BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Felix Diaz unanimously outpointed Sammy Vasquez on Saturday night in a super lightweight bout.
The 10-round fight was initially announced as a majority draw, bringing boos from the Legacy Arena crowd. After a recount, Diaz (18-1) was ruled the winner, and Vasquez applauded him and pointed to Diaz when the final outcome was called out.
The difference came when the referee took a point from Vasquez (21-1) in the final round when his mouthpiece popped out for the third time in the fight. That changed Diaz’s margin to 96-93 from one judge and 95-94 the other two, who had initially called it even.
Diaz, an Olympic champion for the Dominican Republic in 2008, was coming off a majority decision loss to Lamont Peterson in October.
"I knew in my heart I lost that fight. I tried my hardest but there were things I should have done that I didn't do. We can't look in the past. He's a hell of fighter. He's an Olympic gold medalist for a reason. He had a tough decision loss to Lamont Peterson. To me he was an undefeated Olympic gold medalist. I take nothing away from the man. He's a hell of a fighter. I'm a hell of a fighter. At the end of the day we put on a great show," Vasquez said.
"We'll huddle up and start back at the drawing board. I've got to start knocking those names down again. I've never been in a situation where I had to wait for them to add up the scores again, because obviously I was undefeated. This is my first loss. Losses you learn from. Losses just mean you have room to grow. We'll take this and come back strong the next time."
"I know I had him hurt as soon as I hit him in the head twice. I saw him wobble and grab ahold of me. He was very slippery. As soon as I tried to push him away my hands would slip away. Hey, it was a hell of a fight. I take nothing away from the man.''
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