By: Sean Crose
The WBO world featherweight title was at stake Saturday night in Mexico. Rafael Espinoza took on Arnold Kheghi in a scheduled 12 round affair that was the main event of a Top Rank card. Espinoza was making the fourth defense of his world title. It was nice to see a live fight card on a Saturday night. There haven’t been a whole lot of those in 2025. It’s a development that is frankly not having a good impact on the sport in the United States. The card might not have been on a mainline streaming service, but it was a top level card nonetheless.
Espinoza’s height advantage was evident right off the opening bell. Indeed, the defending champion worked behind his jab while Kheghi attempted to get on the inside. He didn’t have much success during the first couple rounds of the fight. By the end of the 3rd, however, the challenger had found his man and was working Espinoza on the ropes. Was the fight changing course? Or was Espinoza simply having an off few minutes?
By the midway point of the fight, things had fallen into a bloody pattern. Although the challenger was certainly able to hit, Khegai wasn’t able to do any real consistent damage to the defending champion. Espinoza on the other hand was able to fire away at wii It seemed, hurting Khegai significantly throughout several rounds. Indeed the challenger’s face was starting to look a mess, making one wonder if he would finish the fight on his feet.
Khegai got looked at by a doctor in the 7th but was able to continue. Yet there was no denying the fight had become target practice for the defending champion. Indeed, the doctor checked Khegai again in between the 7th and 8th rounds. Once again at the gutsy challenger was allowed to continue. He needed to make something happen though or the fight would surely be stopped. As the bout headed into the final three rounds, it was clear, barring a miracle, the challenger was going to be defeated in bloody fashion.
Brave as he was the challenger’s corner stopped the fight before the 10th round. It was the moral and intelligent thing to do. Espinoza deserved a lot of credit for a brilliant performance against a very tough opponent.
Image: Top Rank Promotions
