the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Classic fight.

 

Ruben Olivares v Zensuke Utagawa (vacant featherweight title)

I wanted to check this out again after conversing with @salsanchezfan sometime back on it. Sal said it looked like a routine trip to the gym and he was right. It was noticeable when Ruben went into the next gear in the 5th. Before then it was like he was monkeying around. Utagawa had done nothing of note to ever have been close to fighting for a vacant title. But that never stopped the WBA from rating someone from one of their patron countries. For his part, Utagawa tried but was out of his depth when Ruben took the notion of stepping it up. I only gave the Japanese a share of the 3rd for a score of 5-0 for Ruben through six completed rounds on the California scoring system of 1 point for a round and none for an even round (actual scores: 5-1, 4-0 and 6-0 all for Olivares)

BTW, the final knockdown is quite dramatic. They both exchange right hands but Ruben's has TNT all over it. Utagawa slowly sags into the ropes and then down for several minutes. If I wanted to be really poignant, I would play "Here's where the story ends" by the Sundays as the backdrop to that finisher.

 

rafa marquez vs israel vazquez ... had been so long since i saw it, couldn't remember the ending. had it even 67 - 67 after 7

 

Floyd Patterson W12 George Chuvalo

This one won FOTY honors from The Ring magazine and I guess it was pretty good, as heavyweight fights go. Chuvalo always makes a good foil for a skilled fighter and his toughness usually keeps him in things and there's always high contact whatever the outcome.

Floyd comes out thrusting out his jab like a fencer and ducking down and away to his right, in anticipation of Chuvalo's wide, clubbing right hand. He takes the first two with his movement and fast combos while limiting Chuvalo's advances by holding and spinning him.

In the third, Chuvalo makes his presence known by initiating a body attack behind a newly-discovered jab. He can't hit Floyd in the head with any of his wide punches given Patterson's excellent head and upper body movement, so good plan! The next few rounds are close, with the Canadian trying his best to employ this tactic and he actually takes the sixth on my ard, keeping it reasonably close at the halfway mark. Anybody's fight here.

Floyd gets tough here though, and finds more success with pot-shotting Chuvalo with right hand leads and firing five and six punch combinations, generally outworking the Canadian rather than trying to outmaneuver him. He is taking more and on a couple of occasions walks unsteadily to his corner after heated exchanges ending the rounds, but he is winning most of the battles along the way. Chuvalo is hoping to exact enough of a toll to retain hopes of winning the war after losing all these battles, but he is tiring as well. His punches are not as frequent down the stretch as Floyd's and while there are at least three pretty close rounds, the decision is a bit wider for me than the official cards for Patterson, which read 6-5-1, 7-5, and 8-4.

1. Patterson
2. Patterson
3. Chuvalo
4. Patterson
5. Patterson
6. Chuvalo
7. Patterson
8. Patterson
9. Patterson
10. Chuvalo
11. Patterson
12. Patterson

117-111 Patterson.

 

Wilfredo Vasquez, Jr. v Jorge Arce (super bantamweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Arce
Round 2: 10-9 Vasquez
Round 3: 10-9 Arce
Round 4: 10-9 Vasquez (scores a knockdown)
Round 5: 10-9 Arce
Round 6: 10-9 Arce
Round 7: 10-10 Even
Round 8: 10-9 Arce
Round 9: 10-10 Even
Round 10: 10-9 Vasquez
Round 11: 10-9 Arce
Round 12: Arce stops Vasquez

Total through 11 completed rounds: 107-104 Arce (actual scores: 107-102 Arce and 2 scores of 104-104)

I've been checking out a lot of Jorge Arce fights lately. Love his warrior style. He was the charging clubber in this fight while the champ Vasquez was the sharp counter-puncher. I did agree with Bernstein on that 4th round knockdown, that it was only a 10-9 for Vasquez because Arce was having a good round until getting caught with a counter that dropped him. I didn't agree with him, however, on the 10th round, which he stated at the end of the round, "Good round for Arce." I felt Arce did little that round other than a quick flurry at the end. I'm not forgetting Vasquez' work for the first 2:45 of the round because of a quick flurry. Also Bernstein was amazed at the cut on Arce's nose. I simply thought 'why?' Arce is cut on the bridge of the nose in every fight. So I was amazed that he was amazed. Regardless, a damn good fight where Vasquez, Sr. decided to pull the plug in the 12th when Jr. got caught up on the ropes and was taking a bit of a pummeling. Nothing wrong with watching out for your kid.

