Latimore vs. Spinks: Round by Round

Since both of these fighters are from St. Louis, the crowd could favor either fighter. I would assume that they would cheer for the more established fighter, Spinks. I was wrong. When Spinks was shown on the screen, the crowd booed loudly. My guess is that St. Louis favors the more agressive and stronger puncher in Latimore.

Latimore is on his way to the ring first. The crowd is really into it. Spinks, for the first time while in front of his hometown crowd, enters to a booing crowd. Latimore has a record of 19-1 with 16 KOs. The crowd is really going crazy for him. Spinks is 36-5 with 11 KOs.

They are introduced. Here we go.

Round 1

Latimore runs out to the center of the ring and lands a right hand. Spinks counters and lands a good right hand of his own. Spinks is throwing good, meaningful shots. Latimore lands a great left-right combo and Spinks backs off. The crowd "oohh's" with every shot. Latimore lands a vicious left hand and Spinks goes down. He makes it up and looks at his corner. Spinks is using good upper body movement but Latimore's shots are too fast and too strong. Latimore is landing great shots in the first. He's looking for the knockout.

Spartan117: 10-8 Latimore

Round 2

Spinks comes out with his jab. Latimore lands a right uppercut. Latimore lands a big left hook that twists the head of Spinks. Spinks lands a shot to the body but Latimore counters with a harder left hand. Latimore's punches are so hard that they are swinging his body completely around. Latimore lands a body uppercut. Now a left hook. He's certainly landing the cleaner shots. Now Cory's defense looks poor. He's been getting hit with big shots for the entire round and is fighting with his chin exposed. Good round for Latimore.

Spartan117: 10-9 Latimore

Round 3

Latimore's trainer calls him down in the corner. He tells him to throw less punches and not just go for the knockdown. Spinks is throwing his jab and not much else. Spinks throws a left hook that sends him off balance. Latimore tries to capitalize with a haymaker but misses. Latimore lands a great left hand but Spinks looks fine. Spinks lands a straight left hand. They trade punches against the ropes. Latimore lands a shot that's below the belt. This has been a better round for Spinks but I still give it to Latimore.

Spartan117: 10-9 Latimore

Round 4

Latimore throws the first jab. Spinks throws a good combo and lands a right hook. Now he lands a good counter right hand. Spinks closes the gap and fights toe to toe but Latimore gets the best of him when they square up. Spinks throws and lands another combo, this time to the body, and Latimore counters with a left. Latimore loads up the left hook again. They trade huge punches in the corner before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Round 5

A cut has opened over the left eye of Spinks. His cutman is trying his best to stop it. It's not too bad but it will only get worse. Spinks lands a right hand. Latimore is really zeroing in on that cut. Spinks waves him in to taunt him. The cut is really visable now. Spinks keeps pawing at it which suggests it's getting into his eye. Spinks dodges a big left hook. Spinks has been backing up more now, probably worried about his cut. They trade shots against the ropes. This has been a tough round to score so far. Latimore looks a bit tired now. His punches are getting more sloppy.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Round 6

Spinks lands a wicked left hand, probably his best punch of the fight. Latimore is unfazed. Spinks throws a fast combo. They trade hooks. Spinks has Latimore against the ropes and they exchange more combinations. Spinks slows down a bit now. Spinks lands a great combo to the body that looks like it hurt Latimore. Latimore is really tired and he's getting incredibly sloppy. The crowd starts a huge "Cory" chant! Latimore is against the ropes and Spinks lands more punches to the body. Spinks' best round so far.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Round 7

They come out in the center and both look cautious. Spinks is getting more aggressive now. Spinks lands a double left hand and Latimore loses his mouthpiece. Now Spinks comes forward. Latimore lands a big left hand, then a right. Spinks waves him in. They trade punches again against the ropes. Spinks lands an overhand left. Spinks has really brought himself back into this fight. This is the most aggressive I've ever seen him in any match. Spinks has Latimore against the ropes again. Latimore's punches have lost all of their previous steam.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Round 8

Spinks comes out throwing punches again. Latimore counters with a left and Spinks grins. Latimore has been fighting well in the first minute of each round but gets tired and Spinks fights well for the last two. Spinks lands a left-right combo and ducks a wide hook from Latimore. Spinks walks Latimore down and looks to land a big shot. Latimore's hands are low now. Latimore lands a left hand. His trainer yells at him from the corner for keeping his hands low. Spinks lands a clean right hand. Spinks landed the better punches in Round 8.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Round 9

Latimore throws the left to start the round. Spinks lands another combo of hooks and again uses his upper body movement to dodge the hooks from Latimore. Spinks throws a left uppercut but it gets blocked. Now he lands a brilliant combo that backs Latimore back. Latimore is really off of his game. Spinks is showing some great boxing skill.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Round 10

Spinks sticks to his game and stays defensive while throwing and landing good combos. Now there's a cut on the right eye of Latimore. The crowd starts a "Cory" chant again. Latimore looks so tired. His legs are shot. Spinks continues to apply pressure. Now Spinks' cut opens again. His corner did a great job of closing it, but now it's bleeding again. This has been a closer round than the others. Latimore lands a great combo right before the bell.

Spartan117: 10-9 Latimore

Round 11

Spinks comes out with his jab again and lands. Latimore lands a great left hand and it looked like Spinks was going to go down, but he used a strange show of balance to dodge a follow-up shot. Now Spinks lands a long left straight. Latimore responds with a flurry. Spinks looks more tired now but he may just be saving his energy. These last two rounds are quite important for both fighters. Spinks lands a hard left hand. The crowd is on its feet. Spinks lands a right hook. Another close round. I give it to Spinks.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Round 12

They come out swinging for the final round. Spinks ducks a hook from Latimore. Latimore blocks a hook from Spinks. Spinks lands a right hook and Latimore goes down. The ref calls it a slip. It was close but it could have been called either way. Latimore is exhausted - he is leaning on Spinks. Spinks walks him down again and lands a right hand. Latimore's legs are completely gone. Here comes the final minute. Latimore throws a punch that puts him off balance. Now Spinks looks tired. They swing away for the final seconds. Spinks goes back to the jab and doesn't get careless. They crowd cheers all the way until the end. They trade bombs as the bell rings.

Spartan117: 10-9 Spinks

Judge 1 scores the bout 115-112 Spinks, judge 2 scores it 115-112 Latimore and judge 3 scores it 114-113 for the winner by split decision... and new IBF junior middleweight champion... Cory "Next Generation" Spinks.

Spartan117: 115-112 Spinks

In the post-fight interview, Latimore says that he's disappointed. He wishes he could have dropped him again after the first knockdown. Latimore says that he slacked in the middle rounds and he needs to learn from his mistakes. He vows that he will be back.

Spinks says that he can fight a crafty fight and also go toe to toe. He says he wasn't hurt after the knockdown and he's not sure how or why he went down. Don King yells from behind Spinks, "Get ready Floyd Maywether." King hijacks the interview and talks about Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. He says if Pacquiao wins next month that Mayweather is going for him. That's a strange thing to say at that moment. Spinks grabs the microphone and says, "Then he can get some of me."

I'm not exactly sure what Don King is planning to do with Mayweather or Spinks but it looks like he has something planned for each of them.

Posted by spartan117