the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Jose Napoles v. Armando Muniz I

1 Napoles
2 Muniz
3 Napoles
4 Napoles
5 Napoles
6 Napoles
7 Muniz
8 Napoles
9 Muniz
10 Muniz
11 Muniz
12 Napoles winner by technical decision ?

105-104 Napoles

Out of all the Napoles fights i've seen so far, this was the slowest start i've seen him make in a fight. The first two rounds were fairly cautious, i thought Napoles edged the first round with his jabbing, but i thought Muniz landed some nice combinations in the 2nd to edge that round.

The 3rd round is when the fight really started to pick up, and it followed the same pattern for 5 rounds or so. With Muniz pressuring Napoles against the ropes, and Napoles countering off the ropes. Despite Muniz being the aggressor i liked Napoles counter punching more, and i felt he landed all the eye catching clean punches, and i felt Napoles won 4 rounds in a row based on that. But i do remember the 4th round was debatable, but other than that i thought Napoles clearly won the other rounds with clean effective counter punching.

But after the 6th round Napoles was less effective and wasn't landing as much, and Muniz was starting to land his right hand. And i thought Muniz clearly out landed Napoles in the 7th round.

To Napoles credit in the 8th round, he tried to change the momentum of the fight. And instead of laying on the ropes counter punching. Which wasn't working as effectively as it was earlier, Napoles tried to stand his ground in the middle of ring. And pot shot Muniz on the outside. Which i think he did effectively to win round 8.

The 9th round Napoles tried the same tactic as he had the previous round, but he wasn't throwing as many punches. And Muniz started to get closer again, and i feel Muniz out landed Napoles in round 9 to edge that round.

But the 10th round it was all Muniz, as he landed a right hand start hurt Napoles. And the fight went back to the earlier pattern of Napoles on the ropes with Muniz as the aggressor. The only difference was Napoles was no longer effective on the ropes, and Napoles was starting to get hit frequently. And towards the end of the round 10 Muniz landed another right hand, and Napoles looked quite badly hurt to me as Muniz piled on the punishment, but Napoles managed to survive the round.

The 11th round was comical but not in a good way, Muniz was winning the round still landing his right hand frequently. But then Napoles landed how many low blows in this round ? i actually lost count. It got so bad that Muniz was trying to block the low blows with his hands, and also trying to lift his leg up. I give Muniz all the credit in the world for not losing his composure, and carrying on without complaining. But It's probably one of the most disgraceful rounds i've ever seen, now i know what @scartissue meant now.

The fight ends abruptly in the 12th round on a cut with Napoles not being able to continue, just a side note i actually had Muniz winning the brief 12th round. Which would of made the fight even on my card. But a disgraceful decision gifting Napoles the fight.

Overall i feel really sorry for Muniz, he took some great shots from Napoles. But always kept coming forward and managed to get to Napoles in the 2nd half of the fight. And had the champion reeling, and no doubt in my mind Muniz should of been crowned the Welterweight champion.

 

D, terrific breakdown on the fight.

 

Armando was tough as a ten-penny nail driven through a $2 steak.

 

Thank you your description of them low blows certainly wasn't an exaggeration. Them low blows were an outrage, but the worst one i've ever seen was Mares vs Agbeko. i remember seeing this when i was young. And to this day i don't think i've ever seen a worst fight regarding low blows.

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Wow, I have never seen this one before. That was a disgrace.

 

Imagine getting hit with a clear low blow in the worst spot, getting floored by it. And the referee calls it a knockdown, and you have seconds to get up and recover from it. Not too mention the 30 or so low blows Agbeko had took previous to that. And what's crazy is that Agbeko is the champion, normally it's the champion that gets the home cooking.

 

Billy Backus vs. Jose Napoles I

1 Napoles
2 Napoles
3 Backus
4 Backus wins by TKO on a cut

29-28 Napoles

This fight was so exciting i really enjoyed it even if it was brief, both men started out in the middle of the ring. Napoles leading with the straight right hand against the Southpaw, which is the best punch against a Southpaw so it stands to reason he would throw it often. I thought Napoles clearly won the 1st round with his clean effective right hand leads.

The 2nd round was more competitive Napoles was still doing his thing, with the right hand leads and jabs with the occasional counters. But Backus was able to land some nice body shots in the round, and the occasional straight left hand, a competitive round but a round i thought Napoles edged.

So we had 2 rounds of some excellent boxing in the middle of the ring, well that all changed in the 3rd round. I don't want to sound like i'm exaggerating but my mouth was wide open and i was in disbelief what i saw in the 3rd round. It's possibly the best 3rd round i've ever seen in boxing. Both men fought a round as good as the first round of Hagler/Hearns. It was a non stop back and forth war. With both men trading brutal shots in even exchanges. I don't have enough words to describe how good this round was.

After an amazing 3rd round, Backus starts the 4th round with a straight left hand that buckles Napoles legs. Unfortunately the fight is stopped shortly after that with Backus winning on a cut.

What a crying shame the fight had to end on a cut, the 3rd round was amazing. And the start of 4th looked like it was going to be more of the same. I think boxing fans were deprived of what could of been one of the best Welterweight fights in history.

I've really enjoyed watching Jose Napoles today, i've seen so many different styles from him today.

 

D, if you're not burned out on watching Napoles I would suggest his bout with Clyde Gray

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And his first fight with Hedgemon Lewis

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Scar, you posted a link to the Lewis fight.

Here's the Gray match:

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I too really like this one. Great exchanges and very competitive. People dismiss Backus now as merely lucky because of the cut, but he was testing Napoles in there, and the cuts were caused by punches after all, so......

As an aside, Backus was the nephew of Carmen Basilio.

 

Yeah this isn’t an accidental head but in a fight where he’s getting run out of the ring. He punched holes in the guy’s face and was more than competitive. The result is legit.

 

I plan on watching all of his championship fights, apart from the Emile Griffith one. Just because the quality is too bad unfortunately, which is a shame because its two great fighters. But the quality is unwatchable and i wouldn't enjoy watching it.

 

Have a gander at what you can get before his title reign, too. There isn't much, so it won't take long; but it's great to see how lethal he was at his absolute peak, at his best weight, against people his own size.

Nigh on unbeatable at 140, IMO.

 

Thomas Tate v Merqui Sosa (for Tate's NABF 168 title)

Round 1: 10-9 Sosa
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-9 Sosa
Round 4: 10-9 Tate
Round 5: 10-9 Sosa
Round 6: 10-8 Tate (scores a knockdown)
Round 7: 10-8 Tate (scores a knockdown)
Round 8: 10-9 Sosa
Round 9: 10-9 Sosa
Round 10: Tate drops and stops Sosa

Total through 9 completed rounds: 85-85 Even (actual scores are not known but one official had Tate ahead by 2 points, another judge had him ahead by 1 point and the 3rd judge had it Even.)

A tough fight to comment on because Sosa simply fights ugly. Big ungainly swipes that are, however, effective. Not known much for ducking, Sosa always seemed to have a decent set of whiskers, but that will only help you so far into your career before it lets you down, which it did in this bout. It was a good old-fashioned club fight before the stoppage with a give and take by both combatants. I won't rave about it but it held my interest.