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Roufus and Goodridge Victorious In Superfight Action By Michael Afromowitz muaythaimes@aol.com In what was expected to be a contest filled with heroic action, the headlining "Battle at Bellagio III" Superfight between K-1 superstar Ray Sefo and American martial arts fighting star Marvin Eastman produced heart-throbbing, controversial warfare both during and after the bout that saw Sefo earn a controversial, first round technical knockout win. Six-time world kickboxing champion Rick "The Jet" Roufus and "Big Daddy" Gary Goodridge were victorious in their respective Superfight matchups. Eastman, whose role in the event was switched from that of tournament fighter to Superfight competitor after Sefo's originally scheduled opponent withdrew from the event earlier this week, did not hesitate to pursue Sefo from the outset of their matchup. Likewise, Sefo was willing to trade blows immediately and sent the 35-year-old Eastman reeling back with a right hook to the body in the opening seconds of the bout. After an exchange of punches left Sefo the worse for wear, the New Zealand native quickly retaliated with a roundhouse kick that caught Eastman and opened a cut around the area of his left eye. The ringside physician momentarily stopped the bout to examine the damage and, moments later, ordered the action to resume. Sefo immediately smothered Eastman and pinned him against the ropes. A barrage of punches from Sefo surprisingly prompted the referee to step in and call an end to the bout at the 1:32 mark of the opening round. Furious with what he thought was a premature stoppage, Eastman voiced his opinion to the referee and other officials who had stepped in the squared circle. Sefo approached Eastman and attempted to embrace him, but Eastman refused the gesture and insisted to the New Zealander that he wanted to continue fighting. Sefo smiled and waved Eastman on, after which, Eastman charged Sefo. A right hook from Sefo floored Eastman. Eastman stood up and, once again, attacked Sefo. An all-out scuffle between corners erupted and the Las Vegas police on hand for the event rushed into the ring to put a stop to the mayhem. During his first comeback fight since he initially announced his retirement last summer, Roufus was forced to try a host of different martial methods in an effort to defeat 6 foot 8 inch, 486-pound sumo wrestling legend Taro Akebono. From spinning sidekicks, to axe kicks, to spinning backfists, to overhand rights, Roufus pulled all of his tools to good use, but was unable to floor the giant specimen of man that stood in front of him. A point was deducted from Akebono on each of two occasions after he shoved Roufus to the ground. In the third and final scheduled round, Roufus was able to land at will both upstairs and downstairs on his tiring opponent. All three judges scored the bout in favor of Roufus. As expected, Goodridge charged forward from the outset of his matchup with two-time world kickboxing champion and undefeated professional boxer, Dewey "The Black Kobra" Cooper. Cooper, who suffered the loss of his father less than two weeks ago, delivered repeated roundhouse kicks to the thighs of Goodridge. During the final 10 seconds of the opening round, Cooper connected with a brilliant punch combination to Goodridge's head. Big Daddy responded by smiling at Cooper and lifting his hands above his head so that Cooper could continue to hit him until the round's closing bell sounded. The second round was highlighted by Cooper momentarily dropping to the canvas. Cooper immediately rose to his feet and insisted that the fall was the result of a slip, but the referee ruled it a knockdown and issued the fighter a count. Both fighters displayed sheer guts in the final round as they hunted one another down and traded blows in close quarters. After the final bell rang, Goodridge was awarded a unanimous judges' decision.
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