the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Vernon Forrest UD12 Shane Mosley II

Interesting first round although not much happens. Mosley burning loads of energy for no return; Forrest's jab not nearly as good as advertised but it's a blinder and that wonderful right benefits. Kind of sums up both men's problems as much as their strengths. Maybe a bit harsh on Forrest but I do think his "ramrod left" gets overrated. Mosley nicks the second on aggression and surge i think.

I actually like Forrest's lead left hook better than his jab in this fight early, but I think Mosley nicks the third with three really good punches, one a left to the body, one a counter-right after Forrest throws a body punch and a single jab. Very little in all this. First time I've had Mosley ahead in the series.

Mosley off to a nice lead after four! Forrest discouraged, Mosley countering quickly any moves he makes with a rushing hard punch, Forrest looks a little like he is not fancying it.

By the end of seven though, Forrest is back in control. Mosley has ditched the right but Forrest just introduces the left, snappy, sometimes cuffing but always very clearly landing when it does land. With so many missed punches in a drab untidy fight, a punch like that makes the difference. Mosley just all at once looks pensive again like he's hearing a familiar song. 8-10 big big rounds.

These guys are just swapping insecurities. 4-4 after 8. Forrest re-arranges nicely in the ninth and persisting with that left hook catches Mosley at mid-range, but i thought Mosley denanded the round with the quality ending, putting him one up with three remaining.

10 and most of 11 are just boring nothing rounds with no fluidity and loads of grappling. It's not just Forrest this time, I think Mosley has decided he prefers being up close and clutched to hit with long punches outside. At the end of the eleventh, Forrest lands an array of hard punches to take the drawing side of the 6-5 going into the twelfth.

Last round is shocking, boring. Nothing shown by either man. I've given it to Mosley, sadly, but it's drawn under any civilised system

Forrest:1,6,7,8,10,11,
Mosley:2,3,4,5,9,12

I have it a 6-6 draw which is probably ok given that neither man deserved to win. Probably the worst fight i've scored for this thread.

 

Ricardo Mayorga UD12 Vernon Forrest

Forrest wins the first round but looks disorganised, skittish, uncertain and repeatedly falls over onto the canvas for not much reason. Bambi on ice. Embarrassing performance. 3-1 Mayorga after four.

I watched Mosley I, Mosley II, Mayorga I and now Mayorga two and the eighth of this fight is the first round of his boxing i've enjoyed for what he's done rather than just the opponent since the 12th round of the first Mosley fight. This is one career set I maybe shouldn't have bothered with. But he did box beautifully there and suddenly seems to have his balance back.

Forrest boxes well in the ninth, too, but Mayorga lands meaningful right hands for the first time in a long time in the tenth...it's a very close round, they both land rights - but I like Mayorga, barely, which probably puts the fight beyond Forrest. I gave him the eleventh and twelfth though so i have it another draw. Probably Mayorga barely deserved it.

Forrest:1,2,8,9,11,12
Mayorga:2,3,4,5,6,10,

6-6 Draw

 

Kid Gavilan SD15 Billy Graham

Good start from Graham on the cards, 2-1 up after through, although in reality all three rounds are desperately close. It's hard to see what it is about Graham that so troubles Gavilan, and i'm kind of just waiting for Gavilan to step up his game and master Graham. Sure, Graham's left is nice, and sure he moves, but then he stops - lots of the fighting is done without Gavilan having to pay to corner his man, or trick him. Graham just does better in the rounds he wins, finding a lovely two-piece to the mid-section followed by a cuffing right to mark himself out in the first, and a one-two at mid-range to do so in the second. In the third, I thought Gavilan took advantage of a more aggressive Graham to edge the round, interesting to see what happens next.

KG did the better infighitng and jabbing in the fourth, the fifth had a log of fun action and some missing and I couldn't separate them; I gave Gavilan the sixth barely so he's in the lead for the first time. I find every round hard to score - I didn't find seven hard to score; that's KG's with the left hand. This means Graham hasn't won a round since the second...

He finally takes the ninth on my card with some of the best punches of the fight and maybe does the best work in the tenth to liven up proceedings.

