Rigondeaux Holds Title With UD12 Over Marroquin

Guillermo Rigondeaux almost hit the deck in round three, but took back the momentum in round five and round twelve, scoring knockdowns, and left the ring with a W in the pay-per-view opener to the Martinez-Chavez Jr. card at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas Saturday night. He didn't offer a compelling reason to make watchers salivate to see him again, but a win is a win.

The judges saw it 118-108, 118-108, 118-109.

The Cuban dipped right off a lazy jab and landed a straight left which buzzed Marro badly in the fifth. A left lead and right follow sent Marro down midway through the last round.

The 31-year old lefty rose to 11-0, and held onto the WBA super bantam title. The loser, out of Texas, dips to 22-2. The 23 year-old bomber took two steps up in competition, and didn't look out of his class. He advanced on the vet, but too often stared, instead of launched. Rigo's feints held the kid off, smartly. He was throwing about 30 punches a round, which was not going to do it against this level boxer. Jabs had Marro's nose bloodied and kept him from being too aggressive. He did land a hard left in the ninth, catching Rigo sliding away lackadaisically, and the crowd buzzed. He didn't hop on Rigo like you'd like in a title fight, however, though he did fell the loser in the final round.

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