the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Glad you liked the Cuevas fight. I do think he gets poo-pooed a bit here undeservedly. He was no artist certainly, at least in a technical sense, but he was hugely entertaining and was a worthy champ.

As to Weaver, maybe the Carl Williams fight, where he professes to have baited Carl into coming into the ropes after him in order to land the hook, or a good effort in his loss to Pinklon Thomas. He was older there, but hung tough for a number of rounds.

The first Dokes fight is a chore, and exceedingly difficult to score.

 

Me too - I think it may have the highest proportion of genuinely great fights of any of the junior/super divisions (super feather maybe runs it close, though).

 

George, check out Cuevas' second fight with Angel Espada. I think you'll like it. Here is what I wrote when I scored it:

Pipino Cuevas - Angel Espada II

Round 1: 10-9 Cuevas
Round 2: 10-8 Cuevas (Cuevas scores a knockdown)
Round 3: 10-9 Cuevas
Round 4: 10-9 Espada
Round 5: 10-9 Cuevas
Round 6: 10-9 Espada
Round 7: 10-9 Cuevas
Round 8: 10-10 Even
Round 9: 10-10 Even
Round 10: 10-10 Even
Round 11: 10-9 Cuevas
Round 12: Espada could not answer the bell for the 12th round with a broken jaw

Total through 11 completed rounds - 108-103 Cuevas

Official scores were 106-104 Cuevas, 104-104 Even, 108-106 Espada. Don't know what fight that last official was watching but can't quite see that one, even by giving Angel the three even rounds. To begin, Espada really is a beautiful fighter to watch, but he was up against a force of nature in Cuevas. Cuevas will just plug away throwing bombs for however long the fight lasts and couldn't care less if he missed 4 if he could land one. The rounds I gave Espada he fought brilliantly using the ring and going in and out with beautiful counters. And some of those counters would have taken out a lesser man. Amazing that I had 3 consecutive rounds even but that was how the tide was rolling. By the 10th round, although I scored the 10th even, more from Espada preventing Cuevas from doing anything, one could see Espada was really coming apart at the seams and it was just a matter of time. Good fight for purists and for those who also like a bit of mayhem.

 

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Everyone loves Fletcher, I hope this fight is no exception to the rule with Fletcher's fights.

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9 : 10*
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9 (39/37)
10 : 9
9 : 10
10 : 9*
9 : 10 (77/75)
9 : 10
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9 (

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Fletcher's offence was non-stop. Braxton had a better defence and countered well but he was out-hustled and muscled in most rounds. Although the rounds he did win was mostly based of clean punches which did more damage. It was a really good fight, but probably my least favourite Fletcher fight I've seen. But man, Fletcher is such a hidden gem. The guy is in like 7 closet classics. His fights with Lee, Green, Jackson (both), Singletary, Scypion and NeSmith are great. I'm also sure there's a couple which aren't on YouTube.

Next up: Cuevas vs Espadas II

 

You know, I didn't realise it was third fight! Agree with everything you wrote about it, George.

 

Tim Witherspoon v Ray Mercer

Round 1: 10-9 Witherspoon
Round 2: 10-9 Witherspoon
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Mercer
Round 5: 10-9 Witherspoon
Round 6: 10-9 Mercer
Round 7: 10-9 Witherspoon
Round 8: 10-9 Mercer
Round 9: 10-9 Mercer
Round 10: 10-9 Mercer

Total: 96-95 Mercer (actual scores: 97-93 twice and 97-91 all for Mercer)

I felt Ray Mercer just simply outworked Witherspoon. Tim kept relying on his big overhand right as a game changer and he let the fight get away. The HBO crew and several of our posters went with Witherspoon, but I thought Mercer was a deserving winner.

 

Masao Oba v Orlando Amores

Excellent fight between Japanese legend Oba and the diminutive but dangerous Amores.

A slow start from Oba as he is down early in the first, but he recovers well to overwhelm the challenger. Wasn't sure about the ref's point deduction - it says on boxrec it was for butting but didn't look too flagrant. Also, although it probably would have been only a matter of time before Oba stopped Amores anyway, the ref seemed to wave this one off somewhat prematurely.

1 8-10 (Bad start for Oba as he is put down early by a left hook)
2 10-8 (Oba returns the favour and puts Amores down with a straight right)
3 10-8 (Ref takes a point from Amores)
4 9-10 (close)
(37-36)
5 Oba TKO Amores

 

Just watched the middleweight title fight between Reggie Johnson and John David Jackson. After two rounds I thought I was in for a long, dull stretch, but it began turning around in the 3rd and turned into a watchable fight that had its moments. Here we go.

