Oh lordy, its the drunken LeonMcS PPV review

My plans to report from my local are abandoned around 1PM when a mate rings me and informs me he's booked the fight. Quietly questioning his sanity, I agree to watch the fight there. Its with mixed emotions as the pub would have been a great source of material and I'm worried that being with a crowd of knowledgable fight fans may be a hindrance.

5pm I arrive and are 'treated' to an early contender for worst haircut of the night in Rey Anton Olarte. An unspectacular fight follows which ends in a majority draw. So far a typical Mundine undercard. next up is 4-1 Chris Stewart vs 2-0 Kurt Bahram, how Stewart has managed to win 4 fights is a mystery as his defence consists of wading in hands down chin in the air. He keeps marching in and KB takes advantagescoring a standing 8 in the third, Stewart catching plenty before a small rally in the last but its a no brainer, easy points win to Bahram.

Next up the debuting Fred Nagi against 0-9 Aaron Ryan. At what point in your career do you think the signs are there to stop? After the fifth consecutive KO loss? The seventh? First round sees Ryan determined to keep up the streak after throwing a punch from last week in Africa before walking into a solid shot from Nagi. Apparantly Nagi sold a seafood restaurant to pursue his dream of becoming a professional fighter, too bad his first opponent had all the skill of a gummy shark. 2nd round KO to nagi, the only surprise is that Ryan makes it to the second. A new leader for worst haircut emerges from Nagis corner, in what one could ony describe as a mullet with a double twist and pike from hell. Impressive.

0-1 Percy Samson takes on 4-0 Will Tomlinson next, the matchmaking here is atrocious as usual, All over in the third as I take every oppurtunity to duck out for a smoke break. Peter Mitrevski 19-6-1 is next vs 1-1 Blair Seager, I'm more concerned with starting my second six pack that this peice of ****. Mitrevski 2nd rd TKO.

Next up is Kerry Foley, 10-0, 10 kos against 4-7 rasheed Baloch. This gets the first response from our crowd for the night as Baloch seems to have lost his script and wobbles Foley. By now my notes come to a halt as the BBQ is ready but remember Baloch is down in the second (or was it first) before shaking Foley again and down again in the next before the worlds fastest towel appears. Strange call by the corner but hey, its a Mundine card, this **** is normal.

Next up was Zac Awad vs Sean Connell, I've seen human sacrifices on altars put up more resistance. awad wins, I'm outside and can't be bothered watching.

Hamden vs McKay, our commentating team keep ramming the story that 'this is a war' down our throats and they're right to a degree, Hamdan has been on the kebab diet since his last effort as this is fought at Cruiser. Goes the distance, both are hurt here and there but an easy points win to hamdan is always going to be the result and it is, even if the official cards seem more than generous.

Main event time. We're 'treated' to a report on the press conference which just draws laughter at both fighters. My mission to be Agent Mulder 'I want to believe' in Taylors fight suddnly hits me square in the face. I've been conned. Again. The only consolation is I didn't pay for it. I power int my second six pack hoping nobody is noticing the slight slurring from me.

Round 1 Mundine busier, Taylor cautious. A pattern to be repeated. Chocs rd.

Round 2 Choc again busier but its becoming obvious theres no real power there. ST not doing enough. Choc rd.

Round 3 Choc scoring well to the body of Taylor, Taylor starts to open up, Mulder scores it generously to Taylor.

Round 4 Choc again doing well to the body and staying busier, Taylor not bothering the judhes this stanza. Choc rd.

Round 5 From my notes '10-9 Choc, what a con'

Round 6 Close round to call, Taylor starts to land low, picking up the pace but still not busy enough. Even round.

Round 7 Mundine boxing better as Taylor trying to turn it into a brawl. Wondering where I can go out when this is finished as I'm losin interest.

Round 8 Taylor needs a hail mary, 10-9 choc.

Round 9 The fouls keep coming from Taylor but the referee keeps warning but doing little else, is it me or did the bell ring 30 seconds early?

Round 10 And again, did the bell ring 30 seconds before the end of the round. Low blows, headbutts, my mate reckons all thats missing is a knee, the ref blissfully waves play on. Choc coasting, can Taylor land that one big shot?

Round 11 Taylor gets the quadrella and gets a knee in. No sympathy from our crowd as we encourage everything from more headbutts to knuckle dusters. Easy rd to choc on points and again, does the bell ring early? 10 second clapper sopunded with 40 seconds left on the foxtel clock.

Round 12 Ref McMahon has had a horrible night, Taylor has taken it to the trenches but couldn't find the one big shot, Mundine is a wide points winner but seems to be lacking power. Ominous signs should he ever actually fight for a middleweight title.

Official scores 120-108, 120-107x2 which is strange as i can't remember a point being officially deducted.

The wash up.

Next time, pub. Nothing beats the general idiocy of a mid week ppv card. Add shooters & Guiness and yhou have a night out you'll be telling the grandkids about around the fire in years to come.

Any talk of Mundine challenging for a middleweight title stops now. He has no power here to bother anybody. He would be slaughtered. The speed is still there, reduced though and the only sane option is for him to chase Green for one last big payday. As for his legacy, well, that boat sailed years ago.

 

Hes no Eric Crumble but hes getting there.