Chris Arreola wins a controversial SD over Travis Kauffman, 114-113 (Arreola) 114-113 (Kauffman) & 114-113 (Arreola) pic.twitter.com/gauL5sl2ne
— RoundByRoundBoxing (@RBRBoxing) December 13, 2015
On the PBC undercard of Omar Figueroa vs. Antonio DeMarco, Chris Arreola (37-4-1, 31 KOs) scored a controversial 12-round split decision victory against Travis Kauffman (30-2, 22 KOs) at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.
Arreola started the fight confidently, but then began boxing on his back feet.
“I had to show him a little different look tonight and not just bull rush him. He came to me, which made it easier for me,” said Arreola.
His boxing allowed him to set up counter punches, but it also left him open to a right hand that dropped him in Round 4.
“I wasn’t hurt from the knockdown, it was more of a flash knockdown,” said Arreola, but he was badly hurt.
The 34-year-old native of Los Angeles, California spent the following round trying to recover, while Kauffman attempted to finish him off.
Kauffman, 30, spent the rest of the fight walking Arreola down and landing shots, but the fight grew a bit close in the championship rounds where both men exchanged powerful shots.
Arreola won with scores of 114-113 and 114-113, while one judge scored the same for Kauffman.
“Yes, I would give Travis Kauffman a rematch. Any time, we can do it again,” said Arreola, aware of the fact that the decision was very controversial.
“I’m not the only one that thought I won the fight, the entire crowd thought I won the fight,” said Kauffman.
“I didn’t get the victory that I deserved tonight, but I was able to win over the crowd and I won over America,” said Kauffman.
“The crowd came in cheering for Chris. They left cheering for me.”
Check out Arreola’s post-fight interview below:
[slideshow_deploy id=’54626′]
Photos by Porfirio Barron Jr./RBRBoxing
