the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Will do, champ. Look forward to comparing scorecards.

Didn’t Coetzee suffer a horrible cut in this one? Or am I thinking of another fight?

 

Gerrie Coetzee vs. Pinklon Thomas, 10 rounds, heavyweights, from Sands Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., on Jan. 22, 1983.

Coetzee enters 28-3 (17) and ranked No. 1 by the WBA (the WBC does not rank fighters from South Africa at this point due to apartheid). Thomas enters 20-0 (17) and is ranked No. 7 by both the WBA and WBC.

Thomas weighs 211 1/2, Coetzee 221 3/4.

Scoring in New Jersey is on the rounds system, so I’ll abide by that:

1: Even
2: Coetzee
3: Coetzee
4: Thomas
5: Coetzee
6: Thomas
7: Coetzee
8: Thomas
9: Thomas
10: Thomas

My card: Thomas 5-4-1

Official cards: 5-4-1 Coetzee, 4-4-2 and 5-5; majority draw

 

We're not far off, my man. We agreed on 8 out of 10 rounds, which is pretty fair. And it was a close fight.

 

I could have gone either way on the first and I really wanted to because I loathe even rounds but so little happened I couldn’t do it ... either guy lands a couple more solid jabs and it would have been his.

It’s a good fight, a bit cautious at first but they opened up and both had their moments. Wish it had been a 12-rounder but I cannot say a draw was an unfair verdict.

 

Shoji Oguma vs. Sung-Jun Kim (7/28/80)
OOkkOkOOOkkkkOO (143-142 Oguma)

This is the most obscure of Oguma's title fights, as instead of facing a flyweight great or a H2H nightmare he's up against an ex-champion at light flyweight who's gone 0-2-1 in his last three fights. Kim seems to have the size and the chin to move up to full flyweight, not that Oguma's much of a puncher.

It's not a dull fight, but the two definitely start out cautiously. Oguma looks to hit and run like he'd done in his title win over Chan-Hee Park, but without charging forward and boring in on the body against the ropes like he usually does. Kim mostly tries to counterpunch, and at times neither guy seems interested in leading. Oguma gets the better of things early simply through speed, as Kim doesn't have much in the footspeed or reaction time. Round seven has some of the most elegant boxing I've ever seen from Oguma, repeatedly tagging Kim while circling him, and in round eight he lands his biggest shots of the fight and looks like he's going to take over.

Around the tenth Kim gives up on counterpunching and starts trying to get off first, even if it means taking shots in return, and suddenly the fight turns on its ear. Oguma seems to slow a bit, too, and Kim is able to walk him down. He rocks Oguma a couple of times in the twelfth. Next round Oguma does so much backpedaling that Kim mocks him with the Sung-Jun Kim shuffle. I have the champion a point behind now, but he doesn't seem to think he needs the fourteenth. Finally he lands a bodyshot late in the round that backs Kim off, setting up a big exchange of wild infighting on the ropes. They do fight the fifteenth like a winner-take-all round, and Oguma's class shines through as he both outjabs Kim and lands the harder shots. They pound gloves after it's over, and clearly Oguma respects Kim a lot more than he did Park.

Oguma gets a split decision here (+3, +2, -2), with only the Japanese judge scoring less than half of the rounds as even. Kim didn't do much afterward, and I kind of think that Oguma is past his best here as well, even though he finally puts together a decent championship reign. He seemed more explosive in his late '70s fights up through the first win over Park, but he caught some bad breaks and was fighting better opposition then. Still a good win but not a performance that really enhances Oguma's standing at all.

 

Rocky Lockridge v Cornelius Boza-Edwards

Quality fight which was somewhat a passing of the baton from the previous generation of the late 70s/early 80s super featherweights to the new generation.

Of course, this being a Boza fight it was bound to be exciting and he started well, putting Rocky on his backside in the first, although he wasn't hurt. Boza also threw more and worked harder but Lockridge picked his shots better, countering Boza well and looking more and more in control as the fight wore on. In short, he worked smarter than Boza. It earned him a title shot at Roger Mayweather while that was the last of Boza as a super featherweight and he moved up to lightweight to try and secure a title shot there.

