the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Erik Morales v Pable Cesar Cano (vacant jr. welterweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Cano
Round 2: 10-9 Morales
Round 3: 10-9 Cano
Round 4: 10-9 Morales
Round 5: 10-9 Cano
Round 6: 10-9 Morales
Round 7: 10-10 Even
Round 8: 10-9 Morales
Round 9: 10-9 Morales
Round 10: 10-9 Morales
The bout is stopped between the 10th and 11th due to Cano's facial damage.

Total through 10 completed rounds: 97-94 Morales (actual scores not known)

This was Morales nearing the end of his illustrious career but he still had enough in the tank to take the measure of a very strong kid in Cano. Morales couldn't miss with his overhand right, which really tore up Cano's features. Both eyes had damage - the left more profound - and he was bleeding from the nose and mouth. They pulled him out at the right time of an interesting bout.

 

Hey, a fight that I've actually scored in this thread (I gave Morales only two rounds, the seventh and the fourteenth). Unfortunately, like you said, it was pretty bad, with Morales being overmatched, Park often looking uninterested, and neither fighter particularly eager to engage.

I've compared Park to Michael Nunn before, and this is the kind of thing that I mean. At his best, he looks like he could take anyone, but he's at his best in only a couple of fights.

 

Clum, I was really surprised at the performance of Morales. Showing my age here, I actually first saw him fight back in '71 losing a decision to Ricardo Delgado. But at least he tried in that fight. The guy had talent but was woeful here. Apparently just content to go 15. Regarding Park, I've seen the first two fights of his with Shoji Oguma and I see the third one is out there so that's next on my hit list. In their first fight I felt Oguma's body attack was brilliant, but in their second fight I felt Park should have taken the decision. Looking forward to their third bout.

 

I was going to watch a match tonight and had spent some time trying to figure out what … but then I realized I needed to get my taxes out of the way and did that instead.

The good news is I’m getting a pretty decent tax return.

 

With me, last night especially, I wanted to check out the 3rd bout between Oguma and Park. I had an exceptionally long and arduous day behind me but get hunkered in. The video is nice and clear and the first two rounds they go at it nicely. But by the 3rd round - nothing to do with bout itself - my eyeballs start turning back in my head from want of sleep. Stop right there. I'm not going to enjoy this bout, nor am I able to turn in an accurate scorecard if I continue. Live to fight another day.

 

That happens to me a lot too, Scar.

 

Many a night I’ll spot-check a fight, kind of skipping around to get the flavor of it, watch a few full rounds, but I only set out to score one when I know I’m not too tired and don’t have something else to do so I can give it my full attention.

(The last thing I want to do is watch half a fight, then resume a couple days later even if I’ve taken notes … the flow is very important especially in noting shifts of fortune or momentum or adjusted tactics.)

 

Shoji Oguma v Park Chan Hee III (flyweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Park
Round 2: 10-9 Park
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Park
Round 5: 10-9 Oguma
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Park
Round 8: 10-9 Park
Round 9: 10-9 Oguma
Round 10: 10-9 Oguma
Round 11: 10-9 Oguma
Round 12: 10-9 Oguma (a more generous judge than I could have seen this round as a 10-8)
Round 13: 10-9 Oguma
Round 14: 10-9 Oguma
Round 15: 10-9 Oguma

Total: 145-142 Oguma (actual scores: 145-140, 144-141 and 143-143 for Oguma by majority decision)

Man, where do I start? I enjoyed the fight, but it could get very sloppy at times. You would swear it was Henry Cooper against Chuck Wepner in there with the amount of blood-letting from these two. Oguma was bleeding very early from cuts over and around both eyes (I counted 4 around his left eye alone) and Park appeared to be cut somewhere around his ear of all places. He was streaming blood down his chest from about the middle of the fight onwards. But what told the difference in this fight was strength. By round 9 it was starting to look like a boy against a man the way that Oguma would muscle Park back and pound his body, the way he did in their first fight. A damn tough fight.

 

Donald Curry v Rene Jacquot (jr. middleweight title)

Funny how no one on this thread has addressed this fight. I saw it when it first took place and it's well worth watching again for discussion on scores and what one looks for. Also, it was entertaining. Here we go......

Round 1: 10-9 Curry
Round 2: 10-9 Curry
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Curry
Round 5: 10-9 Curry
Round 6: 10-9 RJ
Round 7: 10-9 RJ
Round 8: 10-10 Even
Round 9: 10-9 RJ
Round 10: 10-9 Curry
Round 11: 10-9 RJ
Round 12: 10-9 RJ

Total: 115-115 Draw (actual scores: 118-116, 117-115 and 117-113 al for Jacquot)

To begin, I was at odds with a few things that Gil Clancy was saying throughout the broadcast. He began by saying RJ was an arm puncher only. I agree to a point that he was, but he was very strong so they weren't just slaps. Let's call them clubbing slaps. Secondly, he was on about Curry's unusually wide stance for this fight. This time I totally disagree because Curry always fought with a wide stance. Thirdly - and this may have a lot to do with my dissenting scorecard - Clancy was on about RJ blocking many of Curry's shots. Again, I disagree to a point. He was getting his hands up but I felt Curry's shots were ripping through his guard. Throughout this fight RJ was catching Curry with many, but frivolous shots. Whereas, Curry's punches were quality but not high volume. Scoring this is running a fine line. But the most notable thing for me was that Curry was an utterly shot fighter. The severity of the KO against McCallum left all his resistance on the canvas at Caesar's Palace in '87. Just like Pipino Cuevas against Hearns, O'Grady against Ganigan, Bramble against Rosario, etc. They just couldn't take a punch anymore. And it really showed in this fight against Jacquot. I'd love to hear other's opinions on this fight.

