Danseco called it right

It wasn’t an easy fight to score particularly as there were several close rounds that could’ve gone either way. In the end, IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. was awarded the win by split decision over WBC counterpart Shawn Porter to unify the 147-pound reigns in two organizations at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last Saturday night.

There are two more world welterweight champions in the mix. One is super WBA titlist Sen. Manny Pacquiao and the other is WBO ruler Terence Crawford. Spence and Pacquiao are under contract with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions while Crawford is Top Rank’s property with Bob Arum. The word is Spence will take on Danny Garcia next and Pacquiao may stake his crown against Mikey Garcia, leaving Crawford out in the cold.  

Spence was pushed to the limit by Porter, a former Pacquiao sparmate but even as the outcome was decisive, it was a closely-contested bout. Filipino judge Rey Danseco and Steve Weisfeld of New Jersey concurred in scoring it 116-111 for Spence while judge Larry Hazzard, Jr. of New Jersey saw it 115-112 for Porter. Compubox stats showed that Spence outlanded Porter in nine of the 12 rounds with one round even, putting to doubt Hazzard’s tally. Overall, Spence connected on 221 punches of 745 thrown, compared to Porter’s 172 of 744. Spence also outjabbed Porter, 37-30 and landed more power shots, 184-142. One of Spence’s power blows, a left hook to the jaw, caused Porter’s eyes to roll in the 11th round. Porter would’ve gone down but broke his fall with both gloves on the canvas and never lost his footing. A lesser man would’ve crumpled to the ground. Referee Jack Reiss, however, gave Porter a mandatory eight-count for the fight’s only knockdown as his gloves touched the floor.  

Clearly, both Danseco and Weisfeld were on the same correct wavelength. That’s a testament to the Filipino’s competence. “Challenging yung fight,” said Danseco who migrated to the US in 2012. “Pwedeng pang-seminar, training sa mga judges kasi may mga rounds na dikit na dikit.”

Meanwhile, IBF superflyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas is careful not to take Mexican challenger Jonathan Javier Rodriguez lightly. They face off at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson City, California, on Nov. 2.

Ancajas, 27, is itching for a unification, big-money showdown with WBC counterpart Juan Francisco Estrada of Mexico and that could happen early next year. Estrada is fresh from disposing of Dewayne Beamon in the ninth round in Hermosillo, Mexico, last month. “A Jerwin fight against Estrada is definitely a pay-per-view event and will bring back the intense boxing rivalry between the Philippines and Mexico,” said MP Promotions head Sean Gibbons.

But before negotiations even start for an Estrada duel, Ancajas has to dispose of Rodriguez. How the near-fatal incident with Felipe Orucuta will affect Rodriguez is a question mark. It could make him gun-shy or boost his confidence as a power puncher but Ancajas isn’t about to speculate. What Ancajas knows is Rodriguez is a dangerous opponent and he can’t afford to lower his guard or get careless in his eighth title defense because a big-money fight against Estrada is at stake.

Last June, Rodriguez mowed down Orucuta in a 10th round TKO win in Mexico. Orucuta sat on his stool after the stoppage then slumped to the canvas, unconscious. Doctors frantically tried to revive Orucuta in the ring and applied CPR to restore his heartbeat. Then, the stricken fighter was stretchered out of the stadium and rushed to a hospital in Uruapan where he went into a medically-induced coma for surgery to remove a blood clot in his brain. Orucuta was later brought to the Maria Jose Roma hospital in Mexico City where he was eventually discharged after a seven-week confinement.

In an interview last week, WBC chairman of ring officials Hubert Minn said he’s hoping a major fight event will soon take place in Hawaii where he lives. Minn was in town to deliver a lecture during the first-ever Professional Sports Summit organized by the Games and Amusements Board at the PICC, Pasay City.

Minn, 72, said there hasn’t been a major boxing promotion in Hawaii for eight years but WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman recently announced plans to sponsor a pro-am event in the islands. “Hawaii is fertile grounds for fighters,” he said. “In MMA, UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway and Bellator women’s flyweight champion Ilima Lei Macfarlane are from Hawaii.  Hawaii is where East meets West. I’m confident big fight cards will be back in Hawaii soon.”