We've only just began the new year but yet we've already seen a major upset and what could well be one of the most controversial fights of 2014 as we kicked off the year with a very early title fight.
The fight, the first world title fight in the career of Cuban "Kid Blast" Rances Barthelemy (20-0, 13), saw him usurping Dominican Argenis Mendez (21-3-1, 11) of the IBF Super Featherweight title, albeit with the help of a very suspect combination.
Barthelemy started well, despite being the under-dog, and seemed to wobble Mendez in the opening round as his powerful left hook was felt by the champion. Mendez saw out the storm though it was obvious that Barthelemy had the power to hurt Mendez. Unfortunately for the champion Barthelemy also had the reach to use his jab and movement to avoid any unnecessary exchanges.
The second round saw Barthelemy turning the screw, especially late as he scored a clean knockdown of the champion in the final seconds. It was the first time Mendez had been down in his professional career and it was clear when he got to his feet that he hadn't recovered. Barthelemy jumped on Mendez and unleashed a combination that had Mendez in further trouble.
Unfortunately for all involve the bell rung with Barthelemy still throwing shots, two of which came clearly after the first ring of the bell. Those two shots were enough to finish off Mendez sending him to the canvas for the second time and this time he never recovered his feet.
Sadly after the two shots the bell rang again giving Barthelemy some defense in actions though leaving us with a lot of question marks about the actions of the referee who had made a giant mistake in not being close enough to separate the two fighters at the first ring.
In a post fight interview Mike Tyson, Mendez's promoter, said he'd request the commission to force a rematch, though in all honesty it wouldn't be a shock if we don't see that, at least not immediately.
Showing posts with label IBF. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IBF. Show all posts
Friday, 3 January 2014
Saturday, 21 December 2013
Stuart Hall v Vusi Malinga
Although we all hate the politics of boxing sometimes they do lead us to some sensational contests. One such bout came earlier this evening as the IBF's decision to strip Jamie McDonnell of their IBF Bantamweight title lead us to about between Stuart Hall (16-2-1, 7) and Vusi Malinga (21-5-1, 12) for the vacant title.
Hall, fighting in his first world title fight, set off at a hectic pace using his speed and skills to land on Malinga and move out of the way of return fire to make Malinga look second rate. The tempo was amazing with from Hall who clearly took the first 2 rounds and then claimed the round 3 with a knockdown to have a clear lead built on the cards after just 3 rounds.
It wasn't until the end of round 4 that Malinga first had any real success as he arguably claimed his first round, though it was a swing round that could easily have gone to Hall. Through the middle rounds Malinga started to come back in to the fight and arguably claimed rounds 5,6,7, 8 and 9 as he made a great charge in an attempt to defeat Hall. Not only was Malinga pushing on but Hall appeared to be tiring quickly and his left eye was beginning to swell shut. By the end of round 9 the left eye of Hall was was swollen shut and he was beginning to to eat right hands almost at will.
Despite looking shattered Hall managed to get his second win and appeared to make a late charge taking the championship rounds with Malinga himself looking exhausted. Those rounds effectively sealed the fight for Hall who had dug in and done enough for the biggest victory of his career.
The performance, of both men had been excellent, the fight had great with action from both men, and unfortunately the one sour taste were the judges whose cards of 117-110 (twice) and 116-111 didn't fairly reflect the nature of the bout. They did get the right winner but their cards didn't show just how hard Malinga had made things for him.
Hall, fighting in his first world title fight, set off at a hectic pace using his speed and skills to land on Malinga and move out of the way of return fire to make Malinga look second rate. The tempo was amazing with from Hall who clearly took the first 2 rounds and then claimed the round 3 with a knockdown to have a clear lead built on the cards after just 3 rounds.
It wasn't until the end of round 4 that Malinga first had any real success as he arguably claimed his first round, though it was a swing round that could easily have gone to Hall. Through the middle rounds Malinga started to come back in to the fight and arguably claimed rounds 5,6,7, 8 and 9 as he made a great charge in an attempt to defeat Hall. Not only was Malinga pushing on but Hall appeared to be tiring quickly and his left eye was beginning to swell shut. By the end of round 9 the left eye of Hall was was swollen shut and he was beginning to to eat right hands almost at will.
Despite looking shattered Hall managed to get his second win and appeared to make a late charge taking the championship rounds with Malinga himself looking exhausted. Those rounds effectively sealed the fight for Hall who had dug in and done enough for the biggest victory of his career.
The performance, of both men had been excellent, the fight had great with action from both men, and unfortunately the one sour taste were the judges whose cards of 117-110 (twice) and 116-111 didn't fairly reflect the nature of the bout. They did get the right winner but their cards didn't show just how hard Malinga had made things for him.
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Devon Alexander v Shawn Porter
Every so often in this sport we get a challenger who is just so determined that they refuse to be denied of a victory. We saw one such fight earlier this year when Kiko Martinez broke down Jhonathan Romero with nothing short of sheer bloodymindedness.
we saw another fighter with that same desire to win earlier tonight as Shawn Porter (23-0-1, 14) took on IBF Welterweight champion Devon Alexander (25-2, 14) and literally took the fight to Alexander and refused to let Alexander fight back.
Whilst the first round was messy with Alexander getting his jab going and tying Porter up the second round saw Porter coming to life. By round 3 Porter was literally beating up the champion, he was getting inside, unloading on the champion and connecting with left hands. He not only connected cleanly on Alexander but several times he appeared to have Alexander ready to go down. The only thing keeping Alexander upright was the fact he held on to Porter at every opportunity getting a warning as a result.
Due to the domination in round 3 by Porter it wasn't out of the question to have given that round as a 10-8 to Porter who looked well on the way to forcing an early ending to the bout.
Porter's domination of the bout continued through the following rounds. Again he shook Alexander in rounds 4, 5 and 6. When Alexander try to hold he was merely pushed off and beaten up, when there was distance Porter was landing booming shots, often in combinations and by the end of the sixth Alexander was cut and looking like a man ready to lose his title.
By the midway point of the bout it seemed Alexander had just one hope, that Porter would punch himself out. Unfortunately for Alexander this did happen and instead Porter started beating Alexander with the jab. When this started to happen it was clear that Alexander had no way back in to this bout. He was being beaten on the inside, he was being beaten on the outside and he was just being beaten up.
For poor Alexander, whose right eye was cut, it wasn't just the headshots that Porter was connecting with but also body shots as he began to break up every part of Alexander. The only saving grace, if you can call it that, was that a headclash in round 9 opened up a nasty cut on Porter. Unfortunately the cut simply didn't bother Porter who continued to press the fight with relentless aggression.
Porter, who was well up going in to the championship rounds, seem to refuse to cruise the final rounds and instead continued to beat up Alexande as he made sure he took the decision.
Surprisingly, despite the dominance of Porter the three judges had the fight remarkably close with cards of 115-113 and two of 116-112. Sorry but those judges need question, Porter possible lost 2 rounds, not 4 or 5 as the judges had it.
we saw another fighter with that same desire to win earlier tonight as Shawn Porter (23-0-1, 14) took on IBF Welterweight champion Devon Alexander (25-2, 14) and literally took the fight to Alexander and refused to let Alexander fight back.
Whilst the first round was messy with Alexander getting his jab going and tying Porter up the second round saw Porter coming to life. By round 3 Porter was literally beating up the champion, he was getting inside, unloading on the champion and connecting with left hands. He not only connected cleanly on Alexander but several times he appeared to have Alexander ready to go down. The only thing keeping Alexander upright was the fact he held on to Porter at every opportunity getting a warning as a result.
Due to the domination in round 3 by Porter it wasn't out of the question to have given that round as a 10-8 to Porter who looked well on the way to forcing an early ending to the bout.
Porter's domination of the bout continued through the following rounds. Again he shook Alexander in rounds 4, 5 and 6. When Alexander try to hold he was merely pushed off and beaten up, when there was distance Porter was landing booming shots, often in combinations and by the end of the sixth Alexander was cut and looking like a man ready to lose his title.
By the midway point of the bout it seemed Alexander had just one hope, that Porter would punch himself out. Unfortunately for Alexander this did happen and instead Porter started beating Alexander with the jab. When this started to happen it was clear that Alexander had no way back in to this bout. He was being beaten on the inside, he was being beaten on the outside and he was just being beaten up.
For poor Alexander, whose right eye was cut, it wasn't just the headshots that Porter was connecting with but also body shots as he began to break up every part of Alexander. The only saving grace, if you can call it that, was that a headclash in round 9 opened up a nasty cut on Porter. Unfortunately the cut simply didn't bother Porter who continued to press the fight with relentless aggression.
Porter, who was well up going in to the championship rounds, seem to refuse to cruise the final rounds and instead continued to beat up Alexande as he made sure he took the decision.
Surprisingly, despite the dominance of Porter the three judges had the fight remarkably close with cards of 115-113 and two of 116-112. Sorry but those judges need question, Porter possible lost 2 rounds, not 4 or 5 as the judges had it.
Darren Barker v Felix Sturm
In probably the most disappointing title fight of the year Britain's Darren Barker (26-2, 16) effectively gave up his IBF Middleweight title as he was stopped by Germany's Felix Sturm (39-3-2, 18).
Sturm started fast winning the opening round with his work rate. Although Barker fired back it was obvious that Barker's game plan wasn't right and rather than boxing and moving he tried to trade with Sturm getting rocked later in the same round.
Barker tried to fight back more so in round 2 and started fast. Sadly it didn't take Sturm long to hurt him and this time Barker was sent down. It was obvious from the way that Barker got up that he wasn't fine and soon afterwards he was sent down again. This time Barker showed his agony and despite getting up it seemed it was only a matter of time.
