Edward Cheeseman vs. Scott Fitzgerald - IB's standalone RBR scorecard

Done at @CST80's behest, from the homework thread.

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Theodore Cheeseman vs. Scott Fitzgerald, 12 rounds @ light middleweight

 

...fancy, for Lord Lonsdale's belt!

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Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... I see.

I don't think until now I realized that Scott Fitzgerald was a different person from Anthony Fitzgerald (the guy I saw lose with reasonable dignity to Andy Lee and Eamonn O'Kane twice, but with virtually none in a dominant shutout at the hands of HNN and via one minute savaging at those of Spike O'Sullivan. In fact I'm not sure any Fitzgerald ever won a match of those passing through my field of vision. )

My wariness of this fight was predicated on wondering how the hell Fitzy was back in remotely meaningful fights and why CST thought I'd want to spend a second watching such a grotesque mismatch.

 

Round 1

Cheeseman is skipping to his left and then squatting in and jabbing the body. Fitzgerald not shying away, mirroring Cheeseman's stance and up-and-down motions at mid-range. Lots of body feints. Low feints by Fitzgerald. They swap jabs on the body and 1-2s up top. Cheeseman using more lateral movement. Cheeseman is staying off the Fitzgerald jab, leaving a cushion of air between himself and the knuckle padding of Fitzgerald's left of at least a half a foot.

10-9 Cheeseman

 

Ah, so this is the guy that exposed Anthony Fowler? And what, that's supposed to make him good?

Fowler sucks in the pros, I've been saying that since he debuted.

 

Round 2

Fitzgerald is bringing very basic and straightforward pressure, sort of like what Cheeseman found so unsuccessful versus García - with similar results, except now Cheeseman is the one in the García role. Just floating around Fitzgerald, making him fall short with jabs and dropping in his own while in a state of lateral, frequently direction-switching flux.

10-9 Cheeseman

20-18 Cheeseman

 

Round 3

Fitzgerald is starting to close the gap now and pumping a double jab out into the forehead. Cheeseman is placing his lead foot just inside Fitzgerald's lead toe and throwing a right feint at the body, then jerking away to halt Fitzgerald and get him to flinch straight backward so as to set up a long jab or quick 1-2. Fitzgerald not taking his bait, just walking up to about inside Cheeseman's reach and then reining up, so that neither man is able to land. Great deal of dancing about posing here. Fitzgerald edges the frame on more connected jabs from the first minute.

10-9 Fitzgerald, close

29-28 Cheeseman

 

Round 4

Fitzgerald is walking in, jabbing the guard, and then letting Cheeseman escape with a wide-stepping lateral drift. Cheeseman is covering up and denying Fitzgerald anything up top - and Fitzgerald is mostly headhunting, only ever laying the occasional jab on Cheeseman's belly. Cheeseman for his part just dancing around, threading in jabs, and sometimes putting on an extra burst of foot speed gyrating past Fitzgerald with a quick flashy (but not that powerful) uppercut.

10-9 Cheeseman

39-37 Cheeseman

 

Round 5

Fitzgerald is held at bay early with a couple of high dagger jabs flung in between his eyes by Cheeseman up on his toes at full height. Cheeseman is using a lot of feints and body-twitches, keeping Fitzgerald gawping at his after-image while relocating to a new perch from which to jab down at him. Cheeseman is using the full ring, skirting the ropes, too fleet in his gait to be caught against them by Fitzgerald, only grazed now and then by Fitzgerald body shots.

10-9 Cheeseman

49-46 Cheeseman

 

I do find Cheeseman 2.0 preferable to 1.0, but he still ain't no García.

Don't reckon he can ever be, honestly. There's a certain rigidity to him when he fights (even this slicker version) that is just the antithesis of how natural García looks in there.

..idk, maybe I just don't like his name. Or his face (kind of like if you put Jürgen Brähmer in a pickling jar...or if Sloth from the Goonies touched himself up in Photoshop for his Tinder profile )

 

Round 6

Fitzgerald is really unimaginative here, following Cheeseman around the ring and telegraphing a big looping right on the body (and then forced to pull it when Cheeseman vanishes from sight as it starts exiting the chamber). Fitzgerald pressuring very lazily, and not even touching Cheeseman's gloves consistently with his long probing jab. Cheeseman is trotting in, then quickly swaying backward to slip a couple of Fitzgerald swipes, and countering with his own uppercut that misses, but then a jab that scores.

10-9 Cheeseman

59-55 Cheeseman