Ivan Calderon vs. Felipe Rivas & Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. vs. Robert Leyva RBR

Round 8

Melendez keeps sticking the jab in Mitchell's face, working it until Mitchell grinds up against him and renders it useless by his proximity. At that point Melendez just trades slaps to the back of the head for Mitchell's furious but starch-free pounding at his hips. Mitchell tries to get a high jab going, flicking it up at the taller man in pestering fashion but not getting much behind it. Melendez just shells up and blocks all of Mitchell's ponderous power shots, but is walked back to a corner. Slapping right to the flank by Mitchell while trying to hold Melendez still with his left arm curled around the Puerto Rican's waist. Another spanking with the right. Another. Mitchell is talking **** in his ear and they need to be separated by the referee.

That could have been a Mitchell comeback round. :think

10-9 Mitchell

77-75 Melendez

 

That is the Boxrec diagnosis, to be sure. :yep

I don't know how true either statement is, really. Mitchell's pressure (and body work) was bothering him early, more than his power or Jorge's own whiskers. He also hasn't really had Mitchell quaking in his boots from any one blow in particular - when he has him in trouble it's from multiples.

 

Round 9

Mitchell manages to get some precious time moving forward, and Melendez slips on the canvas but regains his balance. Mitchell gallantly lets him recover instead of running in to bang him with a cheap shot, and they nod respectfully at one another. Mitchell stays glued to Melendez but struggles to let his hands go, using all his strength to just push Melendez back toward the corner but getting hit with long lashes of the porcupine tail to his own body. Melendez badly misses an overhand right and folds himself over in half but Mitchell is too slow to punish him for it and just flops against him, both trading taps to the body.

10-9 Melendez

87-84 Melendez

 

Melendez turned four years old a month before Mitchell turned professional.

 

Round 10

Slugfest! Both men let it hang out, and it favors Mitchell as he sledgehammers Melendez to the corner and hooks lefts and rights at him with abandon! Melendez tries to curl his arms in on crooked elbow and work them like pulleys with short punches to blind Mitchell and open an escape route. Mitchell keeps slamming with hard rights over the top! Left hook to the body! Mitchell is really going for it. They holds, and Mitchell twists Melendez's left arm in a painful lock between both gloves. Melendez throws an uppercut backing away but has little left on his shots now, mainly trying to just extricate himself from Mitchell's grasp and stay away from his wild power.

10-9 Mitchell

96-94 Melendez

 

Both men are lifted up to straddle the shoulders of their respective corner men.

 

If the 42 year old has indeed lost and this is indeed his swansong, he gave one hell of an effort to remember him by in his last outing (and especially his last round).

He couldn't quite muster a full 10x3 of fighting hard every second, but who at his age can? Even Holyfield doesn't represent himself this well anymore.

 

Interesting. :think

Obviously it was close on my card, but I didn't think many of the rounds where Melendez took control and out-boxed his man were too negotiable.

He definitely got a stiffer test than he may have been expecting.

 

UD!

Scores:

96-94 x 3 for Jorge Melendez.

See, I had it right.