the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Watched a classic today between Doug Jones and a very green Bob Foster who was fighting his first 10 rounder. NY scoring in effect.

Round 1: Jones (scores a knockdown)
Round 2: Foster
Round 3: Foster
Round 4: Jones
Round 5: Jones
Round 6: Even
Round 7: Jones
Round 8: Jones stops Foster

Total (through 7 completed rounds): 4-2-1 Jones

This turned into a pretty decent slugfest. Foster, who had only 9 fights behind him, needed room to unload the heavy artillery. And he did, stunning Jones a couple of times. However, Jones fought a crowding fight to negate those long arms unloading on him and one could see how strong he was on the inside. He hurt Foster bad at the end of the 7th and the ref and doctor was very concerned. The first sign of being hurt in the 8th the ref stopped it and rightfully so from a combination of exhaustion as well as Jones' punches.

 

Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns I, on Sept. 16, 1981, at Caesars Palace Outdoor Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, to unify the WBC and WBA welterweight championships.

Leonard, 30-1 (20), is 25 years old and weighs 146 pounds. Hearns, 32-0 (30), is 22 and comes in a 145. Hearns has an enormous 8-inch reach advantage at 78 1/2 inches.

Celebrities at ringside include Jack Nicholson, Richard Pryor, Burt Reynolds, Wayne Newton and plenty more from Hollywood and the sporting world.

Leonard will end up with an $11M payday and Hearns will gain $8M. The bout will be named Fight of the Year by The Ring.

Odds: Leonard starts out a 7-5 favorite, it moves to 6-5 and according to the Associated Press becomes a 6-5 pick-em by fight day.

Temperature at ringside for first bell in between 98 and 100 degrees. It is said to be as high as 110 under the lights in ring center.

It unfolds as a play in five acts:

Act I, Rounds 1-5: Hearns sets the tone

Round 1: 10-9 Hearns (close) — you can make an argument for an even round here, I guess, but Leonard lands nothing and Hearns gets through with a few jabs while Leonard circles around

Round 2: 10-9 Hearns — The Hit Man lands a couple of rights as well as some jabs; Leonard plants himself in front of Hearns in the last 30 seconds and looks for a way to breach the distance to no avail

Round 3: 10-9 Hearns — The Motor City Cobra becomes more effective against Leonard, landing a nasty right to the head/hook to the body combo late; Leonard still reaching, wings a few wild punches as he tries to solve this puzzle

Round 4: 10-9 Hearns — Some good exchanges as Leonard is really starting to settle down more in front of Hearns, who finishes stronger to take the round

Round 5: 10-9 Hearns — This one is close but Hearns’ jab is the difference; the area around Leonard’s left eye is starting to swell visibly


Act II: Rounds 6-7: Leonard turns slugger

Round 6: Leonard 10-8 — Best remembered for a left hook to the body by Ray that almost cripples Hearns; no knockdown but some severe damage by Leonard

Round 7: Leonard 10-9 — Leonard does some great body work and lands some big rights but not as much damage; Hearns had a good spell early in the round landing a few solid shots so definitely a 1-point round


Act III, Rounds 8-10: Thomas puts on a clinic

Round 8: Hearns 10-9 (close) — Hearns gets on his bicycle and boxes, Ray lands a couple of nice singular shots but Tommy controls the terms of engagement and works well behind the jab for 3 minutes

Round 9: Hearns 10-9 — More of the same, but Hearns finding even more rhythm and Ray just following him around

Round 10: Hearns 10-9 — See the previous two rounds; Leonard’s eye is really puffy and becoming an issue


Act IV, Rounds 11-12: Hearns settles down

Round 11: Hearns 10-9 — Hearns moves and boxes some more for a bit, then shifts tactics and settles down in front of Leonard halfway through and pot-shots Ray to easily win the round

Round 12: Hearns 10-9 — Ray wings wild hooks that miss and Tommy holds his ground to put another round in he bank; Hearns in total command

Act V, Rounds 13-14: You’re blowin’ it, kid

Round 13: Leonard 10-8 — Motivated by those words from Angelo Dundee in the corner, Ray comes out and goes for it; hurts Hearns with a right hand and is all over him, battering him around and across the ring; Hearns falls through the ropes at one point but Davey Pearl, the ref, says it’s a slip; Leonard continues his barrage and gets his knockdown in the final seconds; it all started with a right hand

