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(SEPT 16) WORCESTER, Mass. – Somewhat lost in
the hype and controversy surrounding last Saturday night’s Shane
Mosley-Oscar De La Hoya fight was the championship performance turned in
halfway around the world that same evening by “El Gallo” Jose Antonio
Rivera, who captured the vacant World Boxing Association welterweight title
with a 12-round majority decision (116-111, 116-114, 114-114) against
previously unbeaten German boxer Michel Trabant (38-0, 18 KOs) at the Estrel
Convention Center in Berlin.
“It feels great to be one of the major World Champions,” Rivera said upon
his return home to Worcester (MA). “It honestly hasn’t hit me, yet. I guess
I’m waiting for my title belt to arrive later this week. I really wasn’t
worried about the decision in his hometown because the WBA did such a good
job of making sure there was some neutrality in picking the judges and ref.
Going to Germany worrying about that may have hampered my performance.
“The difference was my determination. He fought hard, but I let him know
early that he was going to be in a war if he wanted that. I wore him down in
the later rounds and that’s where my determination really came in. I refused
to let my mind, body or spirit become tired. My heart and conditioning is
what enabled me to finish the fight so strong.”
The WBA mandated that the Rivera-Trabant winner must fight No. 1 rated
Thomas Daamgard within 120 days.
“This all seems like a dream,” Jose’s longtime manager Steven “Tank”
Tankanow remarked. “Jose had never been as focused – mentally, physically
and spiritually – on destroying an opponent. We were not going to leave it
in the hands of the judges. Jose manhandled Trabant from the first bell and
a German reporter told me German fans would have been very upset if Jose had
not been given the decision. Even they couldn’t figure out the one judge who
scored it even. Trabant congratulated Jose after the fought and told him he
was a great champion. Jose and Team Rivera won the respect of German boxing
fans and the promoter, Universum.” |
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