FanPost

WBSS Cruiserweight Season 2 Finale (2018-2020), A Statistical Breakdown

What’s up BLH community. Over the last year as my personal and professional life has stalled I’ve spent more and more time watching combat sports as an escape, but as I am who I am unfortunately I felt as though I could be more productive with the time I was investing into this hobby. The logical step was to take the combat I was witnessing and convert it to ink on a page, which started initially as creative play by plays and scorecards that highlight especially spectacular rounds.

But at some point, there wasn’t really a particular fight that sparked it, I became fed up with the inaccuracy of Statistics for Fights. Stats are done live, with each of the two operators sitting ringside being responsible for an individual fighter. No ability to rewind or carefully peruse the action, and it shows. You thought judging was bad? At least they’re held accountable for their shitty work, and risk public humiliation and professional disgrace for their failures.

So, I decided to do what I like to call "True Statistics", that have been painstakingly tallied and recorded. The beauty of this process is all in the results, accurate statistics reveal all sorts of fascinating developments throughout a contest. And I’ve done quite a few these past months with the intention of creating a Book that’ll essentially pan out to being "Boxing and MMA by the Numbers in the 2010’s", but the process, with my limited time, will most likely take years. So in the meantime I figured I might as well post a few, so I don’t feel like a pirate hoarding all his gold.

Little bit more groundwork to be laid here.

I’ve decided not to include any of the exasperating play by play’s, unfortunately as they are the most entertaining portion. They would simply take up far too much space, and take a considerable amount of time to make.

My scorecards are done in two parts, I score every MINUTE of the fight for either competitor, while also determining who I think earned the right to call that round their’s won. I felt it makes the action and momentum a bit more visible, while reminding me of the previous action that occurred. Prevents a Ray Leonard shoe-shining situation, where late flurries erase the memory of the rounds previous combat.

The specifics on the punch statistics are tricky. I figured it would be far too time consuming to split significant vs insignificant landed punches, so my numbers are of TOTAL punches landed. That includes punches in the clinch, which in boxing are not usually significant blows but I felt should still be included, though I did make a note of them on my stat sheets.If I felt a punch was thrown and landed, but landed with an unusually pathetic amount of force, I’ll most often record it as a thrown but not landed blow. I consider fouls (most often low blows) to be landed punches. They were thrown and they didn’t miss, just maybe landed on a different part of the body than was intended.

And the trickiest part: what’s considered a thrown punch? I consider a punch thrown to be one that’s launched with the intention of landing or hurting their opponent. Feints and set ups can sometimes be difficult to judge as whether or not they’re thrown punches, but these situational inconveniences are usually easy to determine in context.

Also a quick explanation for why this is being posted nearly 2 weeks after the initial fight date: I had every intention of doing the Briedis-Dorticos fight statistics that night and posting this the following morning. My place of work had given me time off for a loss in the family, but with that commitment ending the Friday before the fights, I had planned on having a free weekend for the first time since April. They quickly rescinded that offer, and asked me to pick up my fellow employees slack as he had just tested Positive for COVID. Following a few others employees positive tests and a refusal to show care to the issue, I quit my job and have been dealing with that for the past week and a half. With that explained, I apologize for this being so late and nearly irrelevant.

Now that that’s done, to the fights!

The Story So Far At Cruiserweight:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mairis_Briedis

A perspective on Mairis Briedis: A former police officer and Latvian Amateur standout, Briedis turned professional in 2009 and slugged away for 6 years before his first fight of note opposite former heavyweight title challenger and massively oversized Manuel Charr. In by far his best KO win to date a fade-away uppercut-hook planted Charr, and announced Briedis to the more cultured boxing faithful. He dug his way to top contender status, and defeated the most credentialed Cruiserweight of the last decade in Marco Huck for the vacant WBC belt. He entered the First Season of the WBSS the #3 seed and decisioned the shell shocked Mike Perez before losing to eventual Winner and Future Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk in a terrific showdown, in his hometown. After Usyk’s domination of #2 seed Murat Gassiev in the final, most considered Briedis the best in the weight class based off his losing performance. This was shown when he was seeded #1 in the WBSS’s Second Cruiserweight season, but he promptly soured these feelings with a dreadful near-loss to Noel Gevor in the semi final. He reclaimed a bit of that shine with a big what-the-fuck-of-a-fight with former Champ Kryzstof Glowacki, and now here he is set to compete in the final.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuniel_Dorticos

