the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Donald Curry v Lloyd Honeyghan (welterweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Honeyghan
Round 2: 10-9 Honeyghan
Round 3: 10-9 Curry
Round 4: 10-10 Even
Round 5: 10-8 Honeyghan *
Round 6: 10-9 Honeyghan
Curry is retired between rounds 6 and 7

Total through 6 completed rounds: 59-55 Honeyghan (actual scores: 59-56, 58-56 and another 58-56 all for Honeyghan)

Haven't watched this since it took place. Although this was clearly a weight-drained Curry, one cannot fault Honeyghan for that. In this business you take advantage of everything that comes your way to your benefit. Curry had time to come in fit and Lloyd came in with a plan of real hustle.

*I gave Lloyd a 10-8 in the 5th because, although it wasn't a battering, he did rock Curry several times during the round. A 10-8 felt right to me.

 

Saman Sorjaturong v Joma Gamboa (lt. flyweight title)

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 SS
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 SS
Round 5: 10-9 SS
Round 6: 10-7 SS (scores 2 knockdowns)
Round 7: Referee stops bout with Gamboa under heavy fire

Total through 6 completed rounds: 60-54 SS (actual scores: 60-54, 60-53 and 58-54 all for Sorjaturong)

This was a really nice fight. I liked Gamboa's jab and the way he would drop in a right hand. However, Sorjaturong, who lacked Gamboa's boxing ability, just had a heavier dig and was catching Gamboa throughout. If anybody is checking this fight out, pay special attention to the 6th round. It's the best round of the fight. Gamboa actually hurts the champ early before Sorjaturong just turns up the heat. Again, nothing spine-tingling, but a really nice fight.

 

Floyd Mayweather Jr. W12 Jose Luis Castillo (1)

I don't watch many Mayweather fights. First, he's a modern entity, and I shy away from the contemporary game. Second, I don't like his persona. Third, I don't like his fighting style. Just a lot of negatives, so I'm not as well versed in him as I should be I suppose.

He's very good. Exceptional defensively, not just running and using his feet (which he does very well also), but blocking, parrying, sliding, slipping and creating angles.........he's excellent. I still don't like him, but he was probably the best of his era.

I watched this one in particular because I'd always read that he might have gotten away wth one the first time against the rugged Castillo. Frankly, I didn't see that. I agreed with the judges, and was pretty much in line with them. Mayweather won this relatively easily. Castillo, for all his grit and determination and unflagging resolve in coming forward and trying to make a fight of it, landed literally just a handful of punches all night. As the old addage says, it has to be effective aggression.

Mayweather keeps his back off the ropes as much as possible and does a beautiful job of spinning back to center ring and controlling what action there was with jabs to the head and body and the occasional pot-shotting right or snapping lead hook, never once hurting Castillo but not allowing him to just churn straight in. For all his frustration in chasing the slippery challenger, he never stopped trying to force the fight and making Mayweather stand and brawl. Floyd was just too skilled and slick. He never caught him, so I do wonder how anyone could have this for Castillo.

In his own different way, Floyd is kind of like Monzon in that his entire fight plan is based around nullifying, spoiling. It doesn't make for great fights, so I wonder additionally how Mayweather ever developed the fan base he did. Still, he's very good at what he does, and he'll be better off in later years not having taken punches he didn't need to. Props to him. It is a business after all.

Anyway, the score card.......

1. Mayweather
2. Mayweather
3. Even
4. Mayweather
5. Mayweather
6. Mayweather
7. Castillo
8. Mayweather (10-8, point deduction from Castillo)
9. Mayweather
10. Even, (9-9, point deduction from Mayweather)
11. Castillo
12. Castillo

116-111, Mayweather

 

I never saw this as particularly close much less understood the ‘JLC was robbed!’ chatter. Wasn’t a total paint job but FMJ was the clear winner to me.