Espinoza vs Chirino Fight Results: Espinoza Scores Crushing 4th Rd TKO

WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza (25-0, 21 KOs) is a scary fighter, and tonight, he showed how dangerous he can be. Espinoza scored a crushing fourth-round TKO over Sergio Chirino (22-2, 13 KOs) on the ESPN+ main event. Espinoza credits his desire to be the best as the reason for coming out with such confidence and producing the TKO performance.

After a good start to the fight by Chirino, Espinoza landed a short-left uppercut right up the middle that knocked down Chirino. Although he beat the ten-count, Chirino was on shaky legs but Espinoza fought smartly for the rest of the round. Chirino came charging back in the second round and landed a good straight right hand and a counter left hook. Espinoza was applying a ton of pressure and punching down on Chirino throughout the round.

Espinoza dominated from the outside with his long-left jab and straight right hand in the third round. Espinoza landed a short right uppercut, which sent Chirino down for the second time in the fight. In the fourth round, Espinoza landed a right uppercut, sending Chirino down for the third time in the fight, but as he got up, the referee looked in his eyes and waved the fight off, giving Espinoza the stoppage.

Andrew Cortes Scores A Controversial Unanimous Decision

Andres Cortes (22-0, 12 KOs) didn’t look like a contender and arguably lost the fight, but the judges saw a different fight and gave him the unanimous decision over Abraham Nova (23-3, 16 KOs). The judges saw this one 97-93, 96-94, & 97-93 for Cortes. After the fight, Cortes said he wants a title shot next, but seeing his performance, he will likely need at least another fight or two before a title fight.

Nova dictated the pace from the beginning of the first round. He was smart with his distance, which made Cortes lunge a bit at times. Cortes wasn’t too active and didn’t throw that many punches. Cortes turned up the pressure in the second round as he forced the fight on the inside. Nova was trapped, allowing Cortes to unload his shots, specifically the left and right uppercuts.

Nova forced the fight to return to the center of the ring in the third round, allowing him to work more efficiently. Nova consistently landed his left jab and followed it with a straight right hand. There was an accidental clash of heads, which caused a small cut over the left eye of Cortes. In the fourth round, Cortes forced the fight to occur again on the inside. Nova gave away all of his advantages as Cortes ripped to the body.

It was a rough fifth round, but the fight’s momentum leaned towards Nova. He was first on his attack in the sixth round, which frustrated Cortes. Nova built upon the momentum he had established in the previous round and landed more eye-catching shots. Cortes got the fight back to the inside and landed big shots on Nova, whose footwork was sloppy throughout the seventh round. Nova would regain his composure late in the round and land some big, straight right hands.

Nova stayed on the inside but was busting up Cortes, forcing him to have his mouth wide open in the eighth round. In the ninth round, Nova landed a huge right hand that rocked Cortes and forced him to lean on the ropes. Both men looked exhausted at the end of the round. Nova finished the fight strong, as Cortes was completely spent.

It’s hard to justify the judges’ scorecards, but ultimately, that is what counts, and they saw Cortes as the winner of the fight.

Troy Isley Earns A Tough UD Over Javier Martinez

If this fight was the right to remain on Top Rank, then Troy Isley (13-0, 5 KOs) passed with flying colors as he earned a unanimous decision over Javier Martinez (10-1-1, 3 KOs). The judges saw this 97-91, 96-92, and 97-91 for Isley. Martinez was a game fighter but just couldn’t land enough to secure the victory.

The fight began slowly, but towards the end of the first round, Isley landed a straight right hand that stunned Martinez and forced him to retreat instantaneously. Isley’s combination punching highlighted the action for the second round as Martinez settled for one punch at a time, which was the straight left hand. Isley moved well and landed left hooks to the body and right uppercuts, which gained Martinez’s attention throughout the round.

After Martinez’s corner begged him to step up his activity between the second and third rounds, he came out and threw the most punches up to that moment of the fight. Martinez continually landed the straight left hand and buzzed Isley a few times. Isley did land some good body shots, but Martinez’s activity caught him off guard. Isley adjusted and got under Martinez’s straight left in the fourth round, opening up more combinations for him. Isley took back control of the fight.

Isley and Martinez went back and forth throughout the fifth round, but towards the end, Isley landed a straight right hand that rocked Martinez back into the ropes. Isley would unload on him, but the bell saved Martinez. Isley continued to pour it on in the sixth round as Martinez appeared to be hurt by the body shots. After several low blows by both fighters, Martinez landed one too many, and the referee had enough in the seventh round. He took one point from Martinez for the low blow. Isley’s combination punching busted up Martinez, and it began to reflect on his face.

The eighth round saw Isley continue to dominate, but in the ninth round, Isley would land a low blow, and the referee proceeded to take a point from him. Martinez chopped away at Isley’s body but wasn’t able to hurt him. Both fighters finished strong in the tenth and final round.

Abraham Gonzalez

Abraham Gonzalez is the founder of FightsATW. His journalistic work has been published and used across several platforms to include online, network TV and promotional companies. He is an American Public University alumnus and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). Abraham was the Managing Editor for NYFights, Big Fight Weekend, contributed to FanSidedMMA and ProBoxTV.

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