the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

You're right about Gatti, the Gamache debacle is unsettling but the rules in place allowed for that to happen, stupid as it is.

As to Paz, I'd actually be very interested to see your card for the first Haugen fight. The second one is a no-brainer as Haugen solidly whipped him but the first one was hotly disputed.

 

There's also something appealing about the Everyman who makes it big by means of his own grit. I don't really need every fighter to display ATG skills. At the end of the day we tune in for entertainment. He certainly gave more of that than most.

 

It’s an interesting topic. I do feel the dislike of Gatti is misplaced myself. Yes, he wasn’t an elite talent but he had incredible heart that can be admired at any level of the game.

 

Cool, Scar - glad you saw it and enjoyed it! I’m on a bit of a Gatti binge as you can probably tell. Watched Gatti-Ruelas this morning and have started on the first Robinson fight.

 

But this is a box-office business.

Lots of ‘great’ movies that the critics drool over do zip at the box office and most of those art-house films don’t pay the big bucks.

If a guy has AGT skills, he owes it to himself to display them in a fashion that puts butts in seats and entices viewers to watch or pay PPV money to see.

Attractions always make money because attractions generate money.

 

So Sal, I've got nothing on this weekend, so I thought I'd get right to it.

First of, thanks for the recommendation. This was a very good fight. All three judges had it 9-6 for Paz. I had it closer, here's my scorecard:

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10 : 9
9 : 10
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9 (49/46)
9 : 10
10 : 9
9 : 10
9 : 10
9 : 10 (95/95)
10 : 9
10 : 9
9 : 10
9 : 10
10 : 9 (

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)

Some of these rounds were really, really close. The ones I thought you could genuinely have go either way were rounds: two, nine, ten, eleven, and fifteen. I felt Haugen got the better of some of the closer rounds due to his jab and what appeared to be harder, cleaner punching.

I thought Vinny's speed and more importantly, higher workrate was a big factor early. Greg was trying to lead up too much, and following Vinny instead off cutting off the ring. Greg looked to turn the tables in the sixth but let the momentum go in the seventh. As Vinny tired, Greg's style seemed to work more and more. Paz had a strong round in the twelfth and nicked the fifteenth to get the win on my card, but Greg had it in the thirteenth and fourteenth. Despite having Vinny winning, I think a draw woulda been the best result here. No-one deserves to lose a fight this tough and this close.

I liked some of the stuff Paz was doing here. His little pivots and shuffles on the outside were really nice to watch, shame he'd needlessly switch stances so much. I also really liked the main combination he scored with in the mid rounds. He'd crouch, feint to the body and come up with a lead right, and sometimes he'd add a hook or a jab on it whilst pivoting off. Somewhat ironically, it's a little reminiscent of Roy Jones IMO. Haugen had some really good counters, especially as Vinny slowed/gassed. When he could maintain the distance to use it, his jab was very snappy. I liked how quickly he put together a short combo too, especially when Vinny was sloppily diving in.

I don't know if @scartissue, @Jel or @PhillyPhan69 have scored this one, but I'd be interested in their cards.

Great fight.

 

I honestly can't remember how I scored it, to be honest. I should get to that this weekend. Good fight though, for sure. We're still proud of Greg here. He's a kook.

 

I didn't like him. He looks like a kid I didn't like in school. Although he showed plenty of respect for Paz after this one was over, and didn't seem bitter about the decision, choosing to congratulate Vinney rather than complain.

Made me take to him, that. I thought he came off as a bit of a tosspot in the Whitaker fight, though.

 

Oh, he's an #$%hole, no question. But he's OUR $#% hole if that makes any sense. I went to school with a couple of his sisters. I always joke that I'd sooner fight him than them.

 

Frankie Liles v Tim Littles 2

Wild and crazy fight - not an aesthetic treat by any means with sloppy action, fouls and a bit of wrestling thrown in for good measure but it was still a lot of fun.

The hot-headed Littles hit Liles low, rabbit punched him and threw him to the mat but he also managed to knock him clean out of the ring at the start of the third. Liles did a bit of holding of his own to survive the follow up and then detonated a bomb of a hook on Littles' already-fragile chin to end the fight.

Oh yeah, and Littles was down once each in the first and second rounds as well. Bonkers.

1 10-8 (Littles down; Bell sounds to end the round a minute early! That saved a very early KO defeat for Littles)
2 10-7 (Blatant hitting behind the head from Littles, then he gets dropped again and the bell saves him again - at least it was a full 3 minutes this time)
(20-15)
3 Liles TKO Littles (Liles gets punched out of the ring, recovers and flattens Littles at the end of the third. No saving him this time)

 

Marlon Starling v Mark Breland II

I remember when Breland was an amateur and when he went pro they were rolling out the red carpet for him with - what I felt at the time was - preferential treatment. Anyways, I recall great satisfaction when Starling stopped him in their first go-round and saying to myself, "Welcome to the pros." When I heard they drew in the rematch I thought again they're giving Mark every benefit of the doubt. So now I finally get around to watching it and have restructured my opinion on this fight anyway.

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

Total: 115-115 Draw (actual scores: 116-113 Starling, 115-114 Breland and 114-114 for a Draw decision)

First of all, please don't waste your time with this fight. There were only flashes of substance and a whole lot of grappling. Secondly, I had no problem with the draw. No one really shone or took over in this fight. Early it looked like Starling could have taken out Breland whenever he wanted and maybe that was the worst that could happen because he allowed Breland to peck away at him and get into the fight. Starling, a brilliant counter-puncher, laid back and once he gave Breland some space it was jabs and combos from Mark, which put Starling in the uncomfortable role of aggressor to get inside. Again, a forgetful fight and the decision was just, because no one won it, least of all, the fans.