VANDA-GARR ROUND BY ROUND RECAP

Unbeaten jr middleweight Matt “The Predator” Vanda won a controversial split decision over former title challenger Sam Garr Friday night at the Minneapolis Convention Center. The heavily tattooed hometown favorite Vanda (30-0, 20 KOs) pressed the action, but Garr was far more accurate with his punches. It seems that a great majority of viewers watching the Espn show on Friday night feel that something crooked took place here in Minnesota. I have not had a chance to watch the tape so I do not know all of what was said by the announcers and can only go by what I witnessed at the fights. I would like to give you my round by round take on what happened last night from a ringside perspective. I have been hearing comparisons to some of the most controversial decisions ever in boxing, and some are saying this fight is up there, which I do not totally agree with.

The final scores read 97-93, 97-95 for Vanda and 97-95 For Garr. Did I feel this was the wrong decision? Yes! I had the fight 6 rounds to 3 and 1 even for Garr. Was it a bad fight? Not at all. It is unfortunate that this type of decision had to take place because I felt that it was a very entertaining fight to watch. I did not see this fight as a COMPLETE blow out in
Garr’s favor like many believe. The fight was competitive throughout with both fighters hurting each other on different occasions. Sam Garr came into this fight with the perfect game plan. Keep the jab in Vanda’s face and don’t let it turn into a brawl. The terms “smart” and “experienced” have been used to describe Garr and that is exactly what gave
him the edge in this fight. When Vanda would start to gain momentum, Garr would tie Vanda up. Both fighters used the jab effectively and worked the body, but Garr just seemed to stay a little bit more active with his attacks in most of the rounds. Vanda himself had his moments throughout but fought too much in spurts I felt.

The first round was cautious for both fighters. Vanda and Garr each looked to establish the dominant jab. Garr landed a decent right hook to the body early. Vanda responded by firing two left hooks of his own. Garr was landing a pretty stiff jab by the end of the round, foreshadowing what was to come as the fight progressed. Still, Vanda was able to get through with some sneaky lead left hooks, which I thought was enough to give Vanda a close round that may have gone either way.

The body attack was the key in round two for Garr. Vanda came out strong but it was Garr’s round.

I scored the third round for Vanda but some disagree. Garr started to land the over hand right early which was another punch that would be successful all throughout the fight. Vanda opened up midway through the round and really came on late. I felt he did enough to pull out the round.

A hard right to the head halted Vanda’s progression early on in the fourth. Garr was doing a good job of countering Vanda’s wild attacks.An accidental low blow by Vanda went unnoticed by Referee Ron Stander hurting Garr midway thru the round. It was Vanda who backed off his attack and offered Garr time to recuperate!

The right eye of Vanda was starting to show signs of swelling in the fifth. Garr was gaining confidence now as Vanda started missing with more wild shots. Both fighters were landing to the body but it was Garr who stuck with it. The fifth Round goes to Sam Garr.

Garr continued to work the right hand through Vanda’s defence early in the sixth. A counter left to the head of Garr landed for Vanda nearing the end of the round, which seemed to rejuvenate The Predator’s offence. Vanda’s trademark swarming assault was stopped though as the bell sounded to end the round. Garr controlled the majority of the round so I gave it to him.

The seventh was probably the best round of the fight! A straight right followed by a hard left hook backed Garr into the ropes. Vanda slipped two hard shots through to Garrs body and went back upstairs. Garr was bleeding from the nose and mouth and his face gave the impression that he was getting tired. Vanda’s earlier work in the round wins the seventh.

Garr continued to pop the jab in the eighth round. Vanda kept coming back though and I called this close round even.

To me, Vanda and his corner seemed to sense that he needed these last two rounds. This round again was reminiscent of the flow of the fight. Garr would set the tone by peppering the jab and following with hard rights that landed frequently. Vanda seemed to posses more power in his punches but I just felt that his offensive attacks were too infrequent to this point. Vanda took a hard right but answered with a left of his own. Garr looked hurt but Vanda again ran out of time to capitalize. Garr’s round.

Vanda came out energized in the final round and clearly wanted to trade but Garr was content to stick and move early. Both fighters traded briefly midway thru the round but Garr didn’t stay put for too long. It seemed like a smart round for Garr so I gave it to him.

We all know Vanda is a tough kid. What he lacks in some areas at this point he definitely makes up with heart. I would love to see Matt Vanda fight a lot of guys out there, win or lose because it will always be an exciting fight. Sam Garr fought a very intelligent fight and I thought he should have been given the nod.

Please visit the Minnesota Boxing Forum on the front page to give your thoughts on the fight.