the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Banke obviously inflicted more damage, but he went through these weird periods when he was barely throwing anything. He would just stand there with his guard high and allow Zaragoza to pummel away. Even the commentators were perplexed. They said he was "posing". Zaragoza was simply busier and more determined fighter. He also showed tremendous heart when he suffered a knockdown in 9th and proceeded to win final three rounds by outworking Banke. I agree that the commentary was partial towards Banke. It surprised me when both Hearn and Castillo said they scored the 2nd round for Banke. I thought it was a clear Zaragoza round.

 

Terry Norris v Sugar Ray Leonard (jr. middleweight title)

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

Total: 119-108 Norris (actual scores: 119-103, 120-104 and 116-110 all for Norris)

A fight I've been thinking about lately and hunkered down to watch this for the first time since we watched it live. Some wildly divergent scoring here but at least the right man got it. Norris had simply too much for Ray, who got old overnight. When he would pull out a fast combo, there was nothing else to follow and more often than not, Norris made him pay. A real passing of the torch fight here.

 

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I had it 15-113 Nelson

Good fight!

 

I assume you mean 115? Or did Gabe lose a lot of 10-1 rounds, haha?

 

David Benavidez vs David Morrell

1 Benavidez
2 Benavidez
3 Morrell
4 Morrell
5 Morrell
6 Benavidez
7 Benavidez
8 Benavidez
9 Benavidez
10 Benavidez
11 Morrell 9-8 round knockdown/point deduction
12 Benavidez

115-111 Benavidez

Great Light Heavyweight scrap FOTY candidate with round 4 being a ROTY candidate also but I think Benavidez was a deserved winner overall he was more consistent with his workrate and landed the more eye catching punches overall.

I think the point deduction for Morrell was a bit harsh i also thought two of the judges had good scorecards 115-111 x2 which is exactly how i see it but the 118-108 card was atrocious....still the right man won for me.

 

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The rematch,

I had Nelson ahead 50-44.

If you observe in round 3 during a touching of the gloves, Ruelas had a half-hearted reaction. Ruelas did not want to be there, quite understandably. He had been involved in the tragic Jimmy Garcia fight months before.

Also, note Joe Goosen's reaction after the stoppage!

 

Joe was mad at the stoppage — there wasn’t a big punch or anything, just Gabe basically doing little or nothing and seemed to welcome the end. I think deep down, Joe knew his guy wasn’t there and that is frustrating as a coach/cornerman having been there before myself. It’s tough when you want it more for your guy than he does, although Ruelas was probably, as you noted, in a bad place mentally/emotinally.

 

I personally don't see any argument for Hagler being 2-2 after 4 rounds in all honesty. In my opinion it was quite clear the early rounds belonged to Leonard as Hagler tried to engage Leonard in a boxing match and was getting the worst of it.

 

Barry McGuigan v Charm Chiteule (Eliminator) British scoring of 10 - 9 1/2

Round 1: McGuigan
Round 2: Even
Round 3: McGuigan
Round 4: McGuigan
Round 5: Chiteule
Round 6: McGuigan
Round 7: McGuigan
Round 8: Even
Round 9: McGuigan
Round 10: McGuigan stops Chiteule - referee intervention

Total: 89 1/2 - 87 McGuigan through 9 completed rounds (actual scores not known)

Before we get into the fight, boxrec has this as a 10 rounder but several times during the telecast Harry Carpenter stated that it was a scheduled 12 round eliminator. As for the fight, it was outstanding. Maybe it's just me getting nostalgic and seeing the McGuigan engine in full throttle again, but I thought it was a good fight and that's because Chiteule wasn't there to make Barry look good, he was there to win and I totally appreciated his sharp counters throughout the fight. He really kept Barry honest throughout. But Barry's body shots - even though some strayed - just took a toll and he was done like dinner in the 10th. I totally enjoyed this fight.

 

Finally found time to do this one:

Azumah Nelson (c) vs. Lupe Suarez, scheduled for 12 rounds for the WBC super lightweight championship on June 25, 1988, at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, NJ.

This was on a Saturday afternoon, two days before Mike Tyson vs Michael Spinks (also in AC), aired by CBS with the excellent duo of Tim Ryan and Gil Clancy on the call.

Nelson is 27-1 (19), making his first defense of this title after moving up to 130 following seven successful defenses of the featherweight crown. His is 29 years old and weighs 129 1/4.

Suarez is 25-1 (20), with wins over John John Molina (then undefeated), Juan Laporte and others. The southpaw is ranked No. 7 by the WBC. He’s 27 and scales 130 on the nose.

Nelson’s only loss, of course, was a stoppage at the hands of Salvador Sanchez after a spirited challenge for the featherweight championship coming in as an unknown. Suarez’s only loss was a cuts stoppage at the hands of Refugio Rojas.

1 — Suarez 10-9: Lupe is the aggressor, working behind his right jab and landing a few solid right hooks. Azumah is missing widely, not yet adjusted to the lefty, who has a 3-inch height advantage at 5-8.

2 — Suarez 10-9: Lupe adds some good body work and a few solid lefts to that jab work. Nelson holds his ground more and lands a few singular pot-shots. Really nice exchange over the last 45 seconds or so. Azumah is cut at the corner of his right eye, but it doesn’t come into play.

