the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

David Haney UD12 Yuri Gamboa

Close to twenty years between these two and this and the huge reach advantage and a notable height advantage would spell the end of Gamboa, if Tank Davis hadn't done so a few months earlier. The styles don't gel that well early and there's that weird COVID atmosphere; Haney basically wants to spear with the jab to the guy while Gamboa gives ground and tries to bring his man onto something nasty. Haney, we now know, is far too disciplined for that nonsense and meanwhile is flashing over a very fast right hand to keep Gamboa honest.

The first four rounds here are so one sided that you wonder just how Gamboa would have coped with Haney at his best. Mixing in right hands to the body now, Haney is winning these rounds clear and clean. Fifth round though, Gamboa makes his case, he has a disciplined, high guard, is aggressive, throwing almost exclusively hard punches and taking no **** generally, Haney looks momentarily baffled and loses some momentum blowing up big shots on Gamboa's gloves; I think Gambo steels a close one. And the sixth. Haney stops any momentum the Cuban has amassed in the seventh by avoiding greed (two shots tops) making big moves away on the outside and closing to smother on the inside. It is effective, but not great for the fight, although watching Haney at work is absorbing if not exactly a joy.

Bad to worse in the eleventh as Gamboa tries to hold his way through a long Haney attack, and the referee docks him a point for it. Haney is dismissive of him now. Sad to see, the torch got passed.

Haney:1,2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11*,12.
Gamboa:5,6.

*Gamboa loses a point for excessive holding.

118-109 Haney.

 

David Haney UD12 Jorge Linares

Remember when Linares was the world's number one prospect? It never worked out for him, just too fragile was my feel. It's a little depressing to watch bright young things feast on the corpses of the last generation but it is a time honoured tradition and in Linares and Gamboa, Haney hammered some nails into some quality coffins at least.

Russell Mora is the referee, guy gives me the ****ing creeps. I'm sure he's very nice and everything but what a **** up at his job. Haney dominates the action completely early, jabbing to open up the body and he lands many jabs and lefts and rights to the body in the first minute. Commentary makes some noise about the Linares check hook, but nah, that's not accurate. He does land a good one with 10 seconds remaining of the first - but so does Haney. Haney lands an uppercut in the second, a new dimension, than manhandles an angry Linares to the ropes. Fair play to Venezualan though - he's smaller, slower, weaker, but he's not looking to hide and tries to jab with the jabber in the third. Haney's jab though is unimpeachable, a superb weapon, at 22 it really is extraordinary to watch. Accuracy is outstanding, mobility is gorgeous, not flashy all the time, not flashy most of the time, but he is always moving, always dipping, going away and coming back - it keeps him hard to hit if not impossible to hit as Linares proves having a good fourth round (Still loses it for me).

So I have Haney winning nine rounds in a row before Linares bags the tenth. So much is impressive about Haney, but most of all its his improvisation, caught in a weird half clinch being walked back after suffering Linares best flurry fo the fight he lands three short straight right-hands. If he had heavy power he would be lethal, as it is he'll have to live with stinging. His mouth did start to open in the ninth though - he has been throwing a lot of punches - and he has slowed a bit. Still capable of feinting a right hand to the body and then splitting the guard with a left uppercut though.

In the final phase of the fight Haney is just throwing less and Linares is allowed to deploy himself accordingly. Haney was hurt right at the end of the tenth and elven and twelve belong to Linares pretty clearly. There's a lesson there for Haney. He was running and holding in the twelfth...bad blood at the bell.

Haney:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,
Linares:10,11,12

 

David Haney UD12 Joseph Diaz.

Joe Diaz is a brave and interesting selection for Haney after Diaz old-manned Shavkatdzhon and Haney was old-manned by Linares albeit for three rounds only. Massive reach advantage for Haney though, let us see how he puts it all together with that jab. Classic start, Diaz making himself small and keeping the gloves high, Haney landing but not to excess as Diaz buttons up. No real pressure from Diaz yet, he needs it. Diaz gets his southpaw jab motoring in two though and closes the distance. ****, it's Rusell Mora again (he did OK last fight). Haney not nearly so dominant as he was against Linares early, but he is 3-0 up on my card nonetheless. Mr.Mora gives Haney a stern warning in the third for hitting after the call break.

Diaz bulldogs Haney in the fourth, even lifts him and rushes him to the ropes. He lands some good punches to the body - Haney having a think, Diaz is closer than he would want him to be. Haney counters with hard body shots and looming pressure of his own in the fifth, nice adjustment, pushing the fight back onto the aggressor and relying upon his accuracy and selection to control the action. A very bad round for Diaz to lose that. More fo this in the sixth where Diaz does well but Haney lands far and away the harder punches, eye-watering a couple of them. Second half of the ring he takes to his bike and counters. I will say Diaz is doing a lovely job on Haney's jab, not getting his guard split anything like as much as Linares, I'm not sure what to make of that, first, I think that Haney thinks Diaz is there for the harder stuff and a lot of these jabs are half-way, second, Diaz is loving a tricky range for the Haney jab which is long. Good skills both in away makes the Haney jab a little superfluous, to my surprise.

Diaz hunts that Linares vulnerability with winging left hands inside - Haney lets him have far too much time but on the other hand he is holding these punches well. A clear Diaz round, a little crude, but effective. Straight rights buy Haney the eighth and Diaz needs an extra point from somewhere.

He doesn't get it - in fact Haney dominates the run in as effectively as he dominated the first half of the fight, a big moment for a young fighter. Drops the twelfth though, but it is marginal and he actually throws Diaz. Needed an engine-check post-Linares, and got it.

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

117-111 Haney.

 

David Haney UD12 George Kambosos I

So weird to see an elite American boxer in Australia earning his crust. Very strange. Haney sneaks the first round on that jab, though George misses a couple of hard punches by a smidge, Haney ducking and going away to nullify. Kambosos is chancing it all with his hands this low, and you think Haney will love that with the jab but I got Kambosos nicking the second round with a counter-right-hand to that punch specifically. In the third they look to out-wait and out-feint eachother I think, still with their hands low. I have it all square after four and after six! The fight is "bitty" difficult to score, not exciting but kind of absorbing. You do feel like Haney is more likely to dial in Kambosos than it is the reverse.

Wow, I perhaps didn't expect it to be that literal Haney won 7-12 on my card. Haney has great feel for a fight, he is sitting down on his punches more, he has started sitting down on his punches a bit more, scoring points with aggression and harder punching just as he began to against Diaz. This is even more impressive though. It' svery easy to say "start taking some chances" but it is extremely hard to do against someone bigger, faster, perhaps even stronger. Kambosos had a go in the eight and fell short, maybe in the twelfth, wins neither on my card. Outclassed. I wonder is the rematch among the more redundant ever?

Haney:1,4,5,7,8,9,10,11,12.
Kambosos:2,3,6.

117-111 Haney.