|
|
There are six fights on the Tua-Cameron undercard, three of which are relevant to the SportsRatings heavyweight rankings: The heavyweight clash between John Hopoate and Colin Wilson; the cruiserweight battle between Lawrence Tauasa vs. Daniel Ammann; and even the light heavyweight bout between Soulan Pounceby and Shane Chapman.
In the latest SportsRatings heavyweight ratings out October 1st Hopoate is ranked #150 against Wilson's #181, but the lower weight-class fighters are actually ranked higher. Tauasa is ranked #144 due to a victory against heavyweight Richard Tutaki in 2007, and amazingly light heavyweight Pounceby is in the top 100 at #91 after beating Bob Gasio in July by unanimous decision. Note that lower weight-division fighters don't score points for beating non-heavyweights, but can lose points for losing any fight.
Daniel Ammann vs. #144 Lawrence Tauasa
The first round was basically even as Ammann countered well but Tauasa pushed the action and had the harder blows; 10-10. The same pattern followed for rounds two and three as Tauasa hit with hard shots; Ammann covered up to weather those, then responded with his own. Both rounds were close but I gave to Tauasa, who leads 30-28 after three. Round four was a pivotal round as Ammann stayed active and Tauasa punched less; though he still had the harder shots they were fewer and Ammann won it clearly, and the same pattern to a lesser extent continued through the fifth round, tying the score at 48-48. The final round saw Tauasa go a long time without scoring as Ammann peppered him with shot after shot. Pretty clearly the last round went to Ammann, who had the only two clear rounds of the fight.
Amman won a unanimous decision by a wide margin on all scorecards but the fight was very close almost every round. The judges clearly gave Ammann the earlier rounds based on quantity of punches. Tauasa will fall further away from the top 100 as a result of the loss, but Ammann will not be ranked as the fight was fought at cruiserweight.
Shane Chapman vs. #91 Soulan Pounceby
Chapman is a Muay Thai fighter and thus is a somewhat unorthodox fighter, and very aggressive. Pounceby shows good movement and dances well. The first round is close as the fighters feel each other out but Pounceby generally controlled the action, 10-9. Round two saw Chapman being more agressive and at one point cornering Pounceby and scoring. 10-9 Chapman (19-19). Late in the third round there was a bad inadvertant clash of heads that opened up a bad cut on Chapman's eye.
The fight was stopped late in the third, ruled an accidental headbutt; the fight is ruled a technical draw. Pounceby will likely drop out of the Top 100 due to a draw with a light heavyweight fighter; his presence in the top 100 was somewhat of a fluke anyway.
#150 John Hopoate vs. #181 Colin Wilson
Fight nearly ready to start...Wilson is 6' 5" and 260 lbs, Hopoate only 10 pounds lighter at just 6' 0". Hopoate is 12-3-0 to Wilson's 34-25-1.
First round: Hopoate scaring Wilson away with big rights, and Wilson jabbing in a low-action first round. Hopoate just flipped Wilson out of the clinch onto his back, eliciting a warning. Wilson is unhurt, but strikes Hopoate with a low blow. Hard to score that round so I'll punt. 10-10.
Second round: Wilson gets some jabs in, Hopoate gets a good right in and backs Wilson to the ropes. Hopoate is rarely punching but when he does Wilson looks troubled and covers up. Hopoate missed with a big uppercut. Wilson hitting with straight lefts but they don't hurt Hopoate. In the final 10 seconds Wilson scores multiple times unanswered, leaving the second round questionable as well. 20-20.
Third round: Big right hand from Hopoate crashes Wilson to the ground. Eight count for Wilson. Wilson just hanging on under assault, holding on to Hopoate. Wilson stabilized by middle of round, and Hopoate tired himself going for the kill. WILSON knocks Hopoate down with a surprising crashing right! He barely gets up in time and holds on for the last 10 seconds of the round. This fight is scoring nightmare. 30-30.
Fourth Round: Huge shots exchanged by both fighters. Wilson slips to ground, no knockdown. 1:00 in Wilson knocks down Hopoate with a big combination and a left to the chin and he's not getting up! Amazing.
Wilson wins in round four by KO; Wilson will move up but won't be near the top 100. Hopoate loses his second fight by KO out of three after the loss to Oliver McCall in May.
Comments