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kenyan_cheena · 12-30-2004, 09:54 AM

ELMER RAY VS BUDDY BAER
ROUND-BY-ROUND ANALYSIS

from the New York Sun's boxing analysist Peter Roman

Tale of the Tape

Height - Ray: 6'0" Baer: 6'6.5"
Weight - Ray: 183 lbs Baer: 238 lbs
Reach - Ray: 80" Baer: 84.5"

ROUND ONE

The crowd anticipation has built to a fever pitch and is released in a wave of screams and applause as the opening bell sounds. For the first thirty seconds, the combatants keep their distance. Many in the crowd are quick to notice the contrast in the two men's styles: Baer stands tall, almost completely square, left foot forward, hands held high at either side of his head, emphasising his height advantage. Ray has a side-on, slightly crouched stance, left hand probing, measuring his opponent. He's showing a lot of head movement, feinting, waiting for Baer to make the first move. Ray's feet seem to slide over the canvas as he moves forward in increments, almost daring Baer to take a swing at him, cutting off the ring.

Baer moves in closer and Ray pounces, landing a lead jab and then a crushing left hook that brings an intake of breath from the crowd and a smile to Buddy Baer's face. Ray is quick, moving out of striking distance in a flash. Baer becomes more aggressive, cornering his smaller opponent and firing away with a sweet uppercut which snaps Ray's head back. He shakes it off, firing at Baer's body, but the Colorado man wraps him up. Referee Branson separates them, leading to a brief, fierce exchange where Baer lands a left jab-straight right combo and Ray lands two hooks and an uppercut, the last of which hurts Baer. The crowd roars their approval. Ray's face is a mask of concentration, emotionless in contrast to his pre-fight rants and rapping. Baer swings a wild hook and Ray makes him pay with a nice hook on the counter. Buddy Baer steals a quick glance at his corner, just as they start yelling at him to "Pick it up, Buddy!" In response, he tags Ray with another left jab-straight right combination, and follows it up with a left hook to the jaw . Ray takes a step back, giving himself some time to clear his head. The crowd applaudes, the Baer supporters amongst them shouting their encouragement. He keeps coming, throwing a flurry of punches that Ray either blocks or evades. Ray fires back with a stinging hook to the ribs, and Baer backs off. With ten seconds remaining in the round, Baer lands a damaging three punch combination that stops Ray cold, left jab-straight right-left hook. Ray clinches, leaning on Baer, who pushes him away. Ray takes a big swing with the right but Baer evades the punch. The bell sounds as Baer is getting ready to tee off with the right hand. The crowd shows their appreciation as the two fighters return to their corners.

So far, it looks as if Baer's height and reach advantage may have a significant impact on the fight. He landed three separate left jab-straight right combinations in the round. Will be interesting to see how Ray responds in the 2nd.

MY SCORECARD: BAER 10-9

ROUND TWO

Baer continues his good work, taking the fight right up to Ray. He imposes his size upon Ray, pounds away at his ribs and then lets rip with a solid uppercut. Ray's legs seem to buckle ever so briefly, and it's enough to bring excited screams from sections of the crowd. The Florida native is able to slip away though. He is quick on his feet when the need arises. They stand toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring. Ray scores with a crisp left jab, misses with a follow up right cross. Momentarily, they clinch and then back away. Ray presses forward aggressively, cornering Baer, working away at his abdominal region. Baer misses with an uppercut and Ray tags him with a crunching hook to the jaw. Baer's cornerman Izzy Klein is shouting at him to get off the ropes. Baer does not appear to hear him, misses with a hesitant left hand. Ray then fires off his best series of punches of the night to this point - left jab-straight right-left hook to the body-right uppercut. Baer is staggered! There is a pained expression on his face, a chorus of chaotic appreciation from the audience! Baer tries to tie Ray up. Blood is running from his nose. Ray fires off a left hook that Baer takes high on the shoulder, rolling with the punch. Baer sees an opening and pushes Ray back, lands another one of those left jab-straight right combos. They circle one another temporarily, Ray fires away with a series of jabs but Baer moves in and initiates a clinch, forcing Branson to separate them. Ray feints with the left and then scores big with a straight right. Sensing an opportunity to end the fight, he tees off aggressively, left-right-left-right, two of the punches landing. Baer back pedals, Ray follows and walks straight into another left-right combination. Baer should be firing it off more often, because he seems to be landing them at will. Baer lands a pair of jabs, jolting Ray's head. The bell sounds, ending the second round. Sections of the crowd stand and applaude.

