HEKKIE BUDLER vs JUANITO RUBILLAR

It seems that everyone but the judges thought that Filipino veteran Juanito Rubillar had beaten South African junior flyweight prospect Hekkie Budler in South Africa four months ago.

The majority decision win in Budler’s favour came in for considerable criticism. A couple of reports I read suggested that Budler had not merely been beaten but outclassed.

The two meet again on Saturday, with Budler defending the IBO 108-pound belt that he won in the first fight.

I am not convinced that this is a fight that Budler’s people really wanted, but such was the outcry over the decision in the first fight that they probably felt they had little choice.

In the first fight there were three South African judges. This time there will be just one South African judge — the other two judges are from the U.S. and Britain.

I gather that the younger but far less experienced Budler started brightly in the first bout but was hammered to the body and somewhat overwhelmed towards the end. Still, not having had the chance to see the fight, I cannot comment on the scoring.

Rubillar, 33, is a four-time world title challenger who has fought often on the road. Although stopped in the sixth round by the heavy handed Giovanni Segura, he came back to win his next two fights, which included an excellent performance when he beat a hometown fighter in Mexico. Rubillar always looked like being a formidable assignment for the somewhat raw Budler, but the South African fighter got the decision. Now Budler has to prove that he truly is the better fighter.

I don’t know too much about Budler other than that he is game, crowd-pleasing and likes to get stuck in and fight, although it appears that he can show boxing skills if he is of a mind to do so.

The first fight with Rubillar will have been a great learning experience for Budler. His camp must feel that he can improve in the rematch.

There is historical precedent here. In February, 1956, the unbeaten London welterweight Peter Waterman received a highly controversial points verdict over the fading but still very capable Cuban ex-world champion, Kid Gavilan, in London. The British newspapers (and in those days the boxing writers’ opinions really mattered) were so outraged that promoter Jack Solomons made a rematch by public demand, and two months later Gavilan and Waterman fought again. This time Gavilan scored a knockdown and had his hand raised as the points winner.

All these years later, will something similar happen on Saturday in South Africa? I think it is something of a coin toss. The first time, Rubillar probably fought as well as he can fight — perhaps, though, Budler can produce a little more than he showed in the first meeting.

Without having seen the first fight, I can only make a guess at picking the winner. I am going to guess that Budler, having battled through 12 gruelling rounds with Rubillar in February, will have learned enough to grit out a very hard-fought win.