the what fights did you watch today\scorecard thread.

Jamie Moore v Ryan Rhodes (European light middleweight title)

Round 1: 10-10 Even
Round 2: 10-9 Moore
Round 3: 10-9 Moore
Round 4: 10-9 Moore
Round 5: 10-9 Moore
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: Rhodes drops and stops Moore

Total through 6 completed rounds: 60-56 Moore (actual scores: 58-56 Moore, 58-56 Rhodes and another 58-57 for Rhodes)

Oh, man, here we go. What a fight! I'm still picking these off @Saintpat 's Ultimate list. And whomever suggested this one, you got it right. The aggressor against the counter-puncher, and obviously i was more impressed with the aggressor. I thought that 6th round was the best until i saw the 7th. Oh, man! Rhodes whipped in a counter and that looked like it. But wait. He really didn't follow up that well and Moore came back into the fight and turned it around until falling prey to another counter that turned him loopy. This time Rhodes followed up well. Tremendous!

 

Yuri Arbachakov v Hugo Soto (flyweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Yuri
Round 2: 10-10 Even
Round 3: 10-9 Yuri
Round 4: 10-9 Soto
Round 5: 10-9 Soto
Round 6: 10-9 Soto
Round 7: 10-9 Yuri
Round 8: Yuri drops Soto for the count

Total through 7 completed rounds: 67-67 Even (actual scores: 68-67 Soto, and two scores of 68-65 for Yuri)

This was the hard-punching Yuri Arbachakov against the veritable speed demon Hugo Soto and this fight was a pleasure to watch. Rarely did I see Yuri in much that was competitive. He was such a monster at the weight. But he was against a very good opponent here. One thing about the Argentines, which I love, is that they fight often. More often than not they are well-ready for a title fight and Soto was one of them. With 44 bouts behind him he was ready for this challenge and his speedy combination punching throughout kept Yuri honest and nursing a fast-swelling right eye. But Yuri's punching power was beginning to take a toll and the coup-de-grace was a left hook to the liver in the 8th which took all the fight out of the Argentine. But a valiant effort in an exciting fight.

 

Carl Froch v George Groves I (super middleweight title)

Round 1: 10-8 Groves
Round 2: 10-9 Groves
Round 3: 10-10 Even
Round 4: 10-9 Groves
Round 5: 10-9 Froch
Round 6: 10-9 Groves
Round 7: 10-9 Groves
Round 8: 10-9 Froch
Round 9: Froch stops Groves

Total through 8 completed rounds: 78-74 Groves (actual scores: 78-73, 76-75 and another 76-75 all for Groves)

I won't blow smoke here, I was never impressed with Froch. He's probably the best fighter I've seen without the slightest bit of fundamentals on boxing. He's always off-balance, doesn't hold his hands right, a poor defense and when he flurries, he flails, and is always wide open for a counter. Yet, it's undeniable that he can hit, and that is where he shines. Groves capitalized on every flaw in Froch's artillery but he got caught in the 9th. And regardless whether I thought it was a premature stoppage or not, I don't think Froch was going to let him off the hook.

 

Was planning to find a fight to watch today for Christmas but I came down ill at the family holiday gathering and that kind of shot any such plans to heck … basically sipping to stay hydrated but weak as a kitten. Maybe be end of weekend I will be up to a shorter fight (thankfully we have our list sorted by length of fight).

 

Baby Jake Matlala v Alberto Jimenez (flyweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Jimenez
Round 2: 10-9 Jimenez
Round 3: 10-9 Jimenez
Round 4: 10-10 Even
Round 5: 10-9 Baby Jake
Round 6: 10-10 Even
Round 7: 10-9 Baby Jake
Round 8: Jimenez drops Jake and the ref stops the contest

First of all, thanks to @George Crowcroft for uploading this one. This was one of the most impressive fights I've seen of combination punching from both fighters. I felt like applauding after the fight. The one thing I didn't applaud was the stoppage. I just didn't get it unless Jake said to the ref that he was done. Jimenez was having a good round which culminated in him dropping Jake after a give and take fight. It just didn't seem like he gave him a chance to recover. But again, a brilliant fight.