Although Baer finished the round quite strongly, Ray seemed to have done enough early on to win it. He was definitely more active in the 2nd round.

MY SCORECARD: RAY 10-9 (19-19 AFTER TWO ROUNDS)

ROUND THREE

Ray comes out with a spring in his step, the tassels on his trunks bouncing colourfully. The two fighters are cautious for the first half minute, with the only punches landed being a straight right and a left jab, both by Ray. They are against the ropes, Ray leaning on Baer. He moves back, giving himself room. Baer is not showing much aggression at this point, waiting for Ray to force the action. Ray rips away with his left hook, first to Baer's body and then the head, a solid punch. Buddy better start working or he's going to let this round slip away, but all he does is cover up his head. It could be that last punch from Ray hurt him! Provided with an open target, Ray pounds away two-handed at Baer's midsection. The taller man winces in pain, now covering his ribs. Ray gives him a head feint and then lands a crushing right hook. There is a look of disgust on the face of Izzy Klein. He screams an expletive-laced tirade at his man. Baer is staggered and the crowd is screaming. Needing time to regroup, Baer ties up Ray in a clinch, waltzes across the ring with him. Ray tries to push him off, swinging ineffective hooks at Baer's head. They lean against the ropes, and Branson is finally able to separate them. Ray gets in his ear, a foul expression on his face, showing some emotion for the first time in the fight. Two minutes have elapsed and Baer has done nothing in the round. In frustration, he swings away with a left hook. The punch bounces off Ray's forehead, momentarily stopping his forward charge, but not seeming to hurt him. That must worry Baer. He telegraphs a right hand and Ray easily avoids it, counters with a beautifully-timed right uppercut. Baer is unsteady on his feet! He could be on his way down if Ray can follow up! But Baer smothers Ray against the ropes, giving him no room to work in. Ray pushes Baer back as the bell rings to end the third round. Ray says something to Baer, his pre-fight attitude starting to emerge. On his stool between rounds, Baer is really sucking them down.

A dominant round for Elmer Ray. He looks confident and in command. It now appears that he is the fitter of the two. Baer is tiring, slowing down. It seems that he might not have paced himself properly.

MY SCORECARD: RAY 10-9 (RAY 29-28 AFTER THREE ROUNDS)

