the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

I knew Leo a little bit. He was attempting a comeback in 1986 that never really came to fruition. I met him because he started working out again at the gym I worked out of.

 

Seems like a classy guy.

 

Ray Leonard KO8 Johnny Gant

This was for the NABF welter title, and Gant was no slouch; a pro for 12 years at that point, he'd been rated in the top ten at the weight since 1973, and challenged once for the welterweight title, losing over 15 to Angel Espada.

Despite the 50+ fights of experience, Gant was never really in the thing. Leonard was tested, but as a young(er) Larry Merchant said from ringside, this test was more about Leonard learning how to solve a difficult, defensive-minded spoiler and close the show. Leonard won every round on my card. Gant just didn't want to do much except flick "keep away from me" jabs at Leonard, who stalked the older man around the small 17-foot ring. Leonard forced the issue and missed often, particularly with the overhand right, but landed big in the second which saw him rake Gant on the ropes, and finally the fateful eighth, when he floored Gant toward the end of the round and stopped him with a brief follow-up flurry afterward. It was a good stoppage, Gant was done.

Interestingly, it looks like Gant, much like Tyrone Crawley in my last writeup, dedicated his post-boxing life to helping underprivileged youth, and founded the Johnny Gant Foundation to further that goal. Like Crawley, he sadly passed away in 2021. Gant suffered from ALS.

A good stepping-stone fight for Leonard, whose braintrust did a good job of guiding him to his title shot later that year. A lot of his pre-Benitez bouts were pretty good opposition, varying in skillset and style. They prepared him well.

 

Derrick Jefferson v David Izon

Philly, checked this out today and I really can't add anything more than what you said other than Izon was nailing Jefferson up the middle with some subtle but clean shots. But still, it was Jefferson all the way until the 8th when he gassed out. I had it 78-73 through 8 completed rounds. Actual scores were 78-74, 78-73 and 78-72 all for Jefferson.

 

Glen Johnson D12 Clinton Woods I
Round 1: 10:9
Round 2: 10:9*
Round 3: 9:10
Round 4: 9:10
Round 5: 10:9*
Round 6: 10:9
Round 7: 10:9*
Round 8: 9:10*
Round 9: 10:9
Round 10: 10:9
Round 11: 10:9
Round 12: 9:10
Final Score: 116:112 Johnson

I've been watching and re-scoring some Johnson fights lately. He used to be one of my favorites when I first got interested in the sport.

Good fight, Woods was pretty crafty and well conditioned fighter - but Johnson was the aggressor and landing cleaner punches in majority of rounds.
I wouldn't call draw a robbery, although on neutral ground - Johnson would've gotten it in all likelyhood.

By the way, @Tim Witherspoon in Woods corner. Nice corner-work, pushed Woods to his limits if not beyond - He actually had the best round of the fight in the 12-th, after taking a bit of a beating in couple previous ones.

 

Ray Leonard KO4 Pete Ranzany

Another pre-Benitez Leonard fight, this one was just three months before he challenged the Puerto Rican for the WBC title.

Ranzany comes in tough and experienced, having built a solid reputation as a consummate boxer-puncher and legit top ten contender. He promises to bring the fight to Leonard, and does his best to make good on that. He comes forward behind a stiff jab and occasional follow-up combinations and does his best to push Leonard back. Ray bides his time, already a sign of a mature fighter, knowing there's no rush.

About midway through the first, Leonard begins to punch back. At first they're jabs, and jabs only, usually as a counter to Ranzany's own lefts. The 1976 Olympian's are different though; his jabs are fast, crisp, and hard. They snap Ranzany's head back, and it becomes apparent fairly early that Leonard can hit him pretty much at will. Ranzany, for all his experience and professionalism, offers little head and upper-body movement. His stance has always been like this; the tight, high guard, elbows dutifully tucked into his ribcage, gloves protecting his chin to a degree. It's a bit unimaginative though, and looks like an amateur trait he unfortunately never shed. A little more fluidity would have been great, but he did well with what he had.