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Jackson
Round 3: 10-9 Johnson
Round 4: 10-9 Johnson
Round 5: 10-10 Even
Round 6: 10-9 Jackson
Round 7: 10-8 Jackson (Reggie lost a point for a low blow)
Round 8: 10-9 Johnson
Round 9: 10-9 Johnson
Round 10: 10-10 Even
Round 11: 10-9 Johnson
Round 12: 10-9 Jackson

Total: 115-115 Draw (actual scores: 115-114, 115-114 and 115-113 all for Jackson)

When I first saw the result back in the day I had heard rumors that Johnson was robbed. But seeing it I have to admit it was very close. It was a toughie to score too because, although Reggie threw the more substantial punches, Jackson was working that pesky but effective southpaw jab with regularity. Johnson realized mid-way that he had to get inside if he was to pull this out. Jackson had height and reach on him and was really settling in to outbox Reggie. When Reggie turned it on inside he was really effective, but I will admit, it was damn close.

 

Victor Galindez v Yaqui Lopez 2

I think Lopez can consider himself extremely unlucky here not to finally rest a world title at his third time of asking. Galindez either showed remarkable calmness and patience or had confidence that the judges would see things his way (they all did). How not one judge picked Lopez is beyond me and a three point margin for Galindez is inexplicable (unless the judges were paid off).

Don't get me wrong, this wasn't an easy fight to score but I found it easier to score rounds to Lopez than to Galindez. If anything, my points tally could have been slightly wider for Yaqui than it ended up being. Lopez controlled the fight with his excellent jab, his main weapon, while Galindez seemed content to counter. When he did it, he did it well but there were rounds where he just seemed to be content to not throw that much. I expected Galindez's workrate to pick up in the championship rounds and it did somewhat but not in a way that suggested he was winning clear rounds.

I'd like to see the first fight but couldn't see it on YouTube (will have another look in a bit) because the scoring in that one was slightly closer but here at least I think Lopez won and Galindez got away with one.

1 9-10
2 10-10
3 9-10
4 9-10
5 10-9
6 10-9 (close)
7 10-9 (close)
8 9-10
9 9-10
10 9-10 (close)
11 9-10 (close, this is difficult to score)
12 10-9
13 10-10
14 10-9 (close)
15 10-9 (close)

Galindez 143-144 Lopez

 

I checked this out. A very tough fight to score. Galindez was laying back in counter-punching mode and Lopez primarily jabbed and occasionally mixed it, so you really have to watch this close because it's not the liveliest - not as good as their first fight anyway. But here you go.

Round 1: 10-9 Lopez
Round 2: 10-9 Galindez
Round 3: 10-9 Galndez
Round 4: 10-9 Lopez
Round 5: 10-9 Galindez
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Galindez
Round 8: 10-9 Lopez
Round 9: 10-10 Even
Round 10: 10-9 Lopez
Round 11: 10-9 Lopez
Round 12: 10-10 Even
Round 13: 10-9 Galindez
Round 14: 10-9 Galindez
Round 15: 10-9 Lopez

144-144 Draw

Some very close rounds here, Jel. We agreed on 8 rounds, I had 3 even rounds and we disagreed on 4. A real fine line on most rounds.

 

Watched a fight today I didn't know was out there. The '64 bout between Zora Folley and George Chuvalo. It wasn't scintillating action but I really enjoyed watching these two plying their trade. Cleveland's 5 point must scoring in effect.

Round 1: 5-5 Even
Round 2: 5-4 Folley
Round 3: 5-4 Folley
Round 4: 5-4 Chuvalo
Round 5: 5-4 Folley
Round 6: 5-4 Folley
Round 7: 5-4 Chuvalo
Round 8: 5-4 Folley
Round 9: 5-4 Chuvalo
Round 10: 5-4 Folley

Total: 47-44 Folley (actual scores: 49-42, 47-44 and 50-45 all for Folley)

Although Chuvalo had the greater workrate, his clubbing punches weren't the most exact in legal areas. Still, as always, a really good effort by Chuvalo. Folley, on the other hand, used his left jab and sharp rights so well and was so precise. Nothing wasted. I was really impressed watching him as there is not a lot of footage out there on him. Loved his sharpness and his counter-punching. And again, Chuvalo turned in his never-ending workmanlike performance. Always trying. I really enjoyed this fight on a purist's level.

 

Yep, definitely a tight one to score but I just didn't feel Galindez did quite enough to win this outright as per the judges' scorecards. Not sure if there was any question over partiality in the scoring for Galindez but he did seem to get the benefit of the doubt in this one.

