Ismael Laguna Meneses vs. Vicente Samuel Saldívar-García - IB's standalone RBR scorecard

We're like Blair, Childs, and MacReady over here.

 

Round 6

Saldívar is pushing out a left uppercut lead and then following with a right jab as more of an escape route cutting afterthought - but not landing with either. Steady but ineffective pressure from the Mexican. Low work rate and lots of negative tactics but high rate of scoring by Laguna, snapping the head of Saldívar back with straight right leads and painting him with the jab when there's distance between them. Saldívar takes a few shuffling inward steps, but without much conviction, as though wearing footy pajamas and wary of falling on his face and waking mama while making his way to pee in the middle of the night. He makes it halfway to his target and throws away his chance with a badly framed swiping jab.

10-9 Laguna, another super close one

57 all

 

Round 7

Saldívar is flicking out the right jab almost backhanded, a mere preamble to his pipe-busting stuff he really wants to unload - but Laguna is now quick with the clinches anytime he gets close. Some nice infighting by Laguna, somewhat abruptly pulled from his bag of tricks as he rattles short uppercuts off the bottom of Saldívar's chin to set up a step-away lead right landing flush. Saldívar explodes in the final minute with a bevy of chopping blows, although few make contact and of those barely any dole out any serious damage.

10-9 Laguna, close - I can see why judges and fans might lean Vicente's way in this one... flashier last impression.

67-66 Laguna

 

Round 8

Saldívar is waiting on Laguna, stalking, throwing huge superman lefts either behind a pair of pawing right jab feints or as solo blasts. Laguna is standing up tall, dancing around, jabbing on the outside. Laguna claps his left arm over Saldívar's right, simultaneously deadening the impact of a body hook and trapping it, and then scoops a right uppercut into the side of Saldívar's jaw. Laguna is now leaning his full upper half's weight down on Saldívar in the clinch and spanking him on the body with reach-around left hooks, then pushing off and upright to follow up with another upstairs. Saldívar remains in Laguna's chest plugging away, just not able to land anything big with real leverage.

10-9 Laguna, close

77-75 Laguna

 

Round 9

Saldívar is feeling the pace and looking untidy now, winging right hooks and widely looped or noodled "straight" lefts at the body while pitched forward. Laguna stays composed, dancing nearly into a corner but just in time breaking his stride into more of a lateral, using lots of feints and ducks to pop up and plant the right hand in Saldívar's face at unexpected angles. There is clinching when there isn't outboxing, and the crowd doesn't much care for it. Saldívar is chasing after Laguna, showing a right body hook, and then letting that arm fall away dead at his side as he instead puts his all into a high-flying left while practically leaping up at Laguna - but nothing doing.

10-9 Laguna

87-84 Laguna

 

Round 10

Saldívar is paddling the sides of Laguna from the opening bell. Saldívar nearly takes a header between the middle ropes and onto the floor below in his fervor as Laguna is attempting to spin him into a positional reversal. Laguna really never getting a chance to so much as unfurl the jab as Saldívar cleaves to him and roughs him up, rag-dolling him when not hooking the body. Laguna brings his arms down to exchange body hooks with Saldívar while on the backfoot, and Saldívar takes advantage by flipping up a cheeky right jab on the mouth. Saldívar by far getting the better of the inside brawl, with Laguna seeming to believe his bankroll permitted him to clock out after the ninth (spoiler alert: oops!)

10-9 Saldívar

96-94 Laguna

 

So in the grand scheme of things, all this result affected really was that we never got to see Laguna challenge Flash Elorde for the belts at peso super pluma, yes? Even had it gone the other way, I'm sure Chente still gets his crack at Sugar Ramos down at feather...and of course for Ismael himself this proved only a very brief setback on his march to a championship as his first meeting with Carlos Ortiz at lightweight came only ten months later.

He would lose to Elorde a couple of year later anyway (with the Filipino still yet to end his reign but testing out the waters at lightweight), but do we think number one contender Laguna in '64 with momentum on his side could have fared any better?

 

Actually, scratch that - Laguna was the #1 contender at feather? Despite having technically not made the limit for six fights before Saldívar?

Alright then, I guess he was Sugar Ramos' mandatory, not Gabe's. Whatever. How does the Laguna vs. Ramos match-up we never got to see go, then?

 

Oh and you're right, @George Crowcroft - not among the worst robberies ever (and hell, I'm sure there were some worse in 1964 alone) but ...had it been elsewhere than in Tijuana without so much crowd noise on his side, maybe Saldívar doesn't get the W.