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Round 1 Cuarto is stalking, jabbing the chest from a standing position and then dropping into a deep squat to knife an up-jab from directly in front of Azarcon from below. Azarcon is dancing on his toes, cutting a wide swath around Cuarto, using every inch of the fairly large ring (or maybe it just appears super large because they're straw-weights, although even the ref seems tiny in there). Cuarto is pushing a jab between the wrists of Azarcon, baiting the counters, Azarcon tossing straights off the backfoot and getting swabbed on the body as Cuarto takes lunging dives inside. 10-9 Cuarto
Round 2 Cuarto is sweeping in some low hooks and they become entangled in a clinch. After the break, Azarcon is driven into a corner where Cuarto begins to dig hard on the body with fast, pendulous swings. Azarcon scrambles to freedom and begins lightly trotting around the logo in the middle of the ring flicking defensive jabs. Head clash. Pause. Cuarto is checked out as the ringside physician climbs the ring apron. Cleared, time in. BIG alternating uppercut combo on the midriff by Cuarto. Azarcon backs off hurriedly. Azarcon is now weeble-wobbling intentionally back and forth to spring-load a hard counter jab on the fro lean, setting traps for Cuarto and carving up his face as he rushes inside, then sailing away from harm by just sinking back in the follow-through motion. 10-9 Cuarto 20-18 Cuarto
Round 3 Cuarto is thumping away on Azarcon with huge body shot combos, knees bent so much they are nearly scraping the canvas as he pushes upward to put torque on every blow in a perpetual bounce. Azarcon is lowering his arms to block and snatch at Cuarto's fists and they get enmeshed by the ropes, and their feet cross up. Azarcon down, slip. Cuarto is getting jabbed in the forehead as he stalks Azarcon, unwilling to give him any breathing room and unconcerned with defending against his light counter head shots. Big pair of hooks ripped downstairs by Cuarto, grazing the stomach, then bringing a couple of whistlers upstairs that quicken Azarcon's step as he spirals outside. 10-9 Cuarto 30-27 Cuarto
Round 4 Cuarto is FLYING in, throwing bombs downstairs, some missing and some bouncing off the right hip of Azarcon, twisting himself around in mid-charge to load up. Azarcon is forced to zigzag in reverse to find sanctuary, traversing from corner to corner diagonally with quick pivots to bypass Cuarto as he's unloading on his misses. Azarcon is starting to pop a quick falling-drawbridge jab from up by his own eyes into Cuarto's jaw as he flits around him at medium-close range once the pace slows a bit, as Cuarto's early attacks seem to have drained his tank, curtailing his aggression to a degree in the final minute-plus. Cuarto still throwing hard but Azarcon in control of dictating when & where they engage, not entirely comfortable but still achieving generalship and doing the only clean scoring with his jab. 10-9 Azarcon 39-37 Cuarto
Round 5 Cuarto is pawing a double-jab (or at least a 1:1 ratio of jabs and feints, in no particular order) from a crouch into the guard as he stalks Azarcon with more of a measured and deliberate pace now, keeping within his orbit but not barreling in as before. Azarcon is seemingly thrown off by this minor adjustment, leaving very few of his own jabs in his wake in the face of Cuarto's rediscovery of this particular tool in his arsenal. Cuarto is ducking Azarcon's backfoot jabs and 1-2s and scything rights against his chest. A couple of such exchanges in hyper-speed just before the bell result in both men being grazed and crowd roaring in approval. 10-9 Cuarto 49-46 Cuarto
Round 6 Cuarto is catapulting himself inside and forcing Azarcon to stand and fight, very much against his will. Azarcon is carrying his left arm low, right fist held aloft by his chest like a cat with an injured paw. Azarcon is hopping lightly in place to keep the juices flowing when he gets well enough clear of his tormentor, and breaking into a trot as the gap is closed. Azarcon growing stiffer with his counter jabs, feeling the relentless pace, unable to keep up a high guard for more than a brief moment. There is very little time spent this round with both men in range to land on each other, but Cuarto is making the most of it, getting a solid thunk on either side of Azarcon's body whenever he can. 10-9 Cuarto 59-55 Cuarto
Round 7 Azarcon unexpectedly comes out very aggressive, hacking down on Cuarto's head with overhands and throwing uppercuts once inside, mauling him, refusing to step backward. Cuarto seems to be undeterred and in fact galvanized by this development, eagerly brawling with Azarcon, ducking low and springing up with uppercuts on the sides. Wild uppercuts delivered a point blank range from both men. Cuarto mixing in some jabs as he shows a bit of tidy close-quarters defense, using subtle rotations of his waist and dipping to either side to make Azarcon miss his uppercuts. They push together like rhinos locking horns in the middle of the ring. Neither has a major strength advantage so they remain in a fixed-place stalemate. They separate and exchange stiff jabs into & through each other's guards, Cuarto getting the best of it. 10-9 Cuarto (but Azarcon had moments of success early upon changing tacks) 69-64 Cuarto
Round 8 Cuarto is throwing vicious left hooks and looping/straight underhanded rights into Azarcon's sides in constant pursuit. Azarcon is employing the 4-corner defense and occasionally leaning in with clinch attempts, quickly aborted when Cuarto starts pummeling his mid-line. Azarcon tries standing his ground and fending off Cuarto with a 1-2-3 and finds him difficult to discourage even when all three shots connect. The crowd is getting incensed whenever they are both firing simultaneously at close range, and the effects on each man are very different - Cuarto drawing inspiration, while Azarcon seems rattled and immediately sheathing his weapons, arms down to save energy, running. 10-9 Cuarto 79-73 Cuarto
Round 9 Cuarto is finding Azarcon less willing a victim now, as every advance is stemmed by Azarcon planting his feet and launching a jab & sailing overhand right combination. Azarcon is starting to draw his right arm back low at his side and then swivel himself around counter-clockwise, driving his right knee forward to add emphasis as he scores a hard ambushing counter uppercut on Cuarto as he's running in. Azarcon is able to drastically limit Cuarto's body punching effectiveness this round, through a mixture of movement and countering when necessary. 10-9 Azarcon 88-83 Cuarto
Round 10 Cuarto is trying a different approach this round, materializing in front of Azarcon like a breaching submarine after tromping in deep in a crouch, then feeling out with jabs and lone spearing rights to both gauge range elicit a reaction from Azarcon, then putting together serious combos once Azarcon has settled into a defensive position and kept his face in one spot for more than a second. Azarcon for his part is still countering very well and even snaps Cuarto's head back at least once snapping a right hand on the pivot. Cuarto is effectively breaking through using the jab to set up his offense, and keeping Azarcon jogging backwards. Azarcon tries setting uppercut traps but Cuarto is unfazed and just keeps on coming. 10-9 Cuarto 98-92 Cuarto
Round 11 Cuarto eats a HUGE line drive right cross as he's stepping in, almost immediately after the bell. Azarcon lined that up beautifully, putting a soft lulling jab at half-speed before it. Jolting peach of a square on the button shot, but either Cuarto has a heck of a beard or Azarcon is a powder-puff because there is no lingering effect. Cuarto is stalking, Azarcon evading. Same pattern as the first ten rounds, but a caricaturized form without any of the drama or shifts in momentum that each previous round contained. Just cat & mouse, in a loop. Azarcon is occasionally sweeping out a long backfoot counter left hook and grazing the brow of Cuarto. Virtually nothing landed for Cuarto all round as he can barely get in the same zip code as his opponent. 10-9 Azarcon (mostly on the strength of that one early punch, since neither of them landed anything meaningful after that. 107-102 Cuarto
Round 12 Cuarto is putting everything that he was apparently shoring up & saving in the penultimate round into the early moments of the finale. Cuarto resuming his early tactics of just stampeding in throwing hard rips at the body. Azarcon is winging some two-pieces at the head and then enveloping Cuarto in clinches. Ref there on top of the action to call breaks in a timely fashion. Cuarto is very tired and takes a second to recover his wind after every clinch (in which Azarcon is sure to roughly shimmy & shake to jostle him in a calculated manner). Azarcon is clipped by a left hook on the upper jaw near his ear and seeks the ref's eyes to complain in vain. Cuarto doesn't attack until Azarcon is looking at him again, despite the clear and present opportunity for a perfectly legal cheap shot if he wanted it. Azarcon is on his toes, circling away, jabbing as Cuarto dive-bombs his body some more. 10-9 Cuarto 117-111 Cuarto
