_1644013941.jpg)
PHOENIX – Raymond Ford was hard pressed to find many supporters following his latest win.
Even members of his own team had a hard time digesting the verdict.
Ford was considered fortunate to escape with a split decision nod over Edward Vazquez in their DAZN-aired battle of unbeaten southpaws. Judge Dennis O’Connell (96-94) had Vazquez winning, only to be overruled by judges Rubin Rocky Taylor (98-92) and Chris Wilson (97-93) who submitted indefensible scores Saturday evening at Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Ford was very lucky to get a decision,” Hearn bluntly stated to BoxingScene.com and other reporters during a post-fight media scrum. “I thought [Vazquez] won. I did. It’s difficult to represent someone and then go in there and say, ‘You lost.’ But there’s no point in lying.
“Raymond Ford got robbed of a decision in Texas (versus Aaron Perez last May in Arlington, Texas). It was a draw, I thought he should have won the fight comfortably. (Saturday night) I thought he should have lost the fight. But if you would have called it a draw or a point either way, it’s not the worst decision in the world. 98-92, how do you get that? Not only that but 97-93. If you want to give it 96-94, alright. I don’t think many people had it for Ford.”
The few who saw Ford as the rightful winner clearly sided with his counterpunching ability, though never to the point of dictating the action. Fort Worth’s Vazquez (11-1, 3KOs) forced an aggressive pace from the opening bell, fading late though seemingly having built up a large enough lead to have pulled off the upset.
Instead, it was a second half fight adjustment by Ford (11-0-1, 6KOs) that allowed the Camden southpaw to avoid a disastrous result. Even with the win, however, his stock takes a hit as he has yet to really evolve or live up to the lofty expectations that came with his pro debut three years ago.
“I just think it’s a different sport in the professional game,” Hearn theorized. “When you fight tough, hungry fighters like Vazquez, they’re gonna walk you down. They’re very strong, they’re gonna throw a lot of punches.
“You’ve got to mix it up, not just try to be slick and pot shot. You’ve got to try and fight back or you’ll get outworked. He’ll learn, though. He’ll learn from this.”
Ford-Vazquez was part of a DAZN show that saw 22-year-old Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez win the vacant WBC junior bantamweight title in a twelve-round decision over former champ Carlos Cuadras.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox