Brian Mendoza Gets Questionable Decision Over Thomas LaManna
In a true crossroads fight, junior middleweight contenders Brian “La Bala” Mendoza (19-1, 13KOs) and Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (28-4-1, 10KOs) came into the fight knowing a very good performance en route to a win was needed.
THE ACTION!
Coming off of his first career defeat, Mendoza came out relaxed pumping his jab, looking confident from the onset. Conversely, it was LaManna who had to take a couple of rounds to get settled in.
Sporting a height advantage, LaManna started to get comfortable and would proceed to box keeping the fight in the middle of the ring. His jab would play a pivotal part in his success as he started to land right hands that would hurt Mendoza early on.
It took a couple of rounds for LaManna to adjust to his opponent. However once he found his groove, there was no stopping his straight right-hand. The fight was very tactical but it was clear Mendoza had trouble adjusting to the length and volume of Cornflake.
Round after round, La Bala would fall short of producing enough damage circumvent the visible damage fans witnessed him take in order to score rounds his way.
By the last few rounds, LaManna appeared to be on his way to victory. Mendoza put up one last strong effort as he came out in the last round, guns blazing. He pushed Cornflake back against the ropes and unleashed his complete offensive arsenal, banking the highlight as his best round of the night.
Although, that should not have been enough to win a fight where he clearly lost the majority of the middle rounds.
THE DECISION
The announcement of the scorecards bore a stunning decision. Mendoza was declared the victor by way of a unanimous decision in a fight that he clearly lost. Even more suspicious were the scores of 98-92X2 and 96-94 in his favor. The later card is acceptable. However, there is no way La Bala won eight out of ten rounds of this fight for the other two cards!
Nevertheless, Mendoza takes the victory and is able to move on to greener pastures!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
