the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Ismael Laguna MD15 Carlos Ortiz

Ortiz was said to be unwell for this fight, but he certainly doesn't look it in the first, winning the round with a raking left-handed attack. Laguna looks a different fighter n the second though, less skittish, the nerves seemed to have worked their way out of him and he starts making melons with his own left, including a left uppercut, but even landing a lead right-hand (the cheek). Defensively he looks beast too. He's keeping it local though, the right thing to do by the looks, but it means he can't hide. Despite landing good punches of his own in the third, Ortiz probably out-lands him and is scored for aggression, also.

The fourth is a wonderful round of boxing. Ortiz repeatedly finds him with his left hook, a couple of times right on the button, and Laguna immediately fights back with hard body-punches. In the fifth, Laguna has great success with his own left, landing uppercuts and jabs throughout the round to to make it close after five; he's fast, and he is capable of jabbing and disappearing, but when he doesn't disappear, Ortiz is always there to hit him.

A fabulous sixth round sees them even on the cards. Ortiz starts well, cornerning and landing hard bodyshots; he lands hard bodyshots throughout the round, but Laguna seems equal to them and half way through he comes roaring back with one of those unbelieveable rallies you get as standard in this sport. The highlight was a right uppercut left-hook combo, but there were plenty of other treats, mostly involving the lead right hand which he is doing very well with.

I love the way Laguna just perches his body over his lead left foot but then comes a bit squarer. This gets his right closer, or as close to Ortiz as his left. And he's inverting his combinations, throwing out a lead right and then trying to score a left off it, which is lovely to see. However, the seventh is a weird round. Ortiz seems reticent and Laguna just leaves him to it, probably dropping a key round for no better reason than an absence of workrate. Maybe Ortiz threw him a bit. If so he remained thrown in the eighth, which he lost in similar fashion.

In the ninth though, he let it flow. It all began with a straight-right left uppercut combo. Against Ortiz. After that he gave the champion a bloody, good, hiding. He wins the tenth just as convincingly if less devastatingly. All square at 10. Champion's rally by Ortiz in the eleventh. 6-6 after 12. Laguna takes the 13th with the uppercut. He is haunting Ortiz with his uppercuts. That's the first time I've had Ortiz ahead since the first, the thirteenth, not bad. I see him land the best punches of a scrappy fourteenth, too, so he can't be caught now. They both faded a bit but Laguna remained sharper. An even fifteenth gives me 8-6-1 for Laguna

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

8-6-1 Laguna.

 

Ken Buchanan UD15 Ismael Laguna

This weather might suit Ken better than the temperatures in their first fight. That said, I'm sure it was no fun for Laguna either. Certainly in this fight Laguna's attempt to be more aggressive yields fruit early; i have him taking the first two.

Kenny's left eye is up and angry as early as the beginning of the fifth which doesn't bode well...he's getting the worst of it inside after Laguna punches his way in and he's hardly having it his own way outside. Laguna lost the first fight after trying to conserve early and come on late so this is perhaps to be expected. But Buchanan needs a round. He gets one in the fourth, opening up with right hands and catching him cleverly with a left hook after slipping the jab. He's slipping more of those jabs now. Kenny wasn't that impressed with the Laguna jab in the first fight, i wonder how he feel about it now? It looks more horrible in this fight.

Pretty great stuff from Buchanan in the fifth, making a try for the box seat. I can't believe he is seeing much out of his left eye which is now bleeding, but he's doing a good job of ditching Laguna's punches with those big exaggerated dips and he's landing punches despite, what is, for him, over-aggression.

All square after six.

Seventh is vintage Buchanan, one of the best rounds of his career, and it puts him in the lead for the first time. He needs to be careful about resting inside though as he's being out-clipped there. Still, if you're landing triple-left hooks you're winning the round. The eighth is more turgid and extremely close but near the end, Kenny gets cornered slips and ducks 6-7 punches pivots and comes back with a right-hand - round won. So the ninth is a big, big round. You can hear the bagpipes playing between rounds. Laguna edges it despite some good left-handed stuff from Ken. I also have Laguna edging the tenth, though it could very easily be called even. So we have a five round box-off for all the marbles. Laguna starts it brilliantly, landing long hard punches then punishing Buchanan when he comes inside to rest. All that keeps Buchanan from losing all control is his own punching ability which saves him from the hiding Laguna wanted to give him. Twelfth is a very big round.

Buchanon's eye is closed firmly now but he just about edges the round to restore parity. To avoid another draw i've decided to ban the even round for the final three rounds, i'll have a winner. Laguna chose the wrong time to turn up spent. For the first time he finds himself on the ropes and getting hit, his punches are just sort of lobbed out. Too good to get steamrollered he still clearly loses 13. It's no exaggeration to say that Buchanan is on the very edge of being stopped for that left eye, but one more round and the fight's his on my card.

After getting his bad eye peppered in the fourteenth, Buchanan stages one of the most beautiful ring rallies in history, driving Laguna about the ring to take the decision. Wonderful, brave, surging boxing from a hurt fighter. Of course Laguna answers him because he's awesome too. A great fight.


BUCHANAN:4,5,6,7,8,12,13,14,15.
LAGUNA:1,2,3,9,10,11.

9-6 Buchanan. Recommended.

 

Carlos Ortiz UD15 Joe Brown

An epic meeting between two of the greatest champions in lightweight history.

Ortiz has a fast jab and he wins the opening salvo in that battle, clearly looking for the right hadn to the body, landing it once in what is a cagey start from both men. Brown poaches the first with left hooks.

Brown is doing a lot of waiting. Just skiffing back, asking Ortiz into the range and scoring with the left hook, a nice coMbo to the torso. Ortiz meanwhile is fighting early almost one-handed, using that left jab at every opportunity. Do the jabs equal the value of the other punches?

Brown is so cute stepping inside that Ortiz accidentally hits him a punch to the back on occasions. This is high level stuff, and when they're both fresh I get the sense that Brown is just a little more high level, his left-handed aggression being neutralised, just, by Brown's cleverness and experience. He's doing very well at finding space for body punches as they close. This has bought him a very handy lead.

Beautiful opening to the fifth from Ortiz, turning over one of those horrible jabs and making it a hook. At the end of four there was a hint that if Ortiz could limit Brown's movement he would dominate and so it is proving in this round - though dominate is a little to strong a word for what we see in the fifth.

Ortiz is bringing fast, high class pressure barracked by the jab and Brown isn't getting enough done now to bank rounds; it's a question for me of how he marshals that early lead now. He needs more jabs, but it's hard with a jab as good as Ortiz's, or more aggression, which is hard for a fighter of his age in a 15 round fight. Funny to think about him "in trouble" from a tactical perspective while leading, but he is. They fight on after the bell of the seventh, touch up at the beginning of the eighth. Ortiz now has his jab dialled all the way in, still fighting basically one-handed, not literally but strategically. Brown is still finding the body when they close, but Ortiz is doing so much scoring left-handed that it's no longer enough.

Booming one-two by Ortiz to open the round. He's really laying down a marker at the opening of these rounds before they start playing this aggressive brand of chess (a fight, i feel, that over-used phrase is fit for). Ortiz should bring in more rights behind that jab now, and maybe exchange head shots for body (he's not having a great deal of luck with that right to the body). He does this. Brown has another problem now and Ortiz has earned himself the box-seat. This is a wonderful display. Brown maybe still contesting that dominance inside though.
Going into the tenth, I have Ortiz ahead for the first time in the fight. This is how you win a title, set a pace, up it until the champion is struggling, then maintain it. Brown is still having luck with these sneak uppercuts as Ortiz comes in, mainly to the body, but he's paying a heavy price outside as Ortiz does his exquisite left-handed work. The left is good at all ranges, crooked at mid-range, fully extended at long-range. More and more that right is creeping in behind, as Brown circles back and away, trying to make himself a small target (failing) trying to bring Ortiz onto his puches (succeeding, but at a price). Crowd restless! Dummies.

Ortiz just choosing his spots now. Brown slips in the twelfth by the referee's eye, I think a punch went in but his feet did tangle. Toss a coin. Brown seems fine anyway, if being slowly unpicked by a genius for your beloved title can ever be called "OK". Going into the championship rounds, I have Brown needing a knockout. You don't have to be aware of the result to know he won't get it. Normally I love 15 round fights, but 12 would have done here.

Ortiz is quite happy to wait now. He knows the inning, knows the score and is asking a question of Brown: what are you going to do? Brown knows he's beaten, so his answer is, "not much." This is pure domination of a great champion with jab and pressure. Absolutely wonderful.

BROWN:1,2,3,4.
ORTIZ:5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15.

11-4 ORTIZ.

 

Ah, I didn't know you had an actually list.