There was almost shades of 1990 in Las Vegas on Saturday night
as Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr came within a whisker of turning the same
trick his old man so famously managed against Meldrick Taylor.
Like his dad 23 years ago, Chavez found himself way behind on
the cards going into the final round against Sergio Martinez.
In desperate need of a knockout, the 26-year-old Mexican dropped
and hurt Martinez with a left hook and it seemed that the tide was
set to turn in remarkable fashion.
But somehow Martinez managed to haul himself up, and despite his
wobbly legs meaning that he slipped to the canvas again, he held on
to pick up a unanimous decision as well as the WBC middleweight
title.
Judge Stanley Christodoulou scored it 117-110, while Adalaide
Byrd and Dave Moretti both saw the fight 118-109.
"I had him hurt, but I couldn't finish him off. I think a
rematch is justified. I hurt him like no-one else before," Chavez
said.
On the undercard unbeaten Cuban sensation Guillermo Rigondeaux
successfully defended his WBA super-bantamweight title with an
unanimous decision over Robert Marroquin.
16/09/2012 17:03:36