Argi Cortes won a battle of wills by stopping Salvador Juarez in an entertaining encounter Friday at Restaurante Arroyo in Mexico City, Mexico.
The referee ended the junior bantamweight bout in a TKO win for Cortes (27-4-2, 11 KOs) after medics declared Juarez unfit to continue due to a swollen eye just before the start of Round 9.
Juarez (20-9-2, 4 KOs) was aggressive throughout the fight and recorded a knockdown in the sixth round, but his right eye – completely closed – and a deep cut above his left eye brought the thriller to an abrupt end.
The two Mexican fighters gave their all from the opening bell in a fight that had been scheduled for 10 rounds. They were on even ground through the first four, firing good body shots and exchanges that excited the crowd. But it was Juarez who took the first bite in the sixth, when he caught Cortes with a clean combination after both of them went trading.
Cortes rose from the canvas and stood toe-to-toe with Juarez until the end of the round. The next two rounds saw both fighters engage in a lot of exchanges, but the damage from Cortes as Juarez’s right eye closed proved to be the difference-maker.
Angel Alvarado Soto (10-1, 7 KOs) proved too strong for Jose Angel Perez Diaz (14-5-2, 1 KO) in their flyweight contest, stopping his opponent within minutes of the first round.
Alvarado first knocked Diaz down with a flurry to the face and body. Diaz survived the count, but he was sent back to the canvas moments later with another body shot, forcing the referee to end the fight.
Flyweight Einar Martinez (8-1, 3 KOs) bounced back from his first career loss, overwhelming Franco Delgado (7-4-1, 1 KO) in a dominant six-round unanimous decision. The all-Mexico affair was a thrilling encounter, but Martinez was explosive throughout and forced a knockdown in the fifth.
In a four-round featherweight contest, Mexico’s Adrian Campos (2-0) opened the card with a unanimous decision win over compatriot Dario Hernandez (1-3, 1 KO). Campos was awarded the decision after a technical performance that saw him utilize his reach and height advantage to keep an aggressive Hernandez at bay.
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” back in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].
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