Boxing News : Tobey : Paz rallies for 50th

Paz rallies for 50th
By Stephen Tobey (March 28, 2004)i

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MASHANTUCKET, Conn. – Vinny Paz said he did not want his 50th victory to be an easy fight.

He got his wish.

Paz overcame a slow start and cuts above and below his right eye to wear down Tocker Pudwill and win a 10-round unanimous decision Saturday at Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Glenn Feldman and George DeGabriel scored the fight 95-93 and Steve Epstein scored it 96-93 for the former lightweight and junior middleweight world champion from Providence, RI who is now 50-10, with 30 knockouts.

"He was a really tough guy and I knew it," said Paz, who has often said that he would retire after winning his 50th fight. "I wanted a good tough, clean fight and I got it."

Pudwill dropped to 39-6. He won the first five rounds on two of the three judges' cards and four of the first five on the third.

"I thought (the decision) was 50-50," said Pudwill, who fights out of Bismark, N.D. "I knew this was going to happen if I did not win convincingly."

In the seventh round, Paz dropped Pudwill with an overhand right and continued to put pressure on him, landing more right hands. Early in the ninth, Paz put Pudwill on the mat again with a right hand to the body.

Paz started to turn the tide in the sixth, when he was able to get past Pudwill's jab and attack the body.

Paz fought with a cut under his right eye from the fourth round on and Pudwill was bleeding from the nose in the fourth. Paz first got to Pudwill in the fourth, landing a wild overhand right and shoving Pudwill into the corner with his forearm.

In the first three rounds, the 5-foot, 7-inch Paz had difficulty getting inside against the 6-foot tall Pudwill. In the third, Pudwill landed a crisp jab and right hand only for Paz to yell "yea."

Roberto Duran, who dropped a pair of 12-round decisions to Paz in 1994 and 1995, was in Paz's corner before the fight and could be seen shouting instructions to his former adversary from the front row.

Paz's last fight was on March 1,2002, when he dropped a 12-round decision to Eric Lucas in a bid for the World Boxing Council super middleweight title.

Pudwill's last fight was on Dec. 14, 2002, when World Boxing Organization super middleweight titleholder Joe Calzaghe stopped him in two rounds.

Jamie Clampitt of Narragansett, RI retained her International Women's Boxing Federation junior welterweight title with a fourth-round stoppage of Houston's Lanie Ellis. Clampitt landed at will throughout the fourth round, prompting Ellis' corner to climb up to the ring apron to stop the fight.

The corner did not get referee Frank Cappuccino's attention until the bell sounded to end the round; then Cappuccino stopped the fight, officially on the advice of the ringside physician.

Clampitt (13-2 5 K Os) did most of her damage with the left hook, hurting Ellis to both the body and the head throughout the fight.

Clampitt won the IWBF title with a 10-round decision over Eliza Olson on Oct. 31. She also owns a victory over Pudwill's cousin, Ragan Pudwill, stopping her in four rounds on March 7 of 2003.

Ellis' last fight was on Aug. 21, when she dropped a six-round decision to Shakura Witherspoon. Before that, she had won her first nine fights. She dropped to 9-2 (3 KO s).

Middleweight Chad Dawson of New Haven, Conn won a six-round unanimous decision over Aundalen Sloan of Fond du lac, Wisc. All three judges scored it 60-54. Dawson is now 15-0 with 10 KO s. Sloan is 4-7-1 with 2 KO s.

Dawson's WBC Youth middleweight title was not at stake.

In a light heavyweight bout, Wayne Johnsen of Peabody, Mass survived a knockdown to stop Tomas Gonzalez of Miami in the second round of a scheduled four. Johnsen was caught with a straight left early in the second round. After getting up, Johnsen went right after Gonzalez. With Gonzalez' back turned toward Johnsen, referee Richard Flaherty stopped the fight at 2:20.

Johnsen is now 4-0 with 3 KO s. Gonzalez dropped to 2-2.

In the walkout bout, junior middleweight Reynaldo Rodriguez of Woodsocket, RI won a four-round split decision over Scranton, Pa's Waklimi Young. The scores were 39-37 (twice) for Rodriguez and 39-37 for Young. Rodriguez is now 4-0; Young is 4-14-2..