ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania – Jayson Velez overcame some troublesome moments Saturday night to knock down Jaime Arboleda in the 12th round and almost knocked him out.
It still wasn’t enough to convince the judges that Velez deserved to win their 12-round WBA super featherweight championship elimination match. Velez knocked Arboleda with just over a minute to go in their bout, but Arboleda survived and won their entertaining, back-and-forth fight by split decision.
Judges Bernard Bruni and Eric Marlinski each credited Panama’s Arboleda with a 114-113 victory. Judge Glenn Feldman scored their fight 115-112 for Puerto Rico’s Velez.
Arboleda (16-1, 13 KOs) moved closer toward a WBA 130-pound title shot in the first of three fights Showtime televised from PPL Center.
Velez (29-6-1, 21 KOs), who’s ranked number three among the WBA’s 130-pound contenders, appeared as though he would knock out a fast-fading Arboleda in the final round.
Arboleda went to the canvas just over a minute into the 12th round, but referee Eric Dali ruled that Velez pushed him down. Less than a minute later, however, a straight right hand by Velez sent Arboleda to the canvas.
Velez tried his best to finish Arboleda once his hurt opponent got to his feet, but Arboleda courageously took Velez’s vicious shots and held on to make it to the final bell.
After taking some punishment in a rough 10th round, Arboleda bounced back to make the 11th round competitive. His straight right hand stopped Velez in his tracks with 35 seconds to go in the 10th.
Velez drilled Arboleda with a right hand that snapped back his head with 1:10 to go in the 10th round. A left hook by Velez made Arboleda stumble backward several seconds later.
Velez landed several more power shots thereafter, but Arboleda withstood his onslaught to make it to the 11th round.
Arboleda blasted Velez with various flush punches in the first half of the ninth round. Velez rallied in the final minute of the ninth, though, and knocked Arboleda off balance with a left hook.
Velez’s right hand landed as they exchanged in Velez’s corner late in the eighth round. Velez also took less clean shots in that eighth round than he had taken in the previous several rounds.
Velez shoved Arboleda through the ropes just after the halfway point of the seventh round. Arboleda’s left hook connected with about 15 seconds to go in the seventh round.
Arboleda drilled Velez with a right uppercut and an overhand right in the first minute of the sixth round. Arboleda battered Velez with flush left hooks and right hands for much of the rest of the sixth round.
A right hand by Arboleda backed Velez into his own corner about 15 seconds into the fifth round. Arboleda blasted Velez with another hard right hand with just under two minutes remaining in the fifth.
Arboleda continued catching Velez with clean, hard shots
Arboleda’s left hook caught Velez cleanly in an exchange with just a minute to go in the fourth round. Arboleda wobbled Velez with another left hook later in the fourth round.
Velez fired a hard combination to Arboleda’s body in the opening minute of the third round. Arboleda clipped Velez with a left hook when there just under 40 seconds to go in the third.
A short, left hook by Arboleda landed with about 30 seconds to go in the second round, but Velez finished that round strong. He landed a right hand that shook Arboleda with 18 seconds to go in that round and caught Arboleda with a straight right that was less effective about 10 seconds later.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.