the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Just out of curiosity are Brian Magee and Eamonn Magee brothers ? speaking of the other Magee "Brian Magee". I remember a pretty strange fight he had with Robin Reid. Strange in the fact that Robin Reid had Magee down 3 times, but virtually did nothing outside of the knockdown rounds, i felt Magee might of actually deserved the nod in that one. I also remember Brian Magee giving a young Carl Froch a pretty good argument until he was stopped late on.

 

Although both from Belfast, I can't find anything linking them together as relatives.

 

Saw this live back in the day and amazingly - other than highlights - haven't seen it since. Here's where we remedy the situation.

Sugar Ray Leonard v Tommy Hearns I (welterweight title unification)

Round 1: 10-9 Hearns
Round 2: 10-9 Hearns
Round 3: 10-9 Leonard
Round 4: 10-9 Hearns
Round 5: 10-9 Hearns
Round 6: 10-9 Leonard
Round 7: 10-9 Leonard
Round 8: 10-10 Even
Round 9: 10-9 Hearns
Round 10: 10-9 Hearns
Round 11: 10-9 Hearns
Round 12: 10-9 Hearns
Round 13: 10-8 Leonard (scores a knockdown)
Round 14: Leonard stops Hearns

Total through 13 completed rounds: 125-122 Hearns (actual scores: 125-122, 124-122 and 125-121 Hearns at the time of stoppage)

Man, I remember where I was and who I was with when watching this bout live. There was such energy surrounding this bout. Every little stumble-step we were screaming at. It was electric and fought at such a high-level that I thought it would be so very difficult to replicate. I never liked Leonard but backed him in this fight. I just thought Hearns' faults could be exposed by Leonard, but I was amazed it went this long. I thought Leonard would stop him in the middle rounds. I have grown to appreciate Leonard's talents over the years. But that aside, a terrific fight.

 

Taylor vs Baranchyk
1:9-10
2:9-10
3:9-10
4:10-9
5:9-10
6:10-7
7:10-9
8:10-9
9:10-9
10:10-9
11:9-10
12:9-10

Baranchyk edges the first 3 for me but they're very nip and tuck and there really isn't anything in it. Baranchyk just looks to be the ring general and landing the harder shots.

In the 4th Taylor seems to have found his range and controls the pace and distance much better, almost as if the first 3 he was just feeling out.

The 5th and we see Baranchyk start to walk Taylor down and begin to punish him somewhat with some very aggressive pressure fighting.

Round 6 is huge. Taylor is looking a bit lost confidence wise and doesn't seem to be able to keep Baranchyk away. But then they exchange hooks and Baranchyk goes down, hard. Taylor really ups the pace sensing Baranchyk is hurt and he drops him again for a 10-7 round.

All square on my card but momentum is clearly with Taylor now.

Rounds 7-10 saw Baranchyk putting up a really good fight but Taylor was just too fresh and too accurate enabling him to pick off Baranchyk whenever he tried to walk Taylor down. But the rounds were very close.

Baranchyk did close out the championship round on my cards but couldn't drop Taylor which by now is something he absolutely needed.

What a great fight this was.

114-112

 

Terry Marsh vs Joe Manley

1 Marsh
2 Marsh
3 Marsh
4 Marsh
5 Marsh
6 Marsh
7 Marsh
8 Marsh
9 Marsh 10-8 knockdown
10 Marsh wins by TKO

Marsh 90-81

Dominant performance from Marsh, from the get go he just put the pressure on Manley. Never giving him a moment's rest with a two fisted attack, also bullying Manley on the inside with some rough tactics and sometimes not always legal ones.

The fight really started to become one sided in the 8th round, Marsh just mauled and hammered Manley. And right at the end of the 9th round finally put Manley down with a peach of a left hook, the writing was on the wall and it was just a matter of time. And at start of the 10th round Marsh piled on the pressure, and put Manley down again and the ref rightly waved it off.

I was pretty impressed with Marsh's stamina, he kept up a pretty hectic workrate for 10 rounds, even doing a somersault after he won the fight.

I'm not sure how many top Jr Welterweights Marsh would of beaten, i think Marsh got cut quite a few times in his career. And his punching power was average at best, but he had good engine and a strong will to win. So who knows maybe he might of sprung the odd upset at world level.

