21.11.05 – by Chris Ireland: Calvin Brock looked to keep his title hopes alive Saturday when he took on David Bostice in his hometown in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Cricket Arena. Eastside was there, ringside for all of the action and has a Round-by-Round report so you can get the scoop on what went down. Read on to see how much trouble “The Boxing Banker” had with the well-traveled Bostice in their heavyweight match-up..
Pre-fight
Dorin Spivey and Malik Scott looked skilled in winning their fights, but the rest of the undercard was lousy. Two fighters in particular looked like they had never fought before. The crowd is hoping the main event will save the evening. Bostice enters, and looks to be in good shape. Brock enters to the “Rocky” theme. His body looks a little soft.
Round 1
Both men are very aggressive coming out. Brock seems willing to trade. Calvin is working hard on the inside. No jab from either man. All power shots here. Bostice counters rather effectively. Good action, with Brock winning a close round.
Brock 10 Bostice 9
Round 2
This is a better round for Brock. He’s getting off first. Brock works combinations to the body and the head. Left and right hooks pepper Bostice. Bostice has no answer, but isn’t hurt. A small cut opens over Brock’s eye after a headbutt. This shouldn’t be a factor. Good round for Brock.
Brock 20 Bostice 18
Round 3
Bostice still isn’t able to do much on offense. Brock looks a lot slower this round, but is still winning it. Some left hooks land for Brock. That appears to be his main weapon. Brock still isn’t using the jab very much. Not a lot of technical boxing here. Just slugging from Brock. Bostice still isn’t hurt yet, but the left hooks are landing clean for Brock.
Brock 30 Bostice 27
Round 4
Brock is landing his best shots so far. He’s picked up the pace a little more this round. Bostice is still searching for some answers. Brock nails Bostice with a right hand that hurts him. Bostice backs up on the ropes, but Brock doesn’t attack very aggressively. Bostice survives the round without much trouble. Still a great round for Brock.
Brock 40 Bostice 36
Round 5
Brock seems to take a round off. The combinations that had landed to the body and the head earlier have disappeared. Bostice is landing some shots on the outside. A good left hook at the end of the round clinches the frame for Bostice.
Brock 49 Bostice 46
Round 6
Brock picks up the pace a little this round. He still looks tired. This is a very close round, though it’s pretty uneventful. Bostice is landing some good body shots. Brock isn’t in dreadful shape, but he could be a little bit more fit. Bostice outworks a tired, but more aggressive Brock in a close round.
Brock 58 Bostice 56
Round 7
In the fifth and the sixth rounds, Brock stopped working on the inside. Bostice got off first and was tying up every time Brock got in. In the seventh, Brock pressed the issue, planted his head in Bostice’s chest and fired combos upstairs and downstairs. Great inside work by Brock. This round could have been fought in a telephone booth. Bostice stands his ground though, and at the end of the round both exchange some heavy shots. Brock came back to life this round and won it in entertaining fashion.
Brock 68 Bostice 65
Round 8
This is a very good round. Good combinations by both men. Brock is mixing it up on the inside again. Whenever he does that, he looks good. Bostice is keeping the round close though. Good body work from him. That’s been open all night. Brock needs to improve his defense a little. He shouldn’t be getting hit this often by a guy like Bostice. Neither man is hurt, but some sound shots are landed by both. Brock wins by a narrow margin.
Brock 78 Bostice 74
Round 9
It looks like Brock is finally starting to pull away a little bit. After a phsyical round 8, Bostice seems to have worn down. Brock nails Bostice with 2 right hands. The crowd rises to its feet. Bostice is hurt. Brock again however isn’t aggressive enough when his man is on the ropes. Late in the round Bostice gets hurt again. He was almost stopped that round. Great round for Brock
Brock 88 Bostice 83
Round 10
Bostice rallies a little bit here. Brock seems like he spent a lot of energy last round trying to take Bostice out. Again, Brock isn’t in the best shape he could have been in. Bostice went back to tying up on the inside whenever Brock looks to land those combos. That’s a good strategy for him. A “Calvin” chat erupts. Bostice lands more body shots. STILL no emphasis on the jab from either man. Bostice outworks a tired Brock here in an impressive round.
Brock 97 Bostice 93
Round 11
Bostice lands a few clean left hooks early in the round. He’s dominating this frame so far. Brock looks tired. Bostice lands a shot that snaps Brock’s head back. Brock immediately responds with a shot that does the same to Bostice! Bostice gets rocked by a right hook! What a comeback this round by Brock. Great action at the end of the round. Bostice holds his ground and they both land big shots at the bell. Brock wins another close round.
Brock 107 Bostice 102
Round 12
Big exchanges on the ropes from the very beginning of the round. Both men appear to be affected by the other’s punches. Both men are whaling away. This turned out to be a very good fight. Brock pins Bostice on the ropes and lands some big body shots. A few head shots get in, but Bostice isn’t woozy. Both men try to knock each other out with big exchanges at the bell. This was a very good heavyweight fight. The last round goes to Brock.
Brock 117 Bostice 111
Post-Fight
117-111 doesn’t indicate what a close, entertaining heavyweight fight Brock vs. Bostice was. Bostice didn’t just roll over. Brock overall didn’t look terrific, but he did nothing to harm his reputation as a threat the lackluster heavyweight champions out there. I was surprised at how well Bostice did when he tied Brock up on the inside. Hopefully “The Boxing Banker” will use his jab more and improve his defense. Still, it wasn’t a dreadful performance by any means.
The final scores read: 118-110, 118-110, and 116-112 in favor of the winner, Calvin Brock!