What a weekend! (Spoiler alert)

Morning!

Well, where to start?

Ishida stopped Kirkland in the first round!!! Never seen much of him before, but he had Kirkland hurt early and put him down 3 times before Cortez waved it off. Bit of a bizarre stoppage for me as Kirkland tried to get up and was held down by old senile Joe... when allowed up he didn't seem all that bad. Luckily for him they can blame his time inside and he'll probably come back. One thing that was always a worry is how easy he is to hit and that there were question marks over his chin.

Guerrero looked amazing in beating Katsidis and surely gets a crack at Marquez. That would be the best fight that could possibly be made @ 135 and it has to happen. Not sure where Katsidis goes from here, been in so many wars it doesn't look like he's got much left to give.

And Morales, oh Morales. Never has a fighter earnt so much damn respect in losing. Fought bloody one eyed for near enough the entire fight and gave Maidana hell. Looked sharp, his timing bang on and coped with Maidana's power. Still can't quite believe what i saw, and saying i tip my hat to him is an understatement.

Thoughts guys?

I thought Kirkland look to be keeling over a bit when 'Firm but Farce' stopped it. Hard to tell if he ISN'T ALLOWED TO GET UP though!!! Haven't seen any of the others though. I do wonder where Katsidis goes from here. It'd be a shame to see him become a guy up-and-comers use to beat a name, but I can't see him as much more than that in all honesty.

The Kirkland stoppage was on YouTube though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXUsdh4pZgw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Hopefully with Lemieux and Kirkland losing their cherries, Rhodes can make it a hat-trick and pop Alvarez's '0' next...

Morales deserves all the praise he will get for this. Would a fantastic effort. I genuinely feared for him in this one and am prepared to admit how wrong I was; what a great fighter!

As for Ishida; wow! Especially as he only has 7 stoppages in his entire career. Wonder if he has just bought himself a shot at Marquez, who is looking for a routine defense over the summer?

I had a draw at least, no way did maidana by 4 rounds, absolue joke.

Maidanas punches wer predictable and slow.

Was a bit pi55ed when watchin it but seen enough to know wen a rematch was due, what u reckon coxy?

I scored it 115-113 to Maidana. He just had too much work rate overall for Morales.

I cant see a rematch going too differently. Morales was fairly spent at the end and Im not sure he has the energy or power to deal with Maidana even if he still has the skills to outbox him for periods.

116-112 was maybe a bit generous to Maidana but there were plenty of close rounds that could have gone either way.

Morales footwork has all but disappeared now so hes entirely reliant on upper body movement to slip and roll punches. I still cant make up my mind about Maidana. He looked pretty ragged in that and had Morales just had a bit more power and energy at the weight he could have won it. Kind of makes you appreciate how good he was in his day.

I had Morales ahead by 1 but couldn't argue with a close Maidana victory but 4 rounds was to much. I wasn't impressed with Maidana though Morales footwork was very poor and Maidana should have dealt with him better.
Kirkland fight was stopped to early for me he wasn't hurt but shouldn't be fighting at MW any he's a LMW. Kirkland may have needed that though it might show him he can't go in headhunting and blast everyone out early. As long as he stays out of trouble outside the ring I think he might learn from it and come back better for it.
Got what we expected from Malignaggi vs Cotto Malignaggi could outbox Cotto all day long although he looked a bit shaky in the first couple of rounds.
Katsidis vs Guerrero was excellent Kats looked out his depth. Kats defence is shocking but his chin is solid. Makes for great fights but he will never be a world champion. Guerrero looked good but not sure he would beat JMM but would like to see the fight.
Stuart Hall had a good victory over John Donnelly and is now looking for Jamie McDonnell. McDonnell never seemed all that keen on it was looking for bigger and better but think he would be to good for Hall anyway.

Good enjoyable fights this weekend

In less interesting news, Stieglitz won by DQ against Khoren Gevor, who nutted him in the 8th (I think), opened a large cut then turned the bout into a wrestling match. Then Gevor went a bit mental after the ref stopped the fight, and took a few swings at Stieglitz's cornermen before being dragged off by security. Rubbish.

(Sorry, it was the tenth. Gevor also had a pop at the ref when everyone was milling about afterwards but didnt catch him. Was dragged away.)

Nice article, coxy, and definitely a lot to be discussed.

Great effort by Morales, though this fight only further confirms that he needs to jack it in, that he would have been far too good for Maidana anywhere near his pomp, and that Maidana is a hard hitter, decent heart, but lacking in the finesse department and liable to be on the wrong end of a few UDs at the highest level.

I tipped Guerrero heavily against Katsidis, though even I was a little surprised at the disparity between them. Katsidis can whack as well as anyone at 135 lb, but has more leaks in his defence than the Iraqi navy and I reckon Guerrero's technical abilities are underrated - he picked him off beautifully at times. I'd like to see Katsidis pack it in, as his style makes him vulnerable to long-term suffering once his career is over, but at the same time it makes him an attraction and I think we'll see him fight again, though his days at anything like the highest level should be numbered.

As for Kirkland - I was in shock seeing it unfold. I'd still imagined he'd be a major force at 160 lb, and let's be frank here, Ishida was an opponent picked with safety in mind. Of course, there is a chance that Kirkland was simply still blowing off the prison cobwebs, but even allowing for that I was stunned.

But like you, I'm excited at the possibility of Marquez-Guerrero happening later this year. Beautiful mix of styles, two in form fighters, one looking to establish himself as a pound for pound player in the current scheme of things and the other looking to further solidify his place as an all-time great. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that we see it.

prettyboy1304 wrote:I had Morales ahead by 1 but couldn't argue with a close Maidana victory but 4 rounds was to much. I wasn't impressed with Maidana though Morales footwork was very poor and Maidana should have dealt with him better.
Kirkland fight was stopped to early for me he wasn't hurt but shouldn't be fighting at MW any he's a LMW. Kirkland may have needed that though it might show him he can't go in headhunting and blast everyone out early. As long as he stays out of trouble outside the ring I think he might learn from it and come back better for it.
Got what we expected from Malignaggi vs Cotto Malignaggi could outbox Cotto all day long although he looked a bit shaky in the first couple of rounds.
Katsidis vs Guerrero was excellent Kats looked out his depth. Kats defence is shocking but his chin is solid. Makes for great fights but he will never be a world champion. Guerrero looked good but not sure he would beat JMM but would like to see the fight.
Stuart Hall had a good victory over John Donnelly and is now looking for Jamie McDonnell. McDonnell never seemed all that keen on it was looking for bigger and better but think he would be to good for Hall anyway.

Good enjoyable fights this weekend

I was very impressed with Guerrero. I think he will go a very long way and some interesting match ups down the line to look forward to.

It was a wonderful effort by Morales, especially after fighting with 1 eye pretty much all the way through - hopefully he will retire for good with his head held high after that performance. Somehow I think that fight will spurr him on to keep fighting.

I think Maidana's power will not be called into question as well after his last 3 fights have gone 12 rounds - 2 fights with well past their peak veterans (Corley & Morales) and the supposedly glass chinned Khan.

Guerrero was very impresive, hopefully we'll see him fight JMM sometime this year. I would give him a great chance of winning that fight as well if he uses the jab as effectively as he did tonight.

Guerrero was much better han i thought and kats is getting into opponent category now with his 4th loss and a comprehensive one at that, his trainer doesnt seem to have much of a clue to be honest so maybe a change there would help.

Morales fight was fantastic, for a shot fighter to perform like that and take a young bull into the trenches like he did was amazing, i was on my feet watching it. If only morales had another 20% gas he could of finished stronger, but i thought i a draw, never was it 116-112

great fight tho

and Kirkland was awful, against a ocmplete powder puncher too. I think the siooage would of ben perfectly fair to be honest as he was getting dropped with every clean punch but cortiz should of let him try to get up and seen if his legs wobbled before calling it off. Kirkland needs to rethink a few things about his style cos he mad aktsisdis look hard to hit

Here's the last round of the Stieglitz vs Gevor fight if anyone is interested, DQ looked harsh to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTBFw_EW_4Y

As for the other fights, Morales showed some huge flaws that Maidana has as a fighter. I think most people knew going in to the fight that Maidana is far from perfect but no one could have predicted it would be Morales who would highlight it so much. Maidana could have been DQ'd if they had the referee who did the Katsidis vs Guerrero fight who took away points for fun, I didn't see Maidana get a single warning for hitting on the break and he took a few swings at the end of rounds. Also glad to see Kirkland get beat because he's a bit of a tool really, clearly had no respect for his opponent going in to the fight, got beat badly and still couldn't give Ishida any credit. Adamek was in action as well with a routine win over Kevin McBride but I haven't seen that fight yet.

If you haven't seen Adamek vs McBride you are lucky I'll save you the hassle it was terrible McBride is worse than ever and he wasn't good to start with and Adamek ain't much of a HW.

Think ,ost others have summed it up well enough.

Kirkland looked atrocious, far too easy to hit and getting decked by a guy with little power time after time, although the stoppage was OTT.

Guerrero looked first class. Slick skills, intelligence, great accuracy and punch arsenal, difficult to hit clean. Had a rough 8th round but otherwise totally dominant. A fight with marquez would be very tasty, the only question is whether he's a big enough name for marquez now as he seems intent on pursueing pacquiao, and I expect him to defect from Golden Boy later this year if that what it takes for him to get his 3rd fight.

Morales totally shocked me. To fight that well when he's clearly past it, with one eye was very impressive. Maidana showed he only has one gear really, and he really struggled with an old man who even in his pomp was never that effective above 126lb. I had it to maidana by 2 points but was cheering Erik all the way. Just hope he got paid well enough to hang 'em for good, but I expect we'll see him again.

Side note; couple of poor bits of refeering - Cortez practically pinned Kirkland to the floor like a wrestler when he didn't seem hurt, looked ridiculous and I think his refereeing carerr should be out to bed. And that clown that reffed Kats v Guerrero? Didnt give Kats a blatant KD, then took 2 points off him with no prior warnings for low blows - and they weren't even low blow but sound body shots. Totally broke his rhythm up, poor show.

I'm quite happy with the Kirkland stoppage - Cortez had a good look at Kirkland the previous 2 knockdowns and he was being countered to death. Any more of those and he'd have been in hospital. Last thing I'd ever want to happen to a fighter even though I find Kirkland an arrogant waste of skin. He's just a puncher with little or no boxing finesse.

Cortez is an idiot. He has ruined several decent fights of the years by getting way to involved in the fighting. I for one hope he fooks off and we never see him in a boxing ring again.

Mr Bounce

I know what you're saying, but the guy needs to be allowed to continue if he's in a decent state to do so.

His legs weren't that bad (Khan's were worse for instance in R10 against Maidana). It was a premature stoppage as he wasn't badly hurt, yes he was hurt but if you stopped every fight every time a boxer got stunned/put on dodgy legs/groggy head the sport would turn into a joke.

How do we know his legs weren't bad? Didn't Cortez stop it while Kirkland was on the floor and keep him there a while? Hard to tell, but he was knocked down 3 times and the referee can see his eyes and get a better impression than on TV. I don't think Cortez is a ref that stops fights too early often.

Scott

If i said black, would you say white?

He was getting caught, but was he on jelly legs? He wasn't - was he? He should have been let continue as he wasn't apparently hurt, if he was then alllllllll the ringside (and sadly i'm having to go on the journos who were sat there close to the action) journo's weren't saying it was a silly stoppage.

And consensus from everyone i've spoken to said it was a premature stoppage.

Can't quite see what he was "saving" Kirkland from as he wasn't in orbit. He was still throwing punches, still on balance it's just he kept getting countered to death with right hands.

The crowd booed when he said he thought it was stopped early so not sure it was a concensus...

I think he should have been given a chance to carry on, I'm just saying Cortez may have seen something we didn't.

Scott, Cortez is probably seeing many things we're not. Sadly dementia will do that!

It was a cracking fight weekend. Need to see more cards like this. Morales was terrific to watch - still after all these years.

Katsidis needs to retire now otherwise he will be slurring very soon.

Jim Watt was doing my head in with his usual BS commentary. Stuff like "Madiana is looking very crude and wild". Guess what Jim - HE IS CRUDE AND WILD!!! And always has been!

Oscar was on twitter this weekend saying that all cards need to be stacked like this and he was even bold enough to say if our PPV cards arent stacked - dont buy em! Hope he stands by his word and gives us great shows like over the weekend.

I seem to be in the minority but I dont think it was a premature stoppage.

Cortez gave him a couple of chances and every time he was just sent back down again. It didnt look to me like he had properly recovered from the first knockdown as he was ragged and shipping punishment. Looked to me like he might have beaten the count alright, but would just have been sent back down again for a fourth time.

If you are consistently taking shots and being knocked down then in this day and age I think the ref is likely to stop it whether it be Cortez or anyone else.

If anything with this being billed as a routine fight for a top prospect Cortez was likely to try and give him every chance.

I don't think it was premature either. He went down from a single punch for the first knockdown. He looked like his head was clear, but his legs weterhune after a quick combo before the second knockdown. Every shot the guy threw jolted his head back. Look how hard he tried to get up from the second knockdown, his legs were gone. When he got hit the third time he was on his back. If he got up he would have gone down within 20 mins. He wasn't taking the shots well, Joe Cortez was looking at him as he got hit hard on the ropes before he went down.

I thought the Kirkland stoppage was good. He would have got battered if Cortez had let him fight on.

Kirkland... Hmmmmmmmm.... I wasnt 100% sold on him, however I did like him in previous bouts, very strong guy, but in the (I'll admit it) very few fights I had seen him in he was against poor opposition that didn't really throw too much back. This meaning I ever really saw his chin actually tested, was such a shock when I saw him get laid out in a minute! Then another two times and it was over, in my opinion I do think he could have gotten back up and f he could have survived the round then he could have possibly re cooperated and come back, but you are looking at a slight long shot there with the fact he had been taken down three times in a couple of minutes and did look shaky.
Onto Guerrero, I think this will finally be the end of JMM reign at Lightweight, yeah that's right I'm calling it early, I think he deserves the shot, he is Interim Champ, there's no one else I could seriously think of so... why the heck not?
Katsidis will be ok for another couple of fights, he just needs to stop taking on guys that can actually jab! :P

joeyjojo618 wrote:In less interesting news, Stieglitz won by DQ against Khoren Gevor, who nutted him in the 8th (I think), opened a large cut then turned the bout into a wrestling match. Then Gevor went a bit mental after the ref stopped the fight, and took a few swings at Stieglitz's cornermen before being dragged off by security. Rubbish.

Don have sound which is annoying, but did the ref say for head butt, as it was other guy holding, he tried to punch, and because other guy was holding they fell over. If it was for head butt, then it is such a bad decision