the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

I'm bouncing between watching late 80s/early 90s middleweights and watching some classic 10 rounders to break up the monotony of scoring really tight, could-have-gone-either-way type decisions.

 

Did you say you wanted recommendations? If so, watch Gerry Penalosa vs Tomas Rojas. Great 10 round fight which shows one of my favourites styles off at his best.

 

Qawi v Davis

Jel, I loved this fight first time around and you got me thinking about it again. Here we go.

Round 1: 10-8 Qawi (scores a knockdown)
Round 2: 10-9 Qawi
Round 3: 10-9 Davis
Round 4: 10-9 Qawi
Round 5: 10-9 Davis
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Qawi
Round 8: 10-9 Qawi
Round 9: 10-10 Even
Round 10: 10-9 Qawi
Round 11: Qawi stops Davis

Total through 10 completed rounds: 98-93 Qawi (actual scores: 97-93, 97-92 and 96-92 all for Qawi)

Once you get past the Fright Doctor screaming 'stop the fight!' you really get into it. What a great mesh of styles with Qawi pressing and Davis countering and flurrying off the ropes. Outstanding fight.

 

Cheers, George - adding it to the list!

 

Esteban DeJesus v Roberto Duran 1

Duran's first professional loss. It started badly and continued that way for Roberto although I think he got more of a foothold in the fight as it went on. Still, DeJesus won it fair and square.

1 10-8 (Duran goes down from a perfect left hook)
2 10-9 (close)
3 10-9
4 10-9 (another DeJesus left hook staggers Duran)
5 10-10
6 9-10 (close)
7 10-9
8 9-10 (close)
9 10-10
10 9-10 (close)
DeJesus 97-94 Duran

 

After watching Dwight Qawi against Eddie Davis I still had it in my head to watch a little more of the Camden Buzzsaw. Well, I didn't choose the best one, let me tell you. I watched his title-winning cruiserweight match with South Africa's Piet Crous. Here we go.

Round 1: 10-9 Crous
Round 2: 10-9 Crous
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Crous
Round 5: 10-9 Qawi
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Crous
Round 8: 10-9 Crous
Round 9: 10-9 Qawi
Round 10: 10-9 Qawi
Round 11: Qawi KO's Crous

Total through 10 completed rounds: 97-95 Crous (actual scores: 98-96 for Crous and 2 Even scores of 96-96 and 95-95)

To begin, Crous was strictly a boxer. I mean no pop at all to his punches. And Qawi was fighting like he was underwater. That is how slow he was getting his punches off. If Crous had anything at all in his shots he might have been able to do something to this version of Qawi, but at least he boxed steadily. It is hard to believe that the following year Qawi would be engaging Holyfield in a life and death 15 rounder. At least when he got the taste of blood, he went after Crous and finished the job. Not a fight I would recommend for action, though.

 

John David Jackson v Reggie Johnson

I had this wider than the official scorecards and Jackson was a clear winner in my opinion.

I was disappointed with Johnson's performance here. He allowed Jackson to set the pace and dictate terms. He was just too passive overall.

Not a thriller.

1 10-10
2 10-9
3 10-9
(Johnson warned for using his head - not sure if he was deducted a point)
4 10-10
(another tough round to call. Jackson with the more consistent work, but Johnson did some nice body punching)
5 9-10
(Jackson is peppering with the jab but Johnson landed the more substantial punches. He's not busy enough though)
6 10-9
(Jackson is edging these just on busyness)
7 10-9
(strangely lacklustre performance from Johnson)
8 9-10
(close. Thought Johnson did the better work earlier in the round and then it was pretty even after that)
9 10-9
(both fighters throwing with a bit more intent this round but Jackson took it)
10 10-9 (close)
11 10-9
12 9-10

Jackson 117-113 Johnson

 

Erik Morales vs Wayne McCullough

Morales : McCullough

1: 9 - 10 (McCullough just on activity. Very close round)
2: 10 - 9 (Morales late uppercuts seal a close round)
3: 10 - 9 (Morales more effective now)
4: 10 - 9 (Awesome round. Morales pounding the body)
5: 10 - 9 (Lovely rights to the body. McCullough game)
6: 9 - 10 (McCullough working very well here)

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7: 10 - 9 (Real close)
8: 9 - 10 (Morales not working enough)
9: 10 - 9 (Morales with crunching shots here)
10: 9 - 10 (McCullough sniping in some wonderfully sneaky shots)
11: 10 - 9 (Brilliant round)
12: 10 - 9 (Exhausting finale)

TOTAL:

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MORALES

Notes:

• Morales' parrying here is reminiscent of old school fighters IMO - he is immensely skilled at it. His positioning is always impressive and I feel his defense is slightly underrated.
• McCullough is extremely game, and obviously very well schooled too. Loved his double jab right hand - straight outta the amateur school.
• McCullough's chin is a awesome as always.
• Morales definitely lost steam after the 6th. Whether he was that tired or weight drained or something else, I don't know. Definitely lackadaisical in parts.
• Excellent quality from @Mario040481 great upload. You guys should sub if you haven't already.

