the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

I like Chick Hearn. He wasn’t a boxing expert by any means but he knew how to call the action and convey excitement.

 

I've been meaning to check out Orzubek Nazarov's career in depth for a long time now, so I started with his destruction of Gamache. Unfortunate that Nazarov's career had to end due to his eye.

Orzubek Nazarov vs Joe Gamache

N : G

1: 10 - 9 Gamache immediately defensive, trying hit and run tactics. Nazarov in complete control. Nasty, fluid combos.
2: KO Absolutely brutal volley of lefts by Nazarov for a third knockdown. The count was really unnecessary.

Notes:

• Nazarov dominant here. I'm liking his style. Seems much more pro oriented than other Soviet fighters. Brutal puncher, too.

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Luis Ibarra v Juan Herrera (flyweight title)

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Ibarra
Round 3: 10-9 Ibarra
Round 4: 10-9 Herrera
Round 5: 10-9 Ibarra
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Herrera
Round 8: 10-9 Herrera
Round 9: 10-9 Herrera
Round 10: 10-9 Herrera
Round 11: Herrera KOs Ibarra

Total through 10 completed rounds: 97-95 Herrera (actual scores: 97-95, 96-95 and 97-91 all for Herrera)

Ibarra started out so well with his beautiful counters and if he could have kept it mid-ring I think he would have done better, but the lure of the ropes killed him - that and Herrera's left hook to the ribs. Man, everytime he would go to the ropes Herrera would just grill him there. One could see the resolve just oozing out of Ibarra until finally in the 11th, his torso had had enough of those body shots, especially the left hook, and he just wilted to the canvas. Not a great, but a decent fight.

 

Larry Holmes (c) vs. Ossie Ocasio, scheduled for 15 rounds for the WBC heavyweight championship on March 23, 1979, at Hilton Pavilion in Las Vegas.

The fight, on a Friday night, was televised by ABC as the main event of a doubleheader, with Earnie Shavers destroying Ken Norton in 118 seconds in the chief support bout.

Holmes, 29, is making the second defense of his crown. He is 29-0 (20) and weighs 214 pounds.

Ocasio, 23, is 13-0 (9) and earned his shot with back-to-back decisions over Jimmy Young (the first on the Holmes-Norton undercard against a heavy Young, the second with Young weighing just one more pound than when many felt he beat Norton in what would retroactively be recognized as a fight for the vacant WBC belt when Leon Spinks elected to rematch Ali rather than fight Norton).

Holmes banks $1.2M, Ocasio $250K.

1: Holmes 10-9 — Larry jabs and lands a few rights; Ocasio is awkward as they come with his bobbing style, lashing out with occasional leaping hooks and rights that rarely land cleanly. Larry fights flat-footed and stalks.

2: Holmes 10-9 — Holmes walks him down and narrows the distance, raking OO Jaws over with uppercuts and hooks.

3: Holmes 10-9 — Larry gets the jab going a bit here. Ossie lands a right or hook here and there but nothing clean.

4: Holmes 10-9 — Larry comes out on his toes but still aggressive and lands a series of left hooks to the head, a little past the midpoint rocking OO with a right counter.

5: Holmes 10-9 — Larry works him over pretty good, especially to the body.

6: Holmes 10-9 — Slower round but Holmes gets the jab going and looks for the counter right. Ossie is looking ragged and his punches have no steam left.

7: Holmes knocks Ocasio down four times, the first with a jab. Then with a right, then another time with a right as he pummels Jaws and finally ends it with a left uppercut at 2:38.

This is the second consecutive knockout in a title defense for Larry (the first being against Alfredo Evangelista) and the streak will go to eight in a row before Trevor Berbick goes the distance.

Ocasio rebounds a year later to fight up-and-comer Michael Dokes to a draw, then loses the rematch by KO 1. He later becomes a cruiserweight champion. He’s a tough kid and never stopped trying, even throwing a couple of haymakers that miss in the final round after he’s been down and sees his chances slipping away. He’s also got a very herky-jerky rhythm that would give some fights a lot of problems. But this is Larry coming into his own and he’s just far too much for the Puerto Rican.

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Good breakdown, Pat. By any chance have you seen the Ocasio - Dwight Qawi fight? Interesting fight and the background is wayyyy interesting. Ocasio goes into the fight having fought just one clubfighter in 2 1/2 years. The winner is apparently in line for a shot at Holyfield and it was rumored that Ocasio suddenly appeared back in the WBA ratings before this fight. If you're going to watch the fight I'll say no more. But when someone suddenly pops up in the ratings by doing nothing, it does cast a pall over a fight where the winner may be fighting for the title.

 

I vaguely remember it happening but haven’t looked at it. Interesting styles clash there so I’ll see if I can find time. Thanks for the tip.

(BTW, I was at Holy-Qawi I in Atlanta and it’s the best fight I’ve ever seen live. Amazing what those two did.)

