Classic fights I've watched recently

[Onetimeonly]

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

I haven't watched it in years, but I recall Duran having his best Rd in the 12th and then hauler handily winning the last 3 rounds. Duran was sucking wind by the 5th or 6th round. That right hand kept Marvin at bay.

[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

I haven't watched it in years, but I recall Duran having his best Rd in the 12th and then hauler handily winning the last 3 rounds. Duran was sucking wind by the 5th or 6th round. That right hand kept Marvin at bay.

TBH Saad I had to search earlier in this thread to remember my take on the fight, I cant remember much apart from being impressed with Duran for at that stage, its hard watching all these old fights that happened before my era, trying to remember what stages both guys were at, who they'd fought previous etc, this came after Duran's sh1t showing against Benitez right??

[Onetimeonly]

That was a couple years prior I believe. He came into this after mauling cuevas and Moore. As a massive hearns fan I always wonder if their first scheduled fight would have went his way. He was motor city cobra at the time and Marvin seemed to have a bit of stage fright here in his first super fight. I'll never forget how gutted I was. Back then there was no internet or anything, I waited all day for hagler/hearns and when I flipped on HBO it was a who concert.

[Ambling Alp II]

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

Hagler was supposed to win this a lot easier than he did. His stock went down after this fight.

[Tony1244]

Holmes vs Snipes. Cosell wouldn't give Renaldo any credit at all.

When Snipes landed a good combo, he'd just utter, "Look the kid's trying." A bit closer fight than I remembered it but who could forget the great 7th round?

[chrisjs1985]

Johnny Famechon vs. Fighting Harada I. Harada was unlucky not to get the nod here. Started fast, then fell slightly behind with Famechon working his jab well but then he tired worse and Harada scored a couple of late knockdowns. 3-1 in knockdown count and I felt Harada won 8-7 in rounds or at worse 8-7. He was robbed of his third title here.

Overall a very enjoyable fight between two contrasting styles.

[handsofstone]

Emile Griffith vs Willie Toweel


Griffith wins after Toweel is retired on his stool after 8 rounds, he'd been down 3 times en route, it was strange apart from the knockdowns it was pretty competitive, a lot of feinting from both men early on, both guys trying to draw the lead, some nice jab exchanges, Toweel did get through with some nice right hands but it was Griffith who was landing the telling blows

Griffith had Toweel down in the 4th with a quality 1/2 then again in the 7th with a nice right uppercut/left hook, that was when Toweel began to wilt, he was down again in the 8th, hurt from body shots Toweel began sagging and Griffith battered him with lefts and right to head and body finally putting Toweel down again with a right to the solar plexus, Toweel just about made it to the end of the round but he was saved by his corner from further punishment after the 8th

[DrDuke]

Joey Giardello vs Rubin Carter

Giardello outboxed Carter pretty comfortably. Carter was pressuring Giardello through the whole fight, he was landing some good punches from time to time, but generally Giardello was avoiding the danger. Joey was keeping the distance well and was scoring more.

[chrisjs1985]

I just watched Johnny Famechon vs. Jose Legra. At times it was a really good contest and at times a little on the sloppy side. Famechon starting well enough by moving and countering well. The commentator Harry Carpenter made a remark about it being an interesting matchup “A Spaniard from Cuba Fighting an Australian from Cuba in London, England”. Anyway, Famechon was doing well catching Legra lunging a bit but towards the middle I felt Legra really took control. He was robbed off what looked a clear knockdown in one of the rounds. Famechon showed a lot of heart and won some late rounds. It got sloppy around the 11th/12th with them fighting in a clinch. This is an area Legra never seemed to do well in his fights.

I scored it 9-6 in rounds for Legra and he did get an official knockdown along the way so 144-140 in points. I think the crowd was really behind Famechon and the ref was influenced because he didn’t win this fight at all despite fighting well most of the way. The ref was the only judge per British rules.

Round 1 Famechon
Round 2 Legra
Round 3 Famechon
Round 4 Legra
Round 5 Famechon
Round 6 Legra (red missed knockdown)
Round 7 Famechon
Round 8 Legra
Round 9 Legra
Round 10 Legra
Round 11 Legra 10-8 (knockdown)
Round 12 Legra
Round 13 Famechon
Round 14 Legra
Round 15 Famechon

I could see a round closer which seems a bit more reasonable than a round wider but not much else. Legra very unfortunate to lose the belt.

[chrisjs1985]

Jose Medel vs. Jesus Pimentel

A pretty damn good fight with some dramatic moments. Pimentel was in his peak at 48-1 and Medel working his back to another title shot. There's clearly respect for each others power, with Medel trying to trick Pimentel going back to the ropes. Pimentel scored a knockdown in the 4th and a high level boxing match turns more into a brawl a few rounds later with Medel almost scoring a KO in the 9th, scoring two knockdowns. A close fight, perhaps even in rounds with Medel edging it with the extra knockdown and the way he finished the fight.

[chrisjs1985]

I just watched the second fight between Olivares and Herrera and Olivares looked a lot better this time (compared to the first fight). Herrera’s decision was well earned though. I felt he won 6-4 and he scored a knockdown. Olivares closed the gap late winning some round as he went for it more but Herrera took his shots well. I think I’m going to binge some of my favorite Olivares fights next week.

[handsofstone]

Emile Griffith vs Luis Rodriguez 1,3+4


Griffith wins the first fight via 10 round SD, close fight, a lot of hustling from both men, no real drama, Rodriguez shook a little in the 3rd but apart from that no drama, I never scored it but Rodriguez getting the win would've been fine with me

Rodriguez won the rematch by close decision to win the world Welterweight title but none of its available on youtube

Griffith wins the 3rd fight by SD to regain the Welterweight title, again another razor close competitive fight, Rodriguez's slow start costing him his title, he never got going until about the 6th by which Griffith built up a handy lead, after that Rodriguez come back into it, both guys showing busy jabs and happy to mix it up on the inside, again same as the first fight not a lot to split them and nobody down or hurt etc, just a close close fight that could've gone either way

Griffith beats Rodriguez by another close SD in the 4th fight to retain his title, again like the previous fights it was pretty drama free, nothing to write home about, nobody hurt , I do think Rodriguez deserved the win though, he was busier, worked the body well on the inside and outhustled Griffith and also tagged him with some crisp right hands from the outside, Griffith had his best spells in the last few rounds but not enough to win for me, Rodriguez unlucky

[chrisjs1985]

I might put the second one on YouTube at the weekend. I’ll keep you posted. I felt the third and fourth were clear Rodrigue wins. Close fights but hard to justify Griffith getting the nod.

Emile Griffith vs Luis Rodriguez 1+3


Griffith wins the first fight via 10 round SD, close fight, a lot of hustling from both men, no real drama, Rodriguez shook a little in the 3rd but apart from that no drama, I never scored it but Rodriguez getting the win would've been fine with me

Rodriguez won the rematch by close decision to win the world Welterweight title but none of its available on youtube

Griffith wins the 3rd fight by SD to regain the Welterweight title, again another razor close competitive fight, Rodriguez's slow start costing him his title, he never got going until about the 6th by which Griffith built up a handy lead, after that Rodriguez come back into it, both guys showing busy jabs and happy to mix it up on the inside, again same as the first fight not a lot to split them and nobody down or hurt etc, just a close close fight that could've gone either way

[handsofstone]

I might put the second one on YouTube at the weekend. I’ll keep you posted. I felt the third and fourth were clear Rodrigue wins. Close fights but hard to justify Griffith getting the nod.

Emile Griffith vs Luis Rodriguez 1+3


Griffith wins the first fight via 10 round SD, close fight, a lot of hustling from both men, no real drama, Rodriguez shook a little in the 3rd but apart from that no drama, I never scored it but Rodriguez getting the win would've been fine with me

Rodriguez won the rematch by close decision to win the world Welterweight title but none of its available on youtube

Griffith wins the 3rd fight by SD to regain the Welterweight title, again another razor close competitive fight, Rodriguez's slow start costing him his title, he never got going until about the 6th by which Griffith built up a handy lead, after that Rodriguez come back into it, both guys showing busy jabs and happy to mix it up on the inside, again same as the first fight not a lot to split them and nobody down or hurt etc, just a close close fight that could've gone either way

Spot on Chris

[chrisjs1985]

Ruben Olivares-Kazuyoshi Kanazawa II - one of my favorite fights ever. An incredible war with Olivares constantly on the attack throwing beautiful, hurtful punches in bunches and Kanazawa being game all the way and dishing out his own punishment. A classic fight just as great as Gomez-Pintor or Marquez-Vazquez III etc; the 13th round is insane with Olivares moving in for the kill, getting countered hard and hurt badly and on the brink of being stopped. Kanazawa shoots his load going for it and Olivares takes him out in the next round.

Ruben Olivares-Jesus Pimentel - a methodical beating by Olivares. He boxes and bangs perfectly here. Pimentel is a banger and he buzzes Olivares in the 3rd, Olivares expertly turn him to the ropes and drops him in the 6th and takes his time dishing out left hooks and body punches until Pimentel's corner stop the fight after 11.

[DrDuke]

Lennox Lewis vs Michael Grant

Grant came out aggressive, but reckless. His pressure wasn't too effective, Grant was figured out by Lewis after a half of the round. Lennox countered Grant's right hand with two hooks, Grant was a bit dazed, Lewis smelled the blood. Lennox went forward, Grant was down after several absorbed punches, where uppercut was the most decisive. The remaining of the round was a disaster for Grant. In the 2nd Lewis chased him, he understood well, he shouldn't let Grant away from that situation. A fight became a bit dirty because of the clinches. At the end of the round Lewis found an opening in a one of them, he bent Grant down with left hand and knocked him out with right uppercut.

[Quantrax]

Marquez/Vasquez 1&2.

Absolutely tremendous action.

Will revisit the others in due course.

[Bodyshot3]

Lennox Lewis vs Michael Grant

Grant came out aggressive, but reckless. His pressure wasn't too effective, Grant was figured out by Lewis after a half of the round. Lennox countered Grant's right hand with two hooks, Grant was a bit dazed, Lewis smelled the blood. Lennox went forward, Grant was down after several absorbed punches, where uppercut was the most decisive. The remaining of the round was a disaster for Grant. In the 2nd Lewis chased him, he understood well, he shouldn't let Grant away from that situation. A fight became a bit dirty because of the clinches. At the end of the round Lewis found an opening in a one of them, he bent Grant down with left hand and knocked him out with right uppercut.

I used to read the boxing press religiously at this time as well as the newspapers (when they covered boxing extensively) and can recall that Grant was being presented as potentially bad news for Lennox.

There was a bit of fretting going on....with a huge, athletic American with lots of KOs facing Lennox at the MSG.

But really the fight proved to be the complete reverse - Lennox was arguably on his best runs of form from November 1999 to November 2000 - and Grant got badly unhinged on the night and never really recovered.

A win over Holyfield, with Grant and Botha seen off inside two rounds apiece and the very dangerous David Tua outboxed and nullified. A good year's work by Lennox

[handsofstone]

Emile Griffith vs Benny Paret 1,2+3


Griffith KOs Paret in the 13th to become world Welterweight champ, close fight for the most part, a lot of fighting up close, holding and smothering from both, not a great fight to watch, too messy for me, Griffith just has that hustling bustling style that I don't like to watch, I thought Paret was starting to land the cleaner punches around about the 7/8 mark and maybe starting to pull away to keep hold of his title but in the 13th out of nowhere, Griffith clipped him with a left hook which stunned him and a follow up lunging left hook sent Paret down for the count

Paret wins the rematch by SD to regain his title, another typical Griffith fight, fought up close at all times, again a lot of smothering but I thought Griffith done more than enough to keep hold of his title, landed some nice hooks to the body and drove the right uppercut through the middle of Paret's guard, Paret had his moments but I thought I thought he was lucky to win here

Griffith KOs Paret in the 12th round of their tragic 3rd fight to regain the Welterweight title, tough tough ending to watch, it was the most entertaining fight of their 3 bouts even until the ending, there wasn't as much inside fighting and there was some nice exchanges on the outside, Griffith was in control of the fight and had rocked Paret but right at the end of the 6th Paret decked him with a hard left hook which dropped Griffith heavily, if not for the bell going after he got up he might've finished Griffith off?, Griffith regained control in the 7th and rocked Paret and had him in big trouble with big lefts and rights, Paret gamely survived and even shook Griffith before the round was out

Paret was hurt again and had to survive another onslaught not long after, in the 12th though Griffith caught Paret with a massive right hand which had Paret just standing defenceless in the corner where Griffith battered him with over 20 unanswered punches as the ref just stood and watched, there was about 15 right uppercuts alone, Paret was an open target as Griffith let go bombs when eventually Ruby Goldstein decided to stop the slaughter

Disgusting refereeing, Paret was outcold on the canvas for about 5 minutes, he was moving his legs slightly, he then slipped into a coma shorty after and died 10 days later, who knows another ref and Paret might survived?

[chrisjs1985]

Ken Buchanan vs. Carlos Navarro

Navarro gives a good spirited effort though not fighting a totally clean fight. Buchanan early on has some difficulty coming to terms with this type of fight but then settles down into his usual rhythm, firing out his left hand and by the 8th and 9th round he's mixing in a lot of right hands as well and almost scores a stoppage. Navarro survives and rallies a little in the next couple of rounds before being dominated down the stretch.

[handsofstone]

Emile Griffith vs Don Fullmer 1


Griffith wins a wide UD against Fullmer in one of the most dullest 10 rounders your likely to see, for the first 6 rounds it was a jab off with not many jabs landing, Griffith the busier though with the sharper jab and he was the one forcing things, trying to fire in that lead right hand or left hook, Fullmer was too cautious to get caught with much and tied up whenever Griffith got in close

Things got messy down the stretch and Fullmer's holding merited a point off but he got away with it, it was still only Griffith trying to make a fight of it, he did get in the occasional shot but Fullmer just to cagey to let him get much of an opening

Fullmer beat Griffith in a rematch a few years later on points but its not available

[Ambling Alp II]

Emile Griffith vs Benny Paret 1,2+3


Griffith KOs Paret in the 13th to become world Welterweight champ, close fight for the most part, a lot of fighting up close, holding and smothering from both, not a great fight to watch, too messy for me, Griffith just has that hustling bustling style that I don't like to watch, I thought Paret was starting to land the cleaner punches around about the 7/8 mark and maybe starting to pull away to keep hold of his title but in the 13th out of nowhere, Griffith clipped him with a left hook which stunned him and a follow up lunging left hook sent Paret down for the count

Paret wins the rematch by SD to regain his title, another typical Griffith fight, fought up close at all times, again a lot of smothering but I thought Griffith done more than enough to keep hold of his title, landed some nice hooks to the body and drove the right uppercut through the middle of Paret's guard, Paret had his moments but I thought I thought he was lucky to win here

Griffith KOs Paret in the 12th round of their tragic 3rd fight to regain the Welterweight title, tough tough ending to watch, it was the most entertaining fight of their 3 bouts even until the ending, there wasn't as much inside fighting and there was some nice exchanges on the outside, Griffith was in control of the fight and had rocked Paret but right at the end of the 6th Paret decked him with a hard left hook which dropped Griffith heavily, if not for the bell going after he got up he might've finished Griffith off?, Griffith regained control in the 7th and rocked Paret and had him in big trouble with big lefts and rights, Paret gamely survived and even shook Griffith before the round was out

Paret was hurt again and had to survive another onslaught not long after, in the 12th though Griffith caught Paret with a massive right hand which had Paret just standing defenceless in the corner where Griffith battered him with over 20 unanswered punches as the ref just stood and watched, there was about 15 right uppercuts alone, Paret was an open target as Griffith let go bombs when eventually Ruby Goldstein decided to stop the slaughter

Disgusting refereeing, Paret was outcold on the canvas for about 5 minutes, he was moving his legs slightly, he then slipped into a coma shorty after and died 10 days later, who knows another ref and Paret might survived?

