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Golden Gloves Promoter Rodney Berman, while admitting that his boxer Hekkie “The Hex-ecutioner” Budler’s IBO world junior flyweight title winning effort over Juanito Rubillar of the Philippines was a “close thing”, has dismissed allegations that the majority decision in the South African’s favor was a ‘hometown decision’.
“Its funny you know, but most of the critics who made those remarks are the normal skeptics who’ve been taking potshots at GGP and our fighters for quite some time and I’m more than happy that justice was served on Saturday night at Emperors Palace”.
Mind you, all three judges on the weekend were South African, and while one of them marked the 12-round championship bout even (114-114), the other two had Budler in front by four and two points respectively. Indeed, this scribe has been occupying a ringside seat since the mid Seventies and filed an unsought scorecard of 115-113 in favor of the 21-year-old Budler –which was the same as judge Dwarte – and don’t try telling me that my arithmetic was flawed by national bias!
Yes, the fight was desperately close, but that’s why it’s imperative to keep a scoresheet and not just rely on personal interpretations gleaned without round-by-round mathamatics.
“I thought Hekkie did just enough to edge the decision” said GGP Promoter Berman. “Make no mistake, it was a close and compelling bout throughout but Hekkie’s earlier work during the first four rounds and his subsequently surge in rounds nine through twelve made all the difference. And no, I haven’t forgotten Rubillar’s punishing body attack”.
American promoter Art Pellulo was seated ringside on Saturday night as was veteran reporter Solly Mapanya who both thought Budler did enough to lift the vacant IBO crown against an opponent who’s ranked #6 by the WBC.
“Budler showed an abundance of courage and though he absorbed some crunching body blows, I had him 1 point ahead at the end” said Mapanya. The ringwise Pellulo of Banner Promotions thought that Budler’s “work ethic and superior number of punches” did the trick and said as much afterward. “Hekkie soaked up some heavy body punishment but I felt he deserved the verdict, albeit by one or two points”.
Other experienced eyes that fancied the official decision were Paul Hetz, Brian Pretorius and Ruth Brown (who scores as well as anyone this writer knows).
Budler’s trainer Colin Nathan was naturally well pleased with the decision and believes that his boxer’s pre-fight preparations made all the difference. “No one knows that he entered the fray with a bad cut on his one hand” said Nathan, “but I’m over the moon about his showing and feel that he was a handy winner”.
Meanwhile two-time Hall of Famer Brian Mitchell felt that the decision could have “gone either way, it was that close” and local boxing artist Driscoll Pettifer had the fighters locked on 114-114. Man-about-boxing Jeff Ellis though, felt Budler was “lucky to win” and has advised the young Newlands fighter to “strengthen his body and move up a weight division”. One of the most experienced boxing personalities in South Africa, Ellis was quoted as saying, “Hekkie looked drained to me (after the weigh-in) and basically he still has the body of a lad, so my advice would be for him to toughen up his body and move up in weight. I very much doubt whether he can remain at junior flyweight without seriously handicapping himself”.
The final word on the fight, however, came from Rodney Berman. “This was a massive step in Budler’s ongoing development and cynics should remember that it was only Hekkie’s 14th professional fight in contrast to Rubillar’s 69th outing. That says it all, and we’re really delighted with his progress.
March 01, 2010 at 10:18 am, Simon said:
I have no idea what fight critics were watching. Hekkie won that fight hands down. It was close ‘ish’ but Hekkie was the winner clearly. And trust me I have nothing against GGP but I am not a GGP loyalist but rather a serious boxing fan in general.
March 01, 2010 at 10:49 am, Martin Lake said:
all i have to say is, that is our Champ, and he had done well.From the start i believed im my Friend, and had never stopped believing. he won the fight fair and scuare.he is the best, and people should respect that.
March 01, 2010 at 1:42 pm, fight fan said:
I for one recon a rematch should be fought Rubillar fought like a real champ never backed down once.A fighter going foward all the time taking what ever Hekkie gave him.Hekkie is a good fighter but I recon they didn’t have a fight plan the preparation was good but he lacked ring stamina and hand speed.
Hekkie won the first three rounds the rest went to Rubillar he fought with so much guts and determanation and when the result was read you could see he was very upset,but I guess thats boxing.
But goodluck for the future Hekkie I can tell you one thing there is gonna be alot of challenges for you now after this match,take all the advice from the critics and work towards a new goal.
Hope to see you defend this title a few times before moving up a weight division and defend it good.Preverly overseas.
Goodluck for the future.THE FIGHT FAN…KEEP IT REAL.
March 01, 2010 at 1:51 pm, marco said:
Facts remain budler can have all the talent in the world,but fighting under Colin Nathan his going no where. Colin Nathan is an idiot a terrible trainer disgrace to the sport. He messed up lovett and Marali. A world campion with Nick to a disgrace with Collin.. Please Budler leave that nothing!!
I believe Hekkie won on his on instinct and determination,he is a great fighter trained by a man who needs to learn much more about the game!
March 01, 2010 at 2:04 pm, ronel said:
Hi,
Fight fan i agree with you we definitley need to see an rematch i DO NOT think that hekkie won that fight at all even though he is a wonderfull boy i am sorry but that is a disgrace for someone like rubillar to come all the way to S.A and get ROBBED. marco i am not sure if you might have anything against nathan but in a way u might be right however there is a few other fighters in his stable that is not bad not sure if he taught them that but i heard storys that he pays alot of attention to only hekkie
R
March 01, 2010 at 2:07 pm, Deon said:
I only have one question….. If this fight Hekkie VS Rubillar was fought in the Philippines… who would of won then?
March 01, 2010 at 2:22 pm, Andre' said:
I can believe those stories, unfortunately like Marco mentioned Colin has let a lot of fighters down… why didn’t he bring in the big guns for those boys (Lovett, Marali, Fourie) best was when Fourie fought Bedeman…. Colin had no sense of direction when I watched it again on TV, and heard the advice given to Grant, I was honestly shocked…. and with that being said how do you throw the towel in on a title fight??? anything can happen in boxing…. you saw that when Jason was dropped TWICE in the FIRST round with only JABS on Saturday evening….and came back to win… But well done to Hex,although that fight should of at least been a draw!!!
March 01, 2010 at 3:02 pm, Britt said:
The fat lady sang and butler was Champion.
End of story, he really deserve wining this title he fought like a Professional, he hade discipline and not one moment he gave up well done Hekkie it does not matter what people say you’re the champion your the one that makes the difference and not them. And I disagree with you Marco Colin is a brilliant trainer one of the best in South Africa
March 01, 2010 at 4:22 pm, Martin Lake said:
Heks i am going to say it again, you are Champ and if only we had more fighters like you.you had the heart of a Champ to win and you did.don’t care what the people say, you are the the new well deserved Champion. and i will also add something to Britt’s comment. i also personaly believe Colin is one of the best, and yet it is a disgrace how people can Discriminate against someone. Heks i am your Friend and as a Fan of yours i know and will say it as long as it is going to take to make people believe and for them to see through your real fans eyes. YOU ARE THE NEW WORLD CHAMPION and it is going to stay that way.i can only say one thing, rubillar also didn’t know what had hit him on Sat night.Martin.
March 01, 2010 at 5:39 pm, Pete 13 said:
Well done Hekkie. You fought like a true champ and may you only go from strength to strength. If It was such a ROBBERY for Rubillar why did he raise Hekkies hand after the fight? Even he knew it was a close one. It is clear to see that the best boxing judges are sitting in front of their televisions. Typical “fans” of sport. We tend to do this with all our sports today. WELL DONE to both Hekkie and Rubillar, you kept us entertained for 12 hard earned rounds. Hey Marco.. Why have a personal dig at Collin? Clearly he has offended you or someone close to your family. Well he might pay special attention to Hekkie, but it is the same as golf. The PGA looks after Tiger Woods as they know where their vested interests lie. Nuff said. Thanks Golden Gloves… keep the good fights coming.
March 01, 2010 at 9:39 pm, Simon said:
I’m all for personal views but Marco you seem to have a personal issue with Colin rather than an objective opinion on his training. I have met Colin on a few occassions but never in the gym while training so I cannot agree of disagree. Having said that Hekkie’s father and others would have moved Hekkie elsewhere if they thought Colin wasn’t any good. Plus there are fighters at HotBox who are no clowns when it comes to boxing and they seem happy there. Calling Colin a disgrace to the sport is wrong.
March 02, 2010 at 7:45 am, Amanda said:
Hi Simon,
I am with you 100% Marco definitley has something against Nathan and if there was something wrong at Nathan’s gym budler, joey, Dlamini and Bothma would have left i guess time will tell to see if they will stay there
March 02, 2010 at 7:53 am, fight fan said:
Lets not insult trainers , fighters or anybody else.Only thing I say is that Hekkie should step up his game this kid has got talent and is gonna be and is a great champion,what he lacks is finishing off what he starts he is fit but lack power when it is needed.I believe he will do beter in a weight higher than he currently is.
Goodluck to you Hekkie take all the comments and learn from it you can only gain from it
go back to the drawing board check the fight and see where you went wrong and fix it,realise on thing only you can do it not a trainer , manager , father , fan ,mother or ex world champion can fix it for you.
The world is your oyster fix it yourself you are the one doing the fighting.
Keep it real and fight and train like you never have before and you will and I believe that you will prove everybody wrong.
THE FIGHT FAN.
March 02, 2010 at 9:53 am, Ronel said:
Hi pete13,
I do not think that what you are saying about only looking after hekkie is right at all he must treat his boxers the same if the story is true that hekkie is the blue eye boy i would advise joey, dlamini and bothma to open their eyes!
March 02, 2010 at 11:22 am, Classy said:
Why were there 3 SA judges anyway? All the others had a blend…
March 02, 2010 at 12:58 pm, tanya said:
I thought Hekkie fought very well but this was a very close call. Rubillar fought very well and proved himself in the later rounds. At the end of the 12th round I was really wondering who won. Good question, is it a good thing to have 3 SA judges when a World Title Fight is being fought in SA???
March 02, 2010 at 3:03 pm, Martin said:
Classy i am not sure if you have something against someone at Colin’s Gym, but it seems like it.and Ronel, please let Colin who is also a profesional Trainer do he’s job, and the people who doesn’t have better things to do should rather keep quiet.all of you who is so against Hekkie’s Victory should have looked at the Fight again last night. please you should have listened to the Commentators. Hekkie were way infront in the first rounds. those first few rounds were Ruillars downfall and the rest of the rounds, they could say for sure was Rubillars because the commentators said according to them the rounds were even. please stop judging and let Hekkie enjoy the Victory, he deserves it.i believe if Rubillar had he’s Boxing gloves on his Head, he would have won, because he should have been warned several times with he’s head butting.Hekkie keep your chin up, you deserve it. you are our Champ and well deserved Champ. people doesn’t have better things to do than to discriminate.you are and will stay the best.It is a Shame South-african Citizens can be so against theyre own People, by Judging them like that. is it because you guys do not have something to look out for in life?
March 02, 2010 at 6:16 pm, Terry Pettifer said:
Opinions are like belly buttons, because we all have one, but calling young Mr Nathan a “disgrace” to the sport is not only totally uncalled for but smacks of bias and I can only wonder what inspired Marco to do so when that tag may be far more appropriate to some of the other more dubious people in the game! Colin you did a fine job son and keep up the good work.
March 02, 2010 at 6:20 pm, Terry Pettifer said:
The IBO (which is an American boxing organization) thought it expedient to appoint three South African judges and may I add, all three called the fight the way they saw it. Incidentally my good friend and internationally respected official Stan Christodoulou thought that Budler may have edged the verdict by a solitary point! Nuff said.
March 03, 2010 at 10:03 am, Ronel said:
Hi Martin,
It does not matter who u are or where u come from i believe that no boxer has to get robbed if you win the fight you have to get the reward no matter where you are coming from rubillar is has trained just as hard as budler and according to my personal views rubillar won the fight it is just my view
March 03, 2010 at 12:05 pm, fan said:
Wel done!!!!
What in the world did Colin do to you?
Colin you are great you made a World Champ !
Well done
March 03, 2010 at 12:16 pm, fan said:
I saw a fight in which Hex won at leat the first 3 rounds the 4 round was close the 5th was Hex’s and there after there were a number of rounds that was very close. Rubilar gave hard punches. But I believe
Budler gave more.
Colin you have done a good job keep it up.
I would like to comment on someone saying you messed up the lives of 3 boxers. What ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!!!
SOUR GRAPES !!!
March 03, 2010 at 7:40 pm, Terry Pettifer said:
I have no doubt that Colin is a dedicated trainer and though he still has a lot to learn, its obvious that there is a personal “vendetta” against the young man. Like I said earlier on this website fellas; no trashing of personalities, or else we’ll be forced to curtail reader comments and for the everyday fight fan that would be a great pity.
March 04, 2010 at 9:23 am, Mntu Daweti said:
I think Budler’s win was just a consolation prize for the severe punishment he endured from the Phillipino’s effective body blows and all! The points decison went against the Phillipino, and unfairly so. I am just not interested in knowing the number of pain killers he consumed after the fight. I still believe though that he can still do better than that. I think the opinion expressed that he should seriously consider to “up” the division a bit could work wonders for him. Brian Baronet was a good boxer – with good moves and could hit a boxer where he wishes, and when he wishes – but lacked sting in his blows – and that was always apparent when faced with formidable hard hitting boxers who could take his punches without a flinch! That similarly applies to Budler! He is still young, I wish him good luck.
March 05, 2010 at 2:15 pm, fan said:
I am realy surprized at you ringside Judges, Trainers.
You now dectate the weight devision you would like the boxer to box in. Budler has not got a weight problem. Has never had one. If You can not read let me help. Colin told you the boxer had a bad cut to his had. I never heard him use this as an excuse.
The aponented lifted his hand and whised him well.
What were you seeing in his face.
Pete you mention the tipical South African sports fan. Best rugby player on the side of the felt.