The 'what fights did you watch today?' thread

Payakaroon was known for that kind of thing in his Muay Thai days. One of the most elusive kickboxers ever. Amazing reflexes.

 

Yep, he was an unreal reflex-based defensive Muay Thai fighter, and he carried it over to, as the Thai's say, International Boxing. EDIT: What Bujia said.

Evidently he was ****ed against Fenech, he barely gave Fenech anything to chase, at Samarts physical best that is a far better fight before Fenech eventually overwhelms him IMO.

 

My favourite shot of Riddicks is his uppercut on the inside. That's what always impressed me for a tall fighter, how he got those shots off in close.

 

Insane fight that. Rock Newman was a tosser.

 

Yeh you're right, looking back at a few of them it is more of a looping right hand or as you say an overhand right. I was wrong to call it a straight right, either way he certainly did some damage with it. :good

 

Bowe was a beast. Sometimes ;-)

 

Newman couldn't have done a much worse a job with Bowe if he'd tried.

He really was clueless.

There was big bucks everywhere for a fight with Lewis or an immediate return with Holyfield - both fights that he would probably have won..... or failing that a stack of goodish fringe contenders.

Instead it was the milk run, old ass Dokes and a journeyman in Ferguson.... and the world tour

 

I think the Holyfield fights took there toll and the weight seemed to become a problem.


Got some Zarate fights anything you recommend, apart from Zamora?

 

Another thing Flea

I'm planning on having a good look at Bantamweights from 1960 to present day. I know who to look at from 1960 till 1980 but after that I'm a little unsure.

Lupe Pintor
Jeff Chandler
.
.
.
.
Orlando Canizales
.
.
.
Rafael Marquez

Can you help me fill in the gaps? Only the absolute elite fighters based on achievements at Bantamweight. Maybe theres not to many standouts inbetween I'm not sure.

Would MarK Johnson be there before Marquez?

Thanks

 

Veerapol Sahaprom for sure, long reigning WBC title who fought Chutavana and Nana Konasu as well as Nishioka x4 For 90s, him, Canizales and, Wayne McCullough I guess.

Rafael Herrera, Chucho Castillo, Ruben Olivares, Rodolfo Martinez (Zarate beat him for the title)

I just downloaded a bit of 'Too Sharp' Quality fighter. Can't remember him at 118 apart from Rafa though, super fly primarily El Bujia will be able to point you in the direction of 'the rest' I'm sure, just finished lunch and have to get back :good

80s: Chandler/Pintor I guess.

 

Rafael Marquez vs Tim Austin

Good fight, great final round.

It was a pretty even through 6 rounds with Marquez landing the bigger more eye catching shots, while Austin fought a cagey fight trying to pick his punches and counter. In round 7 it looked as though Tim was going to start to take over the fight as he was starting to control the pace. But then in the eighth round the fight sprung to life and in a round straight out of the Marquez vs Vasquez trilogy, Rafael managed to pull of the upset.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-caRe3BOJEc&feature=player_detailpage[/ame]

 

Austin's legs!:shock:

 

Tsuyoshi Hamada Vs Ronnie Shields

HAMADA: 1; 2; 3; 5; 10; 11; 12
SHIELDS: 4; 6; 7; 8; 9;

Hamada 113-115 Shields

The hairy-chested Jap' hardman, Tsuyoshi Hamada, takes on decent contender Ronnie Shields, who was hit-and-miss as a pro'.

Hamada snatched the first by landing some hard, clean punches towards the end of the round. It was close before that with Shields doing the better work.

For the first 3 rounds or so, Shields can't get his jab going, Hamada keeps getting underneath it and getting closer with his shots, outworking the American. However, as Shields starts to land the jab more as the champ' slows down, Hamada starts to mark up, and after coming out like a Greyhound (as he always did) he starts to feel the pace, and struggles to catch up with Shields, who moves when he needs to and finds it fairly easy to crack right hands at Hamada. Shields then elects to step inside Hamadas front foot and sent straight rights at him, which lands clean and set the tone for the rest of the fight, Shields landing the cleaner shots, Hamada heroically trying to get his left cross off, close the distance and land his short right hook.

