The fight was a series of peaks and valleys for Guerrero, as he managed to survive an early knockdown and eventually take over the fight with his superior boxing skills in the latter rounds.
The judges scored the closely contested bout 95-94 (Martinez), 95-94 (Guerrero), and 97-92 (Guerrero). The DSH scored the fight 95-94 for Martinez.
"I thought the third scorecard was way out of line," said Martinez, referring to the questionable 97-92 score.
Guerrero, a veteran contender who took this quick turnaround fight after his recent March loss to Keith Thurman, came out looking to make a statement, but instead was drawn into a brutal war that saw over 1,000 punches thrown between the two men.
From the outset, Martinez landed some sneaky right hands that forced Guerrero to the ropes, where Martinez then unleashed a relentless body attack on the former champion.
Guerrero proved more than willing to trade on the inside as well, as the two men exchanged heavy shots in a phone booth for much of the early rounds.
"I can't explain why I go to war so much," said Guerrero. "I just love to get in there and mix it up."
The tactic was to Guerrero's detriment however, as Martinez threw a series of blows at his squared-up opponent at the end of Round Four that dropped Guerrero. Unfortunately for Martinez, the bell rang before he could capitalize on his advantage.
"When I got up off the canvas, I told myself, 'Get up and win this fight,'" said Guerrero.
After another solid Martinez effort in Round Five, the southpaw Guerrero finally utilized his better technical skills and boxed his foe from the outside.
Once Guerrero eventually abandoned his mano-a-mano approach and started to throw his effective 1-2 combinations from distance, the tide began to turn. By keeping things in the center of the ring in this manner, Guerrero not only was able to avoid more of Martinez's body shots, but also was able to launch his own counter punches as well.
The change in tactics -- perhaps mixed in with some fatigue on Martinez's part -- allowed Guerrero to more or less dictate the action in the final three rounds, earning the narrow, controversial win.
"Once I started boxing I felt I started dominating the fight," said Guerrero.
Guerrero's difficulties in the closer-than-expected fight could have been partly due to a recent death in his family.
"I just suffered the loss of my cousin," said Guerrero. "She passed away last week and this fight was for her."
Breazeale Floors Conseugra
In an exciting battle of unbeaten heavyweights, 2012 U.S. Olympian Dominic Breazeale (15-0, 14 KOs) knocked down Cuban Yasmany Consuegra three times en route to a stoppage win in the undercard bout. The referee called off the fight at 1:49 of the third round.
Conseugra, a product of Cuba's respected amateur boxing program, started off well in Round One, landing a series of rights to the face of Breazeale, as the American struggled to generate much offense.
The smaller Conseugra's skills continued to trouble Breazeale in Round Two, until the American landed a 1-2 combination that dropped his opponent at the bell.
Another 1-2 would floor Conseugra again in Round Three, and Breazeale would then seal the deal with a brutal left hook that again dropped the Cuban fighter and prompted the ref to halt the action.
"I'd love to be back in the ring as soon as possible," said Breazeale. "Everybody did a great job putting this together. This was only three rounds right here and lets do it again in a couple months."
Cuellar Knocks Out Darchinyan
Former champion Vic Darchinyan has put on many great fights in the past for Southern California boxing fans, but after his lopsided loss Saturday to once-beaten Argentinean featherweight Jesus Cuellar, retirement is likely to be around the corner.
Darchinyan, fighting at a higher weight than in his glory years, was outworked and on his bike much of the fight, as the busier Cuellar appeared well on his way to a points decision.
The gritty Darchinyan rallied in Round 4 however, landing multiple lefts to the head of Cuellar that appeared to momentarily stun the younger fighter.
Cuellar quickly established control of the fight again, and in Round 8 dropped Darchinyan with a huge right hand. A wobbling Darchinyan got up, but after enduring several more powerful shots, the fight was stopped, perhaps a few moments too late, at the 1:04 mark.
"Darchinyan is a very tough warrior and I'm glad I came out on top," said Cuellar.
Alfredo Angulo gets KO win
Alfredo Angulo beat a game Delray Raines via a fifth-round knockout victory in a middleweight tuneup bout that was relatively close in the early rounds. The win ended a three-fight losing streak for Angulo.
"This is my first fight coming back to my old trainer [Clemente Medina] and it was great," said Angulo.
Angulo previously had been training with Virgil Hunter.
Alejandro Luna earns win
Local boxer Alejandro Luna (18-0, 13 KO's) dominated and outclassed veteran Cristobal Cruz en route to a unanimous decision win. The judges scored the fight 80-72, 80-72, and 79-73. It was Luna's first fight after a long layoff of approximately one year.
By Mike Elliott
Editor for TheDailySportsHerald.com
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