Stuff from SNY: w/Glen Johnson!

Shobox announce team in effect for Dibella's desperation boxing programming.

Carlos Diaz (10-15-4) vs. Dat Nguyen (13-1): Nguyen was a hot prospect on ESPN once. Once. Featherweights.

SCORECARD: 79-73 Nguyen

Nguyen lands a overhand right early and I'm thinking this is probably not gonna last too long. Diaz is 7 1/2 years removed from his last win? Yikes. BTW, most interesting thing about this fight: its "Bam Bam" vs. "Dat's Dat". Oh I crack myself up. The announce tema would like to remind you that while Diaz has lost all his fights in the last 5 years, at least they were to good fighters. Diaz's problem is that while he's bigger, he is slow enough to be timed with a sundial and wide open when he throws. He squares up when he's on the run, his defense is so bad. 

Wild brawl when the second opens and its kidna fun to watch. Then it slows back down to where it was with Nguyen landing a lot of punches and none of them really affect Ruiz. Nguyen is able to be punched by the lesser fighter, but Ruiz doesn't have the sort of pop to keep Nguyen off him. He's cut badly in the third round of the fight, but Nguyen doesn't jump on him while Ruiz is standing around squinting, leading to some criticism of his killer instinct. In fact, as the 4th continues on, they note that Nguyen's balance is off, he's not body punching enough, he's not snapping his jab, and a rash of other issues. Diaz actually lands a decent left hook that wobbles the prospect but he ends up backing off. Nguyen's defense is abyssmal, and as his hands have slowed down, offense as best defense isn't a working strategy. Diaz miraculously wins the round.

The bout marches on and Diaz isn't any more effective because the slaps from his smaller opponent have been enough to slow him as well. The fight devolves into a sloppy mess of tangled fists and clinching. Some shining hope before Round 7 that the fight is over due to the cut, but I and the 500 people or so watching at the Hard Rock in FL aren't so lucky. Diaz is begging to be stopped, but Nguyen doesn't even really try. He lands a couple shots, pushes him into the ropes, and then moves away, allowing Diaz to retake the center of the ring. This fight goes an unfathomable 8 rounds, with Nguyen not showing the panache or the power to put away a man desperately wanting to be KOed. Diaz hilariously lands the best punch of the 8th with the only punch he lands. Unanimous decision for Nguyen.

Sebastian Hamel (8-14-1) vs. Kenny Galarza (7-0): Galarza is undefeated with all KOs. Hamel lost his last fight by first round KO.

Galarza is looking for power punches but isn't setting them up, really. Hamel is looking to run. This is going to be the story of the fight, I'm sure. The whole first round is abjectly boring and barely watchable. The pace continues at this rate and the crowd is booing. This lasts the whole second round, but Hamel is dropped hard at the very end of the second with a single left hook and survives the longest 10 count in history. The fight is stopped by the doctor in between rounds. Galarza looks horrible.

Glen Johnson vs. Aaron Norwood (26-10-2): Whoo boy. Norwood is the rare older than Glen Johnson opponent.

Johnson starts in the first with some soft sparring. I mean, you can tell that is what Glen is after early on because he is fighting a slow old guy and isn't pressuring him at all. Again, more of that in the second with Glen only throwing the occasional hard shot and not really following up. Towards the end of the third, Glen begins to pour it on, and he decides to end it in the fourth. Nothing really to see.

BOXEO - Something that was on Fox Sports En Espanol

This was sitting on my DVR and I'm like "hey what the fuck". Pavel Miranda vs. Alex Viramonte! Thompson Promotions! Corona, CA! I know nothing about either guy. Welterweights? Viramonte is like 9-5-3. What the hell is this doing on TV? Miranda is 18-1. Oh boy.

SCORECARD: 78-72 Miranda

Viramonte walks forward and is a sucker for body punches. He ceases being the aggressor after a minute or so. Miranda is throwing right hand leads, and my expectation is that I will get to see another fight on this one hour show.  Viramonte again comes forward in round 2 and again eats lots of offense. Like, consistently. Everything thrown seems to land. If Miranda shows any negatives in this fight, its that he is way too willing to fight inside. Not that Viramonte can do anything about it, but someone who is better very easily could. He's actually a lousy inside fighter, to be honest. 

Viramonte looks more impressive in the 3rd than in prior rounds because he is landing some slappy punches. He is still being outlanded 2-1, if not worse. But because Miranda is letting him inside so easily, he's getting the shots off to possibly land. Viramonte actually gets off a few power shots in a row in the 4th to start with. Is Miranda gassed? His mouth keeps opening, so I suppose that answers that. Viramonte is about as willing to clinch on the inside too now. I hope this is only a 6 rounder. 

Round 5! I am surprised to be here. Viramonte is inside but now he is inactive there and eating uppercuts. Miranda seems to have a problem: He can't punch. I mean, he's more accurate and better trained and stuff, but he can't crack. No pop. That's all that keeps Viramonte in this. He's actually cutting off the ring well (because Miranda now cannot move) and throws some hooks when he does get him against the ropes. Miranda usually counters though and spins off before the episode repeats itself. I've got it 49-46 after 5.

In Round 6 Miranda continues to back straight up, continues to land better punches, continues to....you know. Round 7 and Miranda is bleeding from the nose! Exciting! He is still landing better shots but he is immobile and letting Viramonte in this in the 8th. Miranda is hurt halfway through by a flurry against the ropes and keeps on him for most of the round. Too bad he lost the fight. Somehow this is a split decision and Miranda gets the nod.

BOXING: 11/14/08 Royal Oak, MI

Steve Munisitri (I think) and Frank Garza are announcing this less than amazing card from the Royal Oak Theater near Detroit. The main event is Darryl Cunningham (an 11-2 fighter) facing 7-0 light heavyweight Patrick Wesson. ALSO: Heavyweight pseudoprospect from mid-Michigan with Rich Power fighting the 1-3 John Smith. Jaime Costillano is fighting, and I've seen him getting his ass beaten on numerous MMA events locally.

1) JAIME COSTILLANO vs. GUY PACKER: This is epic matchmaking. Packer is 2-20-2. Costillano is 4-18.

SCORECARD: 39-37 Packer

Costillano is clearly the smaller man. He is hit with a right hand early in the fight and is stunned. Costillano begins to wild swing and hold. The first is mildly entertaining, albiet largely devoid of talent, with both men landing clean punches. The second is where it begins to go downhill, turning into a sloppy clinch and hook fest. I give Costillano the second because he lands some left hooks at the bell, but other than that, its all Packer. He wins a unanimous decision.

2) DABOE THOMAS vs. JAMES LESTER JR.: Thomas is 0-1, Lester 6-2. 

SCORECARD: 39-36 Lester Jr.

Both guys are playing it off as if they are defensive Floyd Mayweather wannabes and neither actually is. Lester is closer to one though and hurts Thomas in the first round on a couple different occasions. Thomas lands a right hand that hurts Lester early in round 2, and Lester holds on until he's wrestled down. And then they brawl out as the ref picks up Lester and drags him away. Oh, Detroit. The promoter is in the ring and the corners are in there, and so, uh, the fight is over? Or it is not. There's a point deduction? The fight continues? Really?

So back to round 2, and they throw down. Thomas is dropped with a right hand that looked to be to the back of the head. Lester lands some nice clean left hooks but its clear he has no power on that punch. Lester is hurt with a right hand at the bell to boot. Lester took the 3rd off assuming that he was safely ahead, which he was. Wild final round in this one where both men just trade like all get out and are each hurt repeatedly. Unanimous decision to Lester.

3) ANDRE GORGES vs. JOSHUA RODRIGUEZ: Gorges is hella thin. Welterweight bout, set for 4. 

SCORECARD: KO 1

Easy stoppage win for Gorges, who just mows over Rodriguez with sheer volume. Gorges doesn't punch properly though: He's landing more with the inside of the glove and wrist than with the knuckles, otherwise he might have ended this earlier.

4) ALEXIS HLOROS vs. CORY PETERSON: Peterson has some wild facial hair; like the upper lip is shaved but not the corners. Hloros is trained by the guy who trained Booker Ward, apparently. 6 round welterweight bout.

SCORECARD: KO 1

Hloros knocks Peterson down with the first punch of the fight. Peterson gets up and then is dropped for the final time after some wild combinations. 

5) JOHN SMITH vs. RICH POWER: Power is an undefeated heavyweight prospect of sorts fighting Michigan nobodies in the vein of a Kevin Montiy. Smith is garbage. Interesting note: Thomas Hearns joins on the announce team.

SCORECARD: KO 2

Power is a big strong dude but he moves slow in the ring and the ultra wild and aggressive Smith is able to land, however his punches have virtually no effect. Power covers up when swung at, even by somoene as garbage as Smith. Hearns, by the way, sounds retarded.

6) DARRYL CUNNINGHAM vs. PATRICK WESSON: Cunningham is the guy who has been headlining many of these shows. Why? No idea. Wesson is undefeated and from Grand Rapids, MI. 

SCORECARD: KO1

Wesson is knocked down with a straight right after a double jab about 1:10 in. Cunningham just keeps doing the same thing to set up another right and Wesson seems unable to adapt. He is KOed on the ropes with about :15 seconds left, and it was fairly brutal. He's caught by the ropes as he falls and takes a few extra punches, his hands still up by his face as he slowly tips over forwards.

Herman Ngoudjo vs. Juan Urango

Woooooh I got motivated to post tonight and this happened to be on my television screen. It should be in English on Friday Night Fights with ole scarface Teddy Atlas but Radio Canada has the Canadian rights so ill have to catch this in French. Off we go.

Round 1:
First round is pretty standard. Urango walked Herman down and try's to land while Herman uses the jab to keep Urango a a distance. as the round progresses Urango closes the distance and shows his superior punching power. He def lands more power shots and i feel he takes the first round Urango 10-9.


Round 2:
Urango with some nice body work to start the round. Herman drops his hands and pays a lil later in the round eating a combination he probably should have been able to defend. He answers back and there are some nice exchanges. Another round i fee was controlled by Urango despite Herman finishing a little stronger than the first round 10-9 Urango

Round 3:
Herman back to using the jab more this round. seems like a wise decision.huge uppercut from Urango and he drops Herman hard. He makes it but its not looking good. Urango is throwing everything now but Herman is surviving. Urango should be careful not to blow his wad. Down again and he answers the count. Herman looks to survive and he does. 10-7 Urango. Hes just straight overwhelming Herman

Round 4:
Urango is an angry man. hes stalking the hurt Herman and hes going to make it tough for him to survive. Herman gets caught when he shouldn't IMO. Hands are too low.Herman is doing well for the 2nd half of this round penetrating Urango's defense to arguably steal the round. Urango throws some bombs at the end but Herm catches them all on the gloves. 10-9 Herman

Round 5:
Herman using his hand speed to land crisp combos on Urango. He needs to stay off the ropes if he wants to win. Urango is getting wider and Herman seems to be finding his groove finally. Urango lands a few power shots but overall Herman controls where the fight is fought and lands some crisp combos to take the round. Herman 10-9

Round 6:
Another tough round to score. Herman is backing up as usual but he does slip shots and land his nice combos. Hes gonna have to do this for the rest of the fight. Urango is always coming forward landing thudding shots that even if blocked will accumulate I'm sure. 10-9 Herman

Round 7:
Urango working hard to the body now. Smart move. if you take Herms gas tank from him he cant run away. Urango goes back to head hunting a lil. Herman makes a mini comback towards the end of the round but its not enough. they have a nice exchange at the end of the round. Urango 10-9

Round 8:
These rounds are all pretty similar. Urango plods forward and throws heavy shots to the body and head while Herman tries to fend him off and fire back. He doesn't land enough in return to win the round in my opinion. 10-9 Urango

Round 9:
Again much the same. Urango works the body hard this round and chases Herman. Near the end Herman lands some hard shots and may hurt Urango a little but not anything to stop the Urango onslaught. The round ends. Urango 10-9

Round 10:
Herman is looking a little stronger this round. Urango looks like he may be losing a little steam on his movement and punches. Lots of holding going on this round. Heavy body shots from Urango. Herman is landing cleaner shots now. Urango def losing a lil zip. But he keeps coming and winning the round. Herman is looking much better than i thought he would at this point in the fight. 10-9 Urango.

Round 11:
Herman looks very worn down now. Urango coming forward as usual. Again lots of holding and inside fighting. Both guys are very tired. Urango 10-9

Round 12:
Herman needs to knock him out to win this. Urango needs to just hold on and survive for 3min and he has this in the bag. You never know what the judges will say but i don't see any way Herman is winning this. Urango coming hard now really pushing his punches but he wont stop. More holding from both guys. Herman getting off good
on the inside towards the end. You could maybe give that to Herman but too little too late. 10-9 Herman

A day of catch-up

I, like most people, cannot watch boxing every day. Or MMA, for that matter. Need to throw different activities into the mix lest I destroy my life. However, because I skip so many shows, I often need a "catchup day" to start watching many of them, often in repetition. The snow gave me good reason to do just this. The basic theme? John Duddy. No, really. 

-JOHN DUDDY vs. SHELBY PUDWILL (3/16/06): Pudwill was a lousy fraud and got beaten violently, dropped early in round one with a left hook to the chin and he never recovered. Between the Pierre and Campos fights, so people were still somewhat willing to buy into Duddy. 

-JOHN DUDDY vs. DUPRE STRICKLAND (5/18/07): Strickland had an impressive record (as did many Duddy opponents) but it lacked any substance. He was knocked down on an off balance shot in the first and lost every single round of the fight on my card and that of the judges. A horrible fight in which Strickland ran and Duddy's lack of actual punching power made it impossible for him to slow down Strickland. Strickland did nothing to win. 

-JOHN DUDDY vs. ALESSIO FURLAN (7/24/07): Duddy's return to Ireland, a necessary move to remotivate him and keep him from going stale with the NY fanbase. A lot is said by the RTE announcers to hype him, and he lives up to it in some sense. Duddy drops him in the first and then out throws him most of the fight, with Furlan winning only the 5th. Furlan was given a ton of credit for a career journeyman, and much was made of his survival for 11 rounds against Sylvester. Duddy stops Furlan with less than 20 seconds remaining in round 10 after the second knockdown of that final round. Furlan made sure to land a few solid rights on Duddy, but being a weak puncher, nothing truly came of it. 

-JOHN DUDDY vs. PRINCE ARRON (10/20/07): Simply no way Nevada or NY would ever accept this fight. Arron is beyond overmatched and while he lands a pretty decent combination in round 1, Duddy simply piles over the stringbean with a few knockdowns. Arron is really looking for a soft spot on the canvas in round 2 when a solid slap on the inside puts him down and forces a ref stoppage. 

-JOHN DUDDY vs. HOWARD EASTMAN (12/8/07): Eastman looked good here, which is perhaps not the strongest complement to Duddy's skills. Lots of right hand uppercuts landed clean and Eastman as counterpuncher seemed to have the answer to Duddy's forward movement all night long. Earlier in his career, Eastman obliterates Duddy. At 37, it is a close fight due to Duddy's ability to soak up punches while throwing his own. I had it Eastman 96-94 but the ref scores it that way for Duddy. Eastman really ran out of gas in the 6th and just sorta coasted in from there. The announcers again put over Duddy's success and popularity in the US (hah!) as well as Eastman's ability. 

My thoughts with Duddy is that he probably gets a bad wrap. He didn't look bad with Eastman, who is very awkward. Alternately, a 37 year old Eastman shouldn't be competitive with a guy constantly brought up in world title bout talks. What I found most hilarious was watching these shows, you see several prospects as good or better than Duddy (Macklin, Quillin, Moore), and whatever momentum you imagine building for Duddy gets blown up. Duddy is what he is, which is Mickey Ward with good management.

OTHER STUFF:

-Peter Quillin had two fights on these shows. He was outrageous wild against Willie Cruz, just throwing shit everywhere. Fast forward to the Victor Paz fight and he's much, much more controlled. Viewing him versus Duddy, there's a marked difference in technique, hand speed, movement, hell, everything. He deserves some accolades.

-I might have seen Pawel Wolak/Troy Browning but forgot about it. He made Anthony Little look horrible with nothing but sheer offense, but I can't say I'm shocked to know that he lost to Ishe Smith in the last year. Zero pretense of defense.

-I've seen plenty of Paul McCloskey now. Good fighter with all the punches, but a lack of head movement means he probably won't progress beyond the Commonwealth level. He's beaten Garnica, and that deserves some respect in my eyes. Not much power, though.

-Haughian/Grassellini I is a tough ass fight to score. I actually had it wide for Haughian and was surprised as hell to see the italian winning the fight. Very competitive bout with both men throwing and blocking everything coming back. Kinda liked it. Haughian looked good against O'Connell as well. 

-Can someone explain why anyone likes Joe Greene? One punch at a time, slow, inactive, holds. He's beaten nobody good. Here against Brian Norman he gave away the first two, and he ain't superman. 

-Haven't seen Macklin in a minute but boy oh boy did he look good against Furlan. Just bashed him in. Great body punching.

CHAMP: Rules for me filling this are: A) unify three belts OR B) #1 and #2 fight. This is similar to The Ring’s rule, except that I’m not gonna bend to HBO’s demands to make guys champ (see also: Klitschko, Vitali)

1 ) Wladimir Klitschko : A win over Rahman does little for Klitschko other than give him another W.

2 ) Alexander Povetkin

3)  Vitali Klitschko

4 ) Ruslan Chagaev

5 ) Juan Carlos Gomez 

6) Samuel Peter

7 ) Nicolay Valuev: I drop him a little because, hey, if there was funny business, he still looked bad and you couldn't give a guy credit for being worse than you think he really is.

8 ) John Ruiz 

9 ) Sultan Ibragimov

10 ) Eddie Chambers 

11 ) Vladimir Virchis

12 ) Tony Thompson 

13) Chris Arreola: First big mover for the month.

14 ) Oleg Maskaev

15 ) Taras Bidenko

16) Fres Oquendo: Another big mover north off a "loss".

17 ) Alexander Dimitrenko

18) David Haye: How much does a KO win over Barrett mean? Answer: Not much unless you are crazy.

19 ) James Toney

20 ) Lamon Brewster

21) Ray Austin

22) Matt Skelton

23) Shannon Briggs

24 ) Kali Meehan

25 ) Jameel McCline

26 ) Kevin Johnson

27 ) Sergei Lyakhovich

28 ) Hasim Rahman

29 ) Odlanier Solis Fonte

30) Jason Estrada

31 ) Monte Barrett

32 ) Andrew Golota

33 ) Timor Ibragimov

34 ) Malik Scott

35 ) Travis Walker

36 ) Luan Krasniqi

37 ) Davarryl Williamson

38) Dominck Guinn

39) Cedric Boswell

40 ) Chazz Witherspoon

41) Friday Ahunanya

42) Zuri Lawrence

43) Evander Holyfield

44) Brian Minto

45) Francesco Pianeta

46) Sinam Samil Sam

47) Manuel Quezada

48) Oliver McCall

49) Albert Sosnowski

50) Michael Sprott

ANOTHER RBR: Guzman/Diaz

I've got Television Dominica, so here goes a RBR of this event.

Event starts really suddenly. No idea who is even fighting in this first fight and we are starting uh, midway through a mystery round. I don't speak Spanish, so no help here. Arena is empty too. No note as to who is who (one guy is wearing blue, another black) and all I know is that neither is Guzman. Given my complete inability to find out what the hell is going on, I fast forward to the end of the bout without watching, but listen to the announcer. Oh, wait, he's inaudible. Oh well. 

Wait! Now I can figure it out thanks to the interview. Kendal Mena is being interviewed after beating Rafael Romero. Maybe I'll watch it another day.

Long interview with some dude who I think was that guy who won a medal for them at the Olympics. Note: I have an internet feed of Canal 4 open and its way, way ahead of the one on DirecTV. Like a minute ahead.

Yup, it was indeed Felix Diaz. Expect him to turn pro sooner rather than later.

Jose Amaro Guzman/Cristian Martinez is next on the card.

ROUND 1:

Facially, looks similar to Joan because, hey, its his brother. Martinez decides to push him into the ropes and take him out and being a horrible fighter, fails miserably. Lesser Guzman is able to get him against the ropes and eradicate the 2-15 fighter with body shots about a minute in.

Guzman, just for the record, has fought opponents with a combined record of 7-62-1.

Next fight is up! And I don't know who is fighting here. I decipher it as Melvin Betancourt and Eduardo Mercedes.

ROUND 1:

Betancourt is in the red shoes I think. Both have gold trunks. The announcers can't tell, honestly. Whoever has the red shoes has a good jab. Wild punching by the dark skinned dude. Nothing really landing hard by either man. 

Red Shoes 10-9

ROUND 2: 

The guy with the red shoes is putting on a clinic right now. He's got more dimensions, can jab, move, etc. Hurt his opponent later in the roung with a nice combination. Only major flaw from the person I believe is Betancourt is the lack of a body assault. 

Red Shoes 20-18

ROUND 3:

I can understand enough to know that Betancourt is wearing the red shoes now. Hooray for my ever increasing Spanish vocabulary. He's able to cut down the ring and force Mercedes into the ropes pretty regularly. He does markedly little with that though. All head hunting too. Nearly drops Mercedes with some shots that throw him into the ropes but is forced to clinch in a resulting flurry. 

Betancourt 30-27

ROUND 4: 

Betancourt lands a hard combination and Mercedes almost goes out of the ring. KO win for the kid, bringing him to 4-0 with 2 KOS. 

Next fighters are in the ring now, and honestly, I have no idea who it is again. Oh, wait: Argenis Mendez/Arturo Gomez!

ROUND 1

Mendez is much bigger physically and they start swinging early in the round after Gomez is bothered by a punch. Good exchanges in the first with Gomez often working off the ropes. Lots of head hunting here. Monster right hand turns Gomez's head but doesn't drop him. Right now its looking like either Mendez will have a short night or that Gomez will drag him into deep waters and smash him. Good comeback for Gomez at the end of the 1st and Mendez returns with a near knockdown of Gomez.

10-9 Mendez

ROUND 2

Gomez is taking a beating and then suddenly makes a short comeback over and over again in the span of merely seconds. Good action in the early parts of the round. Mendez gets Gomez against the ropes and is looking for a stop. Lots of fast hands from Mendez, but Gomez has heart. Gomez is dropped with a right hand but the ref doesn't jump in fast enough and doesn't count it. Both men are trading almost the entire round. It only slows near the bell.

20-18 Mendez

ROUND 3

This is definitely not HBO production as the start of the round sees a long shot being left on waaaay too long. 

The two have slowed greatly and that's in Gomez's favor. Mendez may actually be punched out. Gomez is on offense in this round and looks effective. Hooks to the body are landing and Mendez is letting himself get pushed around. Mendez is getting a little wild with his punching, but almost turns the fight around with one crazy counter. Gomez weathered the early storm and he's landing now. Crowd is pretty quiet.

29-28 Mendez

ROUND 4

Gomez returns to offense in this round, pushing Mendez into the ropes and body punching. Good uppercuts inside too. Mendez gets off the ropes and starts moving a little with the jab and is somewhat effective with it, and again gets Gomez into the ropes. Mendez is getting better blocking stuff against the ropes but he's not really countering when in that position. He's letting Gomez look good doing it and when he does land its enough to basically hand the round to the guy. Mendez turns his back at one point and you get the feeling that he's taking a beating.

38-38, draw

ROUND 5

Gomez is briefly affected in this round by Mendez's power advantage but otherwise its another Gomez round. Mendez looks bad constantly ending up in the ropes and flat our running from the journeyman mexican. I mean, Gomez is literally springint after him in the ring at times. Mendez might not make it the distance.

48-47, Gomez

ROUND 6

Better round thus far for Mendez. He's staying off the ropes in this one and not holding as much, so he's able to use his handspeed and reach. Gomez is still able to force his way inside more often than not and land shots. Final minute is all Mendez.

57-57, draw

ROUND 7

Gomez is rocked on a few occasions in this round by right hands thrown by Mendez, who looks like he's got his second wind. He's really establishing the middle of the ring. Second half of the round and Gomez is nearly dropped with a monster right hand and fights his way back off the ropes. 

67-66, Mendez

ROUND 8

Another really good round. Gomez is trying to spark another comeback in this round and Mendez is letting it happen by sticking around on the ropes. Gomez is just going to town when that happens with combination punching. Its generally just shoe shining but looking good is half the battle.

76-76 Draw on my card. Apparently we're going to the official cards.

No surprise, Mendez gets the win in his hometown. Couldn't hear the cards.

Long interlude before what I assume is the main event. Meanwhile boxing is now suddenly on the DirecTV schedule. Figures they just throw it out there randomly when I finally change the channel. 

Carlos Fulgencio vs. Francis Ruiz is next up.

ROUND 1

Fulgencio has the nicer record but is way smaller. At least I think he's the dude in the silver. Oh, no, he isn't. Ruiz throws more but you'd swear these are different weight classes.

Ruiz 10-9

ROUND 2

Lots of static from the mics. That is the major news here. Good thai clinch from Fulgencio. Didn't know that was legal here. 

19-19 

ROUND 3

Ruiz knocks down Fulgencio twice really, really hard in this round early on. I'm surprised the ref let it continue after a rubber legged Fulgencio got up the first time. Fight is stopped after the second knock down.

Its time for the main event! Finally.

ROUND 1

Guzman clowns poor Diaz. All sorts of Roy Jones channelling.

10-9 Guzman

ROUND 2

Guzman is landing some power punches here and there but its a lot of style and flash with not nearly as much actual substance. In other words, I smell decision.

20-18 Guzman

ROUND 3

The highlights are generally good enough to watch. Diaz comes forward being much bigger, Guzman gets super low and is gone after landing a couple pitter pat shots. Repeat over and over and over.

30-27 Guzman

ROUND 4

AND1 boxing, thanks to Joan Guzman. Diaz is putting in effort, sure, but that's about it. My stream is cutting in and out now and the TV is about 5 minutes behind, sadly, so I am not getting the best look at this, but I don't know that its really necessary. Guzman has his hands by his knees by the end of the round. 

ROUND 5

Guzman was a monster at 122 because he was so big and powerful for that weight. At 135, he's got feather fists that happen to be fragile to boot. It sucks because you want to see someone like him be able to actually stop someone and no matter how clean he's landing, it seems far out of reach. Diaz actually lands a punch that forces Guzman back but Guzman is able to recover on the ropes and land about 5 counters with the right hand. 

50-45 Guzman

ROUND 6

Big update: Guzman's tape was coming loose. Other than that, more of the previous 5 rounds. Less flash, perhaps. 

60-54, Guzman

ROUND 7

I remember watching Guzman's fight with Antonio Davis some time ago. It was boring. This is not much better. Sure, it was impressive to see him use his talents but the lack of competition was such that you were lured to sleep.

70-63, Guzman

ROUND 8

I'm basically gonna stop scoring because I've honestly lost interest in this fight. Guzman will win a decision and we can spend another year wondering when he'll rise to the top of whatever division he's in.