Round 14: Thomas boxes well for maybe 45 seconds and then Leonard hurts him with another right and Hearns completely loses his legs and slides along the ropes as Ray throws his hands up in victory, but Tommy steadies himself; Ray charges in and swarms all over him to force a stoppage

Result: Leonard TKO 14 at 1:45

My card: Hearns 127-120

Official cards: 124-122, 125-121, 125-122

Of note: This fight started a discussion on the topic of “decisive scoring,” awarding 10-8 rounds without knockdowns for severe damage (if it were up to me, the standard for a round like Round 6 would be 10-8 and one like Round 13 would be 10-7 or, had the first fall through the ropes been counted as a knockdown, even 10-6). The point being, for many, that Leonard had done almost all of the telling damage and lost a lot of rounds that were decided by some innocuous jabs; more decisive scoring started to become the norm after this but as far as I am concerned Hearns was running away with it and wins if he finishes on his feet.

Such a great fight. Crowd of 23,618 paid $50-$500 and got a bargain for every seat.

EDIT: There were two pre-fight training events of interest: 1) Sparring partner Odell Hadley caught Leonard’s left eye with an elbow about two weeks before the bout, causing the damage that would turn into troubling swelling during the fight; 2) Hearns broke sparring partner Marlon Starling’s jaw before the fight — Starling was supposed to headline a card in Hartford, Conn., that would be a live lead-in to the closed circuit being played in the arena but had to pull out due to the injury. Hearns was a bad man.

 

Rewatched the first 3 Pacquiao-Marquez fights. Here's how I scored them:

1st Fight: 113-112 for Marquez

2nd Fight: 114-113 for Pacquiao

3rd Fight: 116-112 for Marquez

They were all close, entertaining fights that could've gone either way. Even though I scored fights 1 & 3 for Marquez, I'd never say he got "robbed" and I think that term gets thrown around way too much when discussing close fights.

 

Well done, Pat.

 

Thank you. Planning to do the rematch tonight.

 

Zora Folley v Doug Jones II (NY scoring)

Round 1: Folley (scores a knockdown)
Round 2: Folley
Round 3: Jones
Round 4: Jones
Round 5: Even
Round 6: Jones
Round 7: Jones scores a KO over Folley

Total (through 6 completed rounds): 3-2-1 Jones (actual scores: 5-1 and 4-2 for Folley and a 3-3 Even card)

I'm a big fan of Folley's but he let Jones into this fight by way of allowing Jones an inside fight. When Zora kept it on the outside in the first 2 rounds, he was golden with that stabbing jab and sharp-shooting with the straight right. Again, I'm a big fan of Zora's but I definitely disagree with the official scorecards going into the 7th. Give credit where credit is due.

 

Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns II on June 12, 1989, scheduled for 12 rounds in front of a crowd of 15,300 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for the WBC super middleweight crown.

Leonard, age 33, entered 35-1 (25) and weighs 160. He is guaranteed $13M.

Hearns, 30, enters 46-3 (38) and weighs 162 1/2. His guarantee is $11M.

Leonard is a 3-1 favorite at the sports books. Odds on a draw are 15-1.

Interestingly, this is Ray’s fifth fight since their first meeting in 1981. Hearns has had 15 fights since that fight

This time, Hearns wears the gold Kronk trunks while Leonard is clad in red and white striped attire.

Round 1: Hearns 10-9 — Leonard moves around as in the first fight for about a minute and then settles down to hold his ground; He lands one good right whereas Hearns controls things with is jab and lands a few others blows to take it

Round 2: Hearns 10-9 — Tommy keeps working the jab and lands a solid right when Ray turns southpaw for a moment; Leonard throwing one shot at a time

Round 3: Hearns 10-8 — The Hit man lands a right that stuns Sugar Ray and puts him down with a glancing follow-up to the top of the head; Hearns rakes him along the ropes as he goes for the KO

Round 4: Hearns 10-9 — Several good exchanges, with Leonard starting to take over late in the round, but by that time Hearns has done enough to nip it

Round 5: Leonard 10-8 — Ray stuns Tommy with a right hand followed by a big hook and batters him the rest of the round

Round 6: Hearns 10-9 — Ray takes off the first 2 minutes, doing basically nothing after expending so much energy going for the stoppage the round before; Hearns wins the round by being busier