 

Fernando Vargas vs Ricardo Mayorga

pretty good fight Considering Vargas was about 4 years past his best despite being under 30 years old. 115-111 Ricardo Mayorga!

vargas Rounds 3, 4, 6, 9, 10
Mayorga rounds 1, 2*, 5, 7, 8, 11*, 12

* indicates a KD in the round

 

Inoue vs Doheny

Doheny did well in this, I commented on YouTube that crafty veteran was ultimately the phrase you bring from this fight. I remember when this fight was made that I felt this was too late, but also going back to Doheny winning the world title and an impressive spell in his career. He brought a few things back and a few issues for Inoue to adapt to.

Janibek vs Butler

If I remember right the talk of this at the time was Jack Reiss’s performance, this year for me, particularly on the UK side has a been a year of frustrating early stoppages that ring in my head so maybe I’m holding onto that when seeing why this was allowed to go on. I weighed up the factors that it was a world title, giving every chance, Reiss’s previous form and trying to think of fighters coming back in a similar state, in reflection this one is a little bit more difficult to think of. Butlers legs, his knees, his eyes were all combining factors, as I type perhaps it was one too many but I do see why he at least allowed it beyond the first knockdown. Maybe this is for a another discussion, it’s only 2 rounds if you want to give it a watch.

Anderson vs Arias

Watched as a reminder that there is still an American heavyweight, again this might be for another discussion. I might watch the fight vs Martin later which I am due to see for a more competitive match.

 

their showtime face off interview was great and devolved into them cursing at each other in Spanish and Gray losing control and trying to reel it back in

 

Ali vs Liston I, watched about 4 rounds the other day and was impressed with Liston defensively. Was losing but showed a lot of craft against a much faster and younger opponent

Tyson vs Lewis: I have not watched this in a while and Tyson scored some better shots than I remembered. I always remembered this being a slaughter after the first round but Tyson got in some good blows but just wasnt letting his hands go. He wanted to quit after the 7th but was sent out to the meat grinder. Lewis did hold a lot and should have been penalized sooner and Foreman was right to call it out. Though Merchant's line about Lewis knocking the crap out of Tyson was great

Vintage Boxing put up Foreman vs Morrison and it was better than I remembered. They also had the broadcast with Bowe commentating and he was alright to listen to. I wonder how many other fights he did. Foreman needed to jab more. Morrison gets a lot of **** for his chin but he took some bombs in the fight. Commenters said Tommy ran too much but I wouldn't call what he did running. He still stayed mostly in punching range and would set his feet.

 

Artur Grigorian v Acelino Freitas (lightweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Freitas
Round 2: 10-9 Grigorian
Round 3: 10-9 Grigorian
Round 4: 10-8 Freitas (scores a knockdown)
Round 5: 10-9 Freitas
Round 6: 10-8 Freitas (scores a knockdown)
Round 7: 10-8 Freitas (scores a knockdown)
Round 8: 10-8 Freitas (scores a knockdown)
Round 9: 10-9 Freitas
Round 10: 9-9 Even (I felt Freitas' round but he gets docked a point for a low blow)
Round 11: 10-10 Even
Round 12: 10-10 Even

Total: 117-108 Freitas (actual scores: 116-107, 116-107 and 115-108 all for Feitas)

I saw this fight out there and thought with these two undefeated fighters it had the earmarks of something special but it most certainly wasn't. To be clear, Freitas is simply a banger who lacks any kind of fundamentals. Put that against a light-hitting southpaw and you're rolling the dice on action. Well, it came up goose eggs. Perhaps seeing early it might get picked away at by the southpaw jab, Freitas resorted to haymakers, which he threw throughout. He basically mugged Grigorian throughout the fight. I really only agreed with the first knockdown. After that the 2nd and 3rd were sort of like Juan Roldan "knocking down" Marvin Hagler. They were both sort of pull downs. And the 4th knockdown, which I at first thought was legit, on replay looked like a punch/push. Also, the point deduction was a bit dubious as Grigorian didn't even complain but Eddie Cotton took a point from Freitas. It is what it is. But again, let's not call this an action fight. It was a mugging. Speaking of mugging, the last round started out with Freitas throwing his haymakers, but then he started mugging to the audience and dancing around laughing while Grigorian chased. He just aggravated me to the point where I thought, despite not landing much, Grigorian was doing the fighting, so I scored that Even. A forgettable fight.

