Argenis Mendez vs. Jose Navarrete
Argenis Mendez 130 lbs beat Jose Navarrete 130 lbs by SD in round 6 of 6
- Date: 2008-06-06
- Location: Sovereign Center, Reading, Pennsylvania, USA
- Referee: Vic de Wysocki
- Judge: Joseph Pasquale 60-54
- Judge: Al Dorsey 56-58
- Judge: Bill Nealon 59-55
In an extremely close fight that could have gone either way, Artemis Mendez, 12-0 with 8 kos, won a split decision over a game Jose Navarette, 9-15-2 with 3 kos. Navarette comported himself very well, and is a far better fighter than his record indicates.
Mendez, a Dominican super featherweight now fighting out of Brooklyn, had his hands full with Navarette, a Mexican fighting out of Chicago. Trialhorse Navarette took Mendez to school, taking the fight to him from the opening bell and forcing Mendez to fight back. Mendez fought smartly, though, avoiding center ring and preferring to counterpunch and land left hand leads off the ropes as Navarette came forward and threw alot of punches. Navarette kept coming, and appeared the aggressor for all six rounds. The first round looked like it went to Mendez, the second round was very close, the third round looked even, the fourth and fifth were very close, and Navarette won the sixth. So it was a difficult fight to score. Mendez won a split decision, but from the ringside view there was no way a judge could have given Mendez every round as the fight was too close. Referee: Vic de Wysocki