the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

I second this!

 

Thanks, guys.

 

Needed me a little Barry McGuigan today. I always loved McGuigan's bustling style and checked out a couple of fights I've never seen.

Barry McGuigan v Clyde Ruan

This was for Barry's British 126 title and despite the fact that I gave the first 3 rounds to McGuigan, let me say that Clyde Ruan was in every round. He was versatile and I really liked his assortment of punches. However, all cylinders were firing in McGuigan's engine this night and his jab and body shots were taking a toll on Ruan. The 4th round was the best of the night with both fighters getting their licks in, but that last left hook by Barry just broke Ruan apart. Good fight.

Barry McGuigan v Jim McDonnell

Barry was on a 3 bout streak since the Stevie Cruz debacle and, although a bit slower from the 126 days, he still had the moves. I gave Barry the first 2 rounds and a share of the 3rd and if not for the cut I would have said this would go the distance with McGuigan the winner. However, that left hook by McDonnell in the 2nd round was picture-perfect, ripping open McGuigan's right eye. He was never going to come back from that one without an outstanding cutman. I won't say his corner wasn't versed in dealing with a cut like this, but they seemed to be making a mess of this. Hey, it's easy for me to say this but I'm sure they were experienced in what they were doing. Regardless, McDonnell was very strong and in boxing, you take everything that comes your way.

 

Still on a McGuigan kick. Just watched another I've never seen before.

Barry McGuigan v Julio Cesar Miranda

Miranda was a well researched opponent. Nice boxer, oodles of stamina and no punch. Still, some scary moments for Barry with cuts over both eyes in the 3rd and 4th rounds. I was critical of his corner (Fossey and Tibbs) in the McDonnell fight dealing with his cut and I gotta tell ya, I still wasn't over-awed this time either. Between the 4th and 5th rounds, with a cut over both eyes, the corner spent 50 seconds of their 60 second break applying pressure to the wounds and only then hurriedly applied medication when it was announced, 'Seconds out!' Again, I would assume they knew what they were doing and I'm probably over-critical. Back to the fight. Miranda had a busy jab and could handle a punch, which kept him in this fight. McGuigan won every round on my card including decking the Argentine in the 3rd and 7th rounds before the referee intervened in the 8th. I noticed - such as the 3rd round knockdown - that McGuigan was having great luck with the straight right, but seemed to rarely use it. He really started using it in the 7th and it paid dividends. Good fight, which Miranda's busy style helped make. I wonder if the cuts in this fight helped McGuigan's decision to pack it in after the McDonnell fight. His skin really looked like it was beginning to shred.

 

Chavez vs LaPorte
Round 1
Feeling out round, laporte establish his jab. Chavez gets a few nice shots here but mostly sizing up LaPorte.
10-9 LaPorte (close)

Round 2
Chavez begins to get his engine running here especially on the inside. Lot of the round fought on the inside with Chavez getting in left hooks to the body and uppercuts while dodging and blocking a lot of LaPortes offense

10-9 Chavez
19-19
Round 3
LaPorte doing well on the outside landing nice jabs upstairs and down. Chavez better when they go inside but LaPorte more willing to trade this round on the inside. Lot of sneaky short punches LaPorte gets in when you don't expect

10-9 LaPorte
29-28 Laporte

Round 4
LaPorte has success this round landing some really nice right hands over the top, but Chavez' head is made out of cement so nothing happens. Nice round for LaPorte but Chavez still lands some vicious shots on the inside

10-9 LaPorte
39-37 Laporte

Round 5
Chavez doing a better job this round dodging and blocking LaPorte. Chavez landing nice shots on the inside again, its close but its Chavez

10-9 Chavez close
48-47 LaPorte

Round 6
Beautiful boxing by Chavez. He darts in lands a few shots and gets out, blocking or dodging almost everything LaPorte throws at him. LaPortes offense is getting totally shut down by Chavez. Juan comes alive for a flurry at the end but besides that all JCC

10-9 Chavez
57-57

Round 7
Laporte does much better here behind the jab. Chavez also scoring and landing the heavier shots, a close round but Chavez takes it. Also very nice jab-hook combo from Chavez at around 2:30 that wakes the crowd up

10-9 Chavez (close)
67-66 Chavez
Round 8
Chavez just keeps coming and varying his attack. Sometimes he circles and jabs laporte, other times he mauls him, and other times in dashes in and out. Always throwing mixed shots and landing them at a pretty good clip. Laporte has some moments and is still game, but man he's eating some heavy shots all over

10-9 Chavez
77-75 Chavez

Round 9
Chavez outworks laporte who is starting to look tired. Richard Steele secides to do Richard Steele things and deducts a point from Chavez for a low blow. Uh OK I didn't think that was appropriate. Laporte has a brief flurry at the end of the round but it was almost all Chavez

