Kameda takes the center of the ring and pumps his jab. McDonnell
answers with a right-hand counter that falls short. Kameda connects
with a right hand high on the forehead and the champion shakes it
off. The action slows as the fighters feel each other out and
search for their rhythm. Five straight piston-like jabs from
Kameda, who is the more active fighter early on. Kameda opens up
his hands to close the round, but nothing flush connects. 10-9
Kameda.
Round 2
McDonnell is active early and Kameda gives it right back with a
flurry to the body and a right uppercut that connects. Kameda’s jab
is the bout’s key component through five minutes of ring action.
Kameda is doubling and tripling up on the jab. McDonnell looks a
little frustrated, but certainly is right in this fight. 10-9
Kameda.
Round 3
Following the advice of his corner, McDonnell is firing his jab
throughoput the first 60 seconds of round three. Kameda lands a
left hook to the body. McDonnell is throwing more jabs than his
opponent, but he is not landing with the clip of accuracy as the
Japanese fighter. A right hook rocks McDonnell and he falls on his
rear end. This is a flush knockdown, the first of McDonnell’s
career. Kameda swarms but McDonnell is OK. Nasty right hook from
Kameda barely misses. 10-8 Kameda.
Round 4
McDonnell is looking to get inside of the Japanese boxer’s space as
he bulls forward with his hands protecting the chin. McDonnell is
tying up his foe, but is unable toi get any close-distance damage
in. McDonnell is very active with his jab, but still at this point
in the fight, he is yet to connect with regularity. McDonnell lands
a right-hand counter, perhaps his best punch of the fight. Double
jab and a right hand from the champion. Kameda ties up with
McDonnell and eats a right hand for his efforts. Close round. 10-9
McDonnell.
Round 5
Kameda backs the champion into a corner immediately but is unable
to mount any meaningful offense. Left hook to the head and body
from McDonnell. He looks like a completely different fighter than
he did through the first three frames. Kameda lands a right hook
and McDonnell cracks him with a right uppercut. McDonnell’s jab is
starting to connect and he also looks lighter on his feet.
Increased head movement is also a change for McDonnell as this bout
progresses. Left hook and a straight right for McDonnell. Where was
this fighter earlier? Right uppercut for McDonnell. Another right
hook for McDonnell before the bell.10-9 McDonnell.
Round 6
Both fighters are willing to exchange and McDonnell gets the best
of it with a right uppercut. McDonnell digs with right hands to the
body. Kameda has lost the range of his jab since the end of round
three. The adjustments made by McDonnell have changed the momentum
of this contest. McDonnell clips Kameda with a right hand and then
backs him up with the jab. Kameda pushes McDonnell backwards in an
effort to bully him, but the referee has none of it and issues a
warning. 10-9 McDonnell.
Round 7
At the midway point of this bout, Sherdog.com sees Kameda ahead
57-56 (unofficially) on the strength of round three’s knockdown.
McDonnell sets his lead foot in the center of the ring and dares
Kameda to step into range. McDonnell is peppering Kameda on the
inside. Kameda lands a right hook counter that is his best punch in
several rounds. Kameda keeps wiping his nose with the gloves, as if
it’s bothering him. McDonnell goes to the body with a left hook and
Kameda clips him with a right. Two jabs score for Kameda. Kameda
scores with a left hook to the body. Another close round. 10-9
Kameda.
Round 8
McDonnell has a little swelling above his left eye. Kameda cracks
the champion with a right hand. McDonnell is doing good work on the
inside to the body. McDonnell lands with a right hook and goes
right back to the body. Kameda is fighting with his back close to
the ropes and I think it’s costing him the round as McDonnell
pushes him around and hits the body. Right before the bell, Kameda
connects with a left hook. 10-9 McDonnell.
Round 9
Kameda cracks McDonnell with a hard right hand. The fighters trade
hooks to the body with neither man gaining the upper hand. Both
fighters land right hooks to the head and it seems Kameda got the
better of that one. Kameda has turned into a counter fighter and
he’s up in this round. Left hook to the body followed by the same
punch to the head. Kameda then goes low with a straight right to
the body. Left straight to the gut for Kameda. McDonnell jabs back
and Kameda hits air with his next dozen punches or so. McDonnell
with a right hand. Good fight, ya’al. 10-9 Kameda.
Round 10
The fighters clash right in thew middle of the ring and quickly
separate after a stalemate. Oh, what a left hook to the body for
Kameda. That hurt McDonnell slightly and he acknowledged it with a
head nod. McDonnell lights Kameda up with a quick one-two. Three
straight uppercuts are blocked by McDonnell and a right hand sneaks
through for Kameda. McDonnell backs Kameda up to the ropes but
cannot get his hands off. Kameda with a right hook that connects
flush. And another. Kameda took that round late, 10-9.
Round 11
Entering the championship rounds, Sherdog.com’s unofficial
scorecard has Kameda ahead: 96-93. The pace slows a little until
Kameda bulls forward with his head down. Both boxers connect to the
body with each hand. McDonnell chases Kameda with his jab. Kameda
ducks under a wild right and the referee separates them. The
fighters are keeping the ref busy with constant tying uyp, but this
fight has been excellent as each man just tries to figure out the
length and speed of the other. 10-9 McDonnell, but just barely.
Round 12
What a start to round 12 as each man wings leather from both hands,
trying to make a statement to the judges or perhaps look for a
finish top keep it out of their hands. A right hand scores for
McDonnell. He lands two more and then goes to the jab. Kameda, not
to be outdone, opens up and flurries. McDonnell is doing work
through: cracking the challenger with several right hands on the
forehead. Kameda is almost going to the body exclusively, but he’s
not connecting and is giving up punches to the head. Kameda lands a
counter-right hook. McDonnell is easily up in this round. Kameda
lands two hard right left hooks in the final 10 seconds to make
scoring the round interesting, but give me 10-9 McDonnell (114-113
Kameda).
