the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Leon Spinks vs Jesse Burnett

NABF Cruiserweight Championship

Round 1: 10-9 Spinks
Round 2: 10-9 Spinks. Close round. Nice little figth so far.
Round 3: 10-10. Great round. Was edging it towards Burnett off his jab but thought Spinks evened it out in the last 30 seconds. His punches seem harder though I think Burnett is landing cleaner.
Round 4: 10-9 Burnett. Big round for Burnett. Didn't follow up when he had Leon wobbled early in the round.
Round 5: 10-9 Burnett. Close.
Round 6: 10-9 Burnett. Spinks throws so many ineffective punches to get his few good shots in. Burnett much more efficent and effective.
Round 7: 10-9 Burnett. Spinks has a good plan and seems to be in great shape but Burnett is just outclassing him imo.
Round 8: 10-9 Burnett. Close.
Round 9: 10-9 Burnett
Round 10: 10-9 Burnett. close.
Round 11: 10-9 Burnett
Round 12: 10-9 Burnett. Close.

My Score: 118-111 Burnett

Official Scores: 116-114, 117-112 and 116-113 all for Leon Spinks.

Well that's not how I saw it is all I can say. Anyone seen this one and score it for Leon?

 

Philly, although I had it closer, I too had Burnett the winner. I know @Dynamicpuncher also scored it for Burnett, so don't question your score, Something was definitely amiss there. Here is what I wrote:

Leon Spinks v Jesse Burnett

Round 1: 10-9 Spinks
Round 2: 10-9 Spinks
Round 3: 10-9 Spinks
Round 4: 10-9 Burnett
Round 5: 10-9 Burnett
Round 6: 10-9 Burnett
Round 7: 10-9 Burnett
Round 8: 10-9 Burnett
Round 9: 10-9 Spinks
Round 10: 10-9 Burnett
Round 11: 10-9 Burnett
Round 12: 10-9 Spinks

Total: 115-113 Burnett (actual scores 116-113, 117-112 and 116-114 all for Spinks)

At the time I first saw this I screamed highway robbery. Now I see it calmly and only have Burnett ahead by two points, which may be controversial, but maybe not a robbery. Still, I thought Burnett deserved it with his pinpoint punching over Leon's greater - but not so precise - workrate.

 

Yeah I didn't think it was quite as wide as @Philly161 but I thought Burnett controlled the fight after the 3rd round, I also had it 115-113 for Burnett who was very unlucky losing close decisions. Alot of people thought he deserved to beat Galindez in their 1st fight, he was robbed vs John Conteh, and lost close decisions to Lopez aswell, imagine if all these decisions went his way.

 

I am in the apparent vast minority. I thought Spinks rallied to pull it out late.

 

Another decision that seemed iffy was his loss to Bash Ali. By the sound of the boxrec writeup, a rookie judge screwed up the names of the fighters. Regarding the Galindez fight, I have yet to read any kind of writeup on that fight. I may have at the time in the magazines, but I just don't remember.

 

I guess if u scored all my close rounds for Leon I could see a much closer score I just really have Burnett credit for what seemed like a really effective defense.

Spinks' work rate was excellent but Burnett won the battle of jabs, and he caught a lot of spinks' body punches on his elbows. Some of Leon's body punches also missed around the back of my Burnett. Not kidney shots, just looping too far around back and skimming on his back.

Granted I wasnt there in person and Leon was the aggressor, but it really looked like Burnett outclassed him to me

 

Throwing my hat into the Spinks-Burnett scoring. I was just thinking it’s pretty funny when a “random” fight gets some late life, so to speak, when a string of us posters decide to score it. I just imagine some fights going from 0 views for months at a time, then a “big” surge, when we get our hands on it.

Anyways, here we go.

Round 1 10-9 Spinks - Spinks had one gear in this round, which was to keep the pressure on and throw a ton of punches. Burnett landed some marvelous counters though and did better when he was in the center of the ring.

Round 2 10-9 Spinks - I liked Spinks activity once again in this round. It should be mentioned that despite being in the same weight class (cruiserweight) Spinks had nearly a 20 pound weight advantage over Burnett in this one.

Round 3 10-9 Spinks - This was a really close round. Burnett had Leon up against the ropes a few times this round and did really good work. I feel a slight momentum change. I personally don’t do a lot of even rounds, but wouldn’t hate it here.

