TOSHIAKI NISHIOKA W12 RAFAEL MARQUEZ

After a worryingly slow start, Japan’s Toshiaki Nishioka showed his class in winning a unanimous decision over Rafael Marquez in an excellent main event on Fox Deportes from Las Vegas on Saturday night. It was the first time a Japanese boxer has successfully defended a world title in the U.S. as Nishioka retained his 122-pound belt.
 
I enjoyed this fight. Marquez put up a gritty, competent challenge but Nishioka was just a bit too fast for him. Marquez’s punch-anticipation at 36 isn’t what it used to be, and he just didn’t seem to see the punches coming as Nishioka fired in sharp left hands from his southpaw stance. Marquez stood up to Nishioka’s best shots, though.
 
Nishioka had stopped four of his last five opponents, which included blasting Jhonny Gonzalez to the canvas with one big left hand in a title defence in Mexico, but although he hammered Marquez with considerable severity towards the end of the fight he couldn’t score a knockdown. Marquez’s durability has been questioned, but he showed a sound chin in this fight, because a lot of 122-pounders might not have survived Nishioka’s onslaught in the 10^th and 11^th rounds.
 
The late Harry Mullan, a much-respected boxing writer, told me in one of our many discussions on the sport that his definition of a great fight was one that had three changes of fortune.
 
If Harry had it right, Nishioka-Marquez qualified as a great fight.
 
Marquez started strongly and looked on his way to winning after four rounds. Then Nishioka came on with some big left hands from his southpaw stance. That was the first change of fortune.
 
Nishioka getting cut from a clash of heads in the eighth seemed to act as a spur for Marquez, and the Mexican warrior had his biggest round of the fight in the ninth when he attacked fiercely and landed right hands and left hooks that had the Japanese fighter retreating under heavy pressure: Change of fortune No. 2.
 
Nishioka rallied right back in the 10^th round, though, bringing in the right hooks now so that he was unloading thunderbolts from both sides, and briefly Marquez looked like being overwhelmed. That was change of fortune No. 3.
 
The champion had taken the high ground, and he would not be relinquishing it. All three judges had Nishioka sweeping the last three rounds.
 
As the late Reg Gutteridge would have put it, the fight had everything but knockdowns. There was high-quality technical boxing, drama, blood and guts.
 
Marquez got off to a strong start in this meeting of veterans, jabbing beautifully to pile up points — after four rounds the Mexican fighter was up 39-37 on all three judges’ scorecards.
 
I thought an upset was looming, but Nishioka stayed calm and composed, and from the fifth he began to come on strongly as he drilled in fast, sharp left hands from his southpaw stance.
 
Nishioka’s speed was now proving a bit too much for the methodical Marquez. As long as Marquez could box at his own, steady pace he was doing just fine, but his reactions aren’t as quick as they were and Nishioka’s accelerated punch-output was proving a bit too much for him.
 
A clash of heads in the eighth round seemed to take Nishioka a bit out of his stride, though, as blood flowed from a cut on his scalp. Marquez was now back in the fight, and his stirring rally in the ninth round held out hope of a sensational victory for the valiant underdog. It wasn’t to be, but Marquez gave it a wonderful try and the Mexican fans can feel proud of him.
 
Nishioka, 35, showed the qualities of a real fighter. He made the technical adjustments he needed to make after struggling with Marquez’s jabbing, and after getting cut and coming under heavy fire from a resurgent rival, Nishioka dug down and simply fought his way back into command of the contest.
 
A couple of the scores seemed to me to be a little wide in favour of Nishioka — I was more in the ballpark of C.J. Ross’s 115-113 — but the winner won, and the loser came away with a great deal of credit.