the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Young Corbett III W10 Jackie Fields

Speaking of ring smarts, this is a really clever performance from Corbett over the hugely underrated Fields. Up close Corbett is holding, looks stronger and just about matches Fields for rough-housing. But at distance it's a superb performance. Corbett gives ground in tiny incriments, bringing Fields forwards predominantly onto his southpaw left, in the beggining as a shot to the body, an uppercut, a straight, whatever. Meanwhile he's forcing Fields to think twice about his straight punches (although he counters beautifully on occasion). When Fields has success it is generally because Corbett has come forwards - in other words because Corbett has failed to stick to his plan. Both men, though, are very keen that the other shouldn't be allowed to work while remaining aggressive. This leads to very many "frantic" exchanges where speed and positioning are at a premium, especially at mid-range. Very few jabs are thrown.

By the third, Corbett's punches are like smashes, fast, hard blows. Fields is equal to them of course, but they are impressive to me, worth throwing and landing even when they are half-scoring. They are also mostly head-shots now with the occasional pawing jab tagged onto the front.

The seventh went to Fields on teh referee's scorecards - not sure how given the leather Corbett feeds him on occasion, darting hard punches of his head and less flush ones too - but Fields does do well in the infighting and in generally pushing aggressively onto Corbett's position. I also thought he won the eighth, which the referee had even. Corbett does look tired though. Suddenly there is a lot of wrestling as opposed to some.

So I have this a bit of a hiding. The referee had it 6-3-1. Pity the first fight is nowhere to be seen - Corbett was even more dominant in that one.

CORBETT:1,3,4,5,6,7,8,10
FIELDS:2,9,

 

Roberto Duran UD15 Ray Leonard

Duran looks like a ****ing lunatic. Leonard looks so cool entering the ring. Leonard comes out flat-footed, kinda, but showing the shoulder, feinting, maintaining range. When Duran feints, Leoanrd goes out. When he rushes, Leonard gives ground. His priority early is slipping. Duran, crouching, right hand ****ed. Then Leonard throws and Duran leans in and slips. Beautiful cuffing punches inside from Leonard on the counter to Duran's rush. Leonard looks mean. They both look really mean. Leonard slips bodily then counters again; Duran is dominating the space, barely but Leonard is definitely contesting that.

High level squabbling about time and space in the first. This is going to be a long post.

Duran scores a left-right when charging in. He's waiting for Leonard to show a slight commitment to balance on one foot or the other then charging and scoring. He's being forced, by Leonard's excellence, to overcommit but it's kinda working because his instincts are so wonderful. Now Duran jabs and a weird, up-left-hook and Leonard is running for the ropes and holding on. Duran jabbing Leonard back, bodywork, this is ATG boxing. Uppercuts inside, the referee is unsure. Fabulous round of boxing for us geeks, maybe unparalleled.

Duran beats the **** out of Leonard's body in the third. The wonderment of properly captured aggression. Leonard is giving ground before the Duran jab. Why? He is boxing aggressively, supposedly, the wrong plan, but he gives ground before the jab - he should be jabbing with Duran. It's hard, though, when Duran is catching Leonard over the top with punches like the ones he throws in this round. Then, more love for the ribs at the ropes. Leonard is doing work, two-handed, but he can't get on top in there. Duran is too good at timing and finding his man in there although I think Duran was momentarily hurt near the end of this round. Then again in the final seconds. Absurd, brilliant final minute.

Leonard scores with a nice left hook early, Duran looks a bit tired. Leonard takes advantage, pushing and pulling a bit inside, shoe-shining to the body with the occasional dig before opening up with very fast hard shots. I have them even after five.

Important sixth then. Duran diving in, Leonard dipping and giving the shoulder. Leonard might have found range with his left hook, even among the mess, he scores a beauty to the body, his best body punch of the fight. Duran is trying for his full reach then closing the distance quickly, jabbing then coming all the way in on the timed charge. Then they exchange up close. This is where the fight is. I can see why this pan makes fistic sense given each man's best weight but Jesus. It's Leonard though that times his attacks in this round. He's almost as smart as Duran in that regard, in timing his attacks based upon where his opponent is in terms of his transience across the ring. This is a Leonard round, narrowly.

Great counter-left hook Leoanard when Duran comes square across his punch. Duran feints inside with Leonard on the ropes but Leonard looks ready to tie him up. The tide has turned tactically at this point. Can Duran now out-monster him? He is dominating the space, mostly, but in the eighth Leonard lands two sizzling uppercuts inside early. That's concerning for Duran - if Leonard has the left hook in on the outside and the uppercut in close, what's his plan? He's feinting forwards and now Leonard gets caught over the tip with a punch while continuing to slip the Duran right with that little move forwards. Duran hits to the body, Leonard lands punches upstairs, agh, on the bell, Duran lands good punches...i can't split them.

