Neil John Tabanao vs. Ángel Miguel Leo & Xavier Augustine Martínez vs. John Vincent Moralde RBR

Cortés had 130 amateurs bouts...a hundred more than Dyer.

 

Round 1

Cortés is lunging in with a few single jabs and then lunge-feinting with his upper body to make Dyer react but not wasting too much punch-wise. Dyer is creeping to his left, hugging the ropes, pawing some jabs out at the body. Cortés is holding up his arms bent at right angles, elbows thrust outward, scarecrow pose, mitts turned palms-out at chin height and spread wide apart to catch the up-shots from the crouching & laterally slinking Dyer. Cortés is popping jabs stepping in but is grazed by a lead right from Dyer. Cortés is now trotting around Dyer picking off jabs but not throwing.

10-9 Cortés, close

 

Round 2

Cortés is jabbing high, getting ducked and trying to ambush Dyer with an uppercut but not quite reaching him with it as Dyer sidesteps and wraps his left arm protectively around his flank. Dyer is countering with straight jabs and rights while moving to his right and bending over sideways at the waist. Hard clubbing right by Cortés lands below the eye socket while Dyer is diving to his right after landing a 1-2. Cortés jabs high, ducked and countered with a quick jab on the belly from Dyer. Cortés is missing the reach-in jab and timing a 1-2-3 just a moment too late to catch Dyer in his crouching & rising pattern on the outside. Dyer landing nice counter rights.

10-9 Dyer, close

19-19

 

Round 3

Cortés is whipping the right hand in low in long arcs, then swinging it all the way around to descend from above with hard chopping overhands. Dyer starts the round out well, plugging counter uppercuts on the waistband dancing in and out, but he is caught by a few of those overhands and his legs begin to slow. More exchanges toe to toe, and Dyer is bravely/stupidly standing in and trading with Cortés. By the end of the round Cortés is bashing Dyer into the ropes and hurts him badly before the bell.

10-9 Cortés, close

29-28 Cortés

 

Round 4

Cortés is starting out with a heavy left hook on the body, doubling Dyer over and then slamming down with the right hand atop the skull. Dyer wobbling every time Cortés makes contact, even with partially blocked shots. Dyer's balance almost shot to hell. Cortés seems to maybe not realize the opportunity in front of him, still waiting cautiously on the outside, and not creating any openings to finish Dyer off. Cortés feinting, darting in with fake-out jabs and then lobbing rights up top, headhunting as Dyer puts on the earmuffs. Dyer throws a lazy jab and Cortés absolutely SMASHES him on the face with a counter left-right. Cortés jabs and hooks his way in. Cortés loads up on a big right cross after landing a jab but eats a sneaky right hook from below, and is plopped on his butt, flash knockdown! He is up and furious, driving Dyer into the ropes and unloading on him.

10-8 Dyer, crazy, both before and after the knockdown Dyer seemed on the verge of getting KTFO..

38-37 Dyer

 

Freaking boxing, man..

 

Round 5

Cortés is catching Dyer's jabs in midair, pinching them between his wrists and then launching right hands across the gap. Dyer is slouching over, creeping rightward on rickety legs, still appearing to have poor (or at least wobbly) balance, yet is landing the most effective shots with his counter uppercuts both upstairs & down. Cortés is picking off jabs, darting in with the right hand but just brushing Dyer across the left sideburn and temple with it. Dyer slows his output in the final minute, just leaning over and jabbing out from a tight shell, and getting grazed by Cortés' right.

10-9 Cortés, close

47-47

 

Barry Tompkins thought the fifth was "dominant" for Cortés, really wasn't.

 

Round 6

Cortés is drawing the lead from Dyer, wading halfway inside and then splaying his legs and falling back, loading up on a pinball-machine-plunger right hand and snapping it into Dyer's face, ambushing him every time Dyer comes probing in, no matter from which angle or altitude. Dyer is avoiding contact, leaning away at mid-range and waving his forearms in front of his face like windshield wipers, but Cortés is still able to find a piece of his head with each right hand.

10-9 Cortés

57-56 Cortés

 

Steve Farhood has it 57-56 Cortés, reaching that score by a slightly different route than myself (he gave Cortés rounds 2-3 and 5-6)

 

Round 7

Cortés is stuffing his jab in Dyer's face, leaning into him, nudging him backward into range for the clubbing right hand from afar. Dyer tries ducking and coming up with counter uppercuts but he no longer has any snap in his legs, all his speed has dissipated. Cortés is able to toy with him, moving around, ducking & blocking jabs, and raining right hands down upon him from every direction without worrying about anything coming back, as Dyer is too tired to muster anything up.

10-9 Cortés

67-65 Cortés

 

Raúl "Diamante" Márquez (former IBF light middleweight champion and longtime guest commentator on ShoBox) and Barry Tompkins both have it level heading into the final round; Farhood has Cortés up a couple of points.

 

Round 8

Cortés is darting in with jabs on the Adam's apple. Sloppy 1-2-3 by Cortés, missed/rolled through as Dyer shrugs up his shoulders and dips his upper body inside. Dyer isn't throwing any counters, just absorbing light jabs and slapping hooks on the outside from Cortés. Dyer steps around Cortés and paws at the stomach with a jab. Cortés is holding up his goalposts and baiting Dyer to come forward. Cortés wants to play counter-puncher but Dyer unwilling to engage. Clubbing right by Cortés. Another.

10-9 Cortés

77-74 Cortés

 

Farhood has it 77-74 Cortés, while Tompkins & Márquez have it 76-75 for him.

 

Where the hell is everybody?