the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Tony Lopez v John-John Molina III.

Action-packed fight from beginning to end between two fantastic 130-pounders. The kind of fight that makes you remember why you became a fan of boxing.

I didn't score it.

 

I did!!! This is a highly underrated end to a highly underrated Trilogy
John John Molina vs Tony Lopez III
Round 1: 10-9
Round 2: 10-9 (20-18 Molina)
Round 3: 10-9 (30-27 Molina)
Round 4: 9-10 (39-37 Molina)
Round 5: 10-9 (49-46 Molina)
Round 6: 9-10 (58-56 Molina)
Round 7: 10-9 (68-65 Molina)
Round 8: 9-10 (77-75 Molina)
Round 9: 9-10 (86-85 Molina)
Round 10: 10-9 (96-94 Molina)
Round 11: 8-10 (104-104) Lopez scores a knockdown
Round 12: 9-10 (113-114 Tony Lopez)



As I said before, this is a really great and underrated trilogy. It started with Molina getting robbed in Lopez’s home town, then Molina came back in fight 2 and knocked Lopez out in his hometown. In this fight, Lopez finally gets some kind of vindication. He bested John John Molina in a series of 3 tough and brutal fights

 

Canelo vs Lara
Scorecard
Canelo - 2,4,5,7,8,9,12
Lara - 1,3,6,10,11
(7-5 Canelo)
A close fight where neither guy landed much, but one guy would land 1 or 2 punches then move excessively, while the other guy pressed the action & landed a good number of body shots & a few head shots.

 

I've been binge watching Tony Lopez fights again lately. What a great throwback fighter he was.

Lopez v Greg Haugen.

Lopez was too good for the tough Haugen, and this was the fight that earned him the title shot vs. Chavez. Good finish. Lopez always had the initiative.
140 seemed to give Lopez a new lease on life, despite him maybe being a bit past his best. He looked strong, and his speed and power hadn't diminished at all. He carried the weight well.

Lopez v Chavez.

Never having watched this one, I expected an explosive fight between these two fine warriors.
It didn't really materialize. Both seemed quite content to box, even though it was Lopez, somewhat surprisingly, who seemed the more aggressive, pushing Chavez back through stretches of the fight.
Chavez, though a bit faded at this stage of his career, was always a bit ahead, but Lopez was doing enough to make it interesting.
Unfortunately, Lopez' propensity to cut was his downfall, and the fight was stopped in the 10th.
Neither was in any trouble throughout.
A workmanlike performance from Chavez.

 

Boxxy, I watched this today. Great fight. There were some very close rounds here.

John John Molina v Tony Lopez III

Round 1: 10-9 Molina
Round 2: 10-9 Molina
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Molina
Round 5: 10-10 Even
Round 6: 10-9 Lopez
Round 7: 10-9 Molina
Round 8: 10-9 Lopez
Round 9: 10-9 Molina
Round 10: 10-9 Molina
Round 11: 10-8 Lopez (scores a knockdown)
Round 12: 10-9 Lopez

Total: 115-114 Molina (actual scores: 114-113 Molina, 114-113 Lopez and 115-112 for Lopez for a split win for Lopez)

Halfway through the first round I said to myself that Molina better keep this fight on the outside because Lopez was way too strong on the inside and I thought Molina really stuck to the game plan. When Lopez really forced it he did great, especially with those uppercuts, but I felt that Molina pot-shotting from the outside was really taking this home. Very close. Could go either way and it did.

 

This was from our FOTW thread.

Pinklon Thomas v Trevor Berbick

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

Total: 117-113 Berbick (actual scores: 115-113, 115-113 and 115-114 all for Berbick)

I felt the Thomas jab was putting me off a bit because, although he only landed it in ones, it was a hard jab and it can throw you off on your assessment. Berbick was landing the eycatchers but that thudding jab kept every round close. Still, a deserving win for Berbick.

 

I feel bad for Berbick. This is really an underrated victory. Too bad Trevor couldn't keep up this kind of success.

 

Kirk Johnson KO4 Oleg Maskaev

I don't make it a habit of revisiting Heavyweight fights, especially not from the modern era. But I somehow found myself watching this one.

Despite being unbeaten Johnson was the underdog against the hard punching Russian who was coming off a string of brutal knock outs against name fighters. Whereas the underachieving Johnson had been battling injury and taken on pretty soft opponents to pad his record.

Round 1
Johnson started pretty aggressive but looked uncomfortable and disjointed in his attacks. Though he did outwork Oleg for most of the first stanza but he was rocked hard at the end and forced to hold.

10-9 Maskaev

Round 2

Johnson recovered well, popping the jab and fluidly moving. He occasionally landed a right hand but was wild and taking the steam of his shots.
Whereas Oleg's right hands were short and crisp.
He really start to work over Johnson in the middle part of the round. Didn't look like it was going to last much longer.