 

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Dunno why, but for some reason I had an urge to watch some John Ryder. I figured why not go for him vs his two best opponents, both of which are close/controversial.

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10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9 (40/36)
9 : 10
9 : 10
10 : 9
9 : 10* (77/75)
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9 (

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Spoiler: Round by Round

Feeler out first, Smith reluctant to jab despite the size difference. Ryder quicker to the punch and more active, backing Smith up too. Close 1st. Short 1-2 from Ryder which reminds Callum he's in there with a real fighter. Lazy round from the Scouser, but Ryder fighting in spurts; scoring with combos to the body and keeping slightly out of range of Smith's jab. Interesting third round. Smith could clearly see what he needed to do as he kept trying to time Ryder's jab with a big left hook, but he just couldn't pull the trigger in time. Ryder fed Smith a steady jab and some hard body shots, but also showed he was defensively responsible when he made Smith miss multiple combinations. Big fourth for the Gorilla. Both men traded shots here, but Ryder worked inside clean and landed some heavy body shots whilst making Smith miss. Nice southpaw 1-1-2 to get Smith's attention, in the fifth before before blocking and parrying Smith's return. Better jab from Smith, but Ryder's defence is still excellent. Some heavy lefts from Smith nicks it, but it's close. Smith using his smarts, and not fighting on the inside where Ryder has the advantage. Smith using his 78" reach took this one.

Beautiful smothering in the seventh. Ryder not giving Smith breathing room, and landing some sharp, clean shots whilst deflecting or blocking Smith's shots. Ryder clearly won, on clean punching and workrate. Very close eighth, could go either way. I thought Ryder's workrate was lower, but so was Smith's. Ryder finished strong, but Smith looked in control. I'll give it Smith. Excellent defence from Ryder in the ninth, before bulling Smith back and going to the body. Smith still winning the battle of the jabs, but Ryder is doing well in that area too. Smith putting some spite on his shots, looking for his power. Ryder calm, countering. Short right hooks when Smith throws his 1-2, good round 10. Smith looking desperate. Ryder being patient at mid-range before smothering and working short shots inside. Some shots looked to shake Smith, but they weren't seriously damaging. Great round 11 for Ryder. Final round was awesome. Ryder was more composed, and Smith was chasing a KO. Ryder landing cleaner from start to finish. The first time Ryder was on the ropes was in the final minute, Smith spent half the fight there.

This is a really good fight. High-pace, but well-schooled from both. The robbery ruined it, but it was a fun fight.

At the time, I was suspicious of a robbery before the fight was over. The commentary were talking the whole time like Smith had already won, or couldn't lose. I suspected that they were trying to win people over on the sly, but now I can see that they were just idiots. I remember when one of they read out the 117-111 scorecard, I actually thought they were gonna give it to Ryder. Yeah, it was that wide. My dad summed it up nicely when he said: "that was closer to a shut out for Ryder than a win for Smith!" I actually agree with that on a numbers basis.

I think Ryder should develop a left uppercut to the body. If he had that little sneaky shot, I think he has the kind of style which could really make use of it. He actually already has a real shout as the best in the division. Arguably beat Saunders, clearly beat Smith, he's awful for Plant, and who knows how long Benavidez will stay at 168 for. Canelo will unfortunately be the best when he starts fighting again, though.

 

Just watched James Toney KO12 Charles Williams. Excellent display of infighting and counterpunching and studied calm from Toney. He's just really good here. Williams starts hot, charging out and crowding Toney as best he can, trying to deny him punching room and open him up, but trying to deny James Toney punching room is pretty futile. He slides and ducks and slips and fidgets in so many directions you just can't keep the guy in one place.

Most of Williams' offense comes form the outside in, around the sides. Toney counters up underneath, using the uppercut in much the same way Williams himself used his own uppercut to open Czyz up like an oyster. By the end of the 7th and especially the 8th, Toney finds some separation as Williams must now be tired of fielding uppercuts to the face. Toney begins leading with his right and rocking Williams' head back.

In the 12th, Toney lands a big right and Williams sags; he's either really hurt or trying to feign being in trouble. Toney waits for another opening and again lands the right. Williams slumps over at the waist to the side as if shot. He gets up but is in no shape to continue.

Good performance from Toney here. Here's how I had it:

1. W
2.. T
3. T
4. W
5. W
6. T
7. T
8. T
9. T
10. T
11. T
12. KO

107-102 Toney at the time of the stoppage.