Donnie Liboon Nietes vs. Kazuto Ioka & Hector Budler vs. Hiroto Kyōguchi RBR

Round 8

Ioka boxing incredibly well now, harrying Nietes with sorties behind a jab, interspersing short hooks up top and double taps on the body at intervals. Nietes is always turning, always squared up and in good defensive position, always set to counter or pick shots off...but he's throwing far too little, and Ioka's defense even amid his scavengerial vulture-like buzzing about is tight enough to deny Nietes even a high connect percentage to balance the scales. Ioka stretched his upper half underneath a high Nietes jab, pokes him in the belly with his own jab while bent forward, and withdraws, sucking in his own belly to make Nietes' rapidly-adjusted body jab fall short.

10-9 Ioka, very clear

77-75 Ioka

 

Round 9

Ioka baiting Nietes constantly at mid range, landing a soft jab on the breastplate, then sidestepping his counter jab and countering the counter with an earlobe-grazing right hand lead hopping rightward and then flitting in sudden reversal to his left with another jab on the opposite ear. Nietes attempting to dial in his 1-2 but Ioka too attuned to it, and smacking him with a left hook on the jaw to punish the mere insolent thought of it when Nietes betrays a sign of loading it up.

10-9 Ioka

87-84 Ioka

 

Uh..well, 12 hours ago it was on TBS.

I was sound asleep. Playing catch-up now.

 

Round 10

Ioka spreading his legs into wide base and scissoring them incessantly, forcing Nietes to stomp after him and emerge from his preferred comfort zone of counter-sniping. Nietes ineffectually lunging with rights downstairs. Ioka brushing his sideburns with jabs. Cagey round, very little from either man landing, what is connecting is mostly Ioka.

10-9 Ioka

97-93 Ioka

 

Round 11

Ioka takes his foot off the gas pedal and Nietes capitalize, seizing hungrily on the opportunity to regain a foothold in generalship and work-rate. Ioka throwing sloppy double jabs and hooks, swatted aside with ease as Nietes hunches forward and stalks him, lobbing 1-2s into the guard and stamping jabs on the brow. Nietes crunches Ioka with a flush 1-2-3 at one point, the punctuating hook stunning him maybe ever so almost imperceptibly slightly.

10-9 Nietes

106-103 Ioka

 

...buh?