This content is protected 1. After an exchange, Fusari was cut, and Bratton pounded him badly with several awesome hooks. Then he began dancing, and Fusari landed a solid left-right at just the right time, giving the appearance that Bratton was badly rocked, although he was only knocked off-balance. Later, Fusari pinned Bratton on the ropes, getting in a good flurry before the bell, which Fusari hit right on. Even. 2. Fusari pinned Bratton on the ropes again, landing a tremendous barrage that went unanswered by Bratton for some time. Bratton fought back with brilliant counterpunching during the middle part of the round, and Fusari won the remaining portions of the round. Fusari's nose began to bleed in this round. Fusari. 3. The first minute was comparitively tame, but things quickly turned right back into a brawl when Fusari angered Bratton with a right hand. Bratton countered with a crippling right hand, followed by an unrelenting flurry, which hurt Fusari, reopening the eye. Another right hand had Fusari badly dazed at the bell. Bratton. 4. A lightning-fast right put Fusari down for a no-count. Bratton. 5. Fusari was hurt by a huge right overhand by Bratton. Bratton pummeled Fusari in his corner as the round closed out. Bratton. 6. Another right hand (big surprise, right?) hurt Fusari a tad. Bratton pretty much had his way throughout the round. However, Fusari rallied well in the final minute. The round was a TERRIFIC back-and-forth battle with Fusari hurt twice and Bratton taking a monstrous right hand without even flinching. Bratton. 7. Fusari landed freely enough, although he never had Bratton in any kind of trouble. Bratton appeared to be either tired or resting. Fusari. 8. At first, Fusari landed repeated left-rights on Bratton. Good exchange in the final 30 seconds. Bratton. 9. Fusari was on his way to taking this round as well, mostly because of his constant use of the right hand, but Bratton turned the round his way with a counter right hand, about two minutes into the round, with of course more Bratton rights following. Even. 10. By now both were slowing a lot. However, Bratton pulled a beautiful counter right hook out of nowhere, dropping Fusari flat on his back. Bratton. 11. Both boys just arm-weary by now. Fusari. 12. As opposed to many of previous Fusari rounds, Fusari came on pretty solidly this time. Fusari. 13. Fusari was outpunching Bratton until he got backed up by a sharp right hand. At the bell, Fusari threw a few good hooks, which Bratton minimized with suave rolling technique. Fusari. 14. Fusari threw a lot, but landed very little. Fusari backed Bratton into a corner with a right hand, succeeded by a strong flurry. Bratton battled back effectively with his own flurry. Fusari. 15. Several left hooks jolted Bratton, and Bratton erupted into action. The result: a rip-roaring exchange. Fusari. Final score: 7-6-2 for Fusari I really am not satisfied with this score. Afterall, Bratton floored Fusari twice, as well as having him hurt on other occassions. But Bratton just did not have much to offer in the last third of the fight. Fusari at least was busy, even if he wasn't glamorous or even highly effective to the eyes. However, since the 10-point must system wasn't created until 1968, that means a fighter either wins or loses a round, regardless of how many points he gains, right? And if this is true, the KD's Bratton scored over Fusari do not make those rounds count for more, like they would have were the 10-point must system in effect? What do you guys think? Just a few notes on each of the fighters: Bratton: 1. The more I watch Bratton, the more I am convinced that he is one of the most innovative and probably one of the greatest counterpunchers to have ever lived. 2. He is a great mover. He is especially skilled at maneuvering off of the ropes quickly when he gets trapped there. 3. He is a master roller. Fusari: 1. He is a good crouch-fighter. That is a rare breed I really enjoy watching. 2. A very sound defensive fighter. Excellent in the areas of bobbing, weaving, and rolling. Btw, here are just a couple of things the commentator said about the fight that I really liked: "Bratton has taken Fusari's Sunday punches in fairly good style." "It was a fight that defied description." Truer words were never spoken. Verdict: Great, Great fight. A new favorite classic of mine. WITHOUT A DOUBT, SEE IT!
William, you missed @PhillyPhan69 's fight of the week back in March. Here is what we had to say about this great fight. https://www.boxingforum24.com/threa...arley-fusari-70th-anniversary-edition.664594/
There was another scoring in Chicago at that time. The boxers were sharing 10 points, so a drawn round would be 5-5. A winning round 6-4 and a big round were 7-3, so you did get extra points for a knock down.
My score was 7-6-2 for Fusari, but with Bratton winning by one point on a point system due to the knockdowns. Bratton did show a possible critical weakness in this one. Stamina over 15 rounds. I saw it about the way you did. I also think rounds scoring can be misleading and was always a bad way of scoring. It did allow guys to take terrific early beatings and come back. A great, great fight. Thanks for posting.
I score every fight on the 10 point must system (if I bother to score, that is). Maybe not the right way to do it, but it's less of a headache. I remember scoring it to Bratton by at least 3 points when I first watched it. I've watched it a couple times now. Tremendous fight. Maybe one of my favorites.
This fight is great. Criminally underrated imo. Although I would call either Robinson-LaMotta VI or Walcott-Charles III FOTY, this was the most exciting FOTY I think, at least on film.
I actually did convert over to the 10-point must, but then found out that fights were scored on rounds up until 1968, so I decided to do it the way they did back then.