Round 4 10-9 Burnett - Clean round for Burnett. Early on he lands the best punch of the fight. If the ropes didn’t keep Leon up, they sure helped steady him. Burnett does nothing to capitalize on Spinks being hurt, much to the chagrin of Gil Clancy. Burnett bookends the round with another solid right at the bell.

Round 5 10-9 Burnett - Another really close round. I really noticed how good Burnett’s defense was this round, and it makes me wonder if I undervalued it earlier in the fight. Burnett didn’t throw a ton of punches this round, but when he did they seemed to mostly land. Another close one here.

Round 6 10-9 Spinks - I really think Burnett’s strategy this round was to try to win it late, which he very well may have, but not on my card. Spinks wins this round just based on his effort throughout the round, while Burnett seemed to want to take a break and try to steal it at the end.

Round 7 10-9 Burnett - There were really times in this round where the old vet took Spinks to school. I almost wonder if the nonchalant appearance of Burnett hurts him on the scorecard. He has that calmness in the ring that reminds me of a James Toney, sort of, but I don’t think it helps him in the eyes of the judges. Spinks just really goes after it. He has a look of determination, because HE IS determined. Just a guess, with four rounds to go, but maybe that’s why the judges lean in his direction?

Round 8 10-9 Burnett - Burnett has this weird pause every time he seems to hurt Spinks. I don’t know anything about Burnett, so I can’t venture why. I know sometimes it’s a sparring partner or “opponent” mentality. Also, perhaps he has been dropped or knocked out while trying to finish opponents in the past? With 12 losses, both of these are viable, but I’ll have to do more digging to see why this seems to be a hang up. Regardless, he wins this round on my card.

Round 9 Spinks - Another close one. If you are just reading body language, it looks like Burnett is dead tired, and at times fairly uninterested. On the other hand is Spinks, who, while fatigued, has been trying the entire fight. I don’t hate giving this round to Burnett, even with that.

Round 10 Burnett - Interesting round, Burnett basically dictated the entire round. When he needed a rest he chose to rest against the ropes. When he was ready to work, which he did quite effectively, he moved to the center of the ring. It really was quite the subtle mastery of ring generalship here. Burnett is obviously tired, but dictating the action.

Round 11 Spinks - This round is a toss-up. Both fighters were dead tired for 2.5 minutes of the round, where they both came alive for the last 30 seconds. I am surprised that both announcers said they think Spinks needs a knockout to win. I don’t know my score at this point, but I feel on my card it's damn close.

Round 12 Spinks - Quite the spirited effort by Spinks to end the fight. With the crowds backing, he finished the fight reminiscent of how he started it. The work may have been a bit sloppy, but there was enough of it for my liking to give him the round.

My final card - I am quite surprised to find that I gave Spinks the nod 115-113. On a second watch I can see me giving it to Burnett. I say that because I think it’s possible I didn’t rate Burnett’s early work good enough and put too much stock in Spinks work. Again, I was surprised to hear both announcers thought Spinks needed a KO to win, and obviously my scorecard reflects that.


Good fight, certainly not upset I watched it!

 

I
just scored it and some what surprisingly to myself gave Leon 3 of the last 4 to win 7 rounds to 5.

 

Renaldo Snipes v Scott Frank (NJ rounds basis)

Round 1: Snipes
Round 2: Frank
Round 3: Snipes
Round 4: Frank
Round 5: Snipes
Round 6: Snipes
Round 7: Even
Round 8: Even
Round 9: Snipes
Round 10: Snipes

Total: 6-2-2 Snipes (actual scores: 6-3-1 Frank, and two scores of 4-4-2 and 5-5 Even for a majority Draw)

I remember at the time this fight took place that I was surprised at this bout being a draw on the heels of Snipes v Holmes. I didn't dwell on it too much as I wasn't really a fan of Snipes, so I didn't have a horse in this race. But watching it now I think to myself, man, I just don't see that decision. I know this fight was in NJ, but Harold Lederman was the only judge that went for Frank, which blows my mind. Frank didn't look like anything more in there than a journeyman and Snipes was wild but did enough clearly on my card to have him ahead. It is not a must-see bout but I wanted to see it.

 

Frank Fletcher W10 Norberto Sabater

The scoring was easy here; I scored only one round for the game but completely outgunned Sabater. Brave kid though. He had a horrendously awful fight plan of (despite his apparent reputation as a boxer) coming right at Fletcher and trying to outpunch him in the trenches. Despite having only six KO's in 19 fights. Seriously? Whose idea was that? Whoever he is, he's fired.

