the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Azumah Nelson MD12 Marcos Villasana

Villasana is proper proper hard. Only ever stopped on injuries. Fought everyone. Draw with Esparragoza, made the distance with Fenech, beat a bunch of good guys and did two twelve round shifts with The Professor, of which this is the first.

I like Villasana's guard, his general demeanour in the ring, he's got his hands full here though. Nelson is swinging for the rigging in the first and has some success as Villasana contents himself with prodding to the body.

That jab is slow motion but he plants his feet and pours over a slow right hand every now and again and Nelson doesn't like it. Still, for all that Villasana has him fighting a gutter war, the fight he would have wanted one presumes. Nelson outpunches Villasana in an outrageous fourth. In the fifth, Nelson opens jabbing and moving and generally seeming to enjoy himself. He even throws in a little jig to the chants of "Mex-i-co! Mex-i-co! Which is something I don't think I've ever seen...that's him bagged the fifth too. This is a runaway stomping.

Nelson wins the sixth, too, but he's pushed back through most of the round; maybe Villasana is ready to put him on the HURT TRAIN...doesn't really materialise but I think he just about sneaks the round. He gets jabbed. A lot. Countered a bit. But he lands a very fine right hand upstairs and another good one to the body. Villasana wins a round! And can still make the draw!

That's obviously not going to happen, but Villasana's bodywork in the eighth is excellent. Impressively, he's boxed at the same pace for eight rounds regardless of what's coming the other way. He's like a better Margarito. Nelson on the other hand needs some time off here and there and Villasana wins every one of those seconds and contests the rest. Nelson comes back at him pretty hard and arguably does enough to take the round...but it's easy to give it to Villasana in the circumstances and i'm sure he won it on all three judge's scorecards.

Nelson allows Villasana to take him to the ropes in the ninth, but punches relentlessly with short hard uppercuts and hooks while standing square. I's Villasana that retreats from the pocket. Out-sped from the outside for much of the tenth, Villasana is dead in the water on my card again.

Second half of this fight, won by Villasana, was actually really entertaining. I can see how one judge came up with an MD - sympathy for Villasana early, felt weird about giving one fighter six in a row, comes up with a round or two for Villasana then watches in horror as the Mexican closes the gap in the second half.

NELSON:1,2,3,4,5,6,9,10,
VILLASANA:7,8,11,12

 

Eloy Rojas SD12 Young Kyun Park (Third Fight)

Park came out in the first fight like a lunatic and Rojas folded. In the second fight, Rojas met him almost half way and out hit him with superior skill. This fight, Park looks ready to find his own half way house of aggression and care which doesn't sound great for him tbh. Sure enough, Rojas has the footwork to stay ahead of this percentage play and outscores Park in the first. Park starts to wade in in the second, Rojas does a good job of finding him with uppercuts, a punch he was woeful with in the first fight. Probably Park shades this round on aggression.

It's funny, when they cut back from the mad Korean adverts, they are already at it,clashing mid-ring seconds after the bell. Rojas is landing the better stuff but Park just never stops punching; very tough to score.

Park's lunacy gives him a lead after four, but the rounds are close and Rojas is right in there with him raking in uppercuts, two-handed punching that looks more impressive than anything Park does; when Park starts landing though he always always has more punches to come. It gives him the weight of the scoring in my view. It has him 4-2 up after 6. Park looks tired is bleeding from the nose and marked up around both eyes. In the seventh he looks more tired still, missing a lot, Rojas controlling him in some clinches; when he has a point taken off in the eighth he's had the mother of all fades. In fact Rojas is struggling a bit too. This could be one scrappy finish. Love the giant cup they use to feed Park water between rounds. Must be good stuff; Park wins the ninth for me but he really has to lay it all out. This means the winner for me will be the one who takes two from the last three.

Rojas opens the tenth with uppercuts that find the mark while Park tries to hold. He needs to watch as another point off would finish him.

Eleventh is full of holding, rabbit punches, leaning...Park looks all in but he is still finding forward momentum. Still, Rojas probably gets home in this scrappy round leaving Park in need of a KD on my card. Park wrestles his way through the twelfth and drops a decision.

PARK:2,3,4,5,9,
ROJAS:1,6,7,8*,10,11,12

115-112 ROJAS

*Park has a point off for being Park.

