16.12.05 – By Troy Ondrizek Tonight down in Hollywood Florida, Warriors boxing put on an outstanding show for fight fans. With a fight card deep in talent and prospects, very few bouts disappointed. The only real let down of the night was by the hands of Samuel Peter. Peter, fresh off his schooling by Wladimir Klitschko, came out tonight to prove that he is worthy of being a legitimate contender. Peter might have garnered the win, but failed to impress, or even show that he was the future of the division.
Samuel’s bout with Robert Hawkins went the distance, with Peter putting the aging but effective journeyman down in the first round with a left hook to the chin. After that knockdown, the only other notable part of the fight was an eleven minute delay in the fifth, due to there being no medical personnel present. I have to give Hawkins credit for having a chin that Wladimir would be most envious of, and he never backed down from Peter during the whole match. Peter seemed to be looking for the knock out the entire fight; he learned that not everyone will succumb to his power. In fact the only part of the fight that didn’t last the distance was Peter’s shorts..
In stark contrast to the Peter/Hawkins fight, was the electrifying bout between Sultan Ibragimov and Lance Whitaker. Ibragimov came out both barrels blazing sticking body shots deep into Whitaker’s adipose tissue. Whitaker looked satisfied to just wait the onslaught out, but the attack seemed to never slow. Whitaker tried to counter with short rights, but came up empty. Late in the round Whitaker cornered the former silver medallist and threw a mean-spirited right hand that cooled the crowd, and then was immediately countered by a Sultan left cross that connected to the top of Whitaker’s head and floored the mountain. When he got up; Whitaker answered Ibragimov’s left with a pair of devastating rights that kept Sultan at bay, but in the end would be the demise of Whitaker. Just like the first round, the second saw Sultan refusing to slow down, catching Whitaker with a body shot while stepping on his feet to send Whitaker down a second time. Whitaker protested, but to no avail. The third round saw more action by Sultan, and Whitaker countering with a couple nice rights. The fourth round came and Ibragimov had lost his first wind and Whitaker started to work his right hand to Sultan’s face.
Lance seemingly was hoping for this exact scenario, as he plotted around the ring, looking for a spot to stick the right in Ibragimov’s grill and end the fight. The fifth round was exactly like the fourth, with Whitaker patiently awaiting his chance to end it, and in the process asking Ibragimov, “Is that all you got?’. The sixth round came, and saw Whitaker’s chance of ending the fight inevitable, but not the way he had intended. As Lance threw another ill-mannered right hand, Sultan weaved and countered with a devastating left that sent Whitaker crashing across the ring. At this point Ibragimov showed Whitaker what he was capable of. Whitaker got up and showed some intestinal fortitude, but he was clearly hurt. Surviving the sixth, Whitaker came out and got dominated in the seventh, seeing Ibragimov split Whitaker’s right eye with another straight left. The fight doctor came over and told Whitaker to be careful, and Whitaker heeded his advice and quit.