Rocky Hernandez wins controversial technical decision over Thomas Mattice in Mexico

Thomas Mattice stormed from the ring immediately after the scorecards were read on Friday night in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Had he stuck around a few more minutes, he would have realized just how justified his outrage was.

His twelve round scheduled bout against Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez at Arena Sonora ended in a technical decision after a ringside doctor ruled after the sixth round that Hernandez could not continue due to a cut above his left eye, which was the second of two lacerations impacting his vision. The scorecards were read, with Hernandez (36-2, 32 knockouts) being named the winner by unanimous decision by the scores of 59-55, 58-55 and 58-56.

Moments later, the DAZN broadcast was able to isolate video of the two cuts. The first one was caused by a headbutt near the end of the fourth, but it was the second one that the ringside doctor stated was the reason for the fight’s stoppage. That one, which took place in the sixth round, was clearly caused by a right uppercut as Hernandez bowled his way in recklessly.

Had the proper ruling been made on that cut, the Cleveland, Ohio resident Mattice (22-4-1, 17 KOs) would have earned a technical knockout victory.

The ruling is not the first officiating controversy that Hernandez has been involved in. The 26-year-old from Mexico City was just 22 seconds away from winning the WBC junior lightweight title from O’Shaquie Foster last October in Cancun, Mexico, with two judges inexplicably having Hernandez widely ahead – including one judge having Hernandez winning all 11 previous rounds – despite most observers seeing the fight as a tight contest with Foster slightly ahead.

Foster ended up dropping Hernandez twice in the twelfth round, but that would not have changed the outcome had the fight not been halted.

Hernandez started the bout off strongly, pressuring the action against the slow starting American. The biggest punches of his early attack were right hooks to the body and overhand rights behind the high guard, while Mattice looked to establish his jab and get a feel for the ring.

Hernandez began to break through with power punches in the third as he slipped in uppercuts in close, while Mattice began to land left hooks whenever Hernandez’s right hand ventured out too far to pick off jabs.

The fight kicked up another gear in the fifth as Hernandez’s face began to stream with blood and both fighters attempted to bank rounds in the event that the fight was stopped due to cuts. The blood caused Hernandez to get more aggressive, which opened him up to counters from Mattice, including a right hand and left uppercut combination

Mattice continued to take target practice on Hernandez’s quickly deteriorating face, landing another right hand to open the sixth. After the uppercut caused the second cut, it was clear that Hernandez could no longer see the punches coming in time to adequately react, as right hands and left uppercuts began to land more frequently.

The loss ends a five fight winning streak for the 34-year-old Mattice, who was coming in on the best run of his career, having beaten previously unbeaten fighters Christian Tapia and Ramiro Cesena in recent fights.

Hernandez, who is rated no. 2 by the WBC, remains in position to challenge the winner of the rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster on November 2.

The post Rocky Hernandez wins controversial technical decision over Thomas Mattice in Mexico appeared first on The Ring.