Carlos Takam takes decision over Jerry Forrest

Bout: Heavyweight	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Final
Takam	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	9	10	9	98
Forrest	9	9	9	9	9	9	9	10	9	10	92

I initially was not going to blog about the fight tonight or write for Boxing News 24 and was going to just be a fan tonight. I did not do so well on that front as here I am writing a short post. I did get a chance to get back in the gym today and did 8 or so rounds of work plus went for a run. My work day was tough with it being 102 in the warehouse and I did not think I’d have it in me to get through the main event let alone score it and post something.

Takam won a workman like performance over 10 rounds to claim a 10 round unanimous decision. Takam came out early and bounced on his toes and peppered a reluctant Forrest who gave away the first five rounds with just a complete and total lack of fire. The 39 year old Takam just had his way with Forrest early but a clash of heads and the excess movement from Carlos took some wind out of his sails down the stretch of the fight. Some people I chatted with felt like the fight was close and they sided with the 96-94 card but I matched one of the other judges at 98-92. I think there was only really one winner tonight though I am not sure what this win does for him.

Takam won clearly but he did not win comfortably as he looked visibly exhausted over the final stretch and has an injury of some sort with regards to the eye. He won but I don’t think he would have impressed the casual fight viewer or even the hardcore fight fan. This was a big chance to get exposure on ESPN to American audiences and position himself for a last go at a title shot. I’m not sure if this win would have boosted his profile much. I think a fight with Charles Martin or Robert Helenius would be interesting. I don’t favor him to beat anyone in the RING top 10 despite being a fan of his. He may be able to beat Kubrat Pulev who also fights on ESPN but he has a shot with Joshua lined up and that fight is unlikely to happen. He might be interesting versus Rivas but that is it. Maybe he can try to go back to the UK where he is a known commodity and try to take on Daniel Dubois while he is still learning. Tony Thompson crashed the David Price train and got a second crack at Klitschko because of it. Beating Dubois is a key to getting a Fury or Joshua type of fight.