PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a light heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Yoel Mir (ranked 848 p4p, 117 weight class) and Emil Marinov (ranked 2057 p4p, 263 weight class). Yoel Mir could well score a knockout today. He has the power to get to Emil Marinov's chin.

Mir
vs
Marinov

188 cm
30
201 lbs
22 - 10 - 1

192 cm
31
195 lbs
22 - 15 - 1

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

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 22 - 10 - 1, fighting out of Las Vegas, Yoel Mir!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 22 - 15 - 1, fighting out of London, Emil Marinov!
The judges for this bout are Seu Braga, Leandro Rodrigues and Edson Gomes.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Marinov is the aggressor but that punch slipped nicely by Mir.
Mir tries to counter by clinching up but Marinov breaks away and moves out of range.
That kick from Mir tenderised Marinov's leg. Marinov is trying to keep his angry face on.
Mir throws a sloppy head kick
and he gets countered with a snapping leg kick.
Marinov lands with a right hand.
Mir moves out of range of the strikes.
Marinov does a little shimmy and throws a leg kick. The leg kick missed by a considerable margin though, making him look a little bit silly for doing the shimmy.
An attempted straight right counter from Mir misses the target.
Mir takes one to the side of the head.

It looks like Yoel Mir has been cut.
Marinov lands a jab to the head.
Mir avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Mir will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Marinov looked like he wanted to counter with a punch but didn't throw it.
Mir thows a leg kick but Marinov checks it
and Marinov makes him pay by landing a thudding low kick.
A looping hook to the body misses from Marinov. Mir does a little dance to reset his feet.
Marinov wants to clinch up but Mir keeps it at a distance.

Marinov clinches up with Mir and pushes him back against the ropes.
Mir tries to land knees in the clinch but Marinov avoids the damage to the body.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Mir blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Marinov tries to work over Mir's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.

Mir breaks from the clinch.
Marinov misses with a hook. Mir ducked under it nicely.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Marinov connects with a nice looking jab.

Marinov rushes Mir and presses him up against the ropes.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Mir throws an elbow but misses.
Marinov misses with some punches.
Mir trying to land knees to the body.
Mir lands a hook that snaps the head of Marinov backwards.
Marinov tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Mir's elbow.
Marinov has Mir pressed against the ropes.
Mir unloads a knee to the mid-section.
Marinov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Marinov misses with some punches.
Mir avoids a wild elbow strike from Marinov.
Mir tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Marinov avoids it.
A nice right hand lands inside from Mir.
Marinov avoiding damage as Mir throws knees to the body.
Mir tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Marinov avoids it.
Mir blocking some punches.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Mir lands with a good tight uppercut to the head.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Mir blocking some punches.
Marinov misses with some punches.
Marinov tried to land a shot to the body but connects with Mir's elbow.
Marinov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Marinov has been looking to improve his clinch game in recent weeks. Mir seems to have the measure of him in the clinch so far, so let's see if Marinov can turn it around.
Marinov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Mir missing with knees to the body.
Mir with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Marinov tries a knee to the head but Mir blocks it.
An uppercut to the body lands inside from Marinov.
A nice left hand lands by Mir.
Mir tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Marinov throws a head punch that misses.
Marinov lands with a left to the head.
Mir tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and Marinov avoids it.
Mir comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Marinov blocking some punches.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close round but Emil Marinov will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Yoel Mir's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action.

Marinov rushes Mir and presses him up against the ropes.
Marinov on the defensive, avoiding the knees to the body.
Mir tries to land knees in the clinch but Marinov avoids the damage to the body.
Mir prevents a body shot from Marinov.
Our sources have told us that Mir has been working on his knees in the buildup to the fight.
Mir missing with knees to the body.
Mir lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Mir missing with knees to the body.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Marinov.
Yoel Mir has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Marinov tries a body shot but Mir blocks it.
Marinov misses with a shot to the kidneys.
Marinov misses with a hook to the ribs.

