SportItalia: Mauro Forte vs. Levan Tsiklauri RBR

WBC open scoring announced; Forte pitching a shutout.

 

The vuvuzelas have gotta stop.

 

Round 5

Tsiklauri is taking advantage of what seems to be a snag in Forte's gas tank. Forte purely on the defensive now, and shipping a bit of leather while ducking against the ropes when Tsiklauri comes banging in on him. Tsiklauri ripping big lead right uppercuts and just barely missing, then needling the skull of Forte with both hands with short straight shots. Forte not countering much, just trying to keep up his slick movement and finding it exponentially more difficult now that some muscle fatigue has set in. Forte desperately hoping for a second wind as Tsiklauri comes at him relentlessly, clapping wherever he can, landing some kidney & nape punches but also some legal taps.

10-9 Tsiklauri

49-46 Forte

 

Lot of time left in this one, scantly halfway in, Forte better have deeper reserves from which to draw or his zero's gone...

 

Round 6

Tsiklauri is drowning Forte, staying close and not letting him breathe. Jabs over the right eye by Tsiklauri, following up with a tomahawk right and then just winging in a series of underhanded blows anywhere he can make contact, mostly the chest & throat of Forte. Still tired, Forte is countering from off the ropes with straight lefts and then weaving on increasingly unsteady knees. Flush right cross by Tsiklauri has Forte on the run. A bunch of long-range swipes by Tsiklauri miss, but only just barely. Forte blocking some punches but even those still cue-ball his own fists into his face and make him flinch.

10-9 Tsiklauri

58-56 Forte

 

Round 7

Tsiklauri is chasing, lining up big straight rights that rocket out from their home base (pressed tightly against his cheek), boldly telegraphing his intentions for each shot as Forte predictably flees in a straight line, only defending with knee bends and undulations of his upper body - his legs are mostly sapped of their earlier sprightliness. Tsiklauri is cracking Forte up close with right uppercuts and pushing through straight leads, mostly blocked and yet ricocheting Forte's gloves into his eyes. Light flurries in retreat by Forte, now boxing with his mouth open. Tsiklauri eating shots willingly as he jumps inside and paints Forte with prodding straights everywhere he can from waist to hairline.

10-9 Tsiklauri

67-66 Forte

 

Upset alert, unless something changes...

Momentum is ALL with Tsiklauri.

 

Round 8

Tsiklauri is banging away, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 - deviating only intermittently with a big water-dragging left hook on the body when Forte attempts to grasshopper out laterally from a corner with a sudden airborne dash to his right. Forte is battling back bravely, putting everything into right hook & short left combos but Tsiklauri is showing him & his lack of pop NO respect whatsoever. Forte is throwing some Grzegorz Proksa style triangular left hands over the top, but to no avail. Nothing he can manage to do at this juncture is discouraging Tsiklauri in the slightest. Forte resorts at last to clinching but even there he is simply overpowered and thrown off by Tsiklauri, who cracks him with yet more 1-2s on the face.

10-9 Tsiklauri

76-76

 

WBC open scoring announced, Forte still up somehow ...robbery incoming?

 

Round 9

Tsiklauri is landing heavy 1-2s and then putting his full weight behind heavy ground-to-air left hooks. Forte is knocked into the ropes but able to peck his way free with the right jab. Forte starts looping his left around Tsiklauri's guard but simply can not land anything to deter him consistently. Forte winging heavy arm punches in succession now, spinning himself around with the force of his misses, throwing right hooks & left hands wildly, but can not generate a lick of real power. Tsiklauri is caught in a clinch and shoved into the ropes, sitting on the bottom one and springing up - ruled a slip correctly. Tsiklauri is pressing Forte into a corner and is countered with a well-timed left on the nose. Forte tickling up by Tsiklauri's left ear with a dribble of light right hooks, having a very successful close to this frame.

10-9 Tsiklauri, albeit very close...

86-85 Tsiklauri

 

Round 10

Tsiklauri is landing uppercuts and overhands alternately with the right hand, jumping at Forte and keeping him constantly having to shuffle away with as much speed as his leaden legs can muster. Tsiklauri is loading up on everything, swinging full force and taking his time to dig in big meaty left hooks on the body and roundhouses up top with both hands. Forte is shelling up and weakly countering off the ropes with straight lefts. Tsiklauri is plugging the belly with uppercuts and forcing Forte to scrabble for a handhold on his arms, pulling him close and attempting to squeeze him in an embrace but - Tsiklauri will not be contained, bucking like a bronco and slamming the body.

10-9 Tsiklauri, dominant once again like in the 5th-8th.

96-94 Tsiklauri

 

Official cards:

97-93
97-93
97-93

UD for Mauro Forte

 

Cazzate!

That boy got his ass handed to him for 6 rounds (5 rather clearly) and they unanimously claim he won 7 of 10?

Calling foul on you, Federazione Pugilistica Italiana.

 

Takeaway: while he does have a fun (and vaguely Maravillaesque) style, Forte is probably not much of a real prospect, afflicted with such low stamina plus those feather-dusters to boot. On the other hand, Tsiklauri showed grit & raw ability far beyond what I'm used to seeing from his countrymen. He's a serviceable Euro-level journeyman, which is quite a bit more than can be said for most Georgians.

 

Main event is split up over multiple uploads, kind of annoying.

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