Highland Boxing: Wulan Tuolehazi vs. Shō Kimura & LeQuan Wang vs. Reymond Potestad Yanong RBR

I seriously hate this sport.

All of the posters or advert videos for this card mentioned it starting at 3:30pm (presumably doors) or 4pm local time, and there were six undercard bouts - half six rounders and half ten rounders. That's a total of 48 rounds if everything goes the distance, well over 3 hours. Main event logically shouldn't have started anytime before 7pm local (7am EST). If there are tons of early kayos in the prelims, okay, pad out time like most normal boxing shows in the world so that a rough headliner start time can be anticipated. I even messaged the promoter yesterday asking if he knew about when they expected ring walks to be, give or take an hour, and never got a response.

So nice to get up and catch my bus at half past six only to see the marquee attraction is already halfway over.

 

Anyway, that's my spleen vented, now that I'm done grumbling...

Wulan Tuolehazi vs. Shō Kimura, 12 rounds @ flyweight

edit: ring announcer makes a correction during the intros; this has been demoted on the fly to a 10 rounder, still for the WBA international flyweight title. He then introduces the challenger, hysterically, as "Shookie Mora".

 

Shookie Mora is walking out to what sounds like a Japanese clone of Kenny Rogers.

 

Tuolehazi now walks out to mid-2000's fighting video game music.

 

Round 1

Tuolehazi repels some quick sharp 1-2s from Kimura with outward flicks of the back of his left glove. Kimura very aggressive from the start, throwing straight fastball combos down the pipe from a high guard and drawn up in a tall stance to stalk the champ. Tuolehazi circles to his left, palms bunched and glued to his nose as he pops a counter jab here and there and then rolls himself down and shifts his weight laterally. The overenthusiastic Pinoy commentator gets unreasonably excited in the middle of the round, screaming "LET'S GO" into the microphone despite nothing particularly dramatic happening at that moment. Kimura keeps piercing the guard with his 1-2 and winging long hooks at the head, grazing as Tuolehazi skates the ropes.

10-9 Kimura

 

Round 2

Tuolehazi has both arms up covering his face, elbows above his nips, but can't hold the guard firm under the battery of Kimura's jab. Kimura is tripling and quadrupling up on the jab and trying for a plunging right cross on the belt line. Tuolehazi crosses his arms to intercept a combo and counters with a series of alternating overhands and uppercuts with his right hand. Kimura had left himself in a bad defensive position clubbing his way inside and is backed out, stunned. The crowd is coming alive, willing Tuolehazi on as he surges. Kimura recovers and regains control gradually over the next minute, sharpshooting with the jab and planting hooks on the body in between periods of responsible defense, blocking and riding Tuolehazi's punches in the pocket. Kimura now forcing Tuolehazi on the backfoot again. Kimura with some very nice body work, and straight flurries at Tuolehazi's chest and throat meant to get him to raise his guard and expose his belly. Tuolehazi with a few short uppercuts on the inside, grinding Kimura into the ropes. Both throw heavy power combos in the last ten seconds during a shoving match in a phonebooth, everything ducked or blocked from both men.

Fun round.

10-9 Tuolehazi, close

19-19

 

Round 3

Tuolehazi has one glove, the right, caked onto his cheek while the left roams looking to place a jab while circling into the ropes, changing direction, using lots of head twitches, and reading Kimura. Nice mix of 1-2's on the head and hooks on the body from mid-range by Kimura. Tuolehazi patiently times him with a counter right. Both scoring well at times in the first minute-plus here, penetrating each other's defenses. Tuolehazi attempts to spear the body from outside with his right but overreaches. Combo from Kimura is blocked and carries him inside to a collision and break from the ref. Kimura stalking, feinting with the jab, backing Tuolehazi nearly into a corner. Double hook on the body from Kimura. Short lead right by Kimura, using it like a jab to prod Tuolehazi against the ropes, then a looping right skimming over the glove. Heavy pressure by Kimura.

10-9 Kimura

29-28 Kimura

 

Round 4

Tuolehazi has a modified Philly shell going now, left arm slung low, elbow resting on hip and fist at his navel. Kimura is pecking his way inside but getting parried until Tuolehazi rams into him in a Heisman pose to stem his advance, creating brief clinches until the ref separates them. Almost nothing landed cleanly either way in the first two minute here. Long reaching body hook by Tuolehazi. Wild swings by Kimura, whiffing. Kimura feigns a right hand and then dives in headfirst, streamlining his upper body torpedo style throwing straight combos at the body. Tuolehazi snipes with a long straight right on the body while slouched forward, then backs into the ropes and blocks or slips a bunch of ineffective aggression from Kimura.

