By Manuel Perez: I’ve never been much of a fan of former WBA/WBC super flyweight champion Cristian Mijares (36-5-2, 15 KOs), but I got to say he really got a raw deal in losing a 12-round split decision to unbeaten Nehomar Cermeno (17-0, 10 KOs) on Saturday night for the interim WBA bantamweight title at the Auditorio Centenario, Torreon, in Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico.
The final judges’ scores were 115-113 and 116-112 for Cermeno, and 117-111 for Mijares. I had Mijares winning by a couple of rounds based on his much cleaner shots, better form and much better boxing talent than the limited Cermeno. Indeed, I couldn’t see anything that Cermeno, ranked number #3 in the WBA bantamweight division, was doing in the fight to deserve the decision.
Other than his high work rate and constant pressure, I saw no reason why he was given the decision. His work rate was almost entirely wasted, however, because Cermeno missed most of his shots in every round, hitting mostly air in his attacks.
His punches lacked power of any sorts and even when they would land, they had little effect on Mijares. Cermeno’s footwork was horrible, as he stumbled around for 12 rounds looking awkward and uncoordinated. I honestly couldn’t see how or why he was ever given a number #3 ranking in the WBA, given his marginal boxing ability and his lack of competition prior to the Mijares fight.
Mijares, 27, who was coming off a disappointing 9th round stoppage to Vic Darchinyan in November, dominated the first five rounds of the fight landing the more effective punches in comparison to Cermeno’s weak, off balanced shots.
There was nothing close about the first five rounds as it totally clear that Mijares, with his better power and accuracy, was the better fighter during this period of the fight. The 6th round was pretty much toss up, with Mijares continuing to land the better shots but Cermeno now landing slightly more punches in the round than he had in the previous five.
Cermeno looked about the same in the 7th and 8th rounds, landing slightly more punches but with little power and poor form. He continued to stumble forward when attacking, and looking a good deal uncoordinated. I didn’t given him either of the rounds due to his weak punches and awful foot work, but I could see how a judge might be impressed with his slightly better work.
Cermeno missed a lot of his shots in both rounds, but continued to outwork Mijares. For his part, Mijares’ left eye began to look red and swollen underneath.
In the 9th and 10th rounds, Mijares did the better work, picking Cermeno off with pinpoint shots. In contrast, Cermeno was still throwing tons of punches and missing with well over half of them. The ones that did land were thrown with no power and were more like weak slaps.
I do think Cermeno finished the fight strong, winning the 11th and 12th rounds with his better work rate, but it wasn’t nearly enough to get the decision in my book. When the scores were announced after the fight, Mijares took the decision without complaints, being a good sport about it. He should have been furious, though, because there’s no way that Cermeno should have been given the decision.