Sunday 15 July 2012

Garcia's Philly Left Hook KO's Khan in 4

Danny Garcia vs Amir Khan - WBC and WBA Super Lightweight Titles


In a wild and exciting fight at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas Danny Garcia "talked the talk" and "walked the walk" as he upset huge favourite Amir Khan in 4 rounds to unify the WBA and WBC 140lb titles. It was the wide "Philly" left hook that did all the damage for Garcia as he knocked down Khan 3 times to claim the biggest win of his career. Garcia making his 1st defence of the title he won from legendary Erik Morales in March started the fight finding it hard to work out Khan's lighting speed. Khan coming off that disputed loss to Lamont Peterson started like he always does - fast and hard as he was able to land at will against his slower opponent who was still having a bit of success. In between rounds Garcia's father was beginning to get worried that his son was on the way to losing the fight as Khan clearly won the opening 2 rounds. Khan looked back to very best.

The fight took that dramatic turn late in the 3rd round as both were wailing away in what was a more even round before Garcia head down landed that left hook that landed behind Amir's jaw, partly on his neck. DOWN Khan went hard, it was Breidis Prescott all over again as Khan's legs betrayed him. Referee Kenny Bayliss gave a more than generous count to Khan before Garcia went crazy for the KO but time was against the underdog as there was only 12 seconds remaining in the round. Khan had survived another crisis, OR so he thought.

The minute break between round 3 and 4 was not enough time for Khan to shake those cobwebs as he was instantly under more attacks from Garcia who was desperately trying to end the fight. Khan went down again from another barrage, this time though he was able to get up AND fight back!. Khan is a warrior there is no doubt but there comes a time when you need to hold and survive, this is something Khan should have enough experience to do because this was not the first time his legs were not obeying the mind in his career. The end came 2.28 into the 4th when another big left hook caught Khan high on the head, as his legs betrayed him he stumbled back to the ropes where Ref Bayliss stopped the fight after getting an unsatisfactory response from the now 3 times beaten former champion.

Garcia will now move on to much bigger things with numerous options available to him at 140 and 147lbs. Khan on the other hand has a lot of thinking to do because this was his 2nd defeat in a row again a fighter who he was heavily favoured to beat.

Official purses for this fight was Khan $950,000 and Garcia $520,000.
David Lands The Hayemaker - Wins In 5

David Haye vs Dereck Chisora - WBA, WBO International Titles


Months of hype, some good, some bad came to an abrupt end Saturday night at Upton Park as over 30,000 saw David Haye Knockout former World title challenger Dereck Chisora at 2.59 of the 5th round. The build up was ugly, the fight was not as the 2 leading UK heavyweights waged battle over 5 surprisingly entertaining rounds. Many including myself thought Haye would win, although probably needing to go the full distance as Chisora had shown a rock chin in lasting the full 12 rounds against WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.

Just before the fight, 15 mins in fact, the rain came down heavy on the 30 thousand plus who attended Boxnation's massive outdoor show. Frank Warren must now hope that his channel really takes off as he predicted that there would be NO rain come Saturday night. Michael Fish and Co can sleep that wee bit tighter tonight. Mr Warren got it wrong regarding the weather although he was right to stage this fight as it certainly had the crossover appeal from the general public as many bought the Boxnation fight and by the amount of celebrities at ringside.

The fight took the shape that many expected, Chisora chasing David Haye around the ring trying to get close and land his combinations whilst trying to avoid the powerful potshots from the former World champion. Haye took the opener by being able to land the odd jab and right hand although i scribbled down that Chisora was making Haye work hard a la Jones vs Kell Brook last weekend.
The pace upped in round 2 where Chisora again did the chasing. This time he was beginning to trap Haye on the ropes landing a few blows. Haye was smart though as he angled his body well out of the way of Chisora's right hand therefore making Chisora miss. This round was much closer than the 1st but again Haye was landing more shots, it was warming up very nicely.

Chisora had his best round in the 3rd. Del Boy was now landing more punches inside, was the plan beginning to work?. Haye fought back landing a huge right hand which Chisora to his credit walked through. Chisora kept the pressure on and with ten seconds left in the round he seemed to wobble Haye with a combination after a furious exchange. The Ref Luis Pabon jumped in to signal the end of the round clearly unable to hear the bell which i dont think sounded. With that little bit of luck from round 3 Haye got back to boxing and picking his shots a lot better. The 4th was again close, Chisora was well in the fight as he knew that if he could get Haye into the later rounds then he stood a massive chance of causing the upset. I scored the round for Haye, Chisora was pressuring but just not doing enough to win the rounds.

Round 5 was good one, Chisora has finally caught up with Haye as he was pushed to the ropes numerous times and forced to fight Chisora off him. Was Haye getting tired? it looked like it until late in the round a massive left hook thrown from a southpaw stance smashed Chisora to the deck. Chisora barely got up, he was hurt badly against a fighter who has proved in the past a fantastic finisher. Haye went for the kill, left hooks rights hooks bounced of Del Boy's head as he desperately tried to hold before BANG - another big right hook followed by a sickening left on the way down send Chisora down for the second time. Luis Pablon drafted in to replace Mickey Vann gave Chisora one look and rightfully called it off, Haye was BACK and looking impressive too.

After the fight it was good to see that there was no hard feelings between the pair, both had hyped this fight to the max with their hatred of each other but now it was only respect. Haye wants Vitali now or its back to retirement, Chisora wants and needs a rest before making any decision on his future. It was a great main event that the fans really enjoyed. Haye mentioned that its was the best atmosphere he had ever fought in..

Below is my scorecard for the fight along with all the press / fan scores i was able to collect for this fight.

Fightscorecollector's Scorecard

Round 1.... 10-9 Haye
Round 2.... 10-9 Haye
Round 3.... 9-10 Chisora
Round 4.... 10-9 Haye

HAYE WINS BY 5TH ROUND KNOCKOUT


Press, Fan Forums and Boxing Sites Scores

Pro-BoxingFans.com Jake - 40-36 Haye

Michael Rosenthal - (Ring Mag) - 40-36 Haye

Tris Dixon - (BoxingnewsED) - 40-36 Haye

Mark Ortega - (Queensbury Rules) - 39-37 Haye

Fightnews.com - 40-36 Haye

Michael Woods - (TheSweetScience) - 40-36 Haye

Ryan Bivins - (Sweetboxing) - 40-36 Haye

Ramon Aranda - (3MoreRounds) - 40-36 Haye

Kevin Iole - (Yahoo.com) - 40-36 Haye

Fighthype.com - 40-36 Haye

Steve Lillis - (Boxnation) - 40-36 Haye

FightGhost - 40-36 Haye

Shaun Brown - (Boxingscene) - 40-36 Haye

Fightersrated.com - 40-36 Haye

Steve Bunce - (Boxnation) - 39-37 Haye

Mike Coppinger - (Ring Mag) - 40-36 Haye

Alan Dawson - (Onthebeak.com) - 39-37 Haye

Josh McDaniel - (Leaveitinthering Radio) - 39-37 Haye

Kieran Mulvaney - (ESPN) - 40-36 Haye

Boxing.com - 40-36 Haye

Jeff Powell - (Daily Mail) - 40-36 Haye

Darren Velasco - (Fightdomain.com) - 40-36 Haye

Joel Sebastianelli - (Leaveitinthering Radio) - 40-36 Haye

Phil D Jay - (Worldboxingnews.net) - 39-37 Haye

Saddoboxing Forum - (All for Haye) - 40-36 x2, 39-37

BoxingAsylum Forum - (All for Haye)  - 39-37, 40-36

Livefight Forum - 40-36 Haye

Fighthype Forum - 40-36 Haye

Ringnews24 Forum - 40-36 Haye, **38-38 Draw

Checkhookboxing Forum - (All for Haye) - 40-36 x4

Boxrec Forum - (All for Haye) - 40-36 x4, 40-37, 39-37

Eastsideboxing Forum - (All for Haye) - 40-36 x7, 39-37 x5, 40-37

Boxingscene Forum - (All for Haye) - 40-36 x4, 39-37

Monday 9 July 2012

Donaire Decisions Mathebula

WBO and IBF Super-Bantamweight Titles

Looking like 70's icon Bruce Lee, Nonito Donaire was dressed to impress as he wore the colours of Lee's famed film "game of death" for his battle with IBF champion Mathebula in front of 3200 at the Home Depot Centre in Carson California. It was another step in Donaire's grand plan to be the dominant force in the lower weights although this time against the South African he was made to work very hard for his victory.

At 5"11 Mathebula's huge height advantage over his Filipino foe was a major talking point beforehand as Donaire at only 5"5 1/2 would have to devise a plan to get inside his taller opponent using his lightning like speed. In the first few rounds Donaires speed was apparent as he was able to get inside landing jabs and big right hands. Mathebula's response was work rate, constant jabs were followed by the odd right hand kept Donaire on his toes as marched forward trying to walk the bigger man down. The South African defending his World title for the 1st time took the 3rd on my card and was having a pretty decent 4th until a big left hook landed inside by the WBO champion late in the round. Mathebula struggled to his feet his legs looked shot, refuge was on hand though as the bell had already rung saving him from what looked a certain knockout loss.

That knockdown suffered by Mathebula had an effect on the fight but not the way many expected. Instead of helping Donaire, it hindered him, Donaire's game plan went out of the window, he was only thinking and looking for a knockout now. After 7 rounds Donaire was comfortably ahead on my card 68-64, Mathebula to his credit upped his already high work rate and began picking Donaire off as he tried to get in. HBO TV surprising showed that in 8 rounds Mathebula had out-landed Donaire in 7 of the 8 rounds with the other being drawn, certainly an argument for those who feel that Compubox does not show the true story of a fight.

Round 9 and 10 followed the same way as Mathebula was timing Donaire with some nice crisp right hands, the scorecards were also closing with my score now reading 85-84 Donaire. In his first world title attempt Mathebula travelled to Panama City, Panama to take on feared puncher Celestino Caballero who was making his umpteenth title defence. In a very close fight Mathebula started slow but came on very strong near the end before losing a disputed split decision. This fight also was following the same suit before mid-way in the 11th Donaire landed a massive punch that had blood spurting from the South Africans mouth (later a cracked tooth was to blame). This seemed to stop Mathebula in his tracks as Donaire sensing the fight was closer than it should have been stepped up the tempo looking for that KO again. Donaire swept the final 2 rounds therefore putting the fight well out of reach for his gritty opponent who no doubt on this showing can test the very best in the 122lb Division.

Donaire will now be expected to challenge rival champions Abner Mares (WBC) and Guillermo Rigondeaux (WBA), Its the fights the fans want although in his post fight interview Donaire did say he was close to moving up another division to challenge the best at Featherweight. Well will see.

My scorecard is below along with the Press, Fans Forums and Boxing Sites scores i was able collect for this fight.
Fightscorecollector's Scorecard

Round 1.... 10-9 Donaire
Round 2.... 10-9 Donaire
Round 3.... 9-10 Mathebula
Round 4.... 10-8 Donaire
Round 5.... 10-9 Donaire
Round 6.... 9-10 Mathebula
Round 7.... 10-9 Donaire
Round 8.... 9-10 Mathebula
Round 9.... 9-10 Mathebula
Round 10.. 9-10 Mathebula
Round 11.. 10-9 Donaire
Round 12.. 10-9 Donaire

TOTAL : 115-112 DONAIRE

Judges Scores: Steve Morrow (USA) 118-109 Donaire
Jonathan Davis (USA) 117-110 Donaire
Deon Dwarte (S.Africa) 119-108 Donaire

NONITO DONAIRE WINS BY UNANIMOUS DECSION


Boxing Press, Fan Forum's and Boxing Sites Scores's

Doug Fischer - (Ring Magazine) 115-112 Donaire
Michael Rosenthal - (Ring Magazine) 116-111 Donaire
Kieran Mulvaney - (ESPN) 117-110 Donaire
Dan Rafael - (ESPN) - 116-111 Donaire
Eric Raskin - (Ring Podcast) 117-110
Harold Ledderman - (HBO) 115-112 Donaire
Gabriel Montoya - (Maxboxing) 120-107 Donaire
Cliff Roid - (Boxingscene) 115-112 Donaire
Ben Thompson - (Fighthype) 115-112 Doanire
Fightersrated.com - 117-111 Donaire
Associated Press - 116-111 Donaire
Boxing.com - 115-112 Donaire
Paul magno - (BoxingTribune) 116-111 Donaire
Ernest Gabion (TheboxingLab) 116-111 Donaire
Boxingscene.com - 115-112
Mark ortega - (Quessnbury Rules) 116-111 Donaire
Ramon Aranda - (3 More Rounds) 116-111
Paddy Cronan - (Onthegrindboxingradio) 114-113 Donaire
Thaboxingvoice.com - 117-110 Donaire
Joel Sebastianelli - (Leaveitinthering) 115-112 Donaire
Nigel Collins - (ESPN) 115-112 Donaire

Saddoboxing forum (all for Donaire) 116-112 x2, 115-112, 116-111

BoxingAsylum Forum (all for Donaire) 115-112 x2, 116-111

Ringnews24 Forum - 117-110 Donaire

Fightjudge Forum (all for Donaire) 116-111 x3, 117-111 x3, 115-112 x3
                                                         115-113

Doghouseboxing Forum (all for Donaire) 114-113, 119-108, 118-109

Boxrec Forum (all for Donaire) 115-112 x2 , 115-113, 116-111

Eastsideboxing Forum (Donaire) 117-110 x4, 116-11 x3, 115-113.
                                                    114-113 x3 *114-114* Draw

Boxingscene forum (Donaire) 115-112 x2, 116-111 x5, 116-113,
                                                 116-111 x3
                            (Mathebula) 114-113 x2

Checkhookboxing Forum - 114-113 Mathebula

Philboxing Forum (All for Donaire) 116-113, 115-112, 116-111 x5
                                                           120-107, 117-110, 118-109


Sunday 8 July 2012

Brook Survives The Pressure

IBF 147lbs World Title Eliminator


Fighting in his Hometown Arena, The Motorpoint in Sheffield. Kell Brook got motoring as he barley made it past tough American Carson Jones over 12 tough exciting rounds. Questions were asked before hand if Brook (10st 6 3/4 lbs) was world class?, could he come through a crisis? and can his chin hold against a big puncher?. The Sheffield man answered these questions and more, a suspected broken nose left Brook's face a bloody mess as Jones (10st 6 1/2 lbs) came on very strong in the last 6 rounds to push Brook all the way. Jones was certainly not here just to make up the numbers.

The fight started well for the Champion, very well in fact as he jabbed, moved and landed at will on his opponent. In the first round the general conscientious was that Jones was having a look at Brook as he was following him around the ring but basically doing nothing OR so we thought. The Pressure was building as Jones was making Brook move around the ring at a pace Brook was not used to. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th went the same way with Brook boxing beautifully and Jones chasing. On occasion a Brook punch would stop Jones in his tracks then the Sheffield man would go on the attack looking for a KO. It never came for Brook but the fight was about to get very very difficult.

After 6 rounds Brook was well ahead, i had him 5-1 up, still boxing, moving and landing it looked as if Brook was going to cruise to a wide points win. Jones had other ideas. The pressure that the American put on Brook was beginning to tell, the cutting of the ring and the body shots made the champion slow down to a point where Jones could batter away at him on the ropes. The 7th, 8th and 9th rounds were bad ones for Brook, bleeding badly from that nose injury it had looked that Brook was beginning to wilt. In his post fight interview Brook had mentioned he wasn't happy with aspects of his training but also his diet although he did give full credit to the determined challenger Jones. The fight had turned full circle, gone was the fluid movement by the champion. He was now reduced to slugging it out on the ropes against a guy that had went 8 straight knockouts victories before this fight.

As the scorecards got tighter (i had it 5-4 Brook after 9) Brook somehow got his second wind and started moving again. Don't get me wrong he was in full retreat mode but he was doing enough with his jab to keep the now tiring Jones away. Brook like he had done earlier in the fight turned southpaw in an attempt to keep Jones at distance. I had Brook nicking 10 and 11, all he had to do now was see the final bell.

The last round started where the tenth and the eleventh left off with Brook somehow moving out of harms way whilst flicking that pesky jab at Jones, it didn't last though as after a minute Jones began pounding the body them moving to head. Brook was hurt and was hanging on for life. Jones went for the kill, numerous more punch forced Brook back to the ropes, the crowd were going absolutely crazy willing their home fighter to the bell. Attack after attack rained in from Jones but Brook answered one of those questions, in fact a few questions as in those last 30 seconds of the fight that remained Brook came through his crisis, his chin was tested and he had beaten a genuine world class fighter.

Brook is now in line for an IBF title shot although its unclear whether he will need to fight in another final eliminator. In this post fight interview Jones said he felt he won and would like a rematch. Somehow i cant see that happening soon, it was that tough a fight where both fighter emerged with huge credit after a stormy build up to the fight.

Below is my fightscorecollector's scorecard along with all the press and fans scores for this IBF world title eliminator.

Fightscorecollector's Scorecard

Round 1.... 10-9 Brook
Round 2.... 10-9 Brook
Round 3.... 10-9 Brook
Round 4.... 9-10 Jones
Round 5.... 10-9 Brook
Round 6.... 10-9 Brook
Round 7.... 9-10 Jones
Round 8.... 9-10 Jones
Round 9.... 9-10 Jones
Round 10.. 10-9 Brook
Round 11.. 10-9 Brook
Round 12.. 9-10 Jones

TOTAL: 115-113 Kell Brook

Judges Scores: Manfred Kuechler (Ger)... 114-114 Draw
Steve Gray (England) ...... 116-113 Brook
Paul Barry (USA)............. 115-113 Brook

KELL BROOK WINS BY MAJORITY DECISION


Boxing Sites, Fan Forums and Press Scores

Jim Watt - (SkySports) 116-113 Brook
Glen McCrory - (SkySports) 116-113 Brook

Scott Christ - (Badlefthook) 115-113 Brook

FightGhost - 115-113 Brook

Matthew Mojica - (fightsource) - 115-113 Brook

Kieran Mulvaney - (ESPN) - 115-113 Brook

Josh McDaniels - (Leaveitintheringradio) 115-113 Brook

Livefight.com - 116-113 Brook

Mark Ortega - (Queensbury Rules) - 114-114 Draw

Alan Dawson - (Onthebeak.com) - 115-113 Brook

Phil D Jay - (WorldBoxingNews.net) - 115-113 Brook

Fightnews.com - 114-114 Draw

Jeff Powell - (Daily Mail) - 116-113 Brook

Steve Lillis - ( Boxnation channel) - 116-112 Brook

Shaun Brown - (Boxingscene) - 115-114 Brook

Saddoboxing Forum - (all for Brook) 115-113 x2, *114-114* draw

BoxingAsylum Forum - (all for Brook) 115-114, 115-113, 116-112, *114-114 *draw

Livefight Forum - (all for Brook) 115-113 x2, 116-112, 116-114, *114-114* x2

Fightype Forum - (all for Brook) 115-113, 116-112

Ringnews24 Forum - (all for Brook) 117-111, *114-114* Draw, *115-115* draw

Doghouseboxing Forum - 116-112 Brook

Boxrec Forum - (all for Brook) 115-113 x4, 116-113, *114-114* x2

Eastsideboxing Forum - (all for Brook) 115-113 x7, 116-113, 116-112, 117-114, 115-114
                                       (all for Jones) **115-114**, **115-113** , *114-114* x6

BoxingScene Forum - (all for Brook) 115-113 x7 , 116-112, *114-114* x2
                                    ( all for Jones) **115-113** x3 , **115-114**

Checkhookboxing Forum - (all for Brook) 116-112 x3, 115-113 x2, 115-114
                                             **115-113** Jones