Classic fights I've watched recently

[chrisjs1985]

You went to that fight? Nice. I grew up in England but have been living in sunny California for the last 10 years. I was lucky to see Calzaghe fight twice - Lacy and Kessler. I remember I'd always ask my parents to take me to fights when I was a kid but once I started making my own money and could drive I'd go to the fights.

Speaking of the Kessler fight I watched that one yesterday. I really, really enjoyed that fight. This was Kessler in his peak before he started getting injured often. Strong, well schooled and riding a great wave of momentum. He had some good success early especially with the uppercut. Calzaghe weathered it and turned it up a notch which proved too much. He really hurt Kessler with a body shot which took a lot out of Kessler though he fired back well that round he then couldn't keep with Joe's pace and even got outjabbed.

Calzaghe was always my favorite British fighter. When all the kids at school were into Naz and my older brother was all over Lewis I always liked him the best since I'd caught him very early in his career. It was frustrating at times due to injuries, a weak division, a struggle to get the big fights but the cream rose to the top and he had the best career of the lot IMO.

Joe Calzaghe-Chris Eubank. Going to be watching some Calzaghe fights the next few days.

Good crossroads fight. Eubank though no longer in his glory days showed he had something left in the tank (he would move tp to 190 his next fight and give Carl Thompson hell) but simply couldn't keep up with Calzaghe. Calzaghe obviously was a little green and this came when he was knocking most his opponents out. He had a bit more snap in his shots and hurt Eubank a couple of times but was forced to dig deep in some rounds. Joe would always say this was his toughest fight even though Reid, Hopkins and Kessler would probably win more rounds and Brewer may have appeared the most physically demanding of his fights.

Still a fascinating fight mate.........watched it live and many times again.

I was not a Eubank fan, far from it - many cynical defences where he failed to entertain and the odd lucky decision - but he showed the same quality/spirit that night and as a veteran as he did when overcoming Benn years earlier in Birmingham.

Calzaghe got his title career underway but got several chapters of important learning thrown in for good measure.

Eubank is still an engima for me.......a sometimes lazy, deeply dull fighter who could have swept away some average challengers - but in moments of real danger and when faced with real quality, he was often exceptional.

[handsofstone]

Jack Sharkey vs Max Schmeling 1+2


Schmeling wins the first fight via 4th round DQ to become the first man to become world Heavyweight champ on a foul after Sharkey hit him low, the punch was definitely low but it looked accidental and these days probably would've been ruled a No Contest, Sharkey had no reason to delibritely foul as he was controlling the fight, the 1st round was even but after that Sharkey was starting to land clean accurate shots and Schmeling was struggling to get out the way and it looked like Sharkey was starting to break him down but in the 4th Sharkey was backed up on the ropes when Schmeling came lunging and was hit low when Sharkey sunk a left uppercut to the balls, Schmeling collapsed to the canvas in agony and was literally carried to his corner by his seconds, there was some confusion as to what the result was but Schmeling became the new champ after Sharkey was harshly disqualified


Sharkey wins a very controversial decision over 15 rounds to win the rematch and become the new champ, awful decision I'm not sure what fight the judges were watching but you'd be lucky if Sharkey won 3 rounds if any, he was lazy, slow, ponderous and never brought on the success he was having in the first fight to the rematch, Schmeling was busier, quicker and landed pretty much all the significant punches of the fight, he jabbed well and landed the straight right hand time and again was always outworking the pondering Sharkey, horrendous decision, Schmeling wuz robbed

[littlepug]

I watched Tony Lopez v Brian Mitchell 2 last night, cant comment on their first fight because ive not yet seen it but stumbled across the rematch and decided to give it a go, while no FOTY it kept me entertained for an hour, Lopez was forced to fight Mitchells fight and mostly came off 2nd best as Mitchell controlled things with a good jab and plenty of straight right hands, Lopez tried unsuccessfully to play him at his own game when he should have been trying to bully and force Mitchell on the back foot, all the work was clean and flowed nicely with hardly any clinches which made for a good fight to watch. Started watching Lopez v Paez straight after the Mitchell fight but was interrupted by the Mrs wanting to watch her soaps so I still have that to watch although I did catch some of the build up which looked fun.

[Bodyshot3]

I watched Tony Lopez v Brian Mitchell 2 last night, cant comment on their first fight because ive not yet seen it but stumbled across the rematch and decided to give it a go, while no FOTY it kept me entertained for an hour, Lopez was forced to fight Mitchells fight and mostly came off 2nd best as Mitchell controlled things with a good jab and plenty of straight right hands, Lopez tried unsuccessfully to play him at his own game when he should have been trying to bully and force Mitchell on the back foot, all the work was clean and flowed nicely with hardly any clinches which made for a good fight to watch. Started watching Lopez v Paez straight after the Mitchell fight but was interrupted by the Mrs wanting to watch her soaps so I still have that to watch although I did catch some of the build up which looked fun.

The huge pity is that Mitchell and Nelson never met.......guessing that politics and economics stopped a dream fight.

[handsofstone]

Max Schmeling vs Young Stribling(highlights)


Schmeling KOs Stribling in the 15th and final round to retain his Heavyweight title, only 10 mins available, it looked close early on but a bit messy, Schmeling started to pull away the longer the fight went on and just kept pouring the pressure on Stribling, it was getting tough in there for Stribling and he was being manhandled and tagged up close, in the 15th Schmeling caught Stribling with a right hand counter which put Stribling down heavily and ended the fight

[handsofstone]

Max Schmeling vs Mickey Walker


Schmeling stops Walker after 8 rounds in a non title Heavyweight fight, Walker's fighting heart is on another level, stood up to some serious bombardment and came back firing, Schmeling had him down right at the end of the 1st, doubling up the jab then sending a big right crashing on the chin of Walker, he landed a couple of other big right hands at the start of the 2nd but after that Walker started to have success, mainly when he was up close he was able to land some meaty lefts to the body of Schmeling, Walker was always better up close when he was able to avoid the long right hand over the top from Schmeling

It became quite an even contest in the middle rounds but in the 8th Schmeling landed that long right hand which staggered Walker and really that was the beginning of the end for him, eventually put down from a right cross then again from an uppercut, Walker somehow got up but was fighting purely on heart, he kept slugging it out but Schmeling kept landing that lead right and he was teetering on the brink

Walker made it to the end of the round but was pulled out thankfully, that 8th round was savage

[handsofstone]

Max Baer vs Max Schmeling


Baer stops Schmeling in the 10th, bit of a dull affair really, both guys looked a bit slow, some nice jab exchanges, Schmeling was the busier but his punches weren't effective, Baer was a bit lazy but his shots always had that more thud in them and you can see the right hands and uppercuts rock back the head of Schmeling, he does tend to hold and hit a fair bit though

In the 10th Baer caught Schmeling with a wild right hand and followed up with about 25 unanswered punches from all angles, even a few back handed slaps in there, Schmeling was reeling all over the place until finally a massive right hand eventually put him down, when he got up still groggy, Baer tore in about him with about another 10 shots sending Schmeling staggering into the ropes when the ref stopped it as Baer landed a big right to the back of Schmeling's head

[chrisjs1985]

Luis Rodriguez vs. Federico Thompson

A good fun fight even though the crowd booed occasionally. Fast pace from Rodriguez who's really entering his prime here, excellent use of his legs but deadly accurate with the jab and his right whilst throwing a lot to the body. Thompson was game all the way but outclassed.

[DrDuke]

Joe Calzaghe vs Chris Eubank

Calzaghe dominated Eubank giving him only about a couple of rounds. Eubank appeared to be durable though and tried to counteract with some rare success. Joe completely outworked him, landed far more good punches, dropped him twice.

[Ambling Alp II]

Max Baer vs Max Schmeling


Baer stops Schmeling in the 10th, bit of a dull affair really, both guys looked a bit slow, some nice jab exchanges, Schmeling was the busier but his punches weren't effective, Baer was a bit lazy but his shots always had that more thud in them and you can see the right hands and uppercuts rock back the head of Schmeling, he does tend to hold and hit a fair bit though

In the 10th Baer caught Schmeling with a wild right hand and followed up with about 25 unanswered punches from all angles, even a few back handed slaps in there, Schmeling was reeling all over the place until finally a massive right hand eventually put him down, when he got up still groggy, Baer tore in about him with about another 10 shots sending Schmeling staggering into the ropes when the ref stopped it as Baer landed a big right to the back of Schmeling's head

Schmeling almost always gets rated a bit ahead of Baer. You watch that fight and you have to wonder.
Schmeling seemed clueless of what to do when he got hurt.

[DrDuke]

Schmeling almost always gets rated a bit ahead of Baer. You watch that fight and you have to wonder.
Schmeling seemed clueless of what to do when he got hurt.

I am actually always surprised, when I see that fight. Schmeling supposed to be more classy boxer, but he really seemed clueless then and was outfought. Anyway I still rate Scmeling over Baer in the historic sense. Schmeling stopped rising Louis, it overwhelmed lots of other competitors' achievements.

[handsofstone]

Doug Jones vs Bob Foster


Jones stops Foster in the 8th of a non title bout, premature stoppage IMO, great fight though and a good watch, plenty leather thrown and landed by both men, Jones come out much the sharper, nailing the taller Foster with big right hands over the top and it was no surprise that Jones decked him in the 1st, after that it became a good tussle, great jabbing and some quality work on the inside, the ref never had to get involved

Foster shook Jones in the 3rd after unloading a combination but Jones took it well, right at the end of the 7th Jones wobbled Foster with another big right hand and Foster barely made it to the end of the round, right at the start of the 8th Jones landed a right and left hook and the ref jumped in straight away

I would guess Jones was on his way to KO Foster but the ref was too quick to step in

[handsofstone]

Ernie Terrell vs Bob Foster


Terrell stops Foster in the 7th of a non title bout, another harsh stoppage for Foster IMO, it was a solid fight, nothing fancy but closely contested, Terrell the bigger stronger man coming in low and slouched and doing a lot of leaning , Foster tried to keep things on the outside and did land some nice right hands but they just bounced of Terrell who got stronger as the fight went on, he sent Foster down in the 7th with a series of clubbing right hands, Foster got up but the ref waved it off a bit quick

[chrisjs1985]

Rubin Carter-George Benton

A really, really good fight. Carter the more physically imposing hard hitting guy gets the better of the fight early. A lot of this is fought in close without many clinches. Carter is able to connect a bit on the defensively brilliant Benton and take rounds with some good, solid blows without really hurting Benton. The second half is almost all Benton as he lands the cleaner blows and really gets some nice work in and simply outboxes Carter.

Decision went Carter's way and whilst I wouldn't classify it as a horrible decision I felt it was hard to not give Benton at least a draw. I felt Benton won by a round. I wish they'd have fought again. It was an excellent mesh of styles and I think they could have had 3 or 4 great fights.

[chrisjs1985]

Fighting Harada-Jose Medel II

I just watched and scored the Harada-Medel re-match. This was a great fight very good action and both guys hurt/buzzer on multiple cases. I’d never scored it before rather just enjoyed it but always felt it could go either way depending on what you prefer. Medel with the cleaner work and a sharp jab, Harada with the buzzsaw work and volume.

Medel starting the stronger and making a case for sweeping the opening four frames. His jab was really doing some nice work and Harada had a healthy level of respect for him and his power not quite going in recklessly as he had done in the first fight.

Harada won most of the middle rounds on my card with his speed and energy. He also used smarts too because Medel was trying to trap him a lot going to the ropes but Harada knew better. Round 10 there’s a terrible call on a point deduction off Medel which came with no prior warning and even wasn’t a foul. The ref indicated that he pulled his head down.

