Costa Rican World Champion Hanna Gabriels managed to retain her WBO/WBA titles with a unanimous decision win with scores of 97-92, 96-93 x 2 against Dominican Oxandia Castillo at the Gimnasio Nacional this Friday.

The result of the fight didn’t necessarily reflect what many saw in the ring. The Dominican dominated many (in my opinion most) of the rounds; she kept the pressure from beginning to end scoring a knockdown in the second round over the champion.

This was the second time these two fighters measured up, in their first encounter back in 2013 Castillo came out was the winner with a technical knockout. The hard hitting Dominican certainly has skills, although many times she didn’t know how to capitalize in the Costa Rican’s defense limitations.

Gabriels gave a good show, she moved well and demonstrated as always, that she is in great physical condition and a great athlete overall, however, she threw less punches than Castillo and was not efficient in her delivery. Rounds 8 and 9 she had better control of the fight.

It is not uncommon though, in boxing, even when it shouldn’t be, for the local fighter to hold an advantage; today Castillo had the opportunity to demonstrate what she is made of but her efforts were not enough for the judges, who turned in wide scorecards.

The bad judging in boxing is what causes many to criticize the sport, it hurts the sport, it happens constantly in small and big events, hurting the careers of many fighters; but let’s be clear, it’s the judges and the referees that have to be held accountable. Congratulations to Hanna who always makes her country proud!