SELDON KNOCKED OUT IN FOURTH ROUND (From Atlantic City Press)
ATLANTIC CITY - As the bell sounded to begin the fourth round Friday night, Asbury Park heavyweight Kevin Johnson turned to his sister, Karen Johnson, and shouted to her that she was about to see a knockout.
Seconds later, he delivered.
Johnson floored Atlantic City native Bruce Seldon with a straight right that resulted in a TKO victory before a stunned crowd of Seldon supporters at Bally's Atlantic City.
"I give Bruce a lot of credit because he caught me a few times in the first couple rounds," Johnson said. "But I knew I was too fast for him. That's when I turned to my sister and told her I was going to drop him."
Seldon (38-7, 30 KOs), the 41-year-old former WBA champion, did not go down from Johnson's power as much from the pain of getting hit on a left eye that was already swollen grotesquely from a thumb suffered the round before.
He never saw the decisive punch until it was too late. Once it landed, Seldon dropped to the canvas in obvious pain. He managed to beat referee Earl Brown's 10-count, but it was clear that he would not be able to continue. Brown halted the bout at the 28-second mark of the round as Seldon staggered back to his corner and had to be helped to his dressing room.
"I couldn't see out of my eye at all," said Seldon, who is due to see an ophthalmologist this weekend. "Then he threw that right hand down the pike. The pain was so excruciating, I had to go down.
"I'm just so disappointed. I don't want to take anything away from him, but his power wasn't bothering me at all. After the way the first two rounds went, I could feel him wearing down and I really expected to dominate the second half of the fight. But then he thumbed me and everything changed."
Seldon had vowed in the days before the fight that he would press the action, and he wasted no time in fulfilling that promise. In the final minute of the opening round, he spotted an opening in Johnson's defense and launched a left hook-straight combo that sent Johnson reeling into the ropes. Seldon followed him there and let him know what it is like to be hit by a legitimate, experienced heavyweight. Johnson, who had not been tested for most of his first 20 fights, appeared puzzled and ate more punches than he blocked.
Seldon dominated most of the next round as well, producing roaring cheers from supporters.
"My grandmother told me that one day I'd get hit by an old man and that I'd realize that old men hit the hardest," Johnson said with a laugh. "She was right. Bruce can hit. I learned in the first round that I couldn't afford to drop my hands against him the way I could against some of the other guys I've fought."
The bout turned in Johnson's favor midway through the third round. Seldon was in command until he suddenly spun away and covered his left eye with his glove. He got up and lasted the rest of the round, but his eye was already closing by the time trainer Bill Johnson began to apply an end swell.
Seconds later, the fight, and maybe Seldon's career, was over.
Johnson said afterward that he wanted to fight Andrew Golota or Nikolay Valuev in hopes of becoming a world champion. Seldon, clearly distraught by the defeat, will decide in the coming weeks if he wants to keep fighting or retire.
"This is the first time I've had a serious injury to my face since I fought Oliver McCall in 1991," Seldon said. "To have it happen again at my age is not a good sign."
Seldon's trainer, Bill Johnson, said he was going to advise Seldon to stop boxing.
"I think he should stop," Johnson said. "If he can't beat Kevin Johnson, there's no reason to keep going. Nothing against Kevin Johnson, but he's nothing special. Bruce should have beaten him easy, even with the cut."
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By Per Ake Persson (Boxingscene.com)
Former heavyweight champ "Merciless" Ray Mercer had enough left to beat "the Dutch Sonny Liston" Richel Hersisia on a majority decision over six two-minute rounds. It was scored 59-55 for Mercer from two Swedish judges while Belgian Daniel Van de Wiele came up with 57-57. Mercer controlled the action behind a heavy jab in the first rounds and seemed to shake Hersisia in the second. The Dutchman had good spells in the fourth and fifth when Mercer looked every bit a faded 47-year old. In the final round Ray went for the body and Hersisa didn´t like that one bit and with the strong finish Mercer won 58-56 on my card.