With Sturm on the offensive again, just moments after the knockdown, Barker's corner threw in the towel. I'm afraid that to for a world champion to go out like this is a disappointment. Barker can blame his him problems, he can blame anything but at the end of the day he used the wrong tactics and was punished.
Although Barker was diagnosed with a hip injury I can't say I'm looking forward to watching the rest of his career after this.
Sturm started fast winning the opening round with his work rate. Although Barker fired back it was obvious that Barker's game plan wasn't right and rather than boxing and moving he tried to trade with Sturm getting rocked later in the same round.
Barker tried to fight back more so in round 2 and started fast. Sadly it didn't take Sturm long to hurt him and this time Barker was sent down. It was obvious from the way that Barker got up that he wasn't fine and soon afterwards he was sent down again. This time Barker showed his agony and despite getting up it seemed it was only a matter of time.
With Sturm on the offensive again, just moments after the knockdown, Barker's corner threw in the towel. I'm afraid that to for a world champion to go out like this is a disappointment. Barker can blame his him problems, he can blame anything but at the end of the day he used the wrong tactics and was punished.
Although Barker was diagnosed with a hip injury I can't say I'm looking forward to watching the rest of his career after this.
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Yoan Pablo Hernandez v Alexander Alekseev
Top former amateurs are expected to make it in the professional ranks. We see it so often than we almost take it for granted that World Amateur Champions and Olympic champions will, one day, win professional world titles.
Of course things don't always go the way we expect. Audley Harrison is a great example of a former amateur who failed to reach the expected heights as a professional, Yan Barthelemi is another and this weekend we saw Alexander Alekseev (24-3-1, 20) joining that list of high profile "flops".
Alekseev, a Russian who was a repeated medal winner in the unpaid ranks, took on Cuba's enigmatic Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14) for the IBF Cruiserweight title that Hernandez was defending for the third time. Funnily despite Hernandez not looking like a champion at times he was in total control of Alekseev who looked out of his depth and fragile through out.
The fight started with Alekseev using his jab well, unfortunately that was all he seemed to have, a sharp jab. Hernandez walked through them whilst landing his own much more eye catching shots to both head and body. Despite Alekseev throwing a lot, it took just one punch, late in the round, to decide the rounds winner as Alekseev was sent to the canvas for the first time in the bout.
Although Alekseev was able to get up from the knockdown it was obvious that he wasn't able to take the full blooded shots that Hernandez was able to land. Hernandez, whilst not having the record of a puncher, does hit hard and Alekseev found that out the hard way.
Through rounds 2,3 and 4 the power of Hernandez wasn't landing cleanly enough to send Alekseev over again though in round 5 the champion managed to connect again with a bomb which really seemed to not just Alekseev but really shake him. Hernandez did go for the finish but his lack of finishing skills were shown up as Alekseev saw out the bell.
Having gotten himself well in to the lead Hernandez then began to fall asleep at times. The Cuban, whose talent is obvious, seemed happy to know that he could land a bomb at any time and relied on this mentally as he took rounds off, fought in very short bursts and relaxed.
By round 10 to appeared that Hernandez had began to be clawed back. He was still in the lead but Alekseev was beginning to make things interesting just due to the fact Hernandez was being that lazy. Suddenly however things were over, a single right hand sent Alekseev down for the third time in the bout and this time the referee stopped the fight, a right decision looking at Alekseev who was in no fit state to continue even if he had gotten back to his feet.
Hernandez, who is regarded by some as the top Cruiserweight in the world, won here comfortably in all honesty but again left me feeling like he's not that good. Physically he has it all, speed, timing, power, size but mentally there is something not there and his finishing seems awful. He has the power to put people away with single shots but if he's forced to take it to a standing opponent out he seems to lack the ability to connect cleanly. A big issue if he faces someone like Lebedev, Huck, Jones, Afolabi or even Drozd.
For Alekseev this is probably the end of his world title dreams. He's been shown, once again, to lack a world class chin and he's also shown that he lacks the skills needed to avoid being tagged on the chin. A shame given his amateur credentials but at the end of the day it is a flaw that he's failed to find a way to defend.
Of course things don't always go the way we expect. Audley Harrison is a great example of a former amateur who failed to reach the expected heights as a professional, Yan Barthelemi is another and this weekend we saw Alexander Alekseev (24-3-1, 20) joining that list of high profile "flops".
Alekseev, a Russian who was a repeated medal winner in the unpaid ranks, took on Cuba's enigmatic Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14) for the IBF Cruiserweight title that Hernandez was defending for the third time. Funnily despite Hernandez not looking like a champion at times he was in total control of Alekseev who looked out of his depth and fragile through out.
The fight started with Alekseev using his jab well, unfortunately that was all he seemed to have, a sharp jab. Hernandez walked through them whilst landing his own much more eye catching shots to both head and body. Despite Alekseev throwing a lot, it took just one punch, late in the round, to decide the rounds winner as Alekseev was sent to the canvas for the first time in the bout.
Although Alekseev was able to get up from the knockdown it was obvious that he wasn't able to take the full blooded shots that Hernandez was able to land. Hernandez, whilst not having the record of a puncher, does hit hard and Alekseev found that out the hard way.
Through rounds 2,3 and 4 the power of Hernandez wasn't landing cleanly enough to send Alekseev over again though in round 5 the champion managed to connect again with a bomb which really seemed to not just Alekseev but really shake him. Hernandez did go for the finish but his lack of finishing skills were shown up as Alekseev saw out the bell.
Having gotten himself well in to the lead Hernandez then began to fall asleep at times. The Cuban, whose talent is obvious, seemed happy to know that he could land a bomb at any time and relied on this mentally as he took rounds off, fought in very short bursts and relaxed.
By round 10 to appeared that Hernandez had began to be clawed back. He was still in the lead but Alekseev was beginning to make things interesting just due to the fact Hernandez was being that lazy. Suddenly however things were over, a single right hand sent Alekseev down for the third time in the bout and this time the referee stopped the fight, a right decision looking at Alekseev who was in no fit state to continue even if he had gotten back to his feet.
Hernandez, who is regarded by some as the top Cruiserweight in the world, won here comfortably in all honesty but again left me feeling like he's not that good. Physically he has it all, speed, timing, power, size but mentally there is something not there and his finishing seems awful. He has the power to put people away with single shots but if he's forced to take it to a standing opponent out he seems to lack the ability to connect cleanly. A big issue if he faces someone like Lebedev, Huck, Jones, Afolabi or even Drozd.
For Alekseev this is probably the end of his world title dreams. He's been shown, once again, to lack a world class chin and he's also shown that he lacks the skills needed to avoid being tagged on the chin. A shame given his amateur credentials but at the end of the day it is a flaw that he's failed to find a way to defend.
Evgeny Gradovich v Billy Dib II
Russian fighter Evgeny Gradovich (18-0, 9) successfully defended his IBF Featherweight title for the second time as he defeated Australian Billy Dib (36-3-0-1, 21) for the second time inside a year.
The two men, who fought to a scrappy decision earlier this year, knew that this fight meant a lot. For Dib it was his chance to become a 2-time world champion and a chance to avenge a loss that he probably didn't feel he deserved. For Gradovich however it was a chance to prove he really did deserve to be "a world champion".
Unfortunately for Dib he looked like a fighter who had regressed massively from their first meeting. It was obvious from the first round that he didn't believe in himself and this allowed Gradovich, typically a slow starter, to take the opening round as he began to that infamous engine of his rolling.
Although it took a few rounds for Gradovich to reach full output it was obvious he was claiming rounds with his work rate, aggression and pressure. Dib was struggling to have more than a flash of success here and there and Gradovich on the other hand was beginning to grind down his Australian opponent.
With Gradovich in charge after 4 rounds it was then Dib's turn to have success as he showed some genuine skill and fought back well from off the ropes. Unfortunately for Dib his success was easy to forget as Gradovich managed to flurry excellently just before the bell with what may have stolen him the round.
However round 5 was scored didn't really matter a Gradovich moved up a gear and scored a flash knockdown in the sixth. This was the start of the end for Dib who was ground down in rounds 7 and 8 as the Russian landed at will to the head and body of the Australian who was beginning to mentally fold.
Dib did manage to make it to round 9 though he was a spent force and it was little wonder that the bout was stopped after just 70 seconds of the round. Dib's speed and movement had been sapped and his defense had become porous to say the least.
With the stoppage loss on his record here I actually hope this is the last time I see Dib in action.
The two men, who fought to a scrappy decision earlier this year, knew that this fight meant a lot. For Dib it was his chance to become a 2-time world champion and a chance to avenge a loss that he probably didn't feel he deserved. For Gradovich however it was a chance to prove he really did deserve to be "a world champion".
Unfortunately for Dib he looked like a fighter who had regressed massively from their first meeting. It was obvious from the first round that he didn't believe in himself and this allowed Gradovich, typically a slow starter, to take the opening round as he began to that infamous engine of his rolling.
Although it took a few rounds for Gradovich to reach full output it was obvious he was claiming rounds with his work rate, aggression and pressure. Dib was struggling to have more than a flash of success here and there and Gradovich on the other hand was beginning to grind down his Australian opponent.
With Gradovich in charge after 4 rounds it was then Dib's turn to have success as he showed some genuine skill and fought back well from off the ropes. Unfortunately for Dib his success was easy to forget as Gradovich managed to flurry excellently just before the bell with what may have stolen him the round.
However round 5 was scored didn't really matter a Gradovich moved up a gear and scored a flash knockdown in the sixth. This was the start of the end for Dib who was ground down in rounds 7 and 8 as the Russian landed at will to the head and body of the Australian who was beginning to mentally fold.
