WORLD MINIMUMWEIGHT CHAMPION RODRIGUEZ GETS THE SCARE OF HIS LIFE FROM UNHERALDED FAJARDO
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 16 Nov 2014
WBO and IBF minimum weight champion Francisco Rodriguez of Mexico got the scare of his life from unheralded Filipino youngster Jomar Fajardo who stood as tall as Philippines Basketball Association MVP, 6"10" Junmar Fajardo in an unbelievable display of raw courage to eke out a split draw against the cocky Mexican who had won the WBO title with a devastating 10th round knockout of Merlito ?Tiger? Sabillo.
While the judges split decision was seriously questionable, the heart of Fajardo was never in doubt as the product of the fiercely competitive Aljoe Jaro stable which has produced such bangers as Sonny Boy Jaro and Denver Cuello, threw overhand rights that often bludgeoned Rodriguez and whenever the champion showed his superiority with rapid-fire combinations and the wildly cheering fans thought Fajardo would go down he pulled out some inexplicable resolve to stay on his feet and fight back with a vengeance.
Rodriguez (15-2-1, 11 KO?s) who had challenged Nietes in the pre-fight press conference and had moved up to light flyweight to test his capability at the 108 pound limit in a tune-up fight against Fajardo (14-5-2, 7 KO?s) which was regarded as a mismatch, soon realized that it wasn?t as easy as it looked despite weighing in at 113 pounds to the 112 of Fajardo who was a late substitute for Virgilio Silvano.
Fajardo landed some solid looping right hands to the delight of the fans and the obvious discomfort of Rodriguez and the concern of his corner.
Photos by Dong Secuya.
Fajardo who told us after the fight that he could ?learn boxing techniques but can?t learn heart? nailed Rodriguez with thundering overhand right in the third round that bloodied the nose of the Mexican with referee Tony Pesons was forced to have ring physician Dr. Jose Unabia check out Rodriguez who was suspected of having a broken nose. Rodriguez connected with punches in the ratio of 7 to 1 and landed vicious body shots that sapped the energy of Fajardo and had him on the verge of a knockout on more than one occasion but the kid whose left eye was swollen never went down.
In an inexplicable decision Edwin Barrientos scored the fight an even 95-95 while Arnel Pasion gave it to Fajardo 96-94 but Edgar Olalo restored a degree of sanity and fairness with his 98-92 scorecard in favor of Rodriguez.
Former flyweight title challenger Milan Melindo who dropped back to light flyweight in the hope of earning a title shot after Nietes moves up to flyweight, looked anything but a worthy title contender with a disappointing performance against Saul ?Baby? Juarez who took the first half of the fight with his jabs and occasional rights to the body and some fine lateral movement that prevented Melindo who appeared to be looking for a one-punch knockout from catching him although Melindo looked better in the second half of the fight.
While New Zealand judge Ian Scott had Melindo the winner 115-113 and Mexico?s Alejendro Lopez Cid gave it to Melindo by a wider 116-112 score, Filipino judge Samson Libres turned in an obviously partisan and inexcusable scorecard of 118-110 eroding the credibility of local judges.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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