{"id":1128,"date":"2014-02-04T10:50:43","date_gmt":"2014-02-04T10:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cardiffian.jomec.co.uk\/?p=1128"},"modified":"2014-02-04T10:50:43","modified_gmt":"2014-02-04T10:50:43","slug":"gavin-rees-rematch-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2014\/02\/04\/gavin-rees-rematch-boxing\/","title":{"rendered":"Gavin Rees prepares for Buckland battle"},"content":{"rendered":"
Gavin Rees looks set to postpone his retirement in favour of a rematch against Gary Buckland after a controversial defeat at the Motorpoint Arena on Saturday night.<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Buckland was awarded the fight in a split decision after judge Ian John Lewis scored the fight 116-113 in favour of Rees and John Keane called it 116-113 to Buckland.<\/div>\n
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Terry O\u2019Connor\u2019s decidingvote gave it to the Cardiff fighter 115-114 in a decision popular with the home crowd, but 23 out of 25 members of the boxing media called the fight for Rees.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Promoter Eddie Hearn also believed Rees had got the better of his opponent.<\/div>\n
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He said: \u201cI felt Rees won it, when it got to round nine or ten I wasn\u2019t really sure but I gave him 11 and 12 and I\u2019m gutted for him.<\/div>\n
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\u201cHe\u2019s a proper geezer , he will give a million per cent.<\/div>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough when you\u2019re fighting for your career but maybe we\u2019ll do it [the fight] again.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Before the fight Rees said he would retire if he lost but after he also hinted at wanting a rematch, retweeting a tweet calling on Hearn to \u201cget the rematch on.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Buckland suggested he too would be interested in fighting Rees again.<\/div>\n
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\u201cI think I would and I think everyone in here [the Motorpoint Arena] would. We\u2019ll see what the board says and if we can get it on again no problem,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n
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The 33-year-old went all the way against Buckland in an enthralling fight in front of 5,000 fans which Hearn described as one of the best he had ever seen.<\/div>\n
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After the defeat Rees tweeted saying he was \u201cgutted.\u201d<\/div>\n
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He said: \u201cBoxing is like a strong addictive drug to me I just can\u2019t seem to let it go.\u201d<\/div>\n
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Buckland was full of praise for his friend and regular sparring partner, calling him a \u201ctrue champion.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cHe pushed me all the way and I think I pushed him, and it could have went either way, but I\u2019m happy,\u201d he said.\u00a0He will now face \u00a0Martin Gethin for a shot at the British lightweight title.<\/div>\n
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On the same night Lee Selby added the European title to his British Featherweight title beating Rendall Munroe in the sixth round.<\/div>\n