A perspective on Yuniel Dorticos: Dorticos is a product of the famed Cuban Amateur Boxing System, but he doesn’t fight like it. A pressure fighter behind a sticking jab, he seeks to permanently keep you in sniping range to take your head off, such the earned nickname "The KO Doctor". He seemingly always claimed second best throughout his amateur career, his style not well suited compared to his contemporaries, but turned savage when he turned professional in 2009. 17 straight KO’s to begin his career, only a faded but still tough step-up in Edison Miranda taking him the 10 round distance. He continued to climb the famously fucked up WBA Rankings, and, as usual with the WBA, when he reached the top of the mountain the situation was messed. Dennis Lebedev the Unified Champ was in a mess as the IBF and WBA would not sanction each other’s mandatories, and Beibut Shumenov the "Regular" champ was blatantly ducking Yuniel in a disgraceful manner. As such Dorticos was forced to fight and win the "Interim" title in a top tier battle with Youri Kalenga. The First Season of the WBSS begins, and Dorticos is appointed "Regular" champ over the ducking Shumenov leading into his GOOMing of Dmitry Kudryashov in the quarter finals. He, like Briedis, also lost in the semi’s, but his contest with Murat Gassiev was far superior to Usyk and Briedis’s. A spectacle of clean punching from Gassiev and otherworldly punch absorption from Dorticos, if you had this as your FOTY over Hurd-Lara, Tanaka-Kimura or GGG-Canelo 2, I wouldn’t be one to argue with you too severely. He returned to the ring for the next edition of the WBSS, and in the quarter finals scored a KOTY contender over Andrew Tabiti before the endless cancellations of the final began. But now it’s here.

Mairis Briedis MD12 Yuniel Dorticos, 2020- Plazamedia Broadcasting Center, Munich, Germany.

TOTAL Punch Stats

Round 1 Briedis (14/32) Dorticos (13/40)

Round 2 Briedis (16/41) Dorticos (11/52)

Round 3 Briedis (23/60) Dorticos (10/40)

Round 4 Briedis (10/42) Dorticos (12/38)

Round 5 Briedis (19/55) Dorticos (21/49)

Round 6 Briedis (13/50) Dorticos (19/57)

Round 7 Briedis (18/46) Dorticos (15/46)

Round 8 Briedis (21/48) Dorticos (11/40)

Round 9 Briedis (23/56) Dorticos (17/43)

Round 10 Briedis (23/60) Dorticos (10/41)

Round 11 Briedis (24/68) Dorticos (12/34)

Round 12 Briedis (26/61) Dorticos (17/45)

TOTAL PUNCHES:

Mairis Briedis (230/619) 37.16%

Yunier Dorticos (168/525) 32%

Full Statistical Breakdown (Sans the minute by minute cause that’d take up 3x the space, I’m just gonna post the single round stats.)

Round 1 TOTAL

Briedis- (14/32) 43.75%

Dorticos- (13/40) 32.5%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 7/18

Dorticos- 7/28

Hooks:

Briedis- 1/3

Dorticos- 0/1

Straights:

Briedis- 0/4

Dorticos- 3/6

Uppercuts:

Briedis- N/A

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 6/7

Dorticos- 3/5

Round 2 TOTAL

Briedis- (16/41) 39.02%

Dorticos- (11/52) 21.15%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 9/26

Dorticos-7/35

Hooks:

Briedis- 3/5

Dorticos- 0/5

Straights:

Briedis- 3/4

Dorticos- 0/3

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 0/4

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 1/2

Dorticos- 4/9

Round 3 TOTAL

Briedis- (23/60) 38.33%

Dorticos- (10/40) 25%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 9/35

Dorticos- 3/28

Hooks:

Briedis- 5/7

Dorticos- 1/4

Straights:

Briedis- 5/11

Dorticos- 3/4

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 2/3

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 2/4

Dorticos- 3/4

Round 4 TOTAL

Briedis- (10/42) 23.81%

Dorticos- (12/38) 31.58%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis-4/22

Dorticos- 4/24

Hooks:

Briedis- 2/9

Dorticos-0/4

Straights:

Briedis- 1/2

Dorticos- 2/4

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 0/4

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 4/5

Dorticos- 5/6

Round 5 TOTAL

Briedis- (19/55) 34.55%

Dorticos- (21/49) 42.86%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 8/34

