the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Duran vs Buchanan

Wow! This may just be the best performance not only by Duran but any great against a prime borderline great. This was a scintillating performance.

I generally like Don Dunphy and while better than most modern comment this may have been one of his poorer showings. He did call the fight fairly enough but his bias for Buchanan was evident all fight and between rounds he incessantly reminded us of Buchanan coming on strong late against Laguna...it was a bit overplayed.

Buchanan....wow I like him a lot but there is little to point to that he did with any measure of success. I guess he would outjab Duran early but Duran negated it quickly with his pressure, and none of them had any effect at all.

Duran what can you say about this performance? I guess while he was off balance about 3 different times and almost got dropped about a minute after he dropped Ken in round 1, and was caught out of position with lunging punches in the 10th and 11th, his balance and foot work/placement were outstanding. His aggression was much more controlled than his earlier fight without losing any of the intensity he brought. Great punch variety, neutralized Ken’s best weapon (only one in this fight lol) in his jab. Didn’t get caught with any telling punches, brilliant defensively, his accuracy was vastly improved without losing any punch volume... I almost laughed when Dunphy said in the 11th Buchanan is landing more numerically but Duran the harder....no Duran was landing harder and more. Duran’s right guard D was much improved and Ken had little success with anything including his vaunted jab.

I didn’t like the way the fight ended in previous viewings not this go around. I don’t think Duran should have been DQ’d as some say...both guys were swinging well after the bell, and the ref is on Duran’s back trying to halt him when he catches Ken low (or borderline) however I wished Ken had been allowed to finish although I don’t think the outcome would change....as champ i feel he deserved that much....oh well.

I guess the judges had it wide with Ken only taking 2-3 rounds on their cards and that seems fair. I think Ken nipped (and I mean nipped) 6 & 10 and I guess you could argue 4 & 9!towards Ken or even but man it is hard to find many rounds he was not just overwhelmed in.


RBR
1-5 Duran
6 Ken
7-9 Duran
10 Ken
11-13 Duran

Imo among the greatest performances in boxing history

 

JCC vs Rocky Lockridge

3 things Before looking at the fight The Fight Doctor is one of my least favorite commentators but he did a fairly decent job and I didn’t have to hit mute. The ref does a solid job and does not intervene a whole lot and there was very little clinching in this. He stays out of the view and out of the action. Good job
3rd the judges? Not sure if they were lazy or saw it closer than me? 2 of the judges scored 4 even rounds..with one only scoring rd 1 to Lockridge the 3rd judge scored a draw...no way is this fight a draw nor did Lockridge win only 1 rd? To me a 3-7 pt JCC win is a more accurate reflection of the fight.

Lockridge does not look very sharp...perhaps age and conditioning at this stage or perhaps JCC was just to much? but he does very little well in this fight. He wins the first on JCC being pretty inactive but even then there is no snap on his punches and he does not look crisp or sharp. He seemed all to content to fight at midrange and there was getting outjabbed and outboxed. In the 4th Duva is imploring him to fight inside....he forces the action by stalking but brings no real pressure and when he does his punches have little on them and he is losing inside and midrange.

JCC fought his best fight so far since I have started reviewing them. Interesting that he stated 2 things. 1 he was undertrained and only prepared for 22 days when the fight got canceled and then it was on again. 2 that he was having trouble at SFW getting to weight and felt he was losing a lot of power and speed to do so. Inspite of those 2 things he looked as good as I have seen him yet, and his skills have evolved and he is more multifaceted than given credit for.

JCC pretty much coasts through round 1 as is his norm and while he landed the 3 best shots of the round it would be hard to score it for him.

Things he did well- better jab than given credit for and he out jabbed Rocky over the first half, and while it was not a jab fest from 9 on he dictated the fight with his jab and his hook off of the jab was brutal. What he lacks in punch volume he makes up for in both accuracy and bad intentions on nearly every punch thrown. He did not string a lot of combinations together but consistently landed hard shots especially to the body. Over the final 4 rounds his out put increased and he strung together several combinations and his hand speed looked better than ever....perhaps improved or maybe Rocky was just slowed down by this point and had no power to really slow Chavez down anymore? Chavez’s defense is sharp and he got hit with very few clean shots, solid head movement and blocking with the gloves elbows inside. JCC fights great when backing up and back to the ropes he is top notch getting great leverage and again picking off most of Rocky’s punches.

