the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Scar, here’s my card:

Juan Francisco Estrada v Roman Gonzalez 2

1 10-9
2 9-10
3 10-10
4 9-10 (these are very tight rounds with continually shifting momentum')
5 10-9 (close, quality stuff from both fighters)
6 10-10 (either way kind of round)
7 9-10 (top class action again)
8 9-10 (neither fighter is ever that far ahead in a round that the other can't come back and they frequently do. Lots of ebb and flow to each round)
9 10-9 (good round for Estrada)
10 9-10
11 10-9 (close. I thought Estrada took it but these are either way kind of rounds)
12 9-10 (outstanding final round. Chocolatito landed the more impactful punches and took it)

Estrada 114-116 Gonzalez

 

I'm on a Beterbiev kick as a lot of people are really high on him as of late so I thought id give some of his fights another look/first look.

Artur Beterbiev 29 vs Tavoris Cloud 32
Cloud comes in 27-2 19KOs 32 years of age to Beterbiev's 5-0 5 KOs and 29. Cloud ranked #7 by TBRB, hes coming off loses to Adonis Stevenson and Bernard Hopkins.

Round 1
Cloud comes out trying to establish his jab, sizing him up. A combo by Beterbiev drops Cloud, cloud up and down, cloud up and down. 3 knockdowns Cloud somehow makes it out of round 1. Pretty savage by Artur

10-6 Beterbiev

Round 2

Artur crowds Cloud in the corner and unloads power shots. A big left hook and down goes Cloud this time for good.

Artur Beterbiev KO2 Tavorous Cloud

Wow Beterviev annihilated Cloud. For a guy with 5 fights this was pretty impressive. Even though Cloud is 32 this was basically it for him, one more fight against a journeyman and he never fought again.

 

Roger Mayweather v Sammy Fuentes (12 rounds)

Round 1: 10-9 Mayweather
Round 2: 10-9 Mayweather
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Fuentes
Round 5: 10-9 Mayweather
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Mayweather
Round 8: 10-9 Mayweather
Round 9: 10-8 Mayweather (scores a knockdown)
Fuentes is retired between the 9th and 10th

Total through 9 completed rounds: 89-83 Mayweather (actual scores: 89-81, 90-80 and 90-81 all for Mayweather)

I'm guilty of being a Roger fan. I always liked the fact that despite his glaring achilles heel in the chin department, his skill level and punch could keep his opponents in check. Indeed, his jab was snake-like in this bout and he was really finding a home for that right uppercut. I was a bit surprised at the stoppage and curious as to who really stopped it. Was it the corner, the ref or the Doc? It seemed strange as, although Sammy was decked in the 9th, he was fighting back hard at the bell. Seemed a bit out of line. Anyways, I enjoyed this bout thorougly.

 

Fury vs Chisora
1:10-9
2:9-10
3:10-9
4:10-9
5:10-9
6:10-9
7:10-9
8:10-9
9:10-9
10:10-9
11:10-9
12:10-9

119-109

What a letdown after my estrada binge had been completed.

I remember this fight being poor but it was such a none event after round 2.

Chisora in this shape as well, jesus.

Neither really had any motivation, Fury was just the better man on the night.

 

Fury Chisora 2

And this, imo, is the birth of Fury as a world class fighter.

Chisora couldn't have been any better prepared or motivated and Tyson absolutely dominated him. I remember this moment like it was yesterday when Fury went from being a disinterested laughing stock into someone who genuinely for the first time looked to have something about him.

Absolutely masterful performance.

 

Charles 'The Natural' Murray v Sammy Fuentes

Round 1: 10-9 Murray
Round 2: 10-9 Murray
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Fuentes
Round 5: 10-9 Murray
Round 6: 10-9 Murray
Round 7: 10-9 Murray
Round 8: 10-9 Murray
Round 9: 10-9 Murray
Round 10: 10-9 Fuentes

Total: 98-93 Murray (actual scores: 98-92, 97-93 and 96-94 all for Murray)

This was a damn good fight. So many of these 135-140 lb. fights of this era were so deep and so competitive that it was a pleasure watching them. Both of these fighters went on to win a version of the jr. welterweight title and they put on a very good contest here. Murray was a real '30s-'40s type of fighter. And by that I mean, not having a game-changer type of a punch, he still wouldn't solely box. In fact he rarely boxed. He was always in the trenches. He was a fighter not a boxer. He paid for it when he could have made a fight easy, but it wouldn't be entertaining. And this was a good old-fashioned Atlantic City club fight. Fuentes never stopped trying and was clearly coming close to a tiring Murray in the final round. Again, a good, fast-paced bout.

 

I've been meaning to get to Murray-Jake Rodriguez for some time now. Terrence Alli gave the blueprint as to beating a guy like Murray, just crowd him and outhustle the guy. Alli showed Murray what professional boxing was all about that day. From what I've read the Rodriguez fight was along those lines too.

 

Decided to rewatch and score the first 21st century BIG BIG money fight of "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. "The Golden Boy" Oscar De La Hoya. I mean, not sure why I thought to rewatch it randomly, don't get it, but here we are, in the middle of a run on sentence. But that's ok. I think when I saw this live I had De La Hoya up by 1 round maybe? Him at least winning. But clearer vision lies ahead, let's see what happens.

Oscar De La Hoya
34 Years Old, 5'10", 154 lbs
WBC Super Welterweight Champ
38-4 (30 KO)
Freddie Roach as Head Coach
Shane Mosley (future Mayweather opponent, who honestly in my opinion would have had the better shot of beating Floyd that night than when he did in 2010, but I get it.)

vs

Floyd Mayweather Jr
30 Years old, 5'8", 150 lbs
37-0 (24 KO)
Roger Mayweather as Head Coach
50 Cent lol (Harry Potter Book lol)


HERE WE GO!

