By Nate Anderson: In a bit of bat news, the rematch between Commonwealth heavyweight champion Sam Sexton (12-1, 5 KO’s) and former Commonwealth champion Martin Rogan (12-1, 6 KO’s) has been pushed back from October 9th to November 6th. Rogan, 38, injured his back during training for the bout and has a trapped nerve. It’s unknown whether one month will be enough for the shoulder to heal properly, but let’s hope because this is a fight that many boxing fans are waiting to see with great anticipation.
Sexton, 25, defeated Rogan by a controversial 8th round stoppage in May, a fight in which the 38-year-old Rogan had Sexton badly hurt in the 8th round and looked to be on the verge of stopping him when English referee stopped the action while Rogan was battering Sexton and took Rogan over to the ringside doctor to examine Rogan’s swollen left eye.
The doctor then advised for the bout to be stopped. There wasn’t long to go in the round and it seemed strange that the referee would decide to wait until this point in the fight, just when Rogan had turned the fight around and looked to be a punch or three away from knocking Sexton out.
Needless to say, the Irish crowd that witnessed the fight at the bout at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast, was none too happy and booed the stoppage long and hard. Rogan, for his part, was also unhappy with the fight being stopped.
Rogan was also unhappy with himself for being a good sport during the round and letting the referee know that Sexton’s mouthpiece had fallen out. Rogan backed off right when Sexton was teetering near the ropes, looking very hurt and ready to drop. This act of good sportsmanship probably cost Rogan the fight because Sexton likely wouldn’t have finished the round had Rogan continued to batter him with shots while Sexton was trapped against the ropes.
If the fight had lasted another round, there’s little question that Rogan would have finished matters. Sexton was totally exhausted and badly hurt from the big hooks that he had taken in both the 7th and 8th rounds. Sexton had fought remarkably well in the first six rounds, using his jab and moving quite well. He landed a lot of fast combinations and looked dominant in the first half of the fight.
Rogan’s left eye began to swell up badly early in the fight and by the 7th it was in danger of closing. Going into the 8th round, it looked as if Sexton was going to easily win the fight. However, he was hit with a big right hand from Rogan early in the round and badly hurt from the shot.
Rogan then teed off on Sexton for the next minute. During this time, Sexton turned his back on Rogan, a move that appeared to be done to escape punishment. The referee then stopped the action to give Rogan a needless warning about throwing a rabbit punch to the back of Sexton’s head, despite the fact that Rogan never came close to landing any punches to the back of Sexton’s head.
Rogan landed a right to Sexton’s shoulder when he turned his back. The warning should have been given to Sexton for turning his back to his opponent, because this is a move that some fighters (usually amateurish ones) take when they’re absorbing punishment. The stoppage of the action and the needless warning given to Rogan gave Sexton even more time to recover after being hurt.