Rafael Espinoza made the first defense of his WBO featherweight title a successful one as Espinoza knocked Sergio Chirino down three times before the referee stopped the fight in the fourth round.
Chirino was knocked down in the waning moments of both the first and second rounds but Espinoza didn't have enough time to finish the job in either round.
That wasn't the case in the fourth after another knockdown with the referee waving the bout off.
Espinoza came into prominence in the fight that made him a champion as an unknown challenger to then-champion Robeisy Ramirez and rallied from a knockdown to drop Ramirez in the final round to win the title by majority decision in a great battle.
The original plan was for an immediate rematch but Espinoza requested making an optional defense first and should Ramirez defeat Brandon Benitez next Saturday, the rematch will be scheduled in the fall.
The travesty was in the co-feature as undefeated junior lightweight contender Andres Cortes missed weight at the weigh-in and then after being outpunched by veteran Abraham Nova, was given an unpopular unanimous decision.
Nova threw more, landed more, and was the better fighter, all of which wasn't enough for the judges who somehow scored Cortes the winner 97-93 x2 and 96-94.
Nova's best round was the ninth, when he threw over one hundred punches and backed Cortes into a corner, and blasted away but one judge scored the round for Cortes anyway.
Cortes called out division champions after the fight but between blowing the scales and winning such a controversial decision, I'd think a Nova rematch would be a better idea.
Boxing Challenge
Vince Samano: 48 Pts (2)
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