The chief support gave us brilliant action in tonight’s MVP Fight Night from Orlando, Florida, but the main event between Yankiel Rivera and Angelino Cordova offered little beyond fouls and slop. Neither Yankiel Rivera nor Angelino Cordova claimed the vacant interim WBA flyweight title that was up for grabs, ending an unsatisfying DAZN main event in a debatable majority draw.
This one was a mess from start to finish, with headlocks, leg sweeps, rabbit punches, takedowns, hip tosses, and headbutts
from beginning to end. Referee Luis Pabon could never get it under control and on track, putting more effort into scolding a cornerman for complaining about the constant fouling than he did bringing a stop to it.
The chaos favored Cordova (19-0-2, 12 KO), who started out throwing wild, windmilling shots and never really tightened up from there. Rivera (7-0-1, 3 KO) tried to box through the slop, but couldn’t get into a rhythm. The lefty vs righty matchup and Cordova’s reckless attack led to repeated clashes of heads, the worst of which opened an unpleasant cut on Rivera’s eyelid in the 4th round.
That led to the best action of the fight, with Cordova swarming the cut, then getting clipped and nearly knocked down. Cordova only survived by clutching, grabbing, and pulling Rivera down to the mat twice, and should have been assessed a knockdown along the way. Riviera had to settle for a boxing equivalent of an NBA makeup call, though, finally getting the 10-8 round on an official knockdown later in that 4th round that really should have been ruled a push.
Cordova lost another point for rabbit punches in the 6th, the only penalty assessed to either man in a night of near constant rule violations. Rivera eventually started circling like a matador, poking from distance and dodging charges. Cordova couldn’t do much of anything against it until he went back to the full MMA approach, and bonked Rivera a few more times in the process.
Cordova wobbled Rivera at the end of the 11th with a sweet series of four or five right hands, but couldn’t equalize with a knockdown of his own. Watching without the discipline and structure of an official judge’s guidelines, Rivera looked the better man, while Cordova looked like he should have lost a tightly officiated fight or been disqualified along the way for not getting under control. But, Rivera apparently didn’t show the judges enough in the fight he actually found himself in, escaping with a majority draw by two 113-113 cards, with Cordova winning the dissenting judge, 115-111.
And so, the vacant interim WBA lightweight belt remains vacant. Rivera didn’t argue or complain about the outcome, so perhaps the casual viewer was just biased against Cordova for making it such a messy fight. The logical next step would be a rematch, but nothing I saw tonight makes me want to watch one.
Abass Baraou UD-12 Yoenis Tellez
Fantastic show in the chief support, as a relentless Abass Baraou claimed Yoenis Tellez’s interim WBA belt in a well-earned upset. Definitely worth a replay if you missed it live.
Baraou (17-1, 9 KO) came to win, fighting on the front foot and staying busy. Steady aggression and greater punch volume from Baraou had Tellez on the ropes with regularity. Tellez (10-1, 7 KO) let his hands droop and started eating more punches in the latter half of the fight as Baraou’s work accumulated. Tellez did rally hard in the last two rounds, but Baraou rocked him in the final minute and swarmed until he finally put Tellez down just before the closing bell. The judges saw it clear, returning a 116-111, 115-112, 117-110 unanimous decision for Baraou.
Tellez loses for the first time as a pro, while Baraou claims the interim WBA title at 154 lbs., with Terence Crawford holding the actual belt. Win or lose next month against Canelo, it seems unlikely a 38 year old Crawford is going to drop down 14 pounds again to fight against Baraou, Tellez, or anyone else that won’t help him sell a major PPV. So, odds are you’re looking at the next full WBA champ here in Baraou, and he earned it tonight.
Stephanie Han UD-10 Paulina Angel
Closer fight than the final scores would suggest, as Stephanie Han (11-0, 3 KO) had to survive a knockdown in the first 25 seconds and an ugly cut over her eyebrow in the 4th round to retain her WBA belt. Paulina Angel (7-2-2, 3 KO) caught Han on the jaw shortly after the bell, and opened the cut with a series of rights to the head. Angel fought tenaciously, but in a somewhat basic style, allowing Han to clean up rounds in the eyes of the judges. All three saw it 98-91, which feels a bit wide, but the result isn’t really debatable.
Lucas Bahdi UD-12 Roger Gutierrez
Solid, if not exactly thrilling, performance from Bahdi (20-0, 15 KO), claiming the unanimous decision in what’s supposed to be a final eliminator for the WBA belt held by Tank Davis. Gutierrez (29-7-1, 22 KO) seemed to be gaining momentum, particularly at the start of the 6th, until he got put down hard at the end of the 6th on a counter right hand to the jaw. He survived the round, and started winning rounds again later in the fight, but too late to make an argument. Official scores came in at 116-111, 117-110, and 115-112.
