By Derek Bonnett: In boxing, it is a very positive trait to be “rematch tough”. I once heard those words mentioned in regard to the great Azumah Nelson, who improved upon many performances by learning from the first or even the second. There was no accident in the Ghanaian legend being called “The Professor”. He would go to class, then take you to school. By the time he was among the elites, you were lucky to only face him once. In 1986, Nelson won a majority decision over Marcos Villasana. The following year, he upgraded to a unanimous victory. In 1988, he won a split verdict over Mario Martinez. One year later, Nelson ended matters in the twelfth of the rematch. We all saw Jeff Fenech “defeat” Nelson in 1991 only to be shocked at how easily The Professor dismantled him in eight rounds the next calendar year. Gabe Ruelas made things uncomfortable for the African champion in ’93. Nelson destroyed Ruelas in five round in 1995. Jesse James Leija drew with and defeated Nelson in ’93 and ’94, respectively. The lesson may have been harder to learn, but Nelson his rival in six rounds of their third fight.
While Knockout CP Freshmart is nowhere in the league of Nelson and, likely, will never be, the Thai boxer checked into his rematch with Carlos Buitrago a wiser fighter and took advantage of some holes and poor choices made by his Nicaraguan foe. He turned a 115-113 unanimous decision into a completely routing this week. Read on for the scores. In boxing, the “rematch” is one of the most romanticized concepts. A second pairing usually indicates the first bout had some real competitive action. We often dream of what might come from a rematch, but more often than not, we end up a little disappointed because usually one fighter learns more than his opponent and that is what makes the difference going forward. Like chess, boxing is a thinking man’s game.
SecondsOut fighters On the Move:
On Thursday, February 4, at City Hall Ground, Chonburi, Thailand, Knockout CP Freshmart defeated Carlos Buitrago in a twelve round interim WBA minimumweight title rematch. CP Freshmart took home scores of 119-109 and 117-111 twice. The victory gave CP Freshmart his third defense of that title and lifted his record to 12-0-0 (6). Buitrago fell to 28-2-1 (16).
Knockout CP Freshmart climbed from fourth to third in the SecondsOut minimumweight rankings. Kosei Tanaka fell from third to fourth. Jose Argumendo and Katsunari Takayama moved to fifth and sixth respectively. Buitrago fell from fifth to seventh.
SecondsOut ranked fighters in action through Sunday, February 14, 2016:
On Friday, February 12:
At Nakhon, Ratchasima, Thailand, Pungluang Sor Singyu versus Jetro Pabustan in a twelve round WBO bantamweight title bout
For a more in depth look at Derek Bonnett’s SecondsOut world rankings:
https://www.secondsout.com/rankstat/secondsout-rankings
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February 5, 2016
