HBO: Miguel Ángel Cotto vs. Sadam Ali & Rey Vargas vs. Oscar Negrete RBR.

Yeah, the kid's got heart.

 

Round 1: 10-9 Vargas
Round 2: 10-9 Vargas
Round 3: 10-9 Vargas
Round 4: 10-9 Vargas
Round 5: 10-9 Vargas
Round 6: 10-9 Vargas
Round 7: 10-9 Vargas
Round 8: 10-9 Vargas

80-72 Vargas

 

Good point by Roy Jones, for a small guy coming forward all night so far, Negrete has been a sitting duck for tons of body shots with full snap & extension at Vargas' ideal range (the "middle distance" of which Kellerman spoke) and yet he's still rushing in and letting those hands go busily enough that you wouldn't think he was about to head into the championship rounds. Just pure adrenaline and willpower. Not even breathing that heavily.

 

Negrete has an iron body.. holy **** those body shots he takes without flinching are insane.

With some more training Negrete has some great intangibles.

 

Good job by Negrete making a fight he can't win competitive enough to be fun to watch.

 

Cotto backstage getting his pink gloves tied on by Marvin Somodio.

 

Harold Lederman has it 90-81 Vargas.

 

Vargas' corner men are wearing some baggy ass gloves. Nacho might treat that cut better with some tighter gloves.

 

Disappointing that Vargas seems content to cruise to a UD12, treating Negrete like a sparring partner and grinning through his gum shield while lobbing his long pot shots and jogging laterally with a few paces between him and his opponent. There is enough of an edge in class here that by some boxing schools of thought, he bears the burden of pushing for a stoppage here.

 

100-90 Vargas

 

Oscar finally getting winded. Oh well, that was a hell of a nice run considering the energy he was spending offensively (in vain) and how many body shots he took.

 

Oh yeah, forgot Ali was of Yemeni descent (and inspired to box when he was a kid watching Prince Naz). Didn't ever know until Lampley said just now that he was ringside with his dad to see Hamed vs. Kelley in this same venue, aged nine, almost exactly two full decades ago.

 

110-99 Vargas

 

The fact Negrete made it 10 rounds with that energy considering how many body shots.. hard body shots he took is amazing.

Vargas needs to get him out now.