the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

So annoying. Fortunately I have the power to rescue it!

 

Gary Russell UD12 Joe Diaz

Gary Russell takes on the longer, taller, undefeated Joe Diaz in the third defence of his strap but the first one that mattered to me, certainly. Russell comes in wearing an absolutely mad looking Pharaoh outfit he looks mental. It's just a really cheap looking headdress. You'd think there never was a Mike Tyson, the way people behave. He doesn't even take it off during his intro, either. Just walks about with it on like a mostly harmless day-release mental patient. He takes it off for the stare down at least. Christ.

Starts the fight well though - he is southpaw jabbing out the box, hard, slithgly up, fast, Diaz's slight reach advantage is for nought. Russell a fast man. Diaz, who is also a southpaw, lands the best punch of the round, a right hand to the body, but it's not enough. Wow, even more bizarre, that mask, I forgot about that mask - they have a mask they put on Russell between rounds, presumably for cooling the face and preventing swelling. Russell opens up in the second and he is oh-my-goodness type fast - faster than everyone inrecent divisional history but you-know-who i'll bet. Lands some hard straight punches too, but Diaz is not for going away and he makes his way into the pocket as Russell cools off and lands that body shot again, few punches upstairs. Very, very good second- great second round. Diaz wins the round on bodyshots. He lands plenty. Very good body punching.

The third round is, if anything, better, they both hit each other hard and often. Russell shows more variety, more up and down, probably slightly outlands his man but this is close, good fighting aside from some shortfalls in defence. Diaz probably evens it up in the fourth though, landing that prestigious right hook to the body. Russell outthrew him but a lot of his stuff was landing on the gloves I think. Diaz is a very rugged man for a baby-faced kid. He is just walking Russell down and down and that's the fight now, they're not taking turns or anything, it's Diaz pressure and power versus Russell's handspeed and feet. Diaz is bossing things when the close, Russell probably still nicking it at distance. But I have Diaz in a three-two lead after a close fifth punctuated by a double right-hook on the bell. Close fight, borderline great fight, close rounds.

What Russell has done in the sixth and seventh is tried to exact a big toll on Diaz for getting in. He knows what he's going to get when Diaz gets there and has stoically accepted it. Hard to just accept getting murdered to the body like that. Russell is using all his speed to look flashy, to land, while Diaz is coming in. I love both these guys man, this is just great stuff. Big eighth coming up. It's so often a key round. Russell round. He's got over the hill with that round. His attack rather than evade strategy has discouraged Diaz a bit and it's made Russell's life much, much easier. I'm not sure of the corner advice Russell has got - he's to keep the centre of the ring. Not sure about that. He's had success with landing combinations on the way back. He does kind of take that advice a bit in the first minute and it just keeps him very active, no bad thing maybe, but he does give way to the ropes again. Diaz is passive now. He's been placed under control by the counters to his pressure. It should be plain sailing now. First half was thrilling second half seems about to speak for Russell, loud and clear. I like the way he varies his levels; fights out of a crouch sometimes, maybe holds his hands high. It's nice.

Diaz actually stages a thrilling comeback in the tenth and eleventh. Russell had decided in the eleventh I think that the time had come to outfight his man, but he has to return to his original strategy after being fought to a standstill. Great round, great fight. Twelfth round, crazy.

RUSSELL:1,3,6,7,8,9,11.
DIAZ:2,4,5,10,12.

115-113

Official: 117-111x2, 115-113.