Burns is finding his mark early with both the jab and right hand.
He also looks like the bigger, stronger fighter. Double jab and a
right straight connect for Burns. Hard jab from Burns. Figueora
lands a left hook to the body and eats two right hooks to the
heads. Burns is warned for a punch to the back of the head, but it
looked like Figueroa turned into it. Burns bullies Figueroa to the
ropes and roughs him up with an uppercut and a right hand. Figueroa
chase burns to the ropes, but does not connect. First round is all
Burns, 10-9.
Round 2
Burns is absolutely teeing off early in round two as he lands a
left and right hook. Figueroa lands a sneaky right hook to the
temple. Figueroa is starting to do some work on the inside.
Uppercuts from both hands score for Figueroa in close. Figueroa is
turning this into a phone-booth fight and it’s exactly what he
needs. Figueroa scores with a right uppercut and then chases Burns
back to the ropes. Figueroa swarms with both hands and the crowd
goes crazy. 10-9 Figueroa.
Round 3
Figueroa lunges forward with a right hand that falls well short.
Figueroa snaps Burns’ head back with an uppercut. Burns answers
with two right uppercuts that land very clean. Burns guillotines
Figueora on the inside before letting go and raising both hands in
a gesture as to say he didn’t do anything wrong. The pace slows and
the crowd lets both fighters hear it. Figueroa lands two uppercuts
and a right hand. Figueroa’s round, 10-9.
Round 4
Figueroa is hit with a right cross and a uppercut. He answers back
with some good inside work to the body and uppercuts of his own.
Burns connects with a jab and counters with a right hand. Figueroa
scores with a plethora of inside blows and it seems to just make
Burns mad as he backs up and lets him have it with several right
hooks. Burns lands a right hook on the ear and Figueroa nearly lost
his balance, but he was not hurt. 10-9 Burns.
Round 5
Figueroa is cracked with two hard jabs early. Referee Lawrence Cole
warns Burns for holding for the second time. Burns continues to
land with chopping right hands, but his pace is slowing from such a
grueling fight. Figueroa drops low and works exclusively to the
body. Burns may have gotten stung as he retreats from the ropes and
creates lots of distance between himself and Figueroa. Guillotine
defense from Burns. Figueroa does better work on the inside in the
round’s final seconds. 10-9 Figueroa.
Round 6
Figueroa is clipped with a right hand to the body and a short hook.
Chopping right hand lands for Burns on the inside. This fight has
truly been an inside war as both fighters have clinched and thrown
high-volume uppercuts and digging shots to the body. Burns is
connecting consistnely to the body and the head with his right hand
through 2:30 of the frame. Two left hooks score for Figueroa. Burns
lands a left to the body and a right hook to the head. Burns’
round, 10-9.
Round 7
At the halfway portion of the fight, Sherdog.com unofficially sees
the bout at 57-57. Burns continues his high-volume assault as he
connects with two jabs and a right cross. Figueroa chases Burns
around the ring and bullies him against the ropes. Referee Cole
separates. Burns with a brutal left hook to the body. Figueroa
attempts to get busy to close the round, but Burns takes it
10-9.
Round 8
Burns is roughing Figueroa up on the inside. The pace has slowed,
with each fighter content to clinch and rest after a grueling 21
minutes of fighting. Burns moves Figueroa to the ropes. Wow.
Referee Cole takes a point from Burns for holding. That’s a bad
call, ya’al, as the clinching was mutual. Figueroa tries to take
advantage as he raises his output. It may have been enough to take
a two point round with the point deduction. 10-8 Figueroa, but just
barely.
Round 9
The Scottish fighter lands a right cross and a right uppercut. A
left hook scores for Burns and then a chopping right. Burns lights
up Figueroa with a right hook. The fighters trade left hooks to the
body from the clinch. Burns scores with a right counter as Figueroa
threw consecutive left uppercuts with his right guard low. Two
right uppercuts land for Figueroa. A glancing right finds the chin
for Burns. 10-9 Burns.
Round 10
Excellent head movement from Figueroa as he avoids every wild shot
from Burns. Honestly, there hasn’t been much defense from Figueroa
all night so it seems surprising to see him move so well on the
inside. Oh, nice right hook for Burns as he exits the clinch. And
another for Burns as he scores with a chopping right. A right hand
from Burns backs up Figueora with 30 seconds remaining in the
stanza. Figueroa backs Burns up to the ropes and unloads his hands.
10-9 Burns.
Round 11
Entering the championship rounds, Sherdog.com unofficially sees the
fight 95-94 for Burns. Each man tries to work off his jab early.
Let’s see how long this last as this fight has primarily taken
place from the clinch. Figueroa moves Burns to the ropes and the
crowd shows their allegiance to their man. Undaunted, Burns defends
well until he eats two right hooks prior to a referee separation.
Burns lands a hard right hand. Figueroa cracks him back with a left
hook. Figueroa swarms on Burns with a flurry and the crowd goes
bananas. Oh, what a left hook to the body for Figueroa. Burns is
hurt. And another. This is Figueroa’s best work of the fight. Burns
holds and again and referee Cole stops the fight to take another
point. 10-8 Figueroa.
Round 12
Figueroa jumps all over Burns early and roughs him up with short
shots to the body. Burns connects with a short uppercut. Burns
Works an underhook on the left elbow and is connecting with right
hands as he holds. A punch to the beltline scores for Burns, but
the referee does nothing. Burns goes to work on the body as
Figueroa has his back to the ropes. Good fight. 10-9 Burns
(113-113).
