For the second time in two trips to North America, Ali Funeka was denied a lightweight title by questionable judging.
In February, Funeka suffered two knockdowns but won eight rounds against then-Lightweight titlist Nate Campbell, only to officially lose a majority decision on the scorecards. The decision was even more disheartening given that Campbell had failed to make weight going in and carried the advantage of not being as drained as the lanky 6’1″ Funeka.
Saturday night, it was déjà vu for Funeka, who won no less than seven rounds against the undefeated Joan Guzman yet inexplicably left with a majority draw.
Guzman hadn’t been in a meaningful fight since beating Humberto Soto two years ago. He botched an attempt to win several lightweight titles off Campbell himself a year ago when he failed to make weight and then refused to go through with the fight without the titles on the line. To say he was looking to make up for his mishap was a huge understatement.
Despite being six inches shorter than his opponent, Guzman rushed Funeka to begin the fight, banging away at the body of the tall South African and keeping him against the ropes in a surprising twist. A pair of right hands to the head ended a good opening round for Guzman.
Fighting in a constantly crouched position, Guzman got inside and chopped away at Funeka in round two, mixing his attack between the head and the body. But somewhere along the way, Guzman suffered a cut on his right eyebrow, supposedly from a punch since there was never any indication from either fighter that they had clashed heads.
Guzman jumped on Funeka with a body shot and a left hook to begin round three, but this time he got a fight from the South African, who landed two left hooks of his own. Then, Funeka landed a combination that turned the fight in a big way.
An uppercut and a right hand from Funeka snapped Guzman’s head about and quickly brought blood from his nose. At one point, he tried to hold, and both fighters ended up toppling to the canvas. After that, Guzman seemed more concerned about the condition of his nose than fighting back. He repeatedly wiped at it throughout round three, allowing Funeka to win it.
With blood beginning to run down the side of his face and blot his trunks, Guzman fought back well in round four but suffered another cut – this one above the right eye and caused by a clash of heads. This resulted in his face was becoming a crimson mask.
Referee Jean-Guy Brousseau ruled the new cut as the result of a punch and took Guzman to be examined by the ringside doctor before round five. The doctor declared him okay to continue, and continue he would have to if he wanted to avoid a loss on cuts. Guzman came out aggressively for the fifth and was doing well until walking into a big three-punch volley to the head midway through. The round was still up for grabs when Funeka landed a left hook-right hand that turned the head of Guzman sideways with only seconds left.
Round six became a battle of the jab, and Funeka’s was better. He once earned a nod from Guzman after landing a crisp one and later began moving Guzman back with it. Near the end of the round, a three-punch combination from Funeka partially caught Guzman, and, rather than counter, Guzman complained to Brousseau that he was hit with an elbow. Funeka kept punching and snapped Guzman’s head back with a right before the bell, landing another round in his column.
Guzman tried to go back to what was successful for him in the first two rounds by focusing on smothering Funeka in round seven. This time, however, he wasn’t nearly as effective, and Funeka landed more than his share of shots in what turned out to be the most competitive round of the fight.
Round eight was just as hard fought as the seventh but turned one-sided when Guzman, with his back against the ropes, turned into a monster of a right hand from Funeka that instantly had him hurt. Guzman wobbled away from the ropes on unsteady legs but managed to keep his gloves up and survive the last twenty seconds of the round as Funeka tried to get him out of there.
Going into round nine marked the most peril Guzman had ever encountered in a prizefight, having been busted open and in serious danger of being knocked out in the eighth. He fought the rest of the fight accordingly, playing defense rather than trying to finish strong. Rounds nine and ten were dominant rounds for Funeka, who piled up points while battering Guzman’s face.
By round eleven, it was clear Guzman didn’t want to be there anymore. He took a long time coming out of the corner and got hit by a jab at one point while looking to his trainers for advice. He repeatedly wiped at his cuts and held up his gloves for Funeka to bang away at them without firing a single punch back. Later, Guzman spread his arms to Funeka and took another jab to the face. When he went back to his corner, his mouth was hanging open and his face was covered in blood after another lopsided round.
With the fight more than likely lost on points, Guzman needed some explosiveness in round twelve, but he didn’t have it. He rushed Funeka to begin the round and ended up getting the worst of it by taking a big right hand and a left hook. Guzman continued to throw wildly and ineffectively, walking into another right from Funeka. One more right at the bell snapped Guzman’s head up, ending any chance he had.
Funeka paraded around the ring with his gloves raised while Guzman could only muster a half-hearted salute to the crowd. There had been close rounds, but even a generous judge would have to give Guzman all of them to see the fight a draw.
As it turned out, Guzman benefited from overly generous judging. Joe Pasquale had it a reasonable 116-112 for Funeka but was overruled by the other two judges, Alan Davis and Benoit Roussel, who somehow saw the bout a draw, 114-114 each.
The sad part is that it wasn’t even the biggest robbery in boxing in 2009. In October, Carl Froch won a highly disputed split decision over Andre Dirrell, despite being lucky to have won even four rounds.
Funeka was predictably devastated by the news that he hadn’t won. But he proved himself the better fighter regardless of the judges’ decision. With that, Funeka positions himself as one of the best lightweights in the world, perhaps only behind Juan Manuel Marquez, the division’s champion.
He was denied the chance to pick up the vacant IBF paper title on two occasions but has earned the right to face some of the bigger names in one of boxing’s most loaded divisions. Hopefully, HBO will campaign for him to get a fight with Edwin Valero, Michael Katsidis, Juan Diaz, Paulie Malignaggi or even Marquez himself.
For Guzman, the controversial draw is another smear on what has become a messy last couple of years, considering his potential. Since the best performance of his career against Soto two years ago, he has failed to make weight in one big fight and escaped with a draw in another that he deserved to lose.
To win back his fans and the support of boxing purists, he’ll need to take the same route Lucian Bute took on the same card: a rematch to erase the doubt of a controversial outcome.
But will Funeka even be willing to come to the United States after two questionable decisions in the same year on the same continent? Who could blame him if he didn’t?
