Controversy surrounds boxing card at Sports Arena as Mauricio Herrera defeats Hank Lundy

Los Angeles -- The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena might be on its last legs before it eventually makes way for a new MLS soccer arena, but it provided fans in the old facility with quite an interesting night of boxing in perhaps its final sporting event, as two controversial and highly questionable decisions were witnessed by the crowd of 4,672.

The first involved the main event, where Southern California’s Mauricio Herrera (22-5, 7 KOs) defeated Philly contender Hank Lundy (25-5-1, 12 KOs) for the vacant NABF Super Lightweight Championship after the fight was stopped on cuts in the fifth round and went to the scorecards early. Herrera was declared the winner by majority decision.

Lundy came out strong in the first round initially overwhelming Herrera with a flurry of combos and intense speed.  Although Herrera rallied a bit, he also struggled with an eye injury delivered via head butts in both the first and second round.  Lundy, meanwhile, successfully blocked many of Herrera's blows.

Often there were periods where Herrera would put his back on the ropes and motion the elusive Lundy to come after him.  In those circumstances, Lundy would take Herrera up on his offer, darting in to land a shot before Herrera could return fire.

Given the controversial finish, it was no surprise that each fighter believed he was the true victor.

“He stung me in the first round and I kind of lost focus,” said Mauricio Herrera. “I started finding my momentum as the rounds went on, but the issue with the cut really made the fight lose its rhythm. I can’t see how deep the cut is but I feel physically fine and could have kept going. I am in good condition and was landing good body shots and was wearing him down.”

Lundy, on the other hand, felt his speed and boxing skills gave him the edge.

“You saw it,” said Hank Lundy. “He couldn’t handle my speed, my power or my skills so he was holding and doing a bunch of other dirty stuff. I know I won the fight. And, I was ready to take him out if it kept going.”

For Herrera, who came out on the losing end of a recent controversial decision versus Danny Garcia, the close win was a welcome change.

In the first televised bout of the night, South El Monte, California’s Joseph “Jo Jo” Diaz Jr. (17-0, 10 KOs) faced Rene Alvarado (22-5, 15 KOs) of Managua, Nicaragua, in scheduled a 10-round featherweight bout.

Although Diaz was the hyped prospect coming into the fight, one would not know it judging by the way Alvarado dictated the terms and pace of the bout.

“I think it was an exciting fight, a fight for the people,” commented Alvarado. “I was his first big test and he did a good job. But, I feel that I dominated the fight and the win should have been mine. This fight should have been for Nicaragua.”

Alvarado unleashed a consistent high volume of punches and pressured Diaz tightly throughout the bout.  The constant pressure wore Diaz down somewhat, as he had difficulty trying to maintain a distance from his opponent.  One flaw on Diaz's part was that he did not throw his jab enough, allowing the busier Alvarado to get in close.

Diaz delivered sharp, accurate counterpunches that ultimately gave him the advantage in the judge's eyes, as he won by unanimous decision.

“I felt great,” said Joseph Diaz Jr. “I knew Alvarado was going to bring it and we fought ten hard rounds. But, I landed the bigger shots, the harder shots, and that made the difference.”

The crowd saw the fight much differently, raining boos down on Diaz when the decision was announced.

In the co-main event of the night, Newark, New Jersey’s Michael Perez (23-1-2, 11 KOs) faced Luis Sanchez (17-4-1 5 KOs) of Cancun, Mexico in a scheduled 10-round vacant NABO lightweight title fight.  The bout started out as a chess match, both fighters sizing each other up and testing each other’s strength and endurance.The fight became exciting however when Perez landed a stiff shot to the body in the sixth round which brought Sanchez to his knees and stumbling towards the ropes.  Perez earned the win by knockout.

“It started out with my jab,” said Perez. “It is something we have been working on and it is really effective. Some say it is almost as effective as my straight right. I am glad the work I put in showed. I knew I would drop him at some point.”


By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services