08/11/08 - Roy Jones Jnr v Joe Calzaghe

This is taking place at 175 lbs from Madison Square Garden, New York.

To steal a Chris Rock routine, you know the world is changing when, on the same week a Black president is elected, a white person (badly) signs the national anthem before a major boxing event not involving Hispanics. The times they are a...

Round 1: 10-8 Jones, wow, Joe got knocked down in the first again at light heavyweight. As the HBO commentators said, this wasn't a flash KB either like against Hopkins and he genuinely looked hurt here. Really exciting round as JC kept attacking after getting back to his feet, somewhat foolishly, but before that it had been usual fare with him outworking his opponent. Jones stares at him at the end of the round to re-enforce what has just happened.

Round 2: 10-9 Jones, I can see the judges giving it the other way because of sheer work rate (I'm going to be saying that a lot) but Jones is landing the better punches. At one point he caught him flush with a right straight then had time to turn to the crowd and put his tongue out. Calzaghe hasn't hurt RJJ yet.

Round 3: 10-9 Calzaghe, really entertaining round with lots of showboating although boxing purists would probably hate it. JC was basically trying to prove he was as quick as RJJ and that he could take his punches, he did for this three minutes at least. Lots of punches are hitting the arms and gloves though.

Round 4: 10-9 Calzaghe, more standard round although JC started showboating a lot more at the end. He does that a lot more now that he is promoting himself and has to worry about ticket sales.

Round 5: 10-10 I think. Could have gone either way and it was there for the taking for Jones but he didn't quite do enough in the last minute. He did land the better shots across the round but Joe threw more. If his tactic is to try and tire JC then it is flawed as Joe is younger, has never tired and RJJ's face is getting marked up.

Round 6: 10-9 Calzaghe, relatively quiet but Calzaghe did as he does and threw a lot and hit some good body shot combinations. Best punch in the round was a right uppercut in the last 15 seconds that the replay showed really knocked Joe back.

Round 7: 10-9 Calzaghe, Jones is noticeably tiring and Calzaghe is growing in confidence because of it. He is dodging his opponent's punches almost as will and throwing more himself to re-enforce it. Jones is cut above the left eye. Joe has recovered well from R1 and I can't see him losing from here.

Round 8: 10-9 Calzaghe, really quiet round until the last thirty seconds when he decided to throw a few combos and ensure the points were his.

They are looking very closely at the cut in the corner, and even the doctor is getting involved.

Round 9: 10-9 Calzaghe, who has the look of a man who knows he is on his way to a win.

Round 10: 10-9 Calzaghe, almost by default as RJJ did basically nothing. The left eye is almost completely closed and he's missing more than maybe I've ever seen. His only chance of a win is a KO and he knows that too as he's only really throwing big uppercuts etc that are missing.

The commentators are having a go at JC for being too aggressive and risking being caught with a counter, but we saw in rounds 3-6 that Joe feels he can take the power of Jones and so I don't think he's overly concerned that a tired man can knock him out in the last six minutes.

Round 11: 10-9 Calzaghe, he's not even trying for the knockout know and will happily see out another three minutes. Ironically that was Jones' best round quite a while and he landed some decent punches but the power isn't there at this point in the fight.

Jones needs something special here...

Final round: 10-10 just because Jones upped it for the last 60-90 seconds but it was quite even overall. If I had to choose it would be Calzaghe's round but the result isn't in doubt at this point anyway.

I score it 117-112 to Calzaghe.

Result: Joe Calzaghe def. Roy Jones Jnr by unanimous decision, 118-109 x3. They gave him every round after the first it seems.

Overall thoughts: Great performance by Calzaghe no doubt. Recovered from being hurt and won comfortably. It's slightly frustrating that the two never met in their primes, because we know how amazing Jones was at his best, and he wasn't that tonight.

I don't think Calzaghe will retire after that and, money wise, there is a massive final pay day in Wales for him. Dawson is doing well at 175 but isn't a name in the UK. The Pavlik bubble has been burst as well and I don't think Joe will ever go back to 168. The fight that stands out to me is a Bernard Hopkins re-match, after he embarrassed Pavlik, but that may be a tough sell. The fight I'd pay money to see if Calzaghe-Abraham at 168 but that's a dream.

Hopefully that will be Jones' swansong. Worryingly he talked about going on but that proved he is done against good opponents although I guess he thinks he can get a Dawson fight is Calzaghe doesn't want it.

Rating: 45% It will be remembered as a one-sided fight but it was exciting to watch at the time. I can't imagine I'd ever need to see the whole thing again though. Good to watch from a historical point of view.

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01/11/08 - Vic Darchinyan v Christian Mijares

This is taking place at 115 lbs and is a Junior bantamweight title unification bout (WBA & WBC Mijares, IBF Darchinyan). I remember hearing about Darchinyan before ever seeing him was told that he was a scary, almost nasty dude who likes hurting people. This is a fair reputation. Armenia is maybe one of favourite countries for producing fighters though so I like him anyway. I maintain that pound for pound they are maybe the most naturally tough people on earth.

Mijares is loved by the Mexican fans, he is from there after all, and so women kiss him etc on the way to the ring. I absolutely how passionately nationalistic they are but it's not in a fake-feeling sickening way like when North Americans do it. I actually know the result of this one going in but I'll try not to let it sway my judgment.

This is in California so obviously Mijares is over like a motherfucker.

Round 1: 10-8 VD, CM knocked down in the last thirty seconds and momentarily looked in trouble. A minute earlier and it might have been over. VD has an odd style but he's beating the taller man to the punch and is just pure, concussive power.

Round 2: 10-9 VD, very, very close but just about I think. Mijares recovered better than I expected him to and landed his best punches of the fight. You can tell he is the better boxer technically and he caught VD (that sounds wrong) more as the round went on.

Round 3: 10-9 VD, it's tempting to give rounds to Mijares just because he looks more like a boxer but I think Darchinyan is busier and landing more punches.

Round 4: 10-9 VD, just much busier. Surprisingly Mijares is the one looking to hold. He's not struggling or tired but looks like he is trying to grab the life out of Darchinyan. It's not working at the moment.

Round 5: 10-9 VD, one-sided so far. The tactic from CM definitely seems to be a rope a dope type one and it could work given that Darchinyan only throws power punches for the most part. In the background, promoter Gary Shaw is standing and shouting at the ref. Like father, like son I see.

Round 6: 10-9 VD, he just keeps throwing punches despite obviously tiring. They still seem to have some power behind them though and one one-punches to the head combination was particularly sweet. Time is running out for Mijares. His corner tell him to throw body shots and that may not be a bad idea.

Round 7: 10-9 VD, Comms seem to think that was Mijares' best round but I still don't think he did enough to win it. Vic gives off all the signs of fatigue, like breathing heavy, he's just relentless with his punches and seems almost immune to it. His defence is very solid as well and blocking a lot of shots that are getting the crowd excited.

Round 8: 10-9 VD, with a flurry in the last five seconds confirming it. Mst be demoralising for Mijares as he is looking fresher but everytime he lands then Vic comes back with something stronger. Not that Darch looks weak and he's winning easily.

Round 9: Knockout by VD in the last ten seconds. The bell can't save a fighter under this rulesset and the referee barely counted before calling it off. Great left hand to finish things off. Funnily enough it was quite even to that point.

Result: Darchinyan, KO, R9 - New WBA, WBC and IBF World Champion. Apparently he is the first man in history to hold all three belts.

Overall thoughts: I'm going to create an Armenia tag. I love those dudes. Darchinyan just had too much power but obviously the knockdown in the first round played a major role in the fight. He looked a better boxer and a better fighter which is not something many people would have predicted going in, with apparently the majority of the writers choosing Mijares ahead of time.

Rating: 42% It kept me entertained throughout. Objectively it was quite one-sided but in context it was fascinating to see the underdog sominate in such a way.

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05/11/08 - WEC: Paulo Filho v Chael Sonnen

This is taking place at 185 lbs. Well, in theory. Poor Paulo weighed in at 192 on a first try.  This is his first fight since the last time they fought, but since then he has spent a spell in rehab to try and overcome drug problems. The weight implies that perhaps all is not well with him going into the fight.  He cut 2 1/2 pounds in the extra hour he had to make weight which seemed pointless and can only have drained him further than necessary.  Also, I don't want to be a bloodyelbow.com about this, but there was a very good chance he was on steroids when competing in Japan for Pride and obviously he has had to deal with the loss of those now that he is fighting under an athletic commission.  It's worth noting he started out as a heavyweight.  Maybe his American future is at 205 despite his short frame.

I fear for him going into this.  Not that Sonnen is a killer his biggest opponent seems to be himself if anything.  Can he ever be the consensus world's number one middleweight like he always had the potential to be?

This was meant to be a five round title fight but obviously isn't now that he failed to make weight.  He gave up 25% of his purse which is the only reason Sonnen agreed to fight.  I'll label it at such anyway.  The first fight was interesting because Sonnen performed far better than everyone expected and ended controversially with a Filho armbar, that caused the opponent to scream and made the ref step in.  He claimed afterwards that he never tapped but screaming in pain is pretty much a verbal submission in my book.

The UFC and WEC middleweight divisions merge after this card and I think both guys are guaranteed crossovers regardless of the result, especially Sonnen as he's been screwed out of a title shot.

Round 1: 10-9 Sonnen but neither guy did anything. Filho had a shot easily stopped and the last three and a half minutes consisted on PF on his back and Sonnen standing over him throwing weak kicks to the quads.  No idea why he didn;t let him up.

There was one cool moment where Sonnen went to stamp on the outstretched ankle of Filho, who proceeded to extend his leg and invite him to do it some more.  He then rolled though into an attempted kneebar.  Crowd boo'ed and maybe rightfully so, but that was a good bit.

Round 2: 10-9 Sonnen, could make a case for 10-10 (or 9-9 rather) as neither man is doing anything, but Filho is doing slightly less.  Shot, sprawl, fall to back, CS asks him to stand up, repeat. Couple of decent leg kicks from Sonnen that, if nothing else, should have won him the fight as I can't see either man finishing it.

Round 3: 10-9 Sonnen, Filho basically gave up and didn't do anything for the whole round. He will get a lot of criticism for this fight and bloodyelbow.com will be saying "HE'S DONE" but Sonnen has barely done anything offensive either.  Maybe he just gave up mentally when he learned it wasn't a title fight.

Result: Sonnen, Unanimous Decision, 30-27 x3,

Overall thoughts: Filho wasn't ready to come back and Sonnen was pissed that it wasn't a title fight and seemingly lost the will to compete.  I think they need to a third fight as it's 1-1 in the series and they need to settle it, in my mind at least.  It was such a poor fight that may not happen though.

Rating: 10%

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05/11/08 - WEC: David Avellan v Aaron Simpson

This is taking place at 185 lbs. I know nothing about either of these~!  Apparently they are both undefeated.  The ring announcer says that Simpson is a wrestler.  I'm guessing it's short as it was a prelim fight from earlier in the evening.

Round 1: I was right. 14 second knockout. Simpson hinted at shooting which caused Avellan to drop his hands. From there he unleashed a beast of a right hand that knocked him out before he even hit the floor.

Result: Aaron Simpson def. David Avellan, KO, R1

Overall thoughts: I learned that Simpson has power.  Another one for the "knockout" tag.

Rating: 15%

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05/11/08 - WEC: Jens Pulver v Leonard Garcia

This is taking place at 145 lbs. It strikes me before this fight that Jens Pulver will always be employed by Zuffa for as long as he wants to fight.  His pre-match interview is so great and immediately makes you to want to see him fight.  There will always be people ready to tune in at the very mention of his name and, for that reason, he is smarter than most MMA folk even if not as good as them at the fighting thing.

Pulver is coming off his loss to Urijah Faber in what was a great featherweight title fight.  Garcia is coming off a charge for drug dealing, that was thrown out I believe. He impressively knocked out Hioryuki Takaya in his other WEC fight in February.

Round 1: That was unexpected.  The fight lasted less than two minutes, was solely on the feet, yet Garcia won convincingly.  Pulver got caught with a swinging hook that clearly phased him.  He shook his head to try and regain composure but he was basically out on his feet.  He backed up into the cage, Garcia chased him and contiuned to hit him.  JP fell to his knees and the referee stepped in.

Result: Garcia, KO, R1.

Overall thoughts: The Takaya fight showed he had power but I thought Pulver would be the better boxer.  Maybe Garcia is better than I thought or maybe the Faber fight just took a lot out of Pulver as he took a real prolonged beating in that one.

In the post-fight interview Garcia says that his training partners always talk about his crazy power. I'll need to track down some of his earlier fights but if you haven't seen it, and if you're reading this then you must have, but his UFC fight with Roger Huerta at lightweight is obviously worth a watch.

Rating: 25% - Always hard to rate these short fights.  This is worth watching for the relevance of the result though.  I'd label it with a precious "Knockout" tag as well.

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05/11/08 - WEC: Jake Rosholt v Nissen Osterneck

This is taking place at 185 lbs. Both guys are making their WEC debut and also their live TV debut.  Rosholt has fought on HDNet and appeared on the Tapout TV series, fact fans.  Both are undefeated going into the fight.

Round 1: 10-9 Rosholt, Good round that would be really tough to score.  Osterneck probably dud more damage overall and on the feet it wasn't even close because JR hardly threw any punches even when getting tagged himself.  He got enough takedowns and worked enough on the floor to earn it probably.

Round 2: Both guys look like stopping it at various points but Rosholt toughness got him through.  His stand up is unbelievably awful and in direct contrast to him amazing wrestling, as you would expect from a three time NCAA champion.  Osterneck worked well off his back although never truly looked like securing a submission.  At one point JR literally walked into a high guard and against someone really good at BJJ that's going to be suicide, despite Frank Mir's assertions that his jits is 'nearly black belt' level.  It's not.  Eventually he managed to take the back and a little bit NO's will seemed to fade as I'm sure he could have improved position but seemingly waiting for the ref to stop it.  Rosholt flattened him out for good measure and the finish was a carbon copy of Matt Hughes vs. Royce Gracie.

Result: Jake Rosholt def. Nissen Osterneck, TKO (referee stoppage, strikes from back mount), R2.

Overall thoughts: I might rename this section "What I learned". Osterneck was a great test for Rosholt at this stage of his career and probably gave JR more of a test than they imagined. It's unfair to say if he had more power he would KO'ed JR because I think he is just that tough.  I saw in his past fight against Charles Jay that he can take a shot.  I will look out for NO's name in the future although with the UFC / WEC middleweight divisions merging after this show I do not think he is quite ready for that level yet.

Rosholt didn't answer too many lf the doubts people have about him.  His striking is just so bad that you wonder if it can ever improve to a competitive level against the best MWs in the world.  Wrestling alone is only going to take him so far, as good as his is.

Rating: 40% - I haven't rated a fight in a while but I enjoyed this and would say that's about right.  It's definitely a fight I'd recommend watching because Rosholt is a highly rated prospect and if you've not seen him before this, then you'll see exactly what he's about.  Osterneck was game too and put on a good show.

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27/07/08 - Elite XC: Nick Diaz vs. Thomas Denny

This is taking place at 160lbs. It is airing on CBS in America.

Round 1: 10-9 Diaz, very good round and surprisingly even until the last minute or so. Denn managed to get a takedown in the first thirty seconds and was connecting with strikes on the feet too becuase Diaz was leaving himself too open. He rallied though and did enough at the end to win it with his punches and general good work in the clinch. It came close to being stopped at the end though and Denny looks on wobbly legs.

Round 2: Diaz picks up from where helft off and knocks him down almost immediately. A couple of shots to the downed Denny convince the ref to step in.

Result: Diaz, TKO (referee stoppage), R2,

Overall thoughts: Good fight and, again, a good exhibition for the future Noons and Diaz re-match. Denny was certainly game but ultimately outclassed. My rating may be slightly biased because of how I love Diaz but it was an ejoyable bout.

Rating: 44%

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