Re. Evan's latest picks, those fights were all tough ones to get right as Ghost and Zerwas noted..
I picked Ward to win "convincingly on points" but I think the under players were in trouble when Ward tried to jump on Buchanan in the first moments of the fight, which immediately put Buchanan into a very defensive mode. If Buchanan had been able to box his way into the fight a bit he might have shown some aggression and thus Ward might have been able to catch him with some good shots and maybe take his legs away a bit. But as soon as Buchanan went into reverse gear with hands up high we were in for 12 monotonous rounds.
Dolan-Norton: I was on the Dolan side. I was able to watch on an unstable internet stream (picture cutting out every few minutes); in round 4 Dolan looked poised to win, with two knockdowns. The Sky commentators thought that Norton was just about gone, and maybe Norton was saved by the bell. At this point the online live betting had Dolan at -600. Unfortunately for Dolan players, he faded in the crucial last few rounds and Norton won it on experience and, I am afraid to say, a bit more grit and mental toughness. In the fourth round, though, Dolan players were looking very good.
Maidana-Kotelnik. I, too, liked Maidana for the upset. He was one point from getting a draw, and if one judge had flipped just ONE round (the 115-114 Kotelnik guy), Maidana would have got a split decision. Tough break for Maidana players.
Henry-Mack. The way that Mack faded, there was a great chance for Henry to pull this one out, but he just couldn't land that one clean right hand that might have got Mack going -- Mack is VERY clever at rolling with punches. A split decision, though. And, small consolation, but in a 15-rounder Henry would surely have won. The last four or five rounds must have been agony for Mack players to watch.
Sometimes we need the breaks to get the picks right; in these fight the losing side didn't get any breaks. But, hey, no one said this is easy, right?
I picked Ward to win "convincingly on points" but I think the under players were in trouble when Ward tried to jump on Buchanan in the first moments of the fight, which immediately put Buchanan into a very defensive mode. If Buchanan had been able to box his way into the fight a bit he might have shown some aggression and thus Ward might have been able to catch him with some good shots and maybe take his legs away a bit. But as soon as Buchanan went into reverse gear with hands up high we were in for 12 monotonous rounds.
Dolan-Norton: I was on the Dolan side. I was able to watch on an unstable internet stream (picture cutting out every few minutes); in round 4 Dolan looked poised to win, with two knockdowns. The Sky commentators thought that Norton was just about gone, and maybe Norton was saved by the bell. At this point the online live betting had Dolan at -600. Unfortunately for Dolan players, he faded in the crucial last few rounds and Norton won it on experience and, I am afraid to say, a bit more grit and mental toughness. In the fourth round, though, Dolan players were looking very good.
Maidana-Kotelnik. I, too, liked Maidana for the upset. He was one point from getting a draw, and if one judge had flipped just ONE round (the 115-114 Kotelnik guy), Maidana would have got a split decision. Tough break for Maidana players.
Henry-Mack. The way that Mack faded, there was a great chance for Henry to pull this one out, but he just couldn't land that one clean right hand that might have got Mack going -- Mack is VERY clever at rolling with punches. A split decision, though. And, small consolation, but in a 15-rounder Henry would surely have won. The last four or five rounds must have been agony for Mack players to watch.
Sometimes we need the breaks to get the picks right; in these fight the losing side didn't get any breaks. But, hey, no one said this is easy, right?
