GBP on ESPN: Sadam Ali vs. Johan Pérez & Eddie Gómez vs. Alejandro Barrera RBR

Round 7

Both are warned sternly to watch their heads by the ref before allowed to answer the bell. Pérez is clapping the right hand down on the side of Ali's neck from up high after showing the jab to corral him into a corner. Ali is throwing 1-2s into the chest but not slowing Pérez's advance. Pérez is looping both hands into the body. Ali drops his elbows to stem off the body attack, successfully absorbing most of it, but he can not sustain his quick footwork in the process and has to immediately cover up as Pérez comes breathing down his neck. Ali's trainer is screaming "quick feet" at him but Ali seems paralyzed by indecision, unable to multitask - he can either dance or he can fight, under pressure both isn't an option for him.

10-9 Pérez

67-65 Ali

 

Round 8

Pérez is caught by a left hook storming the gates after the bell. Ali trying his damnedest to reestablish some respect. Light triple-jab on the guard by Ali. Pérez waits his turn, sees that Ali has nothing more to offer, sinking back into a defensive crouch, and starts to march forward, scourging Ali with right hands. Ali is backed up and quite noticeably stunned as Pérez suddenly explodes with confidence and pumps out several hard straight punches in a row with both hands, driving Ali from one edge of the ring to another.

10-9 Pérez

76-75 Ali

 

"STOP FALLING APART!!! COME ON!!"

- Sadam Ali's trainer between rounds.

 

Round 9

Ali is shyly disengaging from combat, traveling along the ropes with his knees deeply bent and then skittering diagonally onto the next set to avoid the corner, darting in halfway just to flick a light jab that Pérez doesn't even need to block. Pérez is mowing Ali down, missing a ton of punches but not caring, just hoping to crack him with at least one in five - and he's doing that. With power (considerably so for it being this late and having kept up such a pace) and bad intentions. Ali running. Flat out running.

10-9 Pérez

85-85

 

"DON'T MAKE ANY MISTAKES, PLEASE!! LAST ROUND!!"

- Sadam Ali's trainer

 

Round 10

1-2 by Pérez. Ali clinches. 1-2-1-2 on the body now by Pérez. Ali dives in and clinches. Ref having to break them up frequently. Ali leans over to his right and sticks up a weak triple jab, barely even retracting his arm in between. Pérez just walks through it and nudges his own jab (not very stiff itself, but pushed with malice) into Ali's neck. Ali clinching but Pérez fighting his way free with body shots. Ali cracked over the ear while circling with an open-gloved left from Pérez. Swarming and dropping buckets of leather on Ali up close, Pérez is held once more, until the bell.

10-9 Pérez

95-94 Pérez

 

That changed in a HURRY. Almost literally the moment after I typed out that post.

 

Atlas had it 97-92 Ali. Dumb ass.

 

Final stats:

Jabs
Ali 19 of 192, 10%
Pérez 29 of 223, 13%

Total
Ali 114 of 462, 25%
Pérez 103 of 642, 16%

 

Official cards:

98-91
97-92
97-92

UD for Sadam Ali

 

"When the judges agree with Teddy Atlas, you know everything's going as it should."

I strongly disagree with that, as I do with those bogus punch stats. They must have been crediting Ali for a "connect" for every punch he threw not just in the fight but shadowboxing in his dressing room.

 

Got to say, that was classy of World Kid to acknowledge during his interview that if he was in with an elite tonight and the performances were the same he wouldn't have gotten the nod (implying that Pérez didn't solely because he lacks the name value to be given the benefit of the doubt over the more "A-side" commodity)

 

I'm really confused by those scorecards. Ali was shook to his core for the entire second half of that fight. The best you can argue for him is 95-94, with the knockdown swinging it his way. (and honestly the only round I felt was "swing" enough to have any budge room was the fourth, which I gave to Ali - meaning 96-93 Pérez is a more reasonable score than Ali winning narrowly...let alone by 97-92 x2 and freaking 98-91...)

 

On the bright side, next week on GBP on ESPN we're getting Mauricio Herrera vs. Jesus Soto Karass, with a side of Shabranskyy.

 

From the non-televised part of the undercard:

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