De La Hoya - Mayweather
Rd1: 9-10 (Better shots by Mayweather and lots of shots missed by De La Hoya)
Rd2: 10-9 ( More active but still missed a bit of shots, the jab is what won the round)
Rd3: 10-9 (Good start by De La Hoya, did enough for the round, really not that much happening)
Rd4: 10-9 (More productive round)
Rd5: 9-10 (De La Hoya is hurt but no one saw or acknowledged it about a minute in. Best Floyd ending thus far.
Rd6: 9-10 (Better shots landed but still bigger swings and misses by Floyd. Better defensively from Oscar, but not much happening)
Rd7: 10-9 (Very close round, but gave it to Oscar cause of the flurries, that's it)
Rd8: 9-10 (Nothing landed by De La Hoya, and Floyd just lands what he needs.)
Rd9: 10-9 (Better output)
Rd10: 9-10 (Oscar landed nothing much, Floyd took the round)
Rd11: 9-10 (Mayweather had a better output, Oscar basically abandoned working his jab)
Rd12: 9-10 (Fun ending to the fight, probably the funnest part. But Mayweather landed the best shots out of the both of them)

TOTAL: 113-115 FLOYD MAYWEATHER

Letterman's Score = 112-116 Floyd Mayweather

Judges
115-113 Oscar (naw I can't really see it anymore)
116-112 Floyd (sure)
115-113 Floyd (cool)

Floyd Sr thought Oscar won, lol.

De La Hoya = 122/587 Shots
Mayweather = 207/481 Shots

Kinda surprised I defied my past expectations, but glad I did, I guess that's how it works sometimes. We learn and grow how we watch a great sport. It's not the best fight ever, I don't think this is in anyone's top 20, if it is, good for you. But it's one of those things.

It's a passing of the torch moment, not in regards to boxing as a sport, but boxing as a business. Crazy to think what changed after this fight, the metamorphosis from "Pretty Boy" to "Money" Mayweather is in full display, and it was the "Battle of the Bulge" for Oscar honestly. Meaning, this was a huge turning point for his career, if he had won, he would have remained the cash king of boxing and would further his legacy as the money fight before honestly eventually meeting Pacquiao, or maybe rematching Mayweather. But, that loss of an undefeated status of Floyd would ruin the perfect gimmick and status and "Money Mayweather" would cease as a concept honestly, it only works if Floyd is undefeated, that spotlight would not be as big. But since Oscar lost, that big money boxing status was transferred to Mayweather.

I be speculating though, I guess I just like to follow the signs and patterns. lol.

 

I should mention that Murray stopped Jake about 2 years later in a rematch. Wonder if he resolved the issue with being crowded or was it just a better battle plan?

 

Murray as I'm remembering this was going on a successful revenge tour after dropping his IBF title and suffering a few losses beating some decent to good names. However, all momentum was halted when he went up against punching machine Charles oliveria for the second time

 

Fury vs Hammer

Another one sided masterclass by Fury showing he's levels above these fringe types.

Fight wasn't even remotely competitive at any point.

Good performance by Fury.

 

Klitschko vs Fury
1:9-10
2:9-10
3:9-10
4:10-9
5:9-10
6:9-10
7:9-10
8:9-10
9:9-10
10:9-10
11:9-9
12:10-9

Tyson Furys big chance, and I remember how much of an underdog he was for this fight.

The first 3 rounds see Fury put on a masterclass in the art of doing just a bit more. His punches are a bit quicker, a bit better timed and a bit snappier. His defence is a bit sharper. Even though not a lot happens Fury edges every round to open up a clear lead.

Round 4 sees Wlad find some range and catch Fury with a couple of well timed shots and in such a low tempo fight that's enough to nick the round for me.

Round 5 sees a cut open up and Wlad looks a bit shaken as Fury again edges the round by out Wladding Wlad. The fight follows the same pattern for the next few rounds. Inexplicably the commentary say some at ringside have Wlad up by a couple of points, insane stuff, he's barely landed a punch all night.

Round 9 opens up a bit, but still I watch those 3 minutes and cannot fathom giving Wlad that round. He is just doing nothing at all.

Fury winning the 11th big but gets a point deducted for hitting round the back of the head in a meek deduction. Thank god this didn't dictate the result.

Big 12th for Wlad, but too little too late.

110-117

 

Wilder vs Fury
1:10-9
2:10-9
3:9-10
4:9-10
5:9-10
6:9-10
7:9-10
8:9-10
9:10-8
10:9-10
11:9-10
12:10-8

3 years to the day since Fury beat Wlad. Interestingly enough the MC refers to this as a lineal defence for Fury.

First two rounds very similar. Fury lands plenty of jabs and body shots, makes Wilder miss and ships one big right hand. I'm not keen giving rounds to Wilder on the back of one punch, but I can see why some did because Fury did so little himself.

The next few rounds continue in the same pattern, but only this time Wilder doesn't really have any success, he just is constantly made to miss and made to pay.

In fact the rest of the fight is like apart from round 9 where Fury gets hurt and the now famous round 12.

This fight was much better than a I remembered, but also a sad indictment of how much of prime Fury we lost.

112-114

 

Wilder Fury 2

This is the career best performance of Fury. Absolutely domination of the man classed as the next best HW in the world.

On this night Fury just looks sensational.

 

Wilder Fury 3

Fury came up against the best version of Wilder that ever existed, took his very best shots and still knocked him out.

What a great trilogy this has been.

Would love to see him against Usyk it AJ.