Frank Sanchez gets decision win over Nagy Aguilera in bizarre finish (Video)
Aguilera #Aguilera
No one was expecting Nagy Aguilera to beat Frank Sanchez. He didn’t. However, the ending was a strange affair that has people doubting Aguilera.
Heavyweight boxers Frank Sanchez and Nagy Aguilera fought on the May 8 undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders. It was a big stage for both fighters, but the fans gave Sanchez love when it was all over. They were jeering Aguilera.
Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) came into his fight with Aguilera as a heavyweight prospect. At 6-4, the skilled fighter originally from Cuba has all the physical traits to be a heavyweight force. His opponent was a journeyman with a chin, but we never got to see what Sanchez could really do.
Aguilera (20-11, 14 KOs) has been in against some excellent fighters like Antonio Tarver and Chris Arreola, but he never won those fights. At 34 years old, there wasn’t much tread left on Aguilera’s tires, but he could at least give Sanchez some rounds.
That was the case until the fight came to an abrupt end.
Sanchez hurt Aguilera in the first round with a hard right hand. The fight looked like it would end early, but Aguilera’s chin stood strong against Sanchez’s punishment.
The rounds crawled by as Aguilera continued to survive, but he complained several times after getting hit to the back of the head. At one point, he ate a Sanchez right hand to the neck while complaining. That angered Aguilera, who showed some fight, but by round 6, the fight was over.
A little less than halfway through round 6, Sanchez through a right hook that bounced off Aguilera’s right shoulder and grazed him to the back of the head. Aguilera went down to the canvas and writhed in pain.
Aguilera eventually got to his feet but continued to rub his head while holding his left shoulder awkwardly. He and trainer Bobby Benton protested to the referee for a point deduction or possibly a disqualification, but it was an obvious inadvertent foul.
Aguilera said he couldn’t continue, and the fight went to the judges’ scorecards, who ruled it a unanimous decision for Sanchez. It goes down as a technical decision win for Sanchez, but fans at AT&T Stadium weren’t happy. They felt Aguilera was faking how badly he was hurt and was looking for a way out of the fight.
Whenever the cameras panned to Sanchez, fans cheered, but they booed loudly when Aguilera was shown. The video of the blow is below, and you can judge for yourself.
Punches to the back of the head are very dangerous. Sanchez’s punch didn’t land flush, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt. Regardless, the fight ended awkwardly and left fans with a bad opinion of Aguilera.