Fight:869264
Source: www.boxing.fi.
IBF welterweight International title fight Michéle Orlando – Juho Tolppola Round-by-round
1. Round
Tolppola started the fight aggressively and during the opening round he landed three clean right crosses. Orlando didn’t wobble however, he answered with a couple of shots too. The round went for the Finn 10-9 because of his cleaner punching and because of couple of good body shots thrown by him.
2. Round
In the second round Tolppola fought outstandingly. He landed his cross continuously on Orlando’s body and a couple of times heavily on his head too. Orlando showed little else than an ability to absorb punishment. Round clearly for Tolppola 10-9
3. Round
Orlando went on the attack determinedly from the start, but Tolppola kept him from coming in the early moments with his accurate right cross. The crowd got excited when Orlando landed his right hook and forced Tolppola to the ropes. The Finn fought back fiercely and landed few nice punches. The seemingly iron-chinned Orlando however had the edge in the hard exchanges and he captured the round 10-9.
4. Round
In the fourth round the inside war continued. Both fighters planted their feet on the canvas and pounded away. Orlando controlled the round winging with both hands whereas Tolppola concentrated on single shots. Orlando also threw his body hooks effectively and clearly took the round 10-9.
5. Round
The trading of hooks went on in the fifth round even though the Finnish broadcasters, well-known trainer Risto Meronen and professional middleweight prospect Amin Asikainen hoped Tolppola to move more and use his jab. The round was bipartite, with Orlando controlling the first half and Tolppola the last part. The writer of this marked the very even round for Orlando 10-9.
6. Round
Juho “TNT” Tolppola started to move sideways early in the round and controlled the action clearly. Approaching the end Orlando was again able to press to the close quarters where he had the control. Another very close round, which I gave for Tolppola 10-9 because of the better start.
7. Round
The heated exchanging continued in the seventh round but neither fighter seemed to do any real damage until the end of the round where Orlando landed a couple of times heavily. Tolppola took the shots, but the Italian captured the round 10-9.
8. Round
Early in the eighth round Tolppola punched determinedly, but got a bit over-excited and Orlando was again able to flurry from inside. Tolppola improved as the round progressed, but I gave this close round for Orlando 10-9.
9. Round
Early in the round Orlando landed a right hand that opened a minor cut above Tolppola’s left eye. Punches were thrown with bad intentions throughout the round and in the end Tolppola landed more often. The round went narrowly for Tolppola 10-9.
10. Round
The hard fighting continued through the round very evenly. Punches were traded all the time without any letup. It was very difficult to find a winner from this round, but I gave it for Tolppola 10-9 based on a good punch landed late in the round.
11. Round
Halfway in the round Tolppola landed an excellent left hook but the experienced and very strong-chinned Orlando did not wobble, instead he kept throwing punches. The close round went for Tolppola 10-9 based on harder landed shots.
12. Round
After touching gloves the action did not continue with fierce punch-out as you could have expected, but the fighters began a psychological war by staying careful. Tolppola had the more patience and he was able to counter with his right cross as Orlando attacked. It was the first time in the fight when either fighter was wobbled. Tolppola followed up with a left hook but Orlando survived by clinching. Late in the round Orlando landed too but the round was clearly Tolppola’s 10-9.
I had Tolppola ahead by 115-113. The bout included so many close rounds however that any outcome would have been acceptable.
Out of the official judges two had Michéle Orlando ahead by 115-113 while one voted 115-113 in favour of Juho Tolppola. Thus the Italian got a worthy victory under his belt. A split decision loss against a good opponent in a fierce fight hardly dropped Tolppola’s status in the international rankings either, quite the opposite. The 23-year-old Finn got some worthy experience from a fast-paced 12-rounder fought in a foreign country, and he demonstrated that he was able to battle evenly with an opponent of good calibre. That gives good promises for the future. “They fought with everything they had”, as the broadcaster Risto Meronen put it.
Boxing.fi reached Tolppola via phone right after the contest.
Tolppola sounded to be in good condition and also with good humour after the hard battle. – I think I fought well. The fight would have been winnable had I fought a bit better, Tolppola told. – I should have kept the opponent further away with crosses and move more sideways. Tolppola wasn’t surprised by the scorecards – I knew how the conditions were when I came here. But this was an even wrestle and probably a difficult one to score, Tolppola speculated.
Miika Forsström