 

Paul Weir v Baby Jake Matlala I (lt. flyweight title)

Round 1: 10-9 Weir
Round 2: 10-9 Jake
Round 3: 10-9 Jake
Round 4: 10-9 Jake
Round 5: Fight is stopped due to a cut incurred on Weir by an accidental headbutt - since it is after the 3rd round it goes to the scorecards

Total through 4 completed rounds: 39-37 Matlala (actual scores: all 3 officials score it 38-37 for Matlala, who wins the title)

I've been enjoying watching Baby Jake Matlala. I recently saw his fight with Alberto Jimenez and today I watched but did not score (due to abbreviated and missing rounds) his fight with Pat Clinton. This fight unfolded exactly like the Clinton fight. Weir was very strong, but after a good start in the 1st round Matlala warmed up and just kept digging to the body. And once he found a home for that overhand right, it was just a matter of time. Brilliant little fighter at such an advanced age of 33.

 

George Foreman vs Gerry Cooney

Was just uploaded on Vintage Boxing's YT channel, I just subscribed and have been watching them as they upload. I never actually saw this fight but had scene the KO before. With a 64-2 (60) record Foreman was quite formidable. I don't know where big George was in the comeback process but he was on target and hitting hard. I don't know if this was the first big fight he had in the comeback, if this is what made people start to believe.

For Cooney, he looked dried out and skinny and not in a good way. Looked like he crashed down to that weight and did not look strong. He appeared in shape but the appearance was all for nothing. He came out trying to jab but Big George just could not miss. How would you rate that version of Gerry? Did he have anything left and George made him look done or was he ripe for the picking?

 

Lamont Roach vs Isaac Cruz

1: 9-10 a competitive round but Cruz applied pressure and landed some clean power punches
2: 9-10 another competitive round. Cruz lands in combination and his shots seem to move Roach more
3: 8-10 actually thought Roach was slightly ahead in the round when he got knocked down
4:

 

Baby Jake Matlala v Paul Weir II (lt. flyweight title)

Needed to see the rematch on this one. Again, brilliant performance by Baby Jake. No sense running a card here. I only gave Weir a share of the 1st round and all the rest to Baby Jake before he dropped Paul twice in the 10th before it was stopped. My score through 9 rounds was 90-82 (actual scores: 89-83, 88-84 and 88-83 all for Baby Jake). Weir just couldn't do anything with the array of punches coming at him to body and head.

 

Milton McCrory KO6 Gilles Elbilia

To be frank, this contest was nothing to write home about, but McCrory is someone that I find kind of interesting. Call it an affinity for the underdog. Curry was far better, that's true, but McCrory, I've long felt, gets utterly dismissed or forgotten altogether when the 80's welterweight scene is discussed and that might be a trifle unfair. He had some decent tools; height and reach and the schooling to use both properly, an excellent jab, solid if not earth-shattering power, and an underrated body attack. Excellent left hook too. There are things there worth appreciating, yet no one ever does.

This fight was a mere opportunity for CBS to showcase a hopeful young champion trying to etch his name into the psyche of the national audience, as even then he was thought of as merely "that other guy." Elbilia, a frenchman, offers little except bruised and scarred eyebrows paired with an admirable spirit. He is expected to fall easily, all the better to showcase McCrory.

The fight plays out more or less as the network execs would prefer. Elbilia, for all his pluck, has precious few tools and while he tries his best, he's not really a puncher (arm punches all the way), he's not really a true boxer either. He prefers to stand mid-range and field the champion's slashing rights and jabs. Starting about the third, McCrory adds an excellent left hook to the mix and Elbilia is wobbled multiple times. The left eye that had been cut against Nino Larocca looked angry and puffy all fight long. Interestingly, that's how Elbilia got this title shot; by somehow beating the flashy but hugely overrated Nino Larocca on cuts. God knows how he did that; he even floored Larocca in the first round of their fight, despite having little power. Go figure.

Anyway, the preponderance of big dhots from the champion eventually begins to show, and early in the sixth, a big left hook has a delayed effect on the frenchman and he retreats to the ropes and falls before Milton can follow up. He rises, but a follow-up flurry prompts the referee to call it off, much to the chagrin of the challenger. I won't bother with a card here, as McCrory won every round prior to the stoppage.

Strengths for McCrory:
Height and reach
Good combination puncher
Left hook

Weaknesses:
Low hands
Poor defense

Strengths for Elbilia:
Fighting spirit
Good chin

Weaknesses:
Arm puncher
Poor defense
Prone to cuts
French