Azumah Nelson vs Jesse James Leija

Ghanaian great, Azumah Nelson retained his World Boxing Council super-featherweight championship by a split draw with Jesse James Leija at the Alamodome in San Antonio on September 10, 1993. Nelson, the 35-year-old champion from Ghana, weighed 128½ pounds and entered with a record of 36 victories, two defeats and one draw. Leija, an unbeaten 27-year-old from San Antonio, weighed 129 pounds and had won 26 of his 27 contests. The championship bout formed part of the programme headed by Pernell Whitaker’s welterweight defence against Julio Cesar Chavez and was watched by a crowd officially reported at 58,891, though contemporary estimates placed the number above 60,000.

Leija made the more purposeful beginning. He used his quicker feet to move around the champion, worked behind straight punches and refused to remain directly in front of Nelson for long. Nelson advanced deliberately, seeking to shorten the distance and use his greater strength and experience, but his work was intermittent in the early rounds. Leija’s jab and brisk combinations gave him the second and third on two of the official cards, while Nelson’s success in the opening round divided the judges. There were no knockdowns, and neither man established complete command.

The middle portion belonged largely to Leija. He maintained a sound distance, struck first and moved away before Nelson could reply with sustained combinations. The challenger was not a heavy puncher, but his cleaner and more frequent scoring blows allowed him to build an advantage. Judge Laurence Cole awarded Leija each of the first seven rounds, and Daniel Van de Wiele had the challenger ahead after eight. Nelson remained patient, however, absorbing the lighter blows without losing his shape and continuing to press forward. His movements were measured rather than hurried, as though he expected the younger man’s activity to diminish.

That change became evident during the later rounds. Nelson began to reach Leija more regularly from the ninth, placing harder blows to the head and body and preventing the challenger from circling as freely. Leija continued to box and counter, but he was required to spend longer periods at close quarters, where the champion held the advantage. Nelson swept the final four rounds on Cole’s card and took the ninth, 11th and 12th on Van de Wiele’s. His pressure was particularly effective in the last two rounds, when he hurt Leija and forced him to defend more carefully. The challenger remained upright and answered when he could, but his earlier fluency was gone.

The closing bell left a difficult contest for the judges to settle. Keith Dadzie scored heavily for Nelson at 118-112, while Cole favoured Leija by 115-113. Van de Wiele’s card was initially announced as 116-115 for Nelson, and ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr declared that the champion had retained his title by split decision. The verdict was met by loud disapproval from Leija’s home crowd. Officials then discovered that Van de Wiele’s figures had been added incorrectly. His proper total was 115-115, changing the result from a Nelson victory to a split draw.

A second announcement was therefore required, and the correction produced further confusion before it became clear that Nelson would retain the championship. Leija had supplied much of the cleaner boxing through the first two-thirds of the contest, while Nelson’s strength, persistence and late rally had prevented the challenger from finishing with authority. Dadzie’s wide margin for the champion was difficult to reconcile with the match's competitive nature, but the corrected draw stood as the official result.

Nelson kept the title he had held since defeating Mario Martinez in 1988, although Leija’s performance established him as a legitimate championship contender. The unsettled conclusion made another meeting inevitable. Eight months later, Leija defeated Nelson by unanimous decision to take the championship, beginning a rivalry that eventually extended to four contests.

I thought Jesse James Leija deserved this one. Azumah Nelson was already a boxing great, hardened by Salvador Sanchez, Wilfredo Gomez and those bruising Jeff Fenech fights. He had recently edged Gabriel Ruelas and remained a dangerous champion, but Leija was younger, unbeaten and coming off a solid win over former champion Louie Espinoza. Fighting before his own San Antonio crowd did not win him the rounds; his boxing did.

Leija controlled long stretches with his quicker feet, a busy jab and short combinations before stepping away. He understood that he could not stand square with Nelson. Azumah started slowly, applied heavier pressure later and hurt Leija during the closing rounds, but the strong finish did not erase the work already done by the challenger.

The scoring was a mess. Nelson was initially announced as the winner before an incorrectly totalled card was corrected, producing a draw. One judge’s 118-112 for Nelson was far too wide to take seriously. I had Leija winning narrowly. He boxed the cleaner fight, dictated the distance for longer and made an old master look his age before Nelson’s late rally rescued the title.