Dib did manage to make it to round 9 though he was a spent force and it was little wonder that the bout was stopped after just 70 seconds of the round. Dib's speed and movement had been sapped and his defense had become porous to say the least.
With the stoppage loss on his record here I actually hope this is the last time I see Dib in action.
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Carl Froch v George Groves
The most controversial bout of the weekend occurred in the United Kingdom this past weekend as Carl Froch (32-2, 23) retained both the IBF and WBA "super" Super Middleweight title with a 9th round stoppage of fellow Brit George Groves (19-1, 15). Although a stoppage it was one of those "British Stoppages" that has fans around the world screaming and shouting at their TV's.
The first round was a huge shock as Groves didn't just start well but dropped Froch, scoring just the second knock down against Froch in his 34 fight career. Unfortunately for Groves the clock ran out out of time before he could pounce on a still hurt champion.
Although Groves had failed to jump on Froch when he was hurt he did manage to continue his success through the first four rounds as he used his speed and movement to make Froch look like a somewhat clueless fighter. The right hand hands and jabs of Groves were the dominant factor through these early rounds as Froch was tagged almost at will by Groves.
As we got to round 5 however Froch began to come in to the fight, in fact it was in round 5 that Froch began to have his first real success landing his own right shots whilst Groves began to slow. Although Sky commentator Jim Watt was refusing to give credit to Groves the fight was beginning to turn around and Froch was beginning to have more success on a round by round basis.
Although Froch has a good round 5 Groves came back well in round 6, unfortunately however he was warned for leading with the head and was really not looking like the fighter who had won the first 4 rounds. This was shown in round 7 as Froch has ended the round with a big flurry.
The finish of round 7 by Froch seemed to continue in to round 8 as Froch arguably won his second round of the fight as he rocked Groves. Groves was still certainly in the round but was beginning to make mistakes and show his inexperience as Froch began, finally, to find his own rhythm.
In round 9 Froch had his best round as he hurt Groves then went for the kill. Groves fougfht back as the two men brawled and then, almost as if he was told when to step in, Howard Foster stopped the contest awarding the bout via 9th round TKO, to Froch. This stoppage came as both men traded.
The first round was a huge shock as Groves didn't just start well but dropped Froch, scoring just the second knock down against Froch in his 34 fight career. Unfortunately for Groves the clock ran out out of time before he could pounce on a still hurt champion.
Although Groves had failed to jump on Froch when he was hurt he did manage to continue his success through the first four rounds as he used his speed and movement to make Froch look like a somewhat clueless fighter. The right hand hands and jabs of Groves were the dominant factor through these early rounds as Froch was tagged almost at will by Groves.
As we got to round 5 however Froch began to come in to the fight, in fact it was in round 5 that Froch began to have his first real success landing his own right shots whilst Groves began to slow. Although Sky commentator Jim Watt was refusing to give credit to Groves the fight was beginning to turn around and Froch was beginning to have more success on a round by round basis.
Although Froch has a good round 5 Groves came back well in round 6, unfortunately however he was warned for leading with the head and was really not looking like the fighter who had won the first 4 rounds. This was shown in round 7 as Froch has ended the round with a big flurry.
The finish of round 7 by Froch seemed to continue in to round 8 as Froch arguably won his second round of the fight as he rocked Groves. Groves was still certainly in the round but was beginning to make mistakes and show his inexperience as Froch began, finally, to find his own rhythm.
In round 9 Froch had his best round as he hurt Groves then went for the kill. Groves fougfht back as the two men brawled and then, almost as if he was told when to step in, Howard Foster stopped the contest awarding the bout via 9th round TKO, to Froch. This stoppage came as both men traded.
Saturday, 26 October 2013
Bernard Hopkins v Karo Murat
American legend Bernard Hopkins (53-6-2-2, 32) once again made history as he became the oldest man in history to defend a world boxing title. Defending the IBF Light Heavyweight title for the first time since defeating Tavoris Cloud for the belt Hopkins put on a show in defeating mandatory challenger Karo Murat (25-2-1, 15).
The fight actually started well for Murat who made a good case to win the first two rounds as he out worked Hopkins. Despite Murat just starting well his success didn't last much beyond the third round as Hopkins did as Hopkins does and slowly broke Murat mentally. Unfortunately Murat's case wasn't helped by American referee Steve Smoger who appeared to be on Murat's case from the off whilst often turning a blind eye to Hopkins' infringements.
By round 4 Smoger really was making life hard for Murat. Whilst Hopkins was landing flurries on the break Smoger was giving Murat a warning for landing single shots on. Despite that the fourth round was when Hopkins started to turn it on and unload with some crisp shots most notably hard right hands. Murat was still in it, as shown by a late flurry, but his work was sporadic and he was starting to look like the older man.
The tiredness of Murat was becoming even more obvious in round 5 as he backed off from Hopkins and almost invited Hopkins to unload on him, something the American was happy to do. By now the fight was Hopkins.
Despite Smoger really getting in to the face of Murat we saw some leniency in round 6 as Murat twice punched Hopkins when he was down. Although a point deduction would have made sense Smoger didn't take anything and instead seemed to suggest that next time Murat broke the rules he would be deducted. A final hard warning if you will. The shots were seemingly thrown out of frustration by Murat who by now seemed annoyed at both Smoger and Hopkins.
Hopkins made Murat pay for his sins the following round as he rocked the challenger several times. It seemed like Hopkins was seriously going for the stoppage, something he's not scored in years. Despite that the round was best remembered for Murat finally being deducted a point for tapping Hopkins on the break. It was the round of the fight by far and actually saw the fight becoming somewhat entertaining as the two men brawled.
The brawling that ended the sixth round returned in round 7 as Hopkins again went on the offensive with the intention of stopping Murat. By now it was obvious Hopkins had no respect for Murat and he almost bundled him out of the ring before turning away and walking with his back to the challenger, leading to Smoger telling him to turn around. This odd moment saw Murat launching an an attack on Hopkins as the American tried to talk to the fans in what was on of the most peculiar rounds of Bernard Hopkins' long career.
From then on it was rare to see Murat landing much clean. He often tried, as he did at the start of round 8 but Hopkins was too defensively cute for him. This lead to Murat becoming more frustrated and giving Hopkins chance to unload when and as he wanted. Whether it was jabs, right hands or flurries it was all Hopkins or messy holding as the American's lead on the cards grew through rounds 8,9, 10 and 11.
At the end of the eleventh round Hopkins joked that he'd need a knock out to win. Surprisingly he seemed to get close to it at one as Murat turned away and Hopkins unloaded. Later in the round Murat appeared to be wobbled then surprisingly Murat flirted with a disqualification hitting Hopkins on the break again. Amazingly whilst Smoger didn't disqualify Murat, when he could have done despite their only being seconds left, he did physically push Murat by the face. A rather fitting end to a poor performance by Smoger.
Although the bout had started in a close manner it had finished with Hopkins as a clear winner, successfully defending his title with a wide margin on the score cards.
The fight actually started well for Murat who made a good case to win the first two rounds as he out worked Hopkins. Despite Murat just starting well his success didn't last much beyond the third round as Hopkins did as Hopkins does and slowly broke Murat mentally. Unfortunately Murat's case wasn't helped by American referee Steve Smoger who appeared to be on Murat's case from the off whilst often turning a blind eye to Hopkins' infringements.
By round 4 Smoger really was making life hard for Murat. Whilst Hopkins was landing flurries on the break Smoger was giving Murat a warning for landing single shots on. Despite that the fourth round was when Hopkins started to turn it on and unload with some crisp shots most notably hard right hands. Murat was still in it, as shown by a late flurry, but his work was sporadic and he was starting to look like the older man.
The tiredness of Murat was becoming even more obvious in round 5 as he backed off from Hopkins and almost invited Hopkins to unload on him, something the American was happy to do. By now the fight was Hopkins.
Despite Smoger really getting in to the face of Murat we saw some leniency in round 6 as Murat twice punched Hopkins when he was down. Although a point deduction would have made sense Smoger didn't take anything and instead seemed to suggest that next time Murat broke the rules he would be deducted. A final hard warning if you will. The shots were seemingly thrown out of frustration by Murat who by now seemed annoyed at both Smoger and Hopkins.
Hopkins made Murat pay for his sins the following round as he rocked the challenger several times. It seemed like Hopkins was seriously going for the stoppage, something he's not scored in years. Despite that the round was best remembered for Murat finally being deducted a point for tapping Hopkins on the break. It was the round of the fight by far and actually saw the fight becoming somewhat entertaining as the two men brawled.
The brawling that ended the sixth round returned in round 7 as Hopkins again went on the offensive with the intention of stopping Murat. By now it was obvious Hopkins had no respect for Murat and he almost bundled him out of the ring before turning away and walking with his back to the challenger, leading to Smoger telling him to turn around. This odd moment saw Murat launching an an attack on Hopkins as the American tried to talk to the fans in what was on of the most peculiar rounds of Bernard Hopkins' long career.
From then on it was rare to see Murat landing much clean. He often tried, as he did at the start of round 8 but Hopkins was too defensively cute for him. This lead to Murat becoming more frustrated and giving Hopkins chance to unload when and as he wanted. Whether it was jabs, right hands or flurries it was all Hopkins or messy holding as the American's lead on the cards grew through rounds 8,9, 10 and 11.