The kind of beating handed out here by Fletcher is the prolonged kind that most fighters don't recover fully from if they're on the receiving end. Sabater proved thi srule. He was undefeated coming in and his career immediately began spiraling down afterward. He got steamrolled, but never stopped trying to punch with Fletcher, who as always finished with one eye shut and looking like a bus had hit him.

Not as great a Fletcher fight as some others, but only because Sabater really posed no true threat.

1. Fletcher
2/ Fletcher
3. Sabater
4. Fletcher
5. Fletcher
6. Fletcher
7. Fletcher
8. Fletcher
9. Fletcher
10. Fletcher

99-91 Fletcher. Official scores were 7-2-1, 7-3, and 10-0 for Fletcher.

 

Sal, I scored this a while back and had the exact same score, only giving Sabater the 3rd as well.

 

Yeah, it was one of those where you knew how it was going to pan out so felt a bit freer to allow a gift round for Sabater if you wanted. The third was essentially that. He did outwork him there though.

 

Saw it on TV when it happened. Had seen Fletcher on ESPN, winning their tournament. Then beating, I think it was Sammy Nesmith.

Sabater was game as hell but he got beat up to hell and back.

 

Miguel Canto W15 Betulio Gonzalez (III)

The last fight I reviewed was a Frank Fletcher effort. Juxtaposing him and Canto is akin to going through a Stephen King thriller before reading Dostoyevsky. You're really enjoying the page-turning suspense of the King novel, but also keenly aware that the other one is great literature.

Canto has probably the most educated left hand I've seen, him and Napoles. The key difference between the two is power. Napoles can take you out with his left, Canto's is there to remind you you're doing it wrong and should keep your hands up. It reminds me of when I was sparring and working out at the Al Davies Gym in Tacoma in the 80's. I had a coach wearing the pads who would lead me around the ring and have me throw certain sequences of punches. I had the beginner's habit of dropping my right (jabbing hand, as a southpaw) after throwing it and he'd just tag me in the head with his padded left as he switched hand positions for the next combination. Canto is like that. He's very busy with the left and throws the right as a reminder to his opponent, though his right uppercut off the hook has some zing on it and worked very well.

Gonzalez, for his part, seemed more concerned with not missing punches than throwing them, and it cost him. He seemed far too content with following Canto around the ring and not throwing anything, which was an enormous error. His pressure began to pay some dividends in the later rounds when Canto began to get a little less fluid and tire perhaps just a bit, but his pressure amounted to merely taking a forward step when Canto backed up, rather than just throwing hands. If you hit his arm or his shoulder, great! Just throw something. You're not gonna match Canto feint for feint, so don't try, just come forward and throw. Canto showed no ability to hurt Gonzalez with even his best shots, so Betulio seemed to have precious little to fear but he was simply too inactive for vast stretches.

Good performance against a really good opponent though. Canto has a beautiful, flowing style, very intuitive.

1. Canto
2. Even
3. Canto
4. Canto
5. Canto
6. Canto
7. Gonzalez
8. Canto
9. Canto
10. Gonzalez
11. Gonzalez
12. Canto
13. Canto
14. Gonzalez
15. Canto

146-140 Canto.

 

Evander Holyfield v Michael Dokes

Round 1: 10-9 Holyfield
Round 2: 10-9 Holyfield
Round 3: 10-9 Dokes
Round 4: 10-9 Holyfield
Round 5: 10-10 Even
Round 6: 10-8 Holyfield (1 point deducted from Dokes for repeated low blows)
Round 7: 10-9 Holyfield
Round 8: 10-10 Even
Round 9: 10-9 Holyfield
Round 10: Holyfield stops Dokes

Total through 9 completed rounds: 89-83 Holyfield (actual scores: 89-82, 87-83 and 87-84 all for Holyfield)

Thanks to @Jel and @Saintpat for putting this on my radar. Remember the fight well when it took place but thought I would rewatch it these many moons later after seeing activity on it. Man, I don't want to sound like a geezer, but this is what heavyweights used to do. After recently watching Parker and Joyce huffing and puffing, slogging their way through 11 rounds with the hopes of simply catching the opponent with one punch, one only has to watch a fight like this to see where the division went. Holyfield at 208 and Dokes at 225 (his prime was about 10 pounds lighter) put on a show. Speedy combos, hard counters, body shots that are missing in today's game and stamina to fight at a pace like this says it all. Outstanding fight.