Maybe, but he resorted to every trick in the book to squeak out the top fighters he faced (Lockridge and LaPorte).
And the 'home-town ref' bollocks doesn't hold up either. Pedroza was obviously one of the most traveled champions ever. The guy'd take a fight in a war zone if he was getting paid for it. There's whole fights where Pedroza completely obliges by the rules. Not a high bar, I know. But can you name me a Ward fight with no fouls? You can see Saddler at his dirtiest, and he was worse than Pedroza was vs Laporte and Lockridge. Speaking of which, I never found the first to be particularly close. I have no doubt that Pedroza woulda won easily had it but been for the fouls, and even on my card after all the point deductions, I still had him up by like seven points. Furthermore, not only did I think Pedroza beat Lockridge, I think it's obviously apparent that Pedroza in that first fight did not make the weight well. I know, it's a typical excuse, but when a guy is that flat, you have to suspect something or other. And in this case, I can one hundred percent believe it.
