Sometimes, fighters
participate in what
are known as "closet
classics," that is,
great fights that
nobody ever saw and
only aficionados
know about. It's
important, not only
for the fans, but
for the combatants,
that these slugfests
get their due. Here
are just three:
"17 Hours of
Hell"
On January 13, 1995,
two very tough
customers by the
names of Prince
Charles Williams and
Merqui Sosa met at
Bally's Park Place
in Atlantic City for
the vacant NABF
Light Heavyweight
Title.
Both were old school
types whose DNA
contained no quit.
With hardly a clinch
in the fight, both
fighters went to war
hitting each other
with pure
malice....the shots
to the body and head
were brutal. The
fight was stopped by
Referee Lipton in
the 7th due to the
amount of punishment
each fighter was
receiving.
Officially it was
called a technical
draw, but it was
hotly contested by
Sosa who was well
ahead at the time.
(Judges Jean
Williams had it
69-63, Melvina
Lathan 69-64 and
Steve Weisfeld
69-64...all for
Merqui).
Five months later at the
Convention Center in
Philadelphia, Sosa found
redemption. In a Micky
ward-type war that could
have been fought in a phone
booth, Sosa and Prince
Charles Williams stood in
front of each other and
traded an untold number of
power shots. Each fighter
was hurt in the ebb and flow
action until Sosa caught the
Prince and put together
sharp combinations that
ended matters in the 10th.
While Prince Charles never
went down, he absorbed the
final series of punches
combination in a corner
dangerously out on his feet.
The referee then waved it
off. Later, Williams left
the ring on a stretcher. He
would never be the same
fighter and would retire
after one more fight in 1996
which he won. Sosa would go
9-5 until he retired in 2000
also with a win to cap off a
fine ring career.
After 17 rounds of hell in
the ring with few clinches
and phone-booth warfare, two
tough guys went their
separate ways, but memories
of their battles linger with
aficionados and that should
mean something.
"Sudden Fury ay
Uncasville"
On May 19, 2001, Antwun “Kid
Dynamite” Echols, 24-4-1
coming in, fought Charles
“The Hatchet” Brewer, 36-7
at the time, for the vacant
NABA Super Middleweight
Title at the Mohegan Sun
Casino in Uncasville,
Connecticut. Anyone who
witnessed what happened
during the three short
rounds will likely never
forget it. Brewer came out
like gangbusters and
hammered Echols all over the
ring, but it was not until
the second canter that he
was able to deck him. And
deck him he did, three
times. Echols was on queer
street and within a hair of
being stopped, but somehow
managed to get through the
round. Judges Steve Epstein,
Fred Ucci and George Smith
all scored the round 10-6
for Brewer.
In the third round, Echols
regrouped, recovered and
caught “The Hatchet” on the
ropes and launched a fierce
attack of his own and when
he snapped Brewer’s head and
neck back while he had him
pinned on the ropes, which
Referee Michael Ortega felt
were the only things holding
Brewer up. He stepped in and
administered an 8-count
after which Echols caught
The Hatchet with a vicious
straight right, and an
equally vicious right
uppercut. This led Referee
Mike Ortega to call a halt
to matters at 1:21, perhaps
a bit prematurely. The
stoppage was roundly booed.
"Blood fest at the
Alamodome"
Golden Johnson met Oscar
Diaz on November 11, 2006 on
the Holyfield -Oquendo under
card in San Antonio for
local bragging rights and
what happened was a display
of brutality the likes of
which have not been seen in
these parts since Tony Ayala
Jr did his thing. But this
was not one-side stuff; this
was give and take the result
of which would eventually
reduce Oscar's great
manager, Lou Duva, to tears
With a team that now
includes trainer "Jesse"
James Leija, Golden was a
revived fighter and
brilliant on this night
showing resiliency, grit,
and the ability to close
matters when he needed to.
What made the fight a great
one was the dramatic ebb and
flow that kept the 10,000
fans on the edge of their
seats. Johnson controlled
the early part of the fight,
but Diaz took over in the
middle rounds and hurt
Johnson badly in the seventh
with a vicious body shot.
Indeed, he was poised to
take Golden out when the
bell ended the round and
arguably saved Golden. It
would be his last chance.
Johnson then picked up the
tempo and Diaz took an
unbelievable amount of
punishment before a straight
right caught him flush
sending him staggering
against the ropes. After a
series of unanswered blows,
referee Ruben Carrion moved
in and stopped the
slaughter....too late in my
view. His one eye was
completely closed and a
possible career-ending
hideous cut opened over the
eyelid of his other eye that
even master cut man Joe
Souza couldn't close. Blood
was coming from his mouth
and his hand may have been
broken as well. His face was
a bloody mess and made some
in the crowd yell "stop it,
stop it" long before it was.
Incredibly, all three judges
had it scored even 95-95
before the stoppage. This
was San Antonio, of course,
and I had become inured to
home town decisions in
Texas.
"He wanted to win so badly
for the fans of San
Antonio," Lou Duva said,
fighting back tears. "He's
such a great kid. He's like
a son to me. We all feel bad
for him."
Swell Lou, but at what cost?
Oscar may have been "ruined
by this fight even though he
fought a valiant one. Even
Johnson's was critical of
Diaz's corner for not
stopping the fight sooner
and so was I. If ever there
was a case of discretion
being the better part of
valor, this was it.
"Sure there have been
injuries and deaths in
boxing - but none of them
serious." Alan Minter:
