Two-time welterweight beltholder Paul Williams is being considered for a bout with WBC junior middleweight titleholder Saul Alvarez in September.
Funeka, Guzman fight to majority draw
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And then the judges’ scoring reminded us again of the peculiarities of boxing. One judge, Joseph Pasquale, scored it 116-112 but Alan Davis and Benoit Roussel both had it 114-114, meaning Funeka was stuck with a majority draw and a second-straight disappointing result. The 6-foot-1 South African lost a majority decision to Nate Campbell in February. However, that result wasn’t as puzzling as Saturday’s. Guzman (29-0-1, 17 knockouts) did well early in the fight, aggressively attacking and scoring consistently against his younger opponent. That changed when he was cut on the inside of his right eyebrow in the fourth round and suffered a bloody nose, after which Funeka (30-2-3, 25 KOs) seemed to take over. The Dominican fought gamely and had some moments in the middle and late rounds but he was clearly outworked and worn down by Funeka, who hurt Guzman badly in the eighth round. Funeka outpunched Guzman 903-493 and outlanded him 248-163, according to punch stats. Still, Davis and Roussel called it a draw, leaving the vacant title belt that Funeka and Guzman fought for unclaimed. “I don’t even know what can I say,” a frustrated Funeka said in the ring immediately after the fight. In spite of the disappointment, we saw what we saw – a very impressive performance by Funeka. THE RING’s No. 4-rated lightweight confirmed his place among the best 135-pounders in the world and can expect more big fights in the near future. Meanwhile, Guzman, who has fought only twice in the past two years, lucked out. He walks away with a draw against an elite fighter and his zero in the loss column intact. Thus, he will remain in the mix of big fights in and around the lightweight division. Michael Rosenthal can be reached at RingTVeditor@yahoo.com |