My next historical post deals with the best bout that I have ever seen along the Beltway. My answer may surprise some, unless you saw it too.
BEST BELTWAY BOXING BOUT: Lloyd "Jabba" Bryan vs. Bernice "The Heat" Barber, November 30, 1995
I know many of you are saying, "Where did THAT come from?" There were so many great bouts during that period, like Darryll "Terrible T" Tyson vs. Freddy Pendleton at the Beltway Brawl or Tyson-Reggie Green for both the USBA and NABF Super lightweight titles.
How about when Derrell Coley came SO close to losing to "Dangerous D" Darryl Lattimore or when Lattimore lost a close one to Antonio "Starchild" Reese?
Those were all great bouts and there were others, but the bout between Bryan and Barber was a night where everything surrounding my boxing broadcasting career came together. The bout was a 12-rounder for the vacant USBA Intercontinental Middleweight title and we were going to televise it on Boxing Spotlight from Martin's Crosswinds in Greenbelt. We had just gotten a space on what was then Home Team Sports (now Comcast Sportsnet) and the show expanded from one to two hours.
Jabba Bryan was originally from Jamaica, but lived in Capitol Heights, MD. He was a rising undefeated middleweight prospect at the time. Barber was out of Virginia Beach, VA and was a former kickboxing champ who had started to win some state boxing titles. I suggested to our crew that we build this bout up as big as we can. We went to Jabba's gym and interviewed him there. We did pre-fight interviews with both men that looked similar to the ones shown on ESPN, HBO and Showtime. The announcers studied tape on both men to see what kind of bout we might have. Now it was up to the fighters to give us the bout worthy of the buildup.
The bout exceeded the buildup, eventually, although there was a scary moment in the first round. Barber caught Bryan with a vicious right hand and dropped him. Bryan landed awkwardly on his right ankle. Bryan barely survived the round. From the second round on, the excitement kept building. However, Bryan started gaining little advantages and set a new pace for the bout. The advantages seemed to culminate in the 11th round when Bryan dropped Barber with a right hand of his own. But Barber came back later in the round, pressured Bryan and sent him to the canvas for the second time.
During the final round, it seemed like EVERYBODY was drained: the boxers, the fans and the announcers. Bryan had enough, however, to pull out the 12th round and win the title. It was the first time I had ever called a full 12-round bout and I felt like I had BOXED 12 rounds. I had never had that feeling before and haven't had it since. But it was a feeling of total accomplishment. Those two boxers gave it their best and those who saw it are STILL talking about it.
Quick postscript: The two men fought again almost four years later in Atlanta, GA. It apparently is true that the sequel is almost never as good as the original. Bryan knocked out Barber in the first round.
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4 comments:
i remember this fight well, i helped bryan prepare for this fight. we had the same trainer, junious hinton. mr. hinton trained me off and on for about 15 years..
in sparring bryan was susceptible to right hands and it wasn't a surprise that he was getting hit with those right hands. however he was one tough nut to crack..
i remember mr. hinton saying the same thing after the fight, that he was drenched in sweat and felt like he had gone twelve rounds.
good choice, gary. i have forgotten about that fight.
Thanks for remembering that one. I just wish Jabba's career turned out a little bit better than it did. That bout against Barber was pretty much the highlight of his career.
I heard Jabba signed with Don King and sat out of action for more than a year. After that, he had a try at the IBF Super Middleweight title but was dominated by Sven Ottke. It just didn't happen for him.
what i think happens with alot of fighters is that they see an opportunity to sign with king because he has the connections. however if you aren't already a highly skilled fighter, you will be put on the shelf and used to be an opponent for another fighter.
personally, i think jabba should have stayed with mr. hinton for a little while longer and gotten more exeprience before being thrown in with world class competition.
gary, we see it all the time in our sport, too much too soon. all fighters see today is dollar signs instead of honing their skills and being patient, the rewards will come.
if you look at at the sport there are so many, what i call "microwave champions and contenders" they are thrust at the top too soon and then they are forgotten....
You're right. Not only that, If King feels you can't draw money, that's another reason to put you on the shelf.
Sometimes, boxers and some management get so impatient to move up, they definitely face good competition too slowly. But I guess it is up to the individual boxer.
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