I never saw this fight get mentioned. This was a coming into his prime Vito against a past it Briscoe. Vito was given the clean decision. I thought the scoring was terrible and had Briscoe a clear UD winner. Anyone remember this or have an issue with the decision??
His first fight with Curto was a joke too. Curto ran ran ran all night and then jumped for joy when the draw was announced. Literally jumped for joy. What fighter jumps for joy on a draw if they think they won a fight??
Robert, scoring can be so subjective to what one looks for. I had Vito up by a point. Here is what I wrote when I saw it. Here's a damn good fight from 1978 in Madison Square Garden. Bennie Briscoe vs. Vito Antuofermo. New York rules on a rounds basis. Round 1: Even Round 2: Briscoe Round 3: Vito Round 4: Briscoe Round 5: Vito Round 6: Briscoe Round 7: Vito Round 8: Briscoe Round 9: Vito Round 10: Vito 5-4-1 Vito Antuofermo As you can see by the score this was back and forth and I had it a lot closer than the official scores. On mine everything hinged on the final round, which Vito pulled out on the tiring Briscoe. Right at the end I could hear the ringside announcer mention he had Briscoe just taking it. I think his score and my score properly reflect how close this fight was as opposed to the official scores, which I believe to be 7-3, 7-2-1 and 6-3-1 all for Vito, which was way out. I like Vito but this was close.
I have no problem with you seeing it that way. I disagree but it's all how we interpret it. You had it close which I feel is adleast honest. The official scores are highway robbery. I had Bennie a clean winner by 3 rds IMO. I appreciate your break down of the fight.
Interesting, this. I think the actual scoring was probably a fair bit off the mark, as you suggest, so I could agree on that point. But, I was surprised at reading this bout being described as a clear win for Briscoe, when I also recall it as being a very closely contested bout. Your description of the bout and the last two rounds for Antuofermo stand out for me, with him just edging it. That said, I doubt anyone could have complained with it going the other way.
Do you mean for me to watch it again? As it stands, my recollection of the fight concurs with the description @scartissue gave, above. I am not averse to watching the bout again, however.
My memory fails me sometimes but, on this occasion, I think it held up okay . Having viewed the bout again, I still think it could have gone either way. It was an odd fight, though. I can only guess that Antuofermo's economical approach was intended, but that he probably didn't realize just how 'foot-off-the-gas' it might have looked. Briscoe was clearly the heavier puncher - and this was accentuated by Antuofermo's lighter punching. Still, it was a somewhat singularly paced, workmanlike performance from Briscoe. The scoring does appear to have been a bit too one-sided. It didn't really reflect how the fight had gone, in my opinion. But, several close rounds can do that to the scoring sometimes and, as I mentioned in the previous post, I don't think I'd have complained about the result being in Briscoe's favor. Antuofermo was a touch lucky.
Most papers, even the Philly ones Ive read, attributed it to Briscoe running out of gas late. Even George Benton, who still thought Briscoe won, said it was because he faded late.
I scored it for Briscoe 6-3-1. A couple of the Briscoe rounds could have been even, I guess, but either way I thought that he clearly deserved the decision. Briscoe: 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Antuofermo: 3, 9, 10 Even: 1 Can't believe the judges and ref gave Vito 6-7 rounds each! That's rotten...reeks of home cooking.
