Barney Ross vs. Jimmy McLarnin III

Alas! The high anticipated rubber match occurs. With two great fights in the books, this should hardly disappoint. Out of the three fights, it is the most in its whole form, although it's hardly in competition with the first when it comes to length

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I'm not changing my usual format for reporting these fights, but I've decided to do a condensed version first for those not so long-winded. After that's through, I'll get to the unabridged version.

@Kamikaze, how vague, or specific should I be? For those like yourself should I just say that it was a chess match from 1-9, and a brawl from 10-15? Is that good enough for you? or is that too vague.
Btw, I don't want you to get the impression I'm doing this all for you. But I don't want you to think I'm doing not of it for you either. I'm just basing these questions off your opinion, cuz I'm using you as a model for those others who, like you, would prefer shorter posts.

1. Typical feeling-out going on. A lot of good left jabs and left hooks delivered by Barney Ross. I thought Ross jabbed much more aggressively in this fight than in any of the previous ones I'd seen him in. Ross.
2. Ross scores heavily with pulverizing left hooks from about 1: 30 on. McLarnin does catch him with a good
counter hook on the way in during a good exchange near round's end, but Ross takes it well. Ross.
3. McLarnin starting to show he does have a jab. Despite that, Ross still has the superior jab. Ross.
4. This was the closest round thus far. Still, Ross.
5. McLarnin attempted some body shots at this point. I noticed a strange habit of Ross's in this round and a couple of the other early rounds. He would tie up McLarnin's body shots. Never seen that before, and I'm not sure I'll see it again. Ross landed a big right hand at the bell, but McLarnin stood fast. Even.
6. Ross.
7. Ross was unusually mobile, scoring excellently. Ross cleverly bobbed and weaved against McLarnin's only flurries. This was an exceptional round of brilliance for Ross imo. Ross.
8. McLarnin returning to working his jab. Even.
9. Ross.
10. Here, the first great exchanges of the fight take place. Pretty much after this, the tactical nature of the first 9 rounds is thrown out the window. The action was really too much to describe. The two battled without regard for defense at such a fast pace that I couldn't report it. However, no one was ever damaged by the exchanges, so I felt no need to slow down the speed of the video and report on more thoroughly. Now McLarnin's got the fight he would prefer it, a brawl. McLarnin.
11. McLarnin scores well early. But Ross flies back with his own good combinations. McLarnin.
12. McLarnin flurried well early on, initiating the slugging, but Ross fought back extremely well. McLarnin is noted for being the better brawler, but Ross is also excellent at it. It seems that nothing hurts Ross. McLarnin.
13. Ross returned to his game-plan that won him many of the first 9 rounds. He was jabbing a lot, but more out of character for him, he was bouncing around a lot, never remaining a stationary target for McLarnin to bomb. Ross.
14. The most lethargic round of the fight, and understandably so. Ross.
15. Ross attacked with a fury. The two put up one of the great finales of boxing. Both Ross and McLarnin were clearly exhausted, but both fought through their exhaustion to give us an unforgettable 3-round brawl. Thank you, Ross and McLarnin. Very close indeed. Ross.

The final score is: 13-3-2 for Ross.

One note I had in regards to McLarnin was his stance. He fought with his left foot forward, and completely flat. His right foot was behind the left, and not flat. Just something interesting I noticed I thought I'd share.

As a closing note to the great Ross-McLarnin trilogy, I have to say, since it feels more like a two-part series than a trilogy, that I preferred the second match to this one, but this one was still fantastic. I felt Ross and McLarnin were a good and interesting clash in styles. I thought these two were made to go the distance together. Both were just so damn tough. I think these two could fight once a day and it would always end in a decision, just with the victor changing all the time. I did feel it was appropriate that Ross won the trilogy though. He was the more versatile of the two, being a proficient boxer, as well as a good brawler, whereas I viewed McLarnin as a brawler primarily.
One other thing, I think this is the first great trilogy that we have on film (mostly).

Verdict: Very good match. It was a good stylistic match for 9 rounds, and turned into a brawl in the 10th, and largely remained that way for the rest of the fight. In my opinion, this is Ross's best performance on film, but perhaps of all time.

@George Crowcroft, have you seen Ross-McLarnin II & III? What do you think?

 

Oh, my bad. Very good, thank you!

 

I actually don't think he was as much of a genius as the announcer does, I view Ross as more of a machine. I still admire him greatly, but it seems to me Ross's niche is to do something, like jab, or move, or tie up, or brawl, and he can stick to that for a long time and do it for a really long time. I think Ross's greatest trait is his dedicated steadiness. He's very concentrated and never gets off track. Best fighter ever when it comes to executing a game-plan. Good boxer-brawler.