RODEL MAYOL vs OMAR NINO ROMERO

After a controversial and inconclusive ending to their first fight, light-flyweight champion Rodel Mayol of the Philippines and Mexico’s Omar Nino Romero meet again on Saturday, with TV coverage on Fox Sports Espanol.

In the last fight, Mayol went down in the third round from a left hook thrown by Romero just as the referee, Vic Drakulich, was moving in to caution the Mexican boxer for a low blow.

With Mayol seemingly unable to continue, the bout ended in a technical draw.

Controversy and Mayol go hand in hand. His last five fights have had unsatisfactory endings. There were three technical decisions, a controversial fight in which Mayol’s opponent, Edgar Sosa, suffered a fractured cheekbone from a collision with Mayol’s head, and then the strange finish to February’s fight with Romero.

A problem with Mayol is that he tends to come in with his head lowered. If there is going to be a clash of heads, the other man will inevitably get the worst of it.

If I were in Romero’s camp I would be imploring the referee to keep an eye on Mayol’s head.

In the last fight it was difficult to say who would have won had it not been for Romero’s errant left hook and Mayol’s immediate collapse to the canvas.

Two judges had the fight level, the third judge gave Mayol each of the first two rounds.

Mayol landed by far the most significant punch of the fight, though, when he buckled Romero’s legs with a right hand.

There is no question that Mayol is the puncher in this fight. He can hurt an opponent with either the straight right hand or the left hook or left uppercut.

Romero is a sound technician but not usually a hard hitter. He boxed brilliantly to outscore Brian Viloria in a big upset four years ago but was a bit fortunate to get the draw in a rematch (a verdict subsequently changed to a no decision after Romero tested positive for amphetamines).

Viloria dropped Romero twice in their rematch and looked poised for victory after nine rounds. It was Romero who finished strongly, though, sweeping the last two rounds on all three judges’ cards, and I made the note: “A very determined individual”.

Romero was always prepared to come back fighting against the heavier-hitting Viloria. Every time it looked as if Viloria was taking over, Romero got back into the bout with his busy-punching rallies.

Mayol is possibly the better fighter in Saturday’s rematch, certainly the bigger puncher, but I think that Romero’s tenacity, fighting spirit and consistency can overcome the Filipino fighter’s talent and power.

I get the impression with Mayol that he can unravel a little bit if things aren’t going his way. He is an excellent “on top” fighter but if Romero is still there and pressing the issue at the midway mark then I think the fight could shift in favour of the Mexican boxer.

Romero did seem to me to be fighting with confidence in the first meeting. He was seriously shaken by Mayol’s right hand in the second round but I noticed that it was Romero who was coming forward and fighting as if he fancied the job in the third round. I could be completely wrong, of course, but I just had the sense that Romero was beginning to make real progress in the fight when it ended in such a disappointing fashion.

My main hope in the rematch is that there is no controversy, that for once we can have a Rodel Mayol fight free from disputes — a good, competitive 12-round boxing match would be just fine with me, but maybe that is too much to hope for. As for trying to pick a winner, I’m swaying slightly towards Romero — roared on by the Mexican crowd — pulling off the mild upset.