Off topic but despite the high activity I found the fight dull No drama. Neither guy has power or good punch form. Grad won on a workman like effort hurting Velez maybe once. I think Gradovicks fights all play out the same way and despite the style his fights lack excitement Round 12 was the saving grace Shocked to see such few fights and poor punch technique in a title match
I picked Velez to win but I had Gradovich winning 7-5, but a draw wasn't that much of a stretch some rounds were close.
A friend of mine at work is friends with Velez, grew up with him in fact. I don't have any stake in Gradovich whatsoever.....MOF.....ppl talk about him having this great chin and workrate, etc etc etc.....but I see him as the weakest of the 126 titlists, and I would pick Donaire to KO him UP or DOWN. I'd pick Walters, Mares, Gonzales and even Lomachenko to stop him. BUT.......while he gave away the first 2 rds, and made for a close but somewhat clear loss of the 3rd rd, he still won that fight last night no less than 116-112. It was clear from the opening bell that Velev had the superior handspeed, but clearly inferior power, and that's saying something considering Gradovich power is nothing to brag about. And Velez also, even lacking the overall strength of Grado, was also not sitting at all on his shots, and I rarely saw Grado take a step backwards. Add that to the fact that Grado outlanded Velez in almost every rd after the 3rd.........I found it difficult to even score Velez the 3rd when he outlanded Grado by almost 30%. A draw in this fight was a GIFT for Velez. And a robbery to Gradovich.:think
Gradovich got robbed bad. I had it 9-3 and I'm being generous. The jugde from Tennessee should be banned. He was clearly bought off. One of the worst robberies of the year.
7-5 gradovich. the hbo commentating was so biased it almost makes you think the fight was more one sided than it was. and apparently body shots don't count unless your name is canelo
A lot of what Gradovich was getting accolades from the HBO crew for was actually just hitting glove, shoulder or nothing. Velez also though making contact, wasnt getting great shots except for the left hook which kept landing often to no acknowledgement from many. He also did better body work, usually Gradovich's forte. Anyone scoring the fight with a wide margin was just reading too much into body language, putting too much stock into the fact that Velez looked tired and fought differently and not looking at the punches. Velez "looked" more winded, but Gradovich was pretty sloppy as well the last 6 rounds. Was a good fight, would watch again.
Gradovich 117-111. The judge who scored it for Velez must have been watching a different fight than the one I saw.
I recorded and watched the fight twice now. Very close fight with the edge to Gradovich. They should rematch. It was a great fight between two fighters with good boxing skills and tremendous heart. Velez threw some very good body shots that didn't get the credit they deserved but Gradovich seemed the little more complete fighter with better evasive skills. In other words he was harder to hit squarely especially to the head. Great fight and fan friendly.
:deal Problem is, a lotta folks are really influenced by the HBO commentary... if the unofficial judge calls it 9-3 gradovich, they really believe that's the correct score. A lotta people need to just watch fights with the audio turned off...they might be VERY surprised at how different they see the fights than the agenda-driven HBO team.
No, it wasn't a close fight. Saying it was a close fight suggests that your okay with the draw. This fight wasn't a draw, it was a clear Gradovich win