Argentine boxers Verón and Manzur earn respect despite losing fights in the US

Argentine boxers Francisco “Bebu” Verón and Lucrecia Manzur may have lost their recent bouts in the United States, but their performances have earned them significant respect and prestige. Their fights challenged traditional boxing journalism's view that "worthy defeats are not headlined."

Verón, a 27-year-old junior middleweight, showcased classic Argentine boxing technique, footwork, and sharp jabs against the much larger Cuban fighter Yoenli Hernández. Despite being outweighed significantly after Hernández's rehydration, Verón controlled the ring for ten rounds. Although Hernández won by a majority decision, Verón's skillful performance silenced the Las Vegas crowd and garnered applause, even as a 10-to-1 underdog. Verón plans to return to the junior middleweight division, where he is ranked seventh by the WBC, and continue his university studies in Physical Education.

Lucrecia Manzur, also 27, demonstrated aggressive and relentless fighting against Puerto Rican champion Amanda Serrano, a seven-weight world titleholder. While Manzur ultimately lost by a controversial majority decision in a 12-round bout, her tenacity surprised Serrano and the audience. Manzur's performance, despite an otherwise irregular record of 14 wins and 5 losses, has brought her newfound recognition in the boxing world.

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I feel very good, I had a great preparation and that gave me the possibility to walk the ring for 30 minutes. He "inflated" himself in a surprising way and was huge a day after the weigh-in. We knew it was going to happen and so it was. I will return to the junior middleweights, where I am ranked 7th in the WBC. I will focus on passing the Frontal 1 subject in my Physical Education university career at UNAHUR, which is very advanced, luckily. I am very happy; I was 10 to 1 down in the bets, I shook him in the 5th round and I got the applause. Mission accomplished.