Zavala Retains His Title in Draw With Gomez

Max Gomez of Denver survived cuts above both eyes to gain a 12-round draw with Rudy Zavala of Rosemead in a U.S. Boxing Assn. junior-featherweight championship bout Monday night at the Forum.

From the opening round, Gomez (12-3-1) gave Zavala problems with his aggressive southpaw style, but Zavala was able to retain his USBA title with the draw before 4,362.

Referee Marshall Walker had Gomez ahead, 116-112. Judge Larry Rozadilla scored Zavala ahead, 116-112. Judge Marty Denkin scored the fight even, 114-114.

“He was a tough fighter in that he kept coming,” said Zavala, 21-1-2. “But, I was beating the heck out of him. He never really hurt me. I thought that I definitely won the fight.”

Gomez’s looked like he took a beating, but he also opened a cut above Zavala’s right eye as he controlled the early rounds.

The turning point came in the 10th round when Zavala was unable to finish Gomez after a strong ninth round. With blood pouring down his face, Gomez held on in the final three rounds.

“I wasn’t worried with the cuts because I knew that I had a good corner,” Gomez said. “I knew that the later rounds were closer rounds but I felt that I definitely won the early rounds.”

In a battle between two East Coast fighters, Stephan Johnson of Brooklyn won a unanimous decision over Darryl Lattimore of Washington, D.C. in a 10-round welterweight elimination bout.

Johnson (22-4-1), who is trained by former lightweight champion Carlos Ortiz, knocked Lattimore (19-9) down in the the seventh round and then outlasted his southpaw opponent in the last three rounds.

The judges scored the fight, 96-92; 97-91 and 98-91 in Johnson’s favor, but he did not dominate the fight.

“It was awkward to fight a southpaw like that,” said Johnson, who had to survive a late eighth round rally by Lattimore. “I got too anxious and a lot of my punches were a little short. But, I got the job done.”

Johnson, 24, who has won 13 of his last 14 fights, will fight Wilber Kiggundu in the semifinals of the Forum’s Budweiser welterweight tournament.