the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Thomas Tate v Joseph Kiwanuka (some vacant crap super middleweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 JK
Round 2: 10-9 JK
Round 3: 10-9 JK
Round 4: 10-10 Even
Round 5: 10-9 JK
Round 6: 10-8 Tate (Tate's round and JK was penalized for repeatedly hitting after the bell)
Round 7: 10-9 JK
Round 8: 10-9 JK
Round 9: 10-9 Tate
Round 10: 10-9 Tate (an Even round but JK again penalized for hitting after the bell)
Round 11: 10-9 Tate
Round 12: 10-9 Tate

Total: 114-113 Tate (actual scores: 114-112, 114-112 and a 117-109 all for Tate)

Amazing that Tate came back (along with the point deductions) after such an abysmal start to the fight. I'm sure JK felt hard done by but what was his issue with hitting after the bell? The ref gave him every chance including telling his corner to tell their man that he was going to start taking points. But regardless, a decent fight.

 

Let me mark a few off, I re watched a couple of enjoyable fights of the main fighters this weekend.
Stevenson vs Yoshino - One of my favourite Stevenson performances.
Lopez vs Campa - Looked sharp, good to watch.
Then Stevenson vs Dos Santos, note to self, do not watch this again.
Carrington vs Bernard Torres - If I remember right Torres was positive and had a few moments.


Finally Zayas vs Teixera, I like what I’ve seen of Zayas so far (all prior to his title fights), this fight stuck to the same pattern but it was a decent watch. My biggest takeaway, I would like a taste of Puerto Rican weekend, it looked so lively in that arena, not a word I use a lot but maybe I’m still just about young enough to use it, it was a Vibe.

 

I’ve been to Puerto Rico, albeit saw no boxing nor even visit a gym. (It was for a college basketball tournament, actually.) But I can tell you that what I saw was, on the whole, more lovely than lively. (I’m sure it gets lively but I was mostly in the ‘touristy’ area where all the hotel/casinos were, plus the obligatory visit to Old San Juan and trekking to American University of PR for the basketball games).

If I were to ever go back, I’d ask our @AntonioMartin1 for tour-guide tips of what to check out and experience that I missed.

(Interestingly, it was over Thanksgiving and there were no games that day, so I set out on foot with a friend to see if I could find a traditional holiday meal and I did … in an Irish pub of all places. Really good old-fashioned turkey and dressing with iirc mashed potatoes and other fixings that were very ‘just-like-home,’ haha.)

 

Jeff Fenech v Calvin Grove

Round 1: 10-9 Fenech
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Fenech
Round 5: 10-9 Grove
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: Grove scores a 1-punch KO

Total through 6 completed rounds: 59-58 Fenech (actual scores: 2 scores of 58-56 for Fenech and a 57-57 with Fenech leading)

To tell you the truth, I had actually forgotten the exact result of this fight. I knew Grove won and I recall him dropping Fenech, but that was from printed results. I have never seen this one before. I just recall my reaction when reading the result at the time. Something along the lines of, "Oh, man, when Grove can drop you, you know your jaw is gone."

A tight fight leading into the 7th with Grove boxing and sharp-shooting with his right over the top while Fenech's mauling style kept him on top, but barely on my card. Fenech was definitely missing a step, reflex-wise, but the one-punch KO was something to see and not one that anyone would expect.

 

On the heels of Fenech-Grove I wanted to check out another Fenech bout that I had never seen. And I alighted upon...

Samart Payakaroon v Jeff Fenech (super bantamweight title)

Round 1: 10-8 SP (scores a knockdown)
Round 2: 10-9 Fenech
Round 3: 10-8 Fenech (battering)
Round 4: Fenech KOs Payakaroon

Total through 3 completed rounds: 28-27 Fenech (actual scores: 28-27, 29-27 and another 29-27 all for Fenech)

The announcers mentioned that the first round knockdown scored by the Thai was a push. But I think they were simply leaning towards Fenech during this encounter. I replayed it a couple of times and felt Fenech rushed forward and walked onto a counter. I felt it was a good knockdown. The Thai's southpaw counters were good but Fenech was more machine than man in this one and wasn't going to be denied. Once he had the Thai against the ropes, he tasted blood and it was just a matter of time.

