FILIPINO boxer Jerope Mercado failed to bring home the WBC International Bantamweight title, as Vusi Malinga retained his belt with a controversial draw yesterday at the Nasrec Indoor Arena in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Internet reports have it that Mercado was robbed of the victory as the Filipino, who came in as a late substitute to Sumaila Badu of Ghana, was all over Malinga from start to finish.
With his excellent skills and boxing prowess, the former Philippine Amateur boxing team member controlled the fight with precise jabs and straight combinations that had him leading the scorecards until the eighth round.
Upon hearing that Mercado was ahead of Malinga in the open scoring at the start of the ninth round, the latter?s corner pushed him to engage Mercado in a slugfest and give it his best shot.
?The crowd was quiet and knew that the fight was close and that the hometown boy had possibly not done enough as they anxiously waited to hear the decision,? a report from Fightnews.com stated.
And when the verdict was announced, the hometown crowd heaved a big collective sigh of relief.
Judge Andrew Smale scored the fight 114-113 for Malinga, Siya Vabaza scored it 115-112 for Mercado and Ismail Khoali tallied a 114-114 for a split draw.
?According to (Juanito) Ablaca, there was never a chance for Malinga to win as Mercado was already ahead on the three score cards after eight rounds. It?s really hard to win (in South Africa) with that kind of judging. I pity the organization because it will surely taint its reputation,? commented Mercado?s manager Rex ?Wakee? Salud.
?We?ve been there many times and this is always what happens. If you could not knock out your opponent like what Bert Batawang and Gabriel Pumar did, you will never win in South Africa,? added Salud.
With the decision, Mercado?s record dipped to 10-1-2, 4KOs win-loss-draw.