 

Juan Lazcano v John John Molina (NABF lightweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Molina
Round 2: 10-9 Molina
Round 3: 10-9 Molina
Round 4: 10-9 Lazcano
Round 5: 10-10 Even
Round 6: 10-9 Molina
Round 7: 10-9 Lazcano
Round 8: 10-9 Lazcano
Round 9: 10-9 Lazcano
Round 10: 10-8 Lazcano (battering)
Round 11: Lazcano stops Molina

Total through 10 completed rounds: 96-94 Lazcano (official scores not known)

I totally LOVED this fight. The only drawback was the less than pristine film quality. But I saw enough. Molina's busy style had impressed me early, only for Lazcano's power simply barreling its way through. I loved Lazcano's hard jab and counter left hook before he brought out all the artillery. Molina went out on his shield - slinging that right hand of his over the top - and I highly recommend this bout to all.

 

Greg Page vs Gerrie Coetzee

Kindly recommended by @Dynamicpuncher. An astoundingly ragged heavyweight brawl but extremely entertaining none the less. First thoughts are that Gerrie made a mistake letting Greg get his rhythm going, the first few rounds his aggression seemed to get Page on the back foot. Then in an amazing display of ineptitude from a world champion's corner Coetzee's seconds failed to vacate the ring in round 2 and Page ran over to blast him while he dawdled. Incredibly Gerrie's corner were late leaving the ring again later in the fight.

This seemed to rile Gerrie but he then either got tired or Page's punches got to him as he started fighting flat footed and tried to box with Greg at which he failed miserably. Coetzee has one of the worse jabs I have ever seen but decided this was a good weapon to fight Page with who predictably started to box rings round him.

Despite that Gerrie hit Page with some big shots and Greg seemed pretty easy to hit, relying on his excellent chin to see him through. Gerrie threw his right hand from all the way back from the coast of South Africa but still landed. I started to get the impression Page didn't rate Gerrie and wasn't taking the fight that seriously as he started to clown annoyingly and take shots he didn't have to. He slugged Gerrie with several hard shots well after the bell in round 6 and looked to have it in the bag. Then despite knocking Gerrie down in round 7 his slack attitude almost cost him as Coetzee fought back so well I gave it as a 10-9 rather than 10-8 round. Unfortunately for Gerrie it was his last stand and Page carefully stalked him, showing his best skills of the fight, before an excellent KO.

This is my first fight for either man and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Coetzee struck me as an honest tough guy with amazingly limited skills, he made Primo Carnera look like RJJ at some points, but a massive heart. Page fought like he was already a millionaire superstar, frankly he had a bad attitude, and his huge wobbling moobs were a red flag to his lack of discipline. I would have liked to see him fight like it meant something to him as you could see the talent hiding behind the arrogance.

1- Page 9 Coetzee 10

2- Page 10 Coetzee 9

3 - Page 9 Coetzee 10

4 - Page 10 Coetzee 9

5 - Page 10 Coetzee 9

6 - Page 10 Coetzee 9

7 - Page 10 Coetzee 9

8 - Page wins KO

Page 68 Coetzee 65

 

How did you score the first 3 1/2 minutes or so of the eighth round?

Which is another way of saying, isn’t this the fight where the champion lost his belt like 4 minutes into the round because the timekeeper (in South Africa btw) forgot to ring the bell? And somehow Coetzee didn’t even get a rematch?

Credit to Page for being the one who came through despite the long round, but this whole fight is a mess.

 

I didn't even notice that! I suspect Gerrie was on the way out anyway but considering he was also clubbed after the bell and while still in his corner he really didn't catch any breaks! Neither was doing too much in that round, the KO caught me by surprise actually as I forgot what round it ended in.

 

Jimmy Ellis v Oscar Bonavena (semi-finals of the '67 tournament - 5 point must in effect)

Round 1: 5-4 Ellis
Round 2: 5-4 Ellis
Round 3: 5-3 Ellis (scores a knockdown)
Round 4: 5-4 Ellis
Round 5: 5-4 Ellis
Round 6: 5-4 Bonavena
Round 7: 5-4 Bonavena
Round 8: 5-5 Even
Round 9: 5-4 Bonavena
Round 10: 5-3 Ellis (scores a knockdown)
Round 11: 5-4 Bonavena
Round 12: 5-5 Even

Total: 56-52 Ellis (actual scores: 56-53, 55-54 and 59-53 all for Ellis)

Y'know, I would have loved to ask Bonavena's corner exactly what plan had they devised for this fight. If it was to stand off for the first 5 rounds while Ellis potshots at Oscar, then kudos to them. Because Oscar followed the strategy to a tee. When he turned it up and began mugging Ellis on the inside, he turned into Ringo Bonavena again. One thing Ellis' pinpoint shots and counters proved, that Oscar had a great jaw, but he was so wide open for that sharp counter, that it was always going to be a nighmare for him. I enjoyed the fight for its historical value.

