Hekkie Budler retained his WBA/IBO minimumweight title after a unanimous decision victory over Jesus Silvestre at Salle des Etoiles, Le Casino in Monte Carlo, Monaco on Saturday. The Mexican came out swinging and landed several big blows in an exciting opening round where the champion was happy to trade blows in the middle of the ring. Silvestre received a warning from hall of fame referee Stanley Christodoulou for a low blow in what was arguably the challenger’s round. Halfway through the second round El Negrito was punished for another punch below the belt as Christodoulou signalled a one point deduction.
Christodoulou warned Silvestre’s corner that if it were to happen again he would disqualify the 25-year old. The Mexican’s intensity appeared to have eased by the third round with matters beginning to even out however it was impossible to tell which way the judges might be seeing the bout. El Negrito’s strategy was clearly a toe-to-toe brawl but the boxing Budler not only weathered the storm, but began to dictate terms by the end of the fifth round.
By the halfway mark, the Hexecutioner appeared to be on top control the fight from the outside with an occasional furious exchange of punches in the centre of the ring. But as always, there was no way of knowing if that was how the judges saw it. Although Budler was moving back into the middle of the ring and exchanging punches with the Mexican, he looked to fairly comfortable.
While the South African was happy to fight it both ways, his variety was overcoming the one-dimensional strategy of his opponent. In the 10th round Budler was looking to stay on the outside simply coming in for a quick combination before moving back again. When applying this tactic, the 25-year old looked the better boxer.
In truth it was the kind of bout that was closely fought throughout and one judge might easily have seen it differently from another even though the champion looked to have it in the bag going into the final round. In the final round Silvestre maintained his all-out attacking approach looking to tag the South African who largely stayed away but was content to come in and exchange blows. As the final bell sounded to end what was an enthralling contest, both pugilists might have thought they had done enough to win the fight.
Luis Pabon scored the fight 117-110 while Philippe Verbeke and Pawel Kardyni both went with 115-112 as Budler retained his title.