the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Paul Williams MD12 Erislandy Lara

Williams re-hydrated to 170lbs for this fight. Crazy. 6'1 and 170lbs.

Anyway, this is perhaps the most controversial fight of the decade. All three judges were suspended in its wake, essentially for being idiots.

Both quick - Lara straight in and out, trailing southpaw straight to the body is good, torso and gut. Out-squabbles him early too. Williams has a better second but I think Lara just edges him in another squabble where he tilts him back with a straight combination after bringing pressure. Jab was hurtful lin a reverse one-two. All of this looks a bit unreal given how Williams looks so much bigger, but Lara has those quick feet, good hands. Lara can't miss at the moment, but Williams has claimed ring-centre. Williams looks like he might be ready to get into this with his effort in the fourth, he did well, starting to find the range in these squabbles; and again in the fifth, he outworks Lara. Williams has some blood around his left eye, Lara has an abrasion on the side of his face, a knot, both injuries probably the result of head clashes. Huge sixth coming up. And I think Williams grabs it with the volume. All square after six, it'll be interesting to see what happens in the second half of this fight.

Lara still can't miss though is the thing. He is scoring and scoring. They've landed similar amounts of punches, but Williams has to throw so many more to get there. Worse for him, Lara has marshalled his distance for the seventh, showing his distance, and looking for the left hand from outside, the punch that he's identified, rightly, as the Williams Achillies heel.

Williams is so weird looking when he's being beaten. Why is he fighting inside? It worked for him on so many occasions and when it goes wrong he looks so ridiculous. After nine I have Williams needing a KD to win. Roy Jones, by the eleventh (actually his best round since the eighth), is horrified by the beating Williams is taking. He is getting hit hard and often with the left hand. It's grim, but a little overstated by the HBO commentary team IMO. Still, Lara takes the eleventh and his Paul's face is bloody.

I have it 117-111 for Lara, but I thought the third and eighth were close enough that they could have gone either way - so I could see 115-113 Lara as a best case for Williams. So I can see Judge Bennett's 114-114. But Givens 116-114 for Williams is utterly inexpcliable and Whitaker's 115-114 Williams is bemusing at best. I've seen worse, but Lara is the clear winner here.

117-111 Lara.

Williams:4,5,6.
Lara:1,2,3,7,8,9,10,11,12.

Williams has guts, I'll say that for him, he never gave up. But Lara was robbed here.

 

Erislandy Lara UD12 Austin Trout

Lots of southpaws. Oh Jesus Christ, Amir Khan is in commentary. Why, why, why, why, why. Anyway, Trout is trying to creep forwards and jab, Lara is testing his speed against Trout's defence; that's the absolute key, that second. Trout nicks round 1 but I don't like the way he's creeping in. Crowd booing these two southpaw slicksters. Who'd have thought it? Trout is the aggressor now, such as it is, perhaps having identified that he's the slower. This is so tepid that it might be to Trout's benefit in very close rounds.

Lara steps it up in four. He's found his man i'd say. Trout establishes a jab to the gut in the second half of the round though, tbf, so he's still thinking. 1-2 too good though.

Khan on Lara: "That's part of his defence as a defensive boxer, in a way."

I can't decide if Trout is throwing fewer jabs or landing fewer jabs, but his jab isn't working for him. He gets it working a bit in the sixth and probably takes a close one.

Khan on Lara: "Cubans have soft bodies."

Trout maybe edges round nine? But loses ten through twelve including the eleventh where he lands a gorgeous left hand to fold Trout like a deckchair. Some excitement! This pretty much ends Trout's resistance though.

Lara:2,3,4,5,7,8,10,11*,12
Trout:1,6,9.

*Trout down

117-110 Lara.

 

Canelo Alvarez SD12 Erislandy Lara

Bright start from Lara; he's taking no chances here, boxing at distance, circling, finds his back with the ropes, moves out, scoring successfully with the jab and the trailing punch to the body - that said, around 80 seconds, Alvarez looks like he's gone looking for and at least momentarily tracked down Lara. Lara clearly wins the first. Faster hands, faster feet. Canelo is marching him down though - he's not that far away. Sharp right hand sends an ill-balanced Lara back like he was hurt; he was Ok though, Lara comes right back at him and is still moving wonderfully well. Right now, Alvarez is landing one to take two, as the old cliche would have it. But I think he lands three hurtful punches in this round and is untroubled in return. I think Alvarez wins the second.

