Rafael Espinoza, towering at 6’1″ in the featherweight division, lived up to his intimidating stature by absolutely schooling Sergio Chirino in a display that was less a fight and more a one-sided beatdown. Performing in front of a packed crowd at BleauLive Theater in Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Espinoza defended his WBO title with what could only be described as ruthless efficiency, ending it all in the fourth round with a TKO.
Right off the bell, Espinoza seemed intent on an early night, dropping Chirino with a counter left in the first round. He sent him crashing again in the third with a right hand that almost sent Chirino out of the ring for a quick exit. The final act saw Chirino floored by an onslaught, solidifying Espinoza’s dominance.
Reflecting on the carnage, Espinoza shared, “From the beginning, the hunger that I have to triumph, to be better and to move forward was apparent. I gave my heart, and it shows.” He further added, “We had a plan to control our distance in the fight. But I like throwing punches and showing people what they want to see, which is action. That’s why I went forward as soon as the first round began. I don’t like going backward.”
Espinoza is now eyeing bigger fish, boldly proclaiming, “I’m here. It’s my time. The time of ‘El Divino.’ I want to unify, and I want the big challenges.”
Andres Cortes Scrapes Past Abraham Nova with a Side of Drama
In the co-feature that seemed more like a soap opera with gloves, Andres Cortes barely eked out a win against Abraham Nova. After months of trash talk that probably had more substance than their actual punches, Cortes managed to sway the judges enough to hand him a unanimous decision with scores of 97-93 2x and 96-94.
The early rounds saw Cortes attempting to assert dominance, while Nova looked like he was just happy to be there, finally waking up in the later rounds. Despite a late rally, Nova couldn’t convince the judges, and Cortes walked away with the win, albeit panting and sweating more than someone who just ran a marathon.
Post-battle, Cortes didn’t shy away from calling it as it was, stating, “It was a tough fight. I knew he was a tough competitor. He just went 12 rounds with a world champion. So, I knew it would be a tough one,” and addressing the rough tactics, “He was very dirty in there. He called me a dirty fighter, but he was really dirty in there. All these headbutts and stuff. But it was a good fight. No excuses. I dug deep and got the victory.”
Nova, somewhat bewildered by the outcome, remarked, “This is boxing. This is what happens. I started a bit slow. But then I got my rhythm. I went in there, and I did what I had to do. He hit me a lot behind the head. This is boxing. All I’ve got to go is back to drawing board, fix a couple things and come back.”
The Rest of the Night: A Smorgasbord of Punches
- Bantamweight: Floyd Diaz decided to play tag with Francisco Pedroza, managing to hit more than he got hit. Judges unanimously thought he played better, giving him scores of 78-73.
- Junior Lightweight: DJ Zamora III proved that debuts can be less nerve-wracking and more parade-like, cruising past Jose Antonio Meza with scores that left little room for doubt: 80-72 2x and 79-73.
- Junior Bantamweight: Steven Navarro showed up for a workout session, dodging and weaving more than punching, still enough to impress the judges against Juan Pablo Meza, who probably wished he had stayed home: 60-54 all around.
- Middleweight: Bryan Polaco turned a boxing match into a brief highlight reel, dropping Richard Acevedo twice and getting the referee to intervene before anyone got seriously hurt. A third-round stoppage was the cherry on top of a very short cake.