Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Jose Benavidez (22-0, 15 KOs) scored a controversial 12-round unanimous decision win over Mauricio Herrera (21-5, 7 KOs) to obtain the interim WBA Light Welterweight title at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Benavidez, 22, of Panorama City, California, started tentatively in the opening rounds as he allowed Herrera to corner him against the ropes to throw combinations around Benavidez’s high guard.
Herrera would land combinations in the same way throughout the fight but, during the middle rounds, Benavidez began to unleash a quick jab followed by combination punches.
Indeed, when Benavidez threw fast jabs from the center of the ring and landed thudding body punches, he was able to keep Herrera off him and win the round.
Nevertheless, it was Herrera who was busier and more accurate for most of the rounds. Benavidez, upon the urges of his father and trainer, did his best to score a knockout in round 12, but his effort came too little and too late.
Photo by David Becker/Getty Images
The judges scored the bout 116-112, 116-112 and 117-111 for Benavidez, who simply did not do enough to during the fight to win.
Herrera landed 33 percent of his punches (285 to 870) compared with Benavidez who landed 39 percent of his (250 to 657).
A close look at the total punch stats provided by CompuBox illustrates that despite being less accurate, Herrera threw more and landed more.
Herrera, who was also robbed of a decision against lineal 140-pound champion Danny Garcia earlier this year, suffers another unfortunate setback in his career.