Dorticos- 13/35

Hooks:

Briedis- 1/2

Dorticos- 2/3

Straights:

Briedis- 4/10

Dorticos- 3/5

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 0/2

Dorticos- 0/2

Body Shots:

Briedis- 6/7

Dorticos- 3/4

Round 6 TOTAL

Briedis- (13/50) 26%

Dorticos- (19/57) 33.33%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 6/29

Dorticos- 14/44

Hooks:

Briedis- 2/9

Dorticos- 0/1

Straights:

Briedis- 2/6

Dorticos- 2/8

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 1/2

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 2/4

Dorticos- 3/4

Round 7 TOTAL

Briedis- (18/46) 39.13%

Dorticos- (15/46) 32.6%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 13/38

Dorticos- 9/35

Hooks:

Briedis- 2/3

Dorticos- 1/1

Straights:

Briedis- 3/4

Dorticos- 1/5

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 0/1

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- N/A

Dorticos- 4/5

Round 8 TOTAL

Briedis- (21/48) 43.75%

Dorticos- (11/40) 27.5%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 13/35

Dorticos- 5/30

Hooks:

Briedis- 1/1

Dorticos- N/A

Straights:

Briedis- 6/9

Dorticos- 2/6

Uppercuts:

Briedis- N/A

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 1/3

Dorticos- 4/4

Round 9 TOTAL

Briedis- (23/56) 41.07%

Dorticos- (17/43) 39.53%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis-15/37

Dorticos- 13/34

Hooks:

Briedis- 4/8

Dorticos- 0/1

Straights:

Briedis- 2/5

Dorticos- 2/6

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 0/4

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 2/2

Dorticos- 2/2

Round 10 TOTAL

Briedis- (23/60) 38.33%

Dorticos- (10/41) 24.39%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 11/40

Dorticos- 5/29

Hooks:

Briedis- 4/7

Dorticos- 1/2

Straights:

Briedis- 4/8

Dorticos- 1/6

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 1/2

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots:

Briedis- 3/3

Dorticos- 3/4

Round 11 TOTAL

Briedis- (24/68) 35.29%

Dorticos- (12/34) 35.29%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 14/43

Dorticos- 7/26

Hooks:

Briedis- 2/5

Dorticos- N/A

Straights:

Briedis- 3/14

Dorticos- 1/4

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 2/3

Dorticos- 1/1

Body Shots:

Briedis- 3/3

Dorticos- 3/3

Round 12 TOTAL

Briedis- (26/61) 42.62%

Dorticos- (17/45) 37.78%

Specific Punches:

Jabs:

Briedis- 17/38

Dorticos- 11/32

Hooks:

Briedis- 2/4

Dorticos- 1/2

Straights:

Briedis- 4/14

Dorticos- 4/8

Uppercuts:

Briedis- 0/1

Dorticos- 1/2

Body Shots:

Briedis- 3/4

Dorticos- 0/1

Official Scorecard: 117-111, 117-111, 114-114

My Scorecard:

Round 1 1,3-2 10-9 cagey start

Round 2 1,3-2 10-9 (close)

Round 3 1,2,3-X 10-9 angles for action

Round 4 2-1,3 9-10 (very close)

Round 5 1,2-3 10-9 (close) half n half

Round 6 1,3-2 10-9 clean uppercut seals it

Round 7 1,2,3-X 10-9 breakthrough for Briedis

Round 8 1,2,3-X 10-9 still close

Round 9 1,3-2 10-9 (very, very close)

Round 10 1,2,3-X 10-9

Round 11 1,2,3-X 10-9 Briedis bringing it home

Round 12 2,3-1 10-9 for a clean landing.

My Score: 119-109 for Briedis & 28-8 in minutes won also in his favor.

Summary of the Fight, and what to expect for the future: Well Briedis did it, now RING champ and indisputably the best in the division. Dorticos put up an effort, but Mairis had far too many tools in his toolbox on this occasion for Yuniel. A weirdly close but one-sided fight, if that contradiction can be believed, as the two were face-to-face technically engaged for all 36 minutes yet Briedis always seemed to score the shots that produced the most memorable moments. Dorticos can be one dimensional when he can’t keep you stuck at his range, and Briedis never allowed him to do that, cutting constant angles, jabbing with him to get him comfortable before juking him off the center line and whipping around his gloves with hooks. A rather predictable outcome, but still a fun affair. Hopefully Briedis stays at Cruiserweight, unlike some people, cause with the severe delay to the final the division’s completely open and rather stalled. But because it’s completely open without a clear upward trajectory for really anybody, the allure of a heavyweight payday will most likely determine his future. I think Dorticos retires, and if this is it he’s been a joy for the past 4 years I’ve had to see him perform.

