Lou Ambers vs. Henry Armstrong II (Longest version now on Youtube)

This is my favorite Armstrong fight so far. A bit more ebbs and flows that you don't get out of the Arizmendi series, and I thought Ambers provided a more fascinating contrast to Armstrong. Actually, it was an ideal matchup, with Armstrong being a pressure fighter and Ambers being a boxer, although with good abilities on the inside, which made it unusual and not as easy for Armstrong.

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I'm taking a less specific approach to this fight as many of the rounds were the same and a lot of punching was going on, although neither man was ever in serious danger. That, plus the lack of knockdowns and notable cuts, I don't think it's necessary for me to detail every round.

1. A great opening round. Not the most exciting, but you could see the contrast right off, and both landed telling blows. Armstrong bobbing and weaving his way in to hook to the body and Ambers jumping away to land stinging jabs and flurries of his own. It was close. Armstrong.
2-3. Armstrong.
4. Ambers upped his footwork here. Ambers.
5. Like the others, this was a tough round all the way. Ambers did unexpectedly rock Armstrong with a left hook. Armstrong started to pivot on one foot but realigned himself and went on to win the round. Armstrong.
6. A lot of inside fighting was done. Armstrong.
7. Ambers was in quite a bit of trouble. Armstrong.
8. Ambers rallied back well. A toe-to-toe battle ensued and Armstrong once again came back and took the round. Armstrong.
9. Armstrong.
10. One of Armstrong's most dominant rounds, battering Ambers. Armstrong.
11. Armstrong.
12. Ambers rallied. Even.
13. A lot of leather was thrown, but Ambers missed more often than he landed. Armstrong was the more accurate and the harder puncher in these exchanges. Armstrong.
14-15. Armstrong.

Final score: 10-4-1, and THAT'S INCLUDING the three rounds I took away from Armstrong for low blows, rounds 2, 6, and 11. It was so one-sided that even with the rounds lost by Armstrong on the technicalities of the low blows, Ambers couldn't have legitimately won. However, I didn't see the low blows that occurred, reported by boxrec to be in the 5th, 7th, and 9th rounds.

Verdict: Good fight, not the greatest. It was a bruising fight with both fighters putting everything they had into it, but both guys missed a lot of their shots. I would suggest the fight, although not resoundingly. It is one of the most entertaining and skillful fights ever fought on the inside.

 

Hey yeah. That would be cool.

 

Precisely.

 

My main problem with awarding the fight to Ambers is that I thought Ambers missed more than half of what he threw.