Chemito Moreno Resumes Bantamweight Dominance

By Cliff Rold

Returning to the ring and his regular weight division after a ten-month layoff, 28-year old WBA “Super” Bantamweight champion Anselmo Moreno (34-2-1, 12 KO) of San Miguelito, Panama, notched the eleventh successful defense of a reign that began in 2008 on Saturday night at the Megapolis Convention Center in Panama City, Panama, earning a wide unanimous decision over 27-year old William Urina (24-3, 20 KO) of Barranquilla, Colombia.

Moreno came into the bout a pound under the division limit at 117.  Urina weighed in at 116.  The referee was Stanley Christodolou.

Moreno was never really challenged in the fight.  Able to establish his southpaw right jab early, Moreno stayed largely in the pocket and dished out a beating to the body.  Urina’s left eye was bruised underneath over the course of the fight but he never stopped trying.  A desperate play in the final two rounds helped Urina stave off a shutout, but his second title shot ultimately proved as futile as his first.

Urina found out firsthand why only Abner Mares, one of the very best fighters in the world, has been able to defeat the brilliant Moreno since a four-round loss in 2002.  The final scores favored the champion at 118-110 twice and a too narrow 116-110.

Moreno rebounds from the tough Mares loss last November, a decision defeat that was closer in reality than on the official cards.  Moreno fell behind early and suffered a knockdown in the fifth before rallying and stunning Mares in the second half of one of 2012’s most skilled and entertaining clashes.

Moreno has seen a deal with Golden Boy Promotions ended since the Mares loss and one wonders where his chances for future big stage opportunities will come.  Japanese draw Koki Kameda holds another version of the WBA belt and could make a nice payday.  An even better clash would likely be a showdown with undefeated WBC titlist Shinsuke Yamanaka.  Moreno and Yamanaka are seen in most quarters as the two best in class at 118, a division without a lineal king since the 1980s.

There may not be a market for that clash, but it is one worth pondering regardless.  So too is a fight with another fighter struggling for attention and a noteworthy foe: unified 122 lb. champion Guillermo Rigondeaux.   

Regardless, Moreno showed Saturday why he remains the class of the Bantamweight division.

The loss ends a seven-fight winning streak for Urina.  Both of Urina’s previous losses came in 2011, one of them in a title shot at 115 lbs. versus Omar Narvaez.

Also on the card, 33-year old former title challenger and Venezuelan Olympian Nehomar Cermeno (22-5-1, 13 KO), 121, of Panama City, Panama, surged late to secure an upset win over previously undefeated 29-year old Oscar Escandon (22-1, 15 KO), 122, of Ibague, Colombia.

The referee was Luis Pabon.

The pressuring Escandon appeared to do enough to win the fight and scores were all over the place.  Escandon received one nod at 116-113 while the other two cards favored Cermeno at scores of 115-113 and 117-111.  Cermeno’s victory gives him a vacant WBA title at 122 lbs.

The current WBA titlist at 122 lbs. is Rigondeuax.

The card was televised in the U.S. on TyC Sports as part of their “Boxeo de Primera” series, promoted by Sampson Boxing and Best Box.

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene and a member of the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board, the Yahoo Pound for Pound voting panel, and the Boxing Writers Association of America.  He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com