It may not have been the fight Derry Mathews (38-9-2, 20 KOs) originally wanted, but the veteran boxer performed well against late-stage replacement Tony Luis (19-3, 7 KOs) to earn the interim WBA lightweight title with a 12-round, unanimous-decision victory at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Saturday.
Here's how the judges scored it, per Box Nation:
BehindTheGloves.com's Stevie Adams Jr. gave his take on what the judges might've been thinking in scoring the bout this way:
Mathews showed plenty of love for his opponent after the match, per Box Nation:
Mathews was supposed to take on Richar Abril for the full WBA lightweight title, but the latter pulled out due to illness.
Venezuelan boxer Ismael Barroso was the original replacement, but then he too had to withdraw because of visa issues, per ESPN.com's Dan Rafael.
This left Luis to jet over from a scheduled fight in Minnesota. While some might have been skeptical of the quality of this bout with so much upheaval, Luis proved to be a more-than-worthy challenge for Mathews.
Despite the fact that neither fighter had much time to prepare for the other, the bout started off at a fine, engaging pace.
Luis showed no fear in traveling across the pond to take on Mathews, bouncing around the ring and forcing Mathews to throw combinations. Mathews' overhand right proved particularly effective early on, but there was no clear advantage for the local man after the first two rounds.
When not moving, Luis opted to work the body in spurts, but Box Nation pointed out one of his major flaws as a fighter:
Mathews found his timing late in the third, catching Luis flush on the chin with a couple of straight rights and jabs that drew cheers from the Liverpool crowd.
Boxing reporter Andy Scott seemed confident in Mathews' chances after the first four rounds or so:
Undeterred by the hard licks from the fourth round, Luis kept up with his straight-ahead, bullish style and managed to find cracks in Mathews' defense. The Canadian pinned Mathews up against the ropes several times in the sixth, repeatedly landing uppercuts to the midsection.
This certainly riled up the now-bloodied Mathews, as he and Luis exchanged low blows in the seventh without the official docking a point from either man. Luis was a bit less effective in the seventh but managed to trap Mathews on the ropes late in the round for another fine flurry of blows that his opponent struggled to parry.
The referee docked a point from Mathews early in the eighth for a low blow, drawing ire from the partisan crowd as Luis had multiple transgressions go unpunished in the earlier rounds. After several cracking punches from Mathews, including a rocking overhand right, Luis' temper boiled over and he lost a point of his own for using his head. Box Nation noted the feverish crowd in the eighth:
The ninth and 10th rounds saw more of the same from Luis, who proved to be in tip-top shape by not abandoning his aggressive style. Mathews was throwing the cleaner, more accurate punches and circling around the ring, but he definitely struggled at times to keep the challenging stand-in from getting into his body.
Mathews was a bit more stylish in the 11th, but Luis' body barrage looked to give him the 12th.
Boxing promoter Frank Warren was impressed with the action:
Early celebration from Mathews tipped the crowd off to the result before it was announced, but the roar of the crowd and the look of jubilation on the Liverpool lad's face was no less intense once the scores were read.
The vital win keeps Mathews' storied career afloat and should garner him another high-profile, title-on-the-line contest in the near future. In a bout that truly was a clash of styles and might've been scored either way, Mathews showed grit and tenacity but also a troubling inability to keep himself off the ropes at times.
Luis, a relative unknown coming into this bout, no doubt turned some heads with a brave performance. This was his first bout to go all 12 rounds, and he looked every bit physically capable of engaging in premier bouts such as these. Don't be surprised if this tough loss ends up being a bit of a boon for his career.
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1Q34bFa
via IFTTT April 18, 2015 at 02:55PM
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