Good combination of footwork and balance combined with head movement and defense he got hit clean very little when they got inside and his balance position was great anytime he did.

Mid range never gave him much credit for but he out jabbed Rocky by a good margin and hooked to the body so well off of it. Better boxing skills than given credit for, he is much more than a brawler.

Punch variety- jab, hooks, hooking off the jab, overhand right caught Rocky several times....but that uppercut scored over and over again..his uppercut both inside and from mid range is as good of one as you can find.

RBR
1 Lockridge
2 Chavez
3 Chavez
4 Chavez
5 Lockridge
6 Chavez
7 Chavez
8 Lockridge
9 Chavez
10 EVEN
11 Chavez
12 Chavez

Chavez 117-112 8-3-1

 

Here is a fight I have been trying to see for some time. The welterweight title fight between Carlos Palomino and Dave 'Boy' Green. Everytime I tried to see it there was a round missing here or there or it was highlights. Found it in its entirety on youtube. To begin, I don't believe this was scored under the 10 point must system. I think referee James Brimmell was the sole arbiter under British rules. But since I'm unsure, I will score it 10 point must.

Round 1: 10-9 Green
Round 2: 10-9 Green
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-10 Even
Round 5: 10-9 Green
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Green
Round 8: 10-9 Palomino
Round 9: 10-10 Even
Round 10: 10-9 Green
Round 11: Palomino scores a KO

Total through 10 completed rounds: 99-95 Green

If you like tough fights to score (which I do) this is a good one. I actually had 4 even rounds. Green slathers Palomino in thumping shots from beginning to end and although Palomino's workrate isn't up to Green's, he does nail Dave throughout with the sharper shots. Excellent fight.

 

Appreciate those thoughts on the fight....I am hoping to watch this and Palomino vs Armando Muniz II next week

 

Philly, I recall watching this back in the day and was a bit amazed as to Chavez fighting matador. Lockridge was that kind of a banger that he could push Chavez into that role. Here we go - 10 point must.

Round 1: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-9 Chavez
Round 4: 10-10 Even
Round 5: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 6: 10-9 Chavez
Round 7: 10-9 Chavez
Round 8: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 9: 10-9 Chavez
Round 10: 10-9 Chavez
Round 11: 10-9 Chavez
Round 12: 10-9 Chavez

Total: 117-113 Chavez

I had it even after 8 but then Chavez picked it up from 9-12. I thought Chavez fought brilliantly in the 9th, but Rocky was always there. In fact I came close to scoring the 11th even. Good fight and but for a couple of even rounds, you and I were right on the same page, Philly.

 

Salvador Sanchez vs. Ruben Castillo. Philly, I think I had it a draw in my head when I first saw this bout. But pen to paper, here we go.

Round 1: 10-9 Castillo
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-9 Castillo
Round 4: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 5: 10-10 Even
Round 6: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 7: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 8: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 9: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 10: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 11: 10-9 Castillo
Round 12: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 13: 10-9 Castillo
Round 14: 10-9 Sanchez
Round 15: 10-10 Even

Total: 146-142 Sanchez

Philly, we only really disagreed on rounds 9 and 11, which isn't bad on a tight fight like this. Sanchez was never the best against boxers. He really shone against sluggers whom he could counter-punch into knots. But despite boxers not being his wheelhouse, he was still too good for them and Castillo was a good one. Have you seen Castillo's bout with Arguello?

 

Yes but likely 5-8 years ago was my last viewing

 

I hadn't watched Sanchez in awhile, and really enjoyed the Gomez fight again. Salvador was like the The King of Cool and I honestly think he was more than on the road to greatness. He and Ayala (especially the former) were great tragedies to the sport.

The way Sanchez looked in that fight makes me think he might have ended up being that generation's Floyd Mayweather. In fact, iifr that goes for pretty much all of his fights.

Mightily impressed.

 

Julio Cesar Chavez vs Juan Laporte

Very fun fight! Not great but a very good fun fight. Not a blowout but not quite as close as another hideous commentary team who sucks at math they had 6 even rounds and a draw. That would mean if they deducted the point in rd 8 they couldn’t have a draw. They were terrible!

First Laporte deserves a lot of credit and sometimes he gets dismissed to easily. Not a great but a very good quality challenger!

Laporte does a lot good here. Good boxing skills, good chin, quick hands good footwork good infighting skills all behind a quality jab. He actually looks the stronger of the 2 (not harder puncher) early on and Chavez seems to adapt (perhaps planned and intentional perhaps due to in fight adjustment?) and avoid the infighting early on and rather captive from midrange digging to the body with hooks off of the jab. He does not engage in the infighting as much as his previous fights and uses the jabs very good as well as hooks and an occasional overhand right. He does not use his uppercut a lot in the first half. But as Laporte begins to slow down and lose some snap on his punches Chavez shifts inside and begins to score more frequently inside where Laporte was earlier during those exchanges.

The commentary seemed to think Chavez was landing more and Laporte the harder, I saw the opposite. Although Chavez May have landed more over the 2nd half.

Chavez while not his sharpest (he clearly looks ready to move up in weight), May have shown more adaptability and adjustments in this fight relying more on tactical skill and strategy than previously.

Chavez again starts slow, but faster than normal likely due to Laporte fighting at a fast pace during rd 1. Very close, but felt like Laporte was the more active. Rounds 2-5 Laporte seems stronger inside and while close does very well on those exchanges. Rather than mix it up frequently Chavez operates behind a solid jab (better than given credit for) as well as booking and digging to Laportes body to slow him down. Rd 6 Laporte backs Chavez up but Chavez is winning the exchanges especially back to the ropes. Not sure why more people think of him as a presser when he is very skilled backing up and back to the ropes. The commentary team seems to think Chavez is in danger and needs to get off the ropes, but he is throwing more, landing more, picking off and parrying Laportes shots and begins to work his uppercut with great effectiveness. Round 7 slows down into a more tactical battle behind 2 jabs. Laporte edges the round and the jab battle but Chavez seems to get some solid clean hard ones through snapping Laporte back. Chavez begins to increase his workrate while Laporte slows, Chavez gets a deduction for a low blow in 9....seemed harsh but no argument from him. Rounds 10-12 Laporte seems tired and turns more into a boxer moving circling and not engaging as much. During the 2nd half of 11 he does get more active and flurries quick and again they go toe to toe, and Laporte almost takes the round and May on some cards. Very good fight. The commentary cries about the 117-112 card but to me that was just about right! A 1-5 or Chavez win

RBR
1 Laporte
2 Chavez
3 Laporte
4 Chavez
5 Chavez
6 Chavez
7 Laporte
8 Chavez
9 Chavez (9-9 with the deduction)
10 Chavez
11 Chavez
12 Chavez

Chavez 116-111

 

Roberto Duran vs Esteban DeJesus II

Another very fun fight! Cossell sucks as a boxing analyst but he is always excitable lol.

Esteban is either not in as good of condition as the first fight or he punches himself out and gets fatigued or Duran’s inside combinations to the body wear him down or some combination of the 3.

Esteban takes advantage of Duran lowering his right and finding Duran again off balance drops him for a flash KD. He nearly does so again in the 2nd 5th and 8th...Duran does this again in the 10th but his balance is better and either Duran shakes it off like nothing or Esteban just has little power to his shots now.

Duran does a couple of sloppy things, but his overall skill chin toughness make it hard to exploit that. In multiple fights now he has issues with his right dropping it low and leaving himself open to counter lefts, and sometimes slow bringing it back. So far Esteban is the only one good enough to take advantage of it or exploit it. Ditto Duran’s foot placement and balance, where his aggression or movement leads him out of position and open to flash KD’s. He was not hurt by the left in rd 1 merely off center and Esteban used his momentum against him with a well timed and placed left. Again this happened in 2-5-8, but Duran was not hurt just off balance and did not go down. Interesting that Duran found himself fighting backwards and back to the ropes in 7-9. He did not look sharp in 7, but definitely looked sharper more accurate and crisper inside during 8 and clearly won those. During 9 Esteban forced him back briefly and scored nice, Duran is quality but not great backing up or back to the ropes. His punch volume is high, and what a motor. He does slow down in 5-6 and fight more from midrange. His midrange boxing skills are good but not great as Dejesus gets the better of the jabs and boxing. In 7 Duran again turns up the intensity and increases his volume as Dejesus slows down. By mid 9 Duran is being very patient and methodical in stalking but not overpressimg keeping his footwork clean working behind a solid jab, working the body and very accurate on his punches. In the 10th the writing is on the wall this won’t go 15. Duran very patient systematic and methodical stalking and cutting the ring off as Dejesus wants to circle and move rather than exchange. Dejesus is slow in his punching with wild looping hooks opening him up to more damage. In 11 Duran lands a nice right and his closing follow up is very patient. Dejesus chooses to stay down rather than absorb any more punishment. Good call!

RBR
1 Esteban 10-8
2 Draw
3 Roberto
4 Roberto
5 Draw
6 Esteban
7 Duran 10-8
8 Duran
9 Duran
10 Duran

11th rd KO Duran! Good fight and proves he is a smart patient finisher.

 

Roberto Duran vs “Guts” Ishimatsu Suzuki

Duran showcases his excellence! Guts is a game challenger who shows his nickname but is clearly outmatched and out of his league and in over his head.

Duran does little if anything wrong in this fight. He misses wildly in rd 2 slipping past guts off balance and open, but guts himself has stepped back and out of range and is not able to land. One slip in the aggressive finish of Duran leaves him open to catch a left hook but it does little damage.

Duran just overwhelmed Guts! He starts patiently in rd 1 out jabbing and boxing guts who wants to box but offensively is out of range and defensively getting overwhelmed by Duran inside. By rd 2 onward Duran’s feints are making guts flinch duck and move, and his offense is wild and out of range. By 3 Duran is baking guts up with the jab and then controlling inside. Working the body hard. In 4 guts gets 2 deductions for low blows, and it is a much slower but still wide Duran round 10-7.

For 8 rounds Duran continues outboxing and outjabbing Guts. Working inside off of the jab Duran is dominating every facet of the fight. Guts has a few nice sequences but not really any close rounds to even give a glimmer of hope. At the end of 8 Duran lands a solid overhand right, that wobbles guts but the bell rings before Roberto can follow up. The 9th is an onslaught with an aggressive Duran overwhelming Guts with volume who goes down 2 times more fatigue based. Personally the ref or his corner should have stopped it here. 10th more of the same....Duran volume overwhelms guts who goes down....at least 10 punches in a row and guts goes down again...another succession by Duran who drops guts with another barrage....finally the ref waves it off.

Guts earns his nickname but his guts were the best part of his fight.

Duran is pitching a shutout giving a systematic boxing performance and assault through 7 rounds...by 9 Guts has gone down twice and is getting overwhelmed. I understand he is a warrior and don’t expect him to quit, but the ref or his corner should protect him. There is little to gain from this continuing....he is 13 points behind on the cards and has no offense to show for it. His corner did a disservice to him and so did the ref.

Duran really impressed me with his patience. He has great power when he is more patient and less focused on volume, and his accuracy increased...but he also can just overwhelm with sheer volume and variety.

Great performance

RBR
Not needed
Duran 9-0 in rds with 4 & 9 being 10-7.

 

He was such a master. Back in the day I was at first unfamiliar with him but a fan of Leonard, so I grumbled some when Duran beat him that first time, proclaiming it a mini-robbery. All I had to do was watch it again to see that, indeed, Duran beat Leonard a little like Frazier beat Ali. It was a perfect example of what a malleable master Duran could be...stunning skills, Immortal.