He lands nearly nothing in the third though; Lara sort of takes it because he's boxing. Then, the reverse in the fourth; I think Alvarez hurts Lara with a left hook to the body, then cuts of the ring on Lara to land two more body punches and Lara's guard is down. He's been hurt and Alvarez is in control for this round. Or maybe not - maybe he hasn't bene hurt. Maybe he knows he probably can't win the round having been hit with all those body punches so he rests. But either way, he does nothing, clear Alvarez round. All been clear rounds actually, which is refreshing after what I've been watching recently.

Lara comes back hard at the beginning of the fifth and actually makes Alvarez look a bit silly; now you have Lara's headwork combination punching against Alvarez's heavy shots to the body. And they do look heavy. This is an almost impossible round to score. I'll give it to Lara based upon defence and generalship. But it's as even a round as I've seen tbh.

Canelo's abandonment of the jab was just remarked upon in commentary and it's true. He's looking for single power punches during his very competent stalk. Lara retreats throughout the sixth after an early squabble; probably Alvarez takes his turn to shade a very close round. Lara maybe looking to frustrate Alvarez? But Alvarez has great temperament. He's also making a very good fight against a very talented fighter. This is good. I think he took the eighth as well you know. I've given him six, seven and eight all close and arguable now. Spoke too soon on the clear rounds. These rounds are now insanely close. I have Canelo up 5-3.

I gave Alvarez the ninth and Lara the tenth, it's Lara's best round since the third. So I have him hanging on by a thread - 11th and 12th required for a draw. It's another very very close round, once again, it's an even round really...once again I think i'm going to give this even round to Lara. Again, generalship, defence probably the differences. Lara's combos and footwork as impressive as Canelo's harder bodypunching. So this boils down to the twelfth and final round. Canelo ftw, Lara for the draw.

Pfffft. Twelfth is an even round too, this is no help. I'll give it to Canelo. Brought impressive urgency and pressure that probably justifies him taking a shade. First four rounds clear, two each, 10th round was clear for Lara to me, every other round close and difficult to score. If I scored the even rounds even, Alvarez wins. Alvarez wins anyway for me, 115-113. 115-113 the other way would be fine too.

Lara:1,3,5,10,11,
Alvarez:2,4,6,7,8,9,12.

Good, tough fight.

 

Jarrett Hurd SD12 Erislandy Lara

Hurd, a nightmare for boxers. Lara, very much a boxer but a tough one. He clearly doesn't respect Hurd at all at bell, repeatedly walking up to him and hitting him with a two-piece. Hurd looks legit mong next to Lara; he's fallen over twice in the first two rounds, his idea of "establishing the jab" is just literally holding it out there a bit and then rushing. Or not bothering - walking up glove high until he feels his man then looking for a body shot. The thing is though - Lara doesn't like it. He's already held a couple of times. He's clearly won the second barring KD as early as 80 seconds remaining, but there's something in the mail.

It lands on the doormat in the very next round. Lara still throwing the prettier punches, but he doesn't like this. Whenever he moves, Hurd is just there, immediately, ready to go. SO Lara is moving less. So this is very good. Hurd takes the third on the aggression and volume. Lara lands the best punch of the round though.

Lara just sort of punches over Hurd in the beginning of the fourth , and Hurd lifts his arm into his throat and face, it's a hard fight this. Hurd has just banged a double right hand across his bows that would have shifted a ship; Hurd will win just on activity. Still Lara is landing the best punches. Hurd just looks so big.

Lara regroups a bit in the fifth, he's still fighting rather than running, but he's doing it in increments, going away steadily, seeing what Hurd brings, trying to keep him under control with the straight. I think it works and he takes the round. The sixth is much more difficult to score. Hurd the aggressor, Lara lands the better shots, but fewer. I think Hurd just nicks it on the aggression. The rounds have become hard to score now, and a little hellish.

Beginning of the eighth, Hurd squares up and starts throwing reverse jabs, echoing the disrespect Lara showed in the first. Hurd can mix it when he chooses to do so, left hook to the body, straight right to the head, that's hard. In the main he is winning eight by way of aggression and volume, awful for an older fighter like Lara. So 4-4 after eight. Big, big ninth, one of those awful key rounds where the loser will struggle to win the fight.

Hurd is straight up odd. Standing sideways inside and throwing right uppercuts over and over while barking. Lara's problem is he's old and tired and wants to hold and hide inside and guess what, that's where Hurd's brute strength and raw aggression pay most dividends. He's not a fantastic advertisement as a divisional number one but it is very affective. Lara whips him around in the final minute though to make it 5-5. TBD.

Lara i clearly going to keep it in the pocket for the championship rounds. Fair play. He tattoos Hurd early. But when his tide goes out, what is waiting? But it doesn't quiet go out. Superb round from Lara. I fear he's all in, and the last thirty seconds, he lost, but he won that round clean. Hurd, almost inevitably, drops Lara in the final round to win the fight. But what a round. And what heart on Lara, the old man is crazy. Still ranked you know. One left hook the difference.

Wondeful fight.

114-113 Hurd.

I will say this: Lara would have caned Hurd back in the day.

Hurd:3,4,6,8,9,12*
Lara:1,2,5,7,10,11

*Lara down.

 

Jermall Charlo UD12 Austin Trout

Jermall's first southpaw. Let's see how the more talented of the two Charlo brothers does with a still spritely Trout.

Pretty good in all honesty. He's sparred many rounds with Lara by all accounts and that doesn't make a dummy out of you when you take on a southpaw. He's showing good economy of movement, careful punching, arguably waiting just a little too long given Trout's proclivities but he has the better jab and he's winning the battle of the jabs. Lead right hurts Trout in the third and the veteran is in trouble on the cards. Starts looking to the body a bit in the fourth, it's interesting seeing his point of view in the ring, looking fo the uppercut off the jab. Not a lot of fear the boy. But I think - maybe - Trout just about outlands him in this round. There's something desperate and lunging about it, but he gets there, jab to the body especially. Important round for Trout to win, keeps him in touching distance.

Very good, very tense fifth, they swap hard punches, Jermall coming forward and throwing more punches, getting hit more in return. Trout remains as game as ever. Great round of boxing, i'm sad to give it to Jermall. I guess that means I like Trout the better of the two, i didn't actually know that. Jermall jabs, times his way in on Trout in the sixth, too, a round that was in the balance, swarming him to the body as Trout tried to dip and slip, finally pinned in the corner. He lands his own great shot with fifteen seconds remaining, but it's not quite enough.

Trout puts Jermall on the end of his straight left a little bit in the seventh; he's winning the round but a huge right hand delivers the round for Jermall in the dying seconds. This could be an interesting second half to the fight.

That left bags a close eighth for Trout. But he gets hit big right at the end of this round too to make it very arguable. Christ Jermall is fast with that punch. Trout's right eye is bad.

Trout's getting mobile, establishing his jab, rolling the dice on a more expansive shot sometimes; it has Jermall mentally off balance. I think Trout wins the tenth, too, in a turn-about round where Trout, surprisingly, lands the flashier stuff. Now, Trout has won 8, 9 and 10 on the spin; he needs 11 and 12 both for the draw on my card. Surely not?

Well he's won the eleventh close. He's just got Jermall thinking, hard. But the young man always seems to land a punch at the bell to make it debatable. Another close that could have gone either way but I've seen it for Trou. He is the fighter that has changed the fight here, he's the one that has taken control, moving Jermall off, making him reset here and there. He looks quite clumsy sometimes as Trout gives him the swerve, meanwhile the straight left has materialised.

Wow, he won the twelfth. He lost the last minute, but he won the first two. Sensational second half from Trout. Jermall probably deserves the nod - he could have won the fourth and eighth and possibly eleventh.

114-114.

Really interesting, absorbing stuff. New gen winning these fights by the proverbial hair - gives weigh to the last gen prime for prime. What a fascinating decade.

Jermall:1,2,3,5,6,7.
Trout:4,8,9,10,11,12.