Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel fought to a majority draw on December 14 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. The blockbuster showdown featured Santa Ana’s 27-year-old southpaw against the unbeaten 29-year-old opponent from Mexico.
The pair went head-to-head for 12 rounds at welterweight. In the end, one judge scored the fight 116-112 in favor of Rocha. Two other judges had it 114-114.
Both fighters picked up the first draw of their respective careers. Both said they wanted a rematch.
Alexis Rocha (25-2-1, 16 KOs) kept his WBO NABO title. Raul Curiel (15-0-1, 13 KOs) kept his NABF belt.
“I want to run this fight back again and then hopefully fight for a world title,” Rocha said. “I know I did enough to win. The rounds were very close. Unfortunately, tonight didn’t go my way. I want the rematch – it was a fun fight, and I want to do it again.”
Curiel said, “I definitely felt like I had done what I had to do to win the fight. I’m sure he would say the same. At the end of the day, the fans are the best judges, and based on the crowd’s reactions, they won tonight. I hope we can run it back again next year. For now, I want to enjoy the holidays with my family.”
In the co-main event, Cleveland-based undefeated Charles Conwell (21-0, 16 KOs) defeated Gerardo Luis Vergara (20-1, 13 KOs) of Argentina via TKO at super welterweight. Referee Thomas Taylor stopped the fight at 2:51 into the seventh round following repeated big left hooks from the Detroit native.
Among other Rocha vs Curiel results, John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles bounced back from his first career defeat with a unanimous decision against Sugar Land, Texas-based unbeaten Ephraim Bui (10-1, 8 KOs). The 10-round super flyweight bout ended with 97-93 across the board.
Former unified flyweight champion Marlen Esparza (15-2, 1 KO) of Houston, TX scored a unanimous decision against four-time 112-pound champion Arely Mucino (32-5-2, 11 KOs) of Mexico. After 10 rounds, the scores were 98-92, 98-92, 97-93.
In the main card opener, Victor Morales Jr. (20-0-1, 10 KOs) of Vancouver, Washington defeated Jose Ivan Guardado Ortiz (16-3-1, 6 KOs) of Mexico at super featherweight. The referee called it a day on the advice of the ringside physician due to a large swelling and cut over the latter’s right eye. The official time was 1 second into the eighth round.