Round 7: Leonard 10-9 — Hearns comes on strong in the final minute but Leonard did more, especially to the body, over the first two minutes to put this one in his pocket

Round 8: Leonard 10-9 — Close round, not much happening but Ray is a tad busier

Round 9: Leonard 10-9 — This one is close until he last 30 seconds, when Leonard comes on strong to grab it

Round 10: Leonard 10-9 — Leonard has a big early part of the round and pulls even on my scoreboard

Round 11: Hearns 10-8 — Hearns tags Sugar with a big right and follows up with a left hook and another to put Ray on the canvas again; Tommy follows up on his advantage and pours it on for a big round

Round 12: Leonard 10-9 — The Motor City Cobra starts well but Leonard storms back and takes over, landing a lot of hard shots to the head and body in his last stand

Result: Draw

Cards: 113-112 Hearns, 113-112 Leonard, 112-112 even

My card: Hearns 113-112

Of note: The tale of the tap for the first fight credited Hearns with an 8-inch reach advantage at 78 1/2 inches; this tale of the tape his reach is half an inch shorter and Ray’s wingspan has grown 4 inches, haha.

Hearns accepts the verdict but Ray later admits his rival should have gotten the decision.

Fun fight. They aren’t the same as they were in their primes but are no less competitive and committed to winning. Bravo.

 

Mikkel Kessler v Carl Froch 1

I had this one a bit closer than the official cards - a lot was thrown but not a lot landed cleanly, which made it tough to score some rounds but my overall impression was that Kessler was doing the cleaner work.

Froch's style is so unaesthetically pleasing that he's almosf putting himself at a disadvantage in exchanges because the other fighter's work just looks better. Kessler boxed well in the middle rounds and took the iniative away from Froch before both fighters went for the big finish and threw a lot - they didn't always land that cleanly but it was great to watch.

Very good fight and a deserved but competitive win for Kessler.

1 9-10
2 9-10
3 10-9
4 9-10 (close)
5 10-9 (close but a bit wild from Froch; Kessler with the neater work)
6 10-9
7 10-9
8 10-9
9 9-10 (Froch stops Kessler's momentum with his best round for a while)
10 10-10
11 9-10 (close - excellent action)
12 10-9 (another close one and a great way to finish an excellent fight - both fighters went for the big finish)

Kessler 115-114 Froch

 

Really great write up, Pat!

I scored this a while back and went for a similar breakdown in terms of acts - I did it in 4 acts rather than 5 but made the same point as you did re acts 3 and 4 (my act 3) that after Hearns boxed off the back foot from round 8 he started to stand his ground more later in that act.

Interesting points about the scoring of those rounds - I think Leonard probably should have been credited with wider rounds in the 6th and 13th and as you say, a 10-8 in the 6th and a 10-7 or even 10-6 in the 13th and suddenly it wouldn't be enough for Hearns to stay on his feet to get the win. Not that it mattered of course.

But if by some miracle Hearns had survived the 14th and made it to the final round, I think Leonard could have piled on the knockdowns and dominant rounds enough that he could have won on points, at least on my card.

Here's my breakdown below:
Sugar Ray Leonard v Tommy Hearns 1

'And now, for my next one, I'd like to return to the classics'. It's good every now and again to rewatch a famous, classic fight and they don't get much more famous and classic than this one.

It's a fight in four acts with continuing changes in momentum.
-Act 1 (Rounds 1-5): Leonard wary of Hearns' power, sticks and moves for the first couple of rounds before moving into range and trading for a couple of rounds before he returns to stick and move. Hearns wins Act 1.
-Act 2 (Rounds 6-7): Leonard hurts Hearns and looks to finish him. Leonard wins Act 2.
-Act 3 (Rounds 8-12): Leonard is now the stalker but Hearns is boxing well off the back foot and picking off Ray's attacks which are losing momentum. Hearns becomes more confident and starts to trade and hold his ground. Hearns wins Act 3 big.
-Act 4 (Rounds 13-14): Spurred on by Dundee's famous rallying plea after the 12th, Leonard lands the big shot he's been looking for for 5 rounds and puts Hearns on rubbery legs again before finishing the job in the next round. Leonard wins Act 4 and the fight.