—————————————————————-

Previous Cruiserweight bouts I did in anticipation of this Season’s finale:

(Natural Cruiserweight for Reference)

Mairis Briedis KO3 Kryzstof Glowacki, 2019- Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia

TOTAL Punch Stats:

Round 1 Briedis (10/21) Glowacki (8/28)

Round 2 Briedis (22/49) Glowacki (18/48) **

Round 3 Briedis (10/13) Glowacki (4/13)

TOTAL PUNCHES:

Mairis Briedis (42/83) 50.6% & 1/1 on elbows.

Kryzstof Glowacki (30/89) 33.71%

Official Scorecards: XXX

My Scorecard:

Round 1 2-1,3 9-10 (can score any which way)

Round 2 2,3-1 10-7 ^ what the fuck guys.

Round 3 X-X KO3

At the time of Stoppage: 19-17 Briedis with a 3-3 tally in minutes won, plus a little extra time after the second round.

Thoughts on the fight: "What is OcCuRrInG in tHeRe???" Pretty accurate announcers quote to a fight that flew off the rails. After a feeler of a first that could’ve conceivably been scored for anyone, we got the elbow situation in the 2nd. After Glowacki obviously tries to pound the back of Briedis’s head mid clinch, Mairis response in kind with an immediate flush elbow to Kryzstof’s face, jacking his chin and convincing him to play it up for his sake. After that debacle a fight breaks out, one that ends very quickly with Glowacki getting caught and dropped as the round ends. Or so we think, as Referee Robert Byrd lets it go on for quite a while as the bell rings continuously, only inserting himself when Glowacki gets dropped hard for the second time. The fights essentially over, and Briedis gets his knockout soon after the 3rd begins. Could’ve easily made his a no-contest, but I’m glad they didn’t as it would’ve delayed the finale even more severely. As wild as it was, still probably the best thing Cruiserweight produced in 2019. Only other things I can think of off the top of my head are the Dorticos Rd10KO and future WBC champ Ilunga Makabu’s decent bout with Alexei Papin.

—————————————————————

Yuniel Dorticos TKO10 Youri Kalenga, 2016- Palais des Sports, Paris, France.

TOTAL Punch Stats

Round 1 Dorticos (23/54) Kalenga (25/78)

Round 2 Dorticos (60/93) Kalenga (30/70) **

Round 3 Dorticos (32/64) Kalenga (22/66)

Round 4 Dorticos (37/57) Kalenga (27/69)

Round 5 Dorticos (37/74) Kalenga (27/85)

Round 6 Dorticos (36/68) Kalenga (47/82) **

Round 7 Dorticos (24/49) Kalenga (19/67)

Round 8 Dorticos (24/39) Kalenga (32/74)

Round 9 Dorticos (23/50) Kalenga (36/76)

Round 10 Dorticos (30/51) Kalenga (19/47)

TOTAL PUNCHES:

Yuniel Dorticos (326/599) 54.42%

Youri Kalenga (284/714) 39.78%

Yuniel Dorticos Jab vs Kalenga

TOTAL (197/383) 51.44%

Round 1 1st (7/16) 2nd (4/12) 3rd (5/10)

Round 2 1st (10/19) 2nd (13/21) 3rd (8/14)

Round 3 1st (5/15) 2nd (4/9) 3rd (4/13)

Round 4 1st (3/9) 2nd (8/11) 3rd (16/21)

Round 5 1st (6/12) 2nd (10/16) 3rd (8/20)

Round 6 1st (3/9) 2nd (9/15) 3rd (13/22)

Round 7 1st (5/10) 2nd (7/13) 3rd (1/7)

Round 8 1st (5/9) 2nd (7/10) 3rd (4/5)

Round 9 1st (3/11) 2nd (5/12) 3rd (7/12)

Round 10 1st (5/7) 2nd (11/19) 3rd (1/4)

Round 2 Full Statistical Breakdown:

