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00:00:00Next up, a fright night edition of HBO's World Championship Boxing at 122 pounds,
00:00:05Liany Bungu against Danny Romero,
00:00:07and the main event, Prince Nassim Hamed against Wayne McCullough of Ireland.
00:00:11It's coming next on HBO.
00:00:15One of the greatest mysteries of all time.
00:00:18A curse is unfulfilled.
00:00:20The Spread.
00:00:21I like to be in the ring with a guy who's pleasant, such as myself,
00:00:24and who's not afraid of anything.
00:00:26I like to be in the ring with a guy who's pleasant, such as myself,
00:00:29and who I can see eye to eye with and have that professional respect for.
00:00:33The room was oozing with the love between the two bruisers.
00:00:36Now, I gotta say, I've been a fan of Roy's for years.
00:00:40Until finally, Roy's promoter put a stop to it.
00:00:43We're not gonna accept that kindness.
00:00:46And you're not gonna sing us to sleep.
00:00:50And then the pre-fight hoopla began.
00:00:52I'm telling you, on November the 14th,
00:00:54people who don't know Otis Grant are gonna see a fight that they don't believe.
00:00:57I like the guy. I'm not trying to hurt him, but I do want to knock him out.
00:01:00Be sure to catch the main event, November 14th, live on HBO.
00:01:04And now, for a completely uncivilized trip,
00:01:07it's the Los Angeles premiere of Mr. Show with Bob and David.
00:01:11Well, it's great.
00:01:12We're very excited.
00:01:13I love Mr. Show because it's like the madness kind of.
00:01:16This Halloween, undefeated Prince Nassim Hamed
00:01:19defends his championship against Wayne McCullough.
00:01:21Plus, for the Junior Featherweight title,
00:01:22Booyani Bungu versus Danny Romero.
00:01:25Live and up next, only on HBO.
00:01:29Trick or treat.
00:01:32The Night Owl Massacre.
00:01:33This is a heinous crime that requires swift resolution.
00:01:36In the City of Angels.
00:01:52The following is a special presentation of HBO Sports,
00:01:56the network of champions.
00:02:05The big story on this Halloween sports night
00:02:07takes place in Atlantic City,
00:02:08where Prince Nassim Hamed defends his featherweight title
00:02:11against former champion Wayne McCullough.
00:02:13Hamed usually enters the ring wearing his trademark
00:02:16What are you doing, fool?
00:02:17You know I'm taking a shower.
00:02:25What the hell?
00:02:26You better go and trim the trees with that.
00:02:29This is crazy, man.
00:02:31What the hell's happening here?
00:02:33I don't know.
00:02:34I don't know.
00:02:35I don't know.
00:02:36I don't know.
00:02:37I don't know.
00:02:38I don't know.
00:02:39I don't know.
00:02:40I don't know.
00:02:41I don't know.
00:02:42I don't know.
00:02:43I don't know.
00:02:44What the hell's happening here?
00:02:53Hey, haunted season's over, fool.
00:02:59This is crazy, man.
00:03:00Where's the privacy in this place?
00:03:03Description for the fighting style of Prince Nassim Hamed.
00:03:06126 pounds.
00:03:08Undefeated in 30 professional fights.
00:03:11Sheffield, England.
00:03:15My turn.
00:03:16What?
00:03:17Don't worry.
00:03:18This ain't ours.
00:03:19Now, just hurry up, okay?
00:03:21Because I have to watch.
00:03:22I have a show on HBO, too.
00:03:23Now, I'm supposed to go out there smelling all funky for the people?
00:03:26They don't laugh at a funky man.
00:03:28They laugh at a clean man.
00:03:29I'm tired of you just knocking people out, man.
00:03:32Why don't you just let the guy walk around for four rounds?
00:03:34His damn family's there.
00:03:36His mama's there.
00:03:37Let the boy fight in front of his mama.
00:03:39That's not nice.
00:03:40The damn prince.
00:03:41Prince was in proper reign.
00:03:42Prince was in proper reign.
00:03:43Who the hell is you?
00:03:44I'm tired of this mess.
00:03:45It's not no boxing ring.
00:03:47I will cut you.
00:03:48I will cut you.
00:03:49I don't care.
00:03:50I hope that was there before.
00:03:51I can't.
00:03:52Anyway, I don't care about no ref.
00:03:55What, are you going to take away my license?
00:03:57I don't even have a boxing license.
00:03:58I will cut you.
00:04:00I will cut your corner, man.
00:04:01I'll cut your cut, man.
00:04:02I'll cut your vaseline on the eyebrow, man.
00:04:05I don't care, man.
00:04:06I'm tired.
00:04:07I got my own show on HBO, and I'm ready, okay?
00:04:10We got to preempt my show.
00:04:11What the hell with your...
00:04:12This Halloween or what?
00:04:40What?
00:04:41What?
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00:04:43What?
00:04:44What?
00:04:45What?
00:04:46What?
00:04:47What?
00:04:48What?
00:04:49What?
00:04:50What?
00:04:51What?
00:04:52What?
00:04:53What?
00:04:54What?
00:04:55What?
00:04:56What?
00:04:57What?
00:04:58What?
00:04:59What?
00:05:00What?
00:05:01What?
00:05:02What?
00:05:03What?
00:05:04What?
00:05:05What?
00:05:06What?
00:05:07What?
00:05:08What?
00:05:09What?
00:05:10What?
00:05:11What?
00:05:12What?
00:05:13Tonight, live from the Atlantic City Convention Center
00:05:14in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
00:05:16HBO Sports presents Fright Night,
00:05:19a treat-filled evening in this Halloween edition
00:05:21of world championship boxing.
00:05:23Our All Hallows' Eve begins
00:05:25with the Junior Featherweight Championship fight
00:05:27between title holder Bujani Bungu of South Africa
00:05:30and American Danny Romero.
00:05:32And then, the trickster, featherweight champion
00:05:35Prince Nasim Hamed, faces an opponent
00:05:38and the image has haunted him for years,
00:05:40Northern Irishman Wayne McCullough.
00:05:45A perfect way for you to celebrate your Halloween.
00:05:48You've already been out to gather the candy.
00:05:51Now settle back for a healthy dose
00:05:53of the sweet science of boxing.
00:05:56You'll get the ultimate knockout power
00:05:59of featherweight Prince Nassim Hamed,
00:06:01a pitched battle in the preliminary
00:06:03between the two outstanding 122-pound fighters,
00:06:06and the two-time world champions,
00:06:08Jim Lagoo and Romero,
00:06:09a lively crowd inside the Atlantic City Convention Center.
00:06:14The suspense that will be provided
00:06:16by McCullough's challenge to Hamed,
00:06:18the spirit of the Irishmen in the audience
00:06:20going against the English,
00:06:22and any others who root for the Prince,
00:06:24it all adds up to a huge evening
00:06:26as we welcome you back to this special edition
00:06:28of HBO's World Championship Boxing.
00:06:30Hello again, everybody. I'm Jim Lampley.
00:06:32We're awfully proud here at HBO
00:06:34of the doubleheader we're about to bring to you tonight,
00:06:36which amounts, in the next seven weeks,
00:06:38to a golden era of televised boxing for you,
00:06:41because in the next seven weeks,
00:06:42this television organization,
00:06:44under our various banners,
00:06:45World Championship Boxing,
00:06:47Boxing After Dark, TVKO Pay-Per-View,
00:06:50will be bringing you more terrific championship fights
00:06:53among outstanding world championship fighters
00:06:56within a seven-week period
00:06:58than has ever been the case
00:06:59in the long history of American television.
00:07:02Get ready for the beginning of it all tonight.
00:07:04Working with me, as always,
00:07:05is the heavyweight champion, working legend,
00:07:07and HBO expert commentator George Foreman.
00:07:09And, George, later on tonight in the main event,
00:07:12Prince Nassim Hamed against Wayne McCullough,
00:07:14and this is a bout in which the two fighters come in
00:07:17with a world of distractions around them.
00:07:19Both fighters, within the past several months,
00:07:22have seen babies born in their families.
00:07:24They've had battles with their promoters,
00:07:26battles with their managers,
00:07:27and battles with their trainers.
00:07:29Will all of that affect what goes on in the ring?
00:07:32No. Once you get on, up on top of the heel
00:07:34of the head of a guy like these guys have gotten,
00:07:36distraction, it's almost a necessity.
00:07:38You settle down and get ready for the big stuff.
00:07:40You get in the ring, a little tense,
00:07:42makes for a better performance.
00:07:44I'm looking forward to a great fight.
00:07:45Yeah, you're looking forward to the Prince Nassim walkout, too,
00:07:47because I know you're the biggest fan there is
00:07:49of that particular, uh, item.
00:07:51Also working with us as George gets ready to watch
00:07:54the Prince walk out a little bit later this evening,
00:07:56HBO boxing analyst Larry Merchant.
00:07:58And, Larry, in the first fight,
00:08:00we have Vianney Bungu, uh, who has had
00:08:02the best of his 12 title defenses
00:08:04in his home nation of South Africa,
00:08:06traveling all the way here to be a part of the undercard
00:08:09and fighting against a man, Danny Romero,
00:08:11who's moving up not one, but two weight classes to meet him.
00:08:15Extraordinary.
00:08:16Does it have anything to do with the presence
00:08:18of Prince Nassim Hamed?
00:08:19Not anything, Jim.
00:08:21Everything.
00:08:23Whenever a money-making phenomenon
00:08:26emerges in boxing,
00:08:27the bigger guys start loving their salad,
00:08:30the smaller guys start shoveling their pasta.
00:08:33Everyone wants to get into the act.
00:08:36Everyone wants to get into that big money.
00:08:39Some of the fighters out there
00:08:41who are on the short list of potential opponents for Hamed,
00:08:45Marco Antonio Barrera,
00:08:46who capped his comeback by winning
00:08:48a belt of some kind tonight.
00:08:50Kennedy McKinney, who was supposed to be here,
00:08:53but the commitment to him was reneged on by Hamed.
00:08:56Luisito Espinosa, a featherweight champion
00:08:59who will fight McKinney in four weeks.
00:09:02Bunga and Romero and Eric Morales,
00:09:06the highly regarded Mexican junior featherweight champion.
00:09:10It's worth fighting to stay on this list.
00:09:13Worth it big time in dollars for the featherweight class,
00:09:18and that's why these two fighters are here tonight.
00:09:20And logic tells you that the loser of this bout
00:09:22we're about to see between Bunga and Romero,
00:09:24for the moment at least, drops off the list.
00:09:26So that's part of what's at stake
00:09:28as we look at the tail of the tape.
00:09:29Between longtime junior featherweight champion
00:09:32Guyani Bungu of South Africa
00:09:33and Danny Romero of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
00:09:36you see the seven-year age advantage for Romero.
00:09:38He's one inch shorter.
00:09:39They both weighed in at the limit of 122.
00:09:42They've both put on 13 pounds since yesterday's weigh-in,
00:09:45a one-inch reach advantage for Bunga.
00:09:48Romero throws the harder punches of the two.
00:09:51Punch that numbers, Larry.
00:09:54Here's a look at their activity in recent fights.
00:09:57You can see Bunga a little bit more active.
00:09:59Romero a little bit more accurate.
00:10:02But Bunga is a terrific defensive fighter
00:10:05that Romero's gonna have to go through.
00:10:09And in power punches,
00:10:11the same numbers are reflected in that,
00:10:14with Romero a little bit more accurate.
00:10:18Rules of the bout with our unofficial ringside scorer,
00:10:20Harold Lederman.
00:10:21The Guyani Bungu-Danny Romero fight
00:10:24is scheduled for 12 rounds,
00:10:25using the unified rules for all world championship fights.
00:10:28There is no standing account, no three-knockdown rule.
00:10:32Only the referee can stop the fight,
00:10:34and you cannot be saved by the bell in any round,
00:10:36including the 12th and final round.
00:10:38Jim.
00:10:39All right, first to enter will be Danny Romero.
00:10:42You last saw him here on HBO
00:10:45when he lost the pivotal fight of his career
00:10:48to his hometown rival Johnny Taffey in that fight,
00:10:52July 18, 1997, at 115 pounds.
00:10:56Tonight, he comes up 7 pounds
00:10:58from that previous weight category to meet Bunga,
00:11:00and most of Danny's fans and supporters
00:11:03rejoice to see him coming up in weight
00:11:06because they claim he was starving himself
00:11:08to stay at 115 for the opportunity to fight Taffey.
00:11:11Jim, I once went into a room
00:11:14to interview him before a weigh-in,
00:11:16and I couldn't find him.
00:11:18And then there he was, sitting on a windowsill,
00:11:21and I didn't hardly recognize him.
00:11:23He looked cadaverous.
00:11:24But he seems to have overcome the emotional letdown
00:11:27after the Tapia fight,
00:11:29helped by a telephone call from Junior Jones
00:11:32and a visit by the great Roberto Duran,
00:11:35both of whom told him the same thing.
00:11:37You find out what kind of champion you are
00:11:40after you lose.
00:11:42And if he can win this fight tonight against Bunga,
00:11:45he may wind up with what you might call
00:11:47the ultimate revenge,
00:11:48a paycheck larger than any Tapia will ever see
00:11:53in the 115-pound weight class.
00:11:55Danny Romero's record, 33 wins, two losses,
00:11:58one to Willie Salazar in a freakish fight
00:12:01in which Romero's orbital socket bone was broken.
00:12:04He won every round, but had to stop eventually
00:12:06because of the broken eye socket and lost the fight.
00:12:08The other loss to Tapia,
00:12:10and you saw the 29 knockouts among Romero's 33 wins.
00:12:14Kid Dynamite was once ranked by one of the boxing magazines
00:12:17as the hardest puncher, pound for pound, in boxing.
00:12:21And here comes the veteran South African Vianney Bungu.
00:12:27Born and raised in the extremely poor community
00:12:31of East London near Durban on the Indian Ocean.
00:12:34When Vianney Bungu was in elementary school,
00:12:37he used to take a large rock to school in a paper bag
00:12:41so that he could fool his classmates into believing
00:12:44that he actually had something to bring to school for lunch.
00:12:47And now he's got a big fight coming up.
00:12:50It's such a poor community, Jim,
00:12:54that he told us that the fans there
00:12:57could not afford to watch him fight
00:12:59either on pay TV or to come to an arena,
00:13:03where in order for them to go to that arena,
00:13:05the tickets would have to be priced at $2.50.
00:13:10Gentle, graceful man who has been throughout his career
00:13:14a tactical fighter.
00:13:15And in his 11 championship fights,
00:13:1811 of them have gone the distance.
00:13:21But two of them are victories
00:13:23over the redoubtable Kennedy McKinney.
00:13:27So he's beaten one American hard puncher in McKinney.
00:13:30Now he gets ready to try another one in Romero.
00:13:33And the record for Bungu, 35 wins,
00:13:35two losses relatively early in his career,
00:13:37only 18 KOs, and as we said,
00:13:4011 of the 12 title fights have gone the distance.
00:13:45Go to www.hbo.com slash boxing to chat,
00:13:49score each round of tonight's action,
00:13:51and to view the post-fight news conference
00:13:54after the Prince Nassim Hamed-Wayne McCullough fight.
00:13:56You'll also have the chance to predict the winner
00:13:58of the November 21 Oscar de la Hoya
00:14:00Ike Corte championship fight
00:14:02to be broadcast pay-per-view on TV KO.
00:14:06And now let's go up to ring announcer Michael Buffer
00:14:08for the official introductions.
00:14:11Ladies and gentlemen, good evening,
00:14:13and by way of Bally's Park Place,
00:14:16a Hilton Casino Resort here in Atlantic City, New Jersey,
00:14:20good evening and welcome to Atlantic City's Convention Hall.
00:14:23Tonight, Cedric Kushner promotions
00:14:26with Mr. Frank Warren and Golden Gloves of South Africa
00:14:29present World Championship Boxing.
00:14:32This bout is sanctioned by the New Jersey
00:14:34State Athletic Control Board,
00:14:36Boxing Commissioner Larry Hazard, Sr.
00:14:39This first title bout is also sanctioned
00:14:40by the International Boxing Federation,
00:14:43President Robert W. Lee,
00:14:45Supervisor at ringside for the IVF, Marianne Muhammad.
00:14:50The three judges scoring this contest
00:14:53on a 10-point must system will be
00:14:55James Ashe, Lulane Mitedya, and John Riley.
00:15:00And when the bell rings,
00:15:02your referee in charge of the action, Rudy Battle.
00:15:06And now, ladies and gentlemen, 12 rounds of boxing
00:15:10for the IVF Junior Featherweight Championship of the World.
00:15:19Introducing first, fighting out of the blue corner,
00:15:23wearing gold, fighting out of the blue corner,
00:15:26wearing gold, trimmed with red, and weighing 122 pounds.
00:15:31His professional record, an excellent one,
00:15:3335 bouts, 33 victories, with 29 by knockout,
00:15:39and only two defeats.
00:15:41From Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA,
00:15:44here is the challenger, former flyweight
00:15:48champion of the world, Danny Kidinamito Romero.
00:16:00And his opponent, across the ring,
00:16:02fighting out of the red corner,
00:16:04wearing blue, trimmed with gold letters,
00:16:06weighing in also at 122 pounds,
00:16:10also with an excellent professional record,
00:16:1337 bouts, 35 victories, 18 of those by way of knockout,
00:16:19and only two losses.
00:16:21Tonight, he defends his title for the 12th time.
00:16:25Ladies and gentlemen, from Cape Town, South Africa,
00:16:30the defending IBF junior featherweight
00:16:34champion of the world, the Carousel Kid,
00:16:38Uyani Bungu.
00:16:49Okay, gentlemen, you've both received
00:16:51your pre-fight instructions.
00:16:53I expect a clean break at all times.
00:16:54Let's have a nice, clean contest.
00:16:56Any questions here?
00:16:58All right, good luck to both of you.
00:16:59Touch them up.
00:17:01Danny Romero said to us that what he has to beat tonight
00:17:05is not the style or the strength of Bungu,
00:17:10but his will to win.
00:17:11All right, clear the ring.
00:17:12A big order.
00:17:13Clear the ring.
00:17:17And Romero's father has told Danny
00:17:20the best way to puncture Bungu's will to win
00:17:24will be with left hooks to the ribcage,
00:17:26at least three or four good ones per round.
00:17:29He borrows a phrase from George Foreman and says,
00:17:32it's like an investment.
00:17:33I want him to put those body punches in the bank
00:17:36as the fight goes on.
00:17:38Romero comes out trying to start fast,
00:17:42and Bungu immediately rocks him with a right-hand counter,
00:17:45coming up and under.
00:17:50Bungu's job is going to try to keep this young man contained.
00:17:54Let him try to control that energy.
00:17:56Stay right close to him.
00:17:57Don't give him any kind of courage
00:17:59that he doesn't need in the first few rounds
00:18:01so that he can slow down later on.
00:18:03Romero, he's got to throw a lot of shots,
00:18:06get this guy so behind on points in the first six rounds
00:18:09that he has to gamble to win.
00:18:12We spoke to him earlier today.
00:18:13He didn't seem like the gambling sort, Bungu.
00:18:18Very calm and quiet in his out-of-the-ring persona.
00:18:21He has an interesting boxing style
00:18:23because he likes to stay close,
00:18:25likes to appear as though he's pressuring you,
00:18:27but he really wants the opponent to lead inside
00:18:30so that he can counter effectively
00:18:32and follow the action at close range.
00:18:34You're doing a good job of jabbing already to the body.
00:18:37Whenever your guy attacks you,
00:18:38go to his body to make sure those punches...
00:18:40Get off me. Get off me.
00:18:42He doesn't have anything in reserve afterwards.
00:18:45Danny Romero looks strong at 122 pounds,
00:18:48heavily muscled across the chest.
00:18:51And he's landed four or five of those body punches
00:18:55that he's put in the bank, but so is Bungu.
00:18:58And Bungu lands a little short right hand
00:19:00to the nose of Romero in close.
00:19:05Sometimes it takes a while before a fighter
00:19:07like Romero understands.
00:19:08You don't get hit a lot, but, hey,
00:19:10these punches are not going to mean a lot.
00:19:11Stay on your opponent, Bungu.
00:19:13Take this title away from him.
00:19:16That meant the title fight's going the distance.
00:19:18He's not looking for a knockout.
00:19:21Bungu was able to weather the power of Kennedy McKinney
00:19:24and outbox McKinney twice.
00:19:26McKinney, the man you saw knocking out Junior Jones
00:19:30on the undercard of Prince Nassim Hamed's
00:19:31first appearance in the United States
00:19:33and another of those on the short list
00:19:36of potential Nassim opponents down the road.
00:19:40Now Bungu is trying to answer with a little power.
00:19:43This is good stuff here.
00:19:45Two quick, strong young men testing each other.
00:19:58Great right hand by Romero.
00:20:01And then he tried to come up between his gloves
00:20:03with an uppercut.
00:20:05This is what you got to do when you're fighting
00:20:07an opponent like Bungu.
00:20:09If ever, just like a turtle, he sticks his head out
00:20:11a little bit, you got to do a whole lot to it
00:20:13because he stays right in his defense all the time.
00:20:16What about banging your gloves
00:20:17against the shell of the turtle, George?
00:20:19Pointless or a good idea?
00:20:21Well, it's a good idea because as long as you got him in there,
00:20:23he's not going to do anything to you.
00:20:25So you got to keep some punches going with him
00:20:26to keep him bobbing and weaving.
00:20:32He's got excellent balance, Bungu.
00:20:33Time!
00:20:36Both men scored in round number one.
00:20:39That's it, baby.
00:20:43How does it feel, champ?
00:20:44Fine.
00:20:45Okay?
00:20:46Still going fast, okay?
00:20:48But don't stand up first.
00:20:51Go with your punches, okay?
00:20:53Okay?
00:20:55Move.
00:20:56Same angles, okay?
00:20:58Same angles, don't come straight
00:21:00because he's trying to blow the uppercut, okay?
00:21:03Same way.
00:21:05Yeah.
00:21:08Okay.
00:21:09Remember, you got to use your jab, huh?
00:21:11Okay.
00:21:12And then you shush, throw your shots.
00:21:13Boom, boom, boom. Boom, boom, boom.
00:21:14Okay?
00:21:16Don't go after him with the long right hand yet, okay?
00:21:18Okay.
00:21:20Keep working, baby.
00:21:21Okay.
00:21:22Keep working that body, huh,
00:21:23every chance you get.
00:21:25Seconds out!
00:21:26Seconds out!
00:21:29Very active first round.
00:21:31The two punchers combining to throw 178 blows
00:21:35by CompuBox numbers.
00:21:37Landing at a similar rate.
00:21:45The man you heard talking in Bungu's corner,
00:21:47his trainer, Umzi Munguni,
00:21:49has trained six different world title holders.
00:21:54He says that in Bungu's little village of East London,
00:21:57virtually every male child at some time or another
00:22:00will try boxing.
00:22:07Bungu.
00:22:08Bungu is very solid.
00:22:10Throws his left jab,
00:22:11brings him right back into position.
00:22:13Keeps his hands up.
00:22:15Hard to fight a guy like that.
00:22:16You want to fake him out of position
00:22:17if you can't get anything.
00:22:19Romero hasn't started to do any fainting.
00:22:24Good right hand by Bungu.
00:22:25Solid right hand lead by Bungu,
00:22:27and now he fires the combination
00:22:28and lands over and underneath.
00:22:31Danny Romero, who threw an uncharacteristically
00:22:33high number of punches in round number one,
00:22:35a little bit more economical in his output
00:22:37here in round number two.
00:22:38You heard his father, Danny Romero Sr.,
00:22:40asking for the jab,
00:22:41and Danny has worked it a bit in this round.
00:22:44But he also told him,
00:22:45don't throw the long right hands yet.
00:22:49Because he wants Bungu to come closer?
00:22:51Yeah, you should stay a little closer to a guy like this.
00:22:54When you got a guy real conservative like Bungu,
00:22:57got a good experience,
00:22:59stay close to him and make him fight.
00:23:01Don't allow him to box.
00:23:03Make him fight.
00:23:10It was not the long right hand,
00:23:11but a quick right hand by Romero.
00:23:13Kind of close, too.
00:23:23It's been one punch at a time
00:23:24through most of the second round,
00:23:26as Guyani Bungu has elected to keep his distance
00:23:29through this stanza.
00:23:30Could be a complement to the early power
00:23:32shown by Danny Romero.
00:23:34Romero is doing a good job of doing some feinting.
00:23:36He's doing it with the feet now,
00:23:37but do something all the time.
00:23:40Hard right hand to the body by Romero.
00:23:42Bungu not nearly as aggressive
00:23:44as he was in close in round number one.
00:23:49Left hook to the body by Romero
00:23:51lands underneath Bungu's right elbow.
00:23:54And now Bungu backs Danny up with three jabs of his own.
00:23:58This is what you want him to do.
00:23:59Make him fight.
00:24:00Don't let him stay in there and just box 12 rounds.
00:24:03Make him fight.
00:24:04First four-punch combination,
00:24:05Romero's been able to get off and again punctuated it
00:24:08with a left hook to the body.
00:24:09Bungu backs Romero up with the jab.
00:24:12That's what you want him to do, is start fighting.
00:24:16You take a champion's title, you got to make him fight.
00:24:20Well, you would imagine that Bungu,
00:24:22who's fought every fight of his career at 122 pounds,
00:24:26would have to think he's stronger than Romero
00:24:28and try to test him with that strength.
00:24:30Yeah, you would think so, but Romero,
00:24:32of course, this guy's trained with bigger guys all the time.
00:24:35Well, and he could have been a 122-pound fighter
00:24:38being kept in a 115-pound package
00:24:41long beyond the time when it was healthy for him.
00:24:57Okay?
00:24:58You've got to make the double jab, okay?
00:25:01Yeah.
00:25:02Double jab and angles, okay?
00:25:04Double jab and take the angles, okay?
00:25:06Double jab and try the angles, okay?
00:25:08But you've got to go...
00:25:09Yeah, well, but he's throwing those three shots.
00:25:11He's trying to sneak some shit in, huh?
00:25:13Okay.
00:25:14Throw you three shots and then work him with a jab,
00:25:17work him with a jab, okay?
00:25:18He's not ready for the big shots yet.
00:25:20Yeah.
00:25:21Okay.
00:25:22He's not ready yet.
00:25:23Let's get him desperate with him.
00:25:27Early in the round, there was a little bit of a right hand
00:25:29right there on the temple.
00:25:31Good, clean shot from Bungu.
00:25:34Romero took it very well.
00:25:36Let's go, second. Let's go.
00:25:40Come on, let's go.
00:25:41Round three. Let's go.
00:25:47Bungu's trainer asking him to double up on the jab.
00:25:51And to try to push Romero back.
00:25:54I don't think he likes what's happening
00:25:56at this distance they've been fighting at.
00:26:03Romero's got to understand that he's the challenger here.
00:26:06He's got to keep this pressure on this guy
00:26:09and take his title.
00:26:10Bungu has got to use his jab to kind of discourage this guy.
00:26:15Discourage the other guy.
00:26:17That right hand lead by Romero
00:26:19rocks Bungu back into the ropes.
00:26:22Right now, it appears that Romero is not only holding his own,
00:26:26but outboxing the boxer.
00:26:28Stay off the back of the head.
00:26:30Let's keep it clean in there.
00:26:32Now, you see the referee bothering with the fighter.
00:26:36They've thought early on,
00:26:37this is going to be a long night for Romero.
00:26:40Change right hands.
00:26:42And Bungu backed up.
00:26:48After fighting much more aggressively in the first round,
00:26:51Bungu's body language in rounds two and three
00:26:53would seem to suggest that he doesn't like the incoming,
00:26:57that he's felt Romero's power, and he wants to avoid it.
00:27:01There he goes with the left hook to the body, yeah.
00:27:03And a short jolting right, right back from Romero.
00:27:10Romero has a bigger upper body.
00:27:12This is where you want to press and lean on this guy.
00:27:15This is world-class stuff you're watching, folks.
00:27:18Two quick, well-schooled price fighters.
00:27:22Well, they're both so quick,
00:27:23it's dazzling to see three- and four-punch combinations
00:27:26fired with the rapidity that they can get them off.
00:27:31But it's becoming a tactical battle
00:27:32as Bungu tries to stay away.
00:27:39As I said earlier, Romero's got to get his minute points
00:27:43early on and make his opponent, Bungu,
00:27:46start trying to charge him and take the fight away.
00:27:48He can get a knockout in that way.
00:27:50And keep Bungu out of the comfort zone
00:27:51where that will to win can become a factor later on.
00:27:54He's not, he doesn't got that much will to win
00:27:56as much as he has skill.
00:27:58This guy's a very skillful fighter.
00:28:00Works, he plans his work,
00:28:02and he seems to be trying to plan, work his plan.
00:28:05You know, my recollection is when he beat McKinney,
00:28:07particularly the first time,
00:28:09he was a much more mobile fighter, moved in and out.
00:28:13He's now 31 years old, which is not young
00:28:16for a fighter in this low-weight class.
00:28:18Here we go with the age, though.
00:28:21Romero, 31, is over the hill now.
00:28:23No, it's not over the hill.
00:28:24I'm just saying he doesn't move as much as he used to.
00:28:27Well, as you get older, you get more confident in your power.
00:28:29You don't need to move.
00:28:35Meanwhile, a largely tactical third round
00:28:38has been punctuated on at least three occasions
00:28:41by sharp Danny Romero right-hand shots.
00:28:48Still to come this evening,
00:28:49Prince Nassim Hamed
00:28:52makes his second appearance in the United States.
00:28:54The first one, a smashing success.
00:28:57His fourth round knockout of Kevin Kelly
00:28:58last December in Madison Square Garden.
00:29:00Then in May, in Manchester, England,
00:29:03he beat Wilfredo Vazquez,
00:29:05multiple world champion from Puerto Rico.
00:29:07And now tonight, he takes on former bantamweight titlist
00:29:11Wayne McCullough of Belfast, Northern Ireland,
00:29:14now living in Las Vegas.
00:29:16♪ I may not be a lord in the sea
00:29:18♪ But this will always remain home to me
00:29:23♪ Oh, I land in the sun
00:29:26♪ Drilled to me by my father's hand
00:29:30♪ All my days I will sing and praise
00:29:33♪ Of your farthest walk
00:29:36Didn't know the prince was from Jamaica.
00:29:39Or that his favorite group is the Ink Spots.
00:29:42Always been told he was from Sheffield, England.
00:29:45And there they were, singing,
00:29:46♪ Oh, I land in the sun
00:29:49Couldn't have been talking about Britain.
00:29:52George.
00:29:55Well, first, George, let's go to Harold Lederman
00:29:58and see how he scores it after 3.
00:29:59Jim, 3 to nothing.
00:30:0130 to 27, Danny Romero.
00:30:04You know, Jim, let's look at the four points
00:30:05in which we score a fight.
00:30:06Defense equal.
00:30:08Aggressiveness equal.
00:30:10Ring generalship equal.
00:30:11There, Danny Romero's winning the fight
00:30:13because he's keeping Bungle right in front of him.
00:30:15Bungle told us he was gonna beat Romero
00:30:17by giving him angles.
00:30:18He's standing right in front of Danny Romero.
00:30:20Danny Romero's landing the power shots.
00:30:22So, unclean punching and effective aggressiveness
00:30:25and ring generalship.
00:30:26Danny Romero, 3-0.
00:30:29Romero makes certain that he lands
00:30:31the first punch every round.
00:30:33And that guy can't give you many angles then.
00:30:37More your angle is to cover up.
00:30:41First punch every round.
00:30:42How about the first punch in every exchange?
00:30:44George, he's trying, as good fighters will,
00:30:46to start and finish each exchange.
00:30:49Watch your hands in there.
00:30:55They've averaged 87 punches apiece
00:30:59through the first three rounds,
00:31:00so identical activity levels.
00:31:03The difference is that Romero is landing sharper punches
00:31:07at a higher rate, at least up to round 4.
00:31:10Short, good right hand.
00:31:11Yeah. Good combo.
00:31:15See, Romero can get in charge here.
00:31:17Once he get ahead on the points, he just wait.
00:31:19You don't get big shots because the other guy
00:31:21starts to lean in and take chances.
00:31:23There was a perfect example of what Romero is trying to do,
00:31:27throw a combination, step back,
00:31:29don't give him a chance to respond if he can.
00:31:33And I think Bungu has some sense now
00:31:36of having to be more aggressive,
00:31:40more aggressive than he normally is.
00:31:41There's a little bit of urgency in his look now, George.
00:31:44Bungu in round 4 is more like Bungu was in round 1.
00:31:48Romero could have a shutout now.
00:31:50You start following this guy, Romero,
00:31:52around with that kind of power
00:31:54and with that kind of a fearlessness,
00:31:57you're gonna get yourself hurt.
00:31:59And that's what Bungu has done.
00:32:00He's gotten himself into a little trap
00:32:02where he's gonna have to fight himself out of
00:32:04and run into this guy's power.
00:32:06Another good forepunch combination by Romero,
00:32:08and he steps back away as Bungu looks to answer.
00:32:11Another left hook to the body by Romero
00:32:13as Bungu came in close.
00:32:16Good right hand by Romero.
00:32:18And he is scoring and scoring heavily
00:32:20as round 4 comes to a close.
00:32:24And for the moment,
00:32:26the longtime world champion,
00:32:27Buyani Bungu of South Africa,
00:32:30has made a long trip to get himself
00:32:32into some early hot water against Danny Romero.
00:32:41Bungu is about to gamble now.
00:32:46Okay. You gotta punch in and out.
00:32:48In and out, in and out, in and out,
00:32:49because he's throwing those uppercuts.
00:32:51Okay.
00:32:52Okay?
00:32:54Okay.
00:32:55You gotta punch in and out, Danny,
00:32:56because he can't box.
00:32:58Okay.
00:32:59Every time you jump in and out, in and out,
00:33:00but you gotta be busy, huh?
00:33:02And punch coming in.
00:33:03In and out, in and out,
00:33:04because he's throwing those uppercuts at you.
00:33:06I see him. I see him doing it.
00:33:08Okay? Okay.
00:33:10Keep going. In and out, in and out, baby.
00:33:12In and out. Okay.
00:33:13But you gotta be throwing punches, huh?
00:33:15Okay.
00:33:21Right. Okay.
00:33:22You just move out from his punches,
00:33:24and then you go back again, okay?
00:33:26Just move out from his punches, okay?
00:33:28And then you go back to him again, okay?
00:33:30You've got to keep on moving.
00:33:31Okay?
00:33:32Okay. Seconds out.
00:33:34Let's go.
00:33:35Rondo told us, with amazement,
00:33:38that he had a visit with Nelson Mandela
00:33:42and that Mandela served him drinks.
00:33:47Well, he's getting served.
00:33:49Yeah, you know, this round,
00:33:50he was able to land the first punch for a change.
00:33:54Remember, Romero is not gonna be the stronger fighter
00:33:57if this fight goes on.
00:33:58He's good to eight rounds,
00:34:00and then he starts to pace himself, too,
00:34:01for some reason.
00:34:03Why do you feel that, George?
00:34:04Well, he hasn't found out which weight he want to be.
00:34:07He hasn't decided if he want to be a puncher
00:34:09and get a lot of knockouts,
00:34:10or be a boxing win on point.
00:34:13He's young.
00:34:15So those eight, nine, ninth rounds,
00:34:18they can get away from him, 10th, 11th, 12th.
00:34:22And you heard Bungu's trainer,
00:34:24Uzi Munguni,
00:34:26asking his man to do a better job
00:34:29of going back and staying away
00:34:31when Romero wants to attack,
00:34:33and then coming in at those moments
00:34:34when Romero has relaxed his attack.
00:34:36Nice trick if you can do it.
