Aussie wrap-up: Browne fails drug test, The Hornet hones in on Pacquiao, Ritchie comes up short against Tyson
By Anthony Cocks
Australia’s leading heavyweight Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne is battling to save his career after reportedly testing positive to the muscle and bone strengthening substance ostarine this week.
It is the second-time Browne has failed a drug test after turning in a positive sample for weight loss drug clenbuterol on the day of his WBA world title fight with Ruslan Chagaev in Grozny, Chechnya in March of this year. In that fight, Browne recovered from a sixth-round knockdown to defeat Chagaev by 10th round TKO only to be stripped of the title after failing the VADA conducted test.
Browne, 24-0 (21), was set to challenge former American lineal champion Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs 60-6-1 (53) for the WBA title vacated by Tyson Fury last month when he claimed mental health issues and reportedly tested positive to cocaine. No date or venue had been confirmed for the fight.
Browne has claimed his innocence and believes that tainted supplements could be the cause of the positive test.
The anti-doping test was conducted under the WBC’s Clean Boxing Program in conjunction with VADA in Las Vegas. Browne had voluntarily enrolled in the program after his first dirty test in March despite campaigning for the WBA title rather than the WBC.
Speaking to ESPN, the president of the WBC Mauricio Sulaiman said: “We have been notified by VADA about Browne’s adverse finding as he was tested under the CBP. He has been notified and the process is being attended as per the protocol.”
At the age of 37, a lengthy suspension could effectively end the former bouncer’s career.
Browne is not Robinson Crusoe when it comes to heavyweights pissing hot. World ranked boxers Bermane Stiverne (methylhexaneamine), Alexander Povetkin (meldonium), Luis Ortiz (nandrolone) and Tony Thompson (hydrochlorothiazide) have all failed drug tests in the recent past.
The Hornet Hones In On Pacquaio
Brisbane’s top ten ranked welterweight Jeff “The Hornet” Horn 15-0-1 (10) will be under the microscope when he faces former three-time world challenger Ali “Rush Hour” Funeka 39-5-3 (31) from South Africa in the main support bout of the vacant WBO heavyweight title fight between Joseph Parker vs Andy Ruiz Jr at Vector Arena in Auckland on 10th December.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who promotes Ruiz, will be ringside with his Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler to assess the viability of Horn being in the opposite corner when multiple weight division titleholder and current WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquaio returns to the ring.
Speaking in a video message, Arum said of Horn: "My matchmakers think quite a lot of him. They think he’s a really good, good fighter and he belongs in the top echelon of welterweights.
"It remains to be seen, but he’s an up and coming welterweight and he’ll be fighting on the world stage in New Zealand, and then hopefully in the United States and the UK.
"He has to perform well, Horn does, on December 10. And then I can evaluate him based on the other welterweights that I’ve seen, particularly the American ones.”
28-year-old Horn is a former schoolteacher and 2012 Olympian. He is currently ranked #2 by both the WBO and IBF, and #13 by the WBC and WBA.
"I never thought someone like Bob Arum would actually be speaking like that about me," he said. "I usually strive for this pressure and I perform better under it. It’s going to be a good opportunity. I’ve done it before at the Olympics.”
Action Jackson Annexes WBO Oriental Title with Win Over Lopez
Former amateur standout Luke “Action” Jackson 13-0 (5) won the vacant WBO Oriental featherweight title with a solid ten round decision over Filipino Silvester Lopez 27-12-2 (19) at Princes Wharf No.1 in Hobart, Tasmania on Saturday night. The card was promoted by Adam Wilcock.
Jackson, 125½ pounds, who has openly battled Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) throughout his life and career, fought a measured and composed fight to win a unanimous decision by scores of 98-93, 97-93 and 96-94.
The mental health demons that have troubled Jackson in the past were not a factor against Lopez, a veteran of 40 pro fights, according to his manager Mike Altamura.
“Not at all,” said Altamura. “He was in a wonderful headspace and needed to be, as Lopez came to fight!”
Jackson continues to grow as a fighter under the astute management of Altamura and is guided in the gym and ring by expert trainer Billy Hussein.
“He has such a great following and I always look forward to the post-fight Tassie ritual where Luke stays ringside an hour or so following the contest and takes photos with all his supporters,” said Altamura.
Jackson, 31, who compiled a 113-32 record in the amateurs and was team captain for the Australian boxing team at the 2012 London Olympics, picks up the vacant WBO Oriental featherweight title with the win and a top 15 world ranking with the WBO. Altamura has big plans for the promising featherweight in 2017.
“March 4 we’re looking at a pretty tasty fight to be hosted in Hobart,” said Altamura. “If that goes according to plan, we will target the world stage within the year.”
Ritchie Comes Up Short Against Tyson
Hardnosed Shepparton resident Dwight “The Fighting Cowboy” Ritchie 14-0 (1) came up short against Japanese knockout artist Koki Tyson 11-2-2 (10) at the Sumiyoshi Sports Centre in Osaka, Japan on Wednesday night, losing a competitive 12 round decision for the OPBF middleweight title.
