the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

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I watched Nap vs Stracey a few days ago and it was awesome, and I remembered thinking this one was a great fight (how could it not be?) so I figured I'd rewatch it, as well as some others from the era.

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10 : 9
9 : 10
9 : 10
9 : 10
10 : 9 (47/48)
9 : 10*
10 : 9*
9 : 10
9 : 10
8 : 10
10 : 10 (

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What a surgical performance by Carlos. Brutal body shots all night, he used the long right to great effect and made a habit of punching with Stracey where he won basically every exchange. Stracey had his fair share of success, with his high workrate and aggressive, left hook and jab style. The series of body shots prior to the finish are brutal.

Rounds 8, 10 and 12 were brutal. Nothing but clean punching and slick aggression, he really put a beating on Stracey in these rounds. I marked the eleventh as even, but it wasn't really. I just felt like Stracey's come back from round ten was just otherworldly, and I wanted my score to reflect that.

There's a beautiful sequence at 27:55 where Carlos throws a double jab, and touches Stracey's back-hand parry, before slipping a jab and hooking off the second jab. The hook lands clean and it's awesome.

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El Hombre was a Yaqui Lopez-level bridesmaid for sure.

Only stopped twice in I think 59 bouts — once in his final bout vs Ray Leonard due to tendinitis in his left arm and the other in the 15th round vs Palomino — and always on the wrong end (sometimes with a fair gripe that he deserved to win) in his biggest close fights.

Won North American and US titles as an amateur and pro. Made it quarterfinals of the Olympics and also went I think 2-1 vs USSR in international amateur competition. (Also beat Sammy Nesmith and Boogaloo Watts in the amateurs.)

Highly underrated these days, I’d say. Had some nice scalps on his resume.

 

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10 : 9
10 : 9
10 : 9
9 : 10*
9 : 10 (48/47)
9 : 10
10 : 9*
9 : 10*
10 : 9*
10 : 9 (

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Some of these rounds were pretty hard to split. I tended to prefer Carlos' cleaner, more powerful shots but there's definitely arguments for the workrate and aggression of Green in some of those split rounds.

Carlos' right hand is great. Obviously his left is the main attraction, but his right hand is great too. That straight right hand came out of nowhere, and usually landed right on the button. Arguello-esque, actually. The right uppercut was good too, usually like to time the dip. He worked a nice uppercut against Stracey too, but here it really stuck like glue. That left hand was truly special too, just firing in both upstairs and down. It come out of nowhere and tagged Green nearly every time. Especially that knockout. What a shot.

I like Green's style a lot. Very hardworking, and fast paced with a big emphasis on infighting. It's very fun, and he had great some body work of his own in this one. He won his rounds on sheer volume and aggression. Ultimately though, his role in this match-up was a little like the way China fought the Japanese. Matching head first into bigger guns in the hope they run out of ammo.

 

Jeff Fenech v Victor Callejas (vacant featherweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Fenech
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-8 Fenech (scores a knockdown)
Round 4: 10-9 Fenech
Round 5: 10-9 Fenech
Round 6: 10-9 Fenech
Round 7: 10-9 Fenech
Round 8: 10-7 Fenech (scores a knockdown and batters Callejas)
Round 9: 10-9 Fenech
Round 10: Referee stops the contest

Total through 9 completed rounds: 90-79 Fenech (actual scores: 90-79, 90-81 and 89-80 all for Fenech)

To begin, Fenech was unstoppable this night but that doesn't give him an excuse to do what he did to Callejas. Richard Steele was out to lunch during this fight. I have never seen such an assortment of deliberate head-butts, holding and hitting, use of the forearm, low blows, etc. without a point deducted. The only thing that Steele would do was caution him, which Jeff clearly saw as, 'I may as well do it all night.' Which he did. The only thing Callejas could offer was an occasional left uppercut or hook counter. It was pitiful as Callejas was looking to his corner by the 6th round. IMO, not for advice but for them to pull him out of that mayhem. Again, Jeff didn't need the rough stuff. He was on fire that night.

 

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I was gonna score this but it's a little incomplete so I didn't bother. Part of what wasn't available was the finish which was annoying.

Lewis looks great here, using his reach and speed to take most rounds here. He shows good timing, a pull counter, stuttering the jab well and some decent defensive work. He's able to parry with either hand, and likes to leave exchanges at a different angle he entered which is almost always a good bet for a defensively responsible guy. His pivots and angles kept sending Lopez tumbling off. He also showed more of a right hand.

Lopez is a force, he just keeps on coming and doesn't stop throwing. He kept sticking the cross to Lewis' face, and he worked a nice uppercut whenever they got into the clinch. He actually looks a little bit like a more fundamentally sound Graziano at times in there.

