PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight kickboxing rules bout between Cristóforo Carretero (ranked 3224 p4p, 326 weight class) and Ngozi Chai (ranked 344 p4p, 47 weight class). Carretero's entrance music is Sun by DVRKHOLD. A fine choice. Well, I have no idea who's going to take this one!

Carretero
vs
Chai

181 cm
33
186
17 - 8 - 1

185 cm
25
185
11 - 3 - 0

World class boxer
Insanely flexible

World class MT
Good gas tank

Shadow Realm Apparel
Conviction

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 17 - 8 - 1, fighting out of Amsterdam, Cristóforo Carretero!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 11 - 3 - 0, fighting out of London, Ngozi Chai!
The judges for this bout are Paulsen Ambrosius, Patrick Alders and Nard Betker.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Carretero feints and then cracks Chai's leading leg with a nice low kick. He's obviously looking to slow Chai down.
Carretero misses with a lunging right hand
letting Chai counter with a right hand.
Carretero misses with a hook. Chai ducked under it nicely.
Chai swinging wildly here.

Carretero gets tackled into the ropes by Chai. Chai maintains the clinch.
Carretero lands a shoulder strike.
Carretero throws a head punch that misses.

Carretero breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Chai swings for the body but Carretero moves out of range.
Carretero fakes with the hands and throws a leg kick but Chai is out of range.
Carretero misses with a looping left.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
Carretero lands a right hook to the body.
Chai uses decent footwork to sidestep a right hand from Carretero.
Carretero moves out of range of the strikes.
Chai on the wrong end of a vicious looking body shot.
This has been an exciting period of action!

Chai has Carretero up against the ropes in a clinch.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Chai.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai blocking some punches.
Carretero lands with a short shot to the head.
Chai tries to land knees in the clinch but Carretero avoids the damage to the body.
Carretero throws a punch but it's blocked by Chai.
Carretero swings wildly with an uppercut but Chai uses good head movement to avoid it.
Nice body punch from Carretero.
Carretero lands a right hand.
Chai misses with a shot to the kidneys.
A short uppercut from Chai.

It looks like Cristóforo Carretero has been cut.
Chai misses the knee to the body. Nice hip positioning from Carretero.
Chai blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Carretero lands a nice uppercut.
Chai tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Chai tries to land a knee to the head but misses.
Chai misses with a body punch.
Carretero prevents a body shot from Chai.
Chai lands with a light punch inside.
Chai is leaning against Carretero and scores with a nice uppercut to the body.
Chai tries a body shot but Carretero blocks it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A head punch on the inside from Carretero fails to land.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Carretero lands a short shot on the inside that snaps the head of Chai backwards.
Carretero fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Chai takes a shot to the head.
Chai struggles to land a body shot inside as Carretero controls his hands.
Chai misses with a punch on the inside.
Chai blocks a couple of punches on the inside.
Chai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chai goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Chai's head jolts backwards as he takes an uppercut right on the button!
Carretero makes some space for himself and lands an uppercut.
Carretero misses with a punch to the body.
Chai lands a right hand.
Nice body punch from Carretero.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Chai misses with a knee strike.
Carretero throws a head punch that misses.
Chai with a knee to the head.
Chai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chai lands a right hand.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Cristóforo Carretero will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Cristóforo Carretero's cut.
The corners get their ten second warning. Both fighters stand from their stools and stare each other down, ready to get back to the action.

Carretero scores with a nice body kick.
Carretero throws a lazy uppercut
and Chai counters with a three punch combo that has Carretero backing up. Carretero nods at Chai to acknowledge the strikes.
Carretero takes a jab on the nose there. A little bit of blood seems to be coming out. Hopefully that won't affect his breathing.
A head kick misses from Carretero.
A telegraphed right hand from Chai misses the target.
Carretero misses with a looping right.
Chai has his head snapped back a nice jab. A little nod from Chai there as he acknowledges the shot.
Chai lands with a nice low kick. That'll leave a bruise.
Carretero takes one on the chin but keeps coming.
Chai moves out of range as Carretero strikes.
Carretero jabbing away but nothing is landing.
Carretero misses with a low kick as Chai jumps back.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Carretero connects with a slap. Keep your fist closed son.
Carretero fakes a couple of low kicks, before throwing one on the third attempt. It connects and Chai has to reset his feet before getting ready to engage.
Chai throws a lazy right hand but Carretero sees it coming a mile off and sidesteps it easily.
Carretero 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.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Chai takes a swing at Carretero's ribcage but misses.
An attempted straight right counter from Carretero misses the target.
Chai throws a head kick that misses.
Chai goes for a spinning back kick but it misses.
Carretero bobbing and weaving, closes the distance and lands a hook to the side of Chai's head.
Carretero fakes with a right hand and throws a good leg kick, right into the thigh. That had to hurt Chai.
Chai tries to clinch up.
Carretero throws a leg kick but Chai moved away.
Carretero connects with a good right hand that stumbles Chai. Chai circles away out of range and recomposes himself.
Carretero is pinned up against the ropes taking some big shots here. The referee is looking closely deciding whether he should stop the fight.
Chai looks to score with a jab to the body but Carretero is just out of range.
Chai just misses with a punch to the body.
A swing and a miss from Carretero.
Chai tries a quick counter leg kick but Carretero is wise to it.
Carretero throws an off balance right hand
and Chai counters with a quick right hand to the jaw.
Chai throws an ugly left hook that misses
and Carretero makes him pay by landing a nice hook to the body before moving out of range.
Carretero throws a low kick, looking for Chai's leg but Chai calmly moves out of range.