20-18 Maskaev

Round 3

Much better round for Johnson. He kept it at range and held anytime Maskaev got close.
Not a lot of intensity from Oleg. A big right from Johnson seemed to wake him up in the last 30 secs but a couple of blatant low blows from Kirk right at the end of the round halted the action until the bell.

29-28 Maskaev

Round 4

Not even 20 secs into the round out of nowhere Johnson misses with a big right but follows it up with a left right on the chin. Maskaev goes down hard and is up on wobbly pins.
Kirk forces him into the ropes and a few more hooks on the button send Oleg through them. Ref could have counted to 50.

I know Johnson at times had some pretty big wraps on him. Many thought he was a wasted talent, that ill discipline in and out of the ring cost him greatness.
I didn't see it personally but its fights like these that make you think there was some merit to that way of thinking.

 

I really like Cristian Mijares bouts and I saw this one was available against hard-luck fighter Jose Navarro. This is not a slug-fest and it is not a chess match. It is a bout between two highly-skilled fighters that throw good, clean punches for all they are worth. This is right up there with some of the tightest fights you'll see. I enjoyed it for its skill and clean punching, but again, its not a slug-fest.

Cristian Mijares v Jose Navarro

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

Total: 117-115 Mijares (actual scores: 117-111 and 115-113 for Mijares and an unusual 120-108 for Navarro for a split win for Mijares)

To begin, I may have had a winner from that last round, but the video ended with about 47 seconds left, which really pi**ed me off. Anyways, this was so tight that I was at odds with several rounds of Harold Lederman's score. Navarro did land often but Mijares' shots had such a crispness about them and did extensive damage to Navarro (swollen eye, broken nose, cut right eye). Also, quite noticeable was judge Doug Tucker's shutout for Navarro at 120-108. Again, this was a close contest and one could see a close score for Navarro as well, but a shutout for either fighter was a head-scratcher. I had to check out Tucker's history when I saw this and saw that a few days later he was a judge in some 4 round heavyweight bout that ended in the first round...and he never judged again. I wonder if Nevada excommunicated him after that score??

 

Aaron Pryor’s Championship bouts / Part I

Notes:
- World light-welterweight boxing champion
- WBA Champion: 1980-1983
- IBF Champions: 1984-1985
- He was stripped of titles, due to drug consumption.
- Title fight record: 11-0-0 (9 KOs)


1. Aaron Pryor vs. Antonio Cervantes

Aaron Pryor: 1.68 m, 69“, 62.8 kg, 24yr., 24-0-0 (22KOs)
Antonio Cervantes: 1.75 m, 72“, 63.2 kg, 34 yr., 63-10-1 (35KOs)

Round 1: Cervantes (10-8), Pryor took a vicious right from Cervantes. He took the mandatory 8 count, but was up at 1.
Round 2: Pryor (10-9), Close round, but Pryor the aggressor.
Round 3: Pryor (10-9), Close round, a spectacular brawl at the end. Cervantes suffered a cut under his right eyebrow.
Round 4: Pryor wins by KO. A flurry of punches, together with a thunderous right knocked Cervantes out.

I scored it: 28-28 Draw.
Judges scores: 28-26 Cervantes, 29-26 Cervantes, 29-27 Cervantes

Notes:
- Cervantes was WBA Champion.
- Cervantes was a dangerous counter puncher and more experienced than Pryor.
- Cervantes showed good timing, accuracy and used his size advantage.
- Pryor was a tough and courageous fighter with incredible pace and work rate.
- Pryor had excellent footwork and body movement.
- Pryor showed versatile punches, combinations and a great leading hand.
- Last but not least, he was also a good puncher.


2. Aaron Pryor vs. Gaetan Hart

Aaron Pryor: 1.68 m, 69“, 62.8 kg, 25 yr., 26-0-0 (24KOs)
Gaetan Hart: 1.71 m, 62“, 62.7 kg, 27 yr., 44-19-3 (21KOs)

Round 1: Pryor (10-9), Pryor with impressive footwork. He was moving all around the ring.
Round 2: Pryor (10-7), A straight left-hand floored Hart (might be a slip). Hart was up immediately, but the referee was giving him the count. Afterwards, Pryor attacked and threw punches from all angles. An overhand right sent Hart to the canvas again.
Round 3: Pryor (10-9), Hart with fighting spirit.
Round 4: Pryor (10-9)
Round 5: Patterson (10-9), Another strong round by Pryor.
Round 6: Pryor wins by TKO. A tremendous right hand knocked Hart down. The Referee stopped the fight after the following battering by Pryor.

I scored it: 50-43 Pryor.
Judges scores: 50-45 Pryor (?), 50-45 Pryor (?), 50-43 Pryor

Notes:
- Pryor’s first title defense.
- Gaetan Hart was a solid Canadian boxer with fighting spirit.
- Pryor was clearly the superior boxer.
- He dominated the fight and demonstrated his broad skillset.
- Pryor appeared sometimes a little bit overconfident.


