British RBR - Amir Khan v Graham Earl - Saturday - Duddy v Eastman

[superheavyrhun]

Round 5:

They swap jabs caught on the guard, then each falling short. Gbenga charges forward, misses Francis, pushing himself halfway through the ropes. Gbenga gets in a jab, but Francis lands a left. Straight right from Francis lands, but not much on it. Francis ducks under the Gbenga right. Jab from Francis. Francis is making the forward movement. Gbenga's attacks are almost comical in the way his whole body goes into each punch that's missing. Francis with a right counter on the bell.


49-46 Francis

Did I call him Dean Hickman earlier? WTF is dean hickman?

[superheavyrhun]

Round 6:

Left hook from Francis finds the Gbenga guard. JAbs from Gbenga but each one falls short by some 5 or 6 inches each time. LEft hook from Francis. And another, and Gbenga might be vulnerable to that left hook. Francis stabs out a jab. Francis does seem to be growing in confidence, and is jabbing and hooking well, but not using much of his right. Clinch. Gbenga is throwing back, but not really anywhere near Francis. Jab lands from Gbenga...his first punch in 150 seconds. francis moves sideways, then puts in a one-two. Gbenga with a left hook.

Francis taking it, but not exactly a barnstormer.

59-55 at the halfway.

[superheavyrhun]

Round 7:

Gbenga landsa right to the body. The cagey jab landing short seems to be everyone's favourite here. He ships a right hook from Gbenga. Francis' shoulder injuries seem to be hampering him, as he doesn't really want to throw the right hand. Left hook from Francis. If I wasn't doing an RBR I'd be thinking about switching to see what's going on on the Duddy v Eastman undercard. Good flurry, Francis stepping forward, with a jab aznd a right uppercut. He's pushing Gbenga back. Left hook from Francis. Gbenga lands two jabs.

69-64 Francis

[superheavyrhun]

Round 8:

Francis with the jab. Gbenga flurries, but only lands a right to the body. Francis with a short few shots, lands a left uppercross. Good right hook from Francis, but he immediately reverts to jabbing. Francis on points. Comfortable. Dull. That's where it seems to be going. Gbenga with an overhand right, and he feels Francis is in trouble, and lands another right, and charges forward. Francis lands a left hook, and it's finally showing some promise. They've settled down again, and nothing doing. Gbenga lands another right hand.

Gbenga's round there. 78-74

Round 9:

Gbenga feeling a little more confident, and throws a right upper wildly missing. Gbenga does land a decent right hand. Francis looking a little more tired. A haymaking right narrowly misses Francis. Francis with the jab. The pace is now back to walking. Not a brisk walk, just strolling pace. Gbenga misses with a few more shots. Two jabs from Francis. And another. I think my prayers for a KO will not be answered. Good overhand right from Gbenga. I need to pee, so KO would be ideal. Body shot from Francis, then a one-two with the right. Gbenga comes forward and Francis runs around the ring. Francis jab then a left hook. Jab on the bell from Francis.

Francis. 88-83

[superheavyrhun]

Round 10:

Francis way ahead, but unimpressive. Hook from Francis. Overhand misses, and Francis stuns Gbenga with an uppercut, followed by a good left hook. Gbenga falls short with ever more jabs. Gbenga lands a jab, then a good right hook lands pushing Francis onto the ropes. Jab from Francis, but he misses the right upperhook. Gbenga with a slow but powerful one two that has francis covering up. Good jab from Gbenga. Francis not doing much this round.

Gbenga. 97-93

[superheavyrhun]

Round 11:

Francis takes a right hand early doors, and he brings that right hand guard up again. Francis with a straight right, then a jab. Francis jabs as Gbenga misses wildly. Again. Jab from Gbenga. Francis with a one-two. Gbenga's punches are dragging his body along with them, and he looks totally knackered now. Left hook from Francis, then a one-two. Hedoubles the body shot to the Gbenga body. Good right hand too. Jabs from Francis. ANother jab then a right hand.Left uppercut from Francis, and Gbenga is done. Jabs from Francis.