00:34:38Unfortunately, too often in the fight,
00:34:40Bungu has come forward
00:34:42only to be met with an assault by Romero.
00:34:44And he's doing it real nice now.
00:34:47One, two, three, he steps back
00:34:48and lands three shots just like a boxer.
00:34:50Sounds to me like they both have the same plan, guys.
00:34:54So it's gonna be the quicker one who gets it done.
00:34:59Bungu didn't want to be in a boxing match with Romero,
00:35:02and Romero's doing a better boxing than him.
00:35:04Well, I think that would surprise him,
00:35:06and maybe even stun him.
00:35:07Good right hand by Bungu.
00:35:09Bungu with a solid right-hand shot
00:35:11right up the middle.
00:35:19One benefit Danny Romero expects
00:35:21from moving up to 122 pounds
00:35:23is that his chin, strong at 115,
00:35:26will be even stronger here.
00:35:28And he took Bungu's hard right-hand shot pretty well
00:35:30and lands one over the top himself.
00:35:33Well, his walking around weight, Romero told us, was 145.
00:35:38Not uncommon for a fighter to be 20 to 30 pounds heavier
00:35:41than his scale weight before the fight.
00:35:47Bungu does a good job of being aggressive.
00:35:50Doesn't throw any shots.
00:35:51He goes left, right, and then looks up at Romero.
00:35:54Left, right, looks up, and get hit.
00:35:57Got to go left, right, and throw two or three shots.
00:36:17Don't hold him, don't hold him.
00:36:18All right, great. Let him go.
00:36:19Stop punching.
00:36:21Right back, right back.
00:36:23Both ways.
00:36:25Bungu reaching and missing with the right hand,
00:36:27lands with the left hook inside.
00:36:31Romero's activity level dropping now
00:36:34as we reach the middle rounds of the fight.
00:36:36No longer throwing 85 or 90 punches a round,
00:36:40which is the way he began the action here tonight.
00:36:42On his!
00:36:44Okay.
00:36:45On December 8, HBO Sports presents
00:36:47the next edition of Sports of the 20th Century,
00:36:49Sugar Ray Robinson,
00:36:51the bright lights and dark shadows of a champion.
00:36:53A documentary tracing the triumphs and tragedies
00:36:56of the boxer most experts still call
00:36:58the greatest pound for pound of all time.
00:37:00Outside the ring, Sugar Ray was a fearless and flashy showman
00:37:04whose final days were marked, sadly, by sickness and poverty.
00:37:08Sugar Ray Robinson.
00:37:10Walker Smith.
00:37:11The bright lights and dark shadows of a champion
00:37:14coming December 8, only on HBO.
00:37:18Halloween night live in the Atlantic City Convention Center.
00:37:21Later on tonight, all of the outrageous pyrotechnics
00:37:24and theatrics that go with the appearance
00:37:26by Prince Nassim Hamed of Sheffield, England
00:37:28against Wayne McCullough of Belfast, Northern Ireland.
00:37:31Right now, American Danny Romero
00:37:34trying to become a star at 122 pounds
00:37:36after having left the 115-pound weight class behind
00:37:40and taking on longtime junior featherweight
00:37:42world champion, John Cena.
00:37:44And taking on longtime junior featherweight world champion,
00:37:47Guyani Bungu of East London, South Africa.
00:37:51To our lights, early on, it has been Romero
00:37:54who's had the best of it in the first five rounds.
00:38:04Round five, maybe the best round so far for Bungu.
00:38:11If this bout sees a momentum shift,
00:38:14you could well see Bungu carrying the action
00:38:16for the next four or five rounds.
00:38:18He's been known to come on in the late rounds
00:38:20and gain ground against his opponents.
00:38:23Romero, like I said, he just hasn't decided
00:38:26which weight he wants to be and how he want to be perceived,
00:38:28a puncher or a boxer.
00:38:30Problems in the latter round.
00:38:36I'm wondering how much trouble, how many problems
00:38:38the referee is gonna cause for Romero.
00:38:41Well, he's warned him once for holding behind the head.
00:38:43He's about to talk to him about it again.
00:38:45No, he lets him go.
00:38:47Every time they get some contacts,
00:38:48he screams at Romero.
00:38:50You start irritating a young fighter like that,
00:38:53the house comes tumbling down.
00:38:55Referees are real clever like that.
00:38:57If they're not good, they're bad.
00:38:59But, George, this is a young fighter
00:39:01who's had, you know, 35 fights,
00:39:05almost as many as Bungu.
00:39:09He's been around the block a few times,
00:39:11won a couple of titles.
00:39:15Now you're starting to see more of Bungu's stuff.
00:39:18He crouches like a mongoose, works his way inside,
00:39:22and then tends to leap out with an overhand right
00:39:24or a quick left hook.
00:39:26If you're gonna take a title from someone,
00:39:28Romero's better pick it up and keep it up.
00:39:30He just can't pace himself.
00:39:33That's what he's doing there. He's taking a break.
00:39:35Let him go. Step back.
00:39:37He started toward this mode in round 5.
00:39:39Round 6 has definitely so far been a breather round
00:39:42for Romero in the first two minutes.
00:39:44And Bungu, with a deficit,
00:39:47at least a perceived deficit here
00:39:49at the HBO scoring table on the scorecards,
00:39:52may be getting a chance to work back into position.
00:39:55Yeah, the experienced fighter is starting to kind of
00:39:58get the control back again.
00:40:02Don't hold it. Don't hold it.
00:40:06Look how Bungu leans forward from the waist
00:40:08the whole fight, George.
00:40:09Yeah, but his head is about even with his left knee.
00:40:11So that's good. You want to lean forward,
00:40:13but not beyond your knee.
00:40:14Your knee, line up, you get beyond your knee,
00:40:17then you can trip over and get hurt.
00:40:19Good, solid right hand up the middle by Bungu.
00:40:22Lands a little left hook inside.
00:40:24Romero coming back with uppercuts
00:40:26and a left hook to the body.
00:40:28Romero left hook is starting to be a problem
00:40:30for Bungu.
00:40:32A left hook to the body.
00:40:34The Romero left hook is starting to be a slap now,
00:40:36so you want to give this veteran a lot of courage.
00:40:42Hold it!
00:40:44A last left hook to the cheek
00:40:46to punctuate the round for Danny.
00:40:49Let's try and make it a little quicker, okay?
00:40:52Danny, take on Bungu.
00:40:56Okay.
00:40:59Let's try and make it a little quicker, okay?
00:41:02We've got to make sure that we come in quick.
00:41:04After combination, we come back quick, okay?
00:41:08You don't need to give him so much respect.
00:41:09I'm still close to you, okay?
00:41:13We've got to step up.
00:41:14Now, Bungu, step around, understand?
00:41:18We've got to step up.
00:41:19Pick it up, you understand?
00:41:20We've got to pick it up.
00:41:21You have to pick it up.
00:41:23We've got to pick it up, Bungu, okay?
00:41:25Okay, this is round seven, Bungu.
00:41:27Yeah, okay.
00:41:28Don't throw one punch.
00:41:29You've got to put two in combination.
00:41:31Okay.
00:41:32Take a deep breath.
00:41:34All right, come on, let's go.
00:41:35Okay, check it out.
00:41:37Let's go, check it, clear the ring.
00:41:40Clear the ring, let's go.
00:41:44Round seven, nice and clean.
00:41:48No holding, no holding.
00:41:50No holding.
00:41:52Keep it clean in there.
00:41:55Nice and clean.
00:41:57No holding, no holding.
00:41:58No holding, referee.
00:42:01Hasn't been any holding.
00:42:02What's he talking about?
00:42:03What is this referee doing?
00:42:04I told you earlier, they try to go after
00:42:06the young, least experienced fighter
00:42:08and get into their head.
00:42:10Hard right hand by Romero
00:42:12and a right to the body,
00:42:13and Bungu momentarily stunned
00:42:15as Danny Romero clocked him with that roundhouse right.
00:42:19Well, Bungu resorted by his corner to step up the pace,
00:42:22and he stepped right into a couple of good, stiff punches.
00:42:26And that's what you want the veteran to do,
00:42:28step up his pace and start to make mistakes.
00:42:32So you think that by winning those early rounds,
00:42:34Romero is now making Bungu get out of his natural style?
00:42:38That's right, and even his corner is doing the same thing,
00:42:40step up the pace.
00:42:41And this guy's an ultra-calm fighter, Bungu.
00:42:44You don't want to start making him reach beyond
00:42:46that left knee, as Jim said earlier,
00:42:48sticking his head out too far.
00:42:50Nice and clean, nice.
00:42:52Harold, how do you have it through six?
00:42:54Well, Jim, I think that Bungu's gotten back
00:42:56into the fight.
00:42:57I got a 4-2, 58-56, Danny Romero.
00:43:00For the simple reason that in rounds 5 and 6,
00:43:03Bungu just now jabbed him and probably won the rounds
00:43:05because he was busier.
00:43:06Danny Romero spent too much time
00:43:07grabbing those chunks, trying to pull them up.
00:43:09So Bungu comes back, wins 5 and 6, 4-2, Danny Romero.
00:43:14I have the same score.
00:43:19I wonder where we're going wrong here, Harold.
