Cordova and Rivera Fight to a Draw, Baraou Claims Victory

Challenge between unbeaten fighters for the vacant WBA AD ONE MOSC PHESE at the Caribe Royal in Orlando, Florida. The clash between Venezuelan Angelino cordova and Puerto Rican Yankiel Rivera ended in a tie. The final scorecards read 115-111 for Cordova and 113-113 twice, and the WBA will likely order a rematch.

It was not a breathtaking match, as Cordova’s unorthodox style transformed the bout into a brawl. Cordova attacked wildly, even hitting with elbows, and in the fourth round, an accidental clash of heads caused a bad cut to Rivera’s left eyelid. Rivera reacted, and at one point both fighters ended up on the canvas. Following a left hand from Rivera and a push, Cordova went down, and the referee Luis Pabon began a count.

In the sixth round, referee Pabón deducted a point from Cordova for hitting Rivera on the nape of the neck while the latter was bent over. In the eighth round,Cordova lunged forward head down,hitting Rivera’s nose with his forehead,causing it to bleed.The injury was checked by a doctor, and in the eleventh round, Rivera went down on a series. The match ended in a tie, but in other arenas, Cordova might have been disqualified.

Also on the card, European champion Abass Baraou defeated interim super welterweight WBA champion Younis Tellez. The scores for the German fighter from Berlin were 116-111, 115-112, and 117-110.

Barou won thanks to his continuous attacks and movement. Tellez often fought on his toes but lacked concrete offense. Baraou had an excellent third round, cornering Tellez and landing hard shots.