They say bad scoring plagues boxing. And it certainly reared its ugly head at the Manchester Arena, England. Anthony Crolla put in a career-defining performance against Darleys Perez, dominating the action thanks to a busy work-rate and consistent jab. BoxingBase.com has witnessed some awful scoring, but these tallies really were dubious, to say the least.
Despite Perez being deducted two points for low blows, one judge favored the Columbian fighter 114-113, with another calling it 113-113. The only realistic score was 116-111, which even then seems a little too close. The combined scores made for a very displeasing Majority Draw which prevented Crolla from capturing Perez’s WBA Lightweight title.
BoxingBase.com had it 118-108, Crolla. A few of the rounds were close, it has to be said, but there’s no denying Crolla was the better, smarter fighter forcing the action. There was nothing close about this contest, especially after Perez lost those two points for fouling.
Pacquiao vs Bradley I comes to mind, and unfortunately this is one of those bouts that needs to be re-scored due to the injustice Crolla was served. The Mancunian fighter deserved the victory, but was robbed without question. Great fight, unspeakable ending.
Following the Majority Draw, Crolla stands at 29-4-3, 11 knockouts, and Perez 32-1, 20 knockouts. Perez of course keeps hold of his WBA Lightweight crown.
Crolla vs Perez Round by Round
Round 1: Both men finding their range, jabbing. Combinations from both, testing each other. Crolla starting to find the body with the right-hook. Hard round to call here. Crolla, 10-9
Round 2: Crolla looking busier, Perez answering with sharp jab. Big uppercut from Perez, followed by tasty body shot. Champion growing in confidence. Crolla coming forward, going to body, right to the head. Right-hand shakes Perez! Not enough time remaining for Crolla to go for the finish. Crolla, 10-9 (20-18)
Round 3: Right-hand counter from Perez. And one flies from Crolla. Nice work from both fighters. Back on the jabs. Crolla looking sharper, lands left-hook upstairs. Crolla eats a jab. Crolla, 10-9 (30-27)
Round 4: Perez throwing more leather in opening portion of round. Greater sense of purpose. Crolla jabbing, Perez looking to counter. Nice combination from Crolla. Perez landing right-hands off the counter. Perez’s best round. Perez, 10-9 (39-37)
Round 5: Good jabs from Crolla, but Perez landing more often with greater intent. Competitive stuff in Manchester. Real boxing match. Crolla eating more and more shots. Big right-hand from Perez, Crolla takes it well and fires back a shot of his own. Perez, 10-9 (48-47)
Round 6: Crolla loving the jab in this fight, and it’s keeping Perez occupied. Crolla comes forward, lands body shot. Perez responds with left-hook upstairs. Combination from Crolla on rope-bound Perez. Perez lands uppercut center-ring. Both men trading. Crolla, 10-9 (58-56)
Round 7: Perez seems to be coming back in this fight. Both men trading shots. Crolla always throwing something, keeping Perez busy. Perez lands two body shots. Lively round from both men, but this is still a chess match. Crolla, 10-9 (68-65)
Round 8: Low blow from Perez, Crolla takes a few seconds to recover in corner. Crolla straight back to work, jabbing, throws a combination. Perez strong, firing back, still looks dangerous with those counters. Crolla jab bags him the round. Crolla, 10-9 (78-74)
Round 9: Crolla coming forward, Perez countering to the body. Crolla one-two. Both men exchanging. Crolla jab landing clean. Perez looking to land the uppercut. Good round for both men, but Crolla edges the action. Crolla, 10-9 (88-83)
Round 10: Crolla throwing hard combinations on rope-bound Perez. Looking to finish? Perez isn’t ready to be taken yet. Perez right-hand counter. Perez lands low, gets a telling off from the referee. No point deduction. Crolla returns to the same tempo. Getting on top of Perez, backing him up. Double-jab. Crolla, 10-9 (98-92)
Round 11: If Crolla is smart, he has this fight in the bag. Perez one-two. Perez looking for that fight-changing counter. Almost rocked Crolla. Two hooks from Crolla. Perez low blow – point deduction. Perez throwing hard with those counters. He has nothing to lose now. Crolla needs to be smart. Crolla, 10-9 (108-100)
Round 12: Perez throwing a lot of leather here. Crolla still jabbing, controlling the action as much as he can. He has to be tight with that guard. Another low blow from Perez – point deduction. Perez has no chance on scorecards here. Perez not hungry enough, but lively. Crolla jabbing, boxing to victory. The bell rings and we go to the cards… Crolla, 10-8 (118-108)
Result: 114-113, 116-111, 113-113, Majority Draw
BoxingBase.com Scorecard: 118-108, Crolla
What did you think of Crolla vs Perez? How did you have it scored? Let your thoughts be known in the comments.
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