Julio Cesar Borboa vs Carlos Manuel Mercado
August 21, 1993

BORBOA IN SECOND TITLE DEFENSE

The champion, in his mind, has already fought the battle in defense of his junior bantamweight title. He will circle his flatfooted opponent throwing punches from all angles. The jabs and hooks will come first. Then, as his opponent stalks him, the champion will wait for the challenger to drop his left before unleashing his powerful overhand right to the unprotected head.

In the end, Julio Cesar Borboa's hand will be raised in victory for the third time as a world champion. The challenger has been turned back either by a late round knockout or unanimous decision.

That's how Borboa, a native of Mexico, won the title in January when he knocked out Robert Quiroga in the 12th round in Quiroga's hometown of San Antonio, Texas. That's how he defended it in May when he scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Joel Luna Zarate in Zarate's hometown of Mexico City. And that's how Borboa intends to defend it against Carlos Manuel Mercado on Aug. 21 in Kalispell, Montana.

TODD FOSTER, NOW A SOLID WELTERWEIGHT, PREPARES FOR SHOT AT WORLD TITLE

"The "Kid" from Montana is back in town and he's gunning for a world title.

...This has been a good year for the 1988 Olympian who has scored three straight knockouts in a barnsotorming tour of Montana-from his old high school gym in Great Falls, where he was a standout athete, to Lewistown and Dillon where cowboys who had never seen a prize fight before, watched the "Kid" methodically destroy his opponents.

Now in Kalispell, just six days before his 26th birthday, Foster must face Mike Grable, an up-and-coming contender from Detroit, before his dream of fighting for a world title is realized.

...If 1993 is the year that Foster would fight for a title; 1992 was a year of utopian joy and bitter disappointment.

After a streak of wins against crafty veteran contenders and even a former world champion, Foster was pitted in February against the cunning former Lightweight Champion Jimmy Paul who had the notches of several world class fighters etched on his well-worn gloves. It was a fight under the bright lights of an Atlantic City casino. It was a fight televised on the prestigious pay-per-view TVKO network. It was a fight, up to that point in his career of Todd Foster's life. The "Kid" from Montana, with a 20-0 record, was on the brink of the throne.

As fans gathered around television sets throughout Montana, Foster traded Paul punch for punch until the fourth round when a sneaky right hand found its mark and put the Montanan on the canvas. Foster got up, recovered from the blow and went on to win the fifth round on all three scorecards. But in the sixth, tragedy struck again as Paul's head crashed against Foster's skull, opening a nast cut over the eye. Bleeding badly as the cut opened wider from a left hook and unable to see his opponent clearly, Foster still fought gamely before the fight was stopped in the seventh round. Even so, Foster was ahead on at least one judge's scorecard when the stoppage occurred.

"THE BULLDOG" BULLS HIS WAY TOWARD KING OF THE FLYWEIGHTS

Olson, who has compiled a 25-1 record since turning pro in 1990, is known as "The Bulldog" because of his warlike attacks on opponents. At five feet tall and 112 pounds, he resembles a human windmill as he wades into battle.

Olson said he now is working on what he describes as "aggressive defense."

"That's still being aggressive but being defensive minded on the way in," he said with a laugh.

And although "The Bulldog" is looking forward to fighting in Kalispell on the undercard of the Julio Cesar Borboa-Carlos Manuel Mercado junior bantamweight world title fight, Olson has one reservation.

"It's too bad I'm not fighting Borboa," he said.

A former Olympian, Olson lost to the current junior flyweight world champion Michael Carbajal, in the quarterfinals of the 1988 Olympic Games. His amateur career over and at loose ends, Olson returned from the glory of the Olympics to his hometown of Edmonton, Canada, where he sold vacuum cleaners and pondered his future.

"I didn't have the Olympic Gold Medal around my neck," he recalls. "So I didn't konw whether to go back to school or turn pro."

His decision to to join the money ranks led to a string of 23 straight victories, 18 by knockout, and has placed him at the foot of the flyweight throne. The Bulldog's only setback came last December when he dropped a 12-round decision to Jose Zepada in what turned out to be a war for Zepada's United States Boxing Association flyweight belt. Besides losing a close decision, Olson broke a hand in two places, forcing a six-month unpaid vacation.

But this year, Olson has roared back, wading his way to two straight knockout wins which have earned him a number three world ranking.

Olson's supreme confidence is boosted by his support crew, which he dubbs "Team Bulldog." He is managed by Bruce "Mouse" Strauss, a colorful former boxer whose claim to pugilistic fame is that he has been knocked out on six continents....Olson's trainer for major fights is Richie Sandoval, who held the world bantamweight title from 1984-86 and finished his career with a 29-1 record...."