Jorge Lujan vs Alberto Davila

Jorge Lujan retained the WBA and recognised world bantamweight championships by outpointing Alberto Davila over 15 rounds at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The contest formed part of the programme headed by Muhammad Ali’s return with Leon Spinks, which drew an official attendance of 63,350. Lujan, the 23-year-old Panamanian, entered with 18 victories and two defeats. Davila, from Pomona, California, brought a record of 28 victories and five defeats. The verdict was unanimous, although the closeness of the contest caused disagreement among observers at ringside.

Lujan had won the championship from Alfonso Zamora 10 months earlier, boxing ahead before stopping the Mexican in the tenth round. He had since retained it against Roberto Rubaldino, recovering from a first-round knockdown to halt the challenger in the eleventh. Davila was making his second attempt at a world championship. Carlos Zarate had stopped him on cuts in February, but that defeat did not reflect his true ability. Davila was a composed, intelligent boxer who had already defeated Lupe Pintor and Rodolfo Martinez. He lacked the power usually associated with leading bantamweights of the period, but compensated with timing, balance and economical counter-punching.

The opening rounds were fought at a quick but controlled pace. Lujan, taller and rangier, attempted to establish his left jab and keep the challenger at the end of his punches. Davila moved forward behind a compact guard, slipping the jab and answering with short combinations. Neither man was inclined to waste punches. Lujan generally initiated the exchanges, using his reach and quicker feet, while Davila sought to make him lead and then counter before the champion could move away.

The first decisive incident came in the fourth round. Lujan caught Davila cleanly and put him on the canvas. The challenger rose and recovered without letting the champion force an immediate finish, but the knockdown gave Lujan a clear advantage in a contest otherwise decided by narrow margins. Davila resumed his pressure and continued to take away some of the champion’s room. When he reached close range, he worked in brief combinations and made Lujan defend rather than dictate entirely with the jab.

Through the middle rounds, the contest developed into a struggle between Lujan’s movement and Davila’s steady pursuit. The champion was most effective when he remained at long range, scored first and stepped aside before the return. Davila had greater success when he anticipated the movement, arrived close enough to work and forced Lujan into exchanges. Lujan’s punches were the more conspicuous, particularly the straight right following the jab, but Davila was often the busier man at close quarters. Neither fighter was cut badly or seriously hurt after the fourth-round knockdown, and there were no recorded fouls or point deductions.

Davila continued to press during the later rounds, conscious that the early knockdown had left him with ground to recover. He remained disciplined rather than rushing recklessly, countering the champion’s lead and making several of the closing sessions difficult to separate. Lujan did not fade, however. He continued moving, used his jab to break Davila’s rhythm and answered often enough to preserve his position. The fighting remained brisk through the championship rounds, with Davila advancing and Lujan attempting to control the terms of each exchange. Neither man established complete command, and the issue remained in doubt among many at ringside when the final bell sounded.

The three officials awarded the contest to Lujan, giving him a unanimous 15-round decision: Stanley Christodoulou 143-146, Ricardo Rizzo 142-146, Isidro Rodriguez 143-146. The decision was controversial, and Davila maintained that he had done enough to win. Other observers considered Lujan’s cleaner long-range work, greater mobility and the knockdown sufficient to separate them.

The bout was largely overshadowed by the Spinks-Ali II heavyweight return match and Mike Rossman’s upset of Victor Galindez elsewhere on the same programme. Harry Mullan later described Lujan as a stylish Panamanian who had outwitted a tough, aggressive challenger over 15 fast rounds. That was a fair summary of the official result, though it did not settle the argument over the scoring. Lujan left New Orleans with his championship and went on to make three more successful defences. Davila remained among the leading bantamweights, challenged Lupe Pintor in another close 15-round contest and eventually won the WBC championship in 1983. In New Orleans, he fell short by decision, but his performance established that he belonged in world-title company.

I thought Jorge Lujan just nicked it, mainly because of the fourth-round knockdown and his cleaner work at long range. But I wouldn’t argue with anyone who scored it a draw or even had Alberto Davila winning narrowly. It was that close, and the unanimous verdict made the result appear far more straightforward than the fight actually was.

Lujan was a lovely boxer when he had room. He had taken the title from the dangerous Alfonso Zamora and understood how to use his height, jab and feet. Davila’s job was to close that space without walking onto the right hand. He did it well for long periods, slipping inside and countering in short combinations. He wasn’t a destructive puncher, but he was technically excellent and made opponents work for everything.

Davila’s earlier stoppage defeat against Carlos Zarate probably caused some people to underestimate him, but Zarate could flatten nearly anyone at bantamweight. Davila later proved his class by becoming a world champion himself. For me, Lujan’s sharper single punches and the knockdown gave him the smallest advantage. Even so, Davila’s pressure and consistency made it a contest that could reasonably be scored either way: close decision, no robbery.