00:43:21Romero started this round with a greater energy level
00:43:24than in rounds 5 and 6,
00:43:26and landed the big right hand he saw earlier.
00:43:29That's another good right-hand shot to the body by Romero.
00:43:31But Bungu has gotten back on the scoreboard
00:43:34in the last 30 seconds or so of the round,
00:43:36landing some jabs,
00:43:37and now that sneaking right hand over the top.
00:43:39That's what you want to do to a young fighter like Romero.
00:43:42Every now and then, make him respect you.
00:43:45If he ever decides to unload his real power
00:43:47on this young man,
00:43:49you're going to see Bungu hit the canvas.
00:43:51Right now, for some reason,
00:43:52he's trying to conserve his energy.
00:43:54No holding, no holding.
00:43:56No holding, no holding.
00:43:58Bungu, a fighter who's never been knocked out.
00:44:04But Romero is the kind of puncher who's knocked out guys
00:44:07who haven't been knocked out.
00:44:08That's right, because he's landing good right hands
00:44:10right underneath that left jab of Bungu
00:44:12that makes him hesitant about throwing that jab.
00:44:16Nice and clean. Watch your head.
00:44:19Good.
00:44:20Good left hook to the body.
00:44:22That's what you want your young fighter to do.
00:44:24Don't stand back and respect this veteran too much.
00:44:27Take over.
00:44:33Little sharp right hand inside of a bunk by Bungu,
00:44:36but only after Romero had landed a three-punch combination.
00:44:39Harder!
00:44:43Romero is the kind of fighter
00:44:45who's never been knocked out.
00:44:49Romero stepped it up just as well.
00:44:52You got to step it up on him, huh,
00:44:53with those combinations.
00:44:54You got to step up the combinations.
00:44:55Okay.
00:44:56You got to step up the combinations.
00:44:57Just slowing down.
00:44:58Okay?
00:44:59Okay.
00:45:00You got to keep it up with him.
00:45:01Don't get wide, man, because you had him going.
00:45:03When you throw those combinations and he steps back,
00:45:06just keep stepping in on him, huh?
00:45:08Okay, he's starting to slow down.
00:45:10Okay.
00:45:11I feel him now.
00:45:13Don't let him get ahead on points.
00:45:15Okay.
00:45:16That's what he's trying to do.
00:45:17Okay.
00:45:18Okay.
00:45:19With combos, combos, combos, combos.
00:45:22Side to side on him, huh?
00:45:23Okay.
00:45:24Side to side.
00:45:25Okay.
00:45:26Here you see some very good work by both fighters,
00:45:28but particularly Romero.
00:45:30Good shot to the body, sets it up with a right hand.
00:45:34Okay, set it up!
00:45:36All right, let's clear the corner.
00:45:38Clear the corner. Let's go, let's go, let's go.
00:45:41Get out!
00:45:42Get out!
00:45:43Let's go!
00:45:45Two good two-punch combinations, body and head.
00:45:49And in round 7, Romero seemed to reverse the momentum,
00:45:53certainly in terms of CompuBox numbers he did.
00:45:55He landed 34 of 69 punches in that last round.
00:45:59You can see that Harold Gladerman agrees
00:46:01that Romero won the 7th.
00:46:04Trauma building.
00:46:06Bunga wanted to keep his title.
00:46:07He better get aggressive.
00:46:08He better stay aggressive for the next few rounds.
00:46:11Sitting back, waiting for this guy is not gonna work.
00:46:16He seemed to think, I'm gonna duck first,
00:46:18and then I'm gonna throw a punch.
00:46:21You gotta throw a punch and then duck.
00:46:25Fighting out of what amounts to a crouch...
00:46:32gives Danny a chance to punch down at him,
00:46:34and Romero has enjoyed throwing the right hand over the top
00:46:37to take advantage of this angle.
00:46:41Bunga throws good combinations,
00:46:43but he just doesn't seem to throw them
00:46:44with the intent of doing harm.
00:46:47You gotta mean it.
00:46:53Romero committing to the body shots, as you can see.
00:46:56He's committing to the power also.
00:46:58He's trying to hurt someone.
00:47:01Good idea.
00:47:02And Bunga will do the same thing.
00:47:04Throw the shot, hey, I want to take you out with this.
00:47:11Keep my weight, all right?
00:47:14Good combination by Romero.
00:47:15He stood right in the...
00:47:17Found the target with the left hook.
00:47:19Stayed right on his pivot.
00:47:21And you can see Bunga reaching and hitting air
00:47:24as Romero backs up at just the right moment.
00:47:27So Danny Romero, who had such a good rhythm
00:47:29in the first three rounds,
00:47:30seems to have found it again now in rounds 7 and 8.
00:47:34Stop wrestling in here. Let's step back.
00:47:37No holding on this.
00:47:38You see?
00:47:40You gotta have a swift corner man to tell a referee
00:47:42to keep his hand off your fighter's chest.
00:47:45You push a guy over and over, round after round,
00:47:47it's like a punch in his chest.
00:47:52Romero so far ignoring referee Rudy Bassett,
00:47:55keeping his attention focused on Biyani Bunga.
00:47:58Yeah, that's up to your corner.
00:47:59Your corner's supposed to do this.
00:48:01Bunga lands a left and a right inside,
00:48:04but his punches don't have the same snap,
00:48:08the same heavy power that Danny Romero
00:48:10has been able to bring to his.
00:48:13Bunga was trying to load up every now and then,
00:48:15but not with the intent.
00:48:22Don't hold him. Don't hold him.
00:48:24Johnny Tapia, it seems,
00:48:26is a much more difficult opponent for Romero
00:48:28because of his quicker movement in and out
00:48:32and quicker hands.
00:48:37You gotta burn him.
00:48:40Keep going. Keep going.
00:48:42Don't hold him.
00:48:43Break, man.
00:48:44Let's go.
00:48:48Still to come,
00:48:49the pocket rocket Wayne McCullough,
00:48:53an Ulster Protestant, born in Belfast,
00:48:57now lives in Las Vegas,
00:48:59won a silver medal fighting for the nation of Ireland,
00:49:03Northern Ireland, I should say,
00:49:05at the 1992 Olympic Games.
00:49:08♪
00:49:14And there is his wife, Cheryl,
00:49:16who is also his manager,
00:49:18and their daughter, born seven months ago,
00:49:22March of this year.
00:49:24We mentioned both McCullough and his opponent tonight,
00:49:27Prince Naseem Ahmed, have become fathers this year.
00:49:30♪
00:49:32We got him, Warren. We lived it.
00:49:33The daughter stands up well to the new challenge, I'd say.
00:49:37Okay, I'm fine.
00:49:39That's a much better round, that's the way it ought to be.
00:49:42Let's go.
00:49:46Round 9.
00:49:48Round 9 of a scheduled 12th
00:49:51World Junior Featherweight Championship fight.
00:49:53Titleist Biyani Bungu in the blue trunks
00:49:55against challenger Danny Romero in the gold.
00:49:58Romero's colors of gold and red
00:50:00from the state flag of his beloved New Mexico.
00:50:03Bungu is starting to get aggressive now,
00:50:06so that means Romero can land some better shots.
00:50:11Suddenly, Bungu comes out in the night
00:50:13firing from all angles.
00:50:16Bungu is desperate.
00:50:17So Romero gets a look
00:50:20and looks for opportunities to measure the man.
00:50:23Danny still concentrating on the body,
00:50:25where plausible to do so,
00:50:27has landed a lot of solid rights and left to the body.
00:50:30Let him go. Let him go. You're holding him, Eddie.
00:50:31Step back. Step back.
00:50:41Get off him.
00:50:45In your day, George, did referees comment
00:50:48as much about what was going on?
00:50:50This referee is doing a terrible job of agitating Romero.
00:50:54He's doing a terrible job.
00:50:55He reaches out with his hand.
00:50:56He tell him, don't hold.
00:50:58Whenever he's, I don't know why,
00:51:01but this is a terrible job.
00:51:02Watch the head. Watch the head.
00:51:04Now he can't even bob and weave.
00:51:06Watch the head.
00:51:07Well, I think he's giving fair warning to both fighters
00:51:10because they're both coming in to watch their heads.
00:51:14You see how long his hand is on Romero's chest?
00:51:17Stays there for a while.
00:51:18You watch these things.
00:51:20I've been there, done that.
00:51:23Referee Rudy battle.
00:51:26Third man in the ring.
00:51:29And the noise you hear from the crowd,
00:51:31that's the Prince Naseem Hamed cheering section.
00:51:34They're just making noise to get themselves
00:51:36ready for what comes next.
00:51:43Bungu should be getting aggressive.
00:51:46He's waiting around. He's going to lose his title.
00:51:48Step back. Step back.
00:51:49And you saw Danny Romero chase Bungu into the ropes
00:51:52and then unload the right hand.
00:51:53Nice and clean. No hold. No hold.
00:51:56Get off. Get off. Get off.
00:51:58No hold. No hold.
00:51:59Good uppercut by Bungu.
00:52:02Romero landed a left hook.
00:52:04Larry Merchant mentioned in the last round,
00:52:07Romero had a lot more difficulty
00:52:08or seemed to have more difficulty
00:52:10fighting against Johnny Tapia.
00:52:12Tapia, in a more upright stance,
00:52:15was able to see Danny better and moved quicker
00:52:18to angles at which Danny couldn't effectively attack him.
00:52:20Bungu tends to stay right in front of Romero,
00:52:23which is a big help to Danny.
00:52:25But Bungu lands a hard punch there,
00:52:27and he wouldn't land those kinds of hard shots
00:52:30if he weren't standing in there to do it.
00:52:45Oh! Nice. Nice.
00:52:49That a way to work, baby. That a way to work.
00:52:52That's a good one.
00:52:53105th.
00:52:55Okay?
00:52:56That's a good one.
00:52:57Three-round fight.
00:52:58Okay? That's a beautiful.
00:53:00That's a beautiful.
00:53:01We want the same thing again.
00:53:02Keep punching fast.
00:53:03See how you're busting him up over there?
00:53:04And then close range, he cannot do anything, okay?
00:53:06Deep breath. Deep breath.
00:53:07You've got to give him all over.
00:53:08Whether you're closing in,
00:53:09putting him outside.
00:53:10Give him water. Okay?
00:53:11Deep breath.
00:53:12Give him water. Give him water.
00:53:14Take a breath.
00:53:16Watch the hand that you have.
00:53:17Step in all the time. Step in.
00:53:19Early in the round,
00:53:20Bungu set the pace for the round
00:53:22Sharp, heavy right hand.
00:53:25Don't turn around too much and not punch him.
00:53:26Looks like he won that round.
00:53:28He's trying to tighten you up.
00:53:29He is.
00:53:31Yeah.
00:53:32Come on. He's coming on.
00:53:33Okay.
00:53:37Okay. Second round.
00:53:39Clear the corners.
00:53:40Clear the corners. Let's go.
00:53:42Let's go. Let's go.
00:53:43So, Danny Romero goes past the ninth round
00:53:45for the sixth time in his career.
00:53:48Liany Bungu goes past the ninth round
00:53:50for the 19th time in his career.
00:53:53Bungu having won 17 of the 18 times
00:53:55he's gone this far.
00:53:57Romero, four for five.
00:54:00In round nine, Danny Romero's punch output
00:54:03dropped to 62 punches.
00:54:04He's been throwing more than 80 per round.
00:54:08Harold Lederman, how do you have it through nine?
00:54:10Jim, six rounds to three.
00:54:1287-84, Danny Romero.
00:54:15Jim, it's just a matter of what you like,
00:54:17power or speed.
00:54:18And so far, I like Danny Romero's power.
00:54:20Just as you called it, Liany Bungu
00:54:22right in front of Danny Romero all night,
00:54:24fighting Danny Romero's fight,
00:54:26not giving him any angles.
00:54:27When Danny Romero opens up, he wins every round.
00:54:31I must say, I'm a little surprised
00:54:33at how solid and strong Romero looks at this weight,
00:54:37having fought most of his fights at 115
00:54:41and even at 112 pounds.
00:54:43All right, break out. Stop punching.
00:54:44Stop punching. Step back.
00:54:47Makes you wonder if Romero didn't do himself a disservice,
00:54:51lingering as long as he did at the lower weight class
00:54:54to finally get the meeting against his hometown rival,
00:54:58Johnny Tapia, also of Albuquerque.
00:55:00So many people in Albuquerque
00:55:01and, indeed, the whole state of New Mexico
00:55:04wanted the fight to take place.
00:55:05Maybe it was a little bit unnatural for Romero
00:55:08to be trying to fight him at that weight
00:55:10at that time in his career.
00:55:17Bungu should gamble just a little bit now,
00:55:19just wait in there for a round or two
00:55:24and try to hurt Romero.
00:55:25I think it's time to point out that of the three officials,
00:55:29one is from the three judges.
00:55:31One is from South Africa.
00:55:33One, I believe, is from Albuquerque,
00:55:35and one is from New Jersey.
00:55:37The New Jersey judge may decide who wins this fight.
00:55:42You think he's the swing vote.
00:55:43Yeah. Don't hold him. Don't hold him.
00:55:44All right, break. Let him go.
00:55:46Stop punching him. Stop punching him.
00:55:48Come around. Come around.
00:55:50Get off him.
00:55:51Come on. Come on.
00:55:52Come on. Come on.
00:55:53Come on. Come on.
00:55:54Step right. Come on now.
00:55:55Come on.
00:55:57You say that Bungu has to take chances, George.
00:56:00Yeah, he's got to gamble a little bit.
00:56:01You just can't let a guy come in
00:56:02and just steal your title like that.
00:56:04And how difficult is it for a guy
00:56:06who has succeeded through 11 consecutive title defenses
00:56:09to be convinced that he's in trouble at this stage?
00:56:11Yeah, it's gonna be rough.
00:56:12Well, not only that, but can...
00:56:14Hold up. Hold up.
00:56:15Can he win those defenses defensively?
00:56:17Mm-hmm.
00:56:18Keep it clean.
00:56:19Come on. Come on.
00:56:21Come on.
00:56:22Come on.
00:56:23Come on.
00:56:24Come on.
00:56:25Get off him.
00:56:26Bungu doing nothing in particular
00:56:27to increase the rhythm in round number 10.
00:56:29Let him go. Let him go.
00:56:30After he had a good round in the ninth,
00:56:32he seems to have receded just a little bit in the tenth,
00:56:35and Danny Romero, with the luxury once again
00:56:38of being selected in this round.
00:56:40No hitting on the break.
00:56:41Step back. Step back.
00:56:46Winner!
00:56:47Ten rounds in the books.
00:56:48Turn to HBO on November 17
00:56:50for the next edition of Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
00:56:53Among the stories to be featured,
00:56:55a look back at the 1958 NFL championship game
00:56:57between the Colts and the Giants
00:56:59and its sudden death impact on professional football,
00:57:02a candid interview with John Daly,
00:57:04and the story of obsession, perseverance, pain, and victory
00:57:08about the athletes who compete
00:57:10in 100-mile ultramarathon foot races.
00:57:13Real Sports, where nothing is out of bounds.
00:57:16♪♪
00:57:18Okay? Okay.
00:57:20How do you feel?
00:57:22Take a deep breath. Deep breath.
00:57:25He's trying to block everything.
00:57:26I know.
00:57:27Come on.
00:57:28Come on.
00:57:29He's trying to block everything,
00:57:30but, Danny, you got to make sure
00:57:32that you're throwing those combinations at him, huh?
00:57:34Okay.
00:57:35Don't limit yourself to one shot.
00:57:36You're not going to knock him to the bar.
00:57:38Five seconds out!
00:57:40Let's go, seconds.
00:57:41Let's go big on this one.
00:57:42How do you feel?
00:57:42Let's go, big on this one.
00:57:44Let's go. Clear the ring.
00:57:45Stay back.
00:57:46Romero looks pretty fresh
00:57:47after 10 rounds to me, George.
00:57:489-11. Nice and clean.
00:57:49He's respected, though.
00:57:50Watch your hands in there.
00:57:51Watch your hands.
00:57:52Watch your hands.
00:57:53Stayed back and conservative, kept some respect.
00:57:57Maybe he was convinced that he can't knock him out.
00:58:04Quick little right inside for Bungu.
00:58:06In the last round, Bungu's punch output dropped to 68.
00:58:09Romero threw 91 as he stepped up the energy level.
00:58:12It's been a seesaw battle in terms of punch stat numbers
00:58:16and the energy output of each fighter from round to round.
00:58:21Early rounds belong to Romero.
00:58:22The referee tells Romero,
00:58:24don't hold until he steps back and the guy hits him.
00:58:26Nice and clean. Nice and clean.
00:58:28You really have it in for this referee.
00:58:30I have it in for any referee that bugs boxers, George.
00:58:35You've got to be able to go 5, 10 rounds,
00:58:38see how hard it is,
00:58:39and then have someone coaching on the side
00:58:41telling you what you can't do before you do it.
00:58:42All right, that's a legitimate
00:58:45inside-the-ring point of view.
00:58:47You've been there.
00:58:48And there's no way you can train
00:58:49for some foolishness like that.
00:58:50I said nice and clean.
00:58:52I said nice and clean.
00:58:55What would he tell Joe Frazier?
00:58:57Yeah, who cares what he thinks if it's nice and clean?
00:59:04Can you imagine someone telling a Philadelphia fighter,
00:59:07watch your head for 10 rounds?
00:59:08Get off him.
00:59:09All right, break. Let him go.
00:59:10Stop punching him, man.
00:59:11Step back. Step back. Step back.
00:59:17Nice and clean.
00:59:22What you're saying is, what if he wants to be rough?
00:59:25This is a rough sport.
00:59:26This is a rough sport.
00:59:27This isn't anything that you can just say,
00:59:29step back and nice and clean.
00:59:31Yeah, quarterback, go out for the touchdown.
00:59:34He's thrusting out there.
00:59:36He's thrusting.
00:59:37Now, when Bungu throws a shot,
00:59:39he doesn't tell him to be nice and clean.
00:59:44Round 11 of what has become a tactical boxing match
00:59:48between Duyani Bungu and Danny Romero.
00:59:51Now, Romero is starting to sit there a little,
00:59:54standing in one spot, catching a few shots himself.
00:59:58All right, break.
00:59:59Here I am. Let him go. Step back.
01:00:01Now, Bungu, get back in there. Don't wait.
01:00:03Come on, Bungu.
01:00:04Let's go, Ralph.
01:00:05Hard game. Hard game.
01:00:06Nice and clean.
01:00:08Come on, Bungu. Come on, Bungu.
01:00:10That's it. That's it. Nice and clean.
01:00:16I mean, when you start screaming nice and clean,
01:00:18that means you're trying to tell a guy which kind of fight
01:00:20he can fight in this ring.
01:00:22All right, let's go.
01:00:23Let's go. Let's go.
01:00:26Doesn't benefit Romero to be boxing.
01:00:34Danny Romero is staying right with the champion.
01:00:38Sharp right hand by Romero.
01:00:41Bungu left himself open for it,
01:00:44and Romero punctuates round 11
01:00:47with a couple of combinations.
01:00:48Not much landed, but, again,
01:00:50the difference in energy level visible there.
01:00:55Last round. Last round.
01:00:59Give him the towel, man.
01:01:02Last round.
01:01:04Give him water. Give him water.
01:01:06Finish with that hook, huh?
01:01:08And keep him straight down the middle.
01:01:10That jab is boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,
01:01:12boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
01:01:13Okay.
01:01:14He's gonna come out hard, Danny.
01:01:15He's gonna come out hard.
01:01:16Okay.
01:01:17And 10, and give him an uppercut and right hook every time.
01:01:21And give him an uppercut and right hook every time.
01:01:24Give him uppercut and step in all the time.
01:01:27Okay, give him water.
01:01:29Come on. He's been working.
01:01:30Come on. Come on.
01:01:32He's gonna come out hard, huh?
01:01:33He's gonna come out.
01:01:34Nothing lazy. Nothing lazy.
01:01:36Come on.
01:01:3710-0.
01:01:39You're gonna win this round.
01:01:41You're gonna win two times.
01:01:46So, now, 12 of Iyani Bungu's last 13 fights
01:01:51have gone into the 12th round,
01:01:5411 of the preceding 12 having gone
01:01:56the entire 12-round distance.
01:02:00And no indication that this one is gonna do anything
01:02:03but finish out and go to the scorecards.
01:02:09Bungu has been there before,
01:02:10so he realizes that this round could be very important.
01:02:14Romero better not try to coast.
01:02:16Bungu begins the 30 seconds,
01:02:18the first 30 seconds of round 12
01:02:19with another of his energy bursts,
01:02:22firing 3-and-4 punch combinations
01:02:24and taking the initiative away from Danny.
01:02:26As the last round begins,
01:02:27right hand lands flush for Bungu.
01:02:29Misses with that one.
01:02:31Romero on the defensive now.
01:02:44Romero got a left hook in.
01:02:46Bungu is aggressive enough.
01:02:48He can steal a few rounds from you, like...
01:02:51Yeah, but he doesn't have a few rounds, George.
01:02:54He's got this round.
01:02:56Well, I don't care how far you think you are ahead.
01:02:59It's always a good idea to come out and win the last round.
01:03:03And right now, it is Bungu who's doing it,
01:03:05and Danny is not.
01:03:06That's true.
01:03:07Absolutely, and he's the champion,
01:03:08and he might have gotten the benefit of the doubt
01:03:10in some of those early, close rounds
01:03:13that we gave to Romero.
01:03:19So the first minute and a half of the 12th round
01:03:22definitely belonged to Vianney Bungu.
01:03:25And indeed, if the scoring is close,
01:03:28not out of the question at all,
01:03:30that can turn out to be a big factor.
01:03:33You've got a champion who's gone a distance a few times,
01:03:36pulled out these victories,
01:03:37so the judges judge him according to what he's done.
01:03:40They're nodding.
01:03:41The judges at this moment are nodding and saying,
01:03:44yep, the champion knows what to do.
01:03:46You've got to take a title from the champion.
01:03:48You just can't sit there.
01:03:49Good right hand by Romero in that exchange.
01:03:56If I were Danny Romero's trainer,
01:03:58I'd be screaming at him to throw combinations right now.
01:04:01Well, as soon as he starts following the referee,
01:04:03tells him to keep it clean.
01:04:06Well, this is 12 hard rounds,
01:04:08and you can't do everything you want to do.
01:04:10Very intense.
01:04:12Not high in drama,
01:04:14except to all of the people
01:04:16directly and emotionally involved.
01:04:19And Bungu is a very solid fighter.
01:04:22No matter what you do to him, he comes right back.
01:04:24He gets in position and try to get you
01:04:26and pay you back for it.
01:04:27Well, life has landed harder punches on Bungu
01:04:30than any fighter ever will.
01:04:32So to him, it's just a matter of sticking with his daily work.
01:04:35This is all about the fight.
01:04:37To him, it's just a matter of sticking with his daily work.
01:04:40This is all he does.
01:04:41He boxes. He stays in the gym.
01:04:43He's held his title for a long time,
01:04:45and he came here planning to keep it.
01:04:47Danny Romero had other ideas.
01:04:49We'll find out in a moment how the judges saw it.
01:04:57I thought Romero won the fight,
01:05:00but there is room for disagreement.
01:05:03I thought Romero won the fight,
01:05:05but I'd be disappointed if I were in his corner
01:05:07that he didn't close the deal.
01:05:09Yeah, he was fighting for a title,
01:05:11and he coasted a few rounds when he should have been aggressive
01:05:14to try to hold something back as though he had tomorrow.
01:05:17Harold Lederman, what's your final scorecard look like?
01:05:20I also agree. I thought Danny Romero won the fight.
01:05:23115, 113, seven rounds to five, Danny Romero.
01:05:28Bungu won those last two rounds, Jim,
01:05:30because he was in better condition.
01:05:32He just kept throwing punches, backing Danny up.
01:05:34Danny looked like a guy that was out of gas after the night,
01:05:36so certainly Bungu did win 11 and 12,
01:05:39but he ran out of rounds, couldn't keep up,
01:05:41couldn't catch up, rather.
01:05:43So Romero still had seven rounds in the back.
01:05:45Romero should get this decision.
01:05:47Incidentally, you can't tell a referee to shut up.
01:05:49To the best of my knowledge,
01:05:51there's no rules against noisy referees,
01:05:53so Romero was stuck with them. That's it.
01:05:57There should be a rule against coaching referees.
01:06:01When you rule the world, George, and someday you will.
01:06:05I'd have that Rudy Babble in my house.
01:06:07That referee, he wouldn't be allowed to have cheese on his burger.
01:06:12Just the burger, though.
01:06:14You wouldn't make him eat a veggie burger?
01:06:16Oh, no, he's not that cruel.
01:06:31I'd be surprised if we didn't have a split decision.
01:06:34Yeah, it would go to the champion, then, wouldn't you think?
01:06:39No idea, George.
01:06:43Whatever happens, Danny Romero
01:06:46gave everything he had and gave a good account of himself.
01:06:49Michael Buffer's got the numbers. Let's go.
01:06:51Ladies and gentlemen, by way of Valley Parkway's Atlantic City,
01:06:54we go to the scorecards.
01:06:57John Riley scores the belt.
01:07:00114 to 114.
01:07:03He has it even.
01:07:07Lulani Mittaya scores the belt.
01:07:09117 to 112.
01:07:12James Ashe scores it.
01:07:14115 to 114
01:07:17for the winner by majority decision
01:07:20and still IBF junior featherweight champion of the world,
01:07:24the Carousel Kid,
01:07:27Lulani Mungu.
01:07:33A dejected Danny Romero
01:07:36walks around the ring, wonders what he,
01:07:39what more he could have done.
01:07:42Some of us are wondering the same thing.
01:07:49And we'll take a look at the final punch stat numbers,
01:07:52and you can see that by CompuBox,
01:07:55by CompuBox numbers, Romero landed more punches.
01:07:59Mungu threw more.
01:08:01Romero landing at a higher statistical rate.
01:08:04One scorecard was even.
01:08:06One scorecard had a one-point margin in favor of Mungu.
01:08:10I can't help but look back
01:08:12at those 11th and 12th rounds
01:08:14and wonder what might have been
01:08:16for Danny Romero.
01:08:20So Vianney Mungu successfully defends
01:08:23his world championship at 122 pounds
01:08:26for the 12th time, and Danny Romero misses
01:08:29a big opportunity to try to get into
01:08:32the Prince Nassim Hamed sweepstakes.
01:08:35That's where the money is.
01:08:37That's where the action is at 126 pounds
01:08:40and the surrounding weight classes of 122 and 130.
01:08:44And one of the elements, of course,
01:08:46which has made Prince Nassim the marketing lynchpin
01:08:49for all three of those weight classes
01:08:52is the outrageous and incomparable ring entrance.
01:08:55Right now, we look back at the genesis
01:08:58of the one element of the Prince's game
01:09:00for which you either love or hate.