Round 2

Total Punches

Dorticos- (60/93) 64.52%

Kalenga- (30/70) 42.86%

Round 2 1st Minute

Total

Dorticos- 19/31

Kalenga- 9/24

Jabs

Dorticos- 10/19

Kalenga- 2/11

Hooks

Dorticos- 0/0

Kalenga-0/4

Straights

Dorticos- 4/6

Kalenga- 2/3

Uppercuts

Dorticos- 3/4

Kalenga- N/A

Body Shots

Dorticos- 2/2

Kalenga- 5/6

Round 2 2nd Minute

Total

Dorticos- 26/38

Kalenga- 15/28

Jabs

Dorticos- 13/21

Kalenga-4/7

Hooks

Dorticos- 4/5

Kalenga- 6/12

Straights

Dorticos- 6/8

Kalenga- 3/4

Uppercuts

Dorticos- 2/3

Kalenga- 0/3

Body Shots

Dorticos- 1/1

Kalenga- 2/2

Round 2 3rd Minute

Total

Dorticos- 15/24

Kalenga- 6/18

Jabs

Dorticos- 8/14

Kalenga- 3/10

Hooks

Dorticos- 0/0

Kalenga- 1/6

Straights

Dorticos- 1/4

Kalenga-1/2

Uppercuts

Dorticos- 5/5

Kalenga- N/A

Body Shots

Dorticos- 1/1

Kalenga- 1/1

Round 6 Full Statistical Breakdown:

Round 6

Total Punches

Kalenga- (47/82) 57.32%

Dorticos- (36/68) 52.94%

Round 6 1st Minute

Total

Dorticos- 4/10

Kalenga- 6/21

Jabs

Dorticos- 3/9

Kalenga- 2/12

Hooks

Dorticos- 1/1

Kalenga- 0/3

Straights

Dorticos- N/A

Kalenga- 1/2

Uppercuts

Dorticos- N/A

Kalenga- 0/1

Body Shots

Dorticos- N/A

Kalenga- 3/3

Round 6 2nd Minute

Total

Dorticos- 12/23

Kalenga- 20/28

Jabs

Dorticos- 9/15

Kalenga- 8/12

Hooks

Dorticos- 0/1

Kalenga- 4/6

Straights

Dorticos- 2/6

Kalenga- 2/3

Uppercuts

Dorticos- N/A

Kalenga- 2/2

Body Shots

Dorticos- 1/1

Kalenga- 4/5

Round 6 3rd Minute

Total

Dorticos- 20/35

Kalenga- 21/33

Jabs

Dorticos- 13/22

Kalenga- 5/11

Hooks

Dorticos- N/A

Kalenga- 8/10

Straights

Dorticos- 2/8

Kalenga- 4/4

Uppercuts

Dorticos- 1/1

Kalenga- 0/3

Body Shots

Dorticos- 4/4

Kalenga- 4/5

Official Scorecard: XXX

My Scorecard:

Round 1 X-1,2,3 9-10

Round 2 1,3-2 10-8 warfare in the 2nd

Round 3 1,3-2 10-9 (razor close) continued

Round 4 3-1,2 9-10 (very close) half n half

Round 5 1,2-3 10-9 ebbing

Round 6 X-1,2,3 9-10 brutal

Round 7 1,2-3 10-9 mid round blood spray

Round 8 X-1,2,3 8-10 -1 pt for after bell shot

Round 9 X-1,2,3 9-10 control for Kalenga

Round 10 2-1 TKO10

My Score at the time of the stoppage: 84-85 for Kalenga & 10-19 in minutes won also for Youri.

Thoughts on the fight: Man what a fight this was, just one week after Briedis punched his way into title contention in a slugfest over Durudola, Yuniel does similar. Dorticos snapped his head back so many times I thought it’d snap off into the 3rd row. After a slowish start Yuniel comes on hard to ignite a sparking second round and the fight never lets up from there. As is typical with Dorticos, his style of fighting has him permanently engaged at jabbing range, this fight being no different, but Youri repeatedly clipped Dorticos with the razor’s edge of his winging hooks. Kalenga’s hooks became more dialed in as the fight progressed, leading to his breakout 6th and a 8th that evened up the scorecards putting Youri in prime position to walk away with his hand raised. Instead, Dorticos turns on the heat midway through the 10th to put away the insanely tough Congolese-Frenchman after an extended beating that went just as long as it needed to in my opinion. Dorticos wins what will eventually become (fucking wba) his first world title.