 

Roberto Duran vs Ray Lampkin

I cannot say enough about Ray Lampkin (Duran too)! I know his name but have only watched him in this fight (twice), and no others. As his record implies he was not a great....but on this night he would be hell for any LW ever and over 12 rounds could hold his own against any great including Duran!

This is an exciting fight, that I won’t breakdown too much! It was fought in a phone booth and was a war of attrition. There are 6 rounds close enough to score either way. Both guys had moments and sequences even in the clearer rounds. Great infighting and defense on display from both guys. Duran just gradually wears him down and lands dynamite at the end!

This might be Duran’s toughest fight so far, and I think he is more at home here in a slugfest where toughness stamina and machismo rule the day. I think he thrives in other scenarios but I think this is him at his best even though it was close.

A great fight but can be a bit dirty from time to time. Lots of grappling clinching and throwing and falling to the ground from both guys!

Duran was great and won! But man what a performance from Lightning Ray Lampkin!!!!!

RBR
1 Duran
2 Lampkin
3 Lampkin
4 Lampkin
5 Duran
6 Duran
7 Lampkin
8 Lampkin
9 Duran
10 Lampkin
11 Duran
12 Duran
13 Duran

Great knock out by Duran to end Lampkins great effort!

 

Julio Cesar Chavez vs Edwin Rosario

This is Chavez at his brutal best, and while I know many don’t think so I believe he holds his own or beats any LW ever on this night.

A great small moves up to face a very good big, and utterly overwhelms him from start to finish.

The judges award 0 1 & 2 total rds for Rosario on their cards, I awarded round 4 but even that was close, rounds 1 & 9 were the only ones I saw close enough to not disagree if scored even or Rosario but the other 7 rds are clear Chavez.

Rosario looks the smaller man and Chavez larger and stronger. The only real moments of success Rosario has was in moving and circling landing a quick flicking jab, but in most cases he missed or had little on them and was quickly neutralized by Chavez’s pressure.

Chavez’s defense is off the charts good and his accuracy is spot on. In one rd Rosario throws 90 + punches and lands 30 (most of little substance) while Chavez is throwing 75 at a 70% land rate. The quick flurries and quick flicking jab were his only solid moments and they were few.

Chavez defense is very underrated. Inside he is picking off most of Rosario’s punches with gloves arms and shoulders while in mid range Chavez is a hard target to find. Jabbing behind a bob and weave, good hip and body movement, but his head movement and reflexes are special especially on this night.

Offensively he is great. Patiently stalking and effectively cutting off the ring minimizing Rasarios angles movement and escape routes. Methodically walks him to the ropes or corner behind a jab where he works a good blend of uppercuts and hooks to the body.

Chavez was great and this night he may have been at his greatest?

RBR
Not necessary I gave Chavez 9 rounds and Rosario the 4th....outside of the Cabrera fight which I am doing next... not sure why I went out of order, this is one of the few times I have seen where Chavez wins rd 1 instead of just feeling things out.

 

Julio Cesar Chavez vs Rudolfo Aguilar

Wow! Aguilar was a game challanger. I can’t help but think he would have been better served by waiting a year or 2 for this fight and having a slight step up in class prior to Chavez. Perhaps if he had already faced Ali and Fuentes prior to this he could have made things interesting. His team didn’t want to accept this fight after watching Chavez Rosario but Aguilar pushed the issue and the fight was made.

Aguilar is a tall lanky southpaw, with a nice quick jab, good mobility and movement and fast hands. For 4 rounds he is setting the tempo of the fight by throwing a lot more, but Chavez is setting the range and stalking Aguilar down and landing heavier shots more accurately. Lederman actually scores 2-4 for Aguilar saying he is landing more...but both the punch stats and the eye test paint a different picture. Aguilar is throwing more but only landing at just above 20% while Chavez is landing about 68% and with much more power.

Aguilar has fast hands but little power behind them, Chavez gradually wears him down.

RBR
1 Chavez KD 10-8
2 Even
3 Chavez
4 Aguilar
5 Chavez 49-46
6th Aguilar goes down and the towel comes in, all over

I don’t think Aguilar would ever beat a Chavez, but I feel like he took this to soon.