GBP on ESPN2: Lamont Roach, Jr. vs. Orlando Iván Cruz & José López vs. Miguel Ángel González RBR

Round 5

Roach is hurling right hands down at Cruz like sandbags, his full shoulder gyrating up & in with the punches' execution. Cruz is able to dart in & out, slipping and countering with jabs & left uppercuts. Cruz is taking control of the middle of the ring, pestering Roach with the jab up top and then either melting into a diagonal crouching dip-step to escape or tying up. Cruz boxing negatively yet brilliantly, shutting Roach down almost entirely.

10-9 Cruz

48-47 Cruz

 

Cruz on his way to popping a man's cherry in the figurative sense for the first time in years.

(he beat 19-0 Michael Franco in 2011 and 30-0 Leonilo Miranda in 2009, respectively)

 

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Round 6

Roach is following Cruz around the ring and getting up-jabbed in the face. Cruz starting to play around with Roach and dangle his arms between his thighs, whipping a left up into the face when Roach starts to encroach on his space or even so much as thinks about cranking up a right hand to chop down at him. Cruz dancing circles around Roach and landing pot shots.

10-9 Cruz

58-56 Cruz

 

Round 7

Roach is getting taken on a handheld tour of the campus right now. Cruz is baiting him by nettling with the southpaw jab and then backing himself onto the ropes, giving Roach false confidence that he can mow his opponent down with heavy blows reaching in & down, before the Puerto Rican sidesteps and lines up left hand leads and 1-2's on the face. Cruz is even daring to hurl no-look overhand lefts falling in, missing but further hampering the esteem of Roach, whose body language is almost completely deflated and whose face is wearing a frustrated grimace.

10-9 Cruz

68-65 Cruz

 

Round 8

Roach is jabbing at the head, unsuccessfully, and throwing rights at the body - mostly straight ones from outside, which get a piece, and some cuffing ones in close, which more often than not hit Cruz's left forearm. Cruz is catching & shooting, using the left glove pushed out criss-cross to intercept the left jab and then answering with his own stiff right jab on the face, or flurrying as he passes counterclockwise. Roach is starting to lay a jab on him and score it on the moving target, anticipating his location.

10-9 Roach

77-75 Cruz

 

Round 9

Roach is walking Cruz down more effectively, jabbing him in the face. Cruz is jogging with heels kicked up in exaggerated fashion, tossing light straight combos in counter. Sneaky quick left hand by Cruz while jumping past Roach. Short right hand buried in the guard by Roach, a decoy, the real punch being an even shorter left hook on the upper jaw, making Cruz fall to his knees. He's up and flitting around, surviving. Roach cutting the ring off, going for the body. Cruz falls again while attempting to clinch near the end of the round.

10-8 Roach

85-85

 

1st was a knockdown IMO.

 

Round 10

Roach is clattering uppercut volleys with both hands across the chest of the bent-over Cruz. Roach is ripping big right hand leads into the ear, partially deflected with the left glove of Cruz. A macho self-thump on the chest by Cruz with his left thumb, and then some very measured right jabs aimed for Roach's face at the safety of long distance. Roach is jabbing into the guard, then steps in and cue-balls the left fist of Cruz into his mouth by whipping in a right hand. Another lead right for Roach.

10-9 Roach

95-94 Roach