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By Thomas Gerbasi - As soon as the final bell rang on January 19th, Juan Carlos Burgos knew the score. In his second attempt at a world title, he had done his job and beat Rocky Martinez. He was the WBO super featherweight champion of the world. All he needed to do was hear Michael Buffer read the judges’ scores and have the belt handed to him.
“When the final bell went off, I knew I had won the fight,” said Burgos through translator Alex Camponovo. “I had a good feeling about what I had done in the fight, and when they announced the first judge’s card and there was a wide margin of points on my side, I felt pretty comfortable.”
That first score, a 117-111 tally for Burgos handed in by Waleska Roldan, was pretty much in line with what most observers thought was fair. Some thought 116-112 Burgos, maybe even 115-113 for the Tijuana native if they were being generous to Puerto Rico’s Martinez.
Then came in the next score: 116-112 from Tony Paolillo for Martinez. As the groans among the hardcore fans began, some still held out hope in those moments between the reading of the second and third scores that sanity would prevail.
Score three: 114-114.
A draw.
“When they announced the other two, it was pretty devastating,” recalled Burgos. “I felt like a bunch of bricks were on my back. It was just a heavy, heavy thing to go through and it didn’t feel right. I knew I had done enough to win the fight.”
Burgos pauses briefly, something that even a language barrier can’t hide. Not even two weeks removed from what should have been the biggest and happiest night of his boxing career, the wounds are still raw, but he’s trying not to let them show. [Click Here To Read More]
“When the final bell went off, I knew I had won the fight,” said Burgos through translator Alex Camponovo. “I had a good feeling about what I had done in the fight, and when they announced the first judge’s card and there was a wide margin of points on my side, I felt pretty comfortable.”
That first score, a 117-111 tally for Burgos handed in by Waleska Roldan, was pretty much in line with what most observers thought was fair. Some thought 116-112 Burgos, maybe even 115-113 for the Tijuana native if they were being generous to Puerto Rico’s Martinez.
Then came in the next score: 116-112 from Tony Paolillo for Martinez. As the groans among the hardcore fans began, some still held out hope in those moments between the reading of the second and third scores that sanity would prevail.
Score three: 114-114.
A draw.
“When they announced the other two, it was pretty devastating,” recalled Burgos. “I felt like a bunch of bricks were on my back. It was just a heavy, heavy thing to go through and it didn’t feel right. I knew I had done enough to win the fight.”
Burgos pauses briefly, something that even a language barrier can’t hide. Not even two weeks removed from what should have been the biggest and happiest night of his boxing career, the wounds are still raw, but he’s trying not to let them show. [Click Here To Read More]
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