But Shields is equal to everything he does, and whilst it's a closely-contested bout (and often scrappy when they languish in close) and either a draw or a 115-113 verdict for the defending Japanese fighter are both feasible outcomes, I had it to Shields 7-5, he did the cleaner work throughout and Hamada didn't land enough clubbing blows to outwork him.

 

Veeraphol Sahaprom Vs Toshiaki Nishioka I

SAHAPROM: 2; 3; 6; 7; 10; 12
NISHIOKA: 1; 4; 5; 8; 9; 11;

Sahaprom 114-114 Nishioka

Official: Dalby Shirley 112-116 | judge: Gale E. Van Hoy 112-116 | judge: Marty Denkin 113-115 Result:Sahaprom W UD12

4th round a close one. Patient work from both, but they both up their game in that round.When Nishioka lets his hands go he looks class, but he's in evasive mode for most of the fight after the Thai gets his respect early with his well-timed right hand. A close and competitive fight.

Veeraphol Sahaprom Vs Toshiaki Nishioka II

SAHAPROM: 1; 6; 8; 9; 10;
NISHIOKA: 2; 3; 4; 5; 7; 11; 12

Sahaprom 113-115 Nishioka

Official: Terry Smith 113-116 | judge: Tom Kaczmarek 115-113 | judge: Lou Filippo 114-114 Result: Draw

Another tactical battle this, but with Nishioka letting his hands go more. His left hand, now his primary weapon, is used much more here, whereas in the first fight he seemed unable to get it off much. The 7th round is terrific, with Nishioka hurting Veeraphol, backing him up and letting his hands fly to head and body, but the Thai fires back with his straight right, handing Nishioka flush a few times, before the bigger man lets rip again. The Thai seems to be in trouble, but he reovers well both times and is still in it. Both men cut over the eyes.

The 8th is a big round for Sahaprom, as he gets his timing down and snaps Nishiokas head back with accurate shots with either hand. The Thai bullies him around the ring and in close, and pulls back swiftly to avoid Nishiokas sporadic bursts. Like his fellow countryman Kingpetch (but nowhere near as efficiently) Sahaprom has a sneaky right uppercut he can work in close with a half-clinch. Kingpetch was brilliant at it, Veeraphol, decent at best, but he dominates this round. The 9th was very close, the Thai landing a left hook early, but Nishioka finding room for a short and explosive right uppercut a few times in the round, but getting wider with it towards the end. Sahaprom just did more, and dug in to the body with his right throughout, a very close round.In the Championship rounds I just gave Nishioka the edge, when he threw he upped his pace, Sahaprom still prodded his right hand out but didn't really push hard enough. Could've went either way, another close fight.

Veeraphol Sahaprom Vs Toshiaki Nishioka III

SAHAPROM: 3; 5; 6; 7; 9; 11; 12
NISHIOKA: 1; 2; 4(+1); 8; 10;

Sahaprom 114-113 Nishioka

Official: Mark Green 112-116 | judge: Duane Ford 114-113 | judge: Herbert Minn 115-115 Result: Draw

Nishioka gets sharper and more confident with every fight. Sahaprom deducted one point for low blows in round 4. Yet again, plenty of swing rounds, Nishioka looking sharp early, fading in the middle rounds but getting his second wind as we roll into the Championship rounds. The 11th is a highly competitive round that the Thai jut snatched on my card, though it could've went the other way as well. The basic Thai is consistent with what he does, but when he lets his hands go in the last round he takes it well. Would you believe it, another close contest that either man could've conceivably nicked by a point or two. If Nishioka could maintain his work throughout like the 'champion' could, then his handspeed would give him the clear edge, as it is, he keeps losing out on a definitive win by languishing in punching range.

Veeraphol Sahaprom Vs Toshiaki Nishioka IV

SAHAPROM: 1;3(+1); 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12
NISHIOKA: 2; 4;

Sahaprom 118-109 Nishioka

Official: Gelasio Perez Huerta 109-118 | judge: Dick Flaherty 109-117 | judge: Marty Denkin 110-116 Result: Sahaprom W UD

In the fourth and final clash, Nishioka looks lethargic (never fought at 118lb limit again) and Sahaprom is on form, dishing out a beating and looking class, in fact, probably the best I've seen him so far.

