the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Mike McCallum v Milton McCrory (Jr. middleweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 McCrory
Round 2: 10-9 McCallum
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 McCrory
Round 5: 10-9 McCallum
Round 6: 10-9 McCallum
Round 7: 10-9 McCallum
Round 8: 10-9 McCallum (Best round)
Round 9: 10-9 McCallum
Round 10: McCallum drops and stops McCrory

Total through 9 completed rounds: 88-84 McCallum (actual scores: 88-85, 87-85 and 87-84 all for McCallum)

I must admit, I was never a huge fan of McCrory's, but in this fight he impressed me in defeat. He was tidy, tried his best at staying composed while boxing McCallum, while sharp-shooting with lefts and rights. And he did well, but ultimately, couldn't hold it together with what was coming at him. He was a mess by the 10th with a bad nosebleed and cut left eye, but went down fighting in the that round. The 8th, 9th and 10th they left it all hang out. Good fight.

 

Talking about Hearns-Ayala inspired me to watch this:

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Ayala won all the way against a guy who obviously was not in the same level as the 5 kings, but who once challenged for a world title.

Oh and what a knockout!

 

Yeah Tony could sling that leather but look at the shots he got hit with cleanly, especially in the second round, and imagine if it was Hearns teeing off on Tony instead.

 

Pinklon Thomas vs Gerrie Coetzee

1 Thomas
2 Coetzee
3 Coetzee
4 Thomas
5 Coetzee
6 Coetzee
7 Coetzee
8 Thomas
9 Thomas
10 Thomas

95-95 Draw

Probably one of the most legit draws you'll ever see in boxing, what surprised me in this fight is Thomas wasn't really using his jab ? i don't know why maybe he was concerned by Coetzee's right hand ?

Regardless i feel like in the first 7 rounds or so Thomas stood off too much and let Coetzee dictate to the fight. Finally in the last 3 rounds Thomas started to come forward and back Coetzee up and also badly cut him aswell, the momentum totally shifted in Thomas's favour as he was now bossing the fight and dictating the action.

The final round was by far the best round of the fight as both fighters traded punches and had good moments in the round, but whenever Coetzee seemed to be on the verge of taking control of the round. Thomas would fight back and take the play away from him, and i thought Thomas just about did enough in the 10th round to earn him the round and overall to earn a draw on my scorecard.

Overall a very solid competitive Heavyweight fight Thomas just showed grit in the final 3 rounds to get himself out of trouble but i'm not sure why he wasn't using his great left jab ?

@JohnThomas1 I thought you might be interested in this i also watched a 60 FPS version.

 

Great stuff DP. The mags actually stated how a draw was the perfect result and it was a tale of two halves almost. Thomas was starting to run hot at this stage and IMO would have started faster and probably won a rematch.

Edit - i just read somewhere the other day he said he was a bit overcautious early but gained confidence. I think he was worried about his power.

 

I think had this fight been 12 or 15 rounds then Thomas would've won possibly by stoppage aswell, Coetzee gave it everything he had in the 10th round and Thomas soaked it up and comeback with even more. I'm not sure how much Coetzee would've had left with a few more rounds, especially with his suspect gas tank and Thomas coming on really strong.

I'll tell you something though Thomas has a granite chin he took some heavy blows off a big puncher like Coetzee and didn't looked fazed at all. I honestly think Thomas could in the argument to having one of the better Heavyweight chins of all time, i wouldn't put him in the top 10 i don't think but definitely in the top 20 in that regard.

 

I just missed Pinklon Thomas era, he was one of the first fighters I remembering reading about on his comeback after the Berbick defeat. What I got from those reports and other articles (remember all the boxing magazines you could buy in the late eighties) was he was very talented, Witherspoon and Coetzee bouts mentioned, but almost disinterested in others, primally Berbick but parts of his exciting Weaver defense.

I finally got to see him against Tyson, after almost get blitzed in the 1st he came back to give Iron Mike some real problems with his brilliant jab before that awesome 6th where Pinklon showed his terrific chin in taking some fearsome combinations. I was quite taken by Tyson´s combinations but also by Pinklon´s durability, bravery and wonderfal jab.

I was so disappointed by how his career fell to pieces afterwards especially against Morrison who really beat him up. It was only later I found about all his drug demons. I think I´ll pick up his biography on Amazon to find out more about this forgotten heavyweight champ.

 

I watched an explosive double-header this morning that I just can't recall seeing back in the day, which is unusual because I never ever missed anything unless work got in the way. Anyways, here we go....

Kostya Tszyu v Dio Hurtado

Round 1: 10-8 Hurtado (Tszyu scores a knockdown and Hurtado scores 2 knockdowns)
Round 2: 10-9 Tszyu
Round 3: 10-9 Tszyu
Round 4: 10-9 Tszyu
Round 5: Tszyu drops Hurtado twice and the bout is called

Total through 4 completed rounds: 38-37 Tszyu (actual scores: 38-37 and 39-37 both for Tszyu and a 38-38 Even)

Man, these two let it rip. I just knew by their styles it was going to be short and explosive but that first round was even more hectic than I thought it would be. Hurtado was actually always good at countering off the ropes, which is where he did his damage in the first, but Tszyu was relentless and those body shots really done in Hurtado in the 5th. Hurtado got his licks in, as Tszyu's swollen eyes can attest to, but this was Tszyu's night.

