Christian Uruzquieta would gladly give “brave” Ray Moylette a rematch

Christian Uruzquieta [18(6)-4(1)-1] claims his jaw nearly hit the canvas as he watched Ray Moylette get up off floor twice in round five of their TG4 broadcast bout on Friday last.

The Mexican thought he was on course for a knockout victory when he dropped ‘Sugar Ray’ with a sweet left hook midway through their WBC International Silver lightweight title fight at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar.

Uruzquieta thought he had the title and world ranking in the bag when, later in the round, the home favourite revisited the canvas, more from accumulation rather than a big shot. However, like most, the 28-year-old watched on in awe as the ‘brave’ Moylette got to his feet, survived the round and went on to have a good spell in a close and entertaining fight.

Speaking to Irish-Boxing.com after returning home to Mexico City, Uruzquieta reflected on how “I think I did a good job.”

“I went looking for the knockout and I almost got it,” he added before hailing Moylette.

“It was amazing what he did in the fifth round, another fighter would have stayed on the canvas but Ray was very brave.”

The manner in which Moylette reacted to being dropped twice added real drama and entertainment to an already intriguing fight.

It’s certainly a bout the 280,000 plus people that tuned into TG4 would like to see again, it’s one Assassin seem to want for the their fighter and, considering he would have won on the cards if he hadn’t consulted the canvas, it’s a defeat Moylette will feel he can avenge.

Irish-Boxing.com can now also reveal that it’s a fight the victor is open to doing again.

Uruzquieta views the win as a springboard to bigger things – but this could also include a rematch.

2,000 packed into the Royal Theatre on Friday but there has already been talk of a repeat at the far-larger Breaffy House.

Uruzquieta is game if the numbers add up.

The Latino pressure fighter described how “I’m very happy, it’s a great victory and I hope that better fights and better purses come.”

“I want to face the best, I am ready for big challenges, but I’ll gladly give Ray a rematch.”

“I’d do it right now, he just has to sign a new contract. He is strong, but his punches did not cause me much damage.”

Another noticeable aspect to Friday’s event was the atmosphere. The away fighter was aware of it and, when the split-decision result was called out he was worried the crowd may have pressured the judges into giving a home town decision.

“I was worried [about the scoring],” admits Uruzquieta.

“My last three defeats, I felt I missed out on the win because of [hometown scoring] and I was worried when the second judge scored the fight in Moylette’s favour.”

“It was a great challenge to fight as a visitor in front of a large audience that never stopped supporting Moylette. The fans were very nice, they accepted the defeat and congratulated me, which was nice.”