Heavyweights top the bill on ShoBox this Friday in what shapes up as a big-hitting scheduled 10-rounder between Joey Abell, a towering southpaw from Minnesota, and Las Vegas-based Nigerian Teke Oruh, to be held in the balmy Caribbean setting of St Lucia.
Originally Oruh was to have faced Cristobal Arreola, who pulled out after the sudden death of his closest friend. Abell comes in at fairly short notice but says he is more than ready.
In a statement issued through Showtime he said this week that he had been looking forward to watching the fights on television. “The next thing I know, I'm fighting in the main event,” he said. “I promise to give the fans a show they won't forget."
Abell’s manager, Ron Peterson, said: "The fans and TV networks are just waiting for the next great heavyweight, and Abell will prove he's on his way in St. Lucia. When the fans see him fight, they'll see the most explosive heavyweight in the world."
I have only had a glimpse of Abell but his record is certainly explosive — all of his 18 fights have ended inside the distance, with 17 wins and one rather disputed loss. Although he was stopped in the first round by a heavy hitter named Arron Lyons he was not knocked down, and the crowd booed when the referee intervened.
Oruh, 29, is unbeaten in 15 fights but he does not seem to have Abell’s punching power: four of his last five wins have been on points. I understand that he has been a sparring partner for such big-name heavyweights as Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Wladimir Klitschko. Does he have what the great trainer Gil Clancy used to call “sparring partner mentality”, however? What I hear about Oruh is that he has ability but does not always seem to be fighting as hard as he might.
His manager, Kevin Barry — who had success with heavyweight David Tua — admitted from Las Vegas this week: “I believe he’s a very good athlete and he does a lot of things in the gym very well, but for me personally, I believe he’s been somewhat of an underachiever. He has never shown me yet, on fight day, what he is capable of producing.
“Teke turned pro at the same time as Samuel Peter and he and Samuel have sparred literally hundreds of rounds together, and I mean hard sparring. I really think Teke has very, very good skills and he sees this as his big opportunity. He has watched his friend and countryman Samuel Peter make his move on the heavyweight division. Now he believes that this is his turn.
“We were training to fight Arreola and all our work and fight plan was geared to fighting Arreola. Fighting a southpaw wasn’t the ideal opponent but we were in good shape. We know Joey Abell is a big, strong guy and I think the first couple of rounds could be real dangerous.”
Barry said that Oruh did manage to get a week and a half of sparring with huge southpaw Tye Fields when the new opponent was announced. “They had some great sessions and we’re pretty well-prepared for this fight,” Barry said. “The only downside is that I’ve been training and managing Teke for nearly two years and for the biggest fight of his career I’m not going to be there with him due to some family matters. I’ve sent my strength coach with Teke, and [Las Vegas trainer] Tyrone Boone, who’s worked with a lot of very experienced fighters, will work the corner with him.”
Both camps, then, are upbeat about a fight that is a great opportunity for two little-known heavyweights.
My only look at Oruh came when his four-rounder with a near-250-pounder named David Johnson was televised on Fox Sports. Although Oruh won, he was dropped by a left hook in the second round. My notes described him as: “Willing, but looks like a poor man’s Samuel Peter.”
That was 18 months ago, and Oruh has no doubt improved technically while he has lost about eight pounds in weight. Whether he is a legitimate prospect is debatable, though. His last two fights were majority decision wins, and in his most recent bout he was dropped in the opening round by Jason Gavern, a useful if unexceptional heavyweight.
There is a question mark over Abell too, of course. “Minnesota Ice”, as he calls himself, has been matched carefully, not surprisingly as the former college football player had virtually no boxing experience before he turned professional. He is big (6ft 5ins, around 240 pounds) and can punch but nobody really knows how good he is. This is Abell’s stiffest test.
Oruh did get the win over Jason Gavern, who is a better standard of opponent than anyone Abell has faced, and he boxed internationally as an amateur in Africa. The Nigerian has never been beyond six rounds, though, and twice getting floored in the first two rounds has to be a concern against an opponent who has won 14 of his fights in one or two rounds.
If Oruh can get through the early rounds his greater experience could see him through to a win in the later stages, maybe around the seventh or eighth round. I lean towards Oruh because of his deeper boxing background but the Abell camp is very confident and Oruh does look vulnerable early, so this is a real spin-of-the-coin type of fight.
Graham Houston. | an IMAGEXMEDIA site | Login
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The African Prince feels the power of an A Bomb ABELL MOVES FORWARD Joey Abell won a majority decision over the previously unbeaten Teke Oruh in their ten-round Heavyweight bout. The Main Event was broadcast live from the Island of St. Lucia on Showtime’s ShoBox Series and was promoted by Goosen-Tutor Promotions.
In what was billed as a fight between two young prospects, the fight itself was less than entertaining. What it showcased were two fighters that have been fed “tomato-can” caliber fighters up until this fight. It really showed.
Joey Abell is a 6’ 4” southpaw who has very limited defensive skills, but was the busier fighter through out most of this fight. He was able to stay on his toes and land a pawing, yet crisp right jab during the course of the ten-round fight. He also followed his jab with a somewhat powerful left hand in the form of hooks and straight shots, mostly landing on the head of Teke Oruh.
Teke Oruh landed the more powerful punches throughout the fight, including a very solid right that clearly stunned Abell during the 9th round. The punch immediately caused swelling and a cut under Abell’s right eye. The problem was that Oruh simply did not land enough of them. He spent the majority of the fight plodding towards Abell, pressing the fight, but failing to actually throw punches.
From the seventh through the tenth and final round, with the exception of the last minute of the ninth round, Joey Abell out boxed the boxer to win this fight.
One judge scored the fight 98-92, one had it 96-94 and the third saw the bout even at 95-95, giving Joey Abell the ten-round majority decision victory. TheDailySports.com scored the fight 96-94 also in favor of Joey Abell.
Joey Abell goes the distance for the first time of his career, improving to 18-1-1 NC (17 KOs). Teke Oruh loses for the first time, dropping to 14-1-1 (6 KOs).
This fight showcased why you can’t “over-protect” your fighter. We had two fighters being billed as potential contenders based on beefed up records against opponents that rarely had a .500 record, let alone fighting against opponents with winning records. The one thing I appreciate is that they fought each other. I would hope other fighters in similar situations would do the same so we can end up with legitimate contenders. By Bill Calogero
www.boxingscene.com
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