the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Ryoichi Taguchi UD12 Alberto Rossel

Cagey stuff this. Rossel getting backed up by the longer fighter and trying to score with left hands while Taguchi uses his jab to do most of what scoring there is. Not sure how Rossel will win rounds. Not this way. Taguchi getting more involved too, the occasional uppercut or lead right, he's looking very confident despite Rossel's virtual threat, a threat that depends on Taguchi coming onto his punches. By the sixth he's actually swarming into Rossel with impunity in spots, Rossel reduced to following him round the wing and swinging wildly with wide punches, relying upon a high guard to keep him out of trouble (it doesn't). Nevertheless, Rossel landed enough of his desperate punches in the sixth to win a round! Taguchi actually looked a little tired here but punishes Rossel for his transgression - winning a round - by landing a very hard series of right hands over the course of the round before dropping him with a left hook to the body. Rossel, who was complaining about headbutts seemed to be looking for a way out to be honest, but that turned out to be anything but true. Rossel's heart and persistence are genuinely elite. Far from home and taking a thrashing.

Rossel is dropped again in the ninth in what looked quite like a slip although a punch did go in, so that's that. I wonder now myself why Rossel doesn't quit - 8-1 down with two KDs against him, but he keeps at it. Hard not to root for him at this point. I'm tempted to giving up scoring it but I'd like to see if he gets another one or two. Mexican TV has it 9-0. He does, taking a scrap tenth on my card with left hands to the body and a single right-0hand shot over the top. Taguchi has probably dialled down the risk a bit, though he's not far away. They split what is left so in the end, not exactly respectable but far from the whitewash threatened.

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

*Rossel down.

117-109.

 

Ryoichi Taguchi UD12 Milan Melindo

I like Melindo. Quite a lot. I didn't think it would be guy like Taguchi.

Almost impossible to separate in the first but Melindo lands the best punch of the round, a left hook to the body. He's pumping his jab to matchi it with Taguchi's punch and that seems to work ok, the two times equal to the one of his opponent. It was the jab with which he feinted both to land the left hook to the body and a grazing left uppercut as the round wound down. Second is even closer. It's Melindo's body-punching (seen, hard, single punches, often behind feints or jabbing Taguchi out of position) and Taguchi's smuggled right (often when moving very slightly to his left while Melindo is living on his right). I mean either way is fine, I like Melindo's bodywor slightly more.

It's inside where Taguchi taes over a bit in the third, a real surprise. He really is a technician - good at all ranges, good form. But he's also a very, very good judge of distance and position for all that he doesn't enjoy the other-wroldly accuracy that normally births. THis is a splendid contest. The fourth may be seminal. For all that he is better, now he has seen and understood how good Taguchi is with the range, Melindo looks for spells like Rossel. Very far from that, but momentarilly looking like that. Melindo though responds with aggression and hard body-punching in the fifth. It postpones what feels like the inevitable Taguchi lead, but even though it is only five gone he's running out of time; the soonest he can take charge now is the seventh. I note that Melindo is cut by an accidental clash of heads in the fifth, Taguchi in the ninth.

By the ninth, Taguchi has indeed taken over a bit. He's not dominating Melindo, but he's moving him about the ring, controlling the where and when. Melinod is too good to be left behind in any round but he loses the sixth, seventh and eighth before surging his way to the ninth. BAU is re-established in the 10th though with the added wrinkle of Taguchi out-working a tired looking Melindo on the inside.

A fascinating fight, especially the first six which was beautifully balanced form a tactical perspective. The 12 rounds fair rushed in. Will watch again.

Taguchi:3,4,6,7,8,10,11,12.
Melindo:1,2,5,9.

116-112 Taguchi.

 

Pedro Guevera UD12 Ganigan Lopez

Pedro Guevera is interesting. He's very boxing 101 but he deploys it consistently and because he can swat and has an iron chin it usually works for him. 3-3 with ranked guys (I think) isn't great, but he's only every lost very close and I'd say he's made the most of what he has. Ganingan Lopez is an almost mirror, southpaw, same idea, high gloves, wants the middle of the ring, one-two, hands high, chin tucked. He doesn't quite have the same chin though. This is going to excruciating to score on a round by round basis, though Guevara wins and you'd expect him to win. By the end of the second it looks like Guevera has won the argument about the centre of the ring - surely that can't be settled already though?

No indeed. Lopez takes his first round of the fight seeking the centre. You can see these two respect each other, all these glove taps. Shame one of them has to lose really. BUT THEY ****ING DO. Good grief this stuff is tough to score though. Guevera runs away with it through the first six on my card, but being honest it could legitimately be 3-3, 2 and 5 both very close. There's not a lot to say here really. The difference seems to be, Guevera is a more controlled under fire, holds form and placement better. Guevera maybe hurts Lopez in the seventh, first time either man has hurt the other, straight right, you saw the head snap back. In fact that straight right is the definitive punch now.

Eleventh is interesting, close, as always, Lopez buts in a left to the body and Guevera goes down, probably on a slip - it is ruled as such by the ref. But i'm giving that round to Lopez, though it would have gone close to Guevera otherwise. So Lopez ties three together for me in an impressive little spell owning ring centre. I scored him the twelfth too, and pretty big if i'm honest, so Lopez nearly brings this back around - ceded too much early, however.

Solid, Mexican fare.


Guevera:1,2,4,5,6,7,8.
Lopez:3,9,10,11,12.

115-113 Guevera.

 

Donnie Nietes UD12 Ramon Garcia Hirales

Nietes, moving up, nevertheless wants to stalk. And he's good at it. I like the way he opens up the right, crouching low, leads with the left, then throws the right the maximum distance to the body from a near squat because he's read the availability correctly. It's the key punch here and Nietes prefers the left hook. Good adjustment for the southpaw Garcia, who looks pretty disorganised in the second. Overall, Nietes sharp-shooting is leaving Hirales wary of action and he is getting more and more reactive and unsure of himself it seems. He does OK when Nietes chooses to close, he can do ok with those exchanges; when Nietes goes back he has a one-two that is decent, but he loses 1-4 clean.

Nietes is so good on the small moves, slipping and dipping out of a jab, say - and accurate enough that he's no fun to box. Hirales finally makes his peace with all of this int he sixth and starts mixing in the occasional hail-Mary. It works better for him than the hiding and the aggression actually poaches him the sixth after a close start. He's throwing sweeping punches and creating more chaos, generally better for the lesser fighter.

Impressive from Hirales who ties together a real sequence of rounds in the second half of the fight! He was far too tentative in the first half to win the contest but he makes it very close at least. No shame here, Nietes poise just spooked him out of the fight.

Fabulous eleventh.

Nietes:1,2,3,4,5,10,11.
Hirales:6,7,8,9,12.

115-113 Nietes.

 

I did indeed.

 

Not as good as I'd hoped - I thought it looked FOTY contender pre-fight. But it's pretty good. Nietes puts Rodriguez under control a bit although he surges late with Nietes tiring. 7,8 and 9 are sort of clinic in my memory. It is worth a look.