Round 7 Yikes - scary big right hand landed for Rees as both were coming together in a clinch. Watson takes the moment of separation to recover and looks OK. Watson now gets back in the fight, showing a good gas tank with several jabs mixed in with hooks. Rees keeps trying to wade in with overhand rights and is getting countered well by Watson. Rees' nose gushing blood. Watson digs to the body with a combo. Watson lands his straight right. Rees is just coming in on a prayer and shooting off his overhand right. Rees drops his hands and sticks his chin out again but only for a moment before coming forward and flapping his hands ineffectively at Watson. 10-9 Watson 67-66 Rees
Round 8 Rees going to the body. Watson jabs and steps into his own body attack, then straightens up and shoves off. Big 1-2 from Watson. Rees lunges with right hands and hugs. Rees punching hard from his low base but hitting forearm. Rees loses his mouthpiece. Watson is punching with Rees and finishing every exchange. Watson with vicious body punches with his free right hand in a clinch. Rees lands a short hook as they turn while trading but Watson comes back and lands a succession of blows from mid-range. Rees on the ropes getting tattooed. 10-9 Watson Even
Round 9 Rees following his measuring jab with overhand rights but Watson is just dropping hammers on him and launching torpedoes to the body. Watson's timing with counterpunching has improved considerably from the early rounds. Watson is pushing Rees down and really banging the body with the alternate hand. The SS1 commentators (who didn't give Watson a single round of the first six) are now making excuses for Rees, saying the weight cut may have affected him. :roll: He doesn't look drained...his problem is that he ran out of ideas a few rounds ago. 86-85 Watson
Round 10 Big opening lead right from Watson, only barely clips Rees on the chin. Rees is now the one backing up and jabbing. Watson steps into another lead right. Watson with his hands high, looking focused, and not getting hit by any of the defensive swats of Rees as he inches forward. Watson is really enjoying his range with the right hand. Rees ducks a 1-2 but takes a grazing follow-up hook across the top of his back. Watson lands a right and then takes a quick lateral step as Rees comes in with an overhand right and pushes him across the ring, using Rees' own momentum against him. REES KNOCKS HIM DOWN out of nowhere from another chopping overhand right as Watson's feet were close together. Watson gets up but is backed to the ropes by a suddenly very excited Rees, who punches to the bell. 10-8 Rees
Round 11 Rees puts his head down and pushes it into Watson's chest, going to the body with both hands furiously. Watson holds on and gets roughed up on the ropes. Overhand right from Rees lands on the jaw. Watson is a little rubber-legged and Rees is just running straight into him, nearly knocking him off balance just from sheer force. The referee steps in and stops it with Watson still fighting and trying to clinch with his back to the ropes. Bad stoppage but Rees was beating him up.
ref stopped in the 11th terrific fight...watson wasnt badly hurt but his legs looked shaky ref stopped it maybe a bit early but it only looke dlike a matter of time