 

There was something about Dave Boy — maybe that pointed chin that jutted out just a bit too far — that made him go down like he was shot in his KO losses to Leonard and Carlos. Like *bam* and you know it’s over before he hits the canvas.

Scrappy guy, really like his gumption and want-to, but he’s one of those ‘there are levels to this’ guys and he found his ceiling the hard way … twice.

 

Great technical analysis. In the Benitez-Chiaverini fight I posted above, Wilfred did his most damage when pivoting off the ropes. He’d lay there and block, dodge, counter … then slide to one side, pivot and unload. He missed a few home run shots but he landed some too.

Straight-line fighters just don’t do well against guys who know how to pivot. Sometimes guys even take the smallest of angles — like instead of being at 12 o’clock they’ll take a tiny slide-step and pivot so they’re at 12:30 or 1 (slightly off-center rather than dead-on in front of a guy) and it makes all the difference.

 

Wilfredo Vasquez Sr. v Takuya Muguruma

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

Total: 116-114 Vasquez (actual scores: 117-112 Vasquez, 116-114 Muguruma and a 115-115 Even for a Draw decision)

Let me just preface this bout by saying, Wow! An absolutely brilliant fight. Mugurama looked to be taking over early until about the 6th when Vasquez got off the ropes and started boxing. He was doing well counter-punching off the ropes but was taking a lot of the Japanese's punishment. I think he was heeding his corner's advice. Why make a fight this difficult? It wasn't the barn-burner after that but they were still trading bombs. Muguruma's heavy shots and Vasquez' pinpoint and jolting. Just an outstanding bout. Thanks to @Flo_Raiden and @roughdiamond for bringing it to our attention. Best round of the night, IMO, was the 2nd. Again, Wow!

 

Vito Antuofermo v Mauricio Aldana (Illinois' 5 point must)

Round 1: 5-2 Aldana (scores 2 knockdowns)
Round 2: 5-4 Vito
Round 3: 5-4 Vito
Round 4: 5-4 Vito
Round 5: 5-5 Even
Round 6: 5-4 Vito
Round 7: 5-3 Vito (Aldana docked a point for butting)
Round 8: 5-4 Vito
Round 9: 5-4 Vito
Round 10: 5-4 Vito

Total: 47-41 Antuofermo (actual scores: 48-40, 46-43 and 48-42 all for Vito)

This was one rough fight for Vito after having surgery to file down on the bones around the eyes. Aldana was tough but ungainly and head use was rampant. Vito still came out of it looking like he went through the meat-grinder. Vito was aging by this time but he's still a guilty pleasure of mine.

 

I saw a number of Loris Stecca fights out there and checked out a few. I've always liked him, win or lose, he always puts on a good display.

Loris Stecca v Cleo Garcia

This bout was more of a highlight special of Stecca. Garcia wasn't a good opponent, only firing back in one's. Stecca's combinations were really starting to sizzle and he gave Garcia a standing count in the 4th and decked him twice in the 5th when it was stopped. I had it 40-35 through 4 rounds for Stecca.

Loris Stecca v Pat Doherty

This fight too ended in the 5th but in contrast, Pat Doherty was a good opponent. He nailed Stecca throughout with hard shots, just not at the frequency Stecca was nailing him. Doherty did hurt Stecca early in the 4th but Stecca came roaring back, really putting the hurt on Doherty. Stecca gave Doherty a standing count in the 2nd and in that 4th, sliced up young Pat. When the bell rang for the 5th they retired Doherty for another day. This fight too, I had 40-35 for Stecca through 4.

Can't get enough of Loris Stecca. If anyone hasn't seen his title winning fight with Leo Cruz, give yourself a treat. Great fight.

 

What kind of fighter was Stecca? Sounds interesting.

 

FT, it's hard to put a handle on him. He wasn't boxer and he wasn't slugger. He was a fighter. He didn't ignore defense but he was always in your face. Always firing speedy combos. I highly recommend his fight with Leo Cruz and even his losing fights with Victor Callejas I and II. I just find him exciting to watch.

 

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Mayweather vs Canelo

clear Mayweather rounds - 1/3/4/5/6/7/9/11
closer rounds - 2/8/10/12 (I thought they perhaps split these)

118-108 Mayweather. Such a masterclass from Mayweather here.

 

I was in Houston with two coworkers on business when this fight took place. I searched online and called around til I found a sports bar that was carrying the fight.

When we got there, there were probably 300 people there and us three were the only non-Hispanics, haha. After about the fourth or fifth round it got quieter and quieter as it became apparent that Mayweather was running away with it and Canelo had no answers.

We didn’t get a lot of friendly looks, lol. We decided to leave as soon as the decision was announced.

It was a masterclass performance from Mayweather against a very capable, but still a tad green, rising star.