Azumah Nelson vs Marcos Villasana 2

Azumah Nelson retained the World Boxing Council featherweight championship by a wide unanimous decision over Marcos Villasana at a sold-out Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles on August 29, 1987. It was Nelson’s sixth successful defence and his second victory over the Mexican challenger, whom he had beaten by majority decision 18 months earlier. Nelson weighed 125½ pounds and Villasana 126. The champion entered with a record of 25 wins and one defeat; Villasana, considerably more experienced, stood at 48-5-2. The largely Mexican-American crowd strongly favoured the challenger, and chants of “Mexico” were heard before the opening round had ended.

Nelson took command of the early rounds with quicker feet, a firm jab and an accurate right hand. Villasana advanced behind a high guard, looking to bring the champion into the close exchanges that had made their first contest difficult, but Nelson seldom remained in front of him long enough to be trapped. He struck, moved to the side and made Villasana reset his feet before beginning another advance. By the second round the Ghanaian was sufficiently comfortable to display a bolo punch, an unnecessary flourish which did not please the partisan crowd but showed the confidence with which he was working. All three judges gave Nelson each of the first three rounds.

Villasana obtained more success in the fourth by shortening the distance and forcing a rougher contest. He was not quick enough to match Nelson in open ring, but when he reached the champion’s body he was able to interrupt the smooth rhythm of the boxing. Some of that work strayed below the belt. Referee John Thomas issued warnings and, when the offence continued, deducted a point from Villasana in the fifth round. The penalty made an already difficult evening still harder for the challenger. Nelson kept his composure, met the forward rushes with straight punches and did not allow the foul to draw him into an undisciplined exchange.

The middle portion produced Villasana’s best work. He won the sixth round on every official card, pressing more vigorously and keeping Nelson occupied at close quarters. The champion was still landing the cleaner individual blows, but Villasana’s persistence gave him opportunities to work to the body and crowd Nelson towards the ropes. The seventh was closely disputed, with one judge favouring each man and the third calling it even. Villasana again made progress in the eighth, which two judges awarded to him. He repeatedly invited Nelson to stand and trade, but the champion declined. Instead, Nelson gave ground when necessary, turned his man and returned with counters once Villasana had overreached. It was sensible boxing, although the crowd interpreted his refusal to engage continuously as caution.

Nelson restored his authority from the ninth. His jab again controlled the space between them, while his quicker hands enabled him to complete combinations before Villasana could answer. The challenger continued coming forward and never appeared willing to concede, but his attacks had become more predictable. Nelson could see them developing, moving outside the lead foot and striking as Villasana followed. There were no knockdowns, nor did Villasana’s resistance suggest that one was imminent. His durability remained exceptional, but toughness alone could not reduce the champion’s growing advantage on the scorecards.

The eleventh brought another low blow and a second point deduction against Villasana. The challenger had now lost two points through fouls in addition to the rounds surrendered by Nelson’s cleaner work. Even so, he pressed to the end, attempting to provoke the champion into a final exchange. Nelson was in complete control by the twelfth and boxed with increasing freedom, at times delivering backhanded jabs and punching while balanced on one foot. Villasana beckoned him forward, but Nelson had no reason to oblige. He finished the contest using the ring, landing when the openings appeared and leaving the challenger to pursue him without securing the decisive attack he needed.

The verdict contained no uncertainty. Judge Chuck Hassett scored the contest 118-108, Harry Gibbs returned 117-111, and Rudy Ortega had it 117-110, all for Nelson. The crowd, noisy and hostile for much of the evening, accepted the decision with little protest; only one cup of beer was reported thrown into the ring after the scores were announced. Villasana had made the champion work and had taken the punches without going down, but his useful spell in the middle rounds was too brief to alter the result. The deductions for low blows widened the totals, though Nelson would have won comfortably without them.

The victory advanced Nelson’s record to 26-1 and completed his work as featherweight champion before his move into the heavier division. Villasana fell to 48-6-2 but was not finished as a leading contender, eventually winning the WBC featherweight title in 1990. On this occasion, however, courage and pressure were outweighed by Nelson’s speed, judgement of distance and greater variety. Villasana remained competitive through effort; Nelson won through superior boxing.

I thought Nelson made the rematch far easier than the first fight because he had worked Villasana out. The Mexican was immensely tough and popular with the Los Angeles crowd, but toughness is not the same as effective pressure. He followed Nelson instead of cutting off the ring, leaving himself open to the jab and right-hand counters.

Nelson could be flashy, even irritatingly casual, but underneath that was a great fighting brain. He changed distance, refused Villasana’s invitations to trade and took command again whenever the challenger enjoyed a decent spell. Villasana’s low blows, which cost him points in the fifth and eleventh rounds, were signs of frustration rather than menace.

The scores of 118-108, 117-111 and 117-110 were fair. Villasana deserved respect for lasting twelve rounds, but Nelson was operating at another technical level. This was not a close fight. It was a champion solving a brave, predictable challenger.