PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Dwight Howard (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Chuck Liddell (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.

Howard
vs
Liddell

180 cm
25
205 lbs
3 - 1 - 1

182 cm
25
205 lbs
2 - 2 - 0

Excellent boxer
Experienced

Excellent boxer
Heavy handed

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 3 - 1 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Dwight Howard!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 2 - 2 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Chuck Liddell!
The judges for this bout are Wagner Zegers, Albert Achterberg and Aafke Stam.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Howard throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Liddell sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Howard lands a lovely overhand right.
Liddell 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.
A big left from Howard misses.
Liddell misses with the combination.

Liddell pushes Howard up against the ropes in a clinch.
Howard letting Liddell take a breather here.
Howard tries to land knees in the clinch but Liddell avoids the damage to the body.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Liddell.

Howard breaks the clinch.
Howard throws a looping overhand right but Liddell ducks down to avoid it.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Liddell counters with a left and a right that stings Howard.
Liddell scores with a nice looking left hook and follows it up with an uppercut!
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Howard misses with a hook.
Liddell fails in his attempt to clinch.
Liddell uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Howard.
A clash of legs there as Howard blocks the low kick.
Dwight Howard seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.

That's one minute gone in the round.
A big left from Howard misses.
Liddell ducks under an overhand right and circles away with a smile on his face.
Liddell throws a sloppy head kick and Howard moves out of range easily.
Liddell tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Liddell throws a body kick that misses.
Howard throws a jab but it's blocked by Liddell.
Liddell lands with a good body shot.
Howard lands with an overhand left.
Howard avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Liddell tries to clinch but Howard is having none of it.
Liddell wants to clinch up but Howard keeps it at a distance.
Liddell tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Howard blocks a leg kick.
Liddell moves out of range of the strikes.
Liddell slips under a jab from Howard.
Howard throws a jab when Liddell was well out of range.
Howard is really head hunting here, hardly looking to strike to the body at all.
Howard walks straight into a jab right on the nose. That one stung - he's blinking and trying to clear his head.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Howard throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Liddell sees it coming and avoids it easily.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Howard swings widly with a right hand

and Liddell moves into the clinch.
Liddell tries to stall but Howard uses the opportunity to gain a better position.
Liddell tries a body shot but Howard blocks it.

Liddell manages to break the clinch.
Howard looks to land a left hand but Liddell moved out of range nicely.
Liddell slips a straight right by Howard.
Howard misses the jab.
Liddell tries a head kick but it misses.
Dwight Howard is looking to keep the fight on the feet at all costs.
Howard throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Liddell on the side of the head.
Liddell slips a straight right by Howard.
Howard throws a hook but Liddell blocks it.
Howard misses the jab.
Howard works the jab nicely.
Howard throws out a loose jab but Liddell uses good head movement to avoid it.
Howard waving his hands out in front of him, looking to distract Liddell.
Liddell looks shocked there as he takes a right hand to the temple.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Liddell lands a jab-cross combination.

It looks like Dwight Howard has been cut.
Howard misses with a hook. Liddell ducked under it nicely.
Liddell throws a series of punches but Howard moves out of range.
Howard rushes in with a sloppy looking punch

and Liddell counters by clinching up.

Howard breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Liddell staying out of range there.
Liddell throws a head kick that misses and slips in the process. He scrambles back to his feet and the fighters circle.
Howard throws a poor cross that misses
and Liddell counters with a left and a right that stings Howard.
Liddell uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Howard.
Howard bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Liddell's head.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Liddell looks for the body kick but Howard saw that one coming.
Howard looks to throw the jab but Liddell is out of range.
Liddell takes one on the chin but seems OK.
Howard avoids a kick to the body.
Liddell ducks under a wild hook from Howard.
Howard misses with a lunging right hand
and Liddell counters with a straight right hand.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard lands with a cross.
Liddell moves out of range of the strikes.
Liddell tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Howard paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
A jab from Howard does it's job there.
Howard throws an off balance right hand
and Liddell counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Liddell ducks under a wild hook from Howard.
Liddell takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
Howard misses with an uppercut
and Liddell counters with a left to the body.
Howard throws a lazy right hand but Liddell sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Liddell doesn't manage to clinch there - Howard circles away.
Howard swings widly with a right hand
and Liddell counters with a three punch combo that has Howard backing up. Howard nods at Liddell to acknowledge the strikes.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Liddell scores with a nice one two combo and darts back out of range to avoid anything coming in the opposite direction.

