Last night, at the Mesquite Arena, deep in the heart of Texas, long time WBA World Super Bantamweight titleholder Anselmo ‘Chemito’ Moreno lost his belt to undefeated Dominican fighter Juan Carlos Payano in an upset. Payano was almost a (+300) underdog against the favored champion, who has been at or near the top of his weight class for a long time.
The match is not without its controversy, as Payano received a gash on his head that caused the fight to be stopped between the 6th and 7th rounds. Since the fight had gone beyond the 4th, the match was decided on the scorecards, an unexpected occurrence that saw Payano’s early work rewarded with scorecards of 59-55, 58-56, 58-56.
Now, ‘Chemito’ was by no means out of the fight, but he had been losing rounds. With his experience, he might have even have been aware he was behind on the cards. Perhaps Payano would have faded after the strong start, and Moreno could have intensified the pressure and overcome having lost some rounds early. At least that is the way Moreno will see it afterwards, and he will cry that he was not given the chance because of the silly rule.
If you laid out the juice on ‘Chemito’, who was a solid champion and favored for a reason, you will join his chorus of ‘unjust call’. That combined with his status as a long reigning champion almost assures that ‘Chemito’ will want and demand a re-match.
But alas, boxing is a business, and the WBA World belt gives him an attractive trinket for prospective promoters, especially in the UK, where both Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton have versions of a world title and appear star crossed for a big all English showdown. By fighting Payano first, either of the two Brits could add the Payano belt, and for the promotion, Payano is sure to ask for less and is also sure to be an easier fight than Guillermo Rigondeaux.
Payano certainly showed up for his world title opportunity ready, and though it is unlikely that he envisioned himself with the belt on a cut stoppage, but he is the champion and he deserves to take the best payday offered to him. We will see if Payano can survive a first title defense.