 

Chavez—Whitaker

I had it 7-5 Whitaker. Can’t remember too many rounds for sure, but I had Chavez def winning the first 2 and round 12, and a couple of rally rounds in the middle after falling behind. Much better performance by Whitaker than against Oscar.

 

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Ezzard Charles vs Harold Johnson.

Round 1 - Johnson.
Round 2 - Johnson.
Round 3 - Johnson.
Round 4 - Charles.
Round 5 - Johnson.
Round 6 - Charles.
Round 7 - Charles.
Round 8 - Johnson.
Round 9 - Charles.
Round 10 - Johnson.

6-4 Harold Johnson.

Heavyweight battle between two of the greatest light heavyweight fighters of all time. Johnson is in the top ten, whereas Charles is more or less considered the best at the weight. The bout itself was very entertaining. Charles, not quite the fighter he once was, probably let the fight slip in the first half, which allowed Johnson to stack up rounds to win the decision, 2-1 in his favor. Tough exchanges for virtually the entire duration of the bout. Good fight indeed.

 

Chuck, despite having almost an identical score, we actually only agreed on about 4 rounds. But that is due to the closeness of the bout. It's funny, when I saw your post I actually got excited about seeing this fight as it was in its entirety. But I have gotten in the habit of checking the search engine after having previously scored fights that I had already posted (LOL). And sure enough, I scored this fight about 4 years ago. Anyways, this is what i wrote:

Ezzard Charles v Harold Johnson (rounds scoring basis)

Round 1: Johnson
Round 2: Charles
Round 3: Even
Round 4: Johnson
Round 5: Johnson
Round 6: Johnson
Round 7: Charles
Round 8: Johnson
Round 9: Johnson
Round 10: Charles

Total: 6-3-1 Johnson (actual scores: 6-3-1 and 7-3 both for Johnson and a 5-4-1 for Charles with Johnson the winner on a split)

What is quite noticeable in this bout is how Charles is clearly missing a step. Taking nothing from Johnson, but Ez was 32 years old with a lot of mileage on those tires. One could see in this bout how Ez resigned himself after the first couple of rounds to sharp-shooting with the left hook or right hand because Johnson was containing him brilliantly with his left jab and was very strong on the inside. Ez was just not going to outpoint him. Still, he gave a good account of himself and I felt the knockdown in the 10th was legit for Charles, which is why I gave him the round. Classy fight between two top technicians.

 

Johnson was an 11-5 betting underdog. Even after the fight Charles didn't consider much of Johnson, Marciano was probably on his radar the entire time. Still it was a classy fight as you said. It would have been a even better one if they fought in the 40's.

 

Gianfranco Rosi v Duane Thomas (jr. middleweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Rosi
Round 2: 10-9 Rosi
Round 3: 10-9 Rosi
Round 4: 10-9 Thomas
Round 5: 10-9 Rosi
Round 6: 10-9 Rosi
Round 7: Rosi drops and stops Thomas

Total through 6 completed rounds: 59-55 Rosi (actual scores: 60-55, 60-56 and 60-54 all for Rosi)

Man, I remember watching this live and just couldn't believe how this unfolded. Was totally of the belief that Thomas was going to steamroll Rosi, whom I couldn't stand with his mauling, Benvenuti-ish style. Thomas got his excellent jab going in the 2nd round but it just wasn't a factor other than marking up Rosi a bit. But I have to give it to Rosi. He was always very strong and in this fight, continually beat Thomas to the punch with a tremendous work-rate. For a guy who almost always went the distance, Rosi pulled out an amazing KO.

 

You are speaking my language here. I liked Franco back in the day for his rough-and-tumble style and have come to appreciate the skill in which he uglies up fights even more over the years.

I bet nobody ever got out of the ring after a fight with Rosi saying ‘that was a pleasant experience.’

 

Lloyd Honeyghan!

Lloyd never gets credit for this win over a future 2-time light-middleweight champion.

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Ragamuffin Man’s whirling dervish style makes Gianfranco look like a classicist, a pure textbook boxer.

