PBC on Fox: Léodegario Santa Cruz vs. Rafael Alvarado Rivera & César Juárez vs. Ryōsuke Iwasa RBR

Alright, hand on, I'm downloading the video...the formatting has made watching this in multiple tabs (one for typing up RBR posts, the other to view) untenable. I tried first having the second tab just be Facebook, except it kept freezing the picture (while still "playing", and I could hear the audio) whenever I clicked the mouse into the post entry field on the first tab...so then I tried having the second tab be this very RBR thread playing the FB video from the post I embedded with it, except it cropped the picture so I was just looking @ the ceiling.

In a few minutes I'll be able to just cue it up offline with any playback app of my choice, sized any way I want...

 

I'd think someone either on here or Twitter would've picked up on that and mentioned it last night? Or does literally nobody use the Fox app?

 

Told by whom? Also, look further up the page...vid.

 

Alright, fully dl'ed now (+ fresh pot of coffee), picking up where I left off...

 

Round 3

Somebody keeps moving their fat head in front of the cameraperson! The first half minute is almost totally obscured, and what little can be seen is unfocused. Juárez is still the aggressor, that much is unambiguous. Iwasa seems to be sputtering a bit, letting himself get trapped on the ropes where the Mexican absolutely tees off with gigantic haymakers climbing from waistline to face. Iwasa gets bombarded with a hooking four piece, left-right-left-right, all turning his chin sharply in either direction. Iwasa showing a hell of a chin. Juárez simply rolling in the pocket to slip the few defensive straight flurries of Iwasa, then battering him with overhands and hooks. Iwasa manages to wriggle free and jab his way into the opposite corner, where the pattern resumes, Juárez just smashing away on him. Iwasa flicking out weak backhanded jabs, on the run.

10-9 Juárez

29-28 Iwasa

 

Round 4

Martha has trouble getting a clear shot and her companion or husband or whatever suggests they move up into the vacant seats in the row directly in front of them -with disastrous consequences for the watchability of the first minute of yet another round. Oh well. Iwasa is using a lot of elbows and stiff right forearms, held up horizontally and rammed at Juárez like a phalanxer's shield, but Juárez is having none of it, bullying his way through even these illegal tactics which Jack Reiss seems content to ignore directly under his nose. Juárez is beating a dozen shades of **** outta this kid, square on the button in many cases, and yet Iwasa never has the look of succumbing to a fall. He's a warrior, but getting absolutely eaten alive. Offense is all Juárez, hooks & overhands galore. Iwasa spends most of the round trapped on the ropes, jabbing & elbowing for dear life.

10-9 Juárez

38-38

 

Round 5

Juárez is landing with both hands on the grill, driving Iwasa again into a corner. Iwasa jabs into the nose of Juárez, but can't slow him down. Iwasa has very little on his punches, gassed and damaged as he is. Big left uppercut on the body from Iwasa, the hardest that he can muster, and Juárez doesn't even flinch, nor even interrupt his own in-progress combo upstairs. Iwasa taking flush shots on the face by the boatload, yet he somehow escapes the corner and starts whacking upside the head of Juárez as he circles to his left with a scything right hook. Juárez ducks and weaves around some Iwasa jabs & 1-2s, keeping a tight shell, trying to pin Iwasa on the ropes by shouldering into his abdomen while bombing away downstairs. Iwasa has a good last twenty seconds, getting a 2nd wind and painting Juárez's face with jabs and lefts...but not enough to steal it.

10-9 Juárez

48-47 Juárez

 

Round 6

Juárez is looking clueless now as Iwasa suddenly remembers how to box. Iwasa on fire with the jab in the first minute, dancing around Juárez, landing from every angle with left crosses & uppercuts behind the jab. Finally managing to cut the ring off, Juárez grinds his forehead into the chest of Iwasa, slashing away up top with no-look chopping overhands, most of which miss or get deflected, but a few seem to score enough to keep Iwasa trapped (much of the action being obscured by Jack Reiss' body as he is standing between the corner and the cameraperson). Juárez chases Iwasa all the way across the ring into the opposite corner, still brushing madly at him with both hands. Iwasa seems to be keeping his composure despite this endless assault, catching a lot of Juárez's shots on his biceps and shoulders by twisting himself around, slipping & countering well.

10-9 Iwasa

57-57

 

6th was a round I could see many judges giving Juárez (incorrectly) on sheer aggression. Clinical stuff from Iwasa.

 

Round 7

Juárez is up to his old tricks, charging at Iwasa headfirst with his face pointed at the canvas like a bull. Iwasa jabs into his upper scalp, takes a step back and throws a reach-around combo that clips the highest tips of Juárez's earlobes. Juárez is happy to let Iwasa land on the crest of his skull, appearing to not care so long as his face south of the hairline is clear of harm's way. Iwasa spends a good portion of the round coming forward, big grin on his face, drumming on Juárez's dome. As soon as Iwasa stops punching Juárez roars to life and starts BANGING away to body and head with massive hooks, swiveling exaggeratedly in either direction for extra torque. Iwasa lacks the spunk to dance away or box cute, so he winds up just eating a lot of these hooks, shrugging off some by maneuvering his elbows or shoulders in the way to intercept.

10-9 Juárez, EXTRAORDINARILY CLOSE, almost 10-10

67-66 Juárez

 

Round 8

Juárez is loading up on body shots but telegraphing even worse than usual, not even halfway to his target as Iwasa spots them coming, sucks in his gut to remove himself from the strike zone, scores a couple of quick jabs on the face, and steps aside. Iwasa doing some REALLY good work now, standing in front of Juárez for spells of vicious infighting, the best stuff being Iwasa's double left uppercuts on the chin busting through Juárez's guard, then sidestepping before Juárez can retaliate. Lots of clinching, and the crowd grows a bit restless and begins to boo. Slapping right hooks from Iwasa now as Juárez tries bulling him into the ropes. More clinching. Juárez is dead tired, just flopping into his quarry, almost face-planting at his feet, bent forward, unable to control his own momentum, just blindly winging shots and eating right jab after right jab. Some more beautiful outboxing from Iwasa, between all the ugly clinches. Reiss warns Iwasa for pushing down on the back of Juárez's head. Nice uppercuts from Iwasa as they grind together in the phonebooth.

10-9 Iwasa

76-76

 

Round 9

Juárez is magnetizing himself to Iwasa, by hook or by crook hurtling towards him in lurching fashion, curled up like Sonic the Hedgehog. Barely able to walk a straight line in his fatigue, Juárez is nevertheless keeping both hands moving. Juárez has a NASTY cut, btw, developed a couple of rounds ago but is positively oozing down his face now, might be affecting his vision. Juárez troweling with the left hand, not even a jab, more of a dentist's tool scraping off plaque type of motion. Iwasa keeps pulling and twisting away, waving his arms to deflect, and countering with jabs effectively. Iwasa keeping Juárez's unbridled aggression in check, turning him, countering with a few straight combos, and tying up when things get too unruly with the elbows and head of Juárez conspiring with his akimbo fists to create a dangerous asteroid field.

10-9 Iwasa

86-85 Iwasa