Z GORRES? ?Now or Never? quest for boxing stardom ended in a ?maybe? and for the second straight year, fight fans left a Gorres fight abuzz over the decision.
This after his IBF super flyweight eliminator bout with Vic Darchinyan ended in a split draw after 12 rounds at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino last night.
Thai Montol Suiryachi saw it 113-112 for Gorres; Cebuano judge Jonathan Davis had it 114-112 for Darchinyan; while Australian Cec Perkins had it 113-113.
Most of the packed didn?t even bother waiting for the decision and had slowly trooped to the exit before it was read, perhaps execting a decision for Darchinyan.
The match started badly for both Gorres and referee Lance Revill after a slip by the Cebuano fighter was ruled a knockdown by Revill.
Disgruntled by the call, fans threw a few mineral water bottles at the ring. After the first round, the fans pointed to the replay in the big screen, which clearly showed the slip.
?Darchinyan is a dirty fighter. I?m willing to fight him again in a rematch anytime and anywhere,? said Gorres. ?I could have won if not for the first round knockdown.?
The Cebuano also complained why the referee failed to warn Darchinyan for a head butt in the sixth round.
Gorres got his chance in the second round after connecting with a right to Darchinyan?s head, sending the visitor down. Darchinyan survived the count, but still the crowd wasn?t appeased and water bottles flew while the referee was finishing the count.
Games and Amusement Board chairman Eric Buhain had to step in to tell the crowd to stop throwing bottles.
In the middle rounds, Gorres, who lost a controversial split decision to Fernando Montiel at the Cebu City Sports Center last year, was content to let Darchinyan chase him, while deftly slipping away .
Revill sort of evened the count for Gorres in the fifth round after a knockdown was ruled a slip.
After evading most of Darchinyan?s power punches, Gorres finally got hit in Round 9 with a powerful right to the head for his second knockdown in the fight.
Gorres, who got cut in his head in the 10th, fell to the canvas some three times again in the final three rounds but all were ruled a slide.
?The referee should be banned from boxing,? said Darchinyan?s promoter Gary Shaw, who complained about the three knockdowns the referee didn?t call. (EKA/With ML)