 

Whoaa! The atmosphere had to be electric with what was going on in the ring. Great fight to attend.

 

Rough, have you seen his bout with Mendy? I scored it about a year ago. Can't get enough of Nazarov.

 

I haven't. I'll check it out at some point. All I know is that Nazarov had some eye issues by the point, and Mendy was a quality fighter.

 

Santos Laciar v Sugar Baby Rojas (super flyweight title)

I saw this fight out there with good video quality and really liking both fighters. I thought the matchup was going to be real Ali-Frazier kind of stuff. Well, man, did I blow that one. Talk about 2 fighters that just didn't mesh. Especially the last 4 rounds which turned into a clinch-fest. Won't bother running a card here. I only gave Laciar the 11th round with a share of rounds 4, 9 and 10 for a score of 119-112 Rojas (actual scores: 119-109, 118-111 and 117-111 all for Rojas). Take it from me, give this fight a very wide berth.

 

Riddick Bowe vs. Herbie Hide, scheduled for 12 rounds, on March 11, 1995, at MGM Grand Las Vegas for the WBO heavyweight championship.

Bowe is 35-1, 241 pounds, coming off a decision over Larry Donald preceded by a no contest vs. Buster Mathis Jr (when he hit Mathis while he was down to end the fight).

Hide is 26-0, 214 pounds, coming off a KO of Michael Bentt to win the WBO crown.

It’s one of the oddest title fights I’ve seen.

Here’s how it went:

1. Hide 10-9: Herbie boxed on his bicycle but burst in from time to time with combos. The guy can hit. Bowe avoided any heavy punishment but was outworked while stalking his foe.

2. Hide 10-9: More of the same. Hide lands a few more clean shots but Bowe keeps up the pressure. Whenever Herbie lands, Bowe steps right back in.

3. Bowe 10-7: Hide does well but Bowe begins to land more, especially with his jab, and keeps coming forward. Then it gets strange. Herbie goes down without seeming to have been really hit (a left from Bowe goes over his head but doesn’t seem to even actually land - his left forearm ends up on the back of Hide’s neck but it didn’t impact as a punch. Referee Richard Steele rules it a slip. But from this point forward, Herbie is done. He goes down twice more in the round, the first was a punch but not a solid one.

4: Bowe 10-7: More of the same. Herbie goes down twice.

5: Bowe 10-8: Another knockdown for Bowe. Herbie looks weak and when he does throw his punches have no steam.

6: Bowe knocks him down once more and Herbie doesn’t get back up. Over by KO at 2:25.

I scored it 48-42 as did two of the judges. The other official card at the time of stoppage was 48-45.

I can’t find a single interview where Herbie has tried to explain why he went down in the first place, just that he made a mistake in trying to slug with the bigger Bowe. I think Bowe’s imposing size and pressure — even when Herbie rocked him a couple of times, Bowe continued to step forward immediately — simply wore him out.

I think he reached a panic mode when he realized he had landed his best stuff and it did nothing to dissuade Bowe. And once he reached that mode he was fighting himself, his own body trying to shut down, as much as he was fighting Riddick.

Remember, boxing is 90% mental — this to me is a good example of that.

 

Santos Cardona v John Wesley Meekins (NABF jr. welterweight title)

Needed to see some action and you can never go wrong with a John Meekins bout.

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

Total: 118-112 Meekins (actual scores: 117-109, 117-112 and 116-111 all for Meekins)

Cardona was defending NABF champ and was a decent fighter. One could tell by how many title shots he received during his career. But politics aside, he was a decent fighter, but Meekins' hustle on the inside took this fight for me. When Cardona could keep Meekins at arms-length where his very sharp straight shots could do their damage (such as in the 7th round), he was golden. But whether he opted to engage inside or simply couldn't keep Meekins off of him really told the story. A good fight with many of these rounds tight. A little perplexing at times listening to the British commentator say things like, "Well, Meekins didn't land a punch that round." I was like, "Huh? I just gave that round to Meekins for the shots he landed!" So I guess it's in the eye of the beholder.

 

After watching the Meekins-Cardona bout I just checked the history on Meekins in this thread to see how many other Meekins bouts have been scored by others and found a big, fat zero (aside from me). I can highly recommend some of his fights for those who don't know what they're missing. His fights with Terrance Alli and the second bout with Harold Brazier were terrific. Just what is needed to shake us out of the doldrums. Also, for a ring oddity, I would recommend the brief Meekins-Kawoya bout for a bout that will have you shaking your head.

 

Rewatched Arguello-Escalera 2 again - a fight I keep coming back to.

Pure fistic enjoyment. No need to score it, I just love watching this real high quality war.

 

Jel, I too have a couple of fights I will use as a 'go to' fight when I just want to see a good, hard, competitive fight with fast, clean punching. Lately they seem to be Chavez v Ruben Castillo, the 3rd bout between Mike Rossman and Mike Quarry and Duran v Sims. These fights tick every box for me when I just want to enjoy a good fight.