PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Zico Verhoeven (ranked 24126 p4p, 22356 weight class) and Henri De Lagardere (ranked 579 p4p, 593 weight class). I don't know about you partner, but I'm pumped for this one!

Verhoeven
vs
De Lagardere

196 cm
22
262
3 - 1 - 0

194 cm
28
263
6 - 3 - 0

World class MT
Very strong

Dangerous knees
Good gas tank

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the heavyweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of London, Zico Verhoeven!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Amsterdam, Henri De Lagardere!
The judges for this bout are Yasuomi Hirokawa, Yukihiro Yamamoto and Shigeki Sano.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
De Lagardere throws a lazy right hand but Verhoeven sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Verhoeven is looking to counter with a shot to the body.
Verhoeven misses with a jab to the body
and De Lagardere counters with a stiff right hand.
Verhoeven has been working on his boxing with his coaches at Shut Up & Train! {$1000} in the buildup to the fight.

Verhoeven clinches with his opponent.
Verhoeven with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.

It looks like Henri De Lagardere has been cut.
De Lagardere has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A short right hand to the side of the head by Verhoeven.
De Lagardere is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the ropes.
De Lagardere blocking some punches.
De Lagardere misses with a body punch.
Verhoeven scores with a shoulder strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Verhoeven misses with a knee to the head.
De Lagardere has a couple of punches blocked by Verhoeven.

Verhoeven breaks the clinch.
De Lagardere's coach down at Punch Out Gym was telling us pre-fight that they have been working on De Lagardere's balance. Obviously they view that as a key factor in the outcome of this fight.
Verhoeven tries to clinch but De Lagardere moves out of range.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Verhoeven throws a big shot that misses.
De Lagardere tries a quick counter leg kick but Verhoeven is wise to it.

Verhoeven has managed to clinch.
Verhoeven has a couple of punches blocked by De Lagardere.
A head punch blocked on the inside by De Lagardere.
Verhoeven throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but De Lagardere blocks it with crossed arms.
Verhoeven lands on the inside with an uppercut.
Verhoeven lands a glancing elbow in the clinch.
Verhoeven lands an uppercut.
De Lagardere being controlled against the ropes.
Verhoeven tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Verhoeven working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A nice right hand lands inside from Verhoeven.
De Lagardere tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
A head punch on the inside from Verhoeven fails to land.
De Lagardere blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
De Lagardere working hard to break the clinch.
De Lagardere blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
A short left from Verhoeven.
We've seen a great period of action over the last minute or so - credit to both fighters for going all out!
Verhoeven tries a knee to the head but De Lagardere blocks it.
Verhoeven misses with a knee to the head.
Verhoeven has a couple of punches blocked by De Lagardere.
De Lagardere misses with a hook from the clinch.
Verhoeven lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of De Lagardere backwards.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Verhoeven tries a knee to the head but De Lagardere blocks it.
The fighters are pressed against the ropes, as the pace of the fight slows.
Verhoeven slows down the pace here.
Verhoeven seems to have come into the fight with the intention of avoiding any damage in the clinch, rather than actually showing any aggression.
Verhoeven tries a knee to the head but De Lagardere blocks it.
A head punch on the inside from Verhoeven fails to land.
De Lagardere blocks an uppercut.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Verhoeven.
De Lagardere blocks a couple of punches on the inside.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Verhoeven fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Verhoeven has De Lagardere pressed against the ropes, preventing De Lagardere from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Verhoeven content to slow the pace in the clinch.
Verhoeven working on landing some head shots here - that one got through nicely.
Verhoeven with the Thai clinch, lands a knee to the head.
De Lagardere has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
A right hook to the body lands for De Lagardere.
Verhoeven throws a punch but it's blocked by De Lagardere.
De Lagardere working hard to break the clinch.
Verhoeven has De Lagardere pressed against the ropes, preventing De Lagardere from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Verhoeven tries to land a knee to the head but De Lagardere blocks with his arms.
Verhoeven with an attempt at a knee that misses.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Zico Verhoeven dominated that round.
The cut man is working on Henri De Lagardere'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.

Good shot there by Verhoeven.
Verhoeven is looking to clinch.
De Lagardere jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Verhoeven tries to clinch there but De Lagardere circles away.
Verhoeven tries to clinch up but De Lagardere circles away and keeps his distance.
De Lagardere moves into range and connects with a jab.
Verhoeven lands a nice shot that snaps De Lagardere's head back.
Verhoeven moves in looking to clinch but De Lagardere pushes him off.
As Verhoeven backs off De Lagardere throws a huge counter combo but Verhoeven manages to avoid it all.
De Lagardere ducks under a wild hook from Verhoeven.
Verhoeven tries to clinch there but De Lagardere circles away.

De Lagardere gets tackled into the ropes by Verhoeven. Verhoeven maintains the clinch.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Verhoeven scores with an uppercut up the middle.
Verhoeven tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Verhoeven is really dominating this fight. Is there anything that De Lagardere can do to turn this around?
A short right hand to the side of the head by De Lagardere.
De Lagardere wants to break free but Verhoeven has control.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Verhoeven is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Verhoeven is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
Verhoeven has a couple of punches blocked by De Lagardere.
Verhoeven tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Verhoeven scores with a shot to the side of De Lagardere's head.
A short right from De Lagardere on the inside.

Verhoeven escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
De Lagardere throws a hook but Verhoeven avoids it easily.