Looks like he'll hang on to that title. 107-102

[superheavyrhun]

Round 12:

Gbenga is quite clearly going to need a knockout, and with a reported 15KOs from 16 wins, according to ITV, then he might still do it. Dean Francis' fantastic one-round KO of OVill McKenzie seems a lifetime away now. LEft hook to the Gbenga head, and he looks too tired to throw anything hurtful. He lunges in with a straight right, but nowhere near landing. Francis with a jab, then Gbenga lunges back at him. Good jab hook from Francis. He covers up for a few jabs, but then looks to return a left hook. Food left then a hook from Gbenga. Gbenga is shaken ,and a flurry of hooks to the body, then up top rattles him some more. Gbenga takes another left hook, then covers up an slips to the right. He's survived, then throws one of his overhand rights. Francis with a left hook to the body on the bell.

Francis retains his title. 117-111 on my cards. Shouldn't be any controversy here.

[superheavyrhun]

The judges cards read:

118=110, 117-112,117-112

OK, so the undercard is over....Amir Khan v Earl is on in about 25 minutes time. Be here or be square.

[superheavyrhun]

Earl's reception is a mix of cheering fans, he's brought 1,000 up from Luton, and the boos of the home crowd who are all here to see the favourite Amir Khan. Earl is a 4/1 underdog here. Khan's reception is sensational. The cheering is huge and he comes in in his sparkling robe, on his 21st birthday. He looks nervous, and he knows how big this evening is for him. Make or break is only minutes away for Khan. As he steps through the ropes, the Bolton arena erupts. Next up we really see the first big test of Amir Khan against a big punching Graham Earl. Whilst being announced to the fans, Earl gets a chorus of boos, but merely the build-up has Khan's fans cheering him to the rooftops. It truly sounds like an amazing atmosphere there.

Round 1:

Earl fighting from a low guard, forcing Khan to punch downwards. Khan lands a jab, but Earl gets one in too. Earl with a good body shot. Earl jabbing to the body, but Khan with a good left. Kahn with a big left hook, and a second one forces Earl to the canvas. Amazing start. Khan is charging in. Khan with three big left hooks, and a stunning flurry. It's all over in the first. Amazing stuff! Khan has overcome the biggest challenge so far. Earl has no idea what just happened. Khan was amazing, and didn't let Earl get close to him!

Okay, so now it's time to have a look what's happening over in the Duddy v Eastman fight!

[superheavyrhun]

Ok, it's only just started here, about 1 minute into the first round. Duddy with a couple of good right hooks, and Eastman is moving around the ropes with Duddy making the movement. John with a couple of good body shots has Eastman on the ropes. Two good short hooks land on Eastman, who looks in trouble. Right hook from Duddy, and a second. Eastman returns a left hook, then a right, and they clinch. Right hook from Eastman.

Missed the first minute, but Duddy's round.
10-9

[Violent Demise]

I knew Earl was shot.

[superheavyrhun]

Round 2:

Coming from the Belfast King's Hall. Duddy pust a jab to the body. Another flurry of hooks, and Eastman is in bother. Duddy seems dominant. Duddy is looking for a route past the Eastman pawing jab. Eastman counters with a right. Duddy's jab is quality so far. Good right hook from Eastman in the clinch. Left uppercut from Duddy, and Eastman seems to want to hang on. Good right uppercut from Duddy, and Eastman is covering as much as he can. Body shot and left hook from Eastman. Clinch, and another right from Eastman. Duddy with a body shot, then some hooks, but Eastman is landing the left hooks regularly.

Duddy's workrate gives him that one.
20-18

Round 3:

This is scheduled for 10 rounds. Eastman looking to duck low. Good right uppercut from Eastman there, and he's working the body now. Left hook then a right from Duddy. This is scrappy on the inside, and Eastman with short light hooks in there. Duddy with a left, then Eastman with a right hook to the body again. Right hand from Duddy. Duddy jabbing, then Eastman with a left. Eastman misses, then a left hook from Duddy. Left on the inside from Duddy, then Eastman goes in too. Duddy is working more so far. Jab from Eastman then three digs to the ribs from Eastman. Jabs from Eastman, but Duddy doubles up the jab, then Eastman has a swing after the bell.
Eastman's round for me, he had the quality shots there.
29-28

[superheavyrhun]

Round 4:
Body shot from Eastman, and another, but Duddy returns some left hooks. Huge left from Duddy, and Eastman looks to tie Duddy up and make it a gutter brawl. Eastman puts two digs into the body. Ref yells "Stop That" at someone in there, and Duddy asks the ref about being hit behind the head. Duddy jabbing and then they lean on again and trade hooks. Good right from Duddy, but Eastman with three good hooks. Right then a left hooks from Duddy to the body, and Eastman looked limp for a second there. Eastmans is swinging and missing. But a good upeprcut from Eastman nonetheless. Eastman with a body shot, and this is turning into a good fight. Eastman clinches and then Duddy with an uppercut then a hook. Eastman again strikes after the bell, but apologises immediately.
Duddy's round.
39-37

Round 5:
Eastman with a left hook, then Duddy digs in a right. Eastman with hooks to the boy again, but Duddy with a straight right. Duddy shi[ps two jabs, then two great right uppercuts from Eastman. Duddy counters fire with fire, in two hooks, but takes a couple more shots straight from Eastman. Duddy takes another left hook, and a right uppercut. Duddy still comes forward with a jab and some short hooks from close range. Left from Duddy. Eastman's jabbing then bobbing back to avoid the Duddy swing. The ref yells "Stop that" again. Left from Duddy, but Eastman is jabbing well, and pushing Duddy back out of close quarters. Left hook from Duddy, and then catches Eastman on the way in.
Eastman's round.
48-47

[superheavyrhun]

Round 6:

Going into the second half of the fight. Eastman looks to jab to the body, but Duddy with some hooks. Body shots from Eastman. Good right hook from duddy, but Eastman looking the most active he has in years. Eastman with an uppercut, but Duddy putting in a body shot and a hook upstairs. Left hook from Duddy sends the crowd chanting again. Eastman jabs. Clinch. Right hook from Duddy. Left hook to the body. Eastman's right uppercut grazes Duddy, but a left hook lands well. Eastman is working hard, and lands another right hand, then a right hook. Duddy with an uppercut of his own, then a hook and straight right. Duddy jabs then a hook, more jabs. Good right hand from Duddy, then a left on the bell.
Tight round. 10=10 I think.
58-57 Duddy.

Round 7:
Duddy opens up well with three jabs, then a body shot. They clinch. It's still scrappy but entertaining stuff. Duddy coming forward well. Eastman pawing with the jab but not landing. Duddy with a right hand, then three hooks to the bdoy. Left hook from Eastman as he retreats. Jab from Eastman, then a body shot. Duddy cut over the right eye. Right hook then a left from Duddy. Pushes Eastman back. Eastman circles Duddy. Eastman doubles up the jab, but Eastman takes two jooks, then another hook. Eastman goes down on the ropes, but the ref rules it a slip. Didn't seem to be much slipping to me. Eastman is retreating and shipping jabs. Eastman pushes the jab otu but nothing bhind it. Two lefts from Duddy.
Emphatically Duddy's round.
68-66

[superheavyrhun]

Round 8:
Eastman opens with two hooks to the body, then Duddy returns fire. Eastman gets caught with two hooks, then the ref warns him about the head and stops, then Eastman swings at Duddy unexpectedly. Sounds like Eastman can't hear the ref. Hook from Eastman, but Duddy puts in a few more hooks. Left from Duddy. Clinch, then Eastman digs to the ribs nicely. Eastman lands a couple of lefts, but Eastman pings in some good left hooks then a right. Eastman with a left, and Duddy's jabs look ineffectual here. Duddy with a left hook. Eastman's left hooks looked better though. Duddy with a left. Goiod left from Duddy then a right, but Eastman comes back with some of his own. Duddy hooks on the bell.
I like Eastman still, but Duddy edges it.
78-75