Cuauhtemoc's recap of Saturday's card

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Molina vs Kirkland

There's been a lot of talk about what is good holding and bad holding. Carlos Molina came out and I thought dominated this fight with pressure, distance and intelligent holding after combinations. I will admit in the last part of the fight when he was hurt he was holding too much but he was only holding after throwing combinations and that is a great example of intelligent boxing.

Kirkland looked slow, too muscular and just lost out there. He is not a good boxer and relies simply on power to set up the KO. He was confused with Molina's angles, movement and counter punching. I don't see him having a chance against Martinez and would much rather see a slugfest with Chavez Jr for entertainment purposes.

The stoppage by the ref was horrible, I understand the rules but they basically took Molina's win away and the ref should have stopped the fight immediately when the second came into the ring. This is why people are so upset with boxing, because of nonsense like this. Molina dominated and deserved the win because he bullied and out boxed Kirkland for most of the fight. Would Kirkland have KO'd him in the last 2 rounds? Who knows but let's see it instead of the ref making that decision.

Morales vs Garcia

I was so impressed with the way Morales was taking this kid to school early on. Counter punching and setting everything up with that amazing jab and right hand to the body. In the end though, youth was too much as Garcia landed a big knock down. Have to give Garcia a lot of credit, he hung in there, even though he was getting battered and had a bloody face to show for it.

Just the fact Morales is doing this at this weight class and at this age shows his true greatness. Dude is a beast and a legend in the game....man I love that dude. He has no legs left though and I think his time is done. Garcia really held on, came on late and deserved the win even though I thought it was much closer than what the judges scored it.

[Jayallday9]

Molina was surely winning but it was NOT intelligent holding, it was excessive and thats just me being nice. He actually should have been warned/penalized because 5 boxing fights wouldn't equal the amount of times he held. Not to mention the illegal punches he often threw while holding on makes me not feel bad at all for the DQ.........Morales really impressed me because I honestly dismissed him as a faded big name on rising young stars resume BUT, it seems Danny only won because he's younger.

[UglyPug]

Molina vs Kirkland

There's been a lot of talk about what is good holding and bad holding. Carlos Molina came out and I thought dominated this fight with pressure, distance and intelligent holding after combinations. I will admit in the last part of the fight when he was hurt he was holding too much but he was only holding after throwing combinations and that is a great example of intelligent boxing.

Kirkland looked slow, too muscular and just lost out there. He is not a good boxer and relies simply on power to set up the KO. He was confused with Molina's angles, movement and counter punching. I don't see him having a chance against Martinez and would much rather see a slugfest with Chavez Jr for entertainment purposes.

The stoppage by the ref was horrible, I understand the rules but they basically took Molina's win away and the ref should have stopped the fight immediately when the second came into the ring. This is why people are so upset with boxing, because of nonsense like this. Molina dominated and deserved the win because he bullied and out boxed Kirkland for most of the fight. Would Kirkland have KO'd him in the last 2 rounds? Who knows but let's see it instead of the ref making that decision.

Morales vs Garcia

I was so impressed with the way Morales was taking this kid to school early on. Counter punching and setting everything up with that amazing jab and right hand to the body. In the end though, youth was too much as Garcia landed a big knock down. Have to give Garcia a lot of credit, he hung in there, even though he was getting battered and had a bloody face to show for it.

Just the fact Morales is doing this at this weight class and at this age shows his true greatness. Dude is a beast and a legend in the game....man I love that dude. He has no legs left though and I think his time is done. Garcia really held on, came on late and deserved the win even though I thought it was much closer than what the judges scored it.

Good synopsis. . .

I have mixed feelings on Molina, though. . While impressed how he handled Kirkland, I just can't be a fan of that style of fighting. . . It was pretty bad, the amount of clinching. . . I do think clinching is the part of sport, and while TECHNICALLY it is against the rules, it wouldn't have been fair to penalize him for him. .. Just like KHAN getting penalized for pushing off. . It's part of the sport, and a good ref isn't going to cost a guy the fight because of it. . . But no network is going to pick up Molina's fights if he keeps clinching like that. . Ultimately, the ref ROBBED Molina of a win, or robbed Kirkland the chance to score a come from behind KO, and legitimize the win.