Howard is rocked!

Dwight Howard's cut is getting worse.
Liddell moves his head to the side to avoid a jab but walks straight into a cross.
Howard is really peppering his opponent's head with punches.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Liddell counters with a nice uppercut.
Oh Howard is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Howard throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Chuck Liddell will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Dwight Howard'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.

Liddell moves away from the strike by Howard.
Howard seems to have got his legs back now.
Liddell fails in his attempt to clinch.
Liddell throws a decent looking leg kick but it doesn't land clean.
Boom, another hit is landed. "You're gunna get knocked out" taunts Howard, as that shot connected.
Dwight Howard is winning the standup battle so far.
Liddell lands with a right hand.
Howard misses with a left hand
and Liddell counters with a right hand to the body.
Howard looks to throw the jab but Liddell is out of range.
Howard avoids the head kick by Liddell.
Howard throws a monster uppercut resembling something out of street fighter but it doesn't land.
Liddell moves away from the strike by Howard.
Howard keeps his opponent at a distance with a nice jab.
Howard paws at his opponent with the jab and then lunges in with a straight, right on the button.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Liddell is looking to clinch.
Liddell on the wrong end of a nice jab.
Liddell 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.
Sloppy strikes from Liddell. Those never looked like landing.
Howard swats away the attempt to clinch by Liddell.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howard connects with a lovely right hand, straight down the pipe.
Howard misses with a right hand
enabling Liddell to counter with a crisp jab.
Liddell blocks a jab.
Howard misses with a straight left.
Howard keeps the fight on the outside.
Liddell fails to land with a series of punches.
Liddell tries to clinch up but Howard circles away and keeps his distance.
Howard staying out of range there.
Howard circles away from the clinch attempt.
The fight stays on the outside here - Liddell looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Liddell uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Howard.
A jab from Howard misses.
Howard throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Liddell counters nicely by changing levels and landing a hook to the body.
Liddell misses with a head kick.
Howard swings widly with a right hand

and Liddell counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Liddell.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A short left from Howard.

Howard's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Wooooo! Give it up for these two warriors! They are putting on a show!
Liddell lands with a shot to the body.
Howard throws a lazy right hand but Liddell sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Howard avoids the head kick by Liddell.
Liddell tries to clinch there but Howard circles away.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Liddell defending well as Howard loads up on a big left hand.
Howard works the jab nicely.
Howard smiles there as he lands a nice right hand right on the button.
Howard throws a big shot that misses.
Howard throws a big shot that misses.
Howard misses with an uppercut.
Howard swings wildly with a right hand that was never going to find it's target.
A slow jab from Howard misses its intended target.
Howard misses with a left hand
enabling Liddell to counter with a crisp jab.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Howard misses with a straight left.
Howard throws a right hand that misses
and Liddell counters with a stiff right hand.
Liddell slips a straight right by Howard.
Howard throws a jab when Liddell was well out of range.
Howard is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Liddell.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Howard throws an ugly left hook that misses

and Liddell counters by clinching up.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Howard stalling the fight.
Howard is working hard here but doesn't seem to be able to control effectively, up against the ropes.
Liddell lands a hook to the side of the head.
A short left from Howard.
Howard goes for a body shot but it's blocked.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Liddell working hard to break the clinch.
Come on Howard - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.
Liddell lands with a right to the head.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Howard lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Howard looking to slow down the pace here.
Liddell blocking some punches.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Liddell taking a breather.

Liddell breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Dwight Howard dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Dwight Howard's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! So, we enter the final round. Let's see if either fighter can bring us a finish, or whether we're going to the judges scorecards.

Liddell throws a leg kick but Howard checks it.
Liddell doesn't manage to clinch there - Howard circles away.
Howard throws a poor cross that misses

and Liddell counters with a right, a left and a big uppercut that drops Howard to the mat! Liddell runs to a neutral corner to get the count going quickly. 3,4,5,6 and Howard is back to his feet. He seems ready to continue - the ref agrees so we're back at it!