I don't think I've ever actively scored it before but my card feels about right. Here's my round-by-round:
1 9-10
2 10-9
3 9-10 (good round)
4 9-10 (good action again)
5 9-10
6 10-9 (big round for Leonard - could have conceivably been a 10-8 but not quite)
7 10-9 (another big one for Sugar Ray)
8 10-9 (tricky round to score. Hearns boxing well on back foot, but Leonard still gets through with some telling shots. Could have gone to Tommy)
9 9-10 (perfect stick and move strategy from Tommy - a clear win)
10 9-10 (closer round than the previous one but Hearns edged it)
11 9-10 (another good round for Hearns)
12 9-10 (Tommy is confident now and off the back foot; 'You're blowing it, son, you're blowing it!')
13 10-8 (Not now he isn't! Huge comeback from Sugar Ray)
(122-124)
14 SRL TKO Hearns

 

Vasyl Lomachenko v Jorge Linares

Good fight between two quality operators. Even though I had the fight close-ish, that was due in part to the knockdown in round 6 (which Loma was clearly unhurt by and just got timed by Linares) but had this gone into an 11th or 12th round, the scores would have only widened in Loma's favour.

The big difference between these two (apart from size - Linares looked huge in comparison) was the angles that Lomachenko creates. His punches had a cumulative effect on Linares as Loma built up momentum and Linares looked more and more battered as the rounds wore on. Linares came forward and threw punches in straight lines (and it was a straight counter right that scored the knockdown) whereas Loma was creating spaces for short punches inside (the uppercut was particularly effective) by adjusting his angle of attack constantly. He looked the business here.

1 10-9 (close)
2 9-10
3 10-9
4 10-9
5 10-9 (close)
6 8-10 (Loma dropped by a sharp right counter)
7 10-9
8 9-10
9 10-9
(86-84)
10 Loma TKO Linares

 

Exact same scores as my own.

 

I recall when Gary Mason was coming up in British rings, but never had a chance to see him. So I watched 2 of his fights today. And to tell you the truth, I was far more impressed with him in defeat than I was in victory. British scoring in effect.

Gary Mason v Tyrell Biggs

Round 1: Mason
Round 2: Even
Round 3: Mason
Round 4: Biggs
Round 5: Mason
Round 6: Biggs
Round 7: Mason KOs Biggs

Total: 59-58 1/2 Mason

Biggs had already been dumped by the Duvas by this time and was working his way into opponent status. Gary was beating up retreads on his way up, but Biggs was his best opponent by this time. A good, hard puncher was Mason but by the end of the 3rd one could see his arms getting heavy. Biggs got into the fight about this time and I marked on my card for the 6th that Gary's arms looked like lead. However, rather than take advantage of this, Biggs looked like he succumbed rather meekly at the end of the 7th. If I was watching this live with no idea with what was to come I don't think I would have given Gary much of a future.

Lennox Lewis v Gary Mason

Bad blood boiled over here as these two went at it.

Round 1: Lewis
Round 2: Even
Round 3: Lewis
Round 4: Mason
Round 5: Mason
Round 6: Lewis
Round 7: Referee stops contest due to severe eye damage suffered by Mason

Total: 59-58 1/2 Lewis

As Harry Carpenter noted around the 3rd or 4th, that Lewis 'was looking a bit ragged'. Mason's stamina issues weren't really evident here. He gave Lewis all he could handle. But Gary's right eye was really getting beat up, cut and swollen and he knew it was close to being stopped at the beginning of the 7th. So I loved his last ditch effort and went out on his shield hammering at Lewis. His eye problems really ended his career and unfortunately he was killed years later being hit by a van while riding a bike. But I'll always remember this fight now. This was one gutsy effort.

 

Dick Tiger vs Spider Webb 1

Only 6 minutes of this fight is readily available on line. But from what I've read the action seems indicative of the fight as a whole. Webb is on the outside using his long arms to score quick, sharp scoring punches whilst Tiger is trying to walk his man down, back him up and beat him up. In the footage both have successes at their game.

There's times when Webb is tuning Tiger like a championship matador, and there are times where Tiger bullies Webb with little coming back at him.

Shame more of the fight isn't out there.

Good action.

 

Damn, dude, you got me excited when I saw the subject matter. I thought, 'Holy crap, is that fight out there?' That would be awesome if it was out there in its entirety.

 

Sorry man.

I'd love to have had the full fight to score, although I bet there's a few rounds that are hard to split.

I think Raging Bull might have the full fight.