12-30-2004, 09:54 AM	#28 (permalink)
kenyan_cheena Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Sydney, NSW, Australia Posts: 4,178	ELMER RAY VS BUDDY BAER ROUND-BY-ROUND ANALYSIS from the New York Sun's boxing analysist Peter Roman Tale of the Tape Height - Ray: 6'0" Baer: 6'6.5" Weight - Ray: 183 lbs Baer: 238 lbs Reach - Ray: 80" Baer: 84.5" ROUND ONE The crowd anticipation has built to a fever pitch and is released in a wave of screams and applause as the opening bell sounds. For the first thirty seconds, the combatants keep their distance. Many in the crowd are quick to notice the contrast in the two men's styles: Baer stands tall, almost completely square, left foot forward, hands held high at either side of his head, emphasising his height advantage. Ray has a side-on, slightly crouched stance, left hand probing, measuring his opponent. He's showing a lot of head movement, feinting, waiting for Baer to make the first move. Ray's feet seem to slide over the canvas as he moves forward in increments, almost daring Baer to take a swing at him, cutting off the ring. Baer moves in closer and Ray pounces, landing a lead jab and then a crushing left hook that brings an intake of breath from the crowd and a smile to Buddy Baer's face. Ray is quick, moving out of striking distance in a flash. Baer becomes more aggressive, cornering his smaller opponent and firing away with a sweet uppercut which snaps Ray's head back. He shakes it off, firing at Baer's body, but the Colorado man wraps him up. Referee Branson separates them, leading to a brief, fierce exchange where Baer lands a left jab-straight right combo and Ray lands two hooks and an uppercut, the last of which hurts Baer. The crowd roars their approval. Ray's face is a mask of concentration, emotionless in contrast to his pre-fight rants and rapping. Baer swings a wild hook and Ray makes him pay with a nice hook on the counter. Buddy Baer steals a quick glance at his corner, just as they start yelling at him to "Pick it up, Buddy!" In response, he tags Ray with another left jab-straight right combination, and follows it up with a left hook to the jaw . Ray takes a step back, giving himself some time to clear his head. The crowd applaudes, the Baer supporters amongst them shouting their encouragement. He keeps coming, throwing a flurry of punches that Ray either blocks or evades. Ray fires back with a stinging hook to the ribs, and Baer backs off. With ten seconds remaining in the round, Baer lands a damaging three punch combination that stops Ray cold, left jab-straight right-left hook. Ray clinches, leaning on Baer, who pushes him away. Ray takes a big swing with the right but Baer evades the punch. The bell sounds as Baer is getting ready to tee off with the right hand. The crowd shows their appreciation as the two fighters return to their corners. So far, it looks as if Baer's height and reach advantage may have a significant impact on the fight. He landed three separate left jab-straight right combinations in the round. Will be interesting to see how Ray responds in the 2nd. MY SCORECARD: BAER 10-9 ROUND TWO Baer continues his good work, taking the fight right up to Ray. He imposes his size upon Ray, pounds away at his ribs and then lets rip with a solid uppercut. Ray's legs seem to buckle ever so briefly, and it's enough to bring excited screams from sections of the crowd. The Florida native is able to slip away though. He is quick on his feet when the need arises. They stand toe-to-toe in the middle of the ring. Ray scores with a crisp left jab, misses with a follow up right cross. Momentarily, they clinch and then back away. Ray presses forward aggressively, cornering Baer, working away at his abdominal region. Baer misses with an uppercut and Ray tags him with a crunching hook to the jaw. Baer's cornerman Izzy Klein is shouting at him to get off the ropes. Baer does not appear to hear him, misses with a hesitant left hand. Ray then fires off his best series of punches of the night to this point - left jab-straight right-left hook to the body-right uppercut. Baer is staggered! There is a pained expression on his face, a chorus of chaotic appreciation from the audience! Baer tries to tie Ray up. Blood is running from his nose. Ray fires off a left hook that Baer takes high on the shoulder, rolling with the punch. Baer sees an opening and pushes Ray back, lands another one of those left jab-straight right combos. They circle one another temporarily, Ray fires away with a series of jabs but Baer moves in and initiates a clinch, forcing Branson to separate them. Ray feints with the left and then scores big with a straight right. Sensing an opportunity to end the fight, he tees off aggressively, left-right-left-right, two of the punches landing. Baer back pedals, Ray follows and walks straight into another left-right combination. Baer should be firing it off more often, because he seems to be landing them at will. Baer lands a pair of jabs, jolting Ray's head. The bell sounds, ending the second round. Sections of the crowd stand and applaude. Although Baer finished the round quite strongly, Ray seemed to have done enough early on to win it. He was definitely more active in the 2nd round. MY SCORECARD: RAY 10-9 (19-19 AFTER TWO ROUNDS) ROUND THREE Ray comes out with a spring in his step, the tassels on his trunks bouncing colourfully. The two fighters are cautious for the first half minute, with the only punches landed being a straight right and a left jab, both by Ray. They are against the ropes, Ray leaning on Baer. He moves back, giving himself room. Baer is not showing much aggression at this point, waiting for Ray to force the action. Ray rips away with his left hook, first to Baer's body and then the head, a solid punch. Buddy better start working or he's going to let this round slip away, but all he does is cover up his head. It could be that last punch from Ray hurt him! Provided with an open target, Ray pounds away two-handed at Baer's midsection. The taller man winces in pain, now covering his ribs. Ray gives him a head feint and then lands a crushing right hook. There is a look of disgust on the face of Izzy Klein. He screams an expletive-laced tirade at his man. Baer is staggered and the crowd is screaming. Needing time to regroup, Baer ties up Ray in a clinch, waltzes across the ring with him. Ray tries to push him off, swinging ineffective hooks at Baer's head. They lean against the ropes, and Branson is finally able to separate them. Ray gets in his ear, a foul expression on his face, showing some emotion for the first time in the fight. Two minutes have elapsed and Baer has done nothing in the round. In frustration, he swings away with a left hook. The punch bounces off Ray's forehead, momentarily stopping his forward charge, but not seeming to hurt him. That must worry Baer. He telegraphs a right hand and Ray easily avoids it, counters with a beautifully-timed right uppercut. Baer is unsteady on his feet! He could be on his way down if Ray can follow up! But Baer smothers Ray against the ropes, giving him no room to work in. Ray pushes Baer back as the bell rings to end the third round. Ray says something to Baer, his pre-fight attitude starting to emerge. On his stool between rounds, Baer is really sucking them down. A dominant round for Elmer Ray. He looks confident and in command. It now appears that he is the fitter of the two. Baer is tiring, slowing down. It seems that he might not have paced himself properly. MY SCORECARD: RAY 10-9 (RAY 29-28 AFTER THREE ROUNDS) Last edited by kenyan_cheena : 06-01-2005 at 07:57 PM.