3rd round; WBC headbutt rule :-( At the beginning of the 4th the ref' immediately takes a point off the Thai for the same offence atsch But he clearly won this round and landed at will, so only 10-9 Nishioka. Toshiaki ships a horrible beating in the 6th, which blood obscuring his vision the title holder can't miss with his patented straight right nor uppercuts with both hands in close. Nishioka dosn't land much in return, Sahaprom managed to slip or evade most of what comes back. Veerapol take all the middle rounds, and in the 9th Nishioka finally comes back to life, hammering blows into the Thais midsection. Sahaoprom is too poised, too experienced, and too good at implementing his style on Nishioka; he takes the shots and gets back to his work, battering Nishioka around the ring again and taking the 9th despite Nishiokas efforts and bravery.

The 10th is a truly masterful display from Sahaprom. His punch picking, accuracy and timing sees Nishioka swaying on a few occasions, and his legs really start to look to be deceiving him. But Sahaproms deft head and upper body movement sees this contest go from a competitive fight where one man is doing the better work in each round, to a schooling. Nishioka looks a mess, facially and in terms of his application. Sahaprom is showing his Muay Thai background as well, one thing that has always struck me is his use of the straight right, but here it finally dawns on me why atsch He uses his right hand like most would use a jab, doubling it, and using it to move off and shoot his jab as he re-sets and poises to throw his right again. So, whilst he was a straight-up boxer puncher, he also had some unorthodoxy carried over from his days as a Nak Muay.

The right hands get ridiculous in the 11th. We all know it's the best shot against a southpaw, and I've already stressed many times how useful Veerapol makes his, but quadrupuling it? Seriously, this is like the record for most right hands landed on a southpaw in a four fight series, and it was getting stupid after three fights. Nishioka can't land anything, and is getting pummelled.

Sahaprom takes it easy on Nishioka in the final round, but even letting his opponent wing away he still wins it He picks Nishioka up and takes him back to his corner, and after their epic series it was nice to see, but this fight showed once and for all who was the better man IMO.

What concerns me is that Nishioka is still defensively open. Sure, he's more refined and comfortable at 122lbs, but although Sahaprom was very good at what he did, he was a basic fighter and Nishioka, the bigger man with good advantages at height and reach, still didn't realise that by standing just inside mid-range he was going to get hit. A lot.

In four fights. And he still hasn't done much about it now :-(

 

Veerapol Sahaprom Vs Hozumi Hasegawa I

SAHAPROM: 6; 7; 8;
HASEGAWA: 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 9; 10; 11; 12

Sahaprom 111-117 Hasegawa

Only seen the second fight between these two before, in which Hozumi brutally lays waste to Sahaprom. Hozumi shows Toshiaki how it's done, putting on a punch perfect performance for the first five rounds, putting together combinations, counter punching and lateral movement together to completely stifle the champions patient style. In the 6th, Veerapol shows his experience, shading the inside battle with his faster and younger foe by shipping less and craftily landing more, to head and body, and Hasegawa was more style than substance in this round for the first time in the fight.

You see urgency from the Thai after that, which you rarely see. He relentlessly stalks Hasegawa in the 7th, showing more punch variety than he would usually in unloading the kitchen sink at a tiring Hasegawa, who is finding it harder to stay out of range, although he fires back admirably. Close round, and I was skinning up for the firt 30 seconds so wasn't completely concentrating. I gave it to Sahaprom from what I saw. In the 8th, Hasegawa just about lands more punches, but Sahaprom lands the far more authoritative shots, and really gets the distance of his right hand in this round. Hasegawa throws a couple of desperation lows blows in this round as well, blatant ones, near the knees.

The 10th is an absolutely brilliant round! Hasegawa breaks into the Kamikaze style we love him for, swarming all over Sahaprom and staggering him. The champ tries to fight back, bu it's a clear Hasegawa round, as he really seems to get his second wind back in him. The 11th; another good round. Last 30 seconds they both abandon all thought of tactics and swing away! Quality stuff.

Good stuff from Hasegawa as the Thai finally loses his belt. Considering the opponent and context, a career-best performance from Hasegawa IMO, although the aforementioned rematch stoppage of Sahaprom was also very impressive.

Hozumi came into his own after this bout, I'm glad I got round to this fight.