 

I penciled this in when I saw a post about this fight by @Steve Fero I realized I never saw it other than the stoppage. I also checked to see what history there is on this fight and apparently no one here has offered a card. So here we go.............

Muhammad Ali v Jimmy Ellis

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

Total through 11 completed rounds: 108-102 Ali (actual scores: 108-102, 110-102 and 107-104 all with Ali leading)

These two knew each other well, which is why I furled my brow when one of the announcers (the other was Joey Bishop) said something along the lines of Ellis never having saw this kind of a jab before (or something like that). I yelled aloud, "What?! These two knew each other as kids. Fought exhibitions and hundreds of rounds sparring!" It drives me crazy when someone prattles on with something they don't know anything about. Another gem was when he said to Joey Bishop that in this state even rounds are not allowed. It is a 10-point must so it has to be a 10-9. Again, I think i yelled, "Are you an idiot?" Anyways, Ellis got in some very nice sharp blows but was out-gunned by an Ali who really took his time.

 

Roy Jones Jr vs John Ruiz WBA Heavyweight title

Partial watch

1) Ruiz 10-9
2) Jones 10-9
3) Jones 10-9
4) Jones 10-9
5) Jones 10-9
6) Jones 10-9
7) Jones 10-9


Watched part of this fight last night, I haven't watched this fight in years and it was nice to see Jones at the top of his game. The HBO broadcast on YT that I watched was a replay before the live showing of Wlad Klitschko vs Corrie Sanders and it had the judges scores posted. Two of the three judges gave Ruiz the first round. Ruiz landed a couple of solid punches including a right hand that seemed to buckle Jones a little who then responded with a big right hand of his own. Merchant claimed to have the round even and I think Lederman gave it to Jones. Ruiz was in phenomenal shape at 226 which was his lightest weight in 3 years and the lightest for the remainder of his career.

Ruiz boxed well in the first round and the HBO team discussed him coming in light and wanting to box more like he did earlier in his career and rely less on rough housing. The conversation around that focused on how this was a bad idea. Over the next few rounds this mistake was obvious. Foreman continued to belabor the point that Ruiz needed to stop waiting and needed to rush Jones, get him to the ropes and be physical. "Throwing 21 punches a round is not going to put enough pressure on Roy".

There was a right hand at the end of the 4th that bloodied John's nose and seemed to shake him up. Ruiz was not on the verge of being stopped or anything but it was the punch that seemed to break John and end the fight strategically. Jones had little difficulty with Ruiz after this and began to really land his left hook. The fight was essentially in the center of the ring with an extremely cautious Ruiz waiting and waiting. Ruiz would land hard jabs occasionally but never anything to steer the fight back.

I know Jones is responsible for a lot of Ruiz's passivity but I still have to say as far as high profile fights go, this was one of the biggest strategic blunders I can remember in my lifetime. It is up there with Arturo Gatti trying to box with Floyd Mayweather or Canelo Alvarez trying to box Floyd Mayweather. Ruiz needed to make this a dirty and foul filled fight and he never really tried. I understand coming in lighter to be well conditioned and quick. Despite being smaller than usual he still held a massive size advantage of 33 pounds. He could have been nimbler but still imposing, he never tried to be imposing. It may have led to him being countered more and taking a worse beating but at least he would have made it interesting.

Roy Jones has such an interesting legacy. I feel like he is still highly revered by fans from his prime but many others don't hold him in high regard especially in fantasy match ups. I know the "chin warriors" who only analyze fights based on glass jaws but continue to get fights wrong that are so obvious on paper because of "glass jaws" think Roy is a bum. I think he would have been in the mix at heavyweight at this time. It was a transitional moment with the closing of Lennox Lewis's career and the ending of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield as serious threats/contenders. James Toney was making a run and Wladimir Klitschko was about to hit a major bump in the road. Vitali Klitschko was about to have a brief run before taking a retirement. I know Ruiz essentially fought the perfect fight for Roy to look good but I can't help but feel like he could beat the majority of the top 10. His reflexes and foot work were superb and he had enough power to keep guys honest