional ten bell salute.  The announcers relay the story that, "somebody said it would probably be more fitting if Corrales got a nine count, because he would probably get up before ten."  In case anyone wants Showtime has put up on the screen a that a Diego Corrales Memorial Fund has been set up to help his family.  It is a Nevada Bank of America account #: 501002794596.  Corrales' widow is pregnant with a son, to be their fourth child, due in July, and is raising their three children.

2. IBO Light Heavyweight (175 pounds) 12 Round Championship Match:

Antonio Tarver (24-4, 18 KO's, 175 pounds) vs. Elvir Muriqi (34-3, 21 KO's, 173.75 pounds)

This title is currently vacant.  Bernard Hopkins was the previous champion, defeating Tarver in a unanimous decision for the title on June 20, 2006.  However, Hopkins is choosing to move back down to 168 pounds to face Winky Wright on pay-per-view in July for a bigger pay day then he could make facing Tarver, again.

Tarver has recently claimed his poor showing in that match was possibly due to him being poisoned by room service prior to the match.  A routine postmatch urinalysis performed on Tarver showed nothing abnormal.  Many people believe the poor performance in that match was in part due to Tarver focusing too much on his role in the movie Rocky Balboa.  Tarver added a lot of extra weight for that role and may have lost a lot of stamina cutting weight to make the 175 pound limit for that match.  Tarver has not had a match since that loss.

Tarver's prematch interview continued to offer excuses for his loss to Hopkins, while stating the loss did not bother him.

Tarver talked about now being both an actor and a boxer.  In the year since his last match, Tarver not only made Rocky Balboa, but a second movie, Scouts Honor, where he has a major role as a pastor.  He mentioned part of the reason for the long lay off was to reevaluate what he wanted to do in boxing. Tarver insists he is focused on boxing right now, saying he only has 2 to 2.5 years left in the sport.  However, at 38-years-old, Tarver has a lot of questions to answer in this match and after this interview, whether his focus is still on boxing is a big one.  Tarver has also, changed his trainer for this match.  He left long time trainer Buddy McGirt, after the Hopkins match.  Tarver did not want to travel to train among McGirt's large stable of boxers in Vero Beach, Florida and returned to his original trainer Jimmy Williams.

Tarver's keys to victories from Bernstein are: He should throw the jab with conviction, rather then lazily pawing with it.  Tarver needs to punch under control, not wildly, because that could put him off balance and get him in trouble, as it did versus Hopkins.  Finally he needs to land the straight left hand.  Tarver boxes in the southpaw stance and the straight left hand is the best punch against a boxer standing in the orthodox stance, and he has one of the best straight lefts.

The 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Bronze Medalist in boxing representing the United States at 178 pounds received the largest reaction coming out of anything so far and it was a loud chorus boos.  That only made Tarver smile coming to the ring, because this is not what was expected from the crowd.  The announcers are saying this may be in part due to the talk of Tarver being poisoned before the Hopkins bout.  For a match taking place in a neutral site, to see a big name and usual crowd favorite receive this strong a negative a reaction is unusual.  There were a handful of people applauding when Tarver was announced, but they were intimidated into stopping, quickly.

Muriqi has never faced anyone as good as Tarver.  At the beginning of his career, Muriqi, was thought to have the potential to be an elite light heavyweight, but it has yet to show.  Muriqi has faced two southpaw boxers and knocked them both out in the first round.  They were not near the quality boxer of Tarver.

The keys to victory from Bernstein for Muriqi are: Muriqi should work from both the inside and outside.  He needs to throw hooks to Tarver's body.  Muriqi should try throwing right hands, which Hopkins had success doing against Tarver.

Muriqi has not been in official action since December 2006.  The current resident of Bronx, New York is a previous New York State Golden Gloves Championship.  Muriqi has not been the underdog in any of his matches as a professional, until this match.  He is the relative local versus the Orlando, Florida native Tarver.

Muriqi is ten years younger at 28-years-old.  He is giving up three inches in height, standing only 5' 10.5" tall, while Tarver is 6' 1.5" tall.  Muriqi, also gives up 1.5" in reach (I believe Showtime measures wingspan) 72.5" to a 74" reach for Tarver.

Once again, as mentioned above the unified rules are in effect for this match.  The judges are from Avon, Connecticut; Miami, Florida; and River Vale, New Jersey.  The referee for this match is, the excellent, Michael Ortega.

As the bell sounds to open round 1, the crowd begins to chant Muriqi's name.  Muriqi wins round 1, 10-9.  In round 1, Muriqi several times hit Tarver low, but never received a warning.  Tarver did not complain about the punches either, to help facilitate a warning.  Tarver wins round 2, 10-9.  Bernstein believes Muriqi is nearing the limit of allowable low blows, before he loses a point, as Muriqi continued to go low often in round 2.  Round 3 is very hard to score, but I'm going to go with Muriqi, 10-9.  It is unlikely all the judges will have it the same.  Through 3 rounds, I have the match scored for Muriqi, 29-28.  Bernstein has it the same to this point.  Muriqi is doing a lot of really good work to the body of Tarver.  Tarver, despite being inactive for so long, should have the advantage the longer the match goes.  Muriqi has never been past round 8.

