TyC 12/16: Angulo back in the win column

Two fight card televised by TyC in Argentina to the US Friday night; Headliner for the show was a WBC women's title bout won by Erica Farias over Puerto Rican fighter Melissa Hernandez. It was a decently matched fight that I thought Hernandez looked better in, even though she had a clear size disadvantage. However, the fight most people would pay attention to was the feature contest at catchweight of 137. Fernando Angulo, who rose to some degree of prominence stateside with a spirited attempt at lifting Juan Diaz's WBA lightweight title, took on Argentine fighter Patricio Perdero.While Pedrero entered with a record of 25-3-1, it was a record built entirely on domestic level competition in Argentina. The sole example outside of Argentina was one of his losses; an 11th round TKO loss to Darley Perez in Colombia. This then was a decently matched fight.

Early on, it was clear that the aggressor in the fight was Angulo. He consistently came forward with his jab and wide right hand shots against a fighter in Perdero that was seemingly afraid to engage consistently, or at all. While the rounds were somewhat difficult to score through the first 6, Angulo crushed Perdero with a right hand during an exchange that left his opponent flat on his back. Following a slow count from the referee, Perdero was allowed to continue and made it to the bell only seconds later. He was also given, without any particular reason, extra time in the corner to have smelling salts administered to him and to sit on his stool. From the 7th forward, Perdero barely threw any punches, instead running and hugging. It wasn't until round 10 that he chose to exchange leather with Angulo, and once again was hit with more effective power punches.

To Angulo's credit, he kept his cool in spite of a terrible situation. Throughout the fight, Perdero was allowed to hold and grab by the ref, was was never seriously warned ever for locking up Angulo's limbs and refusing to let go when informed to break. Along with the (seemingly) slow count and the additional time given to Perdero, I had some serious worries with the score cards. When read, it turned out that Angulo was rightfully given a wide decision victory, and with it, the WBC Latino Light Welterweight title. I'm not really sure where Angulo goes from here given losses in the last 3 years to Anges Adjaho, Ameth Diaz, and Leonardo Zappavigna. Angulo simply hasn't beaten any one fighter who even remotely smells like the elite at 135/140/147, much less is the elite. The bauble he won will probably put him in a position to fight a prospect over rankings rights in the WBC. At least he might go down swinging.