Mir pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Nice uppercut lands for Marinov. That snapped Mir's head back.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Mir connects with a solid leg kick.
Mir takes a thudding leg kick, right into the meat of the thigh.
Marinov tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.
Emil Marinov seems to be getting the better of the standup.
The fight stays on the outside here - Marinov looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Marinov lands with a cross.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Mir misses with a low kick.
Mir checks the leg kick nicely there.
Mir wants to land a leg kick but Marinov is out of range.
Marinov wants to counter the offense by Mir and move into the clinch position.
Mir with a nice looking leg kick. You could hear that one land in a back row.
Marinov lands a nice shot to the body.
Mir scores with a kick to the midsection.
Mir ducks down and throws a hook to the body.
Mir is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Mir throws a low kick but Marinov moves out of range easily.
Mir swings away with a leg kick that misses.
A head kick misses from Marinov.
Marinov lands an overhand right.
Marinov uses good footwork to avoid the strikes from Mir.
Marinov avoids the head kick by Mir.
Marinov feints a counter leg kick.
Marinov thows a leg kick but Mir checks it
and Mir counters with a nice jab to the body that keeps Marinov thinking.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

Marinov has closed the distance and engaged Mir in a clinch.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Good body shot from Marinov.
Marinov misses with a body punch.
A nice right hand lands inside from Marinov.
Marinov can't find room to land a body shot as Mir controls the action.
Marinov misses with a punch on the inside.
Marinov blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Marinov misses with a punch to the body.
Marinov lands with a left to the head.
Marinov managing to block the knees to the body from Mir.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
Marinov lands a body shot.
Mir throws a knee to the head but misses.
Mir is looking to score with knees to the body. Maybe he'll change it up and go body then head. Marinov is defending well for now.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Mir crunches a lovely knee into Marinov's ribcage.
Mir can't find room to land a body shot as Marinov controls the action.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Emil Marinov will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Yoel Mir's cut.
That's the end of the interval. I'm sure that seemed a lot quicker than a minute for our two fighters! Back to the action. Let's hear some noise people - this is the final round!

Marinov goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Marinov thuds his right hand into Mir's forehead from close range. That could be painful for both fighters.
Marinov lands with a cross to side of his opponent's head.
Mir slips a jab from Marinov.
Mir ducks right into an uppercut from Marinov.

Marinov has managed to clinch.
Mir is working Marinov over against the ropes.
Marinov tries to throw a body punch but Mir avoids it by throwing Marinov back against the ropes.
Marinov tries to work over Mir's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
Marinov tries to work over Mir's body with a swooping hook but it only glances the target.
A short right from Mir on the inside.
A body shot lands from Mir.
Marinov fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
A short right from Marinov.
Marinov misses with the head strike.
Marinov misses with a punch on the inside.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Marinov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
An uppercut on the inside fails to land for Marinov.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Kneeeeees! The crowd are calling for knees to the body. Mir obliges.
Marinov takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Mir digs a right hand underneath Marinov's ribcage. Marinov let out a lung full of air as it connected.
Mir lands a hook to the side of the head.
Mir lands a hook that snaps the head of Marinov backwards.
A left hand lands to the body for Mir.
Mir landing some nice looking knees to the body.
With the fighters up against the ropes, Mir throws an elbow but misses.
Mir misses with an elbow over the top.
Marinov swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Mir avoiding damage as Marinov throws knees to the body.
Marinov tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Mir with an attempt at a knee that misses.
Mir misses with a knee strike.
A head punch on the inside from Marinov fails to land.
Marinov misses with a punch to the body.
Marinov is working Mir over against the ropes.
Mir doesn't land with the attempted body shot.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Marinov digs a right hand into Mir's ribs. Those have got to be taking their toll on Mir's gas tank.
A quick uppercut on the inside from Marinov.
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!
Mir blocks a body shot from Marinov.
Mir lands a hook to the side of the head.
Emil Marinov is fighting for a decision - hopefully he's judged it right and he's actually winning the fight.
Marinov misses with a hook to the ribs.
Mir trying to land knees to the body.
Mir misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Marinov.
Mir comes over the top with an elbow. That landed flush.
Marinov pushes Mir back against the ropes and lands a hook to the side of the head.
Mir tries a body shot but Marinov blocks it.
Marinov misses with a short punch on the inside.
Mir creates a bit of space for himself and sneaks an elbow through Marinov's defenses.
Mir swings away with an uppercut that misses.
Marinov looking to slow down the pace here.
Yoel Mir has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Knees in the clinch landing for Mir.

And that's the end of the fight!
That was a close round. You could make an argument for either fighter but I would give it to Yoel Mir.
I think Marinov has won this one but let's see whether the judges agree with me. 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 Seu Braga scores the fight 28:29
Judge Leandro Rodrigues scores the fight 28:29
Judge Edson Gomes scores the fight 29:29

In favor of your winner, by majority decision... Emil Marinov!
After the fight, Emil Marinov was humble in paying tribute to his opponent but made it clear he wants to go on to bigger and better things. It seemed to go down well with the crowd who cheered him loudly.