Mexican middleweight Juan Macias Montiel says he and fellow contender Hugo Centeno Jr., have unfinished business that can only be settled one way.
“There has to be a rematch,” said Montiel (21-4-2, 21 KOs), immediately after his FOX Sports 1 nationally televised split draw with Centeno (27-3-1, 14 KOs), a 10-round back-and-forth affair that saw Centeno throw more punches, but Montiel’s power do the better quality work.
The two 160-lb fighters met on the televised undercard of the WBC Super Welterweight rematch between Tony Harrison and Jermell Charlo at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California this past Saturday, December 21.
“We can’t just go on with our careers without settling this,” said the energized Montiel. “I respect his performance, but I landed the harder punches and next time I see him I will finish this once and for all.”
Montiel, from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, rocked the capable Centeno, from Oxnard, California, in round two, but the two middleweights then settled into a rhythm with the Californian landing more punches and Mexico’s Montiel landing harder.
In the end, the judges probably got it right by scores of 97-93 Centeno, 96-94 Montiel and 95-95 even.
“After the fight, Hugo Centeno Sr., said my fighter Juan got an early Christmas gift, so we agreed to do an immediate rematch,” said Montiel’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz. “It was an entertaining fight and boxing fans deserve to know who the better fighter is. Let’s do it again and settle this.”
Lewkowicz says he’s currently working on the specifics for the middleweight rematch and will announce them as soon as possible.
