Anselmo Moreno vs. William Urina & Oscar Escandon vs. Nehomar Cermeno RBR

Spousal drama pulled me away the other night, but I got around to watching and scoring both of the co-featured matches...

Escandon vs. Cermeno - draw.

Escandon was the aggressor, with the harder punches - but Cermeno effectively limited his ability to get any momentum going by keeping just beyond his reach, feathering his face with jabs and dropping in sneaky body shots parlayed into clinches. Escandon proved not to be very clever about closing the distance, just following Cermeno around the ring and wiping his feet on the doormat with his jab probing the air while only grazing with some of his long body shots from outside. His best connects were technically rabbit punches when he cuffed left hooks behind the ducking Cermeno's ear. Savvy veteran tricks from Cermeno to never give Esandon a chance to land the equalizer - lobbing a soft 1-2 and then leaving his arms hovering in front of Escandon's face to obscure his view and deflect any counters, etc. Cermeno was able to impose his pace with his movement, light blindfolding jab and timely smothering. I have no problem with the verdict, and was hoping for a lot more from Escandon in what ought to have been a showcase.

Moreno vs. Urina -

1 - 10-9 Moreno, right jab like a Metronome. Urina tried some different looks, throwing right hooks off jab feints and whatnot, but it became immediately evident he lacks the speed and coordination to compete with Moreno in a ranged contest. The high windmilled left from the hip whistled close a few times but Moreno is alert enough to dodge with sound upper body reflexes.

2 - 10-9 Moreno, 20-18 Moreno, jabs and combinations while Urina explodes with body flurries that only pay off for the first shot or two, also swatting and missing with big right hooks up top. Nice left uppercut worked in by Moreno.

3 - 10-9 Moreno, 30-27 Moreno, a little stumble early on when a Urina windmilled left caught him on the forehead with his feet unset, but he righted the ship with impeccable balance and came short of brushing the canvas with his glove with several inches to spare. Nice jabs once more from Moreno, now buzzing up from waist level into Urina's face and then held in suspended animation to provide a barrier for Urina's power shots.

4 - 10-9 Moreno, 40-36 Moreno, the difference made by the longer, quicker, busier, and more precise jab in a low-action frame (relatively, even by the standards of the bout so far :yep) with Moreno breaking the monotony with an occasional squat to jab the body or roll in a dipper left uppercut. Urina had a bit of success with his jab by simply jumping forward to graze Moreno on the chin with it, but never capitalized. A bit more wrestling than in the 1st-3rd...

5 - 10-9 Moreno, 50-45 Moreno, Urina continuing to jump up with the jab from a crouch and hit Moreno once per rush, but always eating a counter jab in the process and either tied up or backed off with the left uppercut digging in his side. Moreno is using that southpaw iteration of the shoulder roll, turning away to make Urina miss behind his back or fail to reach his chin with those leaping jabs as he pulls back. A bit more wrestling and pushing down of the head on the inside, both contributing to make it less tidy.

6 - 10-9 Moreno, 60-54 Moreno, the matador executing some hard turns and leaving Urina badly positioned. Clinches when Urina just gives up any pretense of boxing his way in and charges him. Wild right hooks by Urina way off the mark. The Moreno jab is there, economically dispensed but just enough. Ill-advised lunging overhand lefts from Moreno, and he gets chased out with Urina returning the favor and grazing him. Yeah, see? Don't get any funny ideas about pressing forward, Anselmo. :nono

7 - 10-9 Moreno, 70-63 Moreno, tiring just a bit with the jab only coming in the singular and followed by a lean-in and thrust-off launch outside with the shoulder. Very cuddly round, constant hugging as they clasp off misses. Both parties are equally culpable. Some bad swipes by Urina, making defense easy for Moreno. Moreno finds his jabbing rhythm in the last minute. Urina stumbles in off-balance, head bowed, and somehow chips away with some flush right hooks to the body as Moreno fails to evacuate the area.

8 - 10-9 Urina, 79-73 Moreno, with the Urina jab suddenly able to score with both legs anchored, no jumping required. Moreno is a touch off with his timing. Moreno is still defending well but isn't getting the jab to stick on the back foot, with Urina actually showing nice head movement and performing quick deep bends coming forward. Double jab and chopping left by Urina, missing but causing Moreno to back straight up. Big right hook to the body by Urina, draws the counter from Moreno, predicted and ducked allowing Urina to get in close and flurry. Jabs to the body from Urina, not contested, letting him build into an extended combination of hard straights downstairs and then surprise Moreno with a flush jab to the face.

9 - 10-9 Moreno, 89-82 Moreno, lots of slippery canvas issues early on but sorted out quickly enough. Nice exchanges as Moreno leans back and uncorks the right hook while Urina is jabbing in or chopping with the left high overhead. Urina misses the jab, gets shoulder-bumped out of the pocket by the side-facing Moreno, and jabbed in the face. Pretty stuff. Moreno is finding a home for the right hook up and down.

10 - 10-9 Moreno, 99-91 Moreno, almost having fun with Urina at this point, leaning in to land single and double jabs and then swizzle-sticking out to dodge. Nice left uppercuts whipped in from outside by Moreno, turning and covering up to make Urina miss his leaping right hook. Urina is too content to wait and take his turn, discouraged by Moreno's increasing tendency for combos with less strict reliance on the jab.

11 - 10-9 Moreno, 109-100 Moreno, Urina is getting a bit desperate knowing time is running out and delivering underhanded volleys to the body, only barely touching Moreno and getting jabbed in the face as he comes. Another slip on that wet canvas. Moreno makes it his game, an outside battle of jabs. Urina's only recourse is to run through a few jabs like a fireman braving a burning doorway, then muscle in and club a few rabbit punches as Moreno twists away.

12 - 10-9 Moreno, 119-109 Moreno, lots of clinching and patty-cake with the jabs meeting halfway, Moreno having to go into ugly survival mode but making it work as he continually turns and jabs Urina while slipping under or rolling with all his attacks. Urina does get in a nice overhand left on the jaw but Moreno is able to tilt his neck back and kick-step with it and take the edge off. Urina is simply grabbing and paddling at Moreno now, intentionally pushing down on his back when he ducks and just laying arms on him. Very little clean work by Urina, but loads of desperate aggression.



Anselmo Moreno again shows his class. William Urina gave Omar Narvaez a lot of problems but here was repelled with comparative ease. (although you could argue for Urina getting that close twelfth and thereby bagging the same # from Moreno as from Narvaez...but throughout it was much less of a struggle for Moreno than it was for Narvaez...)