At the end of the eleventh round Hopkins joked that he'd need a knock out to win. Surprisingly he seemed to get close to it at one as Murat turned away and Hopkins unloaded. Later in the round Murat appeared to be wobbled then surprisingly Murat flirted with a disqualification hitting Hopkins on the break again. Amazingly whilst Smoger didn't disqualify Murat, when he could have done despite their only being seconds left, he did physically push Murat by the face. A rather fitting end to a poor performance by Smoger.
Although the bout had started in a close manner it had finished with Hopkins as a clear winner, successfully defending his title with a wide margin on the score cards.
John Riel Casimero v Felipe Salguero
In the first world title fight of the weekend Filipino John Riel Casimero (19-2, 11) successfully retained his IBF Light Flyweight title courtesy of a stunning 11th round TKO over tough Mexican Felipe Salguero (18-5-1, 13). This, the third defense for Casimero was arguably the most impressive though it was a performance that perhaps he had to have to remind the Filipino fans who he was.
The fight started slowly with both men feeling their way in to it in the opening rounds. There was little to separate them through the first 3 rounds with Salguero stalking the champion who was himself doing just enough to neutralise the Mexican's pressure with intelligent boxing.
After the slow start Casimero started to come alive in round 4 as he put his foot on the gas for the first time and in round 5 things were in full swing for the Filipino who was starting to find his timing and range with left hooks and right straights. Although having a lot of notable success Casimero was unable to drop Salguero, who twice slipped to the canvas.
Casimero's success continued in round 6 as he bloodied the eye of his game challenger who was starting to fall well behind on the score cards. It appeared as if Casimero was on the verge of running away with things though Salguero then started to rally back in to the fight and seemed to have real success in round 7.
Salguero's success in round 7 looked like he was going to have a memorable come back. Unfortunately for the Mexican his successes were short lived with Casimero sending his challenger to the canvas for the first time in round 8 courtesy of a clean left hand. The knockdown may not have kept Salguero down but proved that Casimero had the power to hurt him. This was again on show in round 9 as Salguero went down for a second time.
By the start of round 10 Salguero was in a real hole on the cards and was going to need something major to turn things around. The best he could do however was stay on his feet for the full round refusing to fall too much further behind as he continued to be made to look like a second grade challenger.
With a clear lead on the score cards Casimero seemed to have the bout in the bag. Despite this he wanted to put on a show for the crowd and went for it in round 11 dropping Salguero again following a vicious combination. This time the referee had decided enough was enough and stopped the bout.
Following the contest Casimero hinted at a a possible move to Flyweight, arguable the toughest division in the sport. Whilst he may be struggling to make Light Flyweight I'd not expect him to fair too well at at 112lbs against naturally bigger, stronger men. Saying that however there are numerous big fighters in the East if Salguero does make that move and contests against Kazuto Ioka, Akira Yaegashi or even Toshiyuki Igarashi would all make sense, as would a fight with Roman Gonzalez who has himself moved up this past week or so.
The fight started slowly with both men feeling their way in to it in the opening rounds. There was little to separate them through the first 3 rounds with Salguero stalking the champion who was himself doing just enough to neutralise the Mexican's pressure with intelligent boxing.
After the slow start Casimero started to come alive in round 4 as he put his foot on the gas for the first time and in round 5 things were in full swing for the Filipino who was starting to find his timing and range with left hooks and right straights. Although having a lot of notable success Casimero was unable to drop Salguero, who twice slipped to the canvas.
Casimero's success continued in round 6 as he bloodied the eye of his game challenger who was starting to fall well behind on the score cards. It appeared as if Casimero was on the verge of running away with things though Salguero then started to rally back in to the fight and seemed to have real success in round 7.
Salguero's success in round 7 looked like he was going to have a memorable come back. Unfortunately for the Mexican his successes were short lived with Casimero sending his challenger to the canvas for the first time in round 8 courtesy of a clean left hand. The knockdown may not have kept Salguero down but proved that Casimero had the power to hurt him. This was again on show in round 9 as Salguero went down for a second time.
By the start of round 10 Salguero was in a real hole on the cards and was going to need something major to turn things around. The best he could do however was stay on his feet for the full round refusing to fall too much further behind as he continued to be made to look like a second grade challenger.
With a clear lead on the score cards Casimero seemed to have the bout in the bag. Despite this he wanted to put on a show for the crowd and went for it in round 11 dropping Salguero again following a vicious combination. This time the referee had decided enough was enough and stopped the bout.
Following the contest Casimero hinted at a a possible move to Flyweight, arguable the toughest division in the sport. Whilst he may be struggling to make Light Flyweight I'd not expect him to fair too well at at 112lbs against naturally bigger, stronger men. Saying that however there are numerous big fighters in the East if Salguero does make that move and contests against Kazuto Ioka, Akira Yaegashi or even Toshiyuki Igarashi would all make sense, as would a fight with Roman Gonzalez who has himself moved up this past week or so.
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Ishe Smith v Carlos Molina
In a turgid and unexciting battle highlighted by the vocal chords of Jay Nady, Carlos Molina (22-5-2, 6) claimed the IBF Light Middleweight title defeating Ishe Smith (25-6, 11)
The first of 3 title fights on "The One" was marked out as "the one to send fans to sleep" and unfortunately it lived up to that idea.
Surprisingly the fight started brightly with Molina being an aggressive front foot fighter throwing lots of shots with Smith trying to counter things with his left hook. Unfortunately Smith's shots were rarely landing in the early portion and Molina, for all his good work, was unable too land too much clean past the intelligent defense of Smith.
After clearly taking the first 4 rounds Molina's work become scrappier and in fact he started to recieve persistent warnings from the referee who was warning him for leading with the head on a regular basis. The warnings seemed to kill off Molina's work somewhat whilst Smith continued to make the bout ugly. The ugly rounds, which started in rounds 5 or 6, become a consistent which lacked any sort of clean work. Interestingly the ugliness of these rounds seemed to suit Smith who was able to land the few eye catching shots whilst Molina threw a lot but landed little.
By the time we'd reached the championship rounds it was fair to say fan interested in the contest had died. The rounds through the middle had been close but uninteresting. They'd been close due to how awful and messy they'd been and unfortunately they'd completely killed any entertainment value any fans had. In fact it was probably fair to say that fans were using the bout as a toilet break by this point.
With the bout in the balance the two men finally came alive with some clean work in the championship rounds.
The 11th round saw Smith having by far his best round before Molina came back in the final round, clearly winning that one.
With the middle rounds so difficult to score it was no shock to see a split decision rendered with 2 of the judges feeling Molina's work deserved to take the decision in what was a fair decision given the work he put in compared to Smith's lazy and lethargic effort.
If you missed this one, don't bother trying to catch it!
The first of 3 title fights on "The One" was marked out as "the one to send fans to sleep" and unfortunately it lived up to that idea.
Surprisingly the fight started brightly with Molina being an aggressive front foot fighter throwing lots of shots with Smith trying to counter things with his left hook. Unfortunately Smith's shots were rarely landing in the early portion and Molina, for all his good work, was unable too land too much clean past the intelligent defense of Smith.
After clearly taking the first 4 rounds Molina's work become scrappier and in fact he started to recieve persistent warnings from the referee who was warning him for leading with the head on a regular basis. The warnings seemed to kill off Molina's work somewhat whilst Smith continued to make the bout ugly. The ugly rounds, which started in rounds 5 or 6, become a consistent which lacked any sort of clean work. Interestingly the ugliness of these rounds seemed to suit Smith who was able to land the few eye catching shots whilst Molina threw a lot but landed little.
By the time we'd reached the championship rounds it was fair to say fan interested in the contest had died. The rounds through the middle had been close but uninteresting. They'd been close due to how awful and messy they'd been and unfortunately they'd completely killed any entertainment value any fans had. In fact it was probably fair to say that fans were using the bout as a toilet break by this point.
With the bout in the balance the two men finally came alive with some clean work in the championship rounds.
The 11th round saw Smith having by far his best round before Molina came back in the final round, clearly winning that one.
With the middle rounds so difficult to score it was no shock to see a split decision rendered with 2 of the judges feeling Molina's work deserved to take the decision in what was a fair decision given the work he put in compared to Smith's lazy and lethargic effort.
If you missed this one, don't bother trying to catch it!
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Daiki Kameda v Rodrigo Guerrero
It's not often that a fighting family really dominates. Sure in recent years the Klitschko's have thoroughly controlled the Heavyweight division but they've been the only family of note to really dominate in a while.
This past summer however the Kameda brother's have really taken over in the lower divisions. Right now both Tomoki and Koki are Bantamweight title holders and they've just been joined by middle child Daiki (29-3, 18) who successfully became a 2-weight world champion earlier today as he out pointed Mexican Rodrigo Guerrero (19-5-1, 12) for the IBF title.
The fight started in a genuinely tedious manner. Daiki fought with a very unexciting hit-and-run style that whilst won him many of the early rounds didn't make for a very appealing to watch contest. in fact for many of the early rounds it was fair to say that clean action was kept to a minimal with effective singles from Daiki and little of note from Guerrero who struggled to pin down the elusive Japanese fighter.
From the first 5 rounds of the bouts the sole moment of joy for Guerrero appeared to have been a low blow he took that saw Daiki deducted a point. Lets be fair, if a guy getting punched in the nuts is his only highlight you can sort of see the hole he was in come the start of the sixth round.
It as in round 6 that Guerrero began to have his first real success as he managed to take Kameda to the body, almost as if he realised that the head can move but the body can't. It was a sound idea and one that he perhaps should have used from the opening bell rather than waiting several rounds to start with.
The success of Guerrero's grew from a decent round 6 to a very round 8 and 9 as he finally began to connect on Daiki with some regularity. It was only rounds 6-9 that you could make a really strong case for Guerrero winning with out many complaints.
