10 Rounds Featherweight Main-Event
Frankie Leal (16-5-3, 9 KOs) SD Roberto Marroquin (19-1, 14 KOs)
Scores: 99-92 (Leal) 97-93 (Marroquin) 96-94 (Leal)
Boxing fans in North Texas are well aware of the traits and talent that Dallas’ Roberto Marroquin possess. Simply put, Marroquin can flat out fight. Possessing concussive power in both hands, Marroquin has laid waste to a number of opponents in his relatively young career and in doing so has given his handlers at Top Rank proverbial “Kool-Aid smiles” due to his penchant for action and rabid fan base. While 2010 featured Marroquin’s stock rise on account of some awe-inspiring performances on the undercard of some of boxing’s biggest fight cards, Marroquin’s biggest fight would be tonight’s headlining bout against the tough Mexican Frankie Leal.
Early on it appeared that Marroquin would once again cruise easily to victory as his power and hand speed seemed to give Leal trouble in the first round. However, Leal would be undeterred and opened up his attack in the second round. The result of this action saw Marroquin taking punishment to the head as Leal landed a number of hard salvos that snapped Marroquin’s head back. Marroquin would rally back in the third round, landing some thudding body shots and rocking Leal with a number of straight rights. But, Leal would be all to eager to volley shots back at the Dallas native as the action quickly intensified.
Marroquin would employ his underrated boxing skill to start off the fourth round and this tactic seemed to pay dividends early on as he was able to back Leal up while doing some punishing work to his body. Leal would rally back at the end of the round, landing some stiff uppercut behind a crisp jab. The fifth and sixth round featured six rounds of evenly levied action as both Marroquin and Leal traded uppercuts in close making both fighters resemble the Rock and Sock ‘Em Robots of years past. The grueling pace carried on into the seventh round as hooks and uppercuts were thrown by both fighters in calculated aggression. It was clear that Marroquin was the fighter with more tools in his arsenal, but Leal’s heart and tenacity would not let him give an inch to his opponent.
Make no mistakes about it, this battle was boiling down to a war of attrition. In the eighth round Leal turned up the heat as his relentless attach began to display damage in the form of a swollen Marroquin left eye. Emboldened by this, Leal had arguably his best round of the night but Marroquin was still game. In fact, Marroquin would rally back strong in the ninth round as he landed some incredibly hard left hooks to the rib and head of Leal. With both fighters keenly aware of how close the fight had been up until end, the tenth and final round featured some true fireworks as both fighters went to work. However, it could be said that Marroquin shifted to an even high gear as he let his hands go in three and four punch combinations to close out the fight in impressive fashion.
However, though Marroquin fought with heart and determination it simply wasn’t enough to impress two of the ringside judges who awarded Leal with the split decision victory. Fights like this one galvanize a fighter and fight fans should expect to see both fighters come away with valuable experience.
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