As far as 2016 FOTY list is concerned, this isn’t a top seed, but it’s the seed just below the top seed. More classic than all time classic if that’s understandable. Above it are certainly fights like the not for the faint of heart Salido v Vargas, Conlan v Nelson, and possibly the first battles between Whyte-Chisora and Santa Cruz-Frampton. Ranked alongside this one would be stuff like Soto Karass v Kamegai l, Chocolatito v Cuadras, Buglioni v Burton and possibly Yamanaka v Moreno ll or Thurman v Porter. And some of the better fights that DO NOT supersede it’s quality would be like Kovalev v Ward l, Crolla v Barroso and Linares l, GGG-Brook, Easter-Commey, Bellew v Makabu, Williams v Rodriguez and Stevenson, and much more.

————————————————-

Oleksandr Usyk MD12 Mairis Briedis, 2018- Arena Riga, Riga, Latvia

TOTAL Punch Stats:

Round 1 Usyk (16/62) Briedis (22/42)

Round 2 Usyk (44/98) Briedis (29/75) **

Round 3 Usyk (36/71) Briedis (26/63)

Round 4 Usyk (37/76) Briedis (27/83)

Round 5 Usyk (48/92) Briedis (24/95) **

Round 6 Usyk (33/77) Briedis (23/64) *

Round 7 Usyk (33/83) Briedis (18/71)

Round 8 Usyk (29/63) Briedis (18/63)

Round 9 Usyk (39/91) Briedis (23/72) **

Round 10 Usyk (36/98) Briedis (25/84) *

Round 11 Usyk (36/95) Briedis (27/75) *

Round 12 Usyk (37/76) Briedis (18/75) *

TOTAL PUNCHES

Oleksandr Usyk (424/982) 43.18%

Mairis Briedis (280/862) 32.48%

Usyk’s never ending jab

Total- (242/606) 39.93%

Round 1 1st (4/15) 2nd (3/15) 3rd (6/23)

Round 2 1st (10/25) 2nd (7/22) 3rd (7/21)

Round 3 1st (7/13) 2nd (10/18) 3rd (5/16)

Round 4 1st (4/15) 2nd (5/11) 3rd (12/20)

Round 5 1st (7/12) 2nd (10/22) 3rd (9/15)

Round 6 1st (6/17) 2nd (5/17) 3rd (8/14)

Round 7 1st (5/15) 2nd (5/16) 3rd (9/19)

Round 8 1st (6/11) 2nd (7/16) 3rd (5/14)

Round 9 1st (8/16) 2nd (8/20) 3rd (9/22)

Round 10 1st (9/20) 2nd (7/22) 3rd (9/20)

Round 11 1st (6/19) 2nd (5/13) 3rd (6/17)

Round 12 1st (5/13) 2nd (4/10) 3rd (4/12)

Official Scorecard: 115-113, 115-113, 114-114

My Scorecard:

Round 1 X-1,2,3 9-10

Round 2 1,2-3 10-9 terrific round

Round 3 2,3-1 10-9 (very close) still terrific

Round 4 3-1,2 9-10 Briedis asserts himself

Round 5 2,3-1 10-9 visible momentum & dmg

Round 6 1,2-3 10-9 Usyk Incessant

Round 7 2,3-1 10-9

Round 8 1,2-3 10-9

Round 9 X-1,2,3 9-10 great round

Round 10 1,2-3 10-9 (close) on a knifes edge

Round 11 3-1,2 9-10 fuselage of punches

Round 12 1,2-3 10-9 big shots from Briedis were not enough down the stretch.

My Score: 116-112 Usyk and 18-18 in minutes competed.

Thoughts on the fight: First things first, that lead hand of Usyk’s was a nightmare to follow, I couldn’t even imagine the psychological drain it would have mid fight. So many feints and set ups, yet always throwing punches, he was a machine in this fight. Sticking Briedis repeatedly with the lead hand, and as good as Mairis’s footwork is he’s simply not even in the same league as Usyk. That’s not to say Briedis didn’t have his moments, as the action was nip and tuck throughout the encounter. Usyk showed obvious responses to many of the body shots Briedis dug in, and he got clipped with the Latvian’s straight right on a number of occasions. I would say the drama wasn’t clumped on one side of the bread, rather the jam was spread evenly across the toast. Tune in at any point during the fight and within seconds you were sure to see some sort of significant exchange. The scorecards were fair as while I believed Usyk to have clearly won, Briedis infinitely raised his stock in the effort. Just a fantastic contest all around, in an exceptional 2018 it may be hard to declare this a bottom 10 FOTY, but you could certainly make the case for it.

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Murat Gassiev TKO12 Yuniel Dorticos, 2018- Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi, Russia

TOTAL Punch Stats:

Round 1 Gassiev (9/19) Dorticos (9/46)

Round 2 Gassiev (16/37) Dorticos (20/61)

Round 3 Gassiev (15/32) Dorticos (23/58)

Round 4 Gassiev (25/48) Dorticos (41/102) *

Round 5 Gassiev (30/53) Dorticos (26/82) *

Round 6 Gassiev (29/45) Dorticos (21/78)

Round 7 Gassiev (17/39) Dorticos (23/79)

Round 8 Gassiev (24/53) Dorticos (32/94) *

Round 9 Gassiev (26/50) Dorticos (29/85) *

Round 10 Gassiev (30/58) Dorticos (27/76) **

Round 11 Gassiev (40/64) Dorticos (33/109) **

Round 12 Gassiev (48/82) Dorticos (25/72) ***

TOTAL PUNCHES:

Murat Gassiev (309/580) 53.26%

Yuniel Dorticos (309/942) 32.8%

Dorticos Jabs and straights

Jab Total- (206/635) 32.44%

Straight Total- (40/193) 20.73%

Round 1 jab 3/24 Straight 0/9

Round 2 jab 8/38 Straight 2/8

Round 3 jab 16/39 Straight 4/11

Round 4 jab 26/69 Straight 3/17

Round 5 jab 16/55 Straight 2/12

Round 6 jab 19/61 Straight 1/14

Round 7 jab 18/57 Straight 1/14

Round 8 jab 24/68 Straight 4/17

Round 9 jab 19/58 Straight 6/20

Round 10 jab 22/54 Straight 2/17

Round 11 jab 19/65 Straight 10/35

Round 12 jab 16/47 Straight 5/19

Gassiev Uppercuts, hooks and body Shots

Upper Total (38/67) 56.72%

Body Total (76/87) 87.36%

Hook Total (92/147) 62.59%

Round 1 Upper N/A Body 7/7 Hooks 1/2

Round 2 Upper 2/3 Body 6/7 Hooks 3/5

Round 3 Upper 0/1 Body 7/9 Hooks 3/6

Round 4 Upper 2/4 Body 9/12 Hooks 5/8

Round 5 Upper 7/12 Body 4/4 Hooks 10/17

Round 6 Upper 3/4 Body 9/10 Hooks 4/9

Round 7 Upper 1/2 Body 8/10 Hooks 3/6

Round 8 Upper 3/7 Body 6/6 Hooks 7/11

Round 9 Upper 5/6 Body 5/6 Hooks 8/14

Round 10 Upper 3/9 Body 5/6 Hooks 9/14

Round 11 Upper 9/13 Body 5/5 Hooks 14/18

Round 12 Upper 3/6 Body 5/5 Hooks 25/37

Final three rounds of punches

Round 10

Total

Gassiev- (30/58) 51.72%

Dorticos- (27/76) 35.53%

Jabs

Gassiev- 10/23

Dorticos- 22/54

Hooks

Gassiev- 9/14

Dorticos- 0/2

Straights

Gassiev- 3/6

Dorticos- 2/17

Uppercuts

Gassiev- 3/9

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots

Gassiev- 5/6

Dorticos- 3/3

Round 11

Total

Gassiev- (40/64) 62.5%

Dorticos- (33/109) 30.28%

Jabs

Gassiev- 10/20

Dorticos- 19/65

Hooks

Gassiev- 14/18

Dorticos- 0/3

Straights

Gassiev- 2/8

Dorticos- 10/35

Uppercuts

Gassiev- 9/13

Dorticos- 0/2

Body Shots

Gassiev- 5/5

Dorticos- 4/4

Round 12

Total

Gassiev- (48/82) 58.54%

Dorticos- (25/72) 34.72%

Jabs

Gassiev- 13/29

Dorticos- 16/47

Hooks

Gassiev- 25/37

Dorticos- 1/3

Straights

Gassiev- 2/5

Dorticos- 5/19

Uppercuts

Gassiev- 3/6

Dorticos- N/A

Body Shots

Gassiev- 5/5

Dorticos- 3/3

Official Scorecard: XXX

My Scorecard:

