Article by Rick Mohamed

In the co-main event, rising contender Michel Rivera (23-0, 14 KOs) earned a unanimous decision victory over the previously unbeaten Joseph Adorno (14-1-2, 12 KOs) in their lightweight showdown.

The bout was tense throughout, with neither fighter able to fully control the action or significantly hurt their opponent. Rivera’s jab was the key to his success, as he landed 72 to Adorno’s 30 across the 10 rounds.

“That was four months of practicing in camp,” said Rivera. “I feel so good. I was looking for the knockout, but that undefeated guy is tough. I know him. He’s a power-puncher, but the aggression that ‘Ali’ has is too much. I have a good corner. A great trainer in Herman Caicedo and also Jukka Toivola. But I have talent and I made the sacrifice.”

Adorno looked to load up on power hooks in hopes of slowing down Rivera, but was unable to find the right punch to fully turn the tide in his favor. Rivera appeared to make a key adjustment during the fight, sliding close to Adorno as he loaded up for that hook, smothering the incoming assault and dulling its impact.

Rivera was consistent with the jab, throwing at least 30 in every round, on his way to a 104 to 67 overall edge in total punches landed. He also held Adorno to a 20% connect rate on his 330 punches and out landed his opponent in all but one round. After 10 rounds, all three judges saw the fight the same, scoring the action 97-93 in favor of Rivera.

“I thought it was a closer fight,” said Adorno. “I thought I won seven rounds. All he did was throw jabs. What the judges didn’t take into account was my activity and productivity. If you look at the fight closely, you will see that I hit him more times than he hit me.”

“Everybody now knows me,” said Rivera. “I say that I am the reincarnation of Muhammad Ali because I work so hard. I’m definitely ready for a world title shot.”

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