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Starling–Breland II

Date	April 16, 1988
Venue	Las Vegas Hilton, Winchester, Nevada, U.S.
Title(s) on the line	WBA welterweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Marlon Starling Mark Breland Nickname The Magic Man Hometown Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. Brooklyn, New York, U.S. Purse $425,000 $150,000 Pre-fight record 43–4 (26 KO) 20–1 (13 KO) Age 28 years, 7 months 24 years, 11 months Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) Weight 147 lb (67 kg) 146 lb (66 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition WBA Welterweight Champion The Ring No. 1 Ranked Welterweight WBA No. 1 Ranked Welterweight The Ring No. 4 Ranked Welterweight
Result
Split draw (116–113, 114–115, 114–114)

Marlon Starling vs. Mark Breland II was a professional boxing match contested on April 16, 1988, for the WBA welterweight title.

Background

On August 22, 1987, then-WBA welterweight champion Mark Breland and top welterweight contender Marlon Starling had fought for the first time with Starling upsetting the undefeated Breland to capture the WBA welterweight title.

Breland hoped for an immediate rematch with Starling, but WBA rules at the time prevented a rematch from happening for the time being. Breland would instead return to the ring in December, defeating Javier Suazo on the undercard of his former Olympic teammate Evander Holyfield's rematch with Dwight Muhammad Qawi.

In February 1988, in what was expected to be a precursor to their rematch, Starling and Breland both participated in a tripleheader event (along with Roberto Durán, who defeated Ricky Stackhouse) billed as Furious Friday. Breland would defeat Juan Alonso Villa by third-round TKO, while Starling would successfully defend his WBA welterweight title against Fujio Ozaki, winning by unanimous decision. With their respective victories, Starling and Breland's rematch was set for April 16, 1988.

The fights

Chávez vs. Aguilar

The co featured bout saw WBA lightweight champion Julio César Chávez make the first defence of the title he won from Edwin Rosario against Rodolfo Aguilar.

Chávez dropped Aguilar with two straight rights with 7 seconds left of the 1st round, Aguilar was up immediately as the bell rang to end the round. The southpaw Aguilar appeared to frustrate Chávez early in the bout, but the champion kept pressing the attack and landed the heavier blows. Chávez almost dropped Aguilar again in the 5th with a left-right combination before a right landed flush early in the 6th which dropped the challenger for the second time. Aguilar rose at the count of five, only to fall back against the ropes prompting referee Richard Steele to wave it off.

Main Event

In a largely tactical fight, Starling started off strong, pressing forward, dodging Breland's jabs and effectively counterpunching. Starling took a lead on the judge's scorecards through the first seven rounds, however, Breland would come on strong in the later rounds, losing only the 10th round from the eighth round on. After the fight went the fill 12-round distance, judge Jerry Roth had Starling the winner 116–113, another had Breland the winner 115–114 while the third scored it even 114–114, thus the fight was declared a split draw.

Fight card

Confirmed bouts:

^Note 1 For WBA Welterweight title
^Note 2 For WBA Lightweight title

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United States	HBO

References

1. "The Ring Magazine ratings through March 3, 1988". The Hour. New York: The Ring Magazine. Associated Press. 30 March 1988. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
2. "Marlon Starling vs. Mark Breland (2nd meeting)". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
3. Breland Stopped by Starling, NY Times article, 1987-08-23 Retrieved on 2024-10-16
4. Breland Must Wait For Title Rematch, NY Times article, 1987-08-24 Retrieved on 2024-10-18
5. Breland Returning, NY Times article, 1987-10-16 Retrieved on 2024-10-18
6. Marlon Starling admits his first World Boxing Association welterweight..., UPI article, 1988-02-04 Retrieved on 2024-10-18
7. The best thing Marlon Starling can say about his..., UPI article, 1988-02-06 Retrieved on 2024-10-18
8. "Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Rodolfo Aguilar". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
9. "Chavez Knocks Out Rodolfo Aguilar in Sixth". Star-News. Las Vegas. Associated Press. 17 April 1988. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
10. Starling Holds Title on Draw, NY Times article, 1988-04-17 Retrieved on 2024-10-16
11. "BoxRec - event".

• 1988 in boxing
• 1988 in sports in Nevada
• April 1988 sports events in the United States
• Boxing matches at the Las Vegas Hilton
• Boxing matches refereed by Mills Lane
• Boxing on HBO
• Welterweight championship matches