ShoBox thread - "Chop Chop" Corley vs. "El Riel" Hernandez

My RBR here will be about a half hour behind real-time while watching on DVR, as the end of ESPN Friday Night Fights cut into the beginning.

8 rounds, light welterweights
Juan Castaneda 16-2-1 (12) vs. Francisco Contreras 12-0 (11)

Round 1

Contreras has a very relaxed poise and a nice jab. His feet get caught in quicksand now and then as he almost gets so relaxed he forgets to move away from incoming fire but he's able to slip fairly well. Castaneda complains about a rabbit punch. Contreras with his back on the ropes invites Castaneda in and counters with blinding speed with both hands. Castaneda tries to tie up but is unable to get his arms even close to Contreras' body as his face is peppered with leather.

He winds up on his butt and doesn't even think about getting up.

Early impression, Contreras looks like a decent asset.

 

This was actually a fantastic finish, I'm probably just a bit desensitized to fully appreciate it having just been wowed by Paredes-Hernandez. :yep

 

Freddy Hernandez vs. DeMarcus "Chop Chop" Corley

Round 1
Corley staying in the pocket, not giving Hernandez any quarter and landing with jabs and hooks. He's keeping the straight left cocked but not really using it, may be waiting for a spot. Corley knocks Hernandez to the ground with a forearm to the back of the neck, ref correctly rules it a slip. Hernandez bounces up and buzzes ChopChop with a nasty straight (and I mean straight) right hand. Corley doesn't back off, however, and continues to circle to his left and swing for the fences.

Great round. Corley actually won a majority of it but that one right hand by Hernandez dwarfed any of his touches.

 

Round 2

Corley standing in front of Hernandez and rolling away from punches rather than devoting energy to unnecessary lower body movement. Hernandez tries to time him for a 1-2 but Corley is giving him weird angles. A few of Freddy's shorter punches are getting in. When they get in close Hernandez is able to spank Corley behind the elbows. The sweet spot for Chop Chop is the mid range, right at the end of his jab. Corley blocks a jab only to take a right hand to the kidney area. Another 1-2 attempt lands well short of Corley's chin as he dips back, then returns with his own counter.

Corley's looking game here. This is a night for veterans digging down deep.

Even after 2.

 

Round 3

Corley making Hernandez miss consistently (except to the body...fortunately for him, Hernandez isn't concentrating much of his focus there) and throwing from unconventional angles. Really nice three punch combination lands for Corley, and then he leans away with his head turned completely away from Hernandez - very dangerous, but he gets away with it. Corley looks to be flirting with the border between awkward and wild. After a clinch Corley calms down and gets back into a rhythm. Hernandez still committing to his high 1-2. The kid's determined.

Corley 29-28

 

Round 4

Corley showing a 1-2 of his own, it zips Freddy's head back and he takes couple of retreating steps. Hernandez presses forward and gets into his ideal range on the inside (even though he's taller and longer) and begins to try to rough Corley up. It's growing uglier now, between Corley's herky jerky upper body movements and Hernandez trying to get on him. Hernandez misses a jab but the right hand whistles home behind it, glancing. Another one lands square on the face as Corley ducks down. Clear knockdown, ruled a slip. :roll:

Hernandez round, should be 10-8 but officially has to be 10-9.

38 all.

 

Round 5

Hernandez coming on strong now. Finally a 1-2 lands in its entirety (as in, both 1 & 2) and staggers Corley back. Corley still trying to swim circles around Hernandez, and still has a rhythm but is a step slower. Some of the body shots may be taking a toll on his ring-worn frame. Another big right, this one a counter over Corley's now-slower southpaw 1-2, crashes onto ChopChop's chin, but DeMarcus was able to turn into it - not quite slipping, as he saw it too late, but still reducing the damage as it is not a direct head-on hit. Corley now tries to get close, looking for a clinch but unable to secure one, then opts to back away from Hernandez to clear his head. He dips to his side, this time slower than before, and Hernandez patiently sizes him up with an ENORMOUS right hand down the middle that nearly uncorks his skull from his spine.

Corley wobbles on one leg for a moment...

...and then smashes to the mat and twitches.

Woah. :shock:

That's it.

 

It was pretty funny, the way he kind of leaned like the tower of Pisa (if the tower of Pisa were a pogo stick) and then went down almost harder than he got hit.

However, in all seriousness, I really hope he's OK - and that he retires immediately. That was brutal. It was probably more devastating than the Paredes-Hernandez KO.

 

Oddly enough, the main event according to the programming schedule was supposed to be Lateef Kayode vs. David Whittom (yeah, I dunno either :conf ) but they didn't even air it. :huh

Even if that was a typo about it being the main event, you'd think with two inside-distance endings they could squeeze in an 8-rounder. Nope. Inside The NFL time.