If I remember correctly, Goldstein also did the Turpin-Robinson rematch. That fight should have been stopped way before it was.

[oogiebe]

Emile Griffith vs Benny Paret 1,2+3


Griffith KOs Paret in the 13th to become world Welterweight champ, close fight for the most part, a lot of fighting up close, holding and smothering from both, not a great fight to watch, too messy for me, Griffith just has that hustling bustling style that I don't like to watch, I thought Paret was starting to land the cleaner punches around about the 7/8 mark and maybe starting to pull away to keep hold of his title but in the 13th out of nowhere, Griffith clipped him with a left hook which stunned him and a follow up lunging left hook sent Paret down for the count

Paret wins the rematch by SD to regain his title, another typical Griffith fight, fought up close at all times, again a lot of smothering but I thought Griffith done more than enough to keep hold of his title, landed some nice hooks to the body and drove the right uppercut through the middle of Paret's guard, Paret had his moments but I thought I thought he was lucky to win here

Griffith KOs Paret in the 12th round of their tragic 3rd fight to regain the Welterweight title, tough tough ending to watch, it was the most entertaining fight of their 3 bouts even until the ending, there wasn't as much inside fighting and there was some nice exchanges on the outside, Griffith was in control of the fight and had rocked Paret but right at the end of the 6th Paret decked him with a hard left hook which dropped Griffith heavily, if not for the bell going after he got up he might've finished Griffith off?, Griffith regained control in the 7th and rocked Paret and had him in big trouble with big lefts and rights, Paret gamely survived and even shook Griffith before the round was out

Paret was hurt again and had to survive another onslaught not long after, in the 12th though Griffith caught Paret with a massive right hand which had Paret just standing defenceless in the corner where Griffith battered him with over 20 unanswered punches as the ref just stood and watched, there was about 15 right uppercuts alone, Paret was an open target as Griffith let go bombs when eventually Ruby Goldstein decided to stop the slaughter

Disgusting refereeing, Paret was outcold on the canvas for about 5 minutes, he was moving his legs slightly, he then slipped into a coma shorty after and died 10 days later, who knows another ref and Paret might survived?

That was one of the most disturbing (and of course tragic) sequences in sports I have ever seen. It still gives me chills just to recall it in my head. Just what was Goldstein thinking I'll never ever know.

[SenorPipino]

Ken Buchanan vs. Carlos Navarro

Navarro gives a good spirited effort though not fighting a totally clean fight. Buchanan early on has some difficulty coming to terms with this type of fight but then settles down into his usual rhythm, firing out his left hand and by the 8th and 9th round he's mixing in a lot of right hands as well and almost scores a stoppage. Navarro survives and rallies a little in the next couple of rounds before being dominated down the stretch.

You mean Ruben Navarro, the Maravailla Kid, right?

Navarro was a very late replacement for ex-champ Mando Ramos, who was reported as taking ill, but had actually been KO'd by drug use.

Promoter Aileen Eaton was well aware of Ramos' extracurricular behavior, and had Navarro on standby, fearing that Ramos would indeed pull out of the bout.

[handsofstone]

Ken Buchanan vs. Carlos Navarro

Navarro gives a good spirited effort though not fighting a totally clean fight. Buchanan early on has some difficulty coming to terms with this type of fight but then settles down into his usual rhythm, firing out his left hand and by the 8th and 9th round he's mixing in a lot of right hands as well and almost scores a stoppage. Navarro survives and rallies a little in the next couple of rounds before being dominated down the stretch.

You mean Ruben Navarro, the Maravailla Kid, right?

Navarro was a very late replacement for ex-champ Mando Ramos, who was reported as taking ill, but had actually been KO'd by drug use.

Promoter Aileen Eaton was well aware of Ramos' extracurricular behavior, and had Navarro on standby, fearing that Ramos would indeed pull out of the bout.

I didnt think the Ruben Navarro fight was available online, I tried to find it recently