The Official Scorecard Thread

Victor Galindez v Jesse Burnett

Really fun fight with an aged Galindez trying his hand up at cruiserweight against Burnett, who boxed very well behind his jab and used his natural height and reach advantages to good effect.

Galindez showed he still had heart after taking a pasting in a tremendous 7th round by putting Burnett in trouble in the same round and he rallied well over the next three rounds to keep things competitive but Burnett clearly deserved the win.

Well worth a watch this one.

1 9-10
2 9-10
3 10-10
4 9-10
5 10-9 (close)
6 9-10
7 7-10 (great round! Galindez down at the beginning and end of the round but put Burnett in trouble as well)
8 10-9
9 10-9
10 10-9
11 9-10
12 10-9 (cracking final round)

Galindez 112-115 Burnett

 

Eddie Mustafa Muhammad v Jerry Martin

This fight perfectly sums up the enigmatic performer that Eddie Mustafa Muhammad was. He was such a good boxer and a dangerous puncher too but also a fighter with a real tendency to admire his own work.

Muhammad seemed in control the whole way through but just took his foot off the gas and allowed Martin to work his way back in contention. And then just as he'd done that, he lowered the boom and stopped him.

My card is closer than Eddie should have allowed it to be. After the end of the 4th he nearly had Martin out of there (it definitely would have been stopped then and there if it was taking place today), but managed to let him off the hook in the 5th and from the 6th, Martin edged some rounds to make my scoring look closer than the fight really was.

1 10-9
2 10-9
3 10-9 (close)
4 10-8 (pretty even, Martin edging it until Muhammad clocks him hard and follows up battering him to the floor. The bell saves him)
5 10-9
6 9-10 (Muhammad has stepped off the gas)
7 9-10 (close)
8 9-10 (close again)
9 9-10 (Eddie does like to admire his own work. He probably feels like he is in complete control and he is overall but his output is currently so sporadic that Martin is nicking rounds. Mustafa is a frustrating fighter to watch)
(86-84)
10 Muhammad TKO Martin
(And just like that it's over. A booming right hand flattens Martin. The ref gives Martin the benefit of the doubt to carry on but the follow up from Muhammad shows that there is nothing left.)

 

Eddie Gregory v Matt Franklin

This is from 1977 and features the pre-title, pre-Muhammad light heavyweights.

Only the first four rounds available of this one, unfortunately. Such a shame.

And a real shame too that they never got to rematch with the undisputed world title on the line a few years later.

1 8-10 (Gregory is put down but back up quickly)
2 9-10 (close)
3 10-9 (close)
4 10-9 (Gregory's best round of the fight so far)
(37-38)

And that's it. Two rounds apiece with Franklin holding a slender points advantage on account of the first round KD. Hopefully someone posts the full 10 rounds one day.

 

I had Lara by 1 or a draw, with Canelo.

 

Matthew Saad Muhammad v Murray Sutherland

A somewhat customary slow start from Saad as Sutherland built up an early points lead with some sharp boxing but the tide started to turn at the end of the 5th and Saad never relinquished control from that point on. Even had the ref allowed the fight to continue, it would have been over pretty quickly after that.

1 9-10 (very good start from the challenger)
2 9-10 (Sutherland has Saad in some trouble against the ropes)
3 9-10 (Saad was more active but Sutherland boxed very nicely to take another round)
4 10-9 (close but Saad outworked Sutherland)
5 9-10 (close again. Sutherland controlled the action for the first two minutes before Saad backed him up. Sutherland just retained the edge)
6 10-9 (clear round for Saad. He started to use his natural strength and power advantages in this round. Sutherland starting to look outgunned)
7 10-8 (Sutherland dropped hard and takes a pasting. Did well to survive the round. Could be scored 10-7)
8 10-9 (some good exchanges and a good recovery from Sutherland but Saad just took it)
(76-75)
9 Saad Muhammad KO Sutherland (was it a fast count? Sutherland and his corner thought so)

 

Ricardo Lopez v Rosendo Alvarez 2

High quality fight with some excellent exchanges. I thought Alvarez started really well and had Lopez on the back foot before Lopez started to dictate terms over the second half. He really impressed me, particularly as he never seemed to get rattled by the cuts he suffered. He looked a mess by the end but he definitely deserved the win.

