the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Luis Nery SD10 Carlos Castro

Big moment for Nery this - he's been among the main men at 122 for six years but after getting brutalised versus Figueroa and stopped in seven, a dropped decision here would have set him way back. Nery, a southpaw, can hit, which perhaps explains his reticent start - underlined by a big, big KD in the first seconds off a straight punch which Castro deals with well, taking an 8 on his backside before getting back up and going back to carefully protected boxing. Nery lashes him with bodyshots. Castro remains composed, what an exciting first round. Castro did get a warning - there were a pair of hard punches right before that - but just a great straight left and a lot more behind. Very bad start from Castro. The second round is very weird, Castro does a good job feinting but Nery seems very unambitious for a fighter who nearly ended it all in 60 seconds. I hope he's not looking for that one punch...

Castro shows the first signs of panic in 3. He doesn't want to be on those ropes getitng hit ot the body. Nery gives the impression that he can win whatever round he wants to fight, so far anyway. Castro though, is tough and persisten and I thought took round five clear with disciplined, narrow punching. 3-2 after five which is great for Castro given how much it feles like how much Nery is dominating. War in the arly parts of the sixth, Castro has decided he can take Nery's power apparently and is acting accordingly, duking it out up close and then looking to close as Nery moves. Nery wants to rest fo rspells, Castro not allowing it. Very absorbing stuff.

A gorgeous left-hook/uppercut combo from Nery to edge the seventh which is another very good round. Is left-hook/uppercut a two-piece more likely to be encountered in the modern era do you think? That's a thought worth carrying forwards maybe. Anyway, Nery really enjoyed himself in the seventh, not quite showboating but you can tell he is feeling good, back in control despite a persistant Castro landing decent stuff. Nery pushes his corenrman out of the ring at the end of seven That was fun.

Ooooo another mistake from Rusel Mora? Castro definitely lands a punch to drive Nery back and Nery stumbles adjacent to the rope and Mora rules it a slip - i've the benefit of the replay, and that's an awful call. Clear KD ruled a slip. Wow. Official scorecards are by a point - this is a majority draw if this KD is correctly called. Why is Mora allowed anywhere near these fights? Nery does with the round to his credit.

Nery:1*,3,4,7,8.
Castro:2,5,6,9,10.

*Castro down.

 

Joe Cordina MD10 Faroukh Kourbanov

Cordina has one of these cookie-cutter-jabs but not in a bad way, it's like stiff, quick, accurate but they all lok the same. As long as you get that deployed you're ok. I do think he holds it a little low though, hold it up if you aren't going to change it so the distance is a bit shorter. Good 1-2 to the body, a comfortable round for what should have been a rusty fighter. Kourbanov for his part looks tidy and willing although he's been driven back by the jab-right a couple of times.

Yes, good, Kourbanov has upped the aggresion and is feinting with the front foot, good adjustments. He probably lands the harder punches in this round although Cordina remains too busy. Noteworthy is the bias in the Sky Sports commentary. All commentators have some form of bias, but Sky really make it an art form. I'm not missing Adam Smith, that's for sure. Kourbanov has a real push in the third and Cordina's response is lovely, especially liked his step to the left and left hook that he chucked when Kourbanov rushed him. An awful lot of punching gloves and missing in the fourth. Cordina finally scores some good beltline stuff at the 1:00 mark though. Miight have nicked that crappy round you know. The fifth is close too although Cordina catches up to him in the final minute. Hey hey, Kourbanov wins the sixth, good bodypunching, and good left-handed puncing in the pocket, plus some good blows to the beltline along the ropes at around 2:00. Good boxing, persistent, controlled. This has turned into a good fight, made so because Cordina is a little more shy than he was before Kourbanov started hitting him.

Cordina:1,2,3,5,8,10.
Kourbanov:4,6,7,9.

6-4 Cordina.

 

Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov MD12 Joseph Diaz

This fight was so confusing. You really wanted to be able to say definitely what Rakhimov was...and draw. Adding to the confusion, both southpaws. Adding to the confusion, Diaz didn't make weight. So there's a lot going on. Going on in the first is Rakhimov's jab and long left to the body, a daring punch. Diaz blasts him in the second though, uses Rakhimov's aggression against him, looked a little green and off balance there. "Welcome to the major leagues." Like that.

Rakhimov just winning on work at the moment. It's true that Diaz is running OK interference with the gloves, but Diaz has a long way to go to close the work-rate gap. He lands a lot of great lefts, leads and counters both, in the fifth though. As Rakhimov gets tired, the fight gets excellent: 3-3 after 6. Two gorgeous counters tell the story of round seven, a left-hand by Diaz, a right by Rakhimov. This is so fascinating, Rakhimov is busier, Diaz's corner are demanding, loudly (covid-era fight) that he work more but in working more he's ceded some of his ground in quality punches, by giving Rakhimov chances to counter. Fascinating fight. Really, really difficult to score. It is sort of coming down to round's best punch, i'm not lying. Great stuff, excellent. Rakhimov buckles Diaz's knees and despite Diaz's vicious, vicious comeback i got Rakhimov in a signficant lead 5-3 for the first time.

Sadly, the fight slows down a bit through ten which suits Diaz - it's looking like a draw now tbf.

Wow, Diaz swung it for me, draw is fine though. A bad final third for Rakhimov, his inexperience over the distance showed.

Rakhimov:1,3,4,7,8.
Joe Diaz:2,5,6,9,10,11,12.

7-5 Joe Diaz.

 

George Kambosos SD10 Mickey Bey

If you thought that Kambosos had done the enormous favour of knocking Bey off once and for all, he's living up to the "Eternal" nickname by returning to the ring this year, never mind. Still, it was good to see him lose a big one and go away for a few years. This is a continuation of Rak-Diaz in many ways, what I mean by that is that it's a one-punch round, a stiff Bey left deciding the round in his favour. Jabs his way to the second, too, a good start for the veteran. Couple of left hooks take Kambosos a narrow, narrow third though. Looks like that left hook, quick, scorching over Bey's right and reasonably hard is saving Kambosos from being out-pecked. The punch has changed the fight in that Bey is spending more time going away (but not enough time going to his left for some reason). Seventh is the best round of a lukewarm fight but even here they trade punches almost evenly. It's crazy how close and difficult these rounds are. It is observed in commentary that where you are positioned will dictate how you score it and I agree with that.

Wow, Kambosos dips Bey at the knees during the tangle in the final round and it's a 10-8 round for Kambosos, what a huge knockdown strategically though Bey is mostly unhurt, but he was hurt while being outswarmed on the ropes as the round winds down. It doesn't make any difference on the true cards, but for me it sees the fight for Kambosos.

Kambosos:3,4,6,8,10*.
Mickey Bey:1,2,5,7,9.

*Bey down.

95-94 Kambosos.

This sport really rewards. You stick witha fight like that and get that glorious finish, beautiful little uppercut to score the KD.