9-9
86-84 Chavez

Round 10
Laporte looks like hes wants this to be a ten rounder, Chavez looks like he could easily go another 10. Chavez making laporte miss and tagging him with a sustained attack. Laporte has a moment or two but they are few and far between

10-9 Chavez
96-93 Chavez

Round 11
I have no idea where laporte gets the energy from but he starts the round circling Chavez and landing, then goes toe to toe with Chavez and begins outhustling him on the inside. Chavez still doing well but man LaPorte really reached deep here

10-9 LaPorte (close)
105-103 Chavez

Round 12
Laporte more tired but still trying. Great back and forth action, really close but I think Chavez landed slightly more and slightly better

10-9 Chavez (close)
115-112 chavez

Official scores
117-112
115-114
114-113

Wow LaPorte really gave a great account of himself here. Lot of close rounds and to a young in shape Chavez is no small feat. Good fight.

 

Also Bob Sheridan had it 117-117 after saying he doesn't like to score even rounds

 

I agree with the Colonel on his philosophy. Apart from opening rounds where neither guy does anything (and even then I’ll give it on the bases of a couple of good jabs if that’s all that happens) and maybe the rare round where both guys get knocked down, the job of a judge is to discern some difference between the combatants in each stanza so I try really hard not to score rounds even.

As for LaPorte, he was a bit of a stuck-in-one-gear guy but you couldn’t hurt him with a baseball bat.

 

I've adopted this philosophy as well, I just found it funny Sheridan says he doesn't like to score even rounds then scores 6 rounds even

EDIT: with the point deduction he scored 7 rounds even

 

Marvin Hagler’s majority draw with Sugar Ray Seales had two judges score it 99-99 — one round each and eight even lol.

 

Barry McGuigan v Bernard Taylor

OK, this is the last of my Barry McGuigan-fest. I saw this back in the day and my score reflects roughly how I saw it back then. But this isn't the end of the story.

Round 1: 10-9 Taylor
Round 2: 10-9 Taylor
Round 3: 10-9 Taylor
Round 4: 10-9 Taylor
Round 5: 10-9 Taylor
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 McGuigan
Round 8: 10-9 McGuigan
Taylor retires between rounds

Total through 8 completed rounds: 78-75 Taylor (actual scores: 79-76, 77-76 and 80-77 all for McGuigan)

Before I get to the score, Taylor boxed beautifully and Barry chased through the first 5 rounds. Then Barry went into another gear in the 6th and Taylor began slowly coming apart at the seams. I'm still stunned a fighter like Taylor quit between rounds, although the end did look inevitable. I recall watching this on one of the networks at the time and recall being a bit ticked at Taylor's manager Ace Miller whining afterwards that the food wasn't right, blah, blah, blah. I also remember Taylor being slightly overweight at the weigh-in and me yelling at the TV, "Yeah, well Taylor seemed to like the food OK!" I would get so pissed off at weak excuses.

On to the decision. What?! I was a huge McGuigan fan but there was no way Barry was winning that fight. Taylor stayed on his bike, darting in and out with combos and was doing a nice job before Barry ramped it up. I can only attribute this to a very volatile crowd in the King's Hall which resulted in some very intimidated judges, because, again, no way was McGuigan ahead. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

The old adage when you fight a UK fighter in the UK: Knock ‘em out and you get a draw.

 

Marvin Johnson v Jean Marie Emebe

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Emebe
Round 3: 10-9 Emebe
Round 4: 10-9 Johnson
Round 5: 10-9 Emebe
Round 6: 10-9 Emebe
Round 7: 10-9 Emebe
Round 8: 10-9 Johnson
Round 9: 10-10 Even
Round 10: 10-10 Even
Round 11: 10-9 Johnson
Round 12: 10-9 Johnson
Round 13: Referee stops contest in Johnson's favor due to severe cuts and closed eye on Emebe.

Total through 12 completed rounds - 116-115 Emebe (actual scores: 117-115, 115-113 and 117-114 all for Johnson)

This was rock-em-sock-em robot type warfare that went on in this ring. It's up to the judge to determine how this bout was unfolding as they stood in the pocket and just pelted each other round after round. There was no bad score here. Interesting turn of events in the 11th round as referee Luis Rivera stops the action to let the doctor look at Emebe's left eye, but Emebe's trainer Victor Valle jumps in and begins to treat the cut with the doctor right there getting into a bit of an argument with the doctor. The ref did not take a forceful hand to the situation where he should have told Valle to sit his arse down or flaunt a DQ. The announcing team were very critical on this too (can't recall the one announcer but the other was Murray Sutherland doing color commentary). Anyways, one distraction from a good fight.

 

Nice writeup.

 

Damn good fight that rarely seems to get its kudos.

 

Nobody ever watched Pops Johnson fight and left saying ‘I don’t think he gave me my money’s worth’ haha.