Juan Carlos Payano vs. Rau'shee Warren: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction
Premier Boxing Champions on Bounce made a smashing debut Sunday night in Winter Park, Florida, but the decision in the main event left a little to be desired.
"The world knows you won it," Rau'shee Warren's mother said to her son, per the PBC on Bounce broadcast. Mom was right, as Warren (13-1) was robbed of a victory and his first world title in a thrilling bout against WBA super world bantamweight champion Juan Carlos Payano (17-0).
The official result was a peculiar split-decision win for the champion. Ryan Bivins of Sweet Boxing has the specifics:
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"Juan Carlos Payano SD12 Rau'shee Warren (113-111, 109-115, 113-111) #boxing #PBConBounce Payano lost 1 pt & knocked down. Warren lost 2 pts.
— Ryan Bivins (@sweetboxing) August 3, 2015"
PBC sent out a congratulatory tweet:
Despite landing the more effective punches throughout the fight and scoring a 12th-round knockdown, Warren didn't do enough to win on two of the scorecards. The story of this fight is multi-layered, but we have to start with the action.
Warren is known as a pure boxer who likes to take his time, pick his spots and use quickness to dart in and out of punching range. Payano is a brawler, and he was determined not to allow Warren to be comfortable. Payano dictated the pace and identity of the fight, making it a brawl from the outset.
It took a few rounds for Warren to completely accept that he'd have to fight more than box to have a chance to win, but once he did, he seemed to land the more effective punches. Here's an example:
That said, in a Ricardo Mayorga-like display, Payano threw a plethora of punches and never stopped coming forward the entire fight. Most of his shots weren't landing, but there was no doubt he was the busier fighter.
Warren was able to slip a lot of the shots, and he countered with hard right hands and uppercuts. While he was landing clean shots, the punches didn't appear to have much of an effect on the rugged Dominican until the final round when he was dropped.
The champion didn't stay stunned for long. In fact, he pulled off this flashy kick up from the canvas to show he was ready to go another five rounds:
Payano never came close to hurting Warren, as his punches were more or less grazing the challenger's face and body. However, based on the final decision, it is clear the punches he did land were scoring major points with the judges. The wild style Payano was able to create also made the bout a rough one to referee.
There were numerous tie-ups, stumbles and questionable tactics from both men. In the third round, Payano drilled Warren in the back of the head with a blatant illegal punch. The champion's actions cost him a point, and you can see it here in this tweet from PBC:
There was no previous warning given, but referee Frank Santore Jr. saw fit to deduct a point without having spoken to the champion about the infraction previously.
The rough stuff and the point deductions weren't done.
The challenger was deducted two points for pushing the champion down and punching while he was on the canvas.
While Warren was able to rally with the knockdown in the final round, the two-point deduction was the margin of victory on the cards of the two judges who scored the fight for Payano. Without the deduction, the fight would have been ruled a majority draw.
That has to be a tough pill to swallow for Warren. The champion's face looked as if it had been through a meat grinder by the ninth round. There were at least two cuts on his face, with one coming from a headbutt but the others from Warren's punches. Payano's right eye was also badly swollen.
Warren's face barely had a mark on it.
Truth be told, the 117-109 card—without the deduction—would have been insane as well. The fight was definitely closer than that total would have indicated. Still, Warren deserved to win this fight, yet he didn't get the nod. MikeTyson.com's Azim Spicer seemed to believe Warren deserved the nod as well.
This is simply the latest in a long string of disappointments in the ring for Warren. The former three-time Olympian never actually won a fight in any of the Olympic games he participated in, and now he has failed to win a title in his first attempt, despite delivering a solid performance.
His lack of power is his biggest impediment. He landed some clean shots that should have hurt Payano more, but Warren doesn't have the snap on his punches to finish opponents.
Even with that deficiency, there's no question a rematch is in order. Warren and Payano put on a show, and the result has to be considered at least controversial. Hopefully, we'll see Warren-Payano II take place some time in the next six to eight months.
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