Zabdiel Judah vs. Cletus Seldin & James Anthony McGirt vs. David Papot RBR

Papot stormed the gates in the seventh, McGirt starting to flag...

10-9 Papot

67-66 McGirt

 

I love anecdotes like that...who knows, in a parallel timeline where he was carefully maneuvered and had major financial backing Kirkland might have wound up being a champ.

 

Nice turnaround by McGirt after having a pretty dreary seventh. The jab is popping out in doubles & triples again, holding Papot at bay.

10-9 McGirt

77-75 McGirt

 

McGirt now walking Papot down, picking off his shots, batting down his jabs and rolling with the overhand lefts by merely bending his neck sideways. McGirt is twisting his body counterclockwise like a weathervane as he steps right to make Papot lunge and miss with his straight lefts downstairs. Papot nails him with a left hand lead up top and McGirt is momentarily jolted but replies with a sustained flurry. Big looping lefts into the flanks by McGirt while keeping a patter of right jabs raining down on Papot's guard.

10-9 McGirt, dominant outside that one brief moment

87-84 McGirt

 

Papot might have been a little hurt at the very end of the ninth..

 

McGirt answers the bell with a fury, ripping big right hooks into the body. Papot being kept more or less shut down by McGirt's constant lateral movement and busy woodpecker southpaw jabs. Papot loading up on torpedo left hands diving in, drilling one into the diaphragm and causing McGirt's knees to buckle slightly as he's strafing along the ropes, but McGirt regains his balance and keeps boxing nicely while circling to his right, working uppercut and slap-hook combos off the jab. Papot can't get near him. Papot stalking, loading up on single punches, too little sense of urgency. McGirt reaching over Papot's arms, tickling his face with the jab. McGirt lingers too long in the pocket and gets smacked across the jaw with a right hook but is able to slink away.

10-9 McGirt

97-93 McGirt

 

Uh...

This was originally scheduled for 10, guess they promoted it to a twelve-rounder..

 

Papot doesn't have any hardware, and McGirt had been retired for over a year, until a week ago. I can't for the life of me imagine how they justified making it 12.

 

Not that it would be pertinent here, but he doesn't even have the French super welterweight title anymore!!

...it went vacant last year after he let it lapse too long between defenses (now held by Fouad El Massoudi, after having been hot-potato'ed by Souleymane Cissokho in February)

 

McGirt boxing and moving, in a smooth rhythm, not ever letting Papot get set.

10-9 McGirt

107-102 McGirt