The camp Emmanuel Rodriguez, the Puerto Rican fighter who swore he got robbed against Filipino puncher Reymart Gaballo in their bout over the weekend, has requested the World Boxing Council (WBC) for a rematch owing to its controversial result.
Rodriguez insisted that he took control of the 12-rounder, claiming he only lost two or three rounds and that Gaballo wasn’t worthy of the split decision verdict.
Two judges saw the fight 116-12 and 115-113 for Gaballo but the third had it 118-110 for Rodriguez, numbers that sparked outrage among fight aficionados.
Gaballo was ultra aggressive all night long while Rodriguez opted to be tactical, scoring cleanly on counters to time his heavy-handed rival.
Rodriguez managed to wobble Gaballo, who was on attack mode from start to finish, twice but he chose to be safe, working behind a stiff jab and sneaky counters.
“In the eight and ninth, I lost them. From then on, in the tenth, eleventh and twelfth, I regained a little life and he didn’t beat me anymore,” said Rodriguez in a story posted by Boxingscene.com. “It’s true that I could have been more offensive, but there was no need to be. (Gaballo) hits very hard. If I was winning, why would I risk that by making a mistake?”
Juan Orengo, who manages Rodriguez, said a protest has been filed with the WBC and they are upbeat the boxing body will order an immediate rematch.
“We are going to wait for (the WBC) to review the fight between them and make a decision. I think it will happen, but we have to wait for the sanctioning body,” Orengo said as quoted by the website.
In the meantime, Gaballo is on his way back to the Philippines for the holidays but MP Promotions chief Sean Gibbons the break will be brief.
