by David P. Greisman

Rogelio 'Porky' Medina came up short on the scorecards in his first-ever shot at a world title, but he put up the kind of performance that made him want another go at super middleweight titleholder James DeGale.

DeGale came out on top by scores of 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113 — the televised announcement that two judges had it 117-111 was based on an incorrectly tabulated scorecard on the official scoresheet.

Medina feels that even those scores were wrong.

“He’s the only one who thinks he won,” Medina said. “The fans think I won. I definitely want the rematch. … I'm pretty frustrated with the decision, I put my best effort forward. I don't think he performed well enough to earn the victory.

"In my opinion, and based on the reaction from the audience, everyone saw that I won. The judges didn't vote in my favor, but what can you do? We came and gave the best performance we can possibly give and did the best we could but unfortunately didn't come out victorious tonight. DeGale said I wasn't on his level, but I think he's the one that is not on my level.”

It was a close and competitive contest. Medina pushed DeGale hard, punished him to the body and landed well upstairs as well. DeGale landed crisp shots and eye-catching combinations, and he also had rounds in which his movement kept Medina at bay. DeGale had to settle for the decision in a bout that he thought would end before the final bell.

“He said he was going to stop me,” Medina said. “He was running all around and he didn’t stop me like he said he would. … I pressured him and came here to give a good fight and good performance. That's what I came to do tonight. I don't know what he came to do. He just came to run, and avoid going to war with me as much as possible. I don't see how they can give the decision to someone that doesn't want to fight."

Pick up a copy of David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsamazon or internationally at http://bit.ly/fightingwordsworldwide. Send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com