So, Joseph Parker has done it and the gorgeous islands of Samoa and New Zealand should be celebrating history being made, but that doesn't appear to be the case.
Walking away from Vector Arena last night, there was a real sense of anti-climax. No cheering or chanting, not even a dull hum of electricity. Why? Because it wasn't convincing, and many thought Andy Ruiz Jr won.
Any fight that goes to the judges' scorecards is a hold-your-breath moment. All you want to see is justice being done for those that dedicate their lives to the toughest sport there is. Only a few weeks ago, Andre Ward won a ridiculously tight points decision against Sergey Kovalev, despite being knocked down in the second round.
But Parker's victory wasn't an injustice. First of all, respect has to go to Kevin Barry and the gameplan. They didn't underestimate Ruiz Jr and knew he could seriously bang. If the opportunity came to let the punches go, then great. But the default position was obviously jab, move, jab, move, then do some more jabbing and moving. The Mexican has a chin of teak, and even the body shots didn't appear to slow him down.
From a judging perspective, fighting on the retreat isn't a negative. Just look at Muhammad Ali if you want to see hand-speed and brutal, point-scoring jabbing. In fact, 'The Greatest' used to take the mickey out of opponents, knowing that he was winning on the back foot. It gave him more time to talk smack!
Just because Ruiz Jr was the man going forward, does not justify victory. I mean, Floyd Mayweather was hardly a charging rhino.
I've just re-watched the fight through BoxNation, the UK TV coverage, with the excellent Barry Jones summarising. Ringside, I had the fight a draw, with perhaps Parker nicking the last. Jones said it was incredibly close, but he thought Parker had 'just about done enough'. And those four words have rung around the press, talkback radio and online all morning.
(Images courtesy of Photosport)
A key point is that neither fighter was shaken through the 12 rounds. Both had their moments and landed big shots, but no one dominated or lost their senses for more than a split-second - therefore, a decision is required.
For me, Parker landed more jabs and showed sporadic quality, while Ruiz Jr was the winner on the inside. However, the Mexican did not get close enough, often enough. His gameplan was to evade the jab and let the shots go or try and catch a lazy Parker, drifting to the ropes and staying tall. Anyone recall that happening?
Even jabs that hit the body or head and don't appear to damage or hurt your opponent can still score in the judges' eyes. That brains trust will be looking for something to justify them being there, when the fight is scrappy and inconclusive. This is what happened last night.
Neither man fought to the best of their abilities. Perhaps nerves and the scale of the occasion were factors but Parker retreated too often, while Ruiz Jr should have let his hands go more.
In saying that, it was still a battle; an attritional contest worthy of the WBO belt on offer. It's a shame Parker couldn't deliver the 'beyond doubt' spectacular performance, but that shouldn't detract from this achievement. For all the criticism of the WBO sanctioning body, they don't just give these titles away, they're hard-earned. Ruiz Jr is a very good fighter who still hasn't been put down.
As for a rematch, I can't imagine the Parker camp wanting one, but the new WBO heavyweight champion of the world has an incredible 2017 ahead of him, with a certain Fury or two waiting in the wings. And that's certainly something to celebrate.