I had Harada up by two coming into the 14th and then Harada got a little more tired after dominating 11, 12 & 13. He allowed Medel to dictate a rather quiet 14th which he won on a few clean jabs and the 15th Medel landed the better hard shots buzzing Harada slightly more than once and Harada was really looking tired and hanging on at the end.

I scored it even 142-142 or 8-7 Medel in rounds with a deduction. It really could have been 8-7 Harada too it was that close like I said do you like the volume and energy more or the cleaner punching and technique?

Rounds 1-4 I gave to Medel
Rounds 5-7 for Harada
Round 8 Medel
Round 9 Harada
Round 10 even bc of dedication
Round 11-13 Harada
Round 14-15 Medel

[handsofstone]

Bob Foster vs Dick Tiger


Foster KOs Tiger in the 4th to become world Light Heavyweight champ, Foster controlled the fight with the jab keeping the much smaller Tiger on the outside, Tiger had brief moment in the 1st when he unloaded a combination but apart from that he never done much and struggled to get on the inside, in the 4th Foster nailed Tiger with a sweet left hook counter which decked Tiger heavily and there was no way he was beating the count

[handsofstone]

Bob Foster vs Jorge Victor Ahumada


Foster draws with Ahumada over 15 to retain his Light Heavyweight title, very lucky to remain champ, Ahumada done more than enough to win the title IMO, he was on the front foot, he was the aggressor, he was busier and most importantly he landed the better shots, Foster looked old, no steam in his shots, never let his hands go enough and was outhustled by Ahumada who tagged him with right hands and left hooks

Foster finished the fight stronger in the championship rounds but Ahumada had him down in the 14th with a left hook but the ref wrongly ruled it a trip, Foster did land some nice right uppercuts but there wasn't much on them and he couldn't find any of the bombs he had in his arsenal, Ahumada very unlucky, think it was hometown cooking

[handsofstone]

Willie Pep vs Ray Famechon(highlights)


Pep beats Famechon on points over 15 to retain his world Featherweight title, only 10mins available but its enough to catch glimpses of Pep's famous footwork and defence, it looked like he dominated the come forward Famechon, dancing from side to side, dipping under the attacks of Famechon and countering him with accurate combinations, sticking and moving, a joy to watch, just a pity more of the fight isn't available but it looked like Pep was bang on form

[PredatorHayds]

Hagler-Duran.

Really good fight. A lot of close rounds so I can see wide variations of scores.

How does everyone score this?

[oogiebe]

Hagler-Duran.

Really good fight. A lot of close rounds so I can see wide variations of scores.

How does everyone score this?

I had Hagler by three points. Thought SRL employed fighting hard last 30 seconds of each round in order to steal rounds as was the case. Sometimes, a surprising performance, although not enough to win, will convince the judges anyway.

[DrDuke]

I don't remember my own score, but, as far as I remember, Hagler won by 1 and 2 rounds on the judges' scorecards, so that he should have won last 2 rounds to win. Those were good reflections of an actual fight.

[Onetimeonly]

I think I had it 10-5 hagler. Can't see any closer than 9-6.

[chrisjs1985]

I think I had it 10-5 hagler. Can't see any closer than 9-6.

That's how I saw it too.

[handsofstone]

Hagler-Duran.

Really good fight. A lot of close rounds so I can see wide variations of scores.

How does everyone score this?

I never scored it but thought Hagler won it by a few rounds, first 4/5 rounds were close but I thought Hagler pulled ahead when he turned orthodox, Duran come into it when Hagler tired but Hagler had a good 15th to seal things

[oogiebe]

Hagler-Duran.

Really good fight. A lot of close rounds so I can see wide variations of scores.

How does everyone score this?

I had Hagler by three points. Thought SRL employed fighting hard last 30 seconds of each round in order to steal rounds as was the case. Sometimes, a surprising performance, although not enough to win, will convince the judges anyway.

OH crap! WRong fight! lol!