Eléyder Álvarez Baytar vs. Sergey Alexandrovich Kovalev II & Óscar Valdez vs. Carmine Tommasone RBR

Round 1

Valdez is jabbing his way in on Tommasone, landing between his gloves with a thump, just nicking his chin when he gets through, which is about half of times. Counter jabs and looping rights into the air by Tommasone while drifting clockwise on his toes. Right hand downstairs by Tommasone. Stiff jab on the maw by Valdez. Tommasone hunches forward and clinches to duck a Valdez jab, and is cuffed over the ear by a follow-up leaping/dashing Valdez left hook. 1-2 by Valdez as Tommasone was attempting to duck inside. Jab and ear-boxing right thrown almost simultaneously by Tommasone as he sidesteps Valdez, scoring lightly. Valdez 1-2, ducked. Jabs traded as they circle. Valdez ducks a jab but is grazed by a Tommasone right.

10-9 Valdez, undramatic opener.

 

Round 2

Clockwise movement by Tommasone, letting a deluge of jabs and rights fall lightly upon Valdez's guard. The champ looks sluggish and ill at ease with locating his rhythm or aim. Wild looping counters by Valdez, missing horribly up top, but when he adjusts the altitude to start digging into the flanks they hurt Tommasone badly downstairs, making him scramble with quickened lateral steps. Only a couple of those effective body shots from Valdez, however, amid 2+ minutes of being adrift in a sea of whiffs. Tommasone doing just enough to put himself on the scoreboard with his cautious precipitation of reach-in pit-pats on the outside.

10-9 Tommasone

19-19

 

Valdez in round 2 was the poster boy for ring-rust.

 

I can see why; the first was close and Valdez did land the best stuff in the second (even if that was just a pair of isolated hard body shots)

 

Round 3

Tommasone is lobbing his light slingshot 1-2s into the guard as Valdez swivels around to load up on hooks low & high (missing the latter and thudding with most of the former). Tommasone putting in a high work rate but not getting past the gloves with much. Valdez waiting to time Tommasone with a can-opener right and coming close with it, but then overreaching with his jab as Tommasone bounds outside again, lunging and falling out of position, but then recovering nicely with a few slouched-forward hooks on the body to make the most of it.

10-9 Valdez

29-28 Valdez