3. Aaron Pryor vs. Lennox Blackmoore

Aaron Pryor: 1.68 m, 69“, 63.5 kg, 25 yr., 27-0-0 (25KOs)
Lennox Blackmoore: 1.77 m, 75“, 63.3 kg, 30 yr., 23-2-0 (12KOs)


Round 1: Pryor (10-6), A quick start by Pryor. He attacked his opponent with multiple punches. A left hook sent Blackmoore to the canvas. Subsequently, Pryor swarmed all over his wobbling foe and knocked him down again. Blackmoore barely survived that round and suffered a cut above his right eye.
Round 2: Pryor wins by TKO. A left-right combination and Blackmoore was ready to go again. A left sent him to the canvas. He got up dazed. Shortly afterwards, the referee finished an action-packed fight.

I scored it: 10-6 Pryor
Judges scores: 10-8 Pryor, 10-7 Pryor, 10-7 Pryor

Notes:
- Blackmoore was literally overrun by Pryor.
- The fight took place on June 27, 1981 in Las Vegas.
- The Ring Magazine's Annual Ratings listed Lennox Blackmoore as No. 3 contender (1980) and as No. 9 contender (1981) at Junior Welterweight.

 

Romeo Anaya v Rogelio Lara (world bantamweight title)

Saw this fight out there for a while, but just getting to it now. California scoring in place. 1 point for a round, none for an even round.

Round 1: Lara
Round 2: Lara
Round 3: Even
Round 4: Lara
Round 5: Anaya
Round 6: Anaya
Round 7: Anaya
Round 8: Lara
Round 9: Even
Round 10: Anaya
Round 11: Anaya
Round 12: Even
Round 13: Anaya
Round 14: Anaya
Round 15: Lara

Total: 7-5 Anaya (actual scores: 7-6 Lara and two scores of 8-6 for Anaya for a split win for Anaya)

This was a close one. Media outlets too were split on the winner. Anaya was really your typical Mexican-trained fighter. Aggressive and trying to tee off on you at every chance. Lara, on the otherhand, was atypical. A boxer-puncher with a good defense, a continuously probing jab, which he used to close in and pot-shot with heavier punches. The problem here was that he was relying so much on an apparently good strategy, that he was letting the fight get away as the wilder but aggressive Anaya was landing. Had Lara fought with more fire, he could have taken this fight. Not great, but a decent fight.

 

Naoya Inoue v Nonito Donaire

Very good, although not quite great, fight. Inoue showed a good all-round game and his power while Donaire showed tremendous toughness and some good right hands too.

The later rounds rally from Donaire was impressive. I thought Inoue was in complete control until then so didn't see Donaire rallying but Inoue raised his level again after that and Donaire did well to make the final bell considering the punishment he was taking. Boxing needs more of this.

1 10-9
2 9-10
3 10-9
4 10-9 (close)
5 10-9 (Inoue wins big)
6 10-9
7 9-10
8 9-10
9 9-10
10 10-9
11 10-8 (the late rally is well and truly over. Strange knockdown as Donaire practically runs away to find a place to rest on the canvas. Inoue proceeds to beat the **** out of him when he gets back up.)
12 10-9

Inoue 116-111 Donaire

 

Roberto Duran - Esteban DeJesus III

Round 1: 9 - 10
Not much happening this round, both spend the full 3 minutes feeling each other out with Esteban seeming to land the most jabs
Round 2: 10 - 9
Round 3: 10 - 9
Round 4: 9 - 10
Gave it to Esteban for being the busier man, Duran not seeming to find many openings to start his attack here, close round though.
Round 5: 10 - 9
Duran really coming into his own this round, everything Esteban throws Duran is returning a combo and making him pay for missed punches.
Round 6: 10 - 9
Esteban seemingly more cautious with his punches this round and Duran starts his famed offense for the first time in the bout for which Esteban has no answer to. Duran's best round thus far.
Round 7: 9 - 10
Esteban staying on the back foot for the whole round and moving outside of Duran's range whenever he tries to start his assault. Not much happening this round because of Esteban fighting more cagey but I feel he landed the better punches.
Round 8: 10 - 9
Round 9: 10 - 9
Round 10: 10 - 9
Round 11: 10 - 9
Round 12: Duran win via KO

 

What did you think of the match as a whole?

 

Nick, this was how I had it and what I wrote when I saw it. A bit closer due to 2 even rounds, but we're in the ballpark.

Roberto Duran v Esteban Dejesus III

Round 1: 10-9 DeJesus
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Duran
Round 5: 10-9 DeJesus
Round 6: 10-9 Duran
Round 7: 10-9 DeJesus
Round 8: 10-9 Duran
Round 9: 10-9 Duran
Round 10: 10-9 Duran
Round 11: 10-9 Duran
Round 12: Duran stops DeJesus

Total through 11 completed rounds: 107-104 Duran

Razor sharp combos galore back and forth and all rounds close and competitive.