A gorgeous right-left-right with the opening right to the pit of the stomach makes it through in a row and all tied at 5-5-1 in the eleventh. Great surge against world class opposition. The twelfth feels huge and they both fight like hell in it - I think Graham nicks this one too, barely and almost, though I think scoring this one even - or the other way based upon those lashing right hands to the body - is reasonable. Real swing round, real big round. KG hasn't won one since the 8th.

Gavilan finally stops the rot on my card in an arguable fourteenth that could be scored any one of three ways. Fifteenth is for all the marbles.

Give Graham his due: he out-brawled KG for those final three minutes and it was beautiful. For all that Graham looked a tiny bit more faded, he bit down and went for it and in tandem with two surge-stopping right hands took the round and the fight on my card.

Robbery? Crowd sounds like they saw one. Then again they booed KG when he shimmied and they booed KG when he didn't land rabbit punches. But I think Graham probably deserved the nod, just about.

GAVILAN:3,4,6,7,8,14,
GRAHAM:1,2,9,10,11,12,13,15
EVEN:5

8-6-1 Graham

 

Benny Paret SD15 Emile Griffith

Very good, very even opening two rounds. Love Griffiths jab uppercut combo in the second and his narrow double-uppercut just past halfway. IN the first, Paret is busier with both hands, brave and sure.

Griffith shows everything that is good at him in the third, varied distances, shifting styles, epic balance and although Paret isn't a 100 miles behind him you can see that he won't be able to keep up with him on this kind of form; it doesn't sustain itself though through the first half of the fourth where Griffith wants to come inside and sort of slide, but Paret catches him - at the end of that round though, Griffith launches a hideous bone-rattling body attack inside, occasionally taking advantage of Paret's descending gloves to fire shots upstairs. 3-1 is a handy lead. Paret closes the gap in the fifth though, fast-handed out of clinches and reclaiming the left hand he threatened to dominate with in the first. Good, competitive first third.

Round six is a great, great round, Paret begins by beating his man to the punch, but Griffith just bends his back and set himself to the mill. He's an expert in what I call "bricking a guy up", just using superior strength to push his man back inside while simultaneously working and working. At first Paret is landing the crisper stuff - of course - but he just can't match Griffiths's workrate. He moves him back and back and back and at the very end of the round Paret crumbles and Griffith lands enough hard shots to take the round. Masterclass in hustling, masterclass.

Speaking of hustle, Paret shows plenty of his own making it 5-5 after ten going on a three round run in 7,8 and 9 using tight movement and sharp, fast punching. Griffith has that invaluable habit though of winning crucial rounds, the tenth is one and they're all even going into 11. Another crucial round, another one banked by the champ, mainly on account of a seemingly endless fountain of uppercuts.

Down the stretch, Griffith just about outworked Paret I thought and deserved the nod, but really, this was a wonderful ebb and flow that nobody deserved to lose. Great fight.

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

9-6 Griffith.

 

Ike Quartey KO11 Cristano Espana

Snappy two-handed body attack from Espana in the first. He's underrated old Espana, shame as this is his only loss. Ike takes his turn to snap through the second. Warms up real nice in the third.

Both these guys have disciplined guards but come a little square across their front foot, looking to work. It lends itself to violence, that attitude.

Quartey clearly outworked in the first third, although he has his moments, the first, and a right to the beltline in the fourth that makes Espana a little unsure. He has success in the fifth, too, a round I thought he shaded despite failing to prevent Espana to work to his full volume.

Espana has a thudding, insisting sixth, he reminds of Esparragoza in this round. Keeping his nose in front. It's a very good mix of styles. Qaurtey is accurate, controlled, wants to build, disciplined. Espana is also disciplined but he edges more to work-rate and controlled aggression. It makes for a lot of exchanges and close rounds.

After 8 though, I have Quartey in need of a KO. Maybe the pace necessary to stay on top is hurting Espana though, in combination with Ike's insistent accuracy because I have Ike taking 9 and 10. He's just getting hit Espana, where he has to work a lot harder to land the same/more leather. He's not crumbling, there's no real foreshadowing of the KO, he's just giving ground, working a little less.

It's yet another snapping, pin-point right hand that sets Espana going and although the follow up is interrupted by the referee for a standing eight, I think reasonably as Espana was tangled in the ropes, the finish was surgical and deadly.

ESPANA:1,3,4,6,7,8,
QUARTEY:2,5,9,10,

So I have Espana ahead, but Quartey on the surge at the time of the stoppage. Very, very good fight.