VICIOUS VIV DELIVERS CLASSIC BEATDOWN OF OLD WARRIOR;
CLOTTEY OUTPOINTS GUTIERREZ IN REFUND REQUEST BOUT
By MICHAEL MARLEY
EXECUTIVE EDITOR
SANTA YNEZ, CALIF.--No one had to tell Vicious Vivian Harris what time is. He knew that he needed more than a victory in the HBO "Boxing After Dark' main event Satuirday night at the Chumash Casino.
A defeat or a sluggish performance would send him to the outskirts of Palookaville. A loss or less than stirring showing and he would go from endangered species on HBO's fighter list to NCB.
NCB isn't another network, something new on cable. It's No Call Back which is what the promoter and or manager get when the HBO and/or Showtime suits aren't interested.
Promoter Gary Shaw and manager Jose Nunez won't get the NCB treatment from HBO. In fact, Kery Davis aide Luis Barragan was in the front row, taking in Harris' demolition job on faded former world champ and late substitute opponent Stevie "Lil But Bad" Johnston.
The wrecking job on the now 394-1 Johnston included four knockdowns. Harris displayed an arsenal of effective punching, boxing skills and a focus he has been accused of lacking in the past.
Vicious Vivian was more than pleased with what he did while raising his pro record to 27-2-1, 18 KOs.
"It was classic," a smiling Harris said in his dressing room. "It was an HBO classic. I worked with (trainer) Lennox Blackmoore on that right hand in training camp. It worked in camp and it worked tonight."
Shaw and Nunez were also beaming. Now they will put their heads together and see if Ricky Hatton is all hat, no cattle or if they can find another challenge for Harris that can make financial sense.
Although the diminutive southpaw Johnston took a licking and kept on ticking, one was swollen and the other cut and his nose had bled. That combined with the four trips to the canvas, two in round one, one in the fourth and in the seventh--caused by that "classic" right hand--convinced ref Raul Caiz Jr. to halt at the 2:15 mark.
Harris said Johnston's resilience was no surprise to him.
"The man is a fighter, an ex-champ, a warrior so I expected that from him," Harris said. "He is a real veteran."
It was a giant step forward for Harris, 28, from Guyana but living in Brooklyn. Although Johnston was a late sub for unbeaten Mike Arnaoutis, Harris gave a precision performance.
"That's the real Vivian Harris," manager Nunez said. "I spent a lot of money to have a proper training camp and you can see the results. I give Vivian a solid "A" for this one. He was very, very sharp."
The less said about welterweight contender Joshua Clottey's 12-round points victory over 19-1 Richard Gutierrez of Colombia the better (see Robert Jones off ther TV coverage0. Suffice to say it was a hugfest, slapfest, foulfest and a totally sleep-incuding bout. One leather-lunged fan in the cozy 1300-seat arena summed it up best.
"Hey Gary Shaw," the disgruntled fan screamed before the seventh round, "I want a refund." Pause and then the fan shouted out again. "I know you hear me."
Clottey and Gutierrez, when they exchanged, threw pittypat punches but Clottey did more and seemed to be in superior physical condition.
This would have been a great fight for radio, maybe, but not premium cable television. At
least on radio you could make things up to dramatize it. Referee Lou Moret actually worked harder than both the 29-1 Clottey, now living in The Bronx but always flying the flag of his native Ghana, and now 19-1 Gutierrez.
Exciting Filipino super flytweight Nonito Donaire went to 15-1 with nine KOs as knocked out Jose Luis Cardenas at 1:48 of the second round of a scheduled eight. Cardenas, from Santa Ana, dropped to 6-7-1.
Antonio DeMarco of Mexico scored a Ko at 1:43 of the second rounf of a scheduled six-rounder over fellow lightweight Anthony Ivy of Kansas City. Ivy drops to 7-3-1 while DeMarco improved to 11-7 with eight KOs.
In a terrific eight-round California state welterweight title bout, two guys who had fought to a draw went at it again. This time Jose Antonio Ojeda (14-5-2, Santa Maria) won a unanimous decision over previously-unbeaten Juan Manuel Buendia (13-1-1, Mexico). Former world champ Robert Garcia, from nearby Oxnard, was in Buendia's corner.
Ojeda really turned on the steam in a frantic final round of a brawl that kept going back and forth and earned huge applause from the patrons.
Another Garcia-handled fighter, lightweight Rolando Reyes of Oxnard, upped his record to 27-4-2 with 17 KOs when he knocked out Victorio Abadia (22-5-2, Panama). Reyes adviser Cameron Dunkin said Reyes is looking for a fight with in-state rival and IBF interim world champ Julio Diaz. Don't hold your breath waiting for that one. |
