Jose Pedraza boxed well and carried out a brutal body attack against Richard Commey on Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Commey pushed through the action for most of the match, landing straight and hooking his left with some consistency.
In the end, however, none of them did enough to get him to raise his hand after the fight. The umpires score 10 baseweight innings a split tie.
It’s not good news for the two veteran contenders, both hoping to recover from their most recent loss. Instead, they are neither forward nor backward.
Pedraza (29-4-1, 14 KOs) got off to a strong start in the opening round, sticking, moving, and aiming for Commey’s body (30-4-1, 27 KOs).
However, by the second round, the big puncher from Ghana caught up with the pace, regained his range and began to throw powerful, accurate punches into the Puerto Rican opponent’s face. A good, competitive fight took place.
Commey probably impressed the two judges with his aggressiveness and activity, which allowed him to deliver spectacular punches for most rounds. However, the better boxer than Pedraza made a very good counterattack and landed that seemed to slow Commey.
Commey was cut above his left eye by an apparent head impact in Round 5, although the referee ruled it was the result of a punch. That led to some of Pedraza’s most effective rounds, especially Round 9.
In the penultimate round, Pedraza delivered three times as many punches as Commey and landed some of his most lethal hits of the match. However, Commey bounced back for a solid Round 10 with hardly any points being scored.
When the final bell rings, it looks like the fight could go both ways. And that’s how scoring happens. One judge scored it 97-93 for Pedraza, 96-94 second for Commey and 95-95 third. Boxing Junkie scored 96-94 for Pedraza, six fourth innings.
Pedraza is willing to do it again.
“If they ask for a rematch, I’m willing to give Richard Commey a rematch because he deserves it and I have the utmost respect for him,” Pedraza said. “Ultimately, my goal is to win the world title again. Whatever I have to do, that’s what I’m willing to do.”
Commey, meanwhile, wants to return to Ghana before taking further action
“It was a draw,” he said. “Obviously, I have to go home and see my people. I love who I am, and I have to go back there, do what I have to do. “
