Curly Howard
12-15-2003, 07:59 AM
For years, Jens Pulver has dreamed of becoming a pro boxer. On Saturday night in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the dream came true... but not without the typical problems with the sport.
Pulver's first scheduled opponent pulled out, citing he couldn't afford another loss... he then lost a second and third. His fourth opponent, driving to Iowa from Texas, got caught in a snow storm... and three local potential opponents produced no positive results.
So, an hour before the start of the show, it looked like the 5-hour drive through an ice storm was for nothing. That's when promoter Fred Berns suggested a no-contest fight with legendary Buck Smith, a fighter who is in the Guiness Book of World Records with the most victories (195) in the history of the sport.
Monte Cox, Pulver's manager, has known Buck for more than 20 years and even used him a couple times when he was promoting boxing shows.
"I thought it was a great idea," Cox said. "Smith is so experienced, and so clever... even though he had a 25 pound weight advantage, I thought it would be good experience for Jens... and much better than not fighting at all."
Berns wanted three 90-second rounds, actually shortening the fight to help out Pulver. Although Berns is a close friend and former partner with Cox, he did not understand that Pulver is a well-conditioned athlete, who was going as many as 20 rounds at a time in training. Anyway, it was settled on four 3-minute rounds.
"Smith didn't think Pulver would be tough... he couldn't believe Pulver had no amateur or pro boxing experience. He told Jens, 'If you get tired, just slow down and pace yourself.' I had a feeling Smith was in for a surprise."
The first round was great... lots of combinations from both guys... it was by far the most active fight on the card. Then, in the second round, Pulver started landing more and trapped Smith in the corner and landed several hard body shots.
"I was standing back with the manager of the arena... and when Jens started hitting the body, I told the guy that Jens might be going too hard," Cox said. "I knew Smith was having trouble with the pace, after all, he took the fight on an hour's notice, while Jens trained for 2 months."
As the second round ended, Pulver stopped punching and turned toward his corner... Smith then hit him with a late shot to the head that dropped Pulver. He got up right away, but had a puzzled look on his face.
"The ref was upset... he pushed Smith and was taking a point away," Cox said. But when he realized it was a no-contest fight, he went over to look at Jens and halted the fight... he told Jens he would have DQ'd Smith if it was a real fight."
Smith apologized and later told Pulver he was landing some hard shots. "The problem is that Smith didn't expect anything from Jens, so he told him to go all-out, figuring he'd have no trouble," Cox said. "Jens did what he was told and it caught Smith by surprise. I'm not trying to brag up Jens, but he looked really good out there and I know Smith felt like he had been set up.
"Jens asked about the late punch and I told him that's how a guy with more than 200 pro fights tells a rookie that he should respect his elders," Cox said. "I still think it was great. Jens got six minutes of solid work against a very tough and experienced guy... a guy who has fought Brazier, Chavez, McGirt and Duran."
Pulver says his main sport will remain MMA, but definitely wants to keep boxing
Pulver's first scheduled opponent pulled out, citing he couldn't afford another loss... he then lost a second and third. His fourth opponent, driving to Iowa from Texas, got caught in a snow storm... and three local potential opponents produced no positive results.
So, an hour before the start of the show, it looked like the 5-hour drive through an ice storm was for nothing. That's when promoter Fred Berns suggested a no-contest fight with legendary Buck Smith, a fighter who is in the Guiness Book of World Records with the most victories (195) in the history of the sport.
Monte Cox, Pulver's manager, has known Buck for more than 20 years and even used him a couple times when he was promoting boxing shows.
"I thought it was a great idea," Cox said. "Smith is so experienced, and so clever... even though he had a 25 pound weight advantage, I thought it would be good experience for Jens... and much better than not fighting at all."
Berns wanted three 90-second rounds, actually shortening the fight to help out Pulver. Although Berns is a close friend and former partner with Cox, he did not understand that Pulver is a well-conditioned athlete, who was going as many as 20 rounds at a time in training. Anyway, it was settled on four 3-minute rounds.
"Smith didn't think Pulver would be tough... he couldn't believe Pulver had no amateur or pro boxing experience. He told Jens, 'If you get tired, just slow down and pace yourself.' I had a feeling Smith was in for a surprise."
The first round was great... lots of combinations from both guys... it was by far the most active fight on the card. Then, in the second round, Pulver started landing more and trapped Smith in the corner and landed several hard body shots.
"I was standing back with the manager of the arena... and when Jens started hitting the body, I told the guy that Jens might be going too hard," Cox said. "I knew Smith was having trouble with the pace, after all, he took the fight on an hour's notice, while Jens trained for 2 months."
As the second round ended, Pulver stopped punching and turned toward his corner... Smith then hit him with a late shot to the head that dropped Pulver. He got up right away, but had a puzzled look on his face.
"The ref was upset... he pushed Smith and was taking a point away," Cox said. But when he realized it was a no-contest fight, he went over to look at Jens and halted the fight... he told Jens he would have DQ'd Smith if it was a real fight."
Smith apologized and later told Pulver he was landing some hard shots. "The problem is that Smith didn't expect anything from Jens, so he told him to go all-out, figuring he'd have no trouble," Cox said. "Jens did what he was told and it caught Smith by surprise. I'm not trying to brag up Jens, but he looked really good out there and I know Smith felt like he had been set up.
"Jens asked about the late punch and I told him that's how a guy with more than 200 pro fights tells a rookie that he should respect his elders," Cox said. "I still think it was great. Jens got six minutes of solid work against a very tough and experienced guy... a guy who has fought Brazier, Chavez, McGirt and Duran."
Pulver says his main sport will remain MMA, but definitely wants to keep boxing