Not electrifying action but a very good fight nonetheless.

1 9-10
2 10-9
3 9-10 (some nice exchanges)
4 9-10 (close)
5 10-9
6 10-9 (close. Some more good back and forth action but I thought Lopez edged it with his more precise punching)
7 10-9 (Lopez seems to have taken a measure of control in the fight. Alvarez looking a little predictable)
8 10-9 (good round again)
9 10-9 (Alvarez had some sporadic moments of success but it's Lopez in control)
10 9-10 (close. Better from Alvarez, who manages to make Lopez retreat and closes distance to land some decent shots)
11 10-9 (Lopez has sealed the fight on my card with a strong second half of the round after Alvarez started well)
12 10-9 (close but Alvarez didn't show quite enough urgency. Lopez's face looks bad while Alvarez is relatively unmarked but that doesn't tell the real story of the fight)

Lopez 116-112 Alvarez

 

Jeff Harding v Dennis Andries 3

Not quite as intense as their first fight but this was still a fitting end to a fine series.

I had it a bit wider than the official scores. I thought Harding did the more consistent work and Andries attacks got increasingly ragged over the second half of the fight as he tired. He was looking for big, looping bombs to land but missed a lot. Harding, by contrast, kept his attacks in a tighter radius and went through the middle with straighter punches.

Harding is a bit like his countryman and namesake Jeff Fenech - he continues to come forward and use volume as his primary weapon in an attempt to overwhelm his opponent. My sense here was his conditioning wasn't quite the same as it was in the first fight they had but it was still pretty impressive. Hard by name and hard by nature.

1 9-10
2 9-10
3 10-9
4 10-9
5 10-9 (close and difficult to score. Harding with the more consistent output but Andries landed the bigger punches)
6 9-10 (close again)
7 10-9 (some excellent exchanges but Harding took it)
8 10-9 (Harding is landing more. Andries is trying to land bombs but missed a lot in that round)
9 9-10 (close)
10 10-9
11 10-9 (better quality from Harding. Andries looked ragged)
12 10-9

Harding 116-112 Andries

 

Azumah Nelson v Jeff Fenech 2

In perhaps the best win of his illustrious career, Azumah Nelson turns the tables on Jeff Fenech to score an upset win in front of Fenech's home crowd in Melbourne, Australia. After his struggles against Fenech the previous year (Nelson claimed he was recovering from malaria and escaped with a disputed draw in Vegas), it was anticipated that Fenech would finally end Nelson's reign and perhaps we would be seeing the last of The Professor. But Nelson outstrengthed, outboxed and outpunched the previously unbeaten Fenech to brilliant effect from the opening bell. It was an awesome performance from the 33 year old Nelson and a devastating defeat for Fenech, one which he would never recover from.

1 10-8
(remarkable start from Nelson, who drops a seemingly tentative Fenech and physically bosses him throughout the round)
2 10-8
(Fenech did a little better this round but then gets tagged and dropped again)
3 9-10
(close. The round starts the same way as the previous two with Nelson hitting Fenech as he comes in before a switch seems to flick in Fenech and he remembers how he usually fights. He tries to stifle Nelson by bullying him to the ropes and eliminating any clean punching room. Nelson gives almost as good as he gets. Fenech looks like he is about to knee Nelson at the end of the round. Finally, Fenech seems to have clicked into gear)
4 10-10
(Fenech seems to have found some sort of foothold in the fight now. Both fighters had good moments with no real edge to either - good quality action)
5 10-9
(close. Shaky start to the round for Fenech as he is wobbled by Nelson. To his credit, he comes back well to stun Nelson a little but not quite enough to take a share of the round)
6 10-9
(Fenech gets Nelson where he wants him and tries to volume punch his way to winning the round but he's catching some sharp counters and then Nelson turns the tables on Fenech and batters him in the corner.)
7 9-10
(close one. Fenech just about took it)
(68-64)
8 Nelson TKO Fenech
(Fenech has Nelson where he wants him - with his back to the ropes. But Nelson times his counter attack perfectly and hits the Aussie with a blistering power combo to drop him. Fenech looks out on his feet when he gets back up and Nelson batters him before Arthur Mercante wisely stops it)

 

Alexis Arguello vs Rolando Navarette

AA : RN

1: 9 - 10
Nothing really substantial
2: 10 - 9
Lovely right uppercut
3: 10 - 9
Arguello much closer in position than before. Excellent subtle pressure
4: 10 - 9
Arguello sniping N's eye with left and rights
5: TKO / RTD
Navarette's eye looks smashed up by the laser guided attacks of Arguello.

TOTAL: 39 - 37 ARGUELLO

A classic Arguello performance with a somewhat anti-climatic end, really. Nothing more to say other than Arguello's distance control and parrying was on point.

 

Antonio Esparagoza vs Jean Marc Renard

AE : JMR

1: 10 - 10
Nothing substantial
2: 10 - 9
Esparagoza using his very long limbs to counter at range.
3: 9 - 10
Close, competitive. Renard a little more substantial.
4: 9 - 10
Renard bulling Esparagoza. Esparagoza very slippery, though.
5: 10 - 10
Esparagoza unloading effectively toward the end but was inactive for most of round.
6: KO
Sudden inverted 1 - 2 after a body punch flurry beforehand. Esparagoza wins KO.

TOTAL: 49 - 48 RENARD

A slightly ugly fight with two contrasting styles. Esparagoza was slippery in an off-beat fashion, but seemed a bit too lethargic or disinterested here to really show his championship class, whilst the Frenchman really went for it. This ended with a very weird KO and was slightly suspect imo, though the left looked solid enough so I can't say too much about it.

 

Chucho Castillo vs Jerry Stokes

CC : JS

1: 10 - 9
Close. Castillo with the lovely body right - left hook upstairs combination
2: KO
Incredible right cross counter down the centre to KO Stokes, a poor man's Napoles.

TOTAL: 10 - 9 CASTILLO

What a punch! A bout that was gearing to be a decent skill battle instead ended with a destructive counter. As Stokes threw his right, Castillo slipped heavily to his left and threw a right cross with all his weight. Beautiful one shot destruction, which Stokes couldn't recover from.

 

Just one of those old-time Mexican brawlers Merchant likes to talk about before Mexicans learned how to box.

 

I've seen this fight twice.

Esparragoza looked on the decline by time he fought Renard.

 

Wait, what?

Are you saying Chucho Castillo couldn't box????

 

Pretty sure it was sarcasm.

It is double L though so nothing is ever certain.

 

sarcasm. lampley and merchant liked to pretend JMM was the first mexican with boxing skill, and the ones before were just crude brawlers. i'm exaggerating but they really did try to paint that picture.

 

don't be so sure

 

Ohhh gotcha! I was about to say.

Yeah, Lamps and Merch did pretend like Marquez was the first ever Mexican technician.

As if guys like Chuco, Rafael Herrera, Vincente Saldivar, Sal Sanchez, and Gilberto Roman never existed.

Castillo was a wonderful technical boxer.

 

Clyde Gray vs Angel Espada

FOTW
WBA Welterweight Title
1975

CG : AE

1: 10 - 9
Very close. Fast start. Just gave to Gray due to bodywork + consistency.
2: 9 - 10
Very hard to seperate. Espada a bit more substantial.
3: 10 - 9
Gray working the jab. Espada rocked with a right.
4: 10 - 9
Quality round. Gray worked well but is cut.
5: 9 - 10
Espada getting aggressive aiming for the eye.
6: 9 - 10
Espada landing his jab with regularity. Boxing beautifully here.
7: 10 - 10
Very close. Espada picking spots well.
8: 10 - 9
Gray working very well inside.
9: 9 - 10
Espada bulling early before picking spots.
10: 9 - 10
Espada starting incredibly agressive.
11: 10 - 9
Gray grinding it out. Espada tired.
12: 9 - 10
Espada active, picking spots again.
13: 10 - 9
Very close. Gray just grinding it with rights.
14: 10 - 9
Gray forcing it.
15: 10 - 9
Gray extremely aggressive! Espada exhausted!

TOTAL: 144 - 142 GRAY

Notes:

• Now this is a 'world title' match! Both men were extremely classy style wise, tough as old boots and incredibly game. I loved seeing both men at work here, especially Espada - man, what a beautiful Boxing style, incredibly smooth. However, Gray was a veteran here, and I saw this as a true 15 rounder, where the last three rounds decided my total score and winner. However, Espada was declared the victor and new WBA Champion. This fight has a bit of everything - momentum changes, smart, smooth Boxing, aggressive inside fighting and game rallies. Everyone should check this one out. A closet classic. Thank you to ESB users PhillyPhan69 and scartissue for suggesting this one and highlighting it! A top pick for their FOTW!

 

They weren't the only ones doing that either. I heard Alex Wallau say the exact same thing during the first Jose Luis Castillo v Stevie Johnston fight. I thought I had misheard at first and wondered who he was referring to. Not sure where this idea came from but it's transparently bollocks.

 

You could actually go as far as to say Mexican boxing degenerated a little due to how pervasive this myth is. Even Mexicans bought into it.

 

Jesse James Leija vs Francisco Bojado

JJL : FB

1: 10 - 9
2: 8 - 10
Beautiful work from Bojada.
3: 9 - 10
Very close. I favoured Bojado's earlier work.
4: 10 - 9
Leija more substantial
5: 10 - 9
6: 10 - 9
7: 10 - 9
Awesome in fighting from Leija.
8: 9 - 10
9: 10 - 9
10: 10 - 9

TOTAL: 96 - 93 LEIJA

Notes:

• I'm a sucker for the old veteran bringing it on and winning fights he's not supposed to. Bojado showed flashes of talent, such as incredibly fluid movement and body punches, but gives up his position and randomly loses concentration alongside being lackadaisical. Leija never really made an unnecessary move here and it is brilliant to watch.

 

Marco Antonio Barrera vs Rocky Juarez I

MAB : RJ

1: 10 - 9 Very close opener
2: 10- 9 Again, real close
3: 9 - 10 Quality round - Barrera rocked in closing
4: 10 - 9 Close
5: 10 - 10 Barrera just even it with late work. Juarez defense extrmemly understated.
6: 10 - 9 Quality!
59 - 56
7: 10 - 9
8: 9 - 10
9: 9 - 10 Barrera mostly defending but tries to steal it too late
10: 9 - 10 Very close, Quality exchanges
11: 10 - 9 What a war!
12: 9 - 10 Good finale.
56 - 58

TOTAL: 115 - 114 BARRERA

Notes:

• Awesome technical war, with an incredible round 3 and 11. I totally agreed with the initial draw verdict tbh - either man could've won by a point. Still, Barrera got it in the end with that fiasco. Neither showed much distinction from the other. Rocky has an extremely subtle style which is very effective but not high in quantity. Barrera's jab was beautiful.

 

Eder Jofre vs Jose Legra

EJ : JL

1: 9 - 10 Legra working and moving
2: 10 - 10 Both men with excellent defense. Very close.
3: 9(8?)- 10 Jofre rocked at the end. If that wasn't ruled a KD, it really should've been.
4: 10 - 9 Quality round. Jofre landing. Legra rocked
5: 10 - 9 Some beautiful setups from Jofre. Blatant headbutt from Legra.
6: 9 - 10 Legra boxing wonderfully here. Groovy.
57(56) - 58
7: 9 - 10 Legra rough here. Rabbit punching, holding, but it does stifle Jofre.
8: 10 - 9 Jofre with the close range work. Legra constantly holding.
9: 10 - 9 Jofre, just, with some effective late work.
10: 9 - 10
11: 9 - 10 Ridiculous headbutt from Legra. How was he not penalised? Unfortunately, he won the round.
12: 10 - 9 Jofre really pressuring.
57 - 57
114(113) - 115
13: 10 - 9 Close.
14: 9 - 10 Jofre really hurt but rallies back!
15: 10 - 9(8?) Great finale. Point deduction?
29 - 28(27)

TOTAL = 143 - 143 DRAW or 142 - 143 LEGRA or 143 - 142 JOFRE or 142 - 142 DRAW

Notes:

• Seriously close and I'm unsure about some of the referees calls here. Either way, a neck and neck fight which was also very rough, which was surprising, especially from Legra, who committed nearly every foul in the book. Historic moment for the older veteran Jofre - Featherweight champion!

 

Jose Medel vs Jesus Pimental

JM : JP

1: 9 - 10 Not much occuring. Pimental on a hook.
2: 10 - 9 Both patient. Medel countering.
3: 10 - 9 Medel controlling the rythym.
4: 8 - 10 Medel dropped with a right but rallies back!
5: 9 - 10 Pimental working.
46 - 48
6: 10 - 10 Round was cut short so giving it even.
7: 9 - 10 Pimental pressuring smartly with jab.
8: 10 - 9 Close.
9: 10 - 7 Medel drops Pimental with a huge counter and then again with an extended flurry.
10: 10 - 9 Close exchanges. Medel on counters.
49 - 45

TOTAL: 95 - 93 MEDEL

Notes:

• Both conservative early on, feeling each other out. Medel did not want to lead.
• Pimental has a very old fashioned looking style. He would fit right in on a 1920 film.
• Medel managed to retake control and ultimately win due to the spirited 9th round. Pimental was exceptionally game to keep going after that.
• These old adverts .

 

Here's my card, Rough:

Jose Medel v Jesus Pimental

Another 60s bantam clash and a super fight between two top contenders.

This was a tough one to score with two even rounds plus three close ones that could have gone either way. The knockdowns in the 9th swung it back to Medel after Pimental had a good run of rounds. Medel seemed to land the harder shots but Pimental threw more overall. It wasn't always clear that he was landing though.

1 10-10 (cagey opener)
2 10-9
3 9-10 (close)
4 8-10 (Medel down from a left hook-straight right combo)
5 9-10 (another good round for Pimental)
6 9-10 (close)
7 10-9
8 10-10
9 10-7 (Huge round for Medel - drops Pimental with a perfect left hook and then again with a straight right after battering him against the ropes)
10 10-9 (close. Medel landed the more solid shots but Pimental was busier. Swing round)

Medel 95-94 Pimental

 

Junior Jones v Marco Antonio Barrera 2

Another terrific performance against Barrera from Junior Jones, who showed just the right combination of ring smarts and toughness to keep Barrera at bay.

Barrera was more accurate with his punch output but too sparing with it too, particularly in the second half of the fight.

The point deduction? A little harsh. I thought it was borderline and Jones didn't seem affected, suggesting it wasn't that low a blow. But even without that deduction, I had Jones winning.

Funny to think that this would be the end of Jones' best, whereas Barrera would come back (more than once as well) to have a Hall of Fame career.

1 10-9 (nice snapping jab from Jones)
2 9-10 (good work from Barrera towards the end of the round gives him the edge)
3 9-10 (Jones inaccurate with his punches, Barrera doing some solid work)
4 10-9 (Jones busier and landed the better punches)
5 9-10 (Barrera landed some nice shots to take the round)
6 9-10
7 10-9
8 10-9 (good round from Jones who had Barrera backing up)
9 10-8 (Jones winning the round plus a point deduction for a low blow for Barrera. Barrera strangely passive)
10 10-9 (superb performance from Jones. He is dominating the second half of the fight. To his credit, Barrera is standing up well to the right hand this time around but he's taking a fair few and not doing enough.)
11 10-9 (Barrera looking out of ideas, decides to abandon the boxing and exchange a bit. But Jones has the round again)
12 10-10 (scrappy round until the final exchange- both giving as good as they get. No clear edge to either fighter)

Jones 116-112 Barrera

 

Evander Holyfield vs Larry Holmes

World Heavyweight Championship

1992

EH : LH

1: 10 - 9 Clear Holy round on aggression. Holy parry on point.
2: 9 - 10 Good round. Holmes more effective with his in fighting
3: 10 - 9 Holmes jab mostly parried. Beautiful right from Holy.
4: 10 - 10 Nothing of note 'till the last minute. Lovely infighting.
5: 10 - 9 Closer. Holmes just not active enough.
6: 10 - 9 Holyfield working and landing. Holmes both slothful and ineffective.

59 - 56

7: 10 - 9 Closer. Holmes still just a little too inactive and isn't effective enough to negate that.
8: 10 - 9 Holmes just wasting too many opportunities
9: 9 - 10 Holyfield losing effectiveness. Holmes picking his spots well.
10: 9 - 10 Momentum shift - Larry now the centre ring general and Holyfield missing, lowering activity
11: 9 - 10 Close. Holmes effective but Holyfield worked the entire round being only a little less so.
12: 10 - 9 Holmes again wasting a good round by being lazy for it's majority

57 - 57


TOTAL: 116 - 113 HOLYFIELD


Notes:

• I didn't find this very hard to score and honestly don't see the controversy about it. Holyfield was definitely the better man until the cut affected his work and range, and he still took rounds even then.
• Holmes tries to steal it near the end of most rounds.
• Holmes wasting too many opportunities for the majority of the fight, and his jab was not effective enough to negate his laziness, as Holy constantly parried and blocked and rolled it.
• Holmes coming on strong. If he was more active it is possible he could have got a draw or even won.

 

Tomasz Adamek v Paul Briggs 2

Never seen this one before and it's part 1 of a two fight check I was conducting based on a query from @George Crowcroft about its relative merit in comparison to Franklin/Saad-Lopez 1 amongst the great light heavyweight fights. Let's get to it!

1 8-10 (Briggs puts Adamek down with a stiff jab-into-a-hook. Adamek comes back well over final 30 seconds. Could argue 10-9 Briggs)
2 10-9
3 10-9 (closer round. Briggs started strong before Adamek slowly took control)
4 9-10
5 9-10 (good round from Briggs)
6 9-10 (Adamek was looking like he could be in some trouble but rallied a bit at the end)
7 9-10 (close)
8 10-9 (probably Adamek's best round so far; putting his punches together really well. Briggs looking at sea in this round. He raises his hands at the end but it's bluster. He shipped a lot of shots in that round)
9 9-9 (Adamek gets a point deduction for the second of two low blows called by the ref. No argument with the first low blow - it was straight to the nuts but I don't think it was malicious as so few punches had been thrown to the body, it was likely just a misjudgment. The ref was fair and warned him rather than deducted a point, presumably for that reason. The second low blow that drew the point deduction was landed around the liver area. I think the ref took the point more from Briggs' reaction than anything else. Adamek bosses the round)
10 10-9 (Briggs seemed to have recover from the beating (legal or otherwise) that he took in the previous round. But Adamek still won it.
11 9-10 (tremendous round and could have gone to either man. Briggs started and finished it stronger but Adamek fought well in between - tough to call. The KD from round 1 is still the difference on my card. Anyone's guess on the official cards)
12 10-9 (another terrific round with both fighters running on empty but managing to summon the last bits of energy to take turns battering each other. Adamek eventually prevails and wins the round.)

Adamek 112-116 Briggs

Overall impression in terms of scoring was that Briggs won the first half and Adamek won the second half.

My card ended up wider for Briggs than I realised it would be. In my tally, Adamek lost mainly based on the first round KD that cost him two points and the point deduction in the 9th. But even then, I still had Briggs up by one. Round 11 could have gone either way but I give it marginally to Briggs. Round 8 was also close - again, I gave it to Briggs. If I scored those the other way, I'd have made it a draw.