3 — Suarez 10-9: Azumah lands some good left hooks as he starts to find the range but plays a lot of defense and Lupe builds a big lead over the first minute or so. Steadily relentless for Suarez.

4 — Nelson 10-9: Azumah gets aggressive, landing some big left hooks to the head and body. Lupe hangs in and trades but it outgunned.

5 — Nelson 10-9: Azumah boxes, moves around and jabs. Lupe rallies a bit over the last minute and there are some good shots exchanged, but not enough for the challenger.

6 — Suarez 10-9: Pace slows and Lupe takes advantage with that spearing jab. Azumah throws little and plays defense.

7 — Suarez 10-9: Lupe looks really strong as he takes over the last minute of the round and really dishes out some strong combinations.

8 — Nelson 10-9: The champ wings big shots and rocks Lupe a couple times with a right-hand bomb and a sharp left. Lupe warms to it and lands some good shots of his own. A full beat after the bell ending the round, Nelson uncorks a big left hook, wobbling Suarez and cutting him over the right eye.

9: Nelson lands a big right and a couple hooks out of the gate to put a still woozy Suarez down. He beats the count but tells the ref he doesn’t want to continue. TKO at :27 of the round.

My card: 77-75 Suarez. Official cards: 76-76, and 77-76 twice for Nelson. I don’t see it. I thought Lupe clearly won the majority of the rounds, but it’s hard to know how it would have gone if Azumah didn’t land the cheap shot after the bell — he was throwing and landing major leather in the eighth but Lupe had absorbed it pretty well and answered.

Of note on the undercard, Julian Jackson notched a one-round KO and a young Joe Gatti moved to 3-0 with a four-round points win.

I was at this one live and it was a really good title fight. In addition to the Tyson-Spinks card, got to see George Foreman and Hector Camacho in fights on separate nights (billed as ‘special edition of Tuesday Night Fights’ on USA Network both times) … those were the days, my friends.

@scartissue @salsanchezfan and anyone else, I’d like to see your cards.

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Pat, this is what I wrote when I scored it:

Azumah Nelson v Lupe Suarez (jr. lightweight title)

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Suarez
Round 3: 10-9 Suarez
Round 4: 10-9 Nelson
Round 5: 10-10 Even
Round 6: 10-9 Suarez
Round 7: 10-9 Suarez
Round 8: 10-9 Nelson
Round 9: Nelson drops and stops Suarez

Total through 8 completed rounds: 78-76 Suarez (actual scores: 76-76, and 2 scores of 77-76, both for Nelson)

What a terrific fight. Thanks all for putting this on the radar. I really loved Lupe Suarez' kind of boxing. Fast, hard combos that never let up. The two of them displayed such good, clean punching that it was just the kind of fight I love. Regarding that late blow in the 8th that Nelson landed, I reviewed 3 different films on this same fight and due to the fact they cut away so quickly at the end of a round, that it makes it almost impossible to say what kind of shape Suarez was in at the end of the round. Regardless, great fight.

 

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I had Amaya ahead, 145-140

 

We had the same scoreline, Antonio.

Hiroshi Kobayashi v Antonio Amaya II (jr. lightweight title) 5 point must in effect

Round 1: 5-4 Amaya
Round 2: 5-4 Amaya
Round 3: 5-4 Amaya
Round 4: 5-4 Amaya
Round 5: 5-4 Kobayashi
Round 6: 5-4 Amaya
Round 7: 5-4 Kobayashi
Round 8: 5-4 Kobayashi
Round 9: 5-4 Amaya
Round 10: 5-4 Amaya
Round 11: 5-4 Amaya
Round 12: 5-4 Amaya
Round 13: 5-4 Kobayshi
Round 14: 5-4 Kobayshi
Round 15: 5-4 Amaya

Total: 70-65 Amaya (actual scores: 72-71 and 72-69 both for Kobayashi and a score of 74-72 for Amaya)

Hard to believe for me that Kobayashi retained his title on a 15 round split decision, which I felt was deplorable. Amaya, who fights like Laguna or Luis Rodriguez, really controlled the fight whereas Kobayashi only fought in spurts. And to tell you the truth, I think I gave Hiroshi the 5th and 7th out of pity. I really think they were more even rounds. But Kobayashi benefitted from 3 Japanese judges rather than neutral judges (the one judge who voted for Amaya scored it 3-1-11 in rounds. How's that for fence-sitting?). IMO, Amaya was robbed blind.

 

If you go to the very end of the version I embedded, during the postfight interview they ask Azumah about the late punch (he says he threw at the bell and couldn’t stop the punch, which clearly isn’t the case … there’s a full beat before he launches) and show the best replay. We see the punch land, Suarez go a bit loopy and his legs turn to rubber and he looks out of it going back to his corner. Legs are still unsteady when the ninth round begins and Azumah jumps on him to end it.

The Professor obviously studied the dark arts a bit and got away with one here.

 

That was a good clip, Pat. One can really see it on that clip. I did notice Suarez also tiring a bit in that 8th round. One can only speculate if he was now gassed going into the 9th, but clearly, that shot after the bell didn't help matters and most likely accelerated the outcome.