I have them even after eight so 9 and 10 are going to be huge if someone can bag both. Duran has shortened up his punching in the ninth and it's serving him, plus, right hands to the side or uppercuts to the pit are serving him inside. Leonard is being dominated for the first time. In the tenth, Leonard lands two good punches early but he looks ragged. Are those puncehs going to hold the round for him? He catches Duran a left to the ear, too, and another with the right as Duran stooped...Leonard is finding the quality despite the shifting fortunes and Duran being more cohesive but a hard bodyshot evens things up a bit...another...thirty seconds left - Leonard surges but misses, they exchange to the body, Leonard wins the exchange - and they're even again, **** me.

I have it a five round fight for all the marbles.

Both tired; both landing very decen tshots. Duran's aggression is keeping him abreast of Leonard's stirring surges. Leonard lands a cracking left hook but Duran is always pushing him back. His best blows are lacking the vigour but they keep coming and Leonard can't quite summon the energy to take advantage of his over-working. Duran edges it on the cuffing stuff. Amazing to see Duran surge back when Leonard tries to steal rounds. Seconds matter.

Two of the best jabs in history and neither is throwing it much, but Duran uses it here, just to inch forwards, just to put Leonard back. They exchange cannon shots. I'll be god-damend though if Leonard doesn't land the harder punches here, even to the body. Even round

Right hand tot he heart, left hook to the ear sets Duran up nicely for the thirteenth. He's s****ing the occasional point with the jab, too. He's doing a good job of slipping Leonard's too. Wonderful counter-left hook from Duran as Leonard goes to the body. This is a Duran round at the half-way mark. Head to head ring-centre. They swap right-hand leads. Leonard hurts Duran at the bell but the damage is done - Leonard needs 14 and 15 to win the fight on my card.

He gets off to a good start in the fourteenth, a sharp left hook upstairs but Duran returns the favour about a minute in. These guys are so perfectly matched that it comes down to who lands the best punches, often. Duran looks arm-weary, Leonard looks tired. You can actually see Leonard summoning the will to punch now. Uppercut right hand is going to steal this for Leonard, some bodyshots to close the deal. I have it all on the fifteenth.

Leonard waves him in. Crazy man. Quiet start though. Leoanrd steps across him and lands a wide slinging right hand that never would have landed in round one. Duran feints him back but can't quite close after that. Leonard lands another slingshot right. This is headed for a draw on my card. Duran is awm-weary. Leoanrd is landing good slingshot blows. He's trying for the knockout I think.

DURAN:2,3,7,9,11,13,
LEONARD:1,5,6,10,14,15
EVEN:4,8,12

 

Well it's so easy to be true with boxing; just score the rounds.

New York Times had it to Leonard 144-142.

The judges had it 145-144, 148-147 and 146-144.

There's no way to argue this fight anything but extremely close. You're right though, I probably wouldn't bother to post this scorecard in the forum. It's safe in here but. The animals, they don't actually watch fights

 

Roberto Duran UD 10 Carlos Palomino

Reasonable differences in size for Palomino and the real litmus test for Duran in 147lbs. Commentary describes Duran's left jab has "shaken" Palomino but I think it's the virtual threat of the right that does it. The way he ****s it is hideous. He's boxing respectfully here though. But any right handed feint and Palomino is off back. Duran, a little sluggish, Palomino, good feet.

First round is a good example of why it's so hard to fight Duran. Snapping punches inside, horrible one-two at distance while out-reached....what the **** do you do with this guy?

Man, Duran is just feinting Palomino in knots with that right hand. Palomino just spends the second worrying about that right hand. Duran switches beautifully from a jab outside to an uppercut inside. Whe Palomino pins Duran to the ropes, Duran just beats him up. Weaving punches through the needle.

The third, Duran uses a right hand feint to open up a left-hook to the body. This is like a spar for Duran right now. Top forty welterweight all-time and this former lightweight is tearing him up for ****paper. Palomino lands a good right hand though on twenty second remaining.

Palomino lands a jab but Duran counters with an upppercut, right-handed, all the way from the outside. He's just got such great functional speed based upon instinct and balance. Palomino looks like he means business though. Still vulnerable to that right-handed feint though. I think Palomino probably nicks this round though. Well done.

Duran wins the fifth with two steaming right hands, confirming all of Palomino's worst fears and at the beggining of the sixth he gets dropped with that same punch. Duran looks like a cavalry mopping up a routed infantry for most of the rest of the round as Palomino starts to bleed from the right eye and the left ear. "Duran is a fight within itself" as Leonard so eloquently put it. Yeah, he's a welterweight now alright. Palomino now needs a KO on my card. Three punch KO on the bell is the right idea for him.