 

I watched a good bit of this recently and Ellis turned in a really strong performance. He was in command for much of the fight and did it in a lot of different ways — fighting on the front foot to hold his ground and even back Ringo up, in-fighting when things got ugly, and (as @scartissue noted) landing clean shots from the start.

 

Carlos Monzon vs Rodrigo Valdez 2

Kindly recommended by @Flo_Raiden and @JohnThomas1

Basically the first fight on steroids (figuratively, this was in 1977!), awesome middleweight clash that follows the first fight pretty closely apart from it is Monzon who is decked in round 2 and Valdez seemed much better at maintaining the pressure, tagging Carlos with many hard shots. However like the first fight he simply cannot get close enough and has to rely on leaping single shots as Monzon calmly piles up the points. I feel I have been over generous to Valdez in my scoring, I was giving him credit for his heroic effort, in reality Carlos won by a few more points.

It's a shame Rodrigo didn't manage to hold onto the title longer after Monzon retired but one can only imagine what 30 rounds of boxing with Carlos took out of him.

1. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

2. Monzon 8 Valdez 10

3. Monzon 10 Valdez 10

4. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

5. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

6. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

7. Monzon 9 Valdez 10

8. Monzon 9 Valdez 10

9. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

10. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

11. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

12. Monzon 9 Valdez 10

13. Monzon 9 Valdez 10

14. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

15. Monzon 10 Valdez 9

FINAL Monzon 144 Valdez 141

 

I saw Duran vs. Minchillo:

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What a fight! This was truly a war. Not Gatti-Ward but close enough!

Duran 98-92

 

Here’s my account from early last year:

Roberto Duran: The Lost Years

Chapter Two

My exploration of Duran’s career in the space between his ‘no mas’ loss to Ray Leonard and his revival win over Davey Moore continues with his second comeback fight after taking off nine months following the events of New Orleans.

Roberto Duran vs. Luigi Minchillo, scheduled for 10 rounds on Sept. 26, 1981, at Caesars Palace Outdoor Arena in Las Vegas.

This comes seven weeks after his win over Nino Gonzalez in his first fight back and, ironically, 10 days after Leonard beats Thomas Hearns to unify the welterweight championship in the same ring outside the Caesars property (Leonard-Hearns took place on a Wednesday night). Held in 90-degree summer heat, this fight draws about 2,000 spectators for a CBS-televised fight.

Duran, 30, is 73-2 (55) and ranked No. 2 at welterweight by the WBC. He weighs 154 and looks slimmer and more solid than he did vs. Gonzalez.

Minchillo, 26, is 35-1 (22) and ranked No. 16 at junior middleweight by the WBC. He weighs 153 1/2 and is the European champion at 154.

1. 10-9 Duran (close)

2. 10-9 Duran

3. 10-9 Duran

4. 10-9 Minchillo

5. 10-9 Duran

6. 10-9 Duran

7. 10-9 Duran

8. 10-9 Duran

9. 10-9 Duran (close)

10. 10-9 Duran

My score: 99-91 Duran. Official scores, all for Duran: 100-90, 100-91 and 98-92.

This version of Duran isn’t far off from the one we will later see vs. Davey Moore or Iran Barkley, honestly. He’s so much sharper than in the Gonzalez fight, where he looked rusty. He works angles, is effective inside and out, does great body work and lands explosive shots to the head. He gets savage a few times trying to turn up the heat and force a stoppage but also just does some gorgeous boxing.

Minchillo is just one tough customer. He is aggressive and throws a lot of punches, although for portion of some rounds he tries to box and just gets eaten alive. He works head and body but just doesn’t have Roberto’s snap, variety or guile and experience.

The main point of drama comes with a nasty cut over Duran’s right eye that occurs in the third round. His corner handles it, but it opens again in the ninth. Minchillo’s left eye is near closed late and the right one is puffy.

Gil Glancy (and some written accounts) note that Duran’s shots just don’t do the same to opponents at junior middle as they did at lighter weights, but Minchillo is an unknown quantity in America at this point — he will later go the distance with Thomas Hearns in another bid for junior middle gold and complete 13 with Mike McCallum before his corner stops it between rounds in a second and final bid for a championship.

No Minchillo is not Four Kings material but he’s a game, rugged and durable fighter (who will later beat Maurice Hope for his biggest career win) who’s not intimidated and brings everything he has for the full 10 rounds. It’s a good test of where Duran is at, and he’s frankly better here not only than he was against Nino, but against Zeferino Gonzalez or some of his other pre-Leonard fights when he was moving up from lightweight. You can see him relish the combat here and it’s fun to see him do his thing.

There’s mention here of another tuneup planned before Duran takes on Wilfred Benitez for junior middleweight gold, but the cut probably prompted a change in that plan. As it happens, we’ll see Roberto back in the ring about four months later vs. Beniitez.

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