Gerry thumbs down rematch

Promoter Gerry Peñalosa said the other day he’ll never agree to a rematch between newly crowned WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental superfeatherweight champion Michael Farenas and Hector Velazquez even as the Mexican claimed that last Friday’s decision to rule his right eyelid cut was inflicted by a punch – causing his technical knockout loss – stunk to high heaven.

Velazquez, 39, begged for a return fight and even pleaded his case to New Zealand referee Bruce McTavish, saying he’ll face Farenas anywhere, even on the moon. But his appeal fell on deaf ears. Peñalosa paid Velazquez a fee of $8,000 to fly in from Mexico and was clearly displeased with his performance.

At the weigh-in on the eve of the fight, Velazquez shed off five pounds in two hours to make the limit. Velazquez, fighter Alem Robles and two trainers arrived from Mexico a week before and stayed at Lancaster Hotel where waiters said the grizzled veteran made it a habit to devour bowls of ice cream and turron. No wonder Velazquez came in way over the 130-pound limit. To his credit, Velazquez labored to bring down his weight. But when he showed up to battle Farenas at the San Juan Arena, it seemed like Velazquez created a situation for an early exit.

There wasn’t much action in the first round. Farenas, a southpaw, dictated the tempo as Velazquez appeared tentative, if not cautious.  In the second round, Farenas stepped up his attack. As Farenas moved in, Velazquez backtracked. Near the ropes, it looked like Velazquez deliberately bumped heads with Farenas, causing a deep gash over his right eye close to the nose bridge. Blood spewed out of the wound, prompting the ringside physician to recommend a halt. McTavish, the third man in the ring, couldn’t decide if the wound was opened by a punch or butt so under WBC rules, he consulted the ringside supervisor and the three judges to arrive at a consensus.

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Supervisor Dr. Nasser Cruz and judge Ferdinand Estrella said like McTavish, they were in no position to decide because their view was obstructed. The two other judges Jerrold Tomeldan and Carlo Baluyut said the cut was inflicted by a punch and on the basis of their testimony, McTavish ruled it a technical knockout win for Farenas instead of a technical draw.

“I deferred to the supervisor and the judges,” explained McTavish. “It was a tough call but two judges were in position to decide because their view was unobstructed.” Velazquez, in his 80th fight in 20 years as a pro, expected the fight to be ruled a technical draw.  Under WBC rules, a bout that is stopped within four rounds because a fighter is unable to continue due to a cut inflicted by an accidental headbutt is automatically registered a technical draw or a no-contest. TV replays showed the cut was inflicted by a clash of heads, not a punch. Velazquez raved and ranted to no avail.  Spectators said it was poetic justice because apparently, Velazquez initiated the head collision as a ploy to end the fight early with a technical draw instead of a loss.

Peñalosa said he’s not inclined to bring back Velazquez. “What for?” he said. “Velazquez insisted he was in shape but why was he five pounds overweight at the weigh-in? It’s true Mexicans usually finish their workouts in Mexico before coming over to fight here. But I don’t think Velazquez was in condition to engage Michael. Right now, we want Michael to keep busy. He hardly perspired against Velazquez and we want him to fight again maybe in June or even earlier.”

Peñalosa said Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman confirmed that Farenas is in contention as WBO superfeatherweight champion Mikey Garcia’s next opponent. “Michael is one of the candidates,” said Peñalosa. “Garcia’s next fight could be in May and Michael will be ready for that if he’s given the chance. It would be great if Top Rank could include a Garcia defense against Michael in the May 31 card in Macau featuring (Nonito) Donaire.”

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Farenas has fought only seven rounds in his last four fights dating back to April last year. He has won four in a row since losing a decision to Cuba’s Yuriorkis Gamboa in Las Vegas in December 2012. Farenas floored Gamboa in their fight but couldn’t finish off the slick Cuban. Gamboa was recently ruled out as Garcia’s next opponent. Garcia, 26, boasts a 34-0 record, with 28 KOs, and is coming off a win on points over Mexican challenger Juan Carlos Burgos in New York City last January.

Farenas said given a choice, he’d prefer to take on IBF superfeatherweight titlist Argenis Mendez of the Dominican Republic. Farenas would be an acceptable challenger for Mendez as he is ranked No. 4 by the IBF. Mendez, 27, has a 21-2-1 record, with 11 KOs, and is promoted by Mike Tyson. Last January, Mendez was knocked out by Cuban challenger Rances Barthelemy but the result was ruled a no-contest when it was confirmed that the knockout blow was thrown after the second round bell. “I want to fight Mendez because he’s a fighter like me,” said Farenas. “He won’t run away. That’s how I like it. My dream is to become a world champion.”

Farenas blew an opportunity to wrest the WBA superfeatherweight crown from Takashi Uchiyama in Saitama in July 2012 as the fight wound up a third round technical draw. Farenas is unbeaten in 12 of his last 13 outings dating back to 2010. His record is now 38-4-4, with 30 KOs.