Boxing News magazine 9.7.2004 Download pdf

Boxing News magazine 9.7.2004 Download pdf
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Daddy Lennox
LENNOX LEWIS became a father last Saturday, his 26-
year-old partner Violet Chang giving birth to a boy. This
would explain why Lewis, 39 in September, was unable
to attend the Boxing Board's 75th anniversary gathering
in Cardiff the previous evening (see pages 8-10).
The arrival of fatherhood further confirms for me the
unlikelihood of the former world heavyweight champion
ever boxing again.
While it would increase the need to box for many
fighters in the same situation, Lennox isn't short of a
few bob. The new arrival will inevitably change his life
and provide him with a healthy focus away from boxing.

David test
HEAVYWEIGHT DAVID
DEFIAGBON, unbeaten in 21
(all wins, 12 inside), has been
accused of being protected. But
on July 23 at the Taj Mahal casino,
Atlantic City, he takes a calculated
risk against OLEG MASKAEV.
The 10-round main event will
be televised live in America on
ESPN 2 with heavyweight VINNY
MADALONE boxing BRIAN MINTO
in the chief support.
Maskaev, who has faced some
of the division's elite but is not
considered a serious contender
for the title anymore, has 28 wins
and five losses.

Esham target busy
IT doesn't look as if Esham Pickering is going to
get a shot at WBA super-bantamweight champion
Mahyar Monshipour before the end of the year.
Pickering first has to retain his European crown
against dangerous Russian champion Alexander
Fedorov, but promoter Jess Harding (who is seeking to
pin down a date for the match) was exploring the possibility
down the road of a fight with Monshipour.
The Frenchman (originally from Iran), however, is to
make a mandatory defence against Thailand's
Yoddamrong Sithyodthong at Paris' Bercy Stadium on
November 8.
It's far from a formality for the champion. The Thai
has a 39-1-1 (18) record.
Similarly, Pickering may have his hands full with
Fedorov, who has won all 16 fights, 10 inside schedule.
Nicky Cook is supposed to defend his European
featherweight title on the same show as Pickering-
Fedorov, but still has hand trouble.

WBC lifeline
A LAST-MINUTE compromise between the WBC
and Graciano Rocchigiani has possibly saved the
long-standing sanctioning body from going out of
business.
As we went to press the WBC announced at a meeting
in Ukraine that an agreement had been reached,
though has yet to be made official.
Rocchigiani had been awarded $31m in damages by
a New York judge that forced the WBC to apply for
bankruptcy. More details to follow.
Interestingly, though, also in Ukraine it was
announced that a new world governing body -
Federated Council of Boxing - was to be formed.
The FCB will comprise of eight regional bodies,
including the EBU which for so long has worked closely
with the WBC.
I don't see the end of the WBC as a disaster, but I'm
not a supporter of creating more bodies either.

DEREK ANGOL
• The former WBO cruiserweight title challenger
hasn't been seen much on the boxing scene for years.
Still not happy when the Board denied him a
licence on medical grounds, Angol (39) went to
France instead after a three-year battle to fight
again, boxed there (in Epernay in May 1996) and
won, then quit the game.
He's got a 13-year-old son who doesn't know
Derek boxed.
"I don't want it to affect him or for people to treat
him differently because of what I did," said Derek.
"But I'm happy," said Angol. "I'm very happy."

Singer who left his mark on fight game
• RAY CHARLES, the great singer who fused gospel music and rhythm and
blues, died last week. He invented soul music, but the blind legend who Frank
Sinatra once said, "Was the only man in the business who could be called a
genius," had an unusual connection to professional boxing.
In the 1950s, when Charles was getting popular, he had to abandon his real
name, Ray Charles Robinson, because of Sugar Ray Robinson, the prizefighter.
But the man the world knew as Ray Charles, unwittingly had another fistic
great named for him when Ray Charles Leonard was born on May 17 1956.