the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

At his best, Larry was a pretty witty guy.

 

Your first like is from me welcome to the forum.

 

The 15th round was a classic but it still shouldn't of won ROTY over Holmes vs Norton that still annoys me.

 

Manny Pacquiao v Brandon Rios (WBOdball title)

I actually missed this fight back in the day. Can't remember why, probably working. Never bothered to watch it on replay when I saw the one-sided scores, but now sought to remedy this. However, after 12 rounds, I can see my hesitancy of the time. I had thought back then that Rios was going to give him a fight. He tried but was out-gunned. No sense in running a card as I had it 120-108 with every round to Manny (actual scores: 120-108, 119-109 and a very generous (to Rios) 118-110 all for Pac). Interesting hearing Larry Merchant side-by-side with Col. Bob Sheridan on BoxNation. Was wondering why this wasn't an HBO telecast. But at the beginning of the 7th round I could hear being picked up on the mic, Jim Lampley saying "How do you have it through six, Harold?" Anyone know why Merchant was not a part of the HBO crew?

 

If I remember correctly, last fight Larry called as part of main HBO crew - was Nonito Donaire vs Jorge Arce.
He then briefly came back when Top Rank struck their deal with Macao... I believe He was doing international calls - which is handled by the promoter - so that's why You could hear him on Boxnation.

 

I always found that to be one of the worst ppv main events ever made, right at the decline of HBO

 

He retired in december 2012,this fight was in late 2013.
Merchant did do a few more shows in 2013 but not on the main HBO telecasts.
They had an interesting old bots team on HBO2 for a few Zou Shiming cards including Tim Ryan,Big George and Larry in 2013.

 

M, I finally got a chance to have a look see and you didn't oversell it. Terrific fight and a very close fight. Here we go.......

Pauli Ayala v 'Bones' Adams (some crap title at 122)

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

Total: 115-114 Ayala (actual scores: 115-112 and a 114-113 both for Ayala and a 114-113 for Adams for a split win for Ayala)

Again, loved this fight and there is a fine line here between harder punches and busier clean punches. D, we agreed on 8 out of the 12 in a very good, close fight.

 

Definitely - Paulie's fights in general could be difficult to score with split opinions among fans.
The rematch was maybe a step below and not quite as intense - but it was still good fight nonetheless.

 

Inspiredby @Contro intersting thread about Thomas vs Tyson I went on a dive into some key Thomas fights. I saw them at the time but was really fun to revisit them.

Pinklon Thomas vs Tim Witherspoon

First thing to say is if Thomas had the second best jab in 80s HW boxing after Holmes then Witherspoon is a close third. The whole fight was a masterclass in jabbing and a really interesting tactical battle. The other headline is Tim looking svelte, considering the sad blimp he was vs Bruno. Tim looks like a well conditioned lightweight compared to Page and Tubbs! The fight was a bit spoiled by Tim obviously being affected by some unintentional thumbs and then a silly point deduction for back hand slapping. Thomas dominated the fight with his jab and brilliant combinations but whenever he took a breather and let Tim back in Witherspoon would punish him with some superb body punching. Tim seemed to inexplicably loose focus at crucial times and as with his Holmes fight didn't seem to have the will to grind out the final two rounds. He fought as if he was a few rounds ahead and gave it away. The whole battle felt like Pinky's fight and he showed strong ring generalship.

Another highlight is the post fight interview with Larry Holmes and Gerry Coetzee, discussing the contracts of their fight, which sadly never happened. Larry is at his obnoxious best with a big gold chain and telling everyone he is the true champ, which to be fair he was!

There are so many treasures in this era of HW boxing which I had forgotten!

1. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 9

2. Thomas 9 Witherspoon 10

3. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 9

4. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 9

5. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 8

6. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 9

7. Thomas 9 Witherspoon 10

8. Thomas 9 Witherspoon 10

9. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 10

10. Thomas 9 Witherspoon 10

11. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 10

12. Thomas 10 Witherspoon 9

FINAL Thomas 116 Witherspoon 113

 

Trevor Berbick vs Pinklon Thomas

A great example of one fighter clearly wanting it more than the other. The tragic thing is Thomas was clearly the more talented boxer and there were occasional bursts of brilliance when he made Trevor look like an amateur but by the mid point of the fight Pinklon's head and legs started to let him down and he looked totally disinterested and beaten. I am not totally happy with my scoring as Trevor clearly didn't sweep every one of the last 6 rounds, I lost focus a few times as it was a good hard battle and my scoring suffered. Berbick must be one of the least aesthetically pleasing HW champions of all time but to be fair he was in great shape and had an effective game plan to smother Thomas and attack with unexpected hooks. Pinklon clearly underestimated Berbick, sadly if he was in better shape he could probably have coasted to a trouble free victory but he badly gassed and when he found himself out jabbed by Berbick you knew he was in deep trouble. Trevor sealed his victory with a great 11th round where he looked on the verge of a stoppage but Thomas' champion's pride kept him going until the final bell.

