Golden Boy Promotions: Raúl Curiel García vs. Courtney Pennington RBR

Yes but chose the most disappointing ring moniker you could hope for. "BKNY". Just the intials of the borough and city. Whoosh.

Meanwhile, it may not be the most original but at least Curiel's is somewhat interesting. "Cugar" it turns out isn't Spanish for the animal "cougar"; he just combined his two last names (Curiel and García).

 

Round 2

Pennington is caught backing into the ropes by a right hand and the crowd & commentators get thirsty for something to happen. Tense atmosphere. Pennington still boxing a very mature and careful match. In and out, touch jab, keepaway. Pennington diving off the ropes, clinching and spinning when he needs to. Curiel hinting at big power with some of his shots and patiently stalking but not getting much done as of yet.

10-9 Pennington, closer

20-18 Pennington

 

I'm the wrong person to ask; nowadays I average probably as many fights watched in a year as I used to in a week.

 

Round 3

Pennington is doing a lot more tying up now, by necessity as Curiel picks up the aggression. Doubling up on hooks dashing inside. Pennington weathering the storm, jabbing and shooting a right hand lead from a Philly shell at mid-range. Curiel stuffs a jab into the mouth driving in and then clobbers Pennington with a semi-rabbit punch as he's collapsing into a clinch. Curiel walking Pennington down with increased urgency. Body shots by Curiel as Pennington slams into the ropes and then bounces into him to stall. Lead right by Curiel splatters the guard, and two lunging follow-up hooks just miss as Pennington pulls straight back and tucks his chin.

10-9 Curiel

29-28 Pennington

 

Keep this boy the hell away from Vergil Ortíz, seriously...

Even if he pulls out a huge KO here tonight, he clearly needs a lot more seasoning for that not to be a massacre.

 

Round 4

Pennington is jabbing off the hip and scooting in with right hands into the gloves, leaning away nervously when not firing. Curiel is mostly just posing, watching, ready to let counters fly but not in a hurry to create his own spots. Curiel with a jab and body shot just before the bell in a slow and cagey round.

10-9 Curiel, close

38-38

 

DAZN statkeepers claiming the following:

Curiel 45 of 157, 29%
Pennington 19 of 206, 9%

Not sure about all that...

 

Round 5

Pennington is being very negative, increasingly so as the rounds wear on, throwing the odd pot shot jab now but mostly covering up whenever Curiel gets the idea to start wailing on him. Curiel only does so in 5-10 second bursts a couple of times per minute, with lots of time-wasting in between just holding space - but it's enough. Pennington clearly doesn't like the nibbles of Curiel's power he's tasted.

10-9 Curiel

48-47 Curiel

 

Round 6

Pennington is grappling with Curiel, looping their arms together and shaking in the pocket. On the break Pennington starts ducking and dancing around, rolling laterally, popping jabs off the hip and then flying in to hold again. Curiel in pursuit with a jab, hooking off it, and hitting the body with hooks or harpoon rights before Pennington can grab him. This fight kind of sucks tbh.

10-9 Curiel

58-56 Curiel

 

More dubious punch counts, power shots through six:

Curiel 46 of 164, 28%
Pennington 18 of 108, 17%

 

Round 7

Pennington is doing a poor man's Floyd Mayweather impersonation. Curiel whacking the body where he can, largely unable to land when headhunting due to Pennington's slipperiness. Tie-ups and movement by Pennington but nothing clean offensively aside from occasional smooch jabs. Curiel keeps going for the double jab, chopping right hand while charging in. Never quite works out for him. Winning it on incidental body shots.

10-9 Curiel

68-65 Curiel

 

Round 8

Pennington is getting swarmed with heavy combos as he leans on the ropes, but most of what Curiel gets through are fouls (lower hip or behind the head). Pennington covering himself and flopping all over. Curiel giving his little stay-away 1-2s too much respect, jogging in place when Pennington throws despite there being practically nothing on them. Curiel just trotting along after Pennington, collecting jabs on his forearms, pumping out high combos and shaving the bald pate of Pennington. Finally a series of hard body shots begin to pile up for Curiel, but Pennington is saved by the bell.

10-9 Curiel

78-74 Curiel