Cedar Springs' Troy Rowland loses to Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. by unanimous decision

LAS VEGAS -- The Troy Rowland of old might have handled Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., but not the older Rowland who actually landed the fight Saturday night.

Rowland offered the game fight he always has, but the Cedar Springs native’s work rate simply wasn’t high enough to carry the action against the younger, more aggressive son of the Mexican legend, as Chavez won a 10-round unanimous decision in their middleweight bout Saturday night.

The fight was the co-featured bout on the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto undercard at MGM Grand.

Rowland lived his dream of a major fight in Las Vegas but could not overcome the heavier hands and youth of the unbeaten Chavez.

Judges Burt Clements (99-91), Dick Houck (98-92) and Paul Smith (97-93) all scored for Chavez.

The Press had it 98-92.

Chavez, the native of Culiacan, Mexico, whose father was a four-division world champion and the greatest fighter in Mexican history, improved to 41-0-1after his first middleweight fight.

Rowland slipped to 25-3.

“He was good, a strong fighter,” Rowland said. “He fought strong.”

Rowland indicated he hurt his right hand during the fight, which limited his punching activity.

There were no knockdowns but Chavez’s heavier punches and stalking stance made the difference virtually throughout the fight.

Rowland began the fight moving the perimeter, with Chavez stalking in mid-ring, and the strategy quickly became clear for both men: Rowland tried to win by landing the majority of shots, while Chavez was trying to land heavy left hooks to the head and body.

Rowland landed a nice three-punch combination 30 seconds into the second round and quickly began setting a pace where he landed more shots -- but not enough of them. He was warned that round by referee Tony Weeks for holding behind the head, the only warning issued to either man.

The same story line followed, round after round, with Rowland landing more shots but not frequently enough, and Chavez landing heavier shots and taking an eye-pleasing, aggressive stance.

Rowland moved Chavez back for one of the few times in the fight on two occasions late in the fourth round, in one of his better moments. But by the fifth, both of Rowland's eyes began getting puffy as Chavez's power -- particularly with the left hook -- clearly began carrying the fight.

The same theme followed round after round thereafter, with Rowland attempting to outland Chavez to overcome the power differential, but not doing so regularly enough.

Chavez, 23, fought at the middleweight limit for the first time in his six-year professional career, although he actually outweighed the 34-year-old Rowland, 160 pounds to 159 pounds.

Chavez is the No. 1-ranked World Boxing Council super welterweight contender, the 154-pound division, and said he intends to return to that weight in his next fight.

Chavez earned a base purse of $85,000, plus $15,000 for training expenses, according to contracts filed with the Nevada Athletic Commission. But the majority of his pay came through Mexican television fees which never enter the U.S. to avoid federal taxation here, and should push his gross to about $300,000, according to promoter Bob Arum.

Rowland earned $38,000, plus $2,200 for training expenses, for his third fight since ending a layoff of more than 3 1/2 years in April.

In the only world championship bout on the undercard, Yuri Foreman (28-0) won the World Boxing Association super welterweight title on a 12-round unanimous decision over Daniel Santos (32-3-1), by scores of 116-110 and 117-109 twice.