Fights You Watched Today

Didn't he finish Kobayashi with a wicked left hook to the body?

 

Sure did. And stunned him at the end of round 1 with a right uppercut to the body.

And both his jab and check-hook were on point.

 

Yes he did. I actually wrote that out and said it was an awesome punch, but my phone bugged when I tried to delete the sentence afterward, and deleted that one instead. I just couldn't be arsed retyping it. I didn't see any other bodywork of consequence from either man.

And his jab, while looking good, wasn't quite at its full development yet IMO. His left hook was still a powerful weapon, it just wasn't used as effectively yet as it was at 130 IMO.

 

Yeah, I think you're right, George, that Arguello wasn't the fully finished article at featherweight (or at least at that point in his reign). I was noticing that in the Olivares fight, which I just started rewatching the other night for the first time in about 25 years.

 

Nelson's performance vs Gomez was incredible. Watched some last night and watched the rest this morning. I completely agree that Nelson is the best featherweight since Sanchez. I think he could potentially lose to both 126 Pac and 126 Fenech, but I'd probably favour Nelson in one-offs. I think he was fairly close to this form in the Sanchez fight, so that's about the level I'd rate that win.

Here he showed an awesome, deceptively long jab, big rigut hand and great head-movement on the way in; he showed he had an awesome chin and was a physical monster. While boxing off the back-foot, he was actually a little similar to Arguello in the Kobayashi fight in that he was a little jittery and his foot placement wasn't as precise as it would later become. Take the Fenech rematch, where his footwork was much more refined. But being a bit scrambled on his toes isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially when pumping out a great jab. And it's completely negligible when a fighter is only spending a tenth of the fight going backward. Going forward, he was really good IMO. Quite possibly his best offensive performance. I really enjoyed watching him get under Gomez's shots, and he used that unusually long reach to really reach around Gomez's guard and find the body. Just watching him bull his way in, remaining elusive and jabbing Gomez's head back was brilliant.

Normally, I don't like Gomez at feather - I tend to think he was a full level or two worse than he was at super-bantam - but he was still a very good fighter when he fought Sal and beat Laporte. He was even later successful at 130 (although I don't think for a second he should've beaten Lockridge), I don't think this win should just be waved off, it's a very good one. Even in there with Nelson, Gomez showed his class. Sure, he wasn't diverse skillwise as he was in the 70s, nor was he was physically potent as he was at 122, but he was still an extraordinary technician and an all-time great.

I tend to think of Nelson as slightly below the likes of Pedroza or FW Arguello, and definitely below Sanchez, Pep, Saldivar, etc; but either way, he's an all-time great and an absolute animal at FW. Certainly a better fighter than Loma, Marquez, Barrera or Morales.

 

Watched Michael Gomez vs Khan and his rematch with Laslo Bognar. Wow, what a pair of fights. Gomez is an incredible watch, and has one of the most insane stories you'll ever here. I don't have much to contribute when it comes to those two fights, just that they're incredible back and forth battles.

 

Watched three fights tonight.. all rewatches.

1. Zarate vs Rodolfo Martinez: Possibly Zarate's best performance. He really took Martinez apart in clinical fashion, then laid him out with a right uppercut.

2. Goyo Vargas vs Paul Hodkinson. Good scrap, and surgeon like performance by Vargas. He never fought that well again...

3. Hamed vs Steve Robinson: One of Naz's best performances.

 

Barkley vs. Kinchen. It's new on Jay Seklow. Really good middleweight fight!

 

Just watched Napoles vs Backus I & II. Goddamn was Napoles good. I think it should be noted that Backus was no bum. Napoles was winning in the first fight, but it wasn't all going his way. Especially in the first fight, he showed some good skills and he seems quite tricky. Who wants a tough, skilled, aggressive southpaw? I thought he was a decent fighter, and Napoles' win over him is a little underrated (which is understandable, as I can see how some would hold a loss to him against an ATG like Napoles). One other thing, the rematch is one of the best showings of how to deal with a southpaw which I've ever seen, and it's NEVER mentioned as one, despite it being a bonafide all-time great winning their title back.

