Before the fourth title defense of his WBO junior flyweight belt last night at Madison Square Garden in New York City in the main undercard of the Cotto-Clottey title-fight, Ivan Calderon said his style is to ?not get hit and go back home with no marks?. Instead, he went home last night hit more than he probably expected with a nasty cut on his forehead and a wad of Vaseline in tow as his battle with Mayol ended with a technical draw. It was the second straight fight that had to be stopped due to a head butt for Calderon. His last victory over Hugo Cazares was stopped in the seventh round due to a severe cut Calderon sustained on his forehead. That butt rendered Calderon unable to fight for a few months.
“I was coming in and he would go down low and that’s when I got hit in the head,” Calderon said. “I got cut and I got head butted again. The blood started to come and the referee [Benji Esteves] told me he might have to stop the fight. I said, ‘That’s your decision.’ But I thought the fight was going the way I wanted it to go. Every time he came in he was coming in really fast and low.”
If Calderon suffered another painful cut from an accidental head butt, Rodel Mayol from the Philippines, suffered through another heart breaking and unfortunate turn of events. Mayol was leading in the score cards after 5 rounds but sensing that the fight might be stopped Calderon picked up the pace and stalked Mayol, going away from his usual defensive, counter-punching style.
Judge Tony Palillo scored the bout 58-56 for Calderon, and Tom Schreck had it 58-56 for Mayol. The third judge Steve Weisfeld had scored it a 57-57 draw. Weisfeld gave the final round to Calderon, which proved to be the margin that allowed Calderon to keep his title.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Mayol, “I thought I won the fight. As soon as he heals up, I hope they let me fight him again.”
From the get-go, Mayol showed why he is indeed a world-class fighter. He used his length very well and applied in and out movement backing up the champion Calderon often. You can tell the vast improvements and strides Mayol has made compared to his last big fight. Despite the disheartening outcome where Calderon was able to retian his title because of the draw, Mayol has nothing to be ashamed of. In front of the pro-Calderon Puerto Rican crowd, Mayol gave one of the pound-for-pound best fighters in the world a run for his money and as a lot of people saw it, fought well enough to have snagged Calderon?s belt in the process. The biggest fan inside the MSG last night was also cheering him from the side, and that fan is no other than his manager and the sport?s best fighter Manny Pacquiao.
A rematch is already being looked at as Top Rank boss Bob Arum said and as reported by BoxingScene.com ?I am going to insist on it and I?m planning to do that fight in the Philippines.? If that indeed happens, then Mayol wouldn?t have lost much anyway, as he would?ve probably had to give Calderon a rematch as well in case the verdict did go his way. That?s still a big ?if? though, based on Mayol?s past misfortunes. But then again, he didn?t have Pacquiao on his side back then. We?ll see.
