[1980-11-05-Joint Promotions] Jon Cortez vs Keith Haward

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[SAMS]

1980-11-05
Joint Promotions
Jon Cortez vs Keith Haward
Drill Hall, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK
★★★

This was ⅔ of a classic, just missing that final stretch to push it over the top. Cortez was a technical wizard and Haward matched him every step of the way, probably not surprising considering his amateur credentials (1976 Olympic participation at only 16 years old), but being only a professional for under a year this certainly was an exceptional showing for him.
The only knock against Haward would be that, despite being so technically proficient, he doesn’t exude much personality or charisma while he’s going about his business. Cortez on the other hand did this in spades, and that is what separated this match really. The first fall and a half were clipped and Cortez was already down a fall. He quickly levelled things in the 2nd and we had a mighty back and forth the rest of the way, things ultimately ending in a tie.
Cortez was the lighter man and I thought he was absolutely terrific here both in terms of selling but also conveying a story. The bigger moves that Haward hit he would always give an extra second or two to let the impact of them settle in and to subtly show the incremental damage that they were doing to him. When caught in a hold, especially one particular Full Nelson, he made this choking noise that really got over the move as painful, or at least uncomfortable, in a way I certainly have never seen before. As the match wore on he visibly started to wear down, breathing harder and harder, his posture became more slouched and his stance became looser, his attacks became more desperate. I both thought that while he might be able to land the killer move it was more likely that he was leaving himself open to a counter. Things finished a bit prematurely perhaps but both men came out looking the better for it and there’s a rematch coming down the pipeline that I’m now eagerly anticipating.

[tcg91]

This is slightly clipped, as we are missing the start of the first round. "Stalemate" is the key and the announcer repeats it often, this is some of the best grappling of the year and nobody manages to get the upper hand. To be honest, the announcer also seems to only have eyes for Cortez, who's definitely the most mobile and skilled of the two, but Haward impressed me thanks to his rugged and unorthodox style, he's got that raw style of a young Steven Regal. I think this had a very nice build towards the final phase, but then the match got flat instead and ended before anything noteworthy took place
***1/2