But I have no arguments with the official cards - an MD to Adamek was fair but I wouldn't have been surprised if it had been called a draw either. Lucky for Adamek that he didn't have me judging it.

Overall impression in terms of the quality of this fight? Bloody marvellous. This was high quality stuff from the start. I really enjoyed a very basic and obvious thing - how both fighters worked off their jabs, particularly Adamek. Briggs had an interesting punch he threw as well. It started off straight like a jab but twisted just enough to turn into a hook. It's the punch that put Adamek down in the first. Over the course of the fight, his straight right became his main weapon though.

The fight was conducted at range with both fighters throwing clean, crisp combinations but very little to the body, though, until the 9th round. Adamek had significant success there (minus the point deduction) and that helped turn things his way over the last few rounds.

The 11th was the standout round and they both left everything in the ring in the 12th, too.

Heck of a fight.

 

Matthew Franklin/Saad Muhammad v Yaqui Lopez 1

Rewatched this to check my recollection of its stature as a great fight based on a question from @George Crowcroft and its relative merit as one of the great light heavyweight fights. I knew going in that this wasn't a patch on their world title fight from 1980 (the greatest light heavyweight fight of them all) but it is an excellent fight in its own right. But is it any better than Adamek-Briggs 2, for example?

Let's find out.

1 9-10 (Lopez lands some nice combos and controls the round with his jab)
2 10-9 (Franklin/Saad ups his workrate)
3 10-8 (Lopez hurt and looks to be going down but no count is picked up as Saad was expecting so he goes in to finish Lopez but Yacqui survives. I called it 10-8 regardless of the ref's ruling)
4 9-10 (strong comeback round for Lopez)
5 10-9 (close but overall I think Franklin/Saad controlled it)
6 9-10 (momentum swinging both ways in this one. Yaqui is the one controlling the round this time)
7 10-9 (another close one, similar to the 5th. Again, overall I think Saad edged it.)
8 9-10 (everybody has seen the classic round 8 from their rematch but this is almost as good! It's like a preview of what was to come. Lopez hurts Saad for the first time in the fight and batters him in the corner before moving the action to the ropes to extend the pummeling, then Saad hurts Lopez and unloads before Lopez comes back again and then once more each they take turns beating each other. Remarkable stuff.)
9 9-10 (naturally a slower round after the ultraviolence of round 8, but Lopez retains control. Before the start of the 10th, the doctor checks Yaqui's eyes, which are badly cut and swollen)
10 10-9 (Franklin threatening to overwhelm Lopez early but Yaqui finds a way to fire back and discourage Saad, who works the jab on Lopez's eye for the rest of the round)
(95-94)
11 Franklin TKO Lopez (Franklin in full control now and the ref decides enough is enough as another cut opens. He stops the fight with Lopez struggling to see and not throwing as much back as before)

Ok, the good points:
The fight built nicely in momentum from about the third round when Lopez was nearly dropped by Franklin/Saad. From there, both fighters wrestled for the initiative from round to round. This culminated in an amazing (in more ways than one) round 8. That this was the same round that Saad and Lopez would fight arguably the greatest round in history in their rematch is uncanny. And it wasn't that far off the greatness of that round either.

The bad points:
The ending - unfortunately, a very good fight came to an unsatisfactory conclusion. According to reports, a Franklin punch open up another big cut on Lopez (impossible to see this on the film) and the ref immediately waved it off. But it seemed to me that Lopez was already struggling before that happened as he had a badly swollen eye that was possibly affecting his vision. His punch output seemed to slow in the 10th and the 11th in the lead up to the stoppage. Had the fight gone the 12 round distance, I think Saad would have been ahead by at least a point or two, maybe more.

The only other bad point is a relative one - it wasn't Saad-Lopez 2, but I knew that already. Is it a top 10 all-time light heavyweight fight? Probably not quite but it's a damn good one in it's own right.

Touché George!