Still yet more...

WELTERWEIGHT

Luis Rodriguez W15 Tommy Hearns

Maybe the best of the championship fights...lots of action, back & forth. Rodriguez dropped Hearns in the 4th for a 4-count. Hearns had Rodriguez hurt in the 9th and 10th...back and forth, but when it was all said and done, it was 143-141 (twice) and 143-142, all for Rodriguez. After 12, Rodriguez led by a point on two cards, and Hearns led by a point on the third...totally up for grabs. Rodriguez moves to 4-0 (2); Hearns drops to 3-1 (2).


JR WELTERWEIGHT

Duilio Loi W15 Jack "Kid" Berg

145-140 (twice), 144-141. Not the back-and-forth action-packed brawl that Rodriguez-Hearns was... Almost every round was close. The 144-141 card was probably closest; it wasn't one-sided. Loi improved to 4-0, all by decision. The championship bout was the only one that was unanimous. Berg dropped to 3-1-1 (1). If you're wondering about Aaron Pryor, he stagged Saoul Mamby a few times in their tournament first-round bout, but dropped the decision. Interesting random pairing; Pryor and Mamby held different versions of the 140-pound title contemporaneously. That fight was a 6-rounder; they may get a rematch over a longer distance, in which case I'd like Pryor's chances.


LIGHTWEIGHT

Joe Gans W15 Benny Leonard

Classic matchup between the two best pre-Duran lightweights of all time. They may compare well with Duran, too; it's just that it's pretty well undisputed BEFORE Duran (possible exception: Henry Armstrong). Leonard dropped Gans for a 5-count in the 13th, and almost stopped him, but there was only about half a minute left, and Gans weathered the storm. Leonard also lost a point in the 8th for hitting low one too many times. The 13th was a 10-7 round on all cards for Leonard, but it wasn't enough in a split decision: 143-140 (twice), 139-144. Gans moved to 4-0-2 (1) (two 12-round draws against Jem Driscoll in the semi-finals before finally stopping him in the 11th in their third match). Leonard fell to 3-1 with no knockouts, but including a BIZARRE semi-final win over Roberto Duran. Leonard scored two flash knockdowns in the first...Duran wasn't really hurt, came on to win middle-late rounds...after 9, Leonard was up by one point on two cards, and the fight was even on the third, but Duran had won the last two rounds and four of the last five, when in the 10th, Duran was disqualified for a blatant head butt, having previously been warned.

More to come!