The first fight saw Napoles looking for openings, stepping in with the left and countering with either looping crosses or long uppercuts. Backus having some success with his right-hook. I like how Backus is progressing, he seems to really want to take it to Napoles, which is admirable - if foolish. He's doubling up the rights and we're in the third round now. I'd forgotten just how good these exchanges were, and his left hand was flailing in but landing. He fell over the lead foot a few times and ate uppercuts for his trouble. Napoles' face is lacerated and torn, understandable stoppage. I fucking hate cuts.

Poor Backus. I feel only pity for anybody stood in the corner across from a pissed off Napoles. I really like how Napoles works his lead-hand. Shuffles to his right, steps in with the jab, follows on with the right and hurts Backus some more. Showing off a neckroll to embarrass guys like Canelo and Canizales. His combos at mid-range seem to rely on the same concept as Archie Moore's; punching with the opponent, and doubling the motion up as a punch and a block. The way he steers Backus into his right uppercut then sticks a left hook on the end is brilliant.

 

@George Crowcroft - did you see the first fight in full? Haven't been able to locate that.

 

Yeah, that's the one I found.

 

Watched Ezzard Charles KO Bob Satterfield in 2. To be fair to Satterfield, he won the first round and landed some bombs on Charles but then he went for it again early in the second round and got countered by a massive left hook - a real beauty. He didn't even threaten to beat the count.

 

Watched Gene Fullmer-Benny Paret, a great if increasingly one-sided fight.

Benny Paret was too tough for his own good. Whether this fight contributed to the tragedy of the Griffith fight is in a way a moot point - sad to say but the way Paret fought he would have ended up that way sooner or later whoever he fought. Going toe to toe with a fighter as strong as Fullmer when giving up size and poundage was tantamount to suicide.

 

Watched Gaby Canizales vs Louis Cortis, it's a great fight. Just a very fast pace scrap, with lots of clean punching and some brilliant skills on display from Canizales.

 

Also watched Chang vs Zapata II and Inami. Awesome performances from in both. This was peak Chang, in shape and physically peaked. His head-movement was amazing and the pressure he applied was ridiculous. He even used the pull counter to perfection.

 

Watched Dingo Steve shove his head up his ass and fight for air. He lost, but it's OK, he's been known to survive without oxygen for weeks at a time with no demonstrable ill effects.

After that I watched Gerrie Coetzee vs Dokes, as Double L was looking for evidence of fighters who commit only partially in attack in the hope of defusing their opponents defence for a much bigger attack later.

Kind of like how Dingo Steve barely touches himself in the hope of eliciting a much greater attack on himself, later.

 

watched thompson ko haye. beautiful performance.

 

Not really. Thompson just outlasted the sloppy, weight drained Haye.

 

Any fight that ends with Haye KOed is a beautiful fight.

 

He's about again....

 

Watched Wilfredo Gomez v Dong Kyung Yum. Gomez's title winning effort that started the best reign in super bantam history. Gomez had a shaky start over the first three rounds, getting dropped early in the first, wobbled at the end of the second and was still on shaky legs in the third. From the fourth round on, though, it was a clinic and he really battered Yum in the 11th before flattening him in the 12th.

 

JuanMa vs. R Marquez. Forgot what a good fight it was. Both these guys were so fun to watch. JuanMa always going for the kill. Rafa never out of a fight. Mind you, this was pre-divorce JuanMa.

Zarragoza was in Marquez's corner for that one.

 

Hatton vs Nobody

Okolie vs Bumbovic

 

Just giving the Chocolatito-Rungvisai rematch a rerun. Rungvisai's style wasn't pretty, but he was a master in half stepping. He used them to no end; cutting the ring with them; bringing himself into position with them; barely slipping shots then coming straight back with that left. He showed brilliant ring generalship here, and worked that body like a muthafucker. His right hand was excellent too, he threw a mean right hook to the body, a mean right uppercut and a mean hook upstairs. Those twin counter right hooks to get the finish were absolutely brutal.

 

Guessing Big Daddy Kane isn't his biggest fan then:

 

Just watched Manny v David Diaz. Manny won every minute of every round. Diaz showed a hell of a lot of heart - it's a shame his corner didn't. It was a blistering performance from peak Pacquiao. He was a great one.

 

Joshua vs Usyk.

Joshua did better than I recalled.

No closer on the cards, just better.

He can make adjustments for the rematch.. No question.

Needs a proper trainer first though.

 

McCraken is awful. He hasn’t taught AJ anything.

 

"Brilliant AJ Brilliant!!"

Like a dad teaching his kid TeeBall