Marlon Starling vs. Pedro Vilella (1st meeting)
Marlon Starling 147 lbs lost to Pedro Vilella 147 lbs by MD in round 12 of 12
- Date: 1984-06-15
- Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
- Judge: Bernie Friedkin 112-116
- Judge: Samuel Salvatore Maltempo 111-118
- Judge: John Stewart 114-114
- NABF Welterweight Title (3rd defense by Starling)
From The New York Times:
Starling Is Upset
Pedro Vilella upset Marlon Starling in a 12-round majority decision last night at Madison Square Garden, taking the North American Boxing Federation welterweight championship from Starling in the main live preliminary to the closed-circuit telecast of the Thomas Hearns-Roberto Duran bout.
Vilella was taken to St. Vincent Hospital after the fight with what was believed to be a broken nose that caused blurred vision and some breathing problems. Vilella, a 25-year-old southpaw with an 18-0-1 record, was quicker and did the most scoring. It was only the third loss against 32 victories for Starling, the harder puncher, whose only previous defeats were to Donald Curry, the undefeated World Boxing Association champion.