Late sub Angel Fierro (18-1-1, 14 KOs) scored a spectacular sixth round knockout over former world champion Alberto Machado (22-3, 18 KOs) in a lightweight fight on Friday night at the Albergue Olimpico (Olympic Center) in Salinas, Puerto Rico.
Machado dropped Fierro in round one with a right to the jaw. Fierro was down again at the end of round two courtesy of a flush Machado right hook. After Machado dominated round three, Fierro somehow turned the tide in rounds four and five, then he brutally KNOCKED OUT Machado with a massive left hook in round six. Time was :47. Fierro won the NABO title. Amazing fight!
“I’m happy, I faced a top-notch fighter tonight in Alberto Machado,” said Fierro, who was a three-to-one underdog. “He is world class and dropped me twice. But I am ecstatic that I was able to come back and beat a fighter of his caliber.”
“He dropped me twice in the beginning of the fight,” added Fierro. “When I got back to my corner, I told them, ‘remind me of my daughter.’ Because with this fight I can change her life and that’s exactly what they did after the third round. They motivated me and that’s exactly what I did.”
Prior to the fight, Fierro told the Ring City USA broadcast team, “the best judge is a knockout when you’re fighting in someone else’s hometown.” The Mexican warrior, who replaced undefeated prospect Hector Tanajara on one week’s notice, delivered on his promise to take matters into his own hands.
“We found a lot of gaps in Machado’s game in the sixth round,” stated Fierro. “I took advantage of them and I turned it around. I told you in the interview (before the fight), I didn’t come here to be a tourist in Puerto Rico. I came here to win.”
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Former amateur star “Mighty” Joe Ward (3-1, 2 KOs) avenged his pro debut loss against Marco “El Muneco” Delgado, (7-2, 5 KOs) with a six round unanimous decision shutout in a light heavyweight clash. Scores were 60-54 3x.
In an eight round female middleweight bout, Alma Ibarra (8-1, 4 KOs) surprised three-time female world title challenger Maricela ‘La Diva’ Cornejo (13-5, 5 KOs), taking a unanimous decision. Scores were 79-73, 79-73, 77-75.
Bantamweight Jose “Chiquro” Martinez, (21-1-3, 14 KOs) and three-time world title challenger Israel “Jiga” Gonzalez (26-4-1, 11 KOs) battled to an entertaining ten round draw. Scores were 95-95, 95-95, 96-94 for Gonzalez.
In a super flyweight battle, former world champion and knockout artist Angel ‘Tito’ Acosta, (22-2, 21 KOs) scored an eight round unanimous decision over Gilberto Mendoza (17-9-3, 8 KOs). Scores were 79-72 on all three cards.
Israel Gonzalez was robbed. Joe Ward could emerge into something very good. Not great. Something very good. Delgado is lucky he did not get disqualified. Kudos to Alma Ibarra. She earned the upset win. Good for her.
Thought that Gonzalez won, but 96-94. Only one round difference, so don’t think he was robbed.
Fierro vs Machado! Here’s proof boxing is the greatest sport ever invented!
Congrats to NBC Sports for two back-to-back great main events from Puerto Rico. People would rather watch evenly matched boxers than the setups that are often televised on other networks.
The Fierro-Machado fight is on YouTube. This one is definitely worth a look. Absolutely great fight. Fierro showed a great chin here, bouncing right back up after two nasty knock downs. That right hook that dropped Fierro in the second was brutal, but Fierro was up instantly with a smile on his face. Fierro instantly gained confidence after landing a couple good shots midway through the 4th, and you could feel the momentum turn. Thought the ref rushed that 10 count a bit when Machado went down in the 6th. Hadn’t seen Fierro previously. Wouldn’t mind seeing him again.
I thought it was just me but as soon as the ref got down to count he started at 7…when it should’ve been at 3 seconds. He then continue to count very fast. Even if he would’ve got Ko’d after you have to give him his full 10.
100% right. That was the fastest 10 count I have ever seen. Pretty sure it saved Machado from a brutal knockout, but that isn’t on the referee to make that decision with a ridiculously fast count.
Cancio exposed Machado’s vulnerability to body shots. He explained it as being drained by making weight, so I was interested in seeing if the rise to lightweight would help him. It didn’t.
Machado is great early and has a lot of firepower when fresh. Fierro got dropped in each of the first two rounds. He probably lost the 3rd but came back with hard body shots in the 4th and turned the tide. Machado was feeling the effects of those body shots and became more open to the head.
Machado is not an easy man to beat, but if you can take the early shots and wear him down, he can be stopped. Fierro was just determined to keep pounding away until he got the KO.
Machado was looking really uncomfortable in the 4th and 5th but was still getting his shots in. He started backing away in the 6th and got caught by a tremendous left hook that he didn’t see. That was the end of the fight.
I don’t know where Machado goes from here. However, for Fierro, it was the biggest win of his career and sets him up for bigger fights in the future. He does need to work on his defense and move his head offline more. He just can’t afford to get hit like he was tonight. He took some hellacious shots before making his comeback. However,
he’s young, determined, can take a punch, and hits relatively hard. He’s got a chance to make some noise as a lightweight. I look forward to seeing him fight in the future.
Machado doesn’t have a chin for world level. He can surely dish it out, but he can’t take it.