the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Holmes-Spinks II

I have it close for Holmes. I could see a Spinks card - anytime it's only around, I don't think robbery is the right word. But yeah, i do have Holmes winning as most seem to.

HOLMES: 1,2,3,4,5,7,11,14
SPINKS: 6,8,9,10,12,13,15

So 8-7. I would have given the 14th to Spinks but for that punch so I have Holmes winning it by literally one blow. On the other hand I do think 6 can go either way. Close fight. The bullrush Holmes put on Spinks was mad, he shat himself a bit I think.

 

Toshiyuki Igarashi SD12 Sonny Boy Jaro

Great wee scrap. Jaro just did what he does, burrowing forwards in his crouch flailing the left hook over the top which proved inaffective against his taller opponent, and digging in a hard right hand to the body and head. Sometimes he clubbed it round the side or back of Igarashi's head, sometimes he dug it to the body. When he hit to the body the punch looked very good and he got a couple of very decent beltline cominations off. Still, the right hand didn't look anything like as good as it did against Wonjongkam where he looked almost Darchinyan-like at times.

Igashari was a strange choice of opponent. Inexperienced but a southpaw with tidy footwork, he was never going to be Jarro's cup of tea. He got off at an absolute clatter, too, winning 4 of the first 5 on my card, pinning Jaro with his right jab and snapping of shoe-shine clusters of punches when Jaro looked troubled. Never really hurt, Jaro was far to content to allow Igashari jab him flush. Not bothered by the punch he didn't tend to do that much about it landing, but a couple of these rounds were decided on Igashiri's jab combos. His old-town toughness kind of worked against him here.

But he did force Igashari into a fade, and for the most part the second half of the fight was conducted on Jaro's terms, at close and mid-range. Igashari proved he had a streak of old-town toughness dominaing the 7th and 10th with sharp punching in spite of the pressure. An insanely close 12th went to Igashari - had it gone to Jaro I would have had it a draw, as would the judges - and I personally gave him the benefit of the doubt as Jaro's last-minute surge was in part propelled by a nasty head-butt, very obviously seen by the referee who had repeatedly warned Sonny Boy for use of the head (Accidental or not). He probably should have had a point nabbed.

A draw might have been the fairest result, but if someone had to win the right man got the nod. It's a shame though. Most people missed it but this was the best Rocky story of the past decade.

Hopefully Jaro rides again.


JARO: 1,6,8,9,11
IGASHARI: 2,3,4,5,7,10,12

7-5 IGASHARI.

 

Lennox Lewis tko7 Gary Mason

Haven't watched this in aaaaaaaaaaaages. I forgot how very decent Mason was. In this fight he shows great heart, he's swinging and aggressive even with his eye all ****ed up and starting to ship those flush punches from Lewis, showed some chin there too. But he also showed some really nice skills to slip some jabs (though he ate his fair share) and parry and block some shots too. Good performance, and a fun fight.

 

Shane Mosley SD12 Oscar De La Hoya

Interesting fight.

Early, I thought Oscar looked on the verge of becoming the bully. His jab betrayed him again, and although Mosley didn't out-jab him in the usual sense he certainly landed his share of jabs. Oscar's left hook was also conspicuous by it's absence. Mosley seemed to neutralise it with no more than a decent jab at decent (hit or miss), a high right hand whenever Oscar looked sassy and some clinching tactics behind his own right hand. He would fall in behind his punch and close the distance, making it untidy and often landing it around the back of the head, but front-foot Oscar didn't seem able to make the neccessary room for the counter, in fact he looked quite awkward following the shifting Mosley around the ring.

I should have remember this fight when I predicted that Margarito would be stronger than Shane. Despite his looking a weight class bigger, Oscar didn't really dominate these hurried clinches in the way the difference in size suggested he would. Still, combined wtih Mosley's backfoot tactics, they combined to present the impression of an out-matched fighter - I gave Mosley only 2 of the first 6.

It was a joy to watch Mosley box and punch his way back into the fight though. I got a sense that he was boxing with a certain amount of entitlement by the 8th and i'm not sure he realised the trouble he was in until the 10th, by which point Mosley was firmly in his grove. Having ironed out the falling-in tactic he employed earlier he had gone mobile, trusting his legs to get him to the finish line. A higher workrate and generally more accurate punches forced Oscar to shoe-shine with him, and this just didn't suit De La Hoya's "perched" balancing act. Indeed he was far to square for spells inviting Mosley to hit him with the one-two, clubbing right hand and even lead uppercut he occasionally employed to go with some really sharp beltline stuff. Good performance from Mosley.

OSCAR: 2,3,5,6
MOSLEY: 1,4,7,8,9,10,11,12

8-4 MOSLEY