Sergio Martinez was knocked down twice in the 12th round Saturday of the WBC world middleweight title fight against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but had done enough in dominating the early rounds to claim an unanimous decision victory.
When the scores were read, the pro-Mexican crowd in the soldout Thomas & Mack Center expressed their disappointed with a chorus of boos that Chavez — the son of Mexican legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. — came up short.
Adalaide Byrd and Dave Moretti scored the fight 118-109, and Stanley Christodoulou had it 117-110 all in favor of Martinez, who was the aggressor for virtually the entire fight and had bloodied Chavez with a series of jabs and other punch combinations.
But, in what is already being classified as one of the best final rounds in the sport's history, Chavez Jr. certainly has nothing to hang his head about. Sure, he lost for the first time in 49 career fights, but he finally showed the grit and toughness several thought he lacked.
Of course, one of Chavez Sr.'s signature victories during his legendary career came on a last second knockout against Meldrick Taylor in 1990 when Chavez Sr. was significantly behind entering the final round.
His son nearly duplicated the finish. It's the type of performance several would not have expected from the younger Chavez — who several say used the family name to advance this far and doesn't have the passion for the sport of his father. One round Saturday changed that.
No comments:
Post a Comment