By Luke Callahan – Ringside – APRIL 2, 2005 – Worcester, MA – Pantin, France native Jean-Marc Mormeck unified the cruiserweight division for the first time since Evander Holyfield held the titles back in 1988 with a decisive 12-round unanimous decision over Wayne Braithwaite.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Braithwaite following the bout, who lost his WBC title, “but all great champions come back from a loss, and I can rebound.”
The highly anticipated WBC/WBA unification showdown lived up to its pre-fight hype as Mormeck and Braithwaite exchanged huge shots over the first half of the fight. Mormeck, 31-2, started slow, taking some well-placed body shots from Braithwaite, 21-1, but gathered himself in the 7th and landed a monster right that sent Braithwaite to the canvas. After the standing count, Braithwaite hung on to finish the round.
In the following stanza, Braithwaite deducted a point for a holding by referee Dick Flaherty as the tide began to turn in Mormeck’s favor as the Frenchman finished strong. Knowing Braithwaite needed a knockout to secure victory, Mormeck kept Braithwaite at bay with a good mixture of boxing and brawling, taking 114-112, 115-111, and 116-110 on the judges’ cards.
Without question, both combatants threw everything they had at each other, but Braithwaite’s body punches didn’t have the effect he intended his continuous bodywork to have. On the other hand, Mormeck’s headshots opened up a gash over the left eye of Braithwaite and had him wobbled a few times throughout the fight, along with the knockdown for good measure.
Mormeck came in 10 pounds heavier than Braithwaite at 198 pounds, leading Braithwaite to marvel at the Mormeck’s strength, saying, “he was stronger than I expected. He fought a good fight, and I respect him.”
With only two weeks to prepare, WBA #12 ranked Luis Collazo, 25-1, stepped in for an ill Thomas Damgaard, stealing the show with a 12-round split decision over local hero Jose Antonio Rivera, 37-4.
In an electric entrance to Kanye West’s “Jesus Walks,” Rivera delighted the 8,567 at the DCU Center in attendance with a strong start, working the body and landing some hard shots. Still, Collazo and his southpaw stance became difficult for Rivera to figure out as the rounds piled up for the 24-year-old Collazo.
“I worked the body, boxed him, and showed it all,” said Collazo, now living in Queens, New York. “I only had two weeks to prepare for him and beat him.”
Late in the fight, Collazo seemed to be working on fresh legs, but Rivera dug deep for a final toe-to-toe exchange in the 12th that he won on two of the three judges’ scorecards, including many at ringside.
“I was a little rusty and couldn’t get in a zone,” Rivera said immediately after the tough loss. “I’m still the champion and have no respect for him.”
Coming off a technical knockout over Richard Heath on February 24th, Collazo had been more active than his counterpart Rivera, who last fought in a title-winning performance in Germany against Michel Trabant in September 2003. Rivera lost out on three proposed title defenses since then, and the time away had an effect.
The final tally had Collazo 115-113 [twice] and Rivera up 115-113. For what it’s worth, TalkingBoxing.com had a draw at 114-114. If the judge that scored the 12th and final round for Collazo had instead gone with the other two judges, Rivera would have held onto his title by a majority draw. This was rumored as a point of contention in the Rivera camp after the fight, and they may file a complaint with the WBA on that point.
In an IBF jr. middleweight eliminator for the #1 ranking, Roman ‘Made in Hell’ Karmazin bested former WBC middleweight champ Keith Holmes via a 12-round majority decision.
The tactical battle could have been scored 120-120 by the untrained eye as it was tough to figure out, but Karmazin settled down after the 8th round, landing lead rights along with many stiff jabs. Karmazin came on strong in the 11th and 12th rounds with the barrage late in the 11th, almost putting Holmes to the canvas to secure 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113 scores by the judges.
Karmazin, who had made some big noise at the European level, secured a #1 spot and a potential title fight with IBF Jr. middleweight champ Kassim Ouma. Fight fans will remember that Karmazin had a 2001 WBC title fight pulled from his fingers with Oscar De la Hoya.
In a 10-round cruiserweight attraction, Philadelphian and WBC #2 rated Steve Cunningham remained unbeaten at 17-0, taking a split decision over WBC #5 Gullermo Jones, 31-3-2.
Lean and mean, Cunningham got in some needed rounds with a seasoned veteran who gave him some troubles in the early goings. The Panama native Jones took control of the inside and showcased a good jab in the face of Cunningham throughout the fight, but Cunningham came on strong late, taking the final two rounds on all three judges’ cards. The scores after 10-rounds read 97-93 [Jones] and 96-94, 97-93 for Cunningham.
Also on the undercard from the DCU Center, former WBA champion Lou Del Valle, 35-3-1, got in some rounds with journeyman Dan Sheehan, 10-32, taking an 8-round decision by scores of 78-74 [all].
WBC #2 ranked welterweight Miguel Angel Rodriguez, 26-1, picked up his 21st knockout, stopping Luis Maysonet in the fourth round, and featherweight Elio Rojas took a unanimous decision from Angelo Torres.
(Capturing an old article I wrote for my boxing website, TalkingBoxing.com, in 2005.)