A determined Bryan Vera scored relied on aggression and punch output to score a surprising upset over Sergio Mora last night (February 4).
In the early rounds, Mora found himself backpedaling and being bullied by Vera’s constant pressure. On the ropes, Mora relied on defense to slip punches, but couldn’t back Vera up with his counter shots. The inside exchanges favored Vera, who found a home for short, jarring left hooks.
Both fighters had their moments in the middle rounds. Mora began moving forward in the fifth, and stood his ground with power shots. But Vera bounced back in the sixth by again pinning Mora on the ropes. A right hand resulted in a cut over Mora’s left eye. A cut over the right eye opened in the seventh, causing Mora to complain about headbutts.
The ninth was Mora’s best round. Perhaps sensing a potential loss, the Latin Snake tore into Vera with a vicious, two-fisted body attack. Mora dominated the stanza, and for the first time was able to consistently move and control.
Sergio Mora’s 3 minutes of energy left him spent for the 10th. Vera was able to move and not give Mora a chance to truly capitalize on his dominant previous round. Still, the back and forth in several earlier rounds left both camps unsure of who would emerge with the victory.
The judges favored Vera’s come forward style, giving him a split decision by scores of 94-96, and 96-94 twice. A disbelieving Mora immediately left the ring after the announcement.
Bryan Vera raises his record to 18-5, with 11 KOs. Sergio Mora suffers his second defeat, falling to 22-2-2 with 6 KOs. At press time, Sergio Mora has not verified if he will pursue a rematch.
***************************************************************************
Contrary to many others, I like Sergio Mora. Let me clarify; I like Sergio Mora when he’s on his game. Despite not having much power, he gets down and dirty in the trenches, and really goes for broke with body shots. But when he’s off, he is atrocious. He owes me some loot for that Shane Mosley horror show.
Tonight was a clear case of will overcoming skill. When Mora employed his boxing acumen, he had Vera on his heels. But those moments weren’t consistent. Too often Vera trapped the Latin Snake on the ropes and wailed away.
The fight was close, but fan-friendly. I think ESPN wouldn’t mind a rematch, and its a solid option for Vera if the Andy Lee rematch doesn’t happen. Who’d of thought Mora-Vera would be way more exciting than Alexander-Bradley?
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 