The long-standing reign of Hekkie Budler was brought to a shuddering halt at Emperors Palace on Saturday after running into a freight train named Byron Rojas.
The little-known Nicaraguan produced the performance of his life to rip the WBA and IBO titles from Budler, who had no answer to the South American’s clever angles and sharp-shooting.
All three judges scored it 115-113, instantly slamming the brakes on a potential unification fight for Budler. Instead, he will have to rebuild and hope he never sees the likes of Rojas again.
Rojas beat Budler to the punch time after time, his fast, accurate punches doing a world of wonder against the out-of-sorts South African who was unable to find his rhythm. Budler is best when he dictates the pace, but Rojas’ swarming style stopped him at every turn.
The champion was also banged up more than usual and twice, in the second and fifth rounds, he was examined by the ringside doctor.
The pair set a furious pace from the off and from early on it was obvious that Rojas was in town to do a job. His movement and punch selection was world-class and he refused to be cowed by an Emperors Palace crowd that roared on his opponent.
The fact that Budler’s title was slipping away was evident through the middle rounds. Indeed, in the ninth round the promoter Rodney Berman bellowed “Wake up!” to Budler, who clearly never heard. He took a big pummelling in the 10th, his worst of the fight, and from there it was downhill as Rojas pressed home the advantage.
As the scores were announced, Budler hoisted the new champion in the air, classy to the very end. Their faces told the story: Rojas was practically unmarked; Budler looked as if he had gone to war. In a sense, he had.
