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.
Showing posts with label Macau. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Macau. Show all posts
Sunday, 24 November 2013
Saturday, 27 July 2013
Juan Francisco Estrada v Milan Melindo
In a riveting contest for the WBA "super" and WBO Flyweight Juan Francisco Estrada (25-2, 18) narrowly out pointed Filipino challenger Milan Melindo (29-1, 12).
The fight started relatively well for the defending champion who appeared to take the opening 2 rounds with his jab and combinations as Melindo slowly worked his way in to the bout with his sharp and accurate shots. It seemed that although Estrada was doing enough to win the rounds Melindo was making a strong case to claim them with his own work rate.
As we entered the middle rounds it seemed that Melindo was growing in confidence and went from making rounds competitive to arguably claiming several of them as the bout turned in to a high speed chess match. It appeared that if the bout continued to be a chess match then it was going to begin to totally turn Melindo's way with his technically superior skills. Despite the visible success for Melindo Estrada never seemed too bothered in trying to change the direction of the fight as he seemed to feel he was doing enough to bag the rounds. Looking back it appeared he was viewing the bout the same was as the judges.
To the neutral observer it was starting to look like the bout was up for grabs in the championship rounds with an upset clearly possible. Estrada tried to change that in round 11 as he took the fight to a tiring Melindo and dropped the Filipino late in the round. Although Estrada recovered his feet and made it to the bell it was beginning to look like he was all in and was going to have to run to see out the final round.
Estrada set out for round 12 the way he had ended round 11 and appeared to clearly hurt Melindo late in the round with the Filipino's legs buckling big time. Unfortunately for Mexican he couldn't finish off Melindo who showed guts and determination to see out the bell.
I myself had the bout very close and expected the decision to be either a very close unanimous decision or even a split. Instead the scorecards were all in favour of the defending champion who impressed the judges much more than he had impressed me, which was odd because I usually love watching Estrada. Saying that however it does appear that there is a lot more to Estrada than being a insanely fun to watch and teak tough brawler.
The fight started relatively well for the defending champion who appeared to take the opening 2 rounds with his jab and combinations as Melindo slowly worked his way in to the bout with his sharp and accurate shots. It seemed that although Estrada was doing enough to win the rounds Melindo was making a strong case to claim them with his own work rate.
As we entered the middle rounds it seemed that Melindo was growing in confidence and went from making rounds competitive to arguably claiming several of them as the bout turned in to a high speed chess match. It appeared that if the bout continued to be a chess match then it was going to begin to totally turn Melindo's way with his technically superior skills. Despite the visible success for Melindo Estrada never seemed too bothered in trying to change the direction of the fight as he seemed to feel he was doing enough to bag the rounds. Looking back it appeared he was viewing the bout the same was as the judges.
To the neutral observer it was starting to look like the bout was up for grabs in the championship rounds with an upset clearly possible. Estrada tried to change that in round 11 as he took the fight to a tiring Melindo and dropped the Filipino late in the round. Although Estrada recovered his feet and made it to the bell it was beginning to look like he was all in and was going to have to run to see out the final round.
Estrada set out for round 12 the way he had ended round 11 and appeared to clearly hurt Melindo late in the round with the Filipino's legs buckling big time. Unfortunately for Mexican he couldn't finish off Melindo who showed guts and determination to see out the bell.
I myself had the bout very close and expected the decision to be either a very close unanimous decision or even a split. Instead the scorecards were all in favour of the defending champion who impressed the judges much more than he had impressed me, which was odd because I usually love watching Estrada. Saying that however it does appear that there is a lot more to Estrada than being a insanely fun to watch and teak tough brawler.
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.
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