The highlight of the night was the main event where WBO NABO Lightweight champion Angel Fierro (22-1-2, 17 KOs) eked out a split decision over Brayon Zammaripa (13-2, 4 KOs) in a bout that lasted a grueling 10 rounds.
In the second round, Zammaripa demonstrated his boxing skills, effectively attacking Fierro. During the third round, Zammaripa managed to shake Fierro with several strong punches in the final moments, although Fierro did respond with a left uppercut. By the fourth round, it was clear that Zammaripa had the upper hand, dealing considerable damage to Fierro.
The tide seemed to shift a bit in the fifth round when, in the final moments, Fierro landed a powerful combo on Zammaripa, who managed to recover impressively.
In the sixth round, a cut appeared over Zammaripa’s right eyebrow. Both fighters had their moments in what turned out to be a fiercely contested round. The seventh round saw Zammaripa hurting Fierro early on with a left punch to the ribs. However, Fierro managed to regain some ground later in the round.
During the eighth, Fierro succeeded in knocking out Zammaripa’s mouthpiece, a moment that referee Edward Hernandez, Sr. chose to overlook for a significant portion of the round.
The ninth round presented a unique situation where both fighters had to pause to get their tape fixed simultaneously. Fierro kept his forward momentum as Zammaripa continued to counter, making the fight ever so enthralling.
In the 10th round, Fierro nearly had Zammaripa down with a strong right to the chin during the first minute. Referee Hernandez temporarily stopped the fight halfway to fix Zammaripa’s tape, which indirectly aided him. For the remainder of the fight, Zammaripa seemed to have the edge over Fierro, but the judges thought otherwise.
In the end, the scores were a mixed bag: 96-94 in favor of Fierro, another 96-94 in favor of Zammaripa, and a deciding 96-95 also in favor of Fierro, securing his controversial victory. With such close scores, the debate over who truly deserved the win is bound to continue…
