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The Hard Days Night Brad Strand vs. Ionut Baluta round-by-round updates are here. They provide eager boxing fans with real-time coverage and live scoring of the upcoming super bantamweight championship fight. While a regional title, instead of a world championship, is up for grabs, it is no less important to either man.
Strand enters the bout with a 12-1 record, having recently bounced back from his first loss as a professional boxer. Meanwhile, Baluta is 16-5-1 and has struggled for form as of late, as he is winless in his last two fights, being part of a draw against Dennis McCann, to whom he subsequently lost via unanimous decision.
The two men compete for the WBO European super bantamweight belt in a 10-rounder. Despite Strand being the younger man with a seemingly more promising record, the oddsmakers do not expect him to emerge victorious in the fight, with DraftKings Sportsbook listing him as a +100 underdog.
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By contrast, Baluta is a -125 favorite. The event undercard is set for a start time of 12:30 PM E.T. (Eastern Time) / 9:30 AM P.T. (Pacific Time) for Americans. However, fans on U.K. soil will find it available at 4:30 PM G.M.T. (Greenwich Mean Time).
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Strand vs. Baluta, though, is expected to start at around 3:30 PM E.T. / 12:30 PM P.T. / 7:30 PM G.M.T.
Follow Sportskeeda for play-by-play analysis and live scoring of the super bantamweight title fight.
Hard Days Night: Brad Strand vs. Ionut Baluta
Round 1: The round starts with quick jabs from Strand, who is proving an elusive target for Baluta. A brief clinch ensues and they break. Baluta tries to land something but gets countered by a quick combination from Strand. A good one-two lands for Baluta.
However, Strand regains his composure and continues peppering Baluta with jabs. Baluta, though, is relentless, landing a right hand. Another clinch and they separate. Baluta is pressuring Strand with serious intent. They keep clinching as a consequence of Baluta refusing to take a step backward.
Strand with a nice counter-right hand, drawing a clinch frorm Baluta. More jabs frorm Strand, who follows up with a good right cross. Baluta, meanwhile, lands to the body. Strand with another jab. This has been a competitive round, which ends with a good left from Strand.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand
Round 2: An immediate clinch to start the round. The referee separates them, and Strand returns to his jabs and one-twos, but he's unable to keep Baluta off of him. The pressure from Baluta is absurd. He's showing no regard for defense. He lands with a good right hand, but they clinch again.
As they separate, Strand tries to fire off his jabs, but Baluta is giving him no space whatsoever. Good counters from Strand. Strand meets a Baluta flurry with another counter. Baluta goes for broke, but ends up smothered in the clinch. Baluta with a nice body shot.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 20-18 Strand overall
Round 3: A lunging left hook from Baluta barely misses. They clinch and the referee breaks them up. Strand with a jab, barely grazing Baluta with a follow-up right hook. Baluta missing wildly, while Strand counters him down the middle. Baluta stays on the front foot, but he's not landing much.
Strand is making him miss almost everything he throws, all while countering him fairly easily. Big right counter from Strand. This fight likely goes to a decision, as Baluta is as tough as they come. Strand with two slick counters. A clinch from Baluta pauses the action, but the referee intervenes.
Body jabs from Strand, who follows up with shots up-top. Another clinch from Baluta to end the round.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 30-27 Strand overall
Round 4: A two-punch combination from Baluta barely misses. They clinch and break. Strand snipes Baluta with a jab, stopping his advance. One-two lands for Strand, who is making Baluta miss virtually everything, forcing a clinch. Baluta is trying, though. He just doesn't have the tools to close the distance.
Good shots from Strand, followed by a one-two. Strand with repeated jabs. Baluta is literally flailing around the ring, struggling to land anything of substance. Strand intercepts a Baluta level-change with an uppercut.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 40-36 Strand overall
Round 5: More pressure from Baluta, who finally lands something, tagging Strand to the body. They clinch and break. Jabs from Strand, who draws a clinch from Baluta. Baluta backs him up to the ropes, landing a jab. Strand with a quick counter.
Baluta's mouthpiece falls off and he stops for a moment without referee authorization. Strand pounces on him before the referee finally gives him time to retrieve his mouthpiece. The fight resumes and Baluta seems determined to make Strand pay for capitalizing on his momentary lapse.
They clinch and break, with Strand landing good counters.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 50-45 Strand overall
Round 6: The round starts with more of the same. Baluta with endless pressure, but he's eating a lot of jabs and counters from Strand. However, Baluta is closing the distance slightly better now, pulling Strand into the clinch where he lands some good inside shots.
More swarming pressure from Baluta, but Strand clinches to smother his offense. Baluta with a good jab to the body. More clinching, but the referee breaks them up. Baluta tries to string a combination together, but Strand snipes him with a jab, then clocks him with a right hand.
Strand smothering more of Baluta's offense with the clinch. He's frustrating him. More clinching from Strand. Jabs from Strand, who continues stifling Baluta's flurrires with clinches. Another Baluta flurry but nothing lands.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 60-54 Strand overall
Round 7: Jabs from Strand, who snaps Baluta's head back. As expected, they clinch, but the referee separates them. A fruitless flurry from Baluta, who is hitting nothing but air. Baluta seems to realize he's massively down on the scorecards and is trying to force something.
However, nothing he's throwing is landing clean. Pawing jabs from Strand, who follows up with a stabbing jab to the midsection. Another good jab from Strand. Jabs from Strand, while Baluta strings together a combination, landing some of his shots, bruising Strand's face.
A nice check hook cracks Baluta. A short right hand from Baluta lands, freezing Strand for a split-second. Strand seems to be tiring.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 70-63 Strand overall
Round 8: Baluta is heavy on the front foot, stalking Strand, throwing to the body and head. Strand, though, catches him with a jab. More jabs from Strand, who lands a right hand to boot. A slip from Baluta leads to a brief referee intervention. The fight resumes and Strand snipes him with a one-two.
Strand is no longer as mobile. Instead, he's goading Baluta and then planting his feet to counter at specific moments. Stiff jab from Strand, while Baluta blasts him to the body. Baluta with another right hand to the body. They clinch and the referee breaks them up.
Another clinch ensues. They break and Strand catches Baluta with a two-punch combination.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 80-72 Strand overall
Round 9: The round starts in typical fashion, with Baluta pressuring Strand. However, Strand counters him, briefly stunning him. Baluta is tough, though, and seems unaffected. Jabs from Strand, but Baluta blasts him to knock him down. Strand protests, claiming he tripped, but the referee counts it.
Baluta tries to pounce, but Strand is making him miss. Jabs from Strand, who triples it up. There was no real knockdown, as Baluta stepped on Strand's feet to trip him. Baluta catches Strand with a right and left.
Strand fires back with a jab. A good left hand from Strand lands, wobbling Baluta for a splitt-second.
Our Score: 10-10, 90-82 Strand overall
Round 10: More urgent pressure from Baluta, who is swinging with bad intentions. Strand, though, is staying disciplined, making his foe miss. They clinch and the referee breaks them up. Reckless lunges from Baluta, who eats some jabs from Strand, forcing a clincch from Baluta.
Another clinch, this time from Strand. They dirty box and break without referee intervention. An intercepting right cross lands for Strand. Baluta does land a good uppercut to the body. He misses everything else, though, forcing yet another clinch. More jabs from Strand.
Strand with a right cross. Baluta just can't land anything clean. He's missing everything. They clinch and break as the round ends.
Our Score: 10-9 Strand, 100-91 Strand overall
Official Result
Ionut Baluta def. Brad Strand via split-decision (97-93, 98-91, 96-94)