 

Sal Sanchez UD15 Ruben Castillo

Castillo earned invaluable experience against a rangier opponent when he was stopped by Alexis Arguello earlier in 1980, and he applied it here. He opens circling, feinting, and when Sanchez moved across him closing the distance a bit, he threw the left. It's lovely to watch. Sanchez counters this by holding his relative ground and inducing mistakes in Castillo with pressure and speed; he catches on quickly enough to lose the third close after dropping 1 and 2 wide.

This is a great fight.

Sanchez is unperturbed and seeks the body in the fourth. It's the right strategy I think because he was getting out-timed in hunting the head. He's still forced to park the right for the most part though, by Castillo's strategy. Shepherding with the jab rather than trying to land it, he invokes exchanges which he looks like he might come to dominate. Probably just about drops the fifth though.

The puncher, Sanchez is starting to wear on Castillo's fight plan I think. It's so very hard to execute against a harder puncher with a longer reach and as much or more technical brilliance. It's a very good plan though. Maybe it would have worked over 12.

It's a battle of wills sometimes to see who can out-wait who, but when it cracks off it's exciting and excellent enough to make up for it. Castillo is getting shyer though, born of getting hit. Sanchez, in the end, is just too multi-layered. He's got that jab when he's resting or waiting, he's hitting harder, he's found the right because the former mean Castillo is throwing less. The combination has Castillo on the run a little bit. The combination has it all even for me after eight.

Sanchez goes into the lead on my card after 11 (a great one) for the first time; one suspects he will not look back. It's a victory for accuracy, pacing and tactical adjustment over heart and discipline.

All the judges had it to Sanchez by four points.

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

 

Gennady Golovkin MD12 Daniel Jacobs

First round, absolutely nothing doing. Jacobs looks bigger, Golovkin's pressure is tentative. Both landed one good jab...i'll give it to Jacobs, bit better with the power punches. Jacobs turns southpaw in the second. It's good strategy perhaps, something else for Golovkin to look at, because he spent time looking in the first. Jacobs nicks an arguable round. This is a handy wee lead - and when he adds the very close third for me, I'd say Golovkin has a problem. Jacobs is just edging things as he edges away and although GGG probably outscores Jacobs when they bump, it's very very close.

KD for Golovkin in the fourth - flash - evens things considerably though. Golovkin looked more aggressive from the bell here. Jacobs is organised in his fighting retreat though, shipping only jabs in the main. Golovkin does land a very nice overhand right in the opening minutes of the fifth, and follows it with another. Jacobs is impressively controlled though. Jacobs is enjoying this southpaw stance though, but his power punches aren't flowing from this stance, for all that Golovkin looks a little tentative. He opens the sixth orthodox and immediately throws power punches. But then back to southpaw, where he kind of sneaks around. He swaps back and forth, but lands some raking body punches from orthodox to take the round and re-establish the lead.

Haha, Jacobs flexing after he scores. First half of the round is very close with both landing smatterings of punches - then Golovkin lands a right high on the head and Jacobs drives him back with the body attack. This is a very very close round. And a close round where they've both landed as opposed to not. I think Jacobs just about sneaked it with combinations ending or starting with body punches as they meet - he also does ok at ditching some of Golovkin's best work. I have it 5-2 Jacobs; only the knockdown is keeping GGG in touch here.

Here comes Golovkin - risking square to land a straight right. Jacobs lashes out with unsafe punches to push him back, telling him that he's not getting away with that here. Forces Golovkin back onto the stalk, which is the lesser of two evils. And in fact Jacobs is dealing with that well, finding his way across the ring behind a Golovkin retreat to edge in front in the round with wide punches. Golovkin remains in range though, risking the Jacobs jab, taking a body punch to land a harder one. Got right hand to the ear, too - a jab, another, Jacobs lands a straight right and a punch on the inside - very, very close round. I'll give it to Golovkin.

Left-handed fuselage from Jacobs to open the round, Golovkin takes the steam off most of these punches. I heard a foty rumour for this this morning - absolutely no chance, it's absorbing but not a great contest. Neat little uppercut on the inside from Golovkin on 50 seconds remaining; sneaks him into a lead here. This is a big big round - there's another uppercut and some good left-handed work of it. Golovkin wins his first round big since the KD. Huge round. Golovkin needed that.

Jacobs looks a little tired for the first time - trying to just push Golovkin off rather than move or blast. Still, Golovkin doesn't look delighted either and Jacobs manages some decent flicking stuff in the middle of the round, followed by some half-landed power punches. He's really out-throwing Golovking on power punches which is weird. Very good Jacobs round this, Golovkin looked a little bemused at the end. If Jacobs won this fight, that's the round he most won it in.

