joshua clottey

Description

Cintrón's victory over N'dou made him Joshua Clottey's mandatory challenger. The fight was discussed and preliminary agreements scheduled it for February 21, 2009.[15] However, after receiving a more lucrative offer, Cintrón decided to fight Sergio Gabriel Martínez for the World Boxing Council's interim light middleweight championship.[15] The bout took place on February 14, 2009, and ended in a controversial majority draw. The opening rounds held no meaningful action, with Cintrón holding an early edge due to his aggression and cleaner punching. By the fourth round, Martinez started moving around with his hands down in an effort to draw Cintrón into a mistake, but to no avail, as there continued to be more clinching than punching. Martinez opened a cut over Cintrón's left eye early in the fifth round. Late in the seventh round, a left hand to the head hurt Cintrón, and after backing into the ropes, he went down to his knees before Martinez could attack. Cintrón claimed he was headbutted while the referee Frank Santore continued the count. After Cintrón's protests and a lot of confusion in the ring, Santore allowed the bout to continue, saying Cintrón was up at nine and that he never stopped the fight. Martinez went after Cintrón once the eighth round commenced and taunted him after landing punches to the head. Cintrón responded with sustained action of his own, but it was Martinez ending the round with another left hand to the head. The ninth round was favorable for Martinez, but Cintrón rebounded in the tenth round. Martinez lost a point for a punch to the back of the head in the final round. Scores were 116-110 for Martinez and 113-113 draw.