Howard is rocked!
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Howard throws a lazy uppercut
letting Liddell counter with a right hand.
Oh Howard is still all over the place! His legs are completely gone! Will he be able to recover?!!
Howard misses with an uppercut

and Liddell counters by moving into the clinch. Good anticipation by Liddell.
Howard lands a right hand that snaps the head of Liddell backwards.

Liddell breaks from the clinch.
Howard seems to have got his legs back now.
Nice defenses there by Liddell.
Howard looks to land a left hand but Liddell moved out of range nicely.
Liddell ducks right into an uppercut from Howard.
Howard blocks the body kick.
Howard thows a left - swing and a miss!
Liddell blocks a jab.
Liddell lands with an uppercut that bounces Howard off the ropes and back into range.
Howard on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
Liddell displays some good footwork, moving neatly out of range as Howard throws out the jab.
Liddell moves in looking to clinch but Howard pushes him off.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Howard throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Liddell counters with a nice body shot.
Howard swings widly with a right hand
and Liddell counters with a nice body kick.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Liddell with a body punch. A glancing blow.

Liddell has taken the fight to the clinch.

Liddell's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Liddell.
Howard throws an off balance right hand
and Liddell counters with a left to the body.
Liddell is looking to clinch.
Howard jabs away that one connects to the head of his opponent.
Liddell tries to close the distance and clinch up against the ropes but Howard paws at him with a jab and circles away.
Liddell tries to clinch but Howard moves out of range.
Howard misses the jab.
The fans in attendance giving it up for the two fighters, who have really let it all hang out in the last minute or so!
Liddell tries to close the distance and clinch but Howard swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Liddell is looking to clinch.
Howard missing with a left hand there. Liddell was out of range so wasted energy throwing that one.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Liddell 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.
Liddell lands a nice shot that snaps Howard's head back.
Liddell tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Liddell doesn't manage to clinch there - Howard circles away.
Liddell steps to the side to avoid the strikes from Howard.

Liddell moves into the clinch.
Liddell tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Howard avoids it.
Good anti-grappling being displayed by Howard as Liddell tries to tie him up.

Liddell pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Nice defenses there by Liddell.
Howard swings widly with a right hand
enabling Liddell to counter with a crisp jab.

Dwight Howard's cut is bleeding quite badly. He's got to try and protect it.
A big right from Howard misses.
Liddell bobs and weaves well there to avoid the strikes.
Howard misses with a lunging right hand
and Liddell counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
A combination from Liddell does no damage.
Liddell will need to tighten up his combinations if he doesn't want to gas himself out, swinging at thin air.
Howard thows a left - swing and a miss!
Howard throws an off balance right hand
and Liddell makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Liddell throws a push kick but Howard slaps the foot to one side.
Howard throws a lazy uppercut
and Liddell counters with a crisp hook to the side of the head.
Howard throws a jab but it's blocked by Liddell.
Howard throws a hook to the side of Liddell's head but Liddell sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
Liddell moves out of range of the strikes.
Howard throws a poor cross that misses
and Liddell counters with a two punch combo.
Chuck Liddell is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Howard throws an off balance right hand
and Liddell counters with a left to the body.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
Liddell slips in close and lands a nice hook before moving back out of range.
Liddell throws a body kick that misses.
Liddell tries to clinch but Howard moves out of range.
Howard throws an uppercut from half a mile away. Liddell sees it coming and avoids it easily.
Liddell tries a head kick but it misses.
Liddell is looking to take this fight into the clinch.
Liddell tries to clinch up.
A punch combination from Liddell misses.
Howard throws a hook to the side of Liddell's head but Liddell sees it coming and ducks under it beautifully.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Howard throws a poor cross that misses
and Liddell counters with a nice uppercut.
Howard jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Howard misses with an uppercut
and Liddell counters with a right hand to the body.
Nice defenses there by Liddell.

And that's the end of the fight!
Chuck Liddell comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Liddell 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 Wagner Zegers scores the fight for Chuck Liddell!
Judge Albert Achterberg scores the fight for Chuck Liddell!
Judge Aafke Stam scores the fight for Chuck Liddell!

Chuck Liddell wins by unanimous decision!