Based on this rugged performance Tyson's subsequent win over Berbick looks even more spectacular!

1. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

2. Berbick 9 Thomas 10

3. Berbick 9 Thomas 10

4. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

5. Berbick 9 Thomas 10

6. Berbick 9 Thomas 10

7. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

8. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

9. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

10. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

11. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

12. Berbick 10 Thomas 9

FINAL Berbick 116 Thomas 112

 

Mike Tyson vs Pinklon Thomas

A mediocre scrappy fight. After an explosive first round, where Mike looks like he will score a KO as memorable as the Berbick fight, he inexplicably takes his foot off the gas. Thomas is slow and plodding, clearly tired after a few rounds (although the first round assault took a lot out of him) and lacking energy or enthusiasm. I gave him two rounds mainly because Tyson wasn't doing much and seemed almost to be carrying Thomas by initiating the grappling. Pinklon's only effective weapon was his still reasonable jab but we wasn't using it to set anything up and every time Mike landed he looked shocked. The crowd started to get restless at this inelegant mess until Mike finally decided to close the show and did so in brutal fashion.

1. Tyson 10 Thomas 9

2. Tyson 10 Thomas 9

3. Tyson 9 Thomas 10

4. Tyson 9 Thomas 10

5. Tyson 10 Thomas 9

6. Tyson wins KO

FINAL Tyson 48 Thomas 47

 

Don’t be hard on yourself.

Everyone loses focus watching the 1980s Lost Generation heavyweights. Including, and especially, the fighters themselves.

 

Ha ha good point!

 

I checked out a couple of Calvin Grove fights that I had never seen today and found them both entertaining.

Antonio Rivera v Calvin Grove (IBF featherweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Grove
Round 2: 10-9 Rivera (both fighters stunned, but Rivera did it early and had Grove floundering for a while before Grove returned the favor at the end of the round)
Round 3: 10-9 Grove
Round 4: Grove drops and stops Rivera

Total through 3 completed rounds: 29-28 Grove (actual scores 30-28, 29-28 and 29-29 with grove ahead on 2 cards)

This was the first defense of Rivera's title. Rivera, a fighter who made a career out of fighting for WBO titles after this (4 more opportunities came his way - all unsuccessful), was a hard puncher but Grove was so pinpoint and the stoppage was absolutely correct. An enjoyable fight while it lasted.

Calvin Grove v Lester Ellis II (10 rounds)

I wanted to check out their first fight but the youtube version out there was done with a hand held camera from someone at ringside and I missed too much so I aborted after the first round. This was their second fight

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Ellis
Round 3: 10-8 Grove (scores a knockdown)
Round 4: Ellis' corner calls a halt early in the 4th with Ellis under fire

Total through 3 completed rounds: 29-28 Grove (actual scores unknown)

This fight was crazy and a lot of it I blame on the referee for not taking a firm hand here. For example, Ellis was rampantly holding and hitting, yet, all he got was a mild caution from the Aussie ref. At one point he grabbed Grove and body slammed him into the ropes. Again, nothing much from the ref. In the 3rd, Grove nailed Ellis and dropped him. The ref gave one long 8-count, then noticed Grove had come out of his corner and took this opportunity to make sure he went all the way back into the corner before he said 'box'. Easily 20 seconds elapsed here. But before Grove even headed towards Ellis, Ellis was already sticking out his mouthpiece and then willingly just spit it out. Again, the ref grabbed the opportunity to say 'stop'. Clearly about to give his man more time to recover by rinsing out the mouthpiece. However, the bell rung at that point. But wait we're not done yet. When the bell rang, Grove turned to go back to his corner and Ellis lashes out with a blatant blow to the back of Grove's head. Again, nothing from the ref. I was glad when Grove stopped him in the next round. I didn't like that crap at all. But a wild fight.