FOTW #20: The Castro-Johnson-Jackson decisions

Philly, I'll check it out this weekend.

 

Just got done the 4th and this is tough to score. According to boxrec 1 & 4 were both KD’s but JDJ was really controlling both rounds and the one in 4 looked like a slip.

The surface is like a skating rink they should have had to fix that, I can’t imagine what it will be like later in the fight,

 

Castro vs Jackson II
Not much to say about this fight really? The ring surface was so bad that from 3 on it was like a skating rink where they just could not get footing. Impressive that they looked as good as they did considering what they had to work with. The first 2 rounds were pretty good before the surface got wet?

I felt Jackson won 1 & 4 but got KD’d in both. I don’t feel they were 10-8 Castro rounds so I scored both 10 (-1)-9 for Jackson making both 9-9 rounds on my card. I invite any criticism and am willing to learn if you feel this is incorrect

RBR
1 JDJ 9-9
2 Castro
3 JDJ
4 JDJ 9-9
5 Castro
6 JDJ
7 Castro
8 JDJ
9 Castro
10 JDJ
Draw
JDJ 6-4 (-2) for 94-94

 

The ring can be a big problem, this was the first time I've ever seen a fight where the surface of the ring was so slick that it affected the fight. I've seen fights where the boards under the ring were loose and the commission made the promoter fix them and I've seen fights where the ring posts were not set properly and the ropes were so loose that they had to be fixed but this fight was a first. The fighters did do well and they didn't look as bad as would be expected. JDJ seemed to rely on movement more so the slick ring probably affected him more, but he managed to move some despite slipping around the ring.

I've been involved in putting up a ring many times (not fun) and if the people helping are not experienced and if you don't get it squared, plumbed, and level from the start, it'll be a disaster later. The ropes will be loose, the turn buckles will be different lengths to either tighten or loosen the ropes, sometimes the ring corner poles will be bent, the boards won't fit, etc. I find myself checking out the ring wherever we go and even when I'm watching video. If the turn buckles in the corners all look about the same length, chances are the people putting the ring together did a good job.

 

OK, guys, finally got around to the first fight between Jorge Castro and Reggie Johnson. Here we go

Round 1: 10-9 Castro
Round 2: 10-9 Johnson
Round 3: 10-9 Johnson
Round 4: 10-10 Even
Round 5: 10-9 Johnson (lets talk about this one)
Round 6: 10-9 Johnson
Round 7: 10-9 Johnson
Round 8: 10-9 Johnson
Round 9: 10-9 Johnson (we'll talk about this one too)
Round 10: 10-9 Johnson
Round 11: 10-9 Castro
Round 12: 10-9 Castro

Total: 117-112 Johnson

First of all, this bout had a real pattern to it. When Johnson kept it in ring center it was pop-pop-pop with his jab and combos and he really was a ring general. But when Castro went to the ropes it was Johnson popping the jab, landing a few body shots and Castro throwing a hail Mary counter in which he would sometimes land but for the most part, Johnson would pick off. At the 2:30 mark of these rounds, however, obviously on cue with a signal from his corner, Castro would try and turn it on and steal the round. I was not about to award him a round for doing a small percentage of work while Reggie carried the heavy freight. Round 5 was interesting for how anyone wants to look at this. A typical round where Castro did nothing but within the last 10 seconds he got Reggie in a corner and threw 2 Hail Marys. The first missed but the second was his best punch of the whole fight and it landed just before the bell. It clearly had hurt Reggie because you can see his stutter-step walking back to his corner. But do you award Castro the round for one punch at the end of the round? I did not. Perhaps if there was more time where Jorge could follow up, so its up to how one wants to score the round. Round 9 was the round where Castro played possum. I think everyone knew he was faking but still he took everything from Johnson before he turned it on. He never hurt Johnson and Reggie fought back well. Maybe more time in the round I would have scored it different, but again, most of the round controlled by Reggie. I think when Castro turned it on for the whole round he did better, and I awarded him the only rounds he did that in 1, 11 and 12. My opinion, anywhere else, Johnson takes both decisions from Jorge Castro.

 

I'm only about 2 years late to this FOTW thread but I recently finished scoring the Jackson-Johnson and Johnson-Castro 1 fights.

Here's how I had them:

John David Jackson v Reggie Johnson

I had this wider than the official scorecards and Jackson was a clear winner in my opinion.

I was disappointed with Johnson's performance here. He allowed Jackson to set the pace and dictate terms. He was just too passive overall.

Not a thriller.

1 10-10
2 10-9
3 10-9
(Johnson warned for using his head - not sure if he was deducted a point)
4 10-10
(another tough round to call. Jackson with the more consistent work, but Johnson did some nice body punching)
5 9-10
(Jackson is peppering with the jab but Johnson landed the more substantial punches. He's not busy enough though)
6 10-9
(Jackson is edging these just on busyness)
7 10-9
(strangely lacklustre performance from Johnson)
8 9-10
(close. Thought Johnson did the better work earlier in the round and then it was pretty even after that)
9 10-9
(both fighters throwing with a bit more intent this round but Jackson took it)
10 10-9 (close)
11 10-9
12 9-10

Jackson 117-113 Johnson


Reggie Johnson v Jorge Castro 1

Johnson got seriously jobbed here. He performed much better than in the Jackson fight and he showed purpose with his punches, his jab looked stiff and he controlled the fight. Castro had his moments but honestly, this felt pretty one-sided.

1 10-10
2 10-9
3 9-10 (close)
4 10-9
5 10-9
6 10-9
7 10-9
8 10-9
9 10-9 (best action of the fight. Johnson was dominating and had Castro on the ropes. Castro rallied in the last 20 seconds)
10 10-9
11 9-10
12 10-9 (close)

Johnson 118-111 Castro

 

Jel, I scored Jackson v Johnson a short couple of months ago. Had it a bit closer, but here is what I wrote:

Just watched the middleweight title fight between Reggie Johnson and John David Jackson. After two rounds I thought I was in for a long, dull stretch, but it began turning around in the 3rd and turned into a watchable fight that had its moments. Here we go.

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Jackson
Round 3: 10-9 Johnson
Round 4: 10-9 Johnson
Round 5: 10-10 Even
Round 6: 10-9 Jackson
Round 7: 10-8 Jackson (Reggie lost a point for a low blow)
Round 8: 10-9 Johnson
Round 9: 10-9 Johnson
Round 10: 10-10 Even
Round 11: 10-9 Johnson
Round 12: 10-9 Jackson

Total: 115-115 Draw (actual scores: 115-114, 115-114 and 115-113 all for Jackson)

When I first saw the result back in the day I had heard rumors that Johnson was robbed. But seeing it I have to admit it was very close. It was a toughie to score too because, although Reggie threw the more substantial punches, Jackson was working that pesky but effective southpaw jab with regularity. Johnson realized mid-way that he had to get inside if he was to pull this out. Jackson had height and reach on him and was really settling in to outbox Reggie. When Reggie turned it on inside he was really effective, but I will admit, it was damn close.