Verhoeven has closed the distance and engaged De Lagardere in a clinch.
Come on Verhoeven - let's have some action - none of this stalling nonsense.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
De Lagardere is trying to push Verhoeven away but Verhoeven has him pressed against the ropes, so he's going nowhere.
Verhoeven throws a punch but it's blocked by De Lagardere.
Verhoeven lands a left hand that snaps the head of De Lagardere backwards.
De Lagardere blocking some punches.
Verhoeven looking to throw knees to the head but De Lagardere is blocking nicely.
Verhoeven manages to get underhooks and slows down the pace for a moment.
De Lagardere softening up his opponent with strikes, against the ropes.
De Lagardere blocks a punch to the side of the head.
De Lagardere blocking some punches.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Verhoeven has De Lagardere pressed against the ropes, preventing De Lagardere from circling away and getting back to striking at range.
Verhoeven looking to throw knees to the head but De Lagardere is blocking nicely.
Verhoeven tries to land a knee to the body but he is off balance and De Lagardere avoids it.
A short uppercut from De Lagardere.
Verhoeven using the Thai plumb to throw knees but De Lagardere has his back arched nicely, preventing the strike.
Verhoeven looking to throw knees to the head but De Lagardere is blocking nicely.
De Lagardere being controlled against the ropes.
De Lagardere lands a hook to the body. It's hard to tell if that hurt Verhoeven or not.
Verhoeven lands a right uppercut that snaps the head of De Lagardere backwards.
De Lagardere wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
De Lagardere tries to break the clinch but Verhoeven is controlling the position.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
De Lagardere blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Verhoeven throws a blind hook that connects with the side of De Lagarderes head.
Verhoeven scores with a shoulder strike.
De Lagardere throws a punch but it's blocked by Verhoeven.
Verhoeven lands with a light punch inside.
Verhoeven lands a hook to the side of the head.
De Lagardere throws a punch but it's blocked by Verhoeven.
A head punch on the inside from Verhoeven fails to land.
The crowd cheering loudly, showing their appreciation for the quality fight we're seeing here.
De Lagardere lands a left hand that snaps the head of Verhoeven backwards.
Verhoeven stalling.
Verhoeven has a couple of punches blocked by De Lagardere.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

Zico Verhoeven dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Henri De Lagardere's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! The crowd applaud as we get ready to start the final round!

Verhoeven forces De Lagardere back against the ropes and clinches.
Verhoeven lands a hook to the side of the head.
Verhoeven swings wildly with an uppercut but De Lagardere uses good head movement to avoid it.
Verhoeven throws a knee to the head but misses.
De Lagardere misses with a short punch on the inside.
Verhoeven misses with the head strike.
A short right from Verhoeven.
De Lagardere blocks the elbow strike.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Verhoeven dictating the pace here, as the fighters clinch against the ropes.
De Lagardere has had enough of the clinch but Verhoeven keeps him there for the moment.
Verhoeven lands a shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
De Lagardere pushes Verhoeven back against the ropes and unloads with a body punch.
Verhoeven will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning De Lagardere up against the ropes.

Verhoeven manages to break the clinch.

Verhoeven gets to the clinch - let's see what his plan is here.
With the two fighters working up against the ropes, Verhoeven just misses with a elbow thrown towards De Lagardere's brow.
Verhoeven avoiding damage.
Verhoeven swings wildly with an uppercut but De Lagardere uses good head movement to avoid it.
Verhoeven landing knees to the head.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Verhoeven stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.
Verhoeven fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Verhoeven scores with a nice hook to the head.
Verhoeven can't find room to land a body shot as De Lagardere controls the action.
Henri De Lagardere has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
De Lagardere blocks a punch to the side of the head.
Verhoeven is clearly stalling here... Pick up the pace son.
Verhoeven crunches a lovely knee into De Lagardere's ribcage.
Verhoeven lands a good knee to the midsection. De Lagardere won't want to take too many of those.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
De Lagardere wants to strike at distance but he can't break free of the clinch.
De Lagardere blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
De Lagardere blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
De Lagardere throws a punch but it's blocked by Verhoeven.
The referee calls for Verhoeven to work.
Verhoeven has De Lagardere pushed against the ropes.
Verhoeven misses with a hook from the clinch.
Verhoeven can't find room to land a body shot as De Lagardere controls the action.
Verhoeven connects with a knee to the head.
Verhoeven is stalling here.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Verhoeven with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Verhoeven keeps control of De Lagardere as he tries to wriggle out of the double underhooks.
Verhoeven controlling the action here for a moment.
Verhoeven tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
A battle for position here, against the ropes.
Zico Verhoeven has scored more points in the clinch so far.
De Lagardere is trying to break the clinch but Verhoeven is controlling him.
The crowd thankful this round is nearly over.
Verhoeven tried to land a shot to the body but connects with De Lagardere's elbow.
Verhoeven working some nice short punches in the clinch.
Zico Verhoeven is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.
Verhoeven displaying some good clinch control by pressing De Lagardere up against the ropes.

And that's the end of the fight!
Zico Verhoeven showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Verhoeven has outscored his opponent in every aspect of the fight today. Only a scarily incompetent judge or two will keep him from a well deserved win... 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 Yasuomi Hirokawa scores the fight 30:26
Judge Yukihiro Yamamoto scores the fight 30:26
Judge Shigeki Sano scores the fight 30:26

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zico Verhoeven!
A very excited looking Zico Verhoeven rambled incoherently for about 5 minutes post fight about how awesome he is. It was kinda funny for a while but then everyone got annoyed.