THREE MORE ROUNDS? ANYONE?
By Rich Mazon
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 16 Sep 2012
Las Vegas, NV - People started leaving their seats at the Thomas & Mack Arena at the end of the eleventh round of the fight between Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
And why not. The fight is clearly going in favor of the fighter from Quilmes, Argentina who has put up a masterful performance tonight against his bigger and younger foe. They saw how Martinez dominated majority of the fight as he hit Chavez Jr. with a variety of punches that landed almost at will for him.
Martinez stalked Chavez Jr. early in the fight, pairing excellent ring movement with effective jabbing and accurate punching on his defensive foe. It was clear that Martinez is the faster, quicker fighter of the two right from the get go.
But the son of the Mexican legend would never back down. Although defensive most of the night, he would pushed his big frame forward on the shorter Martinez, coupling that with hard punches to the body and head. Martinez's left hook to the body is reminiscent of his father's trademark punch, and he used that tonight to trap Martinez in the ropes and the corners of the ring. He did that really well in the fourth round where the Argentinean was trapped by Chavez Jr.'s aggression.
But Martinez was smart not to fall for that, at least not long enough for Chavez Jr. to inflict damage on him. He countered his opponent with uppercuts that Chavez Jr. is unable to defend during their exchanges in the inside. He would then bring back the action in the middle of the ring where he is more effective against his bigger and taller opponent.
Martinez bloodied Chavez Jr.'s nose by the seventh round. He attacked and pursued his foe relentlessly across the ring. His quickness was evident, both in his hands and in his feet. His combinations were crisp and accurate as it found holes on the Mexican's defense. Martinez is on his way to a victory as the final rounds pass by.
But Chavez Jr. would never give up though. And his fans and countrymen would not give up as well. Chants of " Chavez, Chavez and Mexico, Mexico!" echoed the sold-out arena for most of the night. This went on, even with Chavez being in the downside for most of the night. The big Mexican crowd egged the son of their legend and Chavez Jr. complied.
The Mexican fighter never backed down, he never bowed down despite Martinez's onslaught. Even with his nose bloodied and both of his eyes swollen, the warrior in Chavez Jr. found it's way to survive and at times return the favor by landing hard hooks to the body and head as the final round approaches.
And then the 12th and final round arrived.
What looked like a sure win for Martinez suddenly turned sour when Chavez Jr. landed vicious and hard left hooks on his foe's head. Martinez was caught and was caught big by those hard punches. The Argentinean went down hard as blood oozed from his nose and mouth.
And the crowd went wild, the arena shook from its foundations. It felt like an intense earthquake as fans stood up from their seats to witness the great action in the ring. And the fans that were on their way out, suddenly rushed in back to their seats.
Martinez survived the knockdown and further survived Chavez Jr.'s onslaught. He held on for dear life as the tough Mexican attacked him with all that he had and more. Martinez barely survived the round and the fight.
Martinez eked out a lucky win with a Unanimous Decision victory in his favor. The judges had it for Martinez with scores of 117-110 and two scores of 118-109.
That left everyone in the arena and the millions that watched at home wondering if Martinez would have survived further if there were more time and rounds in the fight.
What if there were three more rounds like the fifteen round fights of the old days? What if?
You can reach the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .
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