By Gerardo Granados: Since I was a young kid, when I saw a title fight on television I heard the boxing analyst say that the contender needed to push the fight and take the risk so he could clearly win on the score cards. If not, when the fight was close the champion would keep his crown. Perhaps the readers also hear it in the past and present days.
The veteran lion king Juan Manuel Marquez (55-7-1, 40 KO’s) and even his savvy trainer Ignacio Beristain feel the fight judges got it wrong last Saturday night, but it could be due the result of the frustration for not getting the decision.
The fight was close and there were a couple of rounds hard to score without letting your boxing taste influence you scoring, but still I didn’t see Marquez as the winner. I had it a draw (114-114).
Last Saturday we got the chance to see a great “boxing match.” t was like a chess match inside that ring, in which both boxers displayed the art of boxing at its best. The tactics and ring smarts, and the way they adjusted and the way both men prepared for the fight corresponded to the elite level of competition.
For sure this one won’t be a candidate for the Boxingnews24 fight of the year award but it certainly was a good fight. The defending champion perfectly studied the contender fighting style and not only prepared an effective game plan but also was able to execute it.
Marquez’s age and long layoff might have influenced his downfall, but I am certain that the champion´s athleticism, speed and determination were the main factor in this fight.
A friend of mine asked me if the fight judges had got it wrong and if Marquez had a valid reason to claim he won the fight. I responded to him that this fight was only close but it wasn’t a robbery at all. You can´t compare this one to the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Brian Vera fight. The score of 115-113 for each fighter seems a good call and even the 116-112 is reasonably correct to me. But what about the reader, do you believe the fight judges got it wrong?
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