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

Round 10

Both men now look ready for beddy-bye. Nothing on their shots; they're just leaned together slapping ineffectually. Neither one is bothering with defense. Juárez able to score about five hooks on either temple, undisturbed. Iwasa meanwhile is landing jab, cross, jab, uppercut without a single movement of Juárez's arms to block. Juárez grinds his bleeding face into the chest of Iwasa, trying to post up and gather his strength for a big flurry. Iwasa takes advantage, BIG shoeshine on the face pushing Juárez off and giving him a clear open lane to score a bunch of points, crowd getting fired up. Iwasa now also cut by his left eye. They're both flurrying away like mad in about equal measure, but neither has landed as much in any sequence as Iwasa did in that one after prying Juárez off him. Juárez has a nice closing fifteen seconds, hooking away on Iwasa's chin pushing him on the ropes, but in the last five Iwasa wakes up and explodes with his own series of power shots, driving Juárez across the ring!

10-9 Iwasa, close

96-94 Iwasa

 

Stopped on cuts (ruled as from accidental headbutts), technical decision.

Official cards:

Edward Hernández Sr. 95-95
Steve Morrow 97-93
Jonathan Davis 98-92

(BoxRec has Morrow & Davis' scorecards mixed up, not that it matters, but just for posterity's sake... @PinoyProdigy)

MD for Iwasa

 

So...yeah. No robbery, guys. I don't agree with Steve Kim saying that Iwasa heading into the championship rounds was running away with it, but also there's no solid ground on which to stake a claim that Juárez got hard done by here.

Hernández's draw scorecard was to me a lot more palatable than Morrow's 97-93, even though both are only a round's shifting off from mine. Davis' 98-92 seems really implausible. Juárez clearly won rounds 3-5.

The appropriate range here is probably 96-94 either way, and if tipped in anybody's direction IMO, Ryōsuke's, but not by much.

 

Based on your interpretation of random ass Twitter user Gabe Oppenheim's report? (which you elect to place greater faith in than longtime boxing journo Steve Kim, for some reason...not that Kim wasn't a bit wide of mark himself, but at least he was crediting Iwasa's work and not dismissing it outright because of a predilection against "pillow-hitting")

Ridiculous comment to make without having actually watched a fight.

 

"...hey, thanks, IB. Good looking out!"

"My pleasure, everyone, cheers!"

 

I see you creeping, @CST80 , you scoring?

 

You saw the link for the EC kickoff show on YouTube in the Lounge thread, yeah?

 

I'm not home! You go, though. I'll probably have a look at it after Chamber (while you're doing the super bantams...criss-cross )