10-9 Tuolehazi, close ...nice defensive work, just enough landed.

38-38

 

Round 5

Kimura is throwing sidewinder rights at the body. Tuolehazi sticking with the left hand low stance, creeping away, using just as much energy as needed to be outside Kimura's range and popping a light counter jab up off the lead hip. Kimura prods with a double jab up top, and then one more below. Tuolehazi steps in to meet Kimura while the latter is pressuring with his fists sheathed and scores a few thumping body shots, eliciting roars from the crowd. 1-2's up top by Kimura, looking a bit winded after each combination. Some whipping right hand counters from Tuolehazi scoring, getting the crowd going again. Kimura with some pawing jabs and swiping hooks on the way in; that boy needs the stool rest. Weak shoeshine on the belt line from Kimura.

10-9 Tuolehazi

48-47 Tuolehazi

 

Round 6

Tuolehazi keeps lowering his left shoulder and ramming his way into Kimura, looking to break his rhythm and buy himself some breathing room without having to bother with punch location at distance, which has been an issue for him in the first half (finding most of his success in close when Kimura rushes in too boldly). Kimura rides it out, bides his time, and starts to get his mojo flowing at mid-range with the jab and 1-2. Nice diagonal in-steps by Kimura, forcing Tuolehazi on the backfoot and not leaving him an easy target for counters as he dips and buoys up from different spots with each attack. Good sustained pressure from Kimura. Tuolehazi pumping a counter jab out but it only knocks the gloves of Kimura back into his face, nothing getting through.

10-9 Kimura

57-57

 

Round 7

Tuolehazi has a fist at either indent of his widow's peak, flanking his forehead and leaving the center line of his face vulnerable, perhaps to invite Kimura in and create opportunities to drop a clubbing right counter on him. Yep. Kimura does get bopped atop the head with a couple of those, and grazed with left hooks downstairs, but he is by and large gaining purchase and imposing himself as ring general, making Tuolehazi adjust his footing and retreat in either straight backward lines or quick sideways trots as Kimura lets the 1-2s and body shots pour in liberally. Tuolehazi slams down hammering rights on the shoulder and upper back of Kimura when he's diving in or pulling out, and the crowd is yelling each time, but none of those are legal scoring blows and they're not preventing Kimura from coming in.

10-9 Kimura

67-66 Kimura

 

Round 8

Tuolehazi doubling a jab and winging out a right hand. Most of his stuff hitting Kimura's arms, but keeping him quiet offensively. WTF? The power goes out for like ten seconds in the opening minute but the boys just kept slugging it out in the dark (or maybe the camera just went haywire, or some idiot put the lenscap on ). Kimura is throwing 1-2's and lead rights followed by hooks up top. He drives Tuolehazi against the ropes and the ref splits them as they're burying their elbows into each other's ribs. Both arm-weary but throwing steadily. Long spells of uninterrupted weak punching, little accuracy from either. Kimura flurries on the body. Tuolehazi steps outside and rows out a jab, but Kimura peppers it with shots to knock it aside, then barrels in and sloppily overwhelms Tuolehazi with body shots and rabbit punches until they clinch again.

10-9 Kimura, ugly and sort of nothing round.

77-75 Kimura

 

Round 9

Tuolehazi has that flimsy guard up again, with space in the middle for Kimura to slot his jab and giving way under fire. Kimura is able to shatter it completely with a combo and then RAKES the face of Tuolehazi with a hook. Eyes of Tuolehazi beginning to swell. Kimura in a groove now, jabbing at the face and then sinking a heavy right into the breadbasket when Tuolehazi blocks high. Kimura viciously herding Tuolehazi across the ring with overhands and body shots. Very tight defensive stance by Kimura while stalking, and some of the sharpness of early rounds has returned to his punching. Tuolehazi being negative mostly, fleeing into the ropes, tossing a light shuriken jab, and shoulder-tackling Kimura low when he runs out of room. Kimura throws a combo at the body and Tuolehazi wraps his neck in both arms, pulling him into a stalling clinch at the bell.

10-9 Kimura

87-84 Kimura