PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Roy Nelson (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Dwight Howard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). These two fighters really are very evenly matched on the feet - it will be fascinating to see who can assert themselves in that aspect of the fight.

Nelson
vs
Howard

188 cm
25
210 lbs
1 - 0 - 1

180 cm
25
205 lbs
2 - 1 - 1

Excellent boxer
Cuts easily

Excellent boxer
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the light heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 1 - 0 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Roy Nelson!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dwight Howard!
The judges for this bout are Aafke Stam, Paulsen Ambrosius and Patrick Alders.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Howard lunges at Nelson with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Nelson's hand.

It looks like Roy Nelson has been cut.
Howard throws a jab when Nelson was well out of range.
Nelson misses with a head kick.
Howard throws a hook but Nelson avoids it easily.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nelson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Nelson misses with a head kick.
Nelson walks straight into an uppercut. Luckily it didn't land flush.
Nelson staying out of range there.
Nelson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Howard.
A punch lands to the side of Nelson 's head but he takes it in his stride.
Nelson slips under a jab from Howard.
Howard throws a hook to the side of Nelson's head but Nelson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Nelson takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Nelson tries to clinch up.
Howard thuds his right hand into Nelson's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Nelson tries to clinch up.
Howard misses with a lunging right hand
and Nelson counters with a straight punch to the midsection.
Nelson tries to close the distance and clinch up but Howard swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Nelson tries to clinch but Howard moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A swing and a miss from Howard.
Nelson throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Howard sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Nelson tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in the close the distance. Howard manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Howard.
Nelson bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Howard throws a poor cross that misses
and Nelson makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Howard lands a beauty of a right hand that gets the crowd cheering.
Nelson misses with a jab and misses with a cross straight after too.
Howard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Nelson counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
Howard connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Howard.
Nelson throws a low kick but Howard avoids it.
Nelson misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Howard misses with an uppercut
and Howard takes a counter punch right on the button for his troubles.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Howard loads up on a big right hand but Nelson slips the punch.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Nelson counters with a three punch combo that has Howard backing up. Howard nods at Nelson to acknowledge the strikes.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Howard.
Howard misses with a hook
and Nelson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nelson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Howard was well out of range. Poor timing from Nelson.
Nelson throws a right hand that Howard ducks under and follows up with a left that Howard also avoids with ease.
Dwight Howard is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Howard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Howard blocks the body kick.
Nelson walks forward and throws out a flicking leg kick. Howard checks it nicely though, as he moves to the side.
Howard lunges in with an uppercut that skims his opponent's chin.
Nelson throws an overhand right that lands on Howard's shoulder, as Howard tries to avoid the shot.
Howard misses with a straight right.
Nelson takes a swing at Howard's ribcage but misses.
Nelson jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nelson is breathing heavily.
Nelson doesn't manage to clinch there - Howard circles away.
Howard looks to land a left hand but Nelson moved out of range nicely.
Nelson tries to clinch there but Howard circles away.
Howard throws a big shot that misses.
Nelson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nelson tries to clinch but Howard moves out of range.
Nelson tries to clinch there but Howard circles away.
Nice defenses there by Nelson.
Howard misses with an uppercut. Nelson saw that one coming.
Nelson moves out of range of the strikes.
Nelson looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.
Nelson looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Nelson ducks under a wild hook from Howard.
Howard misses with a looping left.
The crowd cheers as Howard lands an impressive looking overhand right. Nelson doesn't seem phased though.
Howard is landing a lot of head punches in this opening round! Nelson had better start moving his head a bit unless he wants his face to turn into pâté.
Howard throws a jab but it's blocked by Nelson.
Nelson tries to clinch there but Howard circles away.
Howard throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Nelson counters with a lovely straight right hand!
A big left from Howard misses.
Howard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nelson wants to clinch.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nelson tries to clinch up.
Dwight Howard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Howard avoids the head kick by Nelson.
Howard lands with a hook. Nelson tried to avoid it but it clipped the top of his head.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Howard swings widly with a right hand
and Nelson counters with a nice body shot.
Howard lunges at Nelson with a hook that half lands and is half blocked by Nelson's hand.

Roy Nelson's cut is getting worse.
The fighters circle momentarily. Howard darts into range and connects with a nice straight punch.
Howard throws out a token jab with nothing on it.
Nelson defending well as Howard loads up on a big left hand.
Howard lands a nice shot that snaps Nelson's head back.
Nelson throws a right and a left that both miss.
Howard lands with an overhand left.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Howard cracks Nelson with a good jab.
Nelson's hands are dropping dangerously low here and Howard connects clean with a right hook that sends him down to one knee! Nelson scrambles back to his feet.
Howard misses the jab.
Howard dips to his left and cracks Nelson with an uppercut!
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dwight Howard dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Roy Nelson's cut.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the ring so we can get back down to business.

Howard is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nelson.
Howard swings widly with a right hand
and Nelson counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
A head kick misses from Nelson.
Roy Nelson is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Nelson ducks under a wild hook from Howard.
A jab from Howard misses.
Nelson uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Howard.
The fighters circling - Howard throws out the jab but it was never going to land.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nelson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
A head kick misses from Nelson.
Howard misses with a straight right.
Nice cross by Howard.
Nelson tries a head kick but it misses.
Howard misses with a hook
and Nelson counters with a two punch combo.
Howard misses with a looping left.
Nelson is using his height advantage well here, landing a good percentage of his punches.
Nelson tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Howard paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Howard scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howard misses with a looping left.
Howard connects with a single shot there.
Howard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Howard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Dwight Howard seems to be getting the better of the standup.
Howard misses with a left hand
and Nelson counters with a straight right hand.
Nelson misses with a jab, cross combination.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Howard lands with an uppercut that bounces Nelson off the ropes and back into range.
Howard might want to mix his strikes up a bit more. He's just going for head shots at the moment and that can become a bit predictable.
Howard misses with a straight left.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nelson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Howard ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Howard throws out a powerful jab.
Howard looks to throw the jab but Nelson is out of range.
Nelson looks to throw the jab but Howard is out of range.
Howard moves out of range of the leg kick from Nelson.
Howard throws a lazy right hand but Nelson sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nelson fails with an attempt to clinch.
Nelson staying out of range there.
Nelson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
A jab from Howard misses.
Howard scores with a decent looking hook.
Howard throws a big shot that misses.
Howard looks to land a left hand but Nelson moved out of range nicely.
Nelson moves out of range as Howard strikes.
Nelson throws a wild combination but nothing lands.
Nelson tries to clinch up but Howard circles away and keeps his distance.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Nelson.
Nice defenses there by Nelson.
Howard throws a hook but Nelson avoids it easily.
Howard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Nelson takes a swing at Howard's ribcage but misses.
Howard swats away the attempt to clinch by Nelson.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard throws a jab when Nelson was well out of range.
Nelson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Nelson tries to clinch up.
Nelson throws a right and a left that Howard avoids nicely.
Howard bobs and weaves and unloads with a good uppercut.
Nelson tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in the close the distance. Howard manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Nelson looks like he's developed a pretty tasty lump over his left eye. He'll need to avoid taking much more damage to that.
Howard throws a hook but Nelson avoids it easily.
Howard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
A bone on bone clash there as Howard blocks the leg kick.
Howard takes a really solid shot there but just smiles back and shrugs his shoulders.
A telegraphed right hand from Howard misses the target.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Howard.
Howard ducks under a wild hook from Nelson.
Howard thuds his right hand into Nelson's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Nelson looks to land a combination but Howard avoids it well.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Howard throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Howard defending well as Nelson loads up on a big left hand.
Nelson ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Howard misses with a hook
and Nelson counters with a good low kick that Howard was not able to check.
Nelson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Howard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
Nelson tries to land with a swinging hook to the body but Howard was well out of range. Poor timing from Nelson.
Nelson tries to clinch there but Howard circles away.
Howard dodges the punch combination from Nelson.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Howard.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Nelson throws a head kick that misses.
Nelson tries to clinch up against the ropes, rushing in the close the distance. Howard manages to break the clinch and circles back to the middle of the mat.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Nelson makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Howard moving in and out of range nicely, whilst landing the scoring shot.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dwight Howard showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
The cut man is working on Roy Nelson's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. This is the final round!

