By Rick Reeno

Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas - Former light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal (30-3-1, 17KOs) was fortunate to walk away with a close ten round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Yuniesky Gonzalez (16-1, 12KOs) . All three judges had it 96-94 for Pascal. The fans in attendance were very upset at the decision. Most of the press at ringside, and HBO, had Gonzalez winning the fight.

Gonzalez came out with a lot of pressure in the first round, letting his hands go and unloading at times when he pinned Pascal against the ropes. Pascal stood his ground in the second round and they were to war with the punches flying from both fighters at close range. Both guys got off with hard shots and Gonzalez had the edge in connects.

Gonzalez was digging to the body early in the third, and continued to land the better shots. Pascal was firing back, but missing much more than he was landing. Pascal came roaring back in the fourth, where he started to outland Gonzalez during fierce exchanges. The action slowed down during the fifth round, with Pascal possibly shading it slightly.

The action was once again close in the sixth, with Pascal likely stealing it with a rally of shots in the final twenty seconds. Pascal started strong in the seventh with some hard accurate punches, but it was Gonzalez who battled back to get the former champ on the run. The eight was once again close as the pace slowed down again. Both were tired by those point and breathing heavy.

Pascal was either dead tired or took a round off, because Gonzalez dominated the majority of the action in the ninth. Gonzalez continued to push the action the tenth, taking the fight to Pascal and forcing the veteran to trade at close range. They went down swinging to close out the fight.