Sergio Martinez survived a late knockdown to reclaim the World Boxing Council's middleweight belt when he defeated Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by a unanimous points decision. Martinez, 37, dominated and was leading comfortably on the judges' scorecards when he got into trouble in the 12th and final round, and the Argentine had to survive a late onslaught by Chavez as they went toe-to-toe. Chavez knocked Martinez down in the final round but the veteran was able to hang on in front of a sold-out crowd at the Thomas and Mack Center arena in Las Vegas. "He caught me with a good left hook and I lost my balance," Martinez said. Judges Stanley Christodoulou (117-110), Adalaide Byrd (118-109) and Dave Moretti (118-109) all scored it in favour of Martinez. Martinez, who came into the fight as a 2-1 favourite, improved to 50-2-2 with 28 knockouts. The 26-year-old Chavez, son of one of the greatest boxer's in Mexican history by the same name, was making his fourth defence of the WBC middleweight crown, which at one time belonged to Martinez. "I had him hurt, but I couldn't finish him off," Chavez said. "I think a rematch is justified. "I hurt him like no noe else before." Ringside officials said Chavez landed 37 power punches in the final round while Martinez connected with just eight. But overall, Martinez landed 390 of 908 punches compared to 178 of 322 for Chavez. Asked if he would give Chavez a rematch, Martinez said: "Of course, I'm ready to start training again." Martinez was stripped of his WBC title belt two years ago.
GMT 18:30 2017 Tuesday ,26 December
FIFA trial: New York jury acquits former Peru soccer bossGMT 13:18 2017 Tuesday ,26 December
Early drama as Sydney to Hobart fleet race to break recordGMT 20:25 2017 Monday ,25 December
Klopp urges Liverpool to focus on Euro ambitionsGMT 18:35 2017 Monday ,25 December
Mutko suspends Russian football role to fight Olympic lifetime banGMT 10:11 2017 Monday ,25 December
Federer, Nadal shine as rivals hobble into 2018GMT 19:22 2017 Sunday ,24 December
Southampton's Austin charged with violent conductGMT 18:02 2017 Sunday ,24 December
'Tongan Bear' Uhila extends Clermont contractGMT 17:07 2017 Sunday ,24 December
Serena Williams to make competitive return in Abu Dhabi next week
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor