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© Michael Worden / Saddo Boxing
The one thing, above all others, that hardly anyone around boxing felt that would occur at this fight was a 12 round decision. Due to the hype and fervor that surround the promotion of the bout, it appeared almost certain that the bout would end early.
However, Ricardo Mayorga, 29-6-1 (23), managed to outwork the hometown favorite Fernando Vargas, 26-5 (22), over twelve rounds to secure a majority decision last night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
From the opening bell, Mayorga bounded towards Vargas and began throwing his signature haymakers. Many of them were blocked by a high Vargas guard, however it was obvious that they were having an effect.
At the end of the round Mayorga, landed a left that sent Vargas to the canvas. Vargas was able to recover and the round ended as soon as he was up.
The middle rounds of the fight went back and forth as it appeared Vargas was taking every other round off. Mayorga was throwing the harder shots, but it was Vargas that was landing the crisper and cleaner punches.
The late rounds saw a dip in the action as both fighters appeared winded. Mayorga would flurry as Vargas attempted to stay on the outside and utilize his boxing skills.
The defining moment of the fight came in the last five seconds of round eleven when Mayorga landed a perfect punch that sent Vargas to the deck again.
The knockdown came as a result of Vargas getting complacent and dropping his hands before the bell. Had it not been for that knockdown, the fight could have been a draw, or a Vargas victory.
The official scores were 113-113 and 114-112 twice. SaddoBoxing had it scored 114-112 for Mayorga.
For Vargas, it’s the end of the line. After the fight, he solidified his stance that he was retiring. For Mayorga, the win sets up more big money fights in the future and probably as he expressed earlier, at 147 or 154 pounds.
Undercard results:
Despite a broken right hand, IBF Welterweight Champion Kermit Cintron, 29-1 (27), showed that a hard left hook was all that was needed to dispatch of the very rugged and game Jesse Feliciano, 15-6-3 (9).
Throughout the first three rounds, Cintron stayed on the outside and used his seven inch reach advantage. By staying on the end of a stiff left jab, he was able to keep the charging Feliciano at bay and seemed to be able to land his left hook at will.
Through the middle rounds of the fight, Feliciano’s pressure, and the obvious pain in Cintron’s right hand, allowed the challenger to stay inside and pound away. In the fifth round, Feliciano won the crowd over with some showmanship and a never ending attack.
From round eight on, Cintron began to once again revert to staying on the outside and utilizing his boxing abilities. While Feliciano’s shots were coming in constantly, nothing was able to hurt the champion.
In the tenth round, Cintron’s barrage of left hooks took its toll on the young challenger and Feliciano got rocked by a solid shot.
Smelling blood, Cintron jumped all over him, throwing both the right and left hands with fury, prompting referee Jon Schorle to step in and stop the fight. The official time was 1:53 of the tenth round.
On the second undercard bout, former IBF Light Middleweight belt holder, Roman Karmazin, 36-2-1 (23), jumped back into the title hunt with a third round KO over ex-WBA beltholder Alejandro Garcia, 25-3 (24).
Karmazin came out of the gate looking sharp, having found himself a new trainer in Freddie Roach, and dropped Garcia in the first. Garcia protested the knockdown, but to no avail.
Karmazin was backing up the entire second round, landing the harder counter shots and the trend continued into the third. Karmazin threw his best combination of the night and with a hard hook to the body, once again sent Garcia to the floor.
Referee Raul Caiz, Jr., counted Garcia out as he was unable to reach his feet before ten. The official time was 1:24 of round three.
Earlier in the evening, featherweight Jason Litzau won a hard fought unanimous 10 round decision against Edel Ruiz, 29-18-4 (20).
The crowd erupted in a chorus of boos when the official decision was announced with the scores of 97-93 and 98-92 twice.
Afterward, Litzau grabbed the mic from ring announcer “The Classy” Jimmy Lennon Jr. and showed his love for those in attendance saying, “I still love you guys.” Although it was not the most impressive of performances by the young featherweight, it was still a decisive victory.
