By: Sean Crose
Popular welterweight Alexis Rocha threw down with Raul Curiel in a scheduled 12 rounder Saturday night in a main event broadcast live by DAZN. A ranked contender fighting under the Golden Boy promotional banner, the 25-2 Rocha had a lot on the line as he answered the bell to face his 15-0 opponent. Having bested all but two of his previous opponents, however, the undefeated Curiel had a lot on the line himself.
The first was rather uneventful, other than a slip that briefly sent Curiel to the mat. The second saw Rocha employ his southpaw jab while presenting himself as a moving target. For his own part, Curiel was able to land well on occasion. Would those few heavy shots end up paying off as the fight wore on? Roach decided to work the body of Curiel when the opportunity arose in the third. With that being said, both men were able to land clean during the chapter.
It was clear in the fourth that Curiel was having difficulty timing his man. By remaining active with his jab and footwork, Rocha appeared to be able to frustrate his undefeated opponent. By round’s end, it looked as if Rocha might be beginning to dominate the fight over a slightly outclassed opponent. Still, Curiel remained in the fight during the fifth. We’re he to become more active, it might be Curiel who dictated the action.
It was clear in the sixth that the fight had entered a pattern: Rocha would be active while Curiel would throw a few punches hoping to do some damage. The problem with Curiel was simply that his strategy wasn’t working. Then, as if on cue, Curiel became more active in the seventh. Could he keep up that pace? The fight began to morph into a slugfest in the eighth. Both men traded well and powerfully in the ninth. With that being said, Rocha would have been better served moving about and being hard to hit again.
The two fighters banged away in the tenth. In fact, the action was explosive. Even more telling, the fight was now too close to call. The gloved fists continued to fly in the eleventh. It was a wonder that neither man had been seriously hurt of even knocked down. The twelfth round remained high energy and violent. There was little doubt that this was a fight of the year contender. The judges ruled the fight a majority draw.
And who could blame them?
