Wilkens Mathieu retained his NABF super middleweight title with a disputed split-decision win over Vladimir Shishkin on Thursday night, with many viewers believing the veteran’s boxing skills deserved the verdict at the Capitole de Québec.
Two judges scored the ten-round fight 98-92 for Mathieu, while the third favored Shishkin 97-93. The bout was the co-feature on the Eye of the Tiger card headlined by Osleys Iglesias against Oliver Zaren, streamed on DAZN.
Mathieu, 21, spent too much of the fight loading up on punches rather than letting his hands go with quicker shots. He looked for power when a steadier flow of punches and combinations could have helped him build his offense.
That approach gave Shishkin time to read his attacks and use his experience. The 35-year-old former world-title challenger applied pressure and made Mathieu work, producing stretches where his power punches quieted the hometown crowd.
Shishkin’s skills were a major part of the difficulty. Mathieu had the younger legs, but the veteran showed that youth and punching power do not automatically overcome an opponent who knows how to interrupt an attack and make his own work count.
Mathieu had his successes and finished strongly in the tenth. However, many fans felt Shishkin had already done enough to win. The disagreement was about who deserved the decision, rather than simply whether Mathieu had faced a tougher fight than expected.
The two 98-92 totals were especially striking. Both judges gave Mathieu eight rounds, a wide margin for a fight in which Shishkin repeatedly troubled him. The third judge’s 97-93 score for Shishkin reflected a very different reading of the action.
Mathieu entered following an eighth-round stoppage of Olympic silver medalist Esquiva Falcao in June at the same venue. Shishkin brought experience from his IBF title defeat against William Scull and his stoppage loss to Iglesias.
The result keeps Mathieu moving toward bigger fights at 168 pounds, but his performance leaves questions about that pace. Against better opposition, loading up without enough punches between the power shots could cost him rounds that he cannot recover with a strong finish.