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== REPORT ==
Griffin wins by KO in 3; LaRosa rolls
BY ROMAN MODROWSKI Chicago Sun Times STAFF REPORTER August 23, 1998
'''Montell Griffin''''s homecoming Saturday was expected to be less dramatic than emphatic.
'''Randall Yonker''''s reputation promised Griffin the opportunity to show his hometown fans why
he is a former world champion the World Boxing Council's second-ranked light heavyweight.
The action unfolded according to expectations, as Griffin (33-1 with 22 knockouts) unleashed
an early barrage '''to score a knockout 1:20 into the third round before 2,247 at the Horizon'''.
``I caught him with some body shots early,'' Griffin said. ``I wanted to slow him down
because I saw on tape that he usually gets off to a quick start.''
'''Griffin dropped Yonker (29-5) once in the second round and twice in the third.'''
A left hook and left uppercut closed matters and allowed the Fenger grad to attend a high
school reunion while leaving Yonker to wonder why he ended a three-year layoff from boxing.
Fan favorite '''Tony LaRosa''' didn't disappoint in the other main event as he and former world
middleweight champ '''Iran Barkley stood toe to toe exchanging leather.'''
Barkley '''scored a knockdown in the second as LaRosa was held up only by the ropes, but LaRosa
fought back for a unanimous 10-round decision.'''
``He stung me,'' LaRosa said. ``I underestimated his power. But he didn't hurt me after that.
``And by the fourth or fifth round, he was tired and I knew I was going to win.''
The 38-year-old Barkley (42-13) is many years and many more pounds from his glory days while
the 30-year-old LaRosa (30-12) hopes to keep moving up.
``This is the best I have looked,'' LaRosa said. ``But I was surprised I didn't knock him
down because I hit him with some great shots. But he is a true champion.''
Both fighters absorbed heavy punishment, but Barkley's fatigue allowed LaRosa to get his
punches off first and be more aggressive.
Griffin scored his first knockdown with a short right to Yonker's head with nine seconds left
in the second round. It was Griffin's sixth consecutive win since Roy Jones Jr. stopped him
in the first round of a bout last August. That was payback to Griffin for handing Jones his only
professional loss. That one came via a disqualification when Jones hit Griffin when he was down.

Fight Night: Plenty Of Rain, Too Few Lights
August 23, 1998|By Michael Hirsley, Tribune Staff Writer. [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-08-23/sports/9808230272_1_montell-griffin-nabf-title-knockout]
A late-arriving crowd, a heavy rain that left buckets catching leaks in outer hallways, and finishing touches
to turn on overhead lights still being made during the opening bouts preceded Chicago fighter Montell Griffin
to the ring Saturday night for his first local fight since becoming a top light-heavyweight contender.
Griffin's was part of a '''six-fight card assembled at the Rosemont Horizon by Chicago promoter Bobby Hitz.'''
"Spoon" '''Kimbrough Beiler knocked fellow Chicago heavyweight Pat Thelen halfway through the ropes in the fourth
and final round to win the first fight on the undercard by technical knockout. It was each boxer's pro debut.'''
'''Light-heavyweight Kevin Cestone of Chicago won a four-round decision over Don Penelton of Milwaukee, a last-
'''minute substitute.''' According to Illinois commissioner's records, Penelton's record dropped to an unbelievable
6-60-1. It was Cestone's third win in three fights.
Although Griffin's immediate task was to dispose of Randall Yonker, a brawler who hadn't fought in three years,
his manager John Caluwaert was looking beyond the Horizon.
Caluwaert said he's working on a deal to put Griffin in the ring later this year against North American Boxing
Federation light-heavyweight champion Derrick Harmon, a fellow Chicagoan and former sparring partner for Griffin.
If Griffin gets the NABF title, that puts him in better position for a bigger title fight.Griffin, 28, brought
an impressive 32-1 record with 21 knockouts to Saturday's fight at the Horizon. His only loss was to Roy Jones
Jr. by shocking first-round knockout last August. This was a rematch after Griffin won the World Boxing Council
title from Jones, rated by many as the best pound-for-pound fighter in boxing.
That defeat, by disqualification in the ninth round, for punching Griffin when he had a knee on the canvas, is
Jones' only loss. Chicagoan Griffin and Caluwaert say they'd like a third fight against Jones to break the 1-1
tie. But Griffin said last week, as he finished training for Saturday's bout against Yonker, 29-4 with 23
knockouts but inactive for three years, he doesn't think Jones will fight him again. Jones' sights in recent
months seem focused on working his way up to a heavyweight title fight against Evander Holyfield, where Jones
sees a big payday.

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