Steenokkerzeel KO'd in Season Opener

Steenokkerzeel 2-14 Brussels

The much anticipated season opener to the BIBO League saw lots of knockdowns and none of the fights went the distance. Terry Downes (Middleweight) was already second best to Chris Pyatt when the Brussels man was put down against the ropes and counted out in the 3rd by a left hook.
The next two bouts also ended in the 3rd with Keith Wallace (Bantamweight) being stopped by Joe Lynch with a bad cut over his left eye, then Rinty Monaghan (Flyweight) rose from a knockdown at the hands of Soon-Chun Kwon but the ref stopped the fight immediately. It was all the more disappointing since Monaghan had opened up a bad gash over Kwon's left eye the round earlier.
Bout four saw Eddie Davis (Light Heavyweight) knockdown Willie Edwards with a right hook after 14 seconds in the 1st! Edwards got up on six but the ref stepped in with Edwards clearly out on his feet. 0-8 Brussels at this stage, four bouts and only ten rounds all told.
Next up was the eagerly awaited Heavyweight clash between Ingemar Johansson and Jerry Quarry. After a very cagey opening round, Quarry knocked Johansson down with a left swing to the head. When Quarry was up on 7, Johansson caught him with another left to the side of the head. With Quarry clearly unable to defend himself, the ref stepped in to end it after only 58 seconds of the 2nd round. 0-10 Brussels!

Jim Driscoll, Brussels Featherweight

Baby Arizmendi (Featherweight) was up against Jim Driscoll. In what was a gruelling contest, Driscoll was probably already up 5 rounds to nil when he stopped Arizmendi. Both boxers had shed blood in the opening rounds, but in the 5th Driscoll twice hit Arizmendi hard with two beautiful right hooks but the Steenokkerzeel man omehow stayed on his feet. In the 6th, however, Driscoll did send Arizmendi to the canvas with another right hook. Arizmendi was up on eight, but then Driscoll knocked him down with yet another right hook. Arizmendi was up again after seven, but the ref had seen enough and ended it after 1:22 of the 6th. 0-10 Brussels!
Edwin Rosario (Lightweight) fancied his chances to break the home duck but after surviving an early left hook from Mo Hussein, he was suckered by another hook and put face down on the canvas. Rosario was counted out after 2:05 of the opening round.
The final bout saw 'Sugar' Ray Leonard (Welterweight) looking to salvage someting for Steenokkerzeel. His Brussels' opponent, Antoine Fernandez, was completely outclassed. After taking a lot of punishment throughout the first round, a left hook had Fernandez wobbling and the ref stepped in to stop it with only two seconds to the bell.

So, after eight short bouts which had seven knockdowns and only twenty rounds, Brussels went home with a 2-14 win. An all-action start for the BIBO League.

Johnny Jowls Record

Here is the record for Johnny Jowls from January 1989 to the end of 1994. In total it reads: 16-10[6]-0-6 with 2 no contests. hardly impressive, although he is the reigning Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion.

27-Jan-89 - Merryton Lord - Basildon - Lost Pts
21-Apr-89 - Pierre Gourdon - Newcastle - Won TKO 5
21-Jul-89 - Wayne Williams - Newcastle - Won KO 2
17-Oct-89 - Joe Craig - Wolverh'ton - Lost KO 1
19-Jan-90 - Carl Drefus - Newcastle - Won TKO 6
13-Jul-90 - Joey Cadoza - Newcastle - Lost Pts
2-Oct-90 - Wayne Williams - Leicester - Won Pts
25-Jan-91 - Merryton Lord - Newcastle - Won Pts
12-Apr-91 - Joe Craig - Manchester - Lost Pts
25-Oct-91 - Joey Cadoza - Newcastle - NC
3-Apr-92 - Theo Cabouchi - Newcastle - Won Pts
31-Jul-92 - Collie Thomas - Newcastle - Won Pts
17-Oct-92 - Joe Argilla - Manchester - Won TKO 8
16-Apr-93 - Leroy Gardner - Newcastle - NC
9-Jul-93 - Bob Young - Newcastle - Won KO 4
22-Jan-94 - Tony De Lago - Manchester - Won KO 4
2-Apr-94 - Julio Malagarcia - Las Vegas - Lost TKO 1
27-Oct-94 - Al Botha - Amiens - Lost Pts

Milton Jowls Turns Pro

November 16, 1994. Newcastle, England

With his older brother Johnny's career looking in trouble, Bangla decided now was the time to launch the smaller of the Jowls brothers onto the scene. Pale and positively thin, Milton Jowls looks anything but a professional boxer. However, he has an excellent punch and a short but unbeaten amateur career to prove otherwise, and he's determined to make the grade. Now 20, and weighing a little over 48 kilos, Milton would fight in the flyweight division. His first fight would be against Dave Williams in December.

Johnny Jowls vs Al Botha

October 27, 1994. Amiens, France

After the debacle in Las Vegas, Jowls's next bout was in the industrial town of Amiens in northern France. Al Botha, a Norwegian now boxing in France was his opponent. Botha had a good, impressive record with 37 wins and only 2 losses from 40 fights. However, he was a relative lightweight at just over 86 kilos. Botha did have good boxing ability and he'd be a difficult opponent for Jowls.

Round 1. A lot of nervous sparring and clinching, but Jowls did land a wonderful right cross when he'd broken away from Botha's spoiling. The Frenchman retaliated at the end of the round with a left swing that found it's way past JJ's guard, but the round was already Jowls's.