 

Watched a very entertaining 10 rounder today between two hot, undefeated middleweight prospects in Bobby Czyz and Robbie Sims. I remember watching this first time around. Watched so much boxing on live TV I never thought anything about it. NBC Sportsworld was showing so much boxing we took it for granted. Anyways, a very entertaining bout fought in NJ under their rounds scoring.

Round 1: Czyz
Round 2: Czyz
Round 3: Even
Round 4: Sims
Round 5: Czyz
Round 6: Even
Round 7: Czyz
Round 8: Czyz
Round 9: Sims
Round 10: Czyz (Czyz scores a knockdown)

Total: 6-2-2 Czyz (actual scores: 7-2-1 and 2 scores of 6-3-1 all for Czyz)

The film I watched was broken into 3 parts with the 9th round (at the end of part II) being about 8 seconds short and the start of the 10th (at the beginning of part III) coming on about 30 seconds into the round. Still enough to ascertain what went on without taking a giant leap of faith. Two fighters that both went on to be world class with Czyz having that bit more in a really good fight.

 

Chris Eubank v Michael Watson 1

This takes me back! I haven't watched this fight in nearly 30 years. The best way I can describe the prestige of this fight domestically is that it was for the British Middleweight Chanpionship of the World. To be a British boxing fan back then for me was a bit like being in a bubble and the fact that this fight was contested for a spurious 'world' title mattered little; this was a fight that mattered in the UK where boxing was on the main channels on a Saturday night and everyone knew who these fighters were (and you'd get to hear the thoughts of UK celebrities like Nigel Kennedy between rounds). Both Eubank and Watson had beaten common opponent Nigel Benn so the winner would become the no. 1 160 pounder in the country.

Eubank is now viewed in the UK as a somewhat lovable eccentric so watching the pre-fight build up reminded me what a divisive figure he was at that time. Until Naz came along a few years later, he was probably the most hated figure in British boxing in the 90s.

To the fight: my memory was that Watson deserved to win but that could have easily been fuelled by my own anti-Eubank sentiment back then. Watching it now, I can appreciate much more the work that Eubank was doing. His movement and countering, particularly in the second half of the fight were very good and kept the more orthodox Watson guessing a lot of the time. Eubank also showed a good level of aggression, something that post-Watson he would lose and that would make some of his title defenses up at 168 close to unwatchable.

I can actually see this a bit wider to Eubank than I have on my scorecard so I feel Eubank did enough to win, even though Watson rallied a bit over the last few rounds.

This was a good, absorbing fight to watch and not the controversy I remembered it being.

1 9-10 (close, cagey)
2 9-10
3 10-9
4 10-9 (close, Eubank edged it with the best flurry of the round)
5 10-9
6 9-10
7 10-9
8 10-9 (good head movement and countering from Eubank)
9 10-9 (Eubank's movement and sudden offensive bursts are frustrating Watson, who switches southpaw briefly)
10 10-10 (A better round from Watson who had some clear moments of success but Eubank held his own)
11 9-10 (Watson timing his counters better against Eubank's attacks and blocking punches well)
12 9-10 (close. I had Watson edging it with the more accurate work against a somewhat sloppy Eubank)

Eubank 115-114 Watson

 

Philly, I was looking at a little more Gushiken today - specifically Gushiken v Martin Vargas - and saw you checked this out about a year ago. Always wanted to see this one between two big-time bangers.

Round 1: 10-9 Gushiken
Round 2: 10-9 Gushiken
Round 3: 10-9 Gushiken
Round 4: 10-9 Gushiken
Round 5: 10-8 Gushiken (scores a knockdown)
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Vargas
Round 8: Gushiken drops him twice before the ref stops the fight

Total: 69-64 Gushiken through 7 completed rounds (actual scores 70-62, 70-62 and 70-58 all for Gushiken)

I was a bit more generous to Vargas than you and the judges. I gave him more credit for letting it all hang out in the 6th and 7th. But I tell ya, Gushiken fought a brilliant fight here. It was noticeable how he kept such a distance between he and the shorter Vargas and timed his counters perfectly. Not to mention how quickly he would negate that distance between them by darting in with a combo. I loved what you wrote about the 3rd round. That was exactly where I was going if not for Gushiken's late flurry. Not spine-tingling, but a decent fight.

