BOXING AT THE IRVINE MARRIOTT : Armijo Loses Decision in 12 Rounds

John Armijo, known more for wild antics than his stamina in the boxing ring, lost a unanimous 12-round decision in the main event of the Irvine Marriott boxing program in front of 1,287 Thursday. Twelve rounds is the longest fight in Armijo’s career.

Armijo of Huntington Beach, who said he had been sick all week with the flu, was defeated by Rollin Williams, 117-110, 115-112, 116-112. Williams, who retained his California super-welterweight title, lost a point for a low blow in the 11th round.

Armijo, who used to be a wild swinger with little technique, seemed almost polished in this bout. His longest fight before Thursday was an eight-round loss to Vince Durham, also at the Irvine Marriott.

Armijo had Williams (20-12) of Phoenix backing up for most of the fight, but never cornered him for any length of time.

Armijo thought he had won the fight.

“I still don’t think I lost,” he said. “You can’t back away from someone for 12 rounds and win. He was holding the whole time. The referee came in here before the fight and said that if you hold, he would take points away and he never did.”

Williams threw fewer punches but appeared to land more. When Armijo (11-2-1) was able to work inside, Williams would clutch him until referee Robert Byrd separated them.

“I had to tie him up some,” Williams said. “That is my game, I am a boxer. To tell you the truth, when I saw him at the weigh-in, I thought I would knock him out. But you have to give him his due, he has a tough chin.”

Armijo was the more active fighter for the first three rounds, coming at Williams often.

Williams came back in the middle rounds with combinations that got to Armijo’s chin. Neither fighter was ever in danger of going down.

Armijo had strong fan support for the entire fight, especially in the final two rounds, but could not come up with enough punches to get to Williams.

After the final bell, both raised their hands in victory, but after the scores were read, Williams was celebrating and Armijo was calling for a rematch.

Another promising young Orange County fighter lost in the semi-main event.

Shane Kaplan (2-1) of Irvine was stopped 1 minute 22 seconds into the second round by James Nellems (1-1-1) of San Diego.