 

Canelo Alvarez vs Caleb Plant

1 Plant
2 Alvarez
3 Plant
4 Alvarez
5 Alvarez
6 Alvarez
7 Alvarez
8 Alvarez
9 Plant
10 Alvarez
11 Alvarez winner by TKO

97-93 Alvarez

So i been catching up on some recent fights, because i didn't watch alot of boxing in 2021 but anyway onto the fight.

For me this fight was competitive, and i could see how some people could of had it closer than i did. But the issue i had with Plant is that his punches didn't seem that hard to me. He would land decent jabs and occasional right hands and uppercuts, but there was no mustard behind his punches. And anytime Alvarez would land his shots the difference in the punches, between both boxers was very noticeable you could see the power and the bodyweight behind Alvarez's punches.

And that is why i scored some of the close rounds to Alvarez, just because i preferred his quality punches over the quantity of Plants jabs which wern't that hard.

I also didn't like Plant's version of the Mayweather shoulder roll, anytime Plant would stop moving he would pull out the shoulder roll, but unlike Mayweather he would get hit. He's not Floyd Mayweather Jr and he shouldn't of done it because it always got him in trouble.

It may sound like i'm being harsh on Plant, but i'm not trying to discredit him. He did fight a competitive fight and he did some nice things in there, his footwork and jab did pose a problem for Alvarez.

But for me he didn't appear to be punching hard enough, or putting his bodyweight into the shots. Like one round in the 7th Alvarez laid on the ropes for a minute, and Plant didn't throw a punch in anger. I was thinking to myself what are you waiting for ?

But overall a competitive fight, but for me Alvarez was clearly edging it with his power shots until the stoppage in the 11th.

 

Earl Hargrove v Don King (NJ rounds scoring basis)

D, finally getting around to watching this and you didn't oversell it. No need to run a card here. I actually scored it exactly as you did. The only difference is that I always score on the system being used. In New Jersey at this time they scored on a rounds basis. And that means no extra point for the 1st round knockdown. So I had it 5-3 for Hargrove. It was just a terrific fight. A real throwback to those great old clubfights out of Eastern Parkway Arena or Sunnyside Gardens or the Olympic Auditorium. I noted on my scorecard after the 6th round ended, "Wow!"

 

Glad you enjoyed it i just love that era of Jr Middleweights/Middleweights. Fighters like Frank Fletcher, Earl Hargrove, James Green, etc. May of not been the best Middleweights ever, but boy did they leave everything out there in the ring.

 

I scored it similarly although I don’t have a round-by-round breakdown.

The thing I credit Plant for is he fought I think absolutely the best fight he could against a superior guy and had his rounds where he completely controlled the terms and tempo. But Canelo was patient and put his work in and wore him down and took him out.

Plant could walk out with his head high knowing he prepared well and followed his game plan and gave himself the best possible chance he could. But there are levels and Alvarez is a level above.

 

D, if you haven't had a chance to see John Mugabi against James Green, I would suggest you set aside time to do so. You won't regret it.

 

There’s a period there where you can throw a half dozen or more names (Green, Parker, Fletcher, etc) and pick two out of a hat and get a great fight. And we got many of those.

 

Taylor vs Prograis
1:10-9
2:9-10
3:10-9
4:9-10
5:9-10
6:10-9
7:10-9
8:9-10
9:10-9
10:10-9
11:9-10
12:9-10

114-114

Couldn't split them half the time. Can't even analyse the fight too deeply it was nip and tuck. Vaguely speaking it felt to me like Prograis won the first and last quarters and Taylor won the middle half of the fight, but it was so close. A good few rounds were decided on one punch for me.

Definitely unfinished business between these two but I can't grumble too much about the decision, it was very hard to score and I don't hold great conviction in my draw verdict.

 

This is true. It was a remarkable middleweight era. Offhand, I could think of wars such as:

Fletcher v Clint Jackson
Curtis Parker v Mustafa Hamsho I
Tony Sibson v Dangerous Don Lee
Mark Kaylor v Errol Christie
Robbie Sims v Iran Barkley
Iran Barkley v Michael Olajide
John Collins v Lenny LaPaglia
Caveman Lee v Johnny LoCicero
And the aforementioned John Mugabi v James 'Hardrock' Green

Man, I'm probably forgetting a half dozen or so really rocking fights. And I would include Hargrove v King.

 

I think you’ve caught the best ones, Scar!

 

Parker vs. Michael Colbert

Fletcher vs. Caveman Lee, Norberto Sabater, Earnie Singletary and James Green