By Jake Donovan

By the time his fight ended with Jeison Rosario this time last year, Jamontay Clark didn’t need to hear the final scores to know he’d suffered the lone loss of his career.

This time around, he hoped to hear scores that would hand California’s Sebastian Fundora his own career defeat. Instead, the towering super welterweights were forced to settle for a 10-round split decision draw that seemingly should’ve land in favor of the Cincinnati-bred southpaw.

“I pushed it out to get the win but the judges saw it another way,” Clark (14-1-1, 7KOs) said after their Fox-televised bout, which aired live Saturday evening from Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis, Minn. “Nothing I can do about it.”

Clark was at a rare height disadvantage, as the 6’2” prospect gave away five inches to the 6”7 Fundora. Both ultimately put their height to good use, though it was Clark’s lateral movement and ability to score from the outside that appeared to be the biggest difference in the spirited contest.

It was in the eyes of judge Tim Cheatham, who ruled it 96-94 in his favor. Judge Kyle Shiely unfortunately missed a heck of a fight, with a scorecard of 98-92 for Fundora widely criticized by those in the house and following along through social media. A 95-95 tally turned in by judge John Mariano seemed to be in line with consensus opinion, among those who didn’t have Clark winning outright.

There’s always the possibility of doing it again, to which Clark seemed amenable.

“If they want to run it back, I’m good with it,” insisted Clark, who scored a 10-round win over previously unbeaten Vernon Brown this past March in Oxon Hill, Md. “His size was a little bit difficult but I worked through it.

“I thought we pulled it off, but I ain’t tripping.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox