TalkingBoxing Articles
Jones Upsets Braithwaite, Austin Decisions Beck
MON September 4 - In a pair of evenly matched, competitive, hard-fought fights, underdogs Guillermo Jones and Ray Austin staved off elimination in their respective weight classes and kept alive their chances for a world title shot by registering upset victories Saturday on SHOWTIME. In a cruiserweight elimination bout, Jones defeated Braithwaite on a controversial fourth-round TKO. Austin upended Beck on a 12-round decision in a heavyweight eliminator.
The bouts at Gund Arena were promoted by Don King Productions and aired at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Jones (33-3-2, 26 KOs), of Colon, Panama, started quickly and totally controlled the first round. The 6-foot-4 natural welterweight seemed to outpunch Braithwaite 10-1 as he pummeled the former World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight champion with right hands. He was not as dominant in the second and lost the third. Jones, who was coming off a seventh-round TKO over former International Boxing Federation (IBF) cruiser kingpin Kelvin Davis on May 21, withstood an early barrage by Braithwaite in the fourth before recapturing the momentum. He backed Braithwaite into the ropes and starting unloading more right hands. While some appeared to miss, Braithwaite did not answer back and the referee stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:26. The victory upped the streaking Jones' record in his last 12 starts to 10-1-1.
Braithwaite (21-2, 17 KOs), of Brooklyn, N.Y., by way of Georgetown, Guyana, suffered his second consecutive devastating defeat on SHOWTIME. In his last outing, the switch-hitting boxer-puncher lost his WBC belt to World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck in a world title unification bout on April 2. Braithwaite did not complain after the loss to Mormeck, but he vehemently protested the ref's actions in this one and challenged Jones to a rematch.
Austin (23-3-3, 15 KOs), of Cleveland, triumphed by the scores of 117-111, 115-113 and 113-115. The local favorite, a late substitute for Sergei Liakhovich, ran his unbeaten streak to 11 (8-0-3) with the impressive victory. Austin finished strongest, winning the last six rounds on one of the scorecards, the last four on another and the last three on the other. There were no knockdowns but Austin outfought Beck on the outside and inside for the most part. He had the favorite out on his feet in the closing seconds of the 11th.
Beck (24-2, 18 KOs), of Nashville, Tenn. by way of Kingstown, Jamaica, was making his first start since suffering his first defeat to the more experienced Monte Barrett last Feb. 5 on SHOWTIME. Beck fought hard but could never take away the play from the bigger, taller Austin.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING's Steve Albert and Al Bernstein called the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast was Jay Larkin, with David Dinkins producing and Bob Dunphy directing.
An excellent, world-class tripleheader will highlight the next SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 9:15 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). In the heavyweight co-features, Chris Byrd (38-2-1, 20 KOs) will make the fourth defense of his IBF title against DaVarryl "Touch Of Sleep" Williamson (22-3, 18 KOs) and James "Lights Out" Toney (68-4-2, 43 KOs) will make his eagerly awaited return to the ring when he defends his International Boxing Association (IBA) crown against Dominick "The Southern Disaster" Guinn (25-2-1, 18 KOs). In a terrific matchup and second world title fight on the SHOWTIME show from the Reno Events Center in Reno, hard-hitting IBF bantamweight champion Rafael Marquez (34-3, 30 KOs) will defend his belt for the sixth time when he takes on International Boxing Organization (IBO) 118-pound champion/IBF No. 1 contender Silence "African Spice" Mabuza (18-0, 15 KOs).
For information on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and "ShoBox: The New Generation" telecasts, including complete fighter bios and records, related stories and more, please go the SHOWTIME website at http://www.sho.com/boxing.
WBC/WBA/IBF CRUISERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP ELIMINATION
Guillermo Jones, 33-2-2: “I need to go and get a world a world title now. I want unified world champion Jean-Marc Mormeck or O’Neil Bell.
“A cramp developed in my foot in the second round so I did what I had to do. I felt like I had no choice but to let my hands fly and go for it.
“I hit him with an uppercut, then a big right hand and finished him off with combinations. Now I want to be a world champion.’
Wayne Braithwaite, 21-2: “I cannot believe that the referee stopped the fight. All I was doing was waiting to counter. Jones has no power. He never hurt me once. This was very disappointing.
“The most trouble I had was keeping my footing. The mat was very slippery. I hope I get a rematch. I know I deserve one.”
IBF HEAVYWEIGHT ELIMINATION/WBC LAT.AM. HEAVYWEIGHT
Ray Austin, 23-3-3: “I want to thank all my fans in Cleveland, especially the kids at my school, Shaw High School, who gave me a pep rally this week that truly inspired my performance tonight.”
When asked what he thought of his opponent, Austin responded, “Nothing. Beck didn’t hit that hard. He didn’t hit like a heavyweight.
“I did think he’d be easier to knock out. I hit him with some hard shots but he wouldn’t go down. Every punch I hit him I thought he would go down. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he did a little boogie woogie when I hit him in the 11th round. I got him”
“I also want to give special thanks to heavyweight Samuel Peter for the great sparring sessions that prepared me for this fight.”
Owen Beck, 24-2: “I am really disappointed right now to come in as a favorite and lose a fight like this. I really don’t know what to say. I feel I deserved the decision tonight.
“He was a dirty fighter. He fought a dirty fight. But I think I did enough to win.”
IBF CRUISERWEIGHT ELIMINATION
Steve Cunningham, 18-0: “I felt like I could have done more but I think I did enough to win. I came in here and did what we trained to do: jab, move and throw combinations off the jab. I rate my performance just a 7.5 out of 10 but a win is a win.
“Davis was strong as nails. He [Davis] took this fight on short notice and gave me a great battle. I give him all the credit in the world for that.”
Kelvin Davis, 21-4-2: “My right hand is messed up and it’s been messed up for two months. I have bone chips and fragments in there that need to be cleaned out.
“Next time I hope I get more than seven days training in before my next fight.”
“Even with all that, I think I won the fight tonight and I don’t understand the lopsided scoring by the judges.”
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT ATTRACTION
Tim Austin, 26-1-1: “I felt strong even though I haven’t fought in two years and was moving up in weight from 118 pounds.
“My jab felt strong and crispy. I feel like I’m 24—not 34.”
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