I thought Garcia won the fight about 8 rounds to 4, or 116-111 with the KD. . I couldn't find a round to give to Morales after the 5th. . He still showed his mettle, though. . He's REALLY got such a great jab. . . Was surprised Garcia floored him; nobody has been able to do that except Pacquiao.

Maybe ONE MORE fight for Morales. . I think he can get up, and get his body up for ONE MORE war!

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Molina was surely winning but it was NOT intelligent holding, it was excessive and thats just me being nice. He actually should have been warned/penalized because 5 boxing fights wouldn't equal the amount of times he held. Not to mention the illegal punches he often threw while holding on makes me not feel bad at all for the DQ.........Morales really impressed me because I honestly dismissed him as a faded big name on rising young stars resume BUT, it seems Danny only won because he's younger.

I disagree, he wasn't holding just to hold. He was beating Kirkland to the punch, landing the much cleaner and harder shots and giving great angles.

Holding is part of boxing, as long as it's done intelligently and after combinations. Some of the greatest boxers of all time used holding and clinching on the inside to win fights.

I thought Molina's game plan was excellent and he was DOMINATING Kirkland.

[Cuauhtémoc1520]

Good synopsis. . .

I have mixed feelings on Molina, though. . While impressed how he handled Kirkland, I just can't be a fan of that style of fighting. . . It was pretty bad, the amount of clinching. . . I do think clinching is the part of sport, and while TECHNICALLY it is against the rules, it wouldn't have been fair to penalize him for him. .. Just like KHAN getting penalized for pushing off. . It's part of the sport, and a good ref isn't going to cost a guy the fight because of it. . . But no network is going to pick up Molina's fights if he keeps clinching like that. . Ultimately, the ref ROBBED Molina of a win, or robbed Kirkland the chance to score a come from behind KO, and legitimize the win.

I thought Garcia won the fight about 8 rounds to 4, or 116-111 with the KD. . I couldn't find a round to give to Morales after the 5th. . He still showed his mettle, though. . He's REALLY got such a great jab. . . Was surprised Garcia floored him; nobody has been able to do that except Pacquiao.

Maybe ONE MORE fight for Morales. . I think he can get up, and get his body up for ONE MORE war!

You may be right about Molina's style but as a hardcore boxing fan and former boxer, I loved what I saw. I just think holding can be done technically and intelligently and I though Molina did that for the most part.

I will admit at the end it was getting excessive but even Ann Wolf was appreciative of the style and was telling Kirkland how he was being manhandled on the inside.

Distance is also something that most don't understand as far as how important it really is. Molina's distance IMO was one of the major keys for him in that fight. He completely neutralized Kirklands power by keeping himself inside the end of the shots.

[Boxingtech718v2]

It may have been intelligent holding but only because the referee was incompetent. Lets also not pretend like Molina didn't hit on the break, rabbit punch, low blow, elbow and anything else you can think of. I think any good ref probably warns Molina and gets him to actually fight. You see the few couple of times he forgot to clinch he got tagged hard. Kirk even knocked him down and who knows might have gone on to stop him. The DQ was crap though and I'm upset about getting robbed of a finish. If I had to sit through Molina stinking up the joint I deserve to see a clean finish at least. I don't want to see a rematch unless there is a ref that won't allow Molina to run in with his head and clinch all night. I doubt there will be a rematch though. I think Kirkland knows he got outworked in there though and will learn from this.

[ny123]

Morales at no point of that fight was schooling Garcia. He won a few rounds at best and kept it competitive. Molina at the very least should have been warned for holding and the idea that he was robbed of the win is very presumptuous on your part considering he was dropped and hurt with two rounds left in the fight.

[bigcursedawg]

Morales at no point of that fight was schooling Garcia. He won a few rounds at best and kept it competitive. Molina at the very least should have been warned for holding and the idea that he was robbed of the win is very presumptuous on your part considering he was dropped and hurt with two rounds left in the fight.

Morales outboxed Garcia for much of the fight. Garcia won't hold on to that belt for very long. Bradley, Peterson, Matthysse would have all stopped Morales, and I think they all bet Garcia too.

[ny123]

Morales outboxed Garcia for much of the fight. Garcia won't hold on to that belt for very long. Bradley, Peterson, Matthysse would have all stopped Morales, and I think they all bet Garcia too.

No he really didnt. Morales kept the fight competitive and won a few rounds but at no point did he school Garcia or even dominate rounds. You are probablt right about those other guys beating Garcia but that wasnt the point.