As to the fight, Leoanrd won each of the three rounds leading up to the fourth, when he stunned Ranzany and then mercilessly pounded him for a knockdown and horrific follow-up barrage that referee Joey Curtis seemed content to allow. The stoppage was a good dozen shots late, awful job there. This is the same referee who so infamously stopped Dokes-Weaver 1 early, on the heels of Mancini-Kim.

Overall, another time-capsule bout showing off the growing maturity of Leonard as a budding great. He did have those extra few ingredients, that's for sure.

 

Brandon Rios v Urbano Antillon

This one popped up in my YouTube feed and I immediately clicked on it. I didn’t remember the fight or the result but I immediately thought 2 things:
1. Complete brawl
2. Rios will win

Both face-first brawlers with no real defensive capabilities but Rios was clearly the stronger of the two so this panned out as I expected.

Round 1 was a non-stop punchathon which Rios took, round 2 seemed as though Antillon got the better of it at the end and then it all fell apart in round 3 for Antillon, with two KDs against him and no legs under him, the ref is waved it off.

Short fight, but fun.

 

What you point out about Leonard in the first round is actually a trait of his.

In nearly every bout you see, he rarely throws a punch in the first 60 to 90 seconds of the fight. He likes to size up his opponent and get a feel for his style, speed, power — whatever he has. Then he begins to throw some punches. It’s a remarkably measured and patient approach.

 

Michael Dokes v Gerrie Coetzee (heavyweight title)

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Coetzee
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Coetzee
Round 5: 10-8 Coetzee (scores a knockdown)
Round 6: 10-9 Dokes
Round 7: 10-9 Coetzee
Round 8: 10-9 Coetzee
Round 9: 10-9 Coetzee
Round 10: Coetzee drops and stops Dokes

Total through 9 completed rounds: 89-83 Coetzee (actual scores: 87-85, 88-85 and 87-86 all for Coetzee)

Amazingly, despite all the highlight vids I've seen on this one over the years, I've never seen this one in its entirety. And let me tell you, when you see this in its entirety, it paints a completely different picture than what we're used to hearing about over the years. I half expected to see Dokes waddling around the ring in search of shelter with the things I've heard on this fight. But to tell you the truth, Dokes didn't look bad at all. His weight was under control, he was spry, agile and not huffing and puffing the way we've seen him over the years. I think the coked out story was just that, a story to paper over the cracks of his defeat and it really does an injustice to Coetzee's deserved victory.

 

Remember the hype surrounding the proposed Holmes-Coetzee fight? A few pundits were actually calling for a Coetzee upset, citing the largely overblown idea of Holmes' susceptibility to right hands and his age.

 

Oh, man, yeah. I remember that and I believe it was close to being made. I think it was the Page fight that sent it down the toilet. But regardless of the fervor and possible success Coetzee would have in making it a competitive fight, Holmes was still on another level.

 

That was in 1983 wasn't it? And Coetzee pulled out citing a hand injury.

 

Was that what it was? I couldn't remember. I thought blowing his title to Page was the deal-breaker. Thanks for that, William.

 

I only remember it falling apart for financial reasons, and Holmes' stated claim that he didn't want to fight a South African because of apartheid. One wonders why talks made it as far as they did if sociopolitical things were that big a concern.

William may be onto something about the hand but I'd not read about it.

 

Tony Tubbs v Bruce Seldon

Round 1: 10-8 Tubbs (scores a knockdown)
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-9 Tubbs
Round 4: 10-9 Tubbs
Round 5: 10-9 Tubbs
Round 6: 10-9 Seldon
Round 7: 10-9 Seldon
Round 8: 10-9 Seldon
Round 9: 10-9 Tubbs
Round 10: 10-9 Tubbs

Total: 97-93 Tubbs (actual scores: 97-92, 97-92 and 98-91 all for Tubbs)

A fast-paced bout with a lot of whip-like jabs flying about. Seldon should have worked more on the inside rather than stay outside catching Tubbs' jabs. The styles meshed well enough to have been an even better fight, but perhaps I'm overestimating Seldon's stamina. Perhaps he was more tired than he seemed. But when I'm yelling at the screen for Seldon to "get in there and work!", one can see it could have been closer.