Luisito Espinosa v Kennedy McKinney (featherweight title)

Round 1: 10-8 Espinosa (scores a knockdown)
Round 2: Espinosa drops and stops McKinney

Rarely have I seen a fighter of McKinney's stature show up appearing so disinterested. This was supposed to be his 126 lb. coming out party, and he showed up in the ring cold, dry and flabby about the chest. Meanwhile, Espinosa was hot, warmed up, sweating and ready to go to work. Which is something he did on McKinney. McKinney couldn't get out of the way of those big lefts and rights and the inevitability of the result was seen in the first round. Espinosa wrapped things up in the second of a disappointing attempt by McKinney.

 

This is true. Steve Gregory had nowhere near Hearns' power.

Fun fact: in the days when I had yet to see what he looked like, I thought Steve Gregory was Eddie Gregory's brother!

 

Joe Frazier vs Joe Bugner

1 Bugner
2 Bugner
3 Frazier
4 Bugner
5 Frazier
6 Even
7 Frazier
8 Frazier
9 Frazier
10 Frazier 10-8 knockdown
11 Frazier
12 Even

117-112 Frazier

@Pugguy I decided to rewatch this after our last conversation and i have to say this fight was alot more competitive than i remembered. Every round was hard fought and despite Frazier winning majority of the rounds he was pushed hard all the way. Bugner was also able to stun Frazier a few times with right hands especially at the end of the 10th round which was impressive considering Bugner got knocked down pretty heavily in the same round.

All in all a very clear win for Frazier but competitive most of the way, and Frazier had to dig deep to win this in a surprisingly very spirited effort from the normally passive Bugner.

 

Great stuff DP, appreciate you providing your scores and summation.

Allowance has to be made for the examination of the possibility of the sole UK judge/ref Harry Gibbs being perhaps slightly biased.

Per the 5 points system (5 to the winner of a round, 4.5 to the loser) he ultimately came out with only 1/4 point difference between them.

Strange looking scores under that system - I actually don’t know how he specific score for the 10th round.

 

Sugar Ray Leonard vs Wilfred Benitez

1 Leonard
2 Leonard
3 Leonard 10-8 knockdown
4 Leonard
5 Benitez
6 Benitez
7 Leonard
8 Leonard
9 Leonard
10 Benitez
11 Leonard
12 Benitez
13 Leonard
14 Leonard
15 Leonard wins by TKO

136-129 Leonard

So i went back and watched this classic fight again it's only the 2nd time i've ever seen it, what surprised me in this fight is that Leonard's defence was exceptional. Benitez is often noted for his amazing defence but Leonard showed great head movement and feints in this fight, and Benitez had alot of difficulty landing consistently on Leonard.

Overall most of the rounds were competitive but Leonard just always seemed 1 step ahead, and his quicker hand speed just seemed to control most of the rounds even though Benitez did stay competitive throughout. Benitez after a rough start did seem to find some success with the left jab in the middle rounds, but as i said Leonard was simply the better man in most of the rounds.

I have to say i am bit surprised at two of the judges scoring it as close as 136-134, 137-133, that does seem very generous to Benitez. Whilst i did think Benitez had some decent moments in the fight, honestly i couldn't really see him winning anymore than 4 rounds. If i was being overly generous possibly 5 rounds, but i can't really see it being any closer than that in all honesty.

The 15th round was a very exciting round with both fighters trading punches, Dundee told Leonard to fight like an animal in the last round which he duly did. Not quite on the same level as Norton vs Holmes round 15 but not far off it, and it was a great way to end one of the highest skilled most enjoyable technical fights you'll ever see. I do wish Benitez would've been allowed to carry on i think he did deserve to go the distance and i think the stoppage was a bit premature. But still Leonard was clearly on top and was the deserved winner.

 

Yeah i didn't bother using 5 point system a bit too much of a headache mate in all honesty. I do think the scoring was a bit too generous for Bugner but in fairness most of the rounds were competitive.

The 10th round is interesting obviously Frazier floored Bugner with his famous left hook, but Bugner comeback well at the end of the round and buckled Frazier's legs. Now i don't think that rally in the last 20 seconds was enough to cancel out the knockdown, but i guess there is an argument there possibly ? i don't know.

 

Agree with everything. The writers were a bit slow on his chin but they eventually got there. The same hard flush punches from Witherspoon that hurt Holmes bounced off Thomas' coconut with no visible result. Coetzee had probably the hardest right cross in the division and he took that with aplomb as well. Great chin. He would have worn him down in another couple of rounds.

 

How bad were the WBA in those days? How on earth this guy got a title shot nobody ever knew. He lost all 15 rounds against Kalule (on the majority of cards) which is notable in itself. Charlie Weir stopped him a year before Ayala, also in 3. Weir, "The Silver Haired Assassin" was a big puncher as well.