Howard misses with a hook. Nelson ducked under it nicely.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Howard.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Nelson.
Howard throws an overhand right that lands on Nelson's shoulder, as Nelson tries to avoid the shot.
Howard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Nelson throws a head kick that misses.
Howard scores with a straight right hand, right through his opponent's guard.
Nelson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nelson uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Howard.
Howard throws a big shot that misses.
Howard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Howard throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Nelson sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Howard waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Nelson.
Howard misses with a straight left.
Howard throws a jab but it's blocked by Nelson.
Howard misses with an uppercut.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Nelson tries to clinch but Howard moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Nelson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Howard misses with an uppercut.
Howard throws an overhand right that lands on Nelson's shoulder, as Nelson tries to avoid the shot.
Howard throws a hook to the side of Nelson's head but Nelson sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Good standup being displayed there by Howard as he connects with a hook.
Howard loads up on a big right hand but Nelson slips the punch.
Nelson tries to clinch there but Howard circles away.
Howard lands with a cross.
Howard misses with a looping left.
A big right from Howard misses.
Howard with a jab.
Howard misses with a looping left.
Howard keeps the fight on the outside.
Howard is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nelson.
Howard is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Nelson.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Howard, as that shot connected.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Nelson tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Nelson steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Howard.
Nelson throws a sloppy head kick and Howard moves out of range easily.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
A big right from Howard misses.
Howard circles away from the clinch attempt.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Nelson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Howard scores with a jab. Nelson acknowledges it with a nod of the head.
Howard uses good footwork to get in and out and land a nice right hand before Nelson has time to react.
Nelson misses with a body kick.
Howard swats away the attempt to clinch by Nelson.
Howard pushing out the jab but it's not landing.
Howard throws a shot from downtown. Nelson moves away and avoids it.
Nelson fails in his attempt to clinch.
Howard throws an overhand right that lands on Nelson's shoulder, as Nelson tries to avoid the shot.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard throws a shot from downtown. Nelson moves away and avoids it.
Nelson throws a series of punches but Howard moves out of range.
Howard throws the left hand but Nelson avoids the punch easily.
Good standup being displayed there by Howard as he connects with a hook.
Howard looks to land a left hand but Nelson moved out of range nicely.
Nelson throws a series of punches but Howard avoids them all with ease.
A slow jab from Howard misses its intended target.
Howard throws a looping overhand right but Nelson ducks down to avoid it.
Nelson is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Nelson slips under a jab.
A big left from Howard misses.
Howard throws a jab but it's blocked by Nelson.
Howard looks to land a right hand but Nelson moved out of range.
Howard missing with a left hand there. Nelson was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Nelson keeping his hands up high there, blocking the jab from Howard.
Howard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Howard throws a lazy uppercut
and Nelson counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Nelson moves in looking to clinch but Howard pushes him off.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Nelson counters with a slapping leg kick.
The fight stays on the outside here - Nelson looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Howard throws a hook but Nelson avoids it easily.
Howard throws a lazy uppercut
and Nelson counters with a series of strikes. Howard will be more careful next time no doubt.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Howard looks to land a right hand but Nelson moved out of range.
Nice body punch from Nelson.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Nelson swings and misses with a hook to the body.
Howard rushes in with a sloppy looking punch
and Nelson counters with a left and a right that stings Howard.
Nelson misses the shot to the body.
Roy Nelson has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Howard misses with an uppercut. Nelson saw that one coming.

And that's the end of the fight!
Dwight Howard comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Howard has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight 27:30
Judge Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 27:30
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 27:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Dwight Howard!