PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a heavyweight kickboxing rules bout between Josh Norton (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Mike Bruce (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). Over to our ring announcer for the fighter introductions!

Norton
vs
Bruce

180 cm
26
265 lbs
6 - 3 - 0

180 cm
25
256 lbs
3 - 1 - 0

Decent elbows
Experienced

Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, for the heavyweight championship of the world!
Introducing the champion to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 6 - 3 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Josh Norton!
And introducing the challenger to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 3 - 1 - 0, fighting out of Las Vegas, Mike Bruce!
The judges for this bout are Robert Twigg, Tiny Johnson and Chris Downing.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Bruce wants to clinch up but Norton keeps it at a distance.
Bruce should think about turning a few of those tyres round his middle into muscle if he wants people to take him seriously as an athlete.
Norton slips a jab and a cross from Bruce.
Bruce tries to score with an inside leg kick but telegraphs it and Norton is able to avoid easily.
Bruce looking to throw a kick but he's pulled out of it.
Bruce moves in looking to clinch but Norton pushes him off.
Bruce moves in looking to clinch but Norton pushes him off.
Norton checks a leg kick nicely.
Bruce wants to clinch.

Norton has taken the fight to the clinch.
Norton lands a nice elbow.

It looks like Mike Bruce has been cut.
Bruce will no doubt start fighting again in a minute but for now he's just having a little rest, leaning Norton up against the cage.
Bruce has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruce is trying to maintain a safe position but Norton gets an underhook and turns Bruce into the cage.
The two fighters are working to gain dominance in the clinch.

Bruce's corner calls for him to break the clinch, which he does.
Bruce tries to close the distance and clinch up but Norton swats him away and circles back towards the center.

Bruce moves into the clinch.
Bruce looking to stall.

Norton breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Norton blocks a leg kick.
A head kick by Bruce misses

and Norton counters by clinching up.
Bruce has had enough of the clinch and is looking to separate.
Norton lands a nice knee to the body.

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

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Bruce throws a series of punches but Norton moves out of range.
Good work by Bruce as he checks the leg kick.
We're hearing some news coming in from back stage. It's official - Bruce has eaten all the pies!
No joy there for Norton, who threw a few shots but didn't land.

Norton gets a clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bruce goes for a body shot but it's blocked.
Norton content to slow the pace in the clinch.

Bruce manages to break the clinch.
Bruce tries to close the distance and clinch but Norton swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Bruce tries to clinch but is not successful on this occasion.

Norton instigates a clinch.
Norton is stalling here. The referee will be looking to step in if he doesn't pick up the pace.
The crowd are getting pretty annoyed with Norton for his constant stalling in the clinch and are voicing their displeasure.

Norton escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
The fight stays on the outside here - Bruce looks like he's thinking about clinching though.

Bruce rushes Norton and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.
Norton avoids the elbow strike from Bruce, against the cage.
Both guys are working to get underhooks.
A frustrated look appears on Bruce's face as he tries to break the clinch.
Bruce takes an elbow to the forehead.
Norton keeps the fight in the clinch, despite Bruce's efforts to push away.

Norton breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Bruce misses with a kick to the body.

Norton moves into the clinch successfully.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Norton breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bruce is looking to clinch but Norton is avoiding it.
Bruce changes levels and scores with a jab to the body.

Norton moves into the clinch.
Bruce misses with a punch to the body.

Bruce breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.

Norton forces Bruce back against the cage and clinches.
Bruce is trying to force a seperation but Norton has the dominant position.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Norton is working Bruce over against the cage.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.

Norton breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Norton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Bruce throws a predictable looking body shot

and Norton counters by clinching up.
Bruce with the Thai clinch. He's looking to land a big knee but he's not managed it this time.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

That was a close round but I would say that Josh Norton will probably get the nod.
The cut man is working on Mike Bruce's cut.
The minute break is over - no more time for sponges and pep talks - back to the action!

Norton circles away from the clinch attempt
and Norton counters with a good, hard body kick but Bruce shrugs it off.
Norton takes a step back and watches a body kick go sailing past his mid section.
Norton tries to clinch but Bruce is having none of it.
Bruce misses with a wild body shot.
Bruce tries to score with a low kick but Norton moves his leg out of the way.

Norton clinches up with Bruce and pushes him back against the cage.
Norton blocks a punch to the side of the head.

Norton breaks from the clinch.

Norton clinches up against the cage.

Norton breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.

Norton closes the distance and clinches.
Bruce can't break the clinch.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruce wants to get back to striking at distance but Norton won't allow it.

Norton breaks the clinch.

Norton closes the distance and clinches.
Bruce tries to throw a body punch but Norton avoids it by throwing Bruce back against the cage.
Bruce taking a breather.
Norton avoiding damage.
Bruce stays in close to his opponent and throws a right hand to the body.

Norton breaks the clinch and we return to the middle of the mat.
Bruce throws a left and a right that both miss

and Norton counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Norton controlling the action here for a moment.
Bruce wants to get back to striking at distance but Norton won't allow it.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Norton has Bruce pushed against the cage.
Bruce misses with a knee strike.
Some stalling of biblical proportions here from Bruce.
Norton slows down the pace here.

Norton escapes the clinch and we're back to striking.
Bruce tries a switch kick but it misses it's target.
Norton circles away from the clinch attempt.
Norton doesn't manage to clinch there - Bruce circles away.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Bruce throws a head kick that misses.
Bruce misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
Bruce misses with the combination.
Norton moves in looking to clinch but Bruce pushes him off.
Norton scores with a nice body kick.
Josh Norton is winning the standup battle so far.
Bruce is breathing heavily.
Norton swats away the attempt to clinch by Bruce.

Norton fakes with an overhand right and moves in to clinch with Bruce, pushing him back against the cage.
Bruce tries to circle away but Norton has him pinned against the cage.
Bruce tries to break the clinch but Norton is controlling the position.
Norton prevents Bruce from breaking the clinch.
Norton avoiding damage.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Norton breaks from the clinch.

Bruce has taken the fight to the clinch.
Bruce wants to push off and get back to the center of the mat but Norton has him pressed against the cage.
Bruce tries a body shot but Norton blocks it.
Bruce is trying to work out of this bad position, with his back against the cage.

Norton breaks from the clinch.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.
Bruce fails to land with a series of punches.
Bruce misses with a kick to the body.
As the round comes to an end the crowd are showing their appreciation for a great round of action.
Norton misses with a jab, cross combination.
Bruce wants to clinch up but Norton keeps it at a distance.
Norton misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Josh Norton dominated that second round.
The cut man is working on Mike Bruce's cut.
The fighters' corners scream their final instructions, as the referee calls time. Here we go, back to the action! This is the final round!

Bruce fails with an attempt to clinch.
Norton rushes forward with a series of wild hooks but Bruce moves out of range and avoids them all easily.
Norton moves out of range of the leg kick from Bruce.
Bruce looks to clinch
and Norton counters with a good right hand that lands right on the jaw.
The fight stays on the outside here - Bruce looks like he's thinking about clinching though.
Bruce throws a leg kick which misses Norton's front leg but catches the back leg as Norton tries to avoid it.
Norton throws out a loose jab but Bruce uses good head movement to avoid it.
Josh Norton is looking to throw some combinations by the looks of things.
Bruce moves in looking to clinch but Norton pushes him off.
Norton works over Bruce's head and body with a nice combination.
This has been an exciting period of action!
Norton avoids the clinch attempt nicely.
Bruce dodges the punch combination from Norton.
Bruce misses the shot to the body.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Bruce lands a jab. Then a cross. Then finally a nice hook to the body. Good work there by Bruce.
Bruce tries to clinch but fails miserably

and Norton counters into the clinch. Nicely done.
Bruce trying to control the position but instead, Norton has worked for underhooks and has pushed Bruce into the cage.
Josh Norton has scored more points in the clinch so far.
Bruce takes a big intake of breath there - he's definitely tired.
Bruce is trying to break free.
Bruce is pushing Norton up against the cage, for a bit of lean and pray action. Action being used the in the loosest possible sense of the word.

Norton breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Bruce closes the distance looking to clinch
and Norton counters with a series of strikes. Bruce will be more careful next time no doubt.

That has opened up Mike Bruce's cut even more.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
The crowd are loving this. Great action here.
Bruce misses with a half-hearted attempt at a head kick.

Norton has closed the distance and engaged Bruce in a clinch.
Norton leaning his opponent against the cage.

Bruce breaks the clinch and we're back to striking at distance.
Well, he's not going to score with shots like that. A lazy body kick attempt from Bruce.
Bruce tries to clinch but Norton is having none of it.
Norton throws a couple of head shots and lands with the final one - a decent hook, which struck Bruce on the side of the head.

Norton rushes Bruce and pushes him back against the cage in a clinch.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Norton crunches a lovely knee into Bruce's ribcage.
Bruce can't break the clinch.
Bruce is trying to break the clinch but Norton has him pressed against the cage.
Bruce being controlled against the cage.

Norton pushes off and circles away, back to the middle of the mat.
Norton cracks Bruce with a right hand to the side of the head.

The cut above Mike Bruce's eye is starting to cause him problems now.
Norton circles away from the clinch attempt.
Bruce tries to close the distance and clinch up but Norton swats him away and circles back towards the center.
Norton wants to clinch.
Bruce throws a leg kick but he was too far away and it doesn't land.

That's four minutes gone in the round.

Norton takes the fight into the clinch.
Norton blocks a knee to the body. He'll have a nicely bruised forearm in the morning.
Norton working Bruce over with knees to the body.
Fantastic stuff here - a very entertaining period of action, which has drawn cheers from the crowd.

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

Norton has closed the distance and engaged Bruce in a clinch.
Bruce looking to throw knees to the head but Norton is blocking nicely.
The crowd are going absolutely nuts as the round comes to an end - what a fantastic round of action!
Bruce is trying to stall.
Norton stalling here - the referee won't stand for too much of that.

And that's the end of the fight!
Josh Norton showed his dominance in that final round.
Well Norton 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 Robert Twigg scores the fight 30:27
Judge Tiny Johnson scores the fight 30:27
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 30:27

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Josh Norton!
Josh Norton retains his heavyweight title!