This content is protected 1. Bratton jabbed offensively, but lightly. Gavilan stalked sometimes throwing in a bob. A minute into the round, Gavilan started chasing Bratton and throwing left hooks when he did so. Exciting opener. Even. 2. Bratton evidently thought it wise to open faster this time. The two exchanged FURIOUSLY, but Gavilan's offense took over, giving Bratton a lacing, but Bratton was going nowhere. He's too durable to succumb. It was very slow afterwards, but if you complain, a left hook to you. The two traded right hands at the bell (Bratton threw a right hook and Gavilan a right overhand). AWESOME ROUND! Gavilan. 3. Gavilan landed punishing left hooks throughout, but Bratton mostly took them well. Gavilan. 4. Something funny and unusual at the beginning. Bratton goes mid-ring, then flings his towel back into his corner. A straight right buckled Bratton's left leg. The two dealt a hefty exchange, which Bratton got the better of, because of a left hook which stunned Gavilan. Bratton was absolutely brilliant in this round! He feinted with a left bolo and landed his powerful signature rights instead. He did this twice, and both punches scored, and scored effectively. Bratton. 5. Slow, but still enjoyable. The reason for that being that the previous four rounds were so vastly entertaining that it still held over. Bratton outpointed Gavilan. Bratton. 6. The first two minutes were quite slow, but they salvaged round with a late and great exchange. Even. 7. Gavilan hurt Bratton somewhat early, two left hooks seasoned him up, and a third clearly hurt Bratton, who went backwards. After that, both men's egos started to show heavily. Bratton was in a neutral corner, and Gavilan was standing back doing the shuffle, and taunting Bratton. Gavilan scored with a flurry of shots as Bratton moved out of the corner. Bratton then attempted the shuffle again while Bratton wound up a right bolo, but then switched and threw a left hook, which landed, making Gavilan angry, coming in with un uppercut, and absorbing a right hook on the way in. Gavilan started taunting Bratton again, and Bratton retaliated, pointing to the left, attempting a right hand which missed, but digging a hard left to the body, driving Gavilan into the ropes. From there on they fought normally, but still exchanged hard punches. This was one HELLUVA ROUND and the climax of the fight. It was an awfully close round, but I found Bratton to be the more accurate puncher. Bratton. 8. After Bratton had thrown a flash sextuple jab and a right hand, Gavilan backed staggered him a tad with a left uppercut, and followed up well, landing all manner of punches on Bratton: hooks, uppercuts, and bolos. Bratton though, as was his habit, ended the exchange with two counter hooks that made Gavilan a little more serious. Two more good, brief exchanges in the final minute. Gavilan. 9. Gavilan landed a big right hand that did not phase Bratton at all. A lot of stalking, jabbing, feinting, and blocking done on the parts of both boxers. Gavilan's left hook seems to me telling the story though. Bratton landed a good right hand. Gavilan. 10. Neither man ceased in landing solidly and good exchanges were plentiful. It was not a sensational finale to this great fight, but a good one nonetheless. Even. Final score: 4-3-3. Pretty damn close. So by my own score I have Gavilan justified in winning, but many if not all of the rounds were very flexible. I am not going to ***** about a draw. It was so close. Verdict: Now one of my favorite fights if that tells you anything. One of the best I've ever seen. Two classy, brilliant boxers that are a joy to watch even when they're going slowly, and the action was unbeatable. As a plus, it was a very clean fight and was void of clinching. WITHOUT HESITATION add this one to your catalogue, and put it at the top!
Very cool! It is an excellent round that I think is highly undermentioned. I love meeting people who have unusual rounds as their favorites. It's so much more interesting than if having Hagler-Hearns 1 as your favorite round.
Kid Gavilan v Johnny Bratton II Round 1: Bratton Round 2: Gavilan Round 3: Gavilan Round 4: Even Round 5: Gavilan Round 6: Even Round 7: Bratton (Gavilan penalized) Round 8: Gavilan Round 9: Gavilan Round 10: Bratton Total: 5-3-2 Gavilan (actual scores: 52-48 Gavilan, 52-48 Bratton and 50-50 for a draw) William, I checked this out a couple of months ago and just loved it. A bout fought at such a high skill level. The only thing about this fight that was odd was the Illinois scoring system back in the '50s (I know Missouri was using this system as well, so maybe it was adopted throughout the midwest). Anyways, it was a 10 point system, but one where the points were divided - like a 6-4 for the winner and 5-5 for an Even round. So the only conundrum would be the 7th. I had already given Bratton the 7th, but at the top of the 8th the commentator states Gavilan was penalized in the 7th for holding and hitting and rabbit-punching. So the 6-4 I had for Bratton - I suppose - becomes a 7-3 for Bratton. And if that is the case, my final score on the system used at the time would be 51-49 for Gavilan.
Fair. I will not argue with any score on it. I encountered that 10-point system again two days ago when I watched LaMotta-Hairston II.
All I can do is quote you: "One of the best I've ever seen. Two classy, brilliant boxers that are a joy to watch" A wonderful fight. My score was 4-4-2 in rounds, so I had it a draw also. Thanks very much for posting this one.