Seventh round is wonderful, one of the great surgical rounds. Duran performs his surgery right-handed and it's special enough to overcome Palomino's gumption and bravery in continuing to try to tag his vastly superior opponent.

Eighth: Duran gets hit, tilts back and to his left, a position that should be considered off-balance and lands with a right-uppercut. He just finds Palomino too often with hard shots to ever really be in danger of losing this fight despite Palomino's determined efforts. Palomino has a granite chin.

Right hands in will in the ninth. Duran is a spiteful ******* in the ring. It's still not one-sided, Palomino is too organised, tough and determined but he's not winning these rounds. I gave him the fourth but nobody in commentary agreed (one voice had him even).

Astonishing performance.

DURAN:1,2,3,5,6*,7,8,9,10
PALOMINO:4,

*Palomino dropped

 

Donald Curry UD12 Marlon Starling

Two of the very best welterweights of their era meeting early doors; the kind of fights we don't see enough these days I suppose. Both unbeaten, Curry has only fourteen fights under his belt, Marlon Starling is more experienced than that at 25-0. Starling very much the crowd favourite.

Curry's very light on his feet. There's a sort of "unbounded" feel to his style, he doesn't feel nailed to the canvas in the normal sense. Starling does OK up close though, trying to snip with the uppercut. Curry has no problem with his being there. Tactically it is well balanced, Starling taking the first with those snippy inside punches, but giving up the second to Curry's left despite good pressure. The third follows the pattern of the second. The fourth is more like the first, but Curry does enough when stepping out and finding combos in conjunction with a decent body attack inside to take the round. Curry is very good at looking just a bit better than good opponents and this is a fine example of that. He's not dominating, just better.

Starling probably poaches the sixth though, after being outboxed for most of it but finding two good punches; one for the body, one for the head. The right hand upstairs brought blood from Curry's lip. Curry blood. It lifts off a bit in the sixth, Curry is stung I think. Curry's straight punches and a right hand to the body from Curry versus uppercuts and pressure from Starling. I wish Starling would throw more jabs. Curry's quickness is a real boon. He does well dipping out of trouble, using his feet to make himself unavailable. His jab and that mobility in combination make him unavailable for almost the entirety of round seven. I think Curry probably poached the eighth on aggression, pressure and those nasty little shots inside. Curry makes an argument at bell though.

Starling's sort of stopped doing anything bar following by the end of the tenth. Curry has out-manuevered him. Curry is out-hitting him. Left and move, left and move and Starling doesn't have an antidote. He's just pinwheeling while Curry moves on him. Looks a bit lost.

CURRY:2,3,4,6,7,9,10,12
STARLING:1,5,8,11

Interesting that Ray Leonard had this for Starling. Very clear win for Curry i'd suggest and not a very good fight because of it; sort of a routine type win IMO. Maybe the rematch will be better.

 

Donald Curry UD15 Marlon Starling

Starling looks better to me here. He's absolutely composed, no nonsense, and taking his opportunities to punch one at a time, no rapidfire to the elbows and gloves. Curry has a problem to solve here. Starling has marked out a little triangle on Curry's chest where he throws short uppercuts when they come together. Curry gets wise to them but some are slipping through...meanwhile Curry is getting his left hand operated and trying to dial in his own body shots. Bit quicker, bit more heavy-handed. It's so hard to fight a guy who is just a bit better than you in so many departments.

Starling does the first really good work in the fourth, landing a left-hook and tying on some other punches behind it. Other than that they are swapping sneak uppercuts, Curry is doing more work, Curry is faster and you can see why Curry beat him twice.

Curry puts Starling on the end of a searching jab when Starling moves and Curry just about out-touches him up close. Very unpleasent for Starling although he hasn't really been hurt yet. Still, I see daylight between them after six and Curry again just gives that impression of "betterness" - I almost feel I don't have to pay attention to score the fight.

Starling's best bet is to move, try hard to stay away, he should have tossed in more feints, then really pick his spots as Curry stalks. He just gets beaten to the punch marginally too often to win head-to-head. 6-3 after nine. It doesn't sound like a huge lead in a fifteen round fight, but if Curry wins the tenth he's all but home.

Curry is so fast late. He really holds his speed and precision. He really only loses the eleventh by getting careless; one more round leaves Starling needing a KO on my card and Starling bags it in the twelfth. A lot of close rounds, but they are close and clear. How to score one for Starling, really? I have a feeling it won't be hard to find people who call this close, but to me it's a very clear and impressive 11-4 win for Curry. I enjoyed the fight a good deal, way better than the first.

CURRY:2,3,5,6,7,9,10,12,13,14,
STARLING:1,4,8,11,