Francisco Vargas vs. Miguel Berchelt & Takashi Miura vs. Miguel Román RBR

Round 4

Román is warned for hitting on the break. Miura is getting crowded into the ropes as Román continuously leaps at him throwing uppercuts with both hands and plowing him with power body shots, twisting his hips to torque them through. Miura again reasserts control by sliding outside and loosing a deluge of southpaw jabs on Román's face, mostly serving to blind & incapacitate him so Miura can load up on massive lefts to his torso and skull. Miura flurries at the bell and lands one full combo, the next one blocked.

10-10

40-37 Miura

 

Just starting to get interesting. Not the magically violent sort of Chinese fire drill you would've expected a 2015 clash between this pair to be. They're both old for their weight range, but watching them work at utilizing what they have, each playing to his strengths and swapping turns at respectively dominating the first or last minute of the round is pretty fascinating (if only to a longtime diehard's eyes)

 

Round 5

Román is charging ahead, chin down, sweeping heavy uppercuts into Miura's lungs and then alternating big fat hooks with either hand as Miura's arms drop. Miura getting caught & backed up consistently. Miura tries rallying with some body combos and chopping overhand lefts, but can't budge the determined (and responsibly high-blocking/weaving on the march) Román. Miura hurt a few times, scrambling for cover but not running outright, just looking for positioning to counter and get the upper hand. Still never more than a tenement door's wedge between them.

10-9 Román

49-47 Miura

 

Round 6

Román is pouring on the body shots. Miura is backing up and slinging himself desperately with sandbag-hauling overhands at Román to stave him off. Double right hand and left hook get in flush and hurt Miura. Román is walking through Miura's jabs, squared up, relentless.

10-9 Román

58-57 Miura

 

Round 7

Miura comes out and tries decapitating Román with a series of downward slashing lefts from on high. Román soaks them up, dauntless, and keeps working the body and pushing telegraphed but hard ones & twos at Miura's face. Brief respite to fix glove tape. Miura spends the rest of the round worming his way in close, pretending to shoeshine the body, mostly just looking to clinch and stall.

10-9 Román

67-67

 

Miura is done, I fear.

Not in this fight necessarily (though Román has the momentum at the moment, but plenty of time left for another turnaround) but in general. Whoever asked earlier if he is shot - yes, pretty much.

 

Round 8

Román is wrestling in center ring when Miura tries draping his arms over him, tossing Miura away before continuing to pelt the chest with short hooks and thudding arm-punch uppercuts while ambling in. Román staggers Miura occasionally with a looping right just below the jawline, partially on his throat. Miura swinging wildly now and missing from afar, lobbing some wavy missiles that Román actually has enough advance notice of to duck (a maneuver he is clearly unfamiliar with using much, as it ends up being a very clumsy and uncertain - but still defensively effective - motion)

10-9 Román

77-76 Román

 

Yeah the bottom of the hourglass is quickly filling with sand here. I've pretty much written off a (fair) decision for him at this point. He needs to pull out a big KO.

The good news is, he's capable of pulling a punch like that from his ass... (plus Román has been huffing and puffing since the 4th, putting in all this pressure work)