That's two minutes gone in the round.

Chai fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Carretero, pushing him back against the ropes.
This is a great period of action - very entertaining stuff!
Carretero tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.

Carretero manages to break the clinch.
Chai connects with a nice looking jab.
Carretero throws a leg kick but Chai sees it coming and moves out of range.
Chai looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Carretero scores with a reasonable looking shot to the body. Chai doesn't seem bothered though.
Carretero misses with a low kick.
Carretero chopped to the floor by a nice leg kick but he springs right back up before Chai can pounce on him.
Chai dances in quickly and lands a nice inside leg kick on Carretero. That did some damage!
Cristóforo Carretero is winning the standup battle so far.
Carretero throws out a loose jab but Chai uses good head movement to avoid it.
Chai lands with a nice combination. Carretero backs away looking to recover.
The crowd applaud the fighters' efforts here as the round comes to an end.
Chai looks to land a combination but Carretero avoids it well.
Chai fails in his attempt to clinch.
A slow jab from Chai misses its intended target.
Carretero lands with a cross.
And that is the end of the round. The fighters go back to their corners.

A close second round but Ngozi Chai will probably get the nod - 10:9.
The cut man is working on Cristóforo Carretero's cut.
OK. That's time! The bell goes and we're back to the action. And we move into the final round!

Chai uses good head movement to avoid the hook from Carretero.
Chai throws a right and a left that both miss.
Chai throws a push kick but Carretero slaps the foot to one side.
Carretero blocks a jab.
Carretero misses with a hook. Chai ducked under it nicely.
Carretero slips under a jab.
Chai defending well as Carretero loads up on a big left hand.
Chai throws a hard body shot but it just misses.
Jab from Carretero.
Carretero takes a swing at Chai's ribcage but misses.
Chai scores with a big left there. The judges will like that one.
We've had a slow start to the round here - hopefully the action picks up.
A big right from Carretero misses.
The fighters are starting to get sweaty, which will make takedowns a bit more tricky.
Carretero misses with a wild body shot.
Carretero tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Chai scores with a crisp jab that stopped Carretero in his tracks.
Chai punishes Carretero's body with a nice straight punch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Carretero will need to close the distance a bit before he attacks - that leg kick was thrown from too far away.
Carretero looks to throw the jab but Chai is out of range.
Carretero finds nothing but air with that leg kick attempt.
Chai tries to clinch but Carretero moves out of range.
A little feinted left hand from Carretero on the counter but he doesn't commit to it.
Chai lands a vicious shot with the stealth of a sniper and the strength of a viper. Are vipers that strong? I can think of lots of things that are stronger than a viper - not many rhyme with sniper though.
Chai misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Chai tries to close the distance and clinch but Carretero swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Carretero throws a body punch but Chai moves out of range.
Chai looks like he wants to counter punch here.
Chai throws a hook but Carretero avoids it easily.

Chai clinches up against the ropes.
Carretero throws a punch but it's blocked by Chai.
Carretero lands a shoulder strike that jolts his opponent's head backwards.
Chai lands a knee to the head.
A short uppercut from Carretero.
Chai misses with a punch on the inside.
Chai tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Chai tries a knee to the head but he's missed.
Chai with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Carretero lands a hook that snaps the head of Chai backwards.

Carretero escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Carretero on the wrong end of a nice hook.
Chai takes an uppercut right on the button but keeps his composure.
Chai tries to close the distance and clinch but Carretero swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Carretero throws a hook but Chai avoids it easily.
A little jabbing left from Chai on the counter but it doesn't find it's target.

Chai drives through and clinches with Carretero against the ropes.
Ngozi Chai seems to be working more effectively in the clinch in the fight so far.
Carretero fails to land with a short punch on the inside.
Chai works for underhooks and lands a body shot in the process.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Chai tries a shoulder strike but it doesn't do any damage.
Chai tries to land a shot to the body but it's blocked.
Carretero misses with some punches.
Chai throws a vicious knee straight up the middle but Carretero blocks it with crossed arms.
A head punch blocked on the inside by Carretero.
Chai misses with a hook from the clinch.

And that's the end of the fight!
I would just about give that final round to Ngozi Chai.
I think Chai 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 Paulsen Ambrosius scores the fight 29:28
Judge Patrick Alders scores the fight 28:29
Judge Nard Betker scores the fight 28:30

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Ngozi Chai!
After winning the bout, Ngozi Chai thanked all his fans and promised he'd do even better in his next fight. The crowd seemed to love his humility.