 

Alfredo Escalera v Tyrone Everett

One of the most controversial decisions of all time and not a great fight by any stretch of the imagination. Everett largely controlled the fight with his jab and countered Escalera’s straight-line attacks. Escalera had the odd moment where the right hand broke through but it was sporadic.

I had it 9-3 in rounds to Everett and scored 3 even. Even if those even rounds went to Escalera that still leaves a healthy margin for Everett to have won the fight by so there’s no justification to give this to Escalera.

1 9-10 (cagey opener - not much in it)
2 9-10
3 9-10 (Escalera may have landed the best punch of the round but Everett did the best work overall)
4 10-10 (tricky one. Everett is making Escalera miss and look a little silly at times but Alfredo landed some good right hands to even things up)
5 10-9 (close and tricky to score. The straight right is clearly Escalera’s best weapon against Everett and he landed it a few times early in the round. Everett frustrated him for the rest of the round but didn’t quite do enough himself.)
6 9-10
7 9-10 (any earlier success Escalera was having with the right hand now seems to have disappeared. Everett is outboxing him comfortably)
8 9-10 (not thrilling)
9 9-10 (another niggly one to score. Everett controlling range and boxing comfortably within himself without landing anything noteworthy beyond the jab; Escalera trying to force an opportunity and lands a few but did he do enough to take it? No, probably not)
10 9-10 (It’s amazing that Escalera hasn’t tried to target the body to slow Everett’s movement)
11 9-10 (Everett taking these rounds on ring generalship. The action is pretty scant and it’s getting scrappy now)
12 10-10
13 10-9 (Hard to score definitively as video quality was poor. Everett was cut in this round and Escalera seemed to just about outwork him)
14 10-10
15 10-9

Escalera 141-147 Everett

 

I was looking for Maurice Hope against Luigi Minchillo but only found a few rounds. I did, however, find the first fight between Hope and Rocky Mattioli. 2 versions out there. The Cosell version and the Italian version. I went with the Italian version since I wouldn't know what they were saying and I can use my own judgement without encumbering it with anything else.

Rocky Mattioli v Maurice Hope I (jr. middleweight title)

Round 1: 10-8 Hope (scores a knockdown)
Round 2: 10-9 Hope
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Hope
Round 5: 10-9 Hope
Round 6: 10-9 Hope
Round 7: 10-9 Mattioli
Round 8: 10-9 Hope
Mattioli retired by his corner between rounds with a broken right wrist

Total through 8 completed rounds: 79-73 Hope (actual scores were unavailable but boxrec mentions that judge Rudolf Drust had Hope ahead by 3 points and judge Jean Deswert had him ahead by 5 points. However, referee Ray Solis had Mattioli ahead by 2 points)

To begin, this was so unfortunate for Mattioli. One can see what Marcel Cerdan must've went through with the 1st round injury against LaMotta. Mattioli went down early in the first and broke his right wrist when he fell. After that he was a one-armed fighter. To the audience he looked like he was going to pull it out in the 7th when he hurt Hope with a series of left-hooks, but he returned to his corner wincing holding his right hand. Just a matter of time after he shot his bolt in the 7th and the corner pulled him out after the 8th. Hope had a helluva engine on him here because he was non-stop stabbing Rocky with that southpaw jab and short punches. One last thing, what the hell was Ray Solis watching to have Mattiolli ahead?

 

I remember seeing this fight. I was kinda jazzed to see Mattioli for the first time (on TV) because I’d read about him in The Ring and was disappointed that he got injured and it was pretty obvious he didn’t have his full artillery. But Hope impressed.

 

The rematch was better as Rocky had full function in that one. He was really tagging Hope well in the second fight with hard lead rights - the bane of a southpaw - but Hope still took his measure.

 

Yo Sam Choi v Saman Sorjaturong (Lt. flyweight title)

I was keen to see this fight as I had seen Choi against Jorge Arce and Sorjaturong against Chiquita Gonzalez and I liked what I saw in both fighters. This fight too took off great after a slow first round. It was Sorjaturong's sharp sizzlers against the harder punching Choi and Choi didn't let up. He got the better of SS in almost every exchange and had an uncanny knack for getting under SS's winging shots. A really enjoyable fight, but I had Choi running away with it winning every round for a 60-54 score after 6 completed rounds with Choi ending it in the 7th (actual scores: 60-54, 60-54 and 60-53). Strange knockout, however, as SS handled every bomb Choi threw, but went down and out from a jab in the 7th. Maybe he just had enough.