 Joan "Little Tyson" Guzman hits the speed bag at his training camp at Gleasons's boxing gym in Brooklyn, New York August 23 |
In an evenly matched fight, Guzman got off to a nice start by winning the first two rounds on my unofficial scorecard. Guzman began the fight very quickly and managed to land some very nice right hands to the head and body. He was really living up to his nickname of “Little Tyson” as he had bad intentions on every shot.
Fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, Guzman showed glimpses of what made him a sensation a few years back as he mixed in heavy punches with speed and quickness.
But after the first two rounds, Funeka began finding his range. In the third, the South African got his jab working and he fought at a more measured pace. He reminded some here in press row of a young Bernard Hopkins as he moved forward behind textbook left jabs and straight right hands. Guzman began bleeding from the nose in the third round and the flow of blood was never able to be stemmed as the bout wore on.
Guzman continued to bleed heavily from the nose as the fourth round began. Sensing the fight was moving out of his hands, he became more aggressive and threw heavier punches. But Funeka did especially well as he landed right hands over Guzman's low left. It was a round that saw Guzman cut badly above the right eye from an unintentional clash of heads.
The doctor was called in to have a look at the cut at the beginning of the fifth round and after a quick gander he let Guzman continue on. Guzman's corner did a nice job of stemming the blood from the cut, but it was a round that saw Funeka really begin to unload with the jabs and right hands. Guzman's face was a mask of blood in the round as his nose and eye bled heavily There was a beautiful right-left by Funeka near the end of the round which cemented him as the winner.
As the bout wore on, it was mostly Funeka who landed the more effective punches and worked forward behind a potent offense. Guzman often backed to the ropes and he was raked by Funeka's left hooks and right hands. Guzman struggled to see Funeka's punches coming from behind a mask of blood. As the rounds progressed, Guzman's trunks and gloves were soaked in crimson.
On my unofficial scorecard, Funeka rallied in the late rounds and he swept rounds eight through twelve. I tabbed him the winner at 116-112. The small contingent of writers in press row was unanimous in the thought that Funeka had done enough to win.
However, in a dubious decision, Funeka was stymied by the three official judges. They scored the bout 114-114, 116-112 for Funeka and 114-114, which resulted in a majority draw. The IBF lightweight title remains vacant. Both fighters are calling for a rematch and one will likely be immediately ordered.
Funeka's team was very disappointed with the result as it is the second fight in a row and the second title shot in a row that he has just missed out on.
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