 

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I saw this upload the other day, and wanted to watch it on my day off. You seem to have gotten there first! Here's my thoughts and card:

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10 : 9
10 : 9
9 : 10
10 : 9 (39/37)
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9
9 : 10 (78/74)
10 : 9
9 : 10
10 : 9
9 : 10 (

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)

Swing Rounds (IMO): 1, 3, 8 & 12.

Early on Morales was landing cleaner, but McCullough was throwing more. Made for some tough rounds to score. I thought Morales' defence and cleaner shots often took the rounds. He was a higher level of fighter here.

I've always felt Morales' skills were underrated. He wasn't just the boxer-brawler type which often showed up. He had a good defence, good feet, brilliant body shots and very crisp uppercuts and rights. He wasn't just the tough puncher who loved a tear up, he was one of the savviest of the era IMO. I liked his baiting lead here. He left it out for a second when he saw McCullough stepping in with the double jab and pulled it back as McCullough threw his cross over the top of it. When the right came, Morales had gone off to the side and was throwing an uppercut up the centre. He also threw one of the sharpest cross-counters the division ever saw. I love it!

If you've not seen it @roughdiamond, Morales vs Paulie Ayala is a great performance. The fight with Jesus Chavez is one of my favourites from El Terriblé. Both of them are well worth watching.

I remember watching the build up of McCullough before the Zaragoza fight. He was touted as the next superstar, a standout amateur, and incredibly talented. Obviously HBO's hype machine was at play here, but he was very, very talented. He smoked 20 a day, drank lots in-between fights and didn't mind riding the Chinese highway. But still, he was world level, game as **** and he was a pretty damn good amateur as well. He actually beat Gatti in the ams. I bet that was a great fight. McCullough was always in great fights. Just like the Rabanales, Zaragoza and Yasuei fights, this was a tough and brutal tear up, and I bet that Gatti fight was just as nasty. I love McCullough's offensive style. He was so proper with his technique, and so active with his workrate and completely unrelenting when he got going. It's so fun to watch.

 

After watching Czyz-Sims yesterday I wanted to see Czyz-Hamsho again. Saw it live but I wanted another gander as I did see it originally amidst a bunch of friends and booze. Strangely enough, although this fight was fought on the undercard of the Qawi-Davis world title fight - which was scored on the WBC 10 point system - this bout was fought under NJ rules on a rounds basis. Here we go.

Round 1: Even
Round 2: Czyz
Round 3: Hamsho
Round 4: Hamsho
Round 5: Czyz
Round 6: Hamsho
Round 7: Hamsho
Round 8: Czyz (This was Hamsho's round but he loses the round due to roughousing with the forearm. In NJ and NY's rounds scoring, if someone is penalized, obviously they don't lose a point, the round simply goes to the opponent. If the opponent won the round anyway, there is no penalization. A very flawed system)
Round 9: Hamsho
Round 10: Hamsho

Total: 6-3-1 Hamsho (Actual scores: 7-3, 7-1-2 and 5-4-1 all for Hamsho)

Czyz simply couldn't do much against Hamsho's mugging style. A little too much too soon, but he showed guts with the hammering he took in close. A very lively 10 rounder which moved very quickly.

 

Jel, I scored this a few months back and although I had it wider for Eubank I also had some even rounds thrown in. Here is what I wrote:

Chris Eubank v Michael Watson I

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

Total: 118-114 Eubank

Actual scores: 116-113, 115-113 both for Eubank and a 114-114 Even card for a majority win for Eubank.

To begin, I did a little check of the history on this thread and found our posters at 3-2-1 for Eubank (excluding my card), so it is a controversial fight, as one can see by my 4 even rounds. But let me start with Watson. I've seen him fight twice against Benn and McCallum, but I was unimpressed here. Eubank fought in bursts and Watson stuck with fundamentals, but he fought with no fire and his jab appeared to me like it was always coming up a bit short. It was touching Eubank, but just. And those last four rounds where Eubank was clearly fatigued, it was Eubank flailing like a desperate man trying to hold onto his bauble rather than Watson trying to take it. Watson caught a lot of Eubank's blows on his arms but he needed to fight with a bit more fire, which made the difference on my card.