I watched Jan Zaveck's fight last night against Keith Thurman, and he and his team deserve credit for their effort. Jan gave a tough effort and even managed to win, by my count, 3 rounds in the fight. The judges all scored the fight 120-108, not that it would have changed the result because clearly Zaveck lost, but these judges were incorrect and the actual score of the fight should have been 117-111, give or take a point either way.
We have to understand that Jan is 36 years old. 36 is starting to get older, and especially in lower weight classes (such as welterweight) that age is going to show itself more. 36 at heavyweight is not that old ("old" at heavyweight would probably be 38+), but 36 at lightweight or welterweight is really starting to get to the end of the road. Also, some fighters fade faster than others. So what I'm saying is that I think Jan has faded a bit from say, 3 years ago when he was at his best. He seems slower and not able to punch as often as he used to.
Watching the fight with Thurman, Zaveck had good rounds 5, 6, 7, and 9 I believe. I thought he won 5, 6, and 9. In those rounds, he was able to land quite a lot of punches, left hooks, uppercuts, and right hands.
It's a shame Zaveck didn't hit just a little bit harder, because he would have had Thurman in deep trouble if he had a bit more power in his shots. He was certainly connecting, and bothering Thurman a bit, but with more power, you might have seen a different fight. Nevertheless, it's a solid effort from Zaveck and one he can be proud of. There's no quit in Zaveck and he gave a respectable performance.