Wee prodding right over the top early for Golovkin in this round. He must suspect he's in trouble, he should be coming hard here. A great left hook from Jacobs at 1:40 sneaks him into the lead for me though. Greets Golovkin two-handed after a break, nothing really landing but it's good to see. Referee having to seperate them now, there's fatigue, good one-two from Golovkin. Extremely even round again, Jacobs leads into the last minute with some flashy stuff. This is another Jacobs round...this round means Jacobs has won the fight for me. Very brave performance.

Jacobs holds his own early inside versus Golovkin; it's good stuff from the American. Golovkin tries to step in with muted uppercuts, lands a good right hand inside. Jacobs in turn lands a right to the ear. Every now and again Jacobs throws explosive stuff while planted and Golovkin looks a little pissed off about it to me. Jacobs aggressive, but it allows Golovkin to lad a few jabs. Jacobs has somehow become the aggressor though. Where are teh clean hard Golovkin shots we're used to seeing? Default tonight was Jacobs landing from distance and a mess inside. I think Jacobs looked the better of these two in this fight. Shame Jacobs never got the nod, because he's not winning a rematch i'll bet.

GOLOVKIN:4*,5,8,9,12.
JACOBS:1,2,3,6,7,10,11.

114-113 Jacobs

* Jacobs down.

 

Wisaksil Wangek MD12 Roman Gonzalez

I always felt that if Gonzalez was undone it would be by a southpaw; Wangek is one, but one limited enough that I thought Gonzalez would do the business. Gonzalez opens backing away and circling; knows where this guy is going to be and there's no work to do on that front. Wangek, to his credit, is very alive to the left hook to the body but is not letting it limit him.

Still, seeing Gonzalez down, and taking the count, like he was bothered, was something of a surprise. Wangek tried to bring pressure behind the KD, which was a body shot, a hard right hand to the rib-cage. Gonzalez was in nick though.

Wangek is busy and is throwing as much to the body as the head, almost...Gonzalez looks like he wants to see what he's in with and maybe the body shot is still bothering him. Great pressure from the Thai wins him the round pretty clearly, although Gonzalez is fighting back in good action.

Gonzalez gives ground to the southpaw left in the third, but lands two good straight rights. A clash of heads opens a bad cut at the corner of Roman's right eye. So here's his problem: he lost the first on the KD, the second regathering himself, now he's badly cut. Wangek becomes extremely aggressive and this provides punching opportunities for Gonzalez.

GONZALEZ:3,
WANGEK:1*,2,

*Gonzalez down

EDIT: Internet got the rest of that post, but in summary: ROBBERY.

 

Sal Sanchez MD15 Pat Ford

I like Ford's stance. Loose stylist by look. Very long jab - you can see, physically, why he was compared to Hearns. Not much success with that jab in the first, but he lands a nice right uppercut to the torso as Sanchez ducks to take the round.

Interesting approach from Sanchez to this tower; the usual. Claims ring centre, waits. But he does go on the move a little bit in 2. Ford is keeping Sanchez on the end of that virtual jab for the moment...but it's the right that's doing most of the impressive landing, two or three times anyway, and a couple of looooong uppercuts to the body. Sanchez has a job on here and he steps in to execute it. That makes for a very very close third...thought Sanchez's barrel attack on the ropes was enough. Ford is boxing really well though, not getting over-excited but sneaking lots of hard bodypunches in from distance, very interesting approach but it's working.

Ford is way ahead through five. He's got a counter right to the body to hand, he's surprisingly neat on the inside and he's not afraid to punch with the legend. This is a borderline great fight so far. Sixth is a great round. Sanchez has figured he's not going to get the job done outside. Inside it gets wild. After losing a scrappy seventh that he could ill afford to drop, Sanchez comes out all business in eight, raking him with shortarm punches from within the dangerzone. All his best rounds are ahead of him. He's going to need them because after 9 I have it 6-3 Ford.

The tenth, then, is crucial and Sanchez wins it with a big surge in the final minute, pinning Ford to the ropes and heaving in the punches - many of them miss, but enough of them don't. These great fighters have a way of picking up key rounds, i've noticed that. I can't seperate them in a scrappy 11th. Left hands win Sanchez the 12th, rights win him the 13th, and although unbowed, I have it all even going into the fourteenth. Sanchez wins both, blasting the mouthguard out of Ford's mouth in the fifteenth to take the decision. Customary late rally, he really is a machine in these late rounds, Sanchez.


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

8-6-1 Sanchez.