Southpaw Tyson dropped Ritchie in round eight and ran away with the win by scores of 116-111 twice and 115-112.
“He started slow and just as he was edging his way back into the contest, he was knocked down by a hook in the eighth,” said his manager Mike Altamura. “He showed a lot of mettle to bounce back up and win at least three of the final four rounds and had Tyson rattled in the 12th.
Altamura chalks the loss up to a learning experience for Ritchie and is already plotting revenge against Tyson next year.
“[He learned] a lot,” he said. “All depends on the application in the gym. He has a great future and if he continues to dedicate to the game, I have no doubt he’ll bounce back strong next year.”
Pratap Singh Is Hardly a Breese For Ryan
Team Ellis closed out the year with another fast-paced, action-packed card at the Melbourne Pavilion on 11th November.
While other promoters are focused on finding the next great champion, Jake Ellis has carved out his own niche in the market with entertaining four round fights designed to give up-and-coming boxers a chance to hone their skills and the paying public more bang for their buck.
“We believe that young boxers are able to utilise Team Ellis events as a stepping stone to move on to bigger things in the boxing world – whether it be Australian titles, or challenges for World Titles,” says the Team Ellis website. “Since the inception of Team Ellis Boxing Promotions, we have prided ourselves on giving younger, aspiring local boxers a chance to prove themselves on the ’big stage’. Over the years, there have been a variety of highly talented, young boxers who have debuted or featured on our cards.”
The Team Ellis business model delivered again on their most recent card with top quality grassroots boxing providing a full night’s entertainment to the packed house.
The evenly matched card was headlined by a closely fought 10 round battle between Ryan Breese 10-0 (3) and Tej Pratap Singh 7-3-2 (3) for the vacant Australasian super middleweight title. In a tight contest, Singh was on the attack from the opening bell while southpaw Breese was content to box off the backfoot and look for counterpunching opportunities. The judges awarded the victory to Breese by split decision 97-93, 99-91 and 92-98.
In the main support bout, heavy-handed light heavyweight Mitchell “Big Country” Middleton-Clarke 11-2 (11) lived up to his reputation as a knockout artist with a third-round KO of Western Australia’s Steven Kennedy 1-6 (1) at the time of 1:50.
The standout fight of the six highly competitive four rounders was cruiserweights Kyle Webb 2-0-1 (2) and Kamran Behremand 1-0-1 (1) battling it out to a draw in a fight where both big men hit the canvas.
If Team Ellis continue along this path in 2017 they will only continue to grow their fanbase.
Other Recent Results:
The name Amatruda is well known among boxing fans in Australia, but last Friday’s promotion at the Melbourne Pavilion wasn’t the handywork of Brian but rather his 21-year-old son Quincy, who was promoting his inaugural card.
“Sugar” Kane Watts 19-3 (12) rebounded from his 10-round points loss in August to Danny Green with a 4th round TKO over Yuberti Suarez Diaz 8-5 (3) at the Melbourne Pavilion on Saturday night for the interim WBA Oceania cruiserweight title.
In the main support bout, popular Peninsula boxer Jayde “J-Mitch” Mitchell 11-1 (5) secured his sixth win of the year with a 4th round stoppage of Arnoldo Poblete 10-8-1 (2) when the Chilean fighter refused to come out of his corner at the end of the fourth round. Mitchell won every round plus the interim WBA Oceania super middleweight title in the process.
The fight rounded out a successful year for Mitchell, who travelled to Japan to win the OPBF title from Shintaro Matsumoto and successfully defended his PABA title in the biggest win of his short career against Aussie veteran Nader Hamdan.
Meanwhile on Saturday 12th November in Woden, ACT former amateur standout David Toussaint 10-0 (8) collected the biggest scalp of his career with a 5th round TKO win over former The Contender Australia competitor Junior Talipeau 20-4-1 (7) at the Hellenic Club in Woden, ACT on Saturday night. The hard-punching 24-year-old middleweight won every round on each of the judges’ scorecards and looks like one to watch as he continues to make a name for himself in the pay-for-punch ranks.
On the same night in Brisbane at Eatons Hill Hotel Australian-based Irishman Dennis “Hurricane” Hogan upped his ledger to 25-1-1 (7) with a successful defence of his WBO Oriental super welterweight strap against Taiwan-born Australian Yao Yi Ma 15-2 (10). The scheduled 12 round bout was stopped in the 8th due to an accidental clash of heads with Hogan streets ahead with all three judges scoring the bout 70-63 three times. The win should give the talented and popular Hogan a boost in the WBO world ratings.
175-pounder Trent Broadhurst 19-1 (11) pitched a virtual shutout over eight rounds against Pole Michal Ludwiczak 14-5 (6). Scores were 78-71 twice and 79-70.
Questions? Comments? Complaints? Email anthonyc1974@gmail.com
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