YANKIEL RIVERA and Angelino Cordova engaged in a chaotic flyweight contest, filled with clinches, headbutts and rabbit punches, before reaching a highly controversial draw.
The pair locked horns in Orlando, Florida, where unbeaten technician Rivera, 7-0-1 (3 KOs), was widely expected to emerge victorious.
That outcome, indeed, should have transpired on the MVP Promotions card, yet the frenzied nature of their fight somehow appeared to obscure the judges’ vision.
A reckless approach saw Cordova, 19-0-2 (12 KOs), stumble over his front foot multiple times, with Rivera, quite simply, taking the odd half-step back to evade his opponent’s wild attacks.
Rivera was then presented with an inviting opening in the second round, but ultimately failed to capitalise on the Venezuelan’s defensive limitations.
Instead, the 27-year-old’s lack of control saw their contest develop into an increasingly ugly affair, particularly whenever Cordova unapologetically charged into range with his head.
Those roughhouse tactics only became more frequent, as while Rivera attempted to utilise his cleaner, and more effective, repertoire of attacks, he was all the while forced to contend with a plethora of infringements.
Due to a lack of stability, more than anything else, Cordova then found himself on the receiving end of a fourth-round knockdown, but nonetheless continued to wing away with his bizarre attacks.
An equally hectic sixth round then saw the 29-year-old get docked a point, shortly after hitting his opponent on the back of the head, with the penalty signalling referee Luis Pabon’s first attempt to take control.
At which point, one could only assume that Cordova, whose remarkable durability was his only saving grace, had an almighty mountain to climb on the judges’ scorecards.
Not only did he continue to lead with his head, but a spate of headlocks also saw ‘Huracan’ avoid even more possible points deductions in the eighth round.
In response, Rivera just simply maintained his superior footwork while, to some degree, accepting the reality that a statement performance remained well beyond his grasp.
But even so, it was difficult to ignore the fact that, at times, the Puerto Rican’s complacency saw him get outhustled by his ill-disciplined opponent, whose unorthodox style presented several problems for Rivera.
Nevertheless, it arrived as a sizable shock when the result of their scrappy encounter, which included two 10-8 rounds, was announced as a draw, with a truly baffling 111-115 reflection from judge Robert Hoyle even swinging in favour of Cordova.
Both combatants, however, seemed happy enough with the verdict, while every fan in attendance was most likely hoping to forget what they had just witnessed.