1 8-10
2 10-9
3 9-10
4 10-9
5 10-10
6 10-9
7 10-9
8 10-9
9 10-9
10 10-9

Lockridge 97-93 Boza-Edwards

 

Jel, I had picked Boza to win this fight which will tell you what I know. I scored this awhile back, here is what I wrote:

Here is his 10 rounder with Rocky Lockridge. BTW, I met them both at Caesar's a few days before the fight. Super nice guys.

Round 1: 10-8 Edwards (scored a knockdown)
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 5: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 6: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 7: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 8: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 9: 10-9 Lockridge
Round 10: 10-9 Lockridge

Total 98-93 Lockridge

Despite what appears to be dominance by Lockridge, every round was competitive. Two great warriors in action.

 

After watching Eddie Mustafa piece Marvin Johnson, I thought **** it, why not watch something more positive, and go on a huge Pops binge. First up, the fight with Eddie Gonzales:

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10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9 (

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I love Marvin. In the second, Eddie was knocked back hard and held up by the ropes. Marv didn't press it, he showed good sportsmanship and let Gonzales get to his feet and they touched gloves. The second they did Marv whipped a left uppercut and a right hook into Eddie and had him reeling. Early stoppage IMO.

Next up: the first Stewart fight. Marv's crowning achievement IMO. I know he was the first three-time LHW champ, and without checking I think he's the only one (although I'm thinking Kovalev and Hopkins).

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10 : 9
10 : 9
9 : 10 (29/28)
10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9 (

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Normally I don't like cut stoppages, but I've never said they're not legit wins and in this case Stewart was a mess on both eyes. Plus Marv was winning anyway. Really good fight, though. Rounds 1, 4 &6 were the best here, but not good enough IMO to be put in threads like @Saintpat's and Williams'.

I'm watching more, but they deserve their own posts.

I love this guy man. He was so entertaining, and so nice! It's like he was possessed when he got in there. It actually gets on my nerves a bit that both Davis and the Williams fight isn't on YouTube.

 

I’m all about some Pops myself.

Tough thing watching the Saad Muhammad fights is one of them has to lose (yeah I know the outcome but it would be the same if reversed). I feel the same about Yaqui and James Scott. Could watch those guys all day.

 

I'm watching the first Saad-Pops fight right now. It's a great fight but like you said, there's that little thing in the back of your head which is a bit disappointed with the result. And even if it was a draw, it'd still be there.

It's still probably my favourite fight though.

 

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Probably my favourite fight ever. It's certainly up there in the top three.

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9 : 10
10 : 9
9 : 10
10 : 9
9 : 10
9 : 10 (55/59)
9 : 10
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10 : 9
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I don't know what's to dislike here. Both of these guys are super fan-friendly and both fought their hearts out. As for the fight; there's tons of clean, awesome action, big momentum shifts and a come from behind KO. Has to be rated as one of the best ever. Round 4 was the best IMO, and certainly worthy of consideration. However, it wouldn't beat Foreman-Lyle or Chang-Tokashiki. It was amazing though.

Honestly, the main difference here? Saad had an amazing chin; Johnson didn't.

 

Great memories, Scar! Interested to know how you viewed it when you were there in Vegas in '83. Was your perception of the way the fight was unfolding the same as when you scored it more recently?

I'm not surprised that you had some even rounds and that our scorecards differ a bit. As you say, every round was competitive. Lockridge did the generally cleaner work - his punching was more precise. That was the main difference to me and that got clearer as the fight wore on.

 

Jel, I may have met them at Caesars but I wasn't there for the fight. The whole Pryor-Arguello card was incidental because I was there on my honeymoon and I couldn't abandon the bride. I was across the street at the Flamingo so running across to Caesars was easy but I had to temper it a bit. We would go over there for lunch and I was like a kid in a candy store. But hanging with me for a few years she got to know the fighters running around so she was cool with everything. She even suggested we stay a few more days and take in the fight, but I had to use my noggin with the money starting to dwindle. I actually didn't see the fight until a later tape delay. Great memories, dude. And she still understands when I need to see a fight.

 

Rocky Lockridge has such a deceptive record.

But then like Glen Johnson the amount of bad decisions he suffered gets over rated.

Strange.