Round 2. Jowls connected with another left cross right at the beginning of the 2nd round but after that it was all Botha. Although he never really hurt jowls, Botha's workrate with his left probably won him this round.

Round 3. Again Jowls landed the first decent punch but then Botha threw a good left hook into the body and then a right uppercut also inside. Most of JJ's attacks were off the mark although he did land a straight left late on. Botha's round.

Round 4. Jowls was forcing the pace and got in a right cross but Botha connected with a left cross of his own. After that it was all Jowls going forward but Botha always managed to defend evade him. Fairly even round.

Round 5. Botha's turn to go onto the attack. Jowls threw a right hook but Botha withstood that and got in a right swing to Jowls's head. the Frenchman worked on the inside with a right hook and as jowls recoiled he followed with a left cross right on the chin. Jowls tried to turn things around but Botha countered with a left jab to JJ's body, and then a right swing followed straight on. This was becoming a big round for Botha but somehow Jowls did some crafty work inside, first getting through with a jab, then a right hook and a quick right and left combo into the chest of Botha. Botha countered near the end with a right and left of his own right in Jowls's face. Round to Botha. With three to go I had Botha a couple of rounds ahead. jowls had it all still to do.

Round 6. Another round to Botha. The first minute was all Jowls though but in the middle stages Botha went onto the attack first with a left hook, then a left cross and then another, both to JJ's head. A right jab also got through JJ's defences but then Jowls picked up his defence and kept out of trouble for the remainder of the round.

Round 7. All the hard work of Botha had taken its toll on jowls. The big Geordie did connect a couple of beautiful right swings up top, but Botha then wore him down still further and probably just shaded the round.

Round 8. Jowls now needed a knockout but he was a spent force. After a couple of minutes of trading punches Botha put him down with a right hook right on the money. jowls took an 8 count and then took more punishment as botha picked him off easily. Resounding last round by the Norwegian.

Decision time and the ref gave it 97-73 Botha. Judge 1 also 79-73 Botha. Judge 2 87-74 Botha. A comprehensive victory for the Norwegian. Jowls would have to go home and lick his wounds once again.

Recovery For Johnny Jowls

May - September 1994. Newcastle, England

Following his 1st round defeat by Malagarcia, jowls returned to the north-east to lick his wounds. He spent the next 4-5 months resting and then in training. Gym work failed to enhance his skills though.

Bangla then announced in October JJ would again travel abroad, this time to fight Al Botha in France.

Steenokkerzeel vs Brussels Preview

Terry Downes - Middleweight, Steenokkerzeel

The first match of the new BIBO League starts later this week. As with all matches, it will feature 8 bouts. The line-up is as follows (Steenokkerzeel boxers first):

1. Middleweight Terry Downes vs Chris Pyatt

2. Bantamweight Keith Wallace vs Joe Lynch

3. Flyweight Rinty Monaghan vs Soon-Chun Kwon

4. Light Heavyweight Willie Edwards vs Eddie Davis

5. Heavyweight Imgemar Johansson vs Jerry Quarry

6. Featherweight Baby Arizmendi vs Jim Driscoll

7. Lightweight Edwin Rosario vs Mo Hussein

8. Welterweight Ray Leonard vs Antoine Fernandez

Star of the Steenokkerzeel ranks is undoubtedly 'Sugar' Ray Leonard, whilst Jim Driscoll leads the Brussels team. But the most interesting and evenly matched bout will be the heavyweight clash between Ingemar Johannson and Jerry Quarry, which may go a long way to deciding the winner of this match overall.

Roberto Duran vs Ken Buchanan

June 26, 1972. Madison Square Garden, New York

Round 1. Slow start by both men with Duran looking but Buchanan's defensive skills keeping him out of trouble. First blood to the Scotsman as he lands a decent jab to the head and later a left cross onto Duran's jaw. First round to the champion.

Round 2. Buchanan looks confident and gets in a straight left to the head early on. Duran counters with a right uppercut below the heart and then follows with a right swing. Duran is pressing Buchanan now but the champion lands a right uppercut right on the chin. Undeterred Duran keeps pressing and lands a left uppercut of his own and finishes the round with a left hook. Round to Duran, and he looks ominous when he's coming forward.

Round 3. Duran makes all the running but Buchanan seems able to evade everything the challenger can throw at him. Duran does connect with a left hook inside but Buchanan keeps moving and counters with a left swing to Duran's body. Fairly even round without much action.

Round 4. Right from the bell Duran is on top. he lands a left uppercut on the chin followed by a left hook to the side of the head. Buchanan is already in trouble in the first 30 seconds as Duran lands a right and then a left to the head. The first two minutes are all Duran until Buchanan starts to clinch and spoil. Not to be denied, Duran get in a right uppercut inside just below the heart, and just below the bell. A completely one-sided round with little or no scoring from the champion.

Round 5. Duran is looking for the knockout already as Buchanan just tries to keep on the run. Duran lands a right uppercut under the chin of the champion, who then seems to avoid his pursuer awhile. Towards the middle of the round Duran connects with a left cross to the side of the head and then a knee buckling left hook into Buchanan's body. Somehow the champion stays on his feet, covering up whilst Duran throws lefts and rights that only hit Buchanan on the arms. Then Duran gets through with a right swing under Buchanan's defence and then a right hook below the heart. With Buchanan seemingly unable to defend himself from anything coming his way, ref Johnny LoBianco steps in to end it.

Duran wins by a TKO in the 5th.