It was a night to remember for Dream Boxing’s latest offering on DAZN, though for all the wrong reasons.
Sarah Bormann escaped with an unpopular split decision over visiting Yuko Kuroki to unify the WBA and WBO 105lbs titles Saturday at Wandsbeker Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany. One judge had the contest 97-93 for Japan’s Kuroki. The card was overruled by scores of 97-93 and 96-95 for Bormann in the show’s lone major title fight.
Home viewers were quick to take their opinion to social media and various message forums to voice their displeasure over the outcome.
Bormann, 21-1 (7 KOs), seemed to benefit from favorable officiating on both sides of the ropes. In addition to getting ahead from the questionable scoring, Bormann – a 35-year-old from Nidderau, Germany – also avoided point deductions despite numerous warnings from the referee for an assortment of fouls.
Kuroki – a two-division titlist attempting the second defense of her WBA strawweight title – enjoyed a clear edge in hand speed and accuracy, but at times struggled with Bormann’s aggression. Still, Kuroki, a 34-year-old southpaw from Kobe, Japan, jumped out to a strong start and appeared to build up an early lead.
Bormann mauled her way back into the fight, though her questionable tactics drew the ire of the referee. She was warned for hitting on the break in the fourth round but merely moved on to other fouls, which went largely undisciplined.
Kuroki seized control of the fight midway through and fended off Bormann’s ruggish style with clean combinations and slick defense. To the naked eye, she appeared to pile up rounds in the second half, while Bormann entered desperation mode.
A major scare came in the ninth when a clash of heads left Bormann with a cut along the bridge of her nose. Her face was a mask of blood for the balance of the fight, though her late surge of aggression – effective or otherwise – was enough to sway two of the three judges.
The decision was so unpopular that Bormann was booed by her own partisan crowd. Nevertheless, she lodged her fourth consecutive win along with her second overall title defense – and now recognition as a two-belt titleholder.
Kuroki, a former atomweight titlist, saw her three-fight win streak snapped as she fell to 25-9-2 (10 KOs) in just her second career fight outside of Germany.
The night managed to go from bad to worse, at least on the professional level.
Luis Jose Marin Garcia scored a major upset in a 10th-round knockout of Hamburg’s Albon Pervizaj. A pair of knockdowns by Marin Garcia – a Venezuelan based in Ecuador – were enough to cause an immediate stoppage.
However, the outcome itself sparked outrage from Pervizaj’s team – though not the boxer himself, who remained sprawled on the canvas for several minutes. Members from his camp, however, saw fit to charge Marin Garcia’s cornermen, which sparked a brief brawl complete with flying chairs just before the DAZN stream ended.
The competitive main event featured plenty of action, as the pair of heavyweights let their hands go with power shots and very little in the way of calculated skill. Pervizaj appeared to hurt the visiting boxer on several occasions but was unable to land that one final blow to put away his determined challenger.
Marin Garcia ultimately made the regional favorite Perviza pay the price.
A left hook from Marin Garcia, a 39-year-old club fighter, floored Pervizaj in the 10th and final round. The 30-year-old Pervizaj managed to avoid a knockout – with some help from the referee, who took liberties in the pacing of his official count – as he made it to his feet.
Marin Garcia applied the finishing touch – a left hook to the body – to send Pervizaj back to the canvas. The fallen heavyweight remained on his side for several minutes, well after the referee immediately halted the contest.
The emotional moment prompted Marin Garcia, 17-11-1 (11 KOs), to drop to his knees in prayer, thankful for by far the biggest victory of his journeyman career.
The moment was marred by a Pervizaj team member, who rushed across the ring and shoved one of Marin Garcia’s cornermen through the ropes. Officials attempted to restore order but failed to defuse the situation, which continued in the ring before spilling out into the crowd.
Pervizaj fell to 19-2 (14 KOs) with the defeat, which snapped a seven-fight win streak. Marin Garcia ended a four-fight winless streak in what served as his sixth fight this year.
Also on the show, Croatia’s Petar Milas, 19-1 (15 KOs), picked up his fourth consecutive victory with a fifth-round stoppage of Rydell Booker, 27-11-1 (14 KOs).
Milas floored Booker – a 44-year-old Detroit native who has no business still fighting – three times before the fight was mercifully halted at 1 minute, 54 seconds of the fifth round.