Tarver wins round 4, 10-9.  Press row scoring has it with one person having it for Muriqi, 39-37, presumably awarding the last round to Muriqi.  The other two members of the press have it even 38-38 and that is how I have it.  Bernstein has Muriqi ahead by a point 39-38, scoring round 4, 10-10.  With about 50 seconds to go in round 5 there is an accidental clash of heads, that opens up a cut near Muriqi's right eye.  With 22 seconds to go in the round, the referee calls timeout for the doctor to examine the cut.  The doctor says the cut is fine to continue, but it appears to be effecting Muriqi.  Action is resumed quickly.  Muriqi was winning the round, but immediately upon being cut the tide changed in the round.  Tarver dominated the last part of the round, winning round 5, 10-9.  If Muriqi does not get back on track, the outcome of this match will be very disappointing.  It is already at the point where if the cut causes a premature stoppage the cards will determine the result.  On replay it appears questionable whether the headbutt was accidental or not.  Tarver appeared to dive in to the left and then redirect his head to come up to the right where the clash of heads occurred.  It may have been an accidental, reckless move, or it could have been Tarver delivering a dirty blow.  The referee has ruled it as an accidental headbutt, and that will be the ruling in the case of a premature stoppage.  Round 6 to Tarver, 10-9.  The blood is getting into Muriqi's right eye and there is swelling beginning around his left eye, but that is not yet effecting his vision.  Through 6 rounds my card has it for Tarver, 58-56.  Tarver is now using his best punch, the left hand, even more with Muriqi having restricted vision in the right eye, the eye he needs to see the punch coming.  Press row scoring through 6 rounds, has it with two cards for Tarver, 58-56, and one even, 57-57.  Bernstein has it for Tarver, 58-57.

Muriqi is boxing with an increased sense of urgency, having never been past eight rounds, poor vision, and a match that could go to the cards at any time if that cut gets worse.  Tarver has gone to a 12 round decision 8 times in his career.  Round 7 to Tarver, 10-9.  Muriqi was doing very well early in the match moving in behind his jab, and now is not throwing his jab with as much frequency, decreasing his offense and getting him hit more frequently.  Hence, he has lost the last several rounds and is losing the match now.

Dawson is shown scouting his first Tarver match in person between rounds 7 and 8, while holding his (Dawson's) son.

Muriqi uses occasional feints and is highly successful when using the misdirection plays.  With 38 seconds to go in round 8, Tarver switches to the orthodox stance, which is very rare/possibly new for the former champion.  Tarver landed a lot of big punches in round 8 to win it, 10-9.  Press row scoring to this point has all of the cards for Tarver: 78-74, 77-75, and 77-75.  One of the members of the press row scorers gave one of the last two rounds to Muriqi, I am not sure which one.  Bernstein has it for Tarver, 78-75, and I've got it for Tarver, 78-74.  Muriqi is clearly tired in round 9.  Tarver wins round 9, 10-9.  With a little under a minute gone in round 10, Muriqi gets pinned against the ropes and the referee starts taking a look to step in and end the match.  Muriqi manages to fight off the ropes and start a mini-rally, because Tarver may have tired himself out a little trying to finish Muriqi.  Tarver manages to hold off the Muriqi comeback enough to hang on and win round 10, 10-9.  Through 10 rounds my scorecard has Tarver ahead, 98-92.

Between rounds Dawson is interviewed by Jim Grey.  Dawson says that Tarver looks a little slow and his timing is a little off.  He believes part of Tarver's problems may be ring rust and potentially cutting too much weight may have cost Tarver some punching power.  Dawson says Tarver is doing a good job, but there is nothing he sees in this performances from Tarver that makes him think he cannot beat Tarver.  Mayweather, Sr. must have coached Dawson on how to better promote a match, before he came back out.

In bouts going past 10 rounds Tarver is, 4-4, with all of those matches going to decision.  Tarver had Muriqi in trouble, again to start round 11, but seemed to tire and let up, allowing Muriqi to rally back.  Tarver has only been active in spurts all night and a consistent good punching output from Tarver would have forced the referee to end, the very game, Muriqi's night a while ago.  Tarver seems to only have 20 to 30 seconds of solid punching energy and that is not a good sign for the future.  It also, does not seem to indicate a boxer, committed to boxing, who worked hard in the gym.  With 1:39 to go in round 11, Tarver throws a wild left hook that has him do a spinning 270 degree turn, only stopped by Muriqi grabbing him.  The announcers were speculating if Tarver was playing possum, but it is now clear the former champion is very tired and there is no good reason for it.  Tarver now looks exhausted in the last minute of the round and Muriqi looks much fresher.  Tarver barely wins round 11, 10-9.  My card has it in favor of Tarver 108-101.  Press row scoring after 11 rounds, all have it for Tarver by varying degrees: 108-101, 106-103, and 107-102.  Bernstein has it for Tarver, 108-102.

The final round of the night is going to need to feature a knockout from Muriqi, or he is leaving with a loss.  Before round 12 started, Muriqi in a mental battle with Tarver was off his stool several seconds before the former champion rose to his feet.  Tarver, again switches to the orthodox stance, with 1:22 to go in round 12.  Tarver wins an exciting round 12 that saw Muriqi give everything he had offensively, and everything he had to end the match without being knocked out.  The Showtime commentators accurately describe this as a very entertaining, one-sided match.  Tarver takes round 12, 10-9, and wins on my card, 118-110.

Bernstein thinks this was a mixed outing for Tarver who showed some good things offensively at times, but could have been much better and more consistent.  Muriqi did not show himself to be a top tier light heavyweight, but is at the level just below that.  Off this outing he could do very well boxing for smaller titles on television or to be called upon as a good challenger to lose on semi-major shows, and still earn some very good paychecks.  The announcers joked Muriqi was auditioning for Rocky 7 with the way he was hit frequently and fought back tonight.

This match did not answer all the questions, with his cardio and inconsistent output being a major question going forward.  However as the start of a return it was solid, but could have been a lot better.

The official decision is that the judges scorecards are have a majority decision according to Jimmy Lennon, Jr. before the scores are announced and that is really confusing.  Here are the cards:  114-114, 115-113, 116-112 for the winner, new, and once again, IBO Light Heavyweight Champion of the World, "The Magic Man" Antonio Tarver.

Bernstein scored round 12 for Muriqi, making his final card for Tarver, 117-112.  The judge from New Jersey had the draw.  Bernstein too is very confused by the scoring, even the, 115-113, in favor of Tarver is really hard to explain why it would be that close.  A score of up to 119-109, Tarver would have been completely defensible, giving Muriqi only round 1.  Scoring the contest a draw is unthinkable based on what I saw.  Round 4 and 12 could have gone to Muriqi, that I gave to Tarver, but it was difficult to give any other rounds to Muriqi let alone two.

Muriqi's people after the match thought the result should have gone extremely differently then virtually anyone else who kept score and were trying to make this a two part contest with Tarver, et al, after the scores were read.  So, before postmatch interviews could be conducted security had to come into the ring.  Tarver is incensed after the match, demanding Muriqi's people leave the ring or he will go to his dressing room.  When asked about his thoughts on the match and the decision, "It's a disgrace."  He continued that the judge scoring it a draw should never be allowed to judge in America, because they had worked too hard for this match to have any controversy.  Tarver then asked that Grey find out who that judge is and that every commission bar him, because he is "blind or can't see."  He repeated that the decision was ridiculous.  Tarver is absolutely right about the judging and the measures that should be taken.  Grey asked Tarver if he was mad at him, because he was yelling at the Showtime interviewer.  This is more fire then Tarver showed in the entire lead up and through the bout.  Tarver said he felt great in the ring, and did not feel slow at all.  He said he boxed a classic match.  Tarver is going to need a quiet room to cool down, he is so angry about this decision.  In the post match interview Tarver refuses to give Muriqi any credit for ever being in the contest.  The champion says he is all the way back right now and will be back in the gym in 1.5 weeks in preparation for a bout in September (that is too soon for Hopkins to be a potential next opponent).  The opponent is to be determined, but Tarver says the only thing he needs to improve on from this match is going to the body more.

Two judges scored rounds 11 and 12 for Muriqi, which is possible.  Press row scoring was all in favor of Tarver: 116-112, 116-112, and 118-110.

Muriqi in his post match interview said he knows he won the match.  Everyone knows it, the whole world knows it, even Jim Grey knows it.  Grey then quickly removed himself from Muriqi's all knowing group, at the first opportunity to talk.  Muriqi replies that he knows Grey is not allowed to say what he thinks and that he (Muriqi) won 8 rounds out of 12, which is borderline delusional.  That Tarver only boxed in spots.  Muriqi said his plan was to let Tarver hit him get tired and fire back.  He continued that he was never hurt the entire contest, even though on television it was clear the referee was thinking about stopping it a few times.  Muriqi said the headbutt that opened up the cut was an accident.  Muriqi wants a rematch or whoever is the best in the world, because Tarver probably will not give him a rematch.  If Tarver does not calm down, Muriqi will be very glad he got denied the rematch.

Based on what was displayed tonight it appears the best match up for Tarver in September is Dawson.  The Dawson match will not be on pay-per-view, but should still get a good premium cable payday.

Overall, a very entertaining show and worth watching.

Sincerely,

Jereme Warneck
Hidden Valley Lake, CA


I can be reached for feedback and comments at ZurRoadie@aol.com or as JeremeW on XBOX Live. I read everything.