It seemed, going in to round 10, that the success of Guerrero was going to grow and grow and that if continued the fight was going to be very difficult to score. Instead however Daiki seemed to realise he was in a fight and rather than try to move to avoid the pressure he began to stand his ground. The fact Daiki couldn't create the space in round 10 saw him fighting fire-with-fire as the two men traded attacks with Daiki's being a genuine eye as he tried to get Guerrero out of there. The Mexican weathered the storm but was forced to concede the round.
Whilst round 10 had been a fight changer Daiki failed to capitalise on it as he was deducted a second point in round 11 that saw some doubt brought on to the scorecards, he did however do enough to take 19 points from the final 2 rounds and make sure of a decision in his favour, despite what some may think.
Although I struggle to agree with the 117-109 card scored in favour of Daiki, the other two cards 116-110 and 114-112 both feel about right with Daiki certainly deserving the decision but the deductions did make things much closer on the cards than perhaps they should have been.
This past summer however the Kameda brother's have really taken over in the lower divisions. Right now both Tomoki and Koki are Bantamweight title holders and they've just been joined by middle child Daiki (29-3, 18) who successfully became a 2-weight world champion earlier today as he out pointed Mexican Rodrigo Guerrero (19-5-1, 12) for the IBF title.
The fight started in a genuinely tedious manner. Daiki fought with a very unexciting hit-and-run style that whilst won him many of the early rounds didn't make for a very appealing to watch contest. in fact for many of the early rounds it was fair to say that clean action was kept to a minimal with effective singles from Daiki and little of note from Guerrero who struggled to pin down the elusive Japanese fighter.
From the first 5 rounds of the bouts the sole moment of joy for Guerrero appeared to have been a low blow he took that saw Daiki deducted a point. Lets be fair, if a guy getting punched in the nuts is his only highlight you can sort of see the hole he was in come the start of the sixth round.
It as in round 6 that Guerrero began to have his first real success as he managed to take Kameda to the body, almost as if he realised that the head can move but the body can't. It was a sound idea and one that he perhaps should have used from the opening bell rather than waiting several rounds to start with.
The success of Guerrero's grew from a decent round 6 to a very round 8 and 9 as he finally began to connect on Daiki with some regularity. It was only rounds 6-9 that you could make a really strong case for Guerrero winning with out many complaints.
It seemed, going in to round 10, that the success of Guerrero was going to grow and grow and that if continued the fight was going to be very difficult to score. Instead however Daiki seemed to realise he was in a fight and rather than try to move to avoid the pressure he began to stand his ground. The fact Daiki couldn't create the space in round 10 saw him fighting fire-with-fire as the two men traded attacks with Daiki's being a genuine eye as he tried to get Guerrero out of there. The Mexican weathered the storm but was forced to concede the round.
Whilst round 10 had been a fight changer Daiki failed to capitalise on it as he was deducted a second point in round 11 that saw some doubt brought on to the scorecards, he did however do enough to take 19 points from the final 2 rounds and make sure of a decision in his favour, despite what some may think.
Although I struggle to agree with the 117-109 card scored in favour of Daiki, the other two cards 116-110 and 114-112 both feel about right with Daiki certainly deserving the decision but the deductions did make things much closer on the cards than perhaps they should have been.
Friday, 23 August 2013
Argenis Mendez v Arash Usmanee
In a genuinely thrilling contest for the IBF Super Featherweight title champion Argenis Mendez (21-2-1, 11) managed just retain his title courtesy of majority decision draw against determined challenger Arash Usmanee (20-1-1, 10).
The Afghan born-Canadian Usmanee set off at an amazing pace forcing Mendez on to to the ropes from the off. Although Mendez was comfortable on the ropes with his counter punching skills it was pretty obvious that he lost the opening round with Usmanee seriously out working him. It was clear from the off that Usmanee wasn't there to just make up the numbers and immediately made an impact with his aggression an workate.
Usmanee's relentless aggression continued through out the fight though Mendez managed to put his foot on the gas with his counters in round 2 as he managed to get through with some clean shots of his own. The success of Mendez grew and in round 3 he made a solid case for the round with his counters which had become more and more regular as the opening few rounds went on.
Although Mendez continue to have success with his counters in rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7 it was becoming harder and harder work for the champion to back up the challenger. Mendez's own bombing counters, although looking like monster shots seemed to just bounce off Usmanee who came straight back at him with flurries of shots of his own as he tried to out work and grind down the champion.
Despite Mendez's success through a series of the middle rounds Usmanee would fight back hard in round 8 and 9 as the two men were dragged in to a war. By now Mendez seemed to realise that Usmanee wasn't going to just tire and realised that he was going to have to show some offense of his own. The champion tried to bomb the challenger with fearsome hooks but the challenger, showing his toughness refused to back down as the rounds finished with both men having major success.
The championship rounds saw it all to play for and both men knew it as Mendez began to hold his ground more often and the two men traded in centre ring in a very eye catching back and forth. It was almost impossible to split them as they went at each other with bad intentions, ufortunately the lack of power both men had saw them being able to take the hardest shots with out going down but it looked thoroughly dramatic through out.
It appeared that both men knew the fight was in the balance in the final round and both men fought as if they needed it, giving us one of the genuine round of the year contenders, it, like much of the fight was tough to score. Did you prefer the relentless if somewhat ineffective aggression of Usmanee or the crisp classy work of Mendez?
The judges decided that they liked the styles equally as well as each other and scored the bout a draw, a fitting result given the effort of both men in a bout that I'd certainly like to see again!
The Afghan born-Canadian Usmanee set off at an amazing pace forcing Mendez on to to the ropes from the off. Although Mendez was comfortable on the ropes with his counter punching skills it was pretty obvious that he lost the opening round with Usmanee seriously out working him. It was clear from the off that Usmanee wasn't there to just make up the numbers and immediately made an impact with his aggression an workate.
Usmanee's relentless aggression continued through out the fight though Mendez managed to put his foot on the gas with his counters in round 2 as he managed to get through with some clean shots of his own. The success of Mendez grew and in round 3 he made a solid case for the round with his counters which had become more and more regular as the opening few rounds went on.
Although Mendez continue to have success with his counters in rounds 4, 5, 6 and 7 it was becoming harder and harder work for the champion to back up the challenger. Mendez's own bombing counters, although looking like monster shots seemed to just bounce off Usmanee who came straight back at him with flurries of shots of his own as he tried to out work and grind down the champion.
Despite Mendez's success through a series of the middle rounds Usmanee would fight back hard in round 8 and 9 as the two men were dragged in to a war. By now Mendez seemed to realise that Usmanee wasn't going to just tire and realised that he was going to have to show some offense of his own. The champion tried to bomb the challenger with fearsome hooks but the challenger, showing his toughness refused to back down as the rounds finished with both men having major success.
The championship rounds saw it all to play for and both men knew it as Mendez began to hold his ground more often and the two men traded in centre ring in a very eye catching back and forth. It was almost impossible to split them as they went at each other with bad intentions, ufortunately the lack of power both men had saw them being able to take the hardest shots with out going down but it looked thoroughly dramatic through out.
It appeared that both men knew the fight was in the balance in the final round and both men fought as if they needed it, giving us one of the genuine round of the year contenders, it, like much of the fight was tough to score. Did you prefer the relentless if somewhat ineffective aggression of Usmanee or the crisp classy work of Mendez?
The judges decided that they liked the styles equally as well as each other and scored the bout a draw, a fitting result given the effort of both men in a bout that I'd certainly like to see again!
Saturday, 17 August 2013
Daniel Geale v Darren Barker
In a second successive upset at the Revel Resort, Atlantic City Darren Barker (26-1, 16) claimed a close split decision to take the IBF Middleweight title from Australian Daniel Geale (29-2, 15) in an enthralling and very difficult to score 12 round contest.
The fight started at an amazing pace with both men standing close and trading attacks, Geale, known for his work rate appeared to be his usual busy self but Barker seemed to be just as confident in his stamina and matched Geale almost punch for punch in a great round. The round really could have gone either way and it was one of a number of swing rounds the fight saw as the men refused to let the other really take any advantage, however Barker did land a low one on the bell to end round 2.
The first clear round was the third a round won by Barker thanks to his excellent crisp shots that seemed to rattle Geale at several points. The Aussie tried to fight back but for the first time he was unable to really answer the firepower of the Englishman.
Although Barker had claimed the third Geale appeared to bounce back excellently and took the fourth round as he stepped up his work rate and tried to show Barker that HE was the champion and he wouldn't give up his title with out a fight. It was by the end of this round that both guys were showing signs of having been in a fight with their left eyes reddening from the shots they had each landed. The eyes only got worse through round 5 as they again fought a very tight round that saw Geale landing a low blow that appeared to be a revenge shot for the one Barker hand landed on him
If round 3 was the first clear round then round 6 was the clearest round as Geale dropped Barker hard from a body shot that he only just managed to get up from. The shot, an absolute beauty, would have finished off most men but Barker found a way to will himself to his feet and despite taking a shellacking for a good portion of the round he managed to turn things around late to prove there was still plenty of fight in him.
Following the body shot in the sixth Geale appeared to target the mid section again in round 7 though it was Barker who landed the notable shots and by the end of it Geale's trademark work rate appeared to have deserted with Barker actually having the much better round of the two fighters
The work rate of Geale did return in roudn 8 though only in the first minute or so before Barker came back and possibly stole the round in another of the fights many swing rounds. Unfortunately for Barker it seemed like round 9 was a solid Gale round although Barker did himself land some solid shots it was hard to award him the round as he looked sluggish and tired for the first time.
Barker seemed to bounce back well in round 10 as Geale began to look tired and although neither man appeared able to really hurt the other neither man seemed to be able to really great a gap in the scoring due to close nature of the rounds and the fact that every time one guy won one cleanly the other seemed to take the next.
Going in to the championship rounds it was really anyone's fight due to the close nature of so many rounds. Unfortunately for Geale however he was looking worse for wear not just facially with his lip being swollen but also physically with his work rate dropping dramatically. Geale tried to force himself to battle hard against Barker in the later rounds but amazing Barker fought back even hard and appeared to take round 11.
Having lost the 11 Geale managed to fight back harder in the 12 and probably just took that to even out the score from the previous round.
With so many tight rounds any result was fair and whilst I had the bout a victory to the champion (115-112) the judges felt that Barker had done enough to deserve a split decision with scores of 114-113 each way and an oddly wide card of 116-111 to Barker. I understand there were plenty of swing rounds but 116-111 either way seems unfair to the loser of a great fight.
If anything has come from this, one of the best fights of the year, it's that a rematch should take place as it would be a bit hit with the fans and the fighters as well as HBO
The fight started at an amazing pace with both men standing close and trading attacks, Geale, known for his work rate appeared to be his usual busy self but Barker seemed to be just as confident in his stamina and matched Geale almost punch for punch in a great round. The round really could have gone either way and it was one of a number of swing rounds the fight saw as the men refused to let the other really take any advantage, however Barker did land a low one on the bell to end round 2.
The first clear round was the third a round won by Barker thanks to his excellent crisp shots that seemed to rattle Geale at several points. The Aussie tried to fight back but for the first time he was unable to really answer the firepower of the Englishman.
Although Barker had claimed the third Geale appeared to bounce back excellently and took the fourth round as he stepped up his work rate and tried to show Barker that HE was the champion and he wouldn't give up his title with out a fight. It was by the end of this round that both guys were showing signs of having been in a fight with their left eyes reddening from the shots they had each landed. The eyes only got worse through round 5 as they again fought a very tight round that saw Geale landing a low blow that appeared to be a revenge shot for the one Barker hand landed on him
If round 3 was the first clear round then round 6 was the clearest round as Geale dropped Barker hard from a body shot that he only just managed to get up from. The shot, an absolute beauty, would have finished off most men but Barker found a way to will himself to his feet and despite taking a shellacking for a good portion of the round he managed to turn things around late to prove there was still plenty of fight in him.
Following the body shot in the sixth Geale appeared to target the mid section again in round 7 though it was Barker who landed the notable shots and by the end of it Geale's trademark work rate appeared to have deserted with Barker actually having the much better round of the two fighters
The work rate of Geale did return in roudn 8 though only in the first minute or so before Barker came back and possibly stole the round in another of the fights many swing rounds. Unfortunately for Barker it seemed like round 9 was a solid Gale round although Barker did himself land some solid shots it was hard to award him the round as he looked sluggish and tired for the first time.
Barker seemed to bounce back well in round 10 as Geale began to look tired and although neither man appeared able to really hurt the other neither man seemed to be able to really great a gap in the scoring due to close nature of the rounds and the fact that every time one guy won one cleanly the other seemed to take the next.
Going in to the championship rounds it was really anyone's fight due to the close nature of so many rounds. Unfortunately for Geale however he was looking worse for wear not just facially with his lip being swollen but also physically with his work rate dropping dramatically. Geale tried to force himself to battle hard against Barker in the later rounds but amazing Barker fought back even hard and appeared to take round 11.
Having lost the 11 Geale managed to fight back harder in the 12 and probably just took that to even out the score from the previous round.
With so many tight rounds any result was fair and whilst I had the bout a victory to the champion (115-112) the judges felt that Barker had done enough to deserve a split decision with scores of 114-113 each way and an oddly wide card of 116-111 to Barker. I understand there were plenty of swing rounds but 116-111 either way seems unfair to the loser of a great fight.
If anything has come from this, one of the best fights of the year, it's that a rematch should take place as it would be a bit hit with the fans and the fighters as well as HBO
Jhonatan Romero v Kiko Martinez
It's not often a fighter lives up to his name but Spaniard Kiko Martinez (29-4, 21) really was "La Sensación" in taking the IBF Super Bantamweight title from talented Colombian Jhonathan Romero (23-1, 12) via a stunning 6th round TKO.
Martinez set off at an electric pace and forced Romero on to the ropes where he unloaded. It was shocking that Romero, a genuinely talented boxer, was just being pushed around and bullied by Martinez who Romero within seconds of the bell going. The opening round really did set the tone for Martinez who was relentless and could well have been 10-8 up after just 3 minutes.
Romero fought back in the following 2 rounds as he began to use the ring and box with Martinez, something he really needed to do from the off.
Unfortunately for the Colombian his success didn't last long and Martinez was right back on top of him in the 4th round, another round where Romero was rocked around the ring. It seemed like the Colombian was ready to go down several times though showed great heart to remain on his feet despite taking such a hammering that his eye was badly cut.
Having seen blood, literally, Martinez went straight on the attack in round 5 and although his shots weren't crisp and smooth they were thudding to the head, the body, the arms and every part of Romero that he could land on. It was obvious that he was just going to break him down or die trying.
It was in round 6 that Romero finally ran out of steam and became a human punch bag for Martinez who threw, threw, threw and threw some more and he again sent Romero in to the ropes and unloaded. This time however Romero was unable to get away and his desire to win was wearing down.
The Colombian did land 3 huge shots off the ropes and connected on Martinez with all 3 but the Spaniard shook them off and continued on his attack before finally getting Romero in the corner and forcing the referees hand.
The victory for Martinez was a huge shock. Many, myself included, didn't feel as though Martinez deserved the shot having lost to Carl Frampton last time out, in fact I half expect Frampton to be slashing his wrists right now knowing the man he beat just a title fight whilst he didn't.
It's unlikely Martinez will be a champion for long though it's fair to say that he has just had his moment in the boxing sun.
Martinez set off at an electric pace and forced Romero on to the ropes where he unloaded. It was shocking that Romero, a genuinely talented boxer, was just being pushed around and bullied by Martinez who Romero within seconds of the bell going. The opening round really did set the tone for Martinez who was relentless and could well have been 10-8 up after just 3 minutes.
Romero fought back in the following 2 rounds as he began to use the ring and box with Martinez, something he really needed to do from the off.
Unfortunately for the Colombian his success didn't last long and Martinez was right back on top of him in the 4th round, another round where Romero was rocked around the ring. It seemed like the Colombian was ready to go down several times though showed great heart to remain on his feet despite taking such a hammering that his eye was badly cut.
Having seen blood, literally, Martinez went straight on the attack in round 5 and although his shots weren't crisp and smooth they were thudding to the head, the body, the arms and every part of Romero that he could land on. It was obvious that he was just going to break him down or die trying.
It was in round 6 that Romero finally ran out of steam and became a human punch bag for Martinez who threw, threw, threw and threw some more and he again sent Romero in to the ropes and unloaded. This time however Romero was unable to get away and his desire to win was wearing down.
The Colombian did land 3 huge shots off the ropes and connected on Martinez with all 3 but the Spaniard shook them off and continued on his attack before finally getting Romero in the corner and forcing the referees hand.
The victory for Martinez was a huge shock. Many, myself included, didn't feel as though Martinez deserved the shot having lost to Carl Frampton last time out, in fact I half expect Frampton to be slashing his wrists right now knowing the man he beat just a title fight whilst he didn't.
It's unlikely Martinez will be a champion for long though it's fair to say that he has just had his moment in the boxing sun.
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Evgeny Gradovich v Mauricio Javier Munoz
In a very high action contest "Mexican-Russian" Evgeny Gradovich (17-0, 8) defended the IBF Featherweight title.
Facing former WBC Super Bantamweight title challenger Mauricio Javier Munoz (26-4, 12) of Argentina it's fair to say that Gradovich had a fighter who was very similar to himself. Both men throw the boxing textbook out of the window preferring instead to wage wars and have genuine fights. When you have 2 fighters in the ring together you very rarely have a disappointing contest.
The bout started at the sort of pace fans of both men would have expected as they both threw leather for fun and took it in turns to be the man coming forward. It seemed that either both men were made of granite or neither man could punch but this didn't prevent the round from being thoroughly enjoyable from the off.
Although Munoz entered as a sizable under-dog he refused to act like an under-dog and as the fight went on he started to force the action more and more. Unfortunately for the Argentinian the more he forced the action the more he walked into a storm of counters from Gradovich. Whilst this was a painful looking experience for the challenger it made for great entertainment for the fans.
Through the middle rounds it was obvious that Gradovich had more to his game than just the come forward all action style that he is known for and he was showing off the other dimensions to his game when needed. Of course it was more fun to watch the high octane stuff but it was still good to see that Gradovich did have a plan B in his locker if he needed it.
In round 9 Gradovich managed to raise the crowd as he moved up a gear just as it seemed that Munoz's resolve was starting to drain. Amazingly just as it looked like he was fading the Argentinian seemed to wake up and found energy from somewhere as he again began to press the action and force the fight with Gradovich resorting to using his legs just as much as his hands.
Going in to the final 3 rounds the Gradovich corner were confident that their man was clearly in the lead with trainer Robert Garcia effectively telling his man to make sure he didn't get caught by anything big. He was of course getting caught, it's almost part of his style, but Munoz lacked the power to really trouble the Russian who was rarely blinking after Munoz tagged him.
Unfortunately for Munoz he was starting to struggle with the pace in the final round and seemed to be on the verge of being stopped though showed the toughness and heart to see out the round.
Although neither fighter was notably hurt, other than Munoz in the final round, the fight did at times resemble a very fun to watch though oddly one sided contest with Munoz looking like a prototype of Gradovich. Both men throw lots and enjoyed coming forward though Gradovich was busier, more accurate and more technically gifted with his shorts being straighter and his defense, whilst not great, was better than Munoz's.
With the first defense of his title under his belt Gradovich will likely be looking for his next challenger. With Vasyl Lomachenko having now signed with Top Rank a bout between Lomachenko and Gradovich almost certainly needs to be though about somewhere down the line.
For Munoz it's unlikely that we'll see him in another world title fight I'm afraid.
Facing former WBC Super Bantamweight title challenger Mauricio Javier Munoz (26-4, 12) of Argentina it's fair to say that Gradovich had a fighter who was very similar to himself. Both men throw the boxing textbook out of the window preferring instead to wage wars and have genuine fights. When you have 2 fighters in the ring together you very rarely have a disappointing contest.
The bout started at the sort of pace fans of both men would have expected as they both threw leather for fun and took it in turns to be the man coming forward. It seemed that either both men were made of granite or neither man could punch but this didn't prevent the round from being thoroughly enjoyable from the off.
Although Munoz entered as a sizable under-dog he refused to act like an under-dog and as the fight went on he started to force the action more and more. Unfortunately for the Argentinian the more he forced the action the more he walked into a storm of counters from Gradovich. Whilst this was a painful looking experience for the challenger it made for great entertainment for the fans.
Through the middle rounds it was obvious that Gradovich had more to his game than just the come forward all action style that he is known for and he was showing off the other dimensions to his game when needed. Of course it was more fun to watch the high octane stuff but it was still good to see that Gradovich did have a plan B in his locker if he needed it.
In round 9 Gradovich managed to raise the crowd as he moved up a gear just as it seemed that Munoz's resolve was starting to drain. Amazingly just as it looked like he was fading the Argentinian seemed to wake up and found energy from somewhere as he again began to press the action and force the fight with Gradovich resorting to using his legs just as much as his hands.
Going in to the final 3 rounds the Gradovich corner were confident that their man was clearly in the lead with trainer Robert Garcia effectively telling his man to make sure he didn't get caught by anything big. He was of course getting caught, it's almost part of his style, but Munoz lacked the power to really trouble the Russian who was rarely blinking after Munoz tagged him.
Unfortunately for Munoz he was starting to struggle with the pace in the final round and seemed to be on the verge of being stopped though showed the toughness and heart to see out the round.
Although neither fighter was notably hurt, other than Munoz in the final round, the fight did at times resemble a very fun to watch though oddly one sided contest with Munoz looking like a prototype of Gradovich. Both men throw lots and enjoyed coming forward though Gradovich was busier, more accurate and more technically gifted with his shorts being straighter and his defense, whilst not great, was better than Munoz's.
With the first defense of his title under his belt Gradovich will likely be looking for his next challenger. With Vasyl Lomachenko having now signed with Top Rank a bout between Lomachenko and Gradovich almost certainly needs to be though about somewhere down the line.
For Munoz it's unlikely that we'll see him in another world title fight I'm afraid.
Sunday, 26 May 2013
Carl Froch v Mikkel Kessler II
When we get a rematch of an excellent bout they rarely live up to the original though for Carl Froch (31-2, 22) his rematch with Mikkel Kessler (46-3, 35) will have been sweeter than the original.
When the two men first met back in 2010 it was Kessler who came out on top in an enthralling brawl for the WBC Super Middleweight title. That loss was Froch's first as a professional and one that he seemed to genuinely resent having against his name. The rematch was his chance to avenge the loss and unify both the WBA and IBF titles and claim himself as one of the sports genuine stand out fighters.
The fight started as "round 1" as opposed to the expected round 13 and it was a slow paced affair with both men looking to use their jabs and straights. Through the round it was Froch who seemed more at ease with the style of the bout though there was little to separate them as they had a feeling out round.
After the slow opening round the bout did start to warm up with both men unloading more as the fight started to catch light. Kessler seemed, throughout the fight, to be the more cautious fighter throwing significantly less through he was also the most effective landing at a notably higher connect rate, despite this he couldn't keep Froch away as the English men was relentless.
Although Froch was much more active Kessler was doing enough to take a number of the rounds and keep the bout competitive, especially through the middle and later rounds though in round 12 Froch had a huge round and appeared to hurt the Dane with a flurry just before the bell that could have forced a stoppage had it come earlier in the fight.
Despite the fact the fighters are now 1-1 against each other I'd really doubt we'd be seeing a rubber bout between the two as Kessler has faded, notably, since their first bout whilst Froch has become a more confident and much better fighter. A third bout between the two would likely see Froch come out a clearer winner than he did here where the scorecards, although all in his favour, were close (especially the 115-113 card of Jean-Francois Toupin).
When the two men first met back in 2010 it was Kessler who came out on top in an enthralling brawl for the WBC Super Middleweight title. That loss was Froch's first as a professional and one that he seemed to genuinely resent having against his name. The rematch was his chance to avenge the loss and unify both the WBA and IBF titles and claim himself as one of the sports genuine stand out fighters.
The fight started as "round 1" as opposed to the expected round 13 and it was a slow paced affair with both men looking to use their jabs and straights. Through the round it was Froch who seemed more at ease with the style of the bout though there was little to separate them as they had a feeling out round.
After the slow opening round the bout did start to warm up with both men unloading more as the fight started to catch light. Kessler seemed, throughout the fight, to be the more cautious fighter throwing significantly less through he was also the most effective landing at a notably higher connect rate, despite this he couldn't keep Froch away as the English men was relentless.
Although Froch was much more active Kessler was doing enough to take a number of the rounds and keep the bout competitive, especially through the middle and later rounds though in round 12 Froch had a huge round and appeared to hurt the Dane with a flurry just before the bell that could have forced a stoppage had it come earlier in the fight.
Despite the fact the fighters are now 1-1 against each other I'd really doubt we'd be seeing a rubber bout between the two as Kessler has faded, notably, since their first bout whilst Froch has become a more confident and much better fighter. A third bout between the two would likely see Froch come out a clearer winner than he did here where the scorecards, although all in his favour, were close (especially the 115-113 card of Jean-Francois Toupin).
Saturday, 11 May 2013
Jamie McDonnell v Julio Ceja
In the first of this weekend's world title fights Englishman Jamie McDonnell (21-2-1, 9) became the first man from Doncaster to claim a world title as he claimed the IBF Bantamweight title and over came a spirited Julio Ceja (24-1, 22) of Mexico.
With the vacant title up for grabs many felt this could be the fight of the weekend and it certainly lived up to those expectations with a wonderful clash of styles and the expectation of a dramatic ending by either man.
The bout started slowly with the opening round being a pretty typical "feeling out round" with neither man doing too much other than seeing what the other had. Following that it was Ceja who took the initiative upped his work rate as he clearly took the following few rounds and forced the Englishman on to the back foot. Ceja had not just upped the pressure on McDonnell but had shown a determined body attack using his left hook to the body to to really make McDonnell pay for holding his feet and not moving.
After the slow start it appeared as if the Englishman was on his way to losing until he finally started to show the lateral movement that essentially helped make Ceja look like a limited fighter. The movement of McDonnell forced Ceja to chase him and almost completely neutralised the dangerous left hand of the Mexican who began to look lost in the middle rounds.
With Ceja starting to struggle to connect McDonnell really grew in confidence and you could see it in the way he was fighting, he was not only making Ceja look clumsy and lost but landing with his own fast combinations as well as his jab which pierced the defense of the hard hitting Mexican time and time again. Though it was the right hand of McDonnell's that really looked the pick of his offensive work.
Despite looking comfortable McDonnell did have a nightmare round 11 as Ceja put it on the line and appeared to wobble the Doncaster man late with a wonderful flurry of hard and explosive shots, though the Mexican couldn't put his man down as he had been able to with many of his previous opponents.
Whilst he had been rocked in round 11 McDonnell recovered well and took round 12 comfortable, even appearing to rock Ceja with his hard straight hands late in the round as he clearly dominated the round and did enough to secure the decision.
To the fans in attendances and those watching at home it appeared McDonnell, who had started slowly, had done more than enough to secure a clear decision but the scorecards said otherwise as the announcer read out a majority decision (114-114, 115-113 and 118-110) to McDonnell, the rightful winner despite 2 awful scorecards.
The fight, whilst a good win for McDonnell was a disappointment for Dennis Hobson, the promoter who saw the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster almost empty in fact from the televised images the stadium looked about 20% full, a really disappointing turn out for McDonnell who is a cracking chap and deserves more support. Hopefully for McDonnell's first defense their will be a better crowd than this as he really does deserve a better following than he's been getting.
With the vacant title up for grabs many felt this could be the fight of the weekend and it certainly lived up to those expectations with a wonderful clash of styles and the expectation of a dramatic ending by either man.
The bout started slowly with the opening round being a pretty typical "feeling out round" with neither man doing too much other than seeing what the other had. Following that it was Ceja who took the initiative upped his work rate as he clearly took the following few rounds and forced the Englishman on to the back foot. Ceja had not just upped the pressure on McDonnell but had shown a determined body attack using his left hook to the body to to really make McDonnell pay for holding his feet and not moving.
After the slow start it appeared as if the Englishman was on his way to losing until he finally started to show the lateral movement that essentially helped make Ceja look like a limited fighter. The movement of McDonnell forced Ceja to chase him and almost completely neutralised the dangerous left hand of the Mexican who began to look lost in the middle rounds.
With Ceja starting to struggle to connect McDonnell really grew in confidence and you could see it in the way he was fighting, he was not only making Ceja look clumsy and lost but landing with his own fast combinations as well as his jab which pierced the defense of the hard hitting Mexican time and time again. Though it was the right hand of McDonnell's that really looked the pick of his offensive work.
Despite looking comfortable McDonnell did have a nightmare round 11 as Ceja put it on the line and appeared to wobble the Doncaster man late with a wonderful flurry of hard and explosive shots, though the Mexican couldn't put his man down as he had been able to with many of his previous opponents.
Whilst he had been rocked in round 11 McDonnell recovered well and took round 12 comfortable, even appearing to rock Ceja with his hard straight hands late in the round as he clearly dominated the round and did enough to secure the decision.
To the fans in attendances and those watching at home it appeared McDonnell, who had started slowly, had done more than enough to secure a clear decision but the scorecards said otherwise as the announcer read out a majority decision (114-114, 115-113 and 118-110) to McDonnell, the rightful winner despite 2 awful scorecards.
The fight, whilst a good win for McDonnell was a disappointment for Dennis Hobson, the promoter who saw the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster almost empty in fact from the televised images the stadium looked about 20% full, a really disappointing turn out for McDonnell who is a cracking chap and deserves more support. Hopefully for McDonnell's first defense their will be a better crowd than this as he really does deserve a better following than he's been getting.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
Wladimir Klitschko v Francesco Pianeta
Heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko (60-3, 52) again showed the world why he is widely regarded as the best Heavyweight on the planet as he stopped the previously unbeaten Italian Francesco Pianeta (28-1-1, 15).
The bout, as is typical for a Klitschko bout, started very slowly with very little activity in the opening round with Klitschko's jab being the most notable weapon, despite the fact the champion landed several straight rights.
Round 2 was the only round where Pianeta had any success at all as he appeared to tag Klitschko with a left hand though that was easily forgotten thanks to the number of jabs that Klitschko landed throughout the round.
The jab of Klitschko continued to be the key punch as he repeatedly landed it through the thir round before sending Pianeta to the canvas in round 4 with a solid looking right hand. Whilst Pianeta managed to get up from the knock down he appeared to have had his confidence shook and he really didn't throw much afterwards.
Pianeta was decked again in round 5 from a left hand and although he once again got up it appeared that the writing was on the wall. The challenger was visibly melting and in round 6 after Klitschko started a little quicker it really was a matter of time. After a more aggressive start to the round Klitschko dropped Pianeta for the 3rd time and this time the referee waved the bout off.
With the WBA "Super", WBO, IBF and Ring magazine titles still around his waist there really is little case to be made against Wladimir Klitschko being the #1 in the division. It now appears that he will look to further prove that point when he takes on WBA "regular" champion Alexander Povetkin later this year.
The bout, as is typical for a Klitschko bout, started very slowly with very little activity in the opening round with Klitschko's jab being the most notable weapon, despite the fact the champion landed several straight rights.
Round 2 was the only round where Pianeta had any success at all as he appeared to tag Klitschko with a left hand though that was easily forgotten thanks to the number of jabs that Klitschko landed throughout the round.
The jab of Klitschko continued to be the key punch as he repeatedly landed it through the thir round before sending Pianeta to the canvas in round 4 with a solid looking right hand. Whilst Pianeta managed to get up from the knock down he appeared to have had his confidence shook and he really didn't throw much afterwards.
Pianeta was decked again in round 5 from a left hand and although he once again got up it appeared that the writing was on the wall. The challenger was visibly melting and in round 6 after Klitschko started a little quicker it really was a matter of time. After a more aggressive start to the round Klitschko dropped Pianeta for the 3rd time and this time the referee waved the bout off.
With the WBA "Super", WBO, IBF and Ring magazine titles still around his waist there really is little case to be made against Wladimir Klitschko being the #1 in the division. It now appears that he will look to further prove that point when he takes on WBA "regular" champion Alexander Povetkin later this year.
Monday, 1 April 2013
Mario Rodriguez v Katsunari Takayama
Wow, that's all I can say. Not only did we have the bout between Mike Alvarado and Brandon Rios on Saturday but we also had the hidden classic of Mario Rodriguez v Katsunari Takayama for the IBF Minimumweight title the same night. Although I may be in the minority saying this the Rodriguez v Takayama fight was arguable better than Rios v Alvarado II.
Japanese challenger Takayama (25-6-0-1, 10) fighting his fifth successive bout outside of his native Japan traveled to Rodriguez's (15-7-4, 11) homeland of Mexican and despite being the notable betting under-dog put on a performance for the ages as he annexed the world title to become a 2-time world champion.
The bout started fast as Takayama set an incredible pace with none stop work and movement. He wasn't just throwing relentlessly but he was bouncing about using his legs and feet just as much as his arms and hands as he got in, unloaded with fast shots and got out. It was an incredible start by the challenger who was impressive from the off.
Rodriguez wasn't to be totally over-whelmed however and managed to score a knockdown in round 3 in what was certainly his stand out moment of success as Takayama's confidence really grew and grew. The challenger's speed and combinations were amazing to see as he really just worked over the champion to head and body with wonderful eye catching flurries that bagged him round after round.
After having an almost unassailable lead Takayama went from a fighter dominating a world champion to a fighter making a point as he started to show boat in front Rodriguez's home fans, a move that must have infuriated an outclassed champion who's reign came to an end in just his first defense.
As the new champion Takayama is in a very select group of Japanese fighters to have claimed an IBF belt interestingly on his third attempt (after having a No Contest and a loss to South African Nkosinathi Joyi). It'll be interesting to see if the JCB allows him to defend his title at home or forces him to continue his road journey.
For Rodriguez this was a pretty humbling loss after scoring a huge upset victory over Joyi last year. A rematch between the two would not go amiss however I would imagine Takayama may himself want Joyi for a 3rd bout.
Japanese challenger Takayama (25-6-0-1, 10) fighting his fifth successive bout outside of his native Japan traveled to Rodriguez's (15-7-4, 11) homeland of Mexican and despite being the notable betting under-dog put on a performance for the ages as he annexed the world title to become a 2-time world champion.
The bout started fast as Takayama set an incredible pace with none stop work and movement. He wasn't just throwing relentlessly but he was bouncing about using his legs and feet just as much as his arms and hands as he got in, unloaded with fast shots and got out. It was an incredible start by the challenger who was impressive from the off.
Rodriguez wasn't to be totally over-whelmed however and managed to score a knockdown in round 3 in what was certainly his stand out moment of success as Takayama's confidence really grew and grew. The challenger's speed and combinations were amazing to see as he really just worked over the champion to head and body with wonderful eye catching flurries that bagged him round after round.
After having an almost unassailable lead Takayama went from a fighter dominating a world champion to a fighter making a point as he started to show boat in front Rodriguez's home fans, a move that must have infuriated an outclassed champion who's reign came to an end in just his first defense.
As the new champion Takayama is in a very select group of Japanese fighters to have claimed an IBF belt interestingly on his third attempt (after having a No Contest and a loss to South African Nkosinathi Joyi). It'll be interesting to see if the JCB allows him to defend his title at home or forces him to continue his road journey.
For Rodriguez this was a pretty humbling loss after scoring a huge upset victory over Joyi last year. A rematch between the two would not go amiss however I would imagine Takayama may himself want Joyi for a 3rd bout.
Sunday, 17 March 2013
John Riel Casimero v Luis Alberto Rios
Filipino road warrior John Riel Casimero (18-2, 10) managed to retain his IBF Light Flyweight title by winning on the road once again as he out pointed Panamanian Luis Alberto Rios (18-2-1, 13) in a genuinely forgettable fight.
The fight started with the typical feeling out round that Rios taking a number of jabs from the more skillful looking Casimero who appeared to be the quicker and more intelligent fighter. Sadly however the feeling out round seemed to repeat it's self round after round as neither man really managed to open with more than the odd power shot here and there. Sadly the bout seemed to see both men posing and seeking counter opportunities rather than forcing the pace an this lead to a number of dull and uneventful rounds.
Although Casimero was by far the better boxer the better blows in a number of the later rounds came from the challenger who started to land his power shots, though rarely managed to land more than a single one here and there as the bout continued to be dominated by jabs. Sadly for Rios however he had given up too many rounds by the time he had started to land his bigger shots for them to really count on the judges cards.
Despite myself, and TYC Sports, seeing the bout as being relatively close (due to the fact both men did very little in a number of rounds) the official scoring had Casimero as a very clear winner winning by very wide margins with cards that suggested it was a dominating performance when really it wasn't.
The fight started with the typical feeling out round that Rios taking a number of jabs from the more skillful looking Casimero who appeared to be the quicker and more intelligent fighter. Sadly however the feeling out round seemed to repeat it's self round after round as neither man really managed to open with more than the odd power shot here and there. Sadly the bout seemed to see both men posing and seeking counter opportunities rather than forcing the pace an this lead to a number of dull and uneventful rounds.
Although Casimero was by far the better boxer the better blows in a number of the later rounds came from the challenger who started to land his power shots, though rarely managed to land more than a single one here and there as the bout continued to be dominated by jabs. Sadly for Rios however he had given up too many rounds by the time he had started to land his bigger shots for them to really count on the judges cards.
Despite myself, and TYC Sports, seeing the bout as being relatively close (due to the fact both men did very little in a number of rounds) the official scoring had Casimero as a very clear winner winning by very wide margins with cards that suggested it was a dominating performance when really it wasn't.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)