Round 1 1,3-2 10-9 Gassiev on the backfoot

Round 2 3-1,2 10-9 fight already broken out

Round 3 1-2,3 9-10 Dorticos working well

Round 4 2-1,3 9-10 Dorticos wins the battle

Round 5 1,2,3-X 10-9 Gassiev to neutral foot

Round 6 1,2,3-X 10-9 Front footed now

Round 7 1,3-2 10-9 Dorticos’ punch resistance

Round 8 X-1,2,3 9-10 Breather for Murat

Round 9 2,3-1 10-9 engine revved

Round 10 1,2,3-X 10-9 peaking

Round 11 1,2,3-X 10-9 healluva final stand

Round 12 1,2-X TKO12 sensational close

My Score right before the end: 107-102 Gassiev and 23-12 in minutes for Murat as well.

Thoughts on the fight: Yes, they landed the EXACT same number of punches. No, I couldn’t believe it either. I redid my math multiple times to be sure, as I couldn’t believe it to have happened, but it did.

This fight was OUTSTANDING. When I think about the quality of a fight, the three factors I initially consider are: Pace, Brutality, and Drama. Many fights have one but not the others. Some have two, if the fight exceeds in all 3 it’s usually pretty special. Briedis v Dorticos: Pace Brutality Drama. Briedis v Glowacki: Pace Brutality Drama. Dorticos v Kalenga: Pace Brutality Drama. Usyk v Briedis: Pace Brutality Drama. Gassiev v Dorticos: Pace Brutality Drama. Of all the fights that have occurred in the Cruiserweight WBSS, this one is by FAR the best, and aside from Inoue-Donaire might have a claim in being the best fight the WBSS has produced.

The story of the fight concerned the clean punch technique of Gassiev and the unrelenting jab and straight salvos of Dorticos. (Not to mention Dorticos’ gasp-inducing chin, for without it we wouldn’t have had enough time for a masterpiece to emerge.) The flow of the fight was tremendous, an almost visible momentum seen in the ring. Gassiev starts out on the back foot surprisingly as he picks clean counters for the first two rounds in a fight that’s fun from the instant it starts. Dorticos eventually begins to limit the distance and crowd Gassiev in the third, before fully unleashing in the 4th as he pressures Murat to the ropes. Gassiev senses a change is needed and for the next couple rounds slowly moves onto the front foot through the middle rounds, laying a hurting on Dorticos in the middle frame. Gassiev takes the 8th round off as he regains his stamina for an oncoming late rounds assault. And man what a result. Rounds 10-12 are absolutely fabulous, as Gassiev builds momentum leading up to the knockout, and Dorticos in turn matches that building intensity. So many punches land clean as you could envision, with Yuniel showing no effects until an 11th round build up eventually puts him on rubber legs to the bell. The final round was as dramatic as you could ask for, possibly the best punch of the year (POTY?) that didn’t result in a knockout being the Gassiev left hook that shatters the impenetrable chin of Dorticos and drops him for the first time in the fight. Another knockdown follows, and when Dorticos rises its fight over flight until Murat Gassiev punches him through the ropes for a fair stoppage seconds before the bell. Murat Gassiev advances to the finals to face Oleksandr Usyk.

As far as the 2018 FOTY list goes, Hurd-Lara and Tanaka-Kimura probably earned the right to challenge each other for the top spot, with GGG-Canelo ll and Gassiev-Dorticos just a split hair short of those two classics. If the order is reversed for some I wouldn’t mind one bit. You got Saucedo-Zappavigna, Valdez v Quigg, Warrington v Frampton and Selby, Chisora v Takam (underrated as fuck) and Whyte ll, Loma v Linares, SSR v El Gallo l, Usyk v Briedis, Dogboe v Magdaleno, Berchelt v Roman and others sitting below the top tier.

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Final Thoughts: Congrats if you made it this far. It’s unfortunate that I couldn’t get this out when the event was far fresher, but hopefully it’s not a mess. Feel free to give any advice, I love criticism. It’s unfortunate that the Briedis-Dorticos event panned out in a relatively predictable manner, but the fight was predictably good as well. So yeah. Hope you guys at the very least found this interesting.

(Love obscure forums that keep the conversation going. So here’s to that.

Link to the OTH great fights video library:) https://www.othboxing.com/forum/index.php?threads/the-oth-great-fights-video-library-looking-for-a-great-fight-to-watch-get-in-here.1497/

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