Terrazas shreds, decisions Montiel

While most fight fans were watching Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. walk through a pedestrian Peter Manfredo Jr. on HBO, there was a true passing of the torch going on in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, as Victor "El Vikingo" Terrazas (32-2-1, 18 KOs) battered and bloodied Fernando Montiel (46-4-2, 36 KOs) en route to a 12-round unanimous decision to win the vacant WBC silver junior featherweight belt. Very early on in the fight, the veteran Montiel opted to play matador to Terrazas' hard-charging bull, but the 32-year-old hometown fighter lacked the physical presence to keep his less-experienced rival from pursuing and winning most of the early rounds. Montiel would be dropped to the canvas in the fifth round and, shortly after, had to deal with a long cut on the left eyelid. In the eighth round, another, identical cut would be opened up on Montiel's right eyelid. By the second third of the fight, Montiel had resorted to back-tracking while looking to catch an oncoming Terrazas with a well-timed counter. But, ultimately, Terrazas, 28, was smart enough not to fall into any of the traps set by the veteran former three-division world titlist. Montiel, despite being badly cut over both eyes and, likely, well behind on the judges' scorecards, did not go down easy, though. In the twelfth round, a series of upstairs and downstairs combinations from Montiel had Terrazas seriously hurt and holding on desperately as the seconds counted down. Terrazas would hold on to get the surprisingly close unanimous decision by scores of 115-112